Say Good-bye to Your Old Unhealthy Life

Easter is traditionally considered a time of rebirth and renewal.

So if you aren't already following a healthy life, maybe take this time of the year to say good-bye to your old unhealthy life and start to take the first steps towards a healthier and fitter one.

Even if you're already following a healthy lifestyle you may find these tips helpful and take stock of your present life and see if you are doing all of these things and if you are fantastic but find ways to improve even more.  What ever stage we are at there is always work to be done to help us improve  more and be even better then before.  Without moving forward we will stagnate and hit a plateau, where we will slowly decline over time.



Here are my 5 top tips in helping you shake off your old unhealthy life and choose a healthier one:-

1.) Ditch the scales-normal scales only show you total weight.  Concentrate more on what you look like, think to yourself 'are my clothes fitting me better?' and 'am I more toned now.'  If the answer is 'yes' then you're going in the right direction, as muscle is denser and takes up less room then fat.  So chances are that you have ditched some of the fat for some lean fat burning muscle!

2.) Don't skip breakfast:- You've gone a whole night without food and your body needs vital nutrients in order to do it's job and if you skip this important meal then you aren't giving those nutrients to it.  You run the risk of having an energy slump and grabbing an unhealthy sugary snack later on in the day to try to give yourself more energy.  However these snacks won't fill you up, are loaded with fat and sugar and you will only over eat at lunch.  So ensure you break the fast and have a nutritious breakfast such as a Herbalife F1 protein shake or wholegrain cereals such as Weetabix, allbran or porridge.

3.) Make sure you eat regularly:- Eat every 2 - 4 hours, either a healthy meal or snack to ensure your metabolism is kept high and stopping your body storing food as fat.

4.) Drink Plenty of Water-aim to drink at least 2 litres (6-8 glasses) of water a day to ensure you are hydrated enough and help speed up your metabolism.  Being dehydrated can course tiredness, headaches, constipation and weight gain.

5.) Do some exercise- Be active more often and move that body.  Aim to do 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week to help keep your health in check.  Aim to do a bit of resistance training to build  some muscle in order to increase your metabolic rate and therefore burn more calories at rest.

Hope this helps and have a lovely Easter and make sure you don't eat all those chocolate eggs in one go!

Poor Diet & Lack of Exercise can Increase Aging

In a recent study by Mayo Clinic Robert and Arlene Kogod Centre on Aging, researchers found a link of how a poor diet and lack of exercise accelerated cellular deterioration and in turn led to age related conditions in mice.

"We think at both a biological and clinical level, poor nutritional choices and inactive lifestyles do accelerate aging", says Nathan LeBrasseur PHD, Director of the Centre on Aging's Healthy and Independent Living Program and Senior Author of the study. 

Researchers introduced mice to either a normal, healthy diet or a 'fast food diet' one, which was high in saturated fat and cholesterol, with a sugar sweetened drink.







They found the mice on a high fat diet showed an increase in body weight and composition, an increase in fat % by 300%, over a course of 4 months.  Fat mass was mainly stored in the mid section surrounding the internal organs, an area which is associated with a number of diseases related to obesity such as heart disease.

Half the mice were given exercise wheels, including those on the 'fast food diet' with both groups benefitting from exercise.  Those mice on the unhealthy diet showed a decrease in weight gain and fat mass and were protected against the accumulation of deteriorating cells.

However you can never out run a poor diet and a combination of both a healthy diet and moderate exercise is the key to living a healthier and longer life with the characteristics associated with youth such as increased energy levels, flexibility, stamina, muscular strength and stronger bones.

Yoga Helping To Improve Mobility In The Over 60s

According to new research by the University of Sydney, Yoga based exercise can help improve mobility in those of 60 and above.

The study involved 300 people and showed how Yoga can help with balance for both men and women in this age group.

All members of the group had access to a qualified Yoga teacher and props such as blankets, pillows, Yoga blocks, mats, straps and chairs. 

Sessions ran for 60-90 minutes and participants attended once or twice a week for a total of 2 - 6 months with members of the group attending 82% of the classes. 

