Why diets don't work!

As Christmas looms the inevitable drinks parties, dinners, mince pie and wine do's (and any other social gathering involving overindulgence) are in full swing! But before you go too mad, concluding that ''you'll start your diet in January'' have a read of the below!

Why diets don't work....
Get thin fast remedies are on every page of every magazine it seems, there are a whole host of “pain free fixes” on the market. On top of this you could add any number of fad diets and the unlimited supply of slimming products, just waiting to take your cash! Slimming products and 'diets' are big business, however sadly they don’t work, and often there’s a hefty price to pay.

“Lose 10 pounds in a week”
Next time you see one of these claims, just ask yourself ‘ten pounds of what?’ It’s only physically possible to lose between 1.5 - 2 pounds of fat in a week, and you don’t want to lose anything else, as it’s your lean tissues that give you a great shape! If you adopt a crash diet, and suddenly cut your food intake dramatically, your body may assume there’s a famine on the way and start saving your fat stores by burning muscle instead.

Avoid muscle loss
The reason that this is bad news is simple: you only want to lose fat! Since your muscles are the most efficient fat burning machine in the body, why would you want to shrink them? During crash dieting you are likely to lose 1lb of muscle for every 1lb of fat.

Metabolism
Your body is smarter than you think and in times of potential famine, it will slow down metabolism in order to avoid starvation. Now that your lean mass is considerably reduced, so is your basal metabolic rate (BMR - the energy required to simply make you tick over) and you can survive on less food than before. Therefore the body has successfully adapted itself to require fewer calories, allowing it to maintain its stores of fat and avoid potential starvation for longer. The more calories that are restricted, the more the body will cling to its fat stores, and metabolism will slow further. As metabolism slows, so does your ability to operate at normal levels. Exercise becomes difficult and general lethargy sets in.

Normal eating
The diet will inevitably come to an end, and you will begin to eat normally once again. But, because you have considerably reduced your BMR, your calorie requirement is less than before. Returning to your previous eating habits will now create a larger energy surplus than before you started the diet. For this reason people pile on the pounds very quickly. It’s the start of the damaging cycle that is symptomatic of crash dieting.

The moral of the story?

Take it easy on the roast potatoes this Christmas,

And get back to your normal dietary and exercise habits ASAP!

For more help with your nutrition find us at www.insideoutraining.co.uk

RACE REPORT... Grim 8 - 2009

Anyone who was up early this Sunday would have seen the torrential rain that hit throughout the morning, a nice top up for the huge pools of water and muddy bog that comprise the Grim 8 race! Lucky for us blue skies and sun broke through to accompany us at the start-line for what was set to be a brilliant Grim 8 race! As my fourth year at this event, I can say with certainty that it was the muddiest and wettest I have ever seen! A brilliant excuse for teams of runners to initiate mud flights, start sumo tackling each other, refine their diving skills and generally do anything that involved getting as muddy as humanly possible!

The first 5 miles was the most fun, for those who made it through without spraining their ankles en-route that is! There were definitely unfortunately a fair few unlucky ones this year! As usual spectators lined the 4 mile point, waiting with baited breath to catch a glimpse of the next victim to fall head first into the orange mud. For the majority of the last three miles, we were spared anymore pools of water, and had to simply make it along with our heavy legs and mud filled trainers in tow.

Personal trainer or not I won't pretend that I wasn't