Overall results found that Yoga had helped improve balance and mobility in these participants, such as increasing walking speed and improving the ability of getting out of a chair.

Due to these results the researchers of the study recommend that there is more of a focus on balance standing postures when teaching Yoga to this age group, rather then relaxation and meditation as the focus.

Beer Belly maybe More dangerous than Obesity

According to a U.S study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, fat stored around the belly can be deadlier than fat stored elsewhere on the body.

During this 14 year study, researchers looked at 15,000 adults and found that the location of fat may be a better indicator of health than using the Body Max Index (BMI).

The study found that men with excess amounts of abdominal fat were twice more at risk of dying of cardiovascular and heart disease compared with those that did not.

Women were 32% more likely to die if they had excess belly fat compared with those within a healthy waist circumference.


The reasons why central obesity is considered more dangerous compared to fat stored on the hips is that the liver can become inflamed and fat around the abdomen is metabolically active as it releases more of these inflammatory toxic chemicals that increase the risk of heart disease. 

This group had the highest death rate including those who were considered obese according to their BMI.

Many experts now believe that measuring a person's waist circumference or waist and hip ratio is a better indicator of health rather than BMI, as this form of measuring only measures total body weight and doesn't take note of muscle mass and whether the person is carrying excess body fat or not.

A healthy waist circumference is no more than 102 cm/40.2 inches for men and 88cm/34.6 inches for women.

A healthy waist/hip ratio is no more than 0.95 for men and 0.85 for women.

5 Top Tips for Losing Weight

Last week I talked about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight in order to reduce the risk of developing certain diseases such as diabetes type 2, heart disease and some cancers.

This week I'll be sharing my 5 top tips to losing weight and keeping it off.

The key is to make long term lifestyle choices that you can use for the rest of your life instead of using shortcuts that will only cause weight gain in the long run:-

1.) Eat a healthy meal or snack every 3-4 hours- reasons for this is to help boost your metabolism in order to burn more calories and encourage our bodies to become a calorie burning machine rather then a fat storing one.  Try a Herbalife protein bar for a snack or a well balanced meal containing protein, carbohydrates and vitamins and minerals, if it's a main meal.

2.) Choose high protein and fibre rich foods- If you eat protein rich foods such as chicken, turkey, fish, lean meat, eggs and pulses alongside high fibre complex carbohydrates, such as wholemeal bread, pasta and rice, you will keep your energy levels up and keep you fuller for longer.

3.) Ensure you have breakfast- Consuming breakfast will wake your body up and keep your metabolism sped up.  If you skip breakfast you will find your energy levels depleting by mid morning and your body will crave sugar and you'll end up grabbing a chocolate bar or some other sugary snack.  You will also end up over consuming later on in the day at lunch time as you will be extra hungry.  Studies have shown that those who skip breakfast are more likely to be over weight compared with those who don't.  Try a Herbalife Formula 1 protein shake for breakfast for a well balanced and quick nutritious rich breakfast.





4.) Drink plenty of water- Aim to drink 2-3 litres of water a day that's about 6-8 glasses.  Drinking water will help the body to keep hydrated reducing the risk of tiredness, constipation, headaches and weight gain.  If you don't like water try Herbalife's aloe concentrate drink in original or mango flavour just add to water to give it a totally refreshing and citrus twist.

5.) Eat your 5 a day- aim to eat 5 pieces of fruit and vegetables a day to give your body vital nutrients it needs to function properly.  Also because they are low in calories but high in fibre and water they will keep you fuller for longer and help maintain energy levels.

Follow these tips and this will help you to lose weight.

If you need extra support then I'm now running regular '5 Day Eat Clean Challenges' that will help you to learn and maintain good habits that will last a lifetime.

Please see the link below for further details.

http://titanfreestyle.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/the-eat-clean-5-day-challenge.html

For this or any other information on Herbalife products or 1 -2-1 or small group training then please contact me on 07764 791982 or at jasonduckherbalife@gmail.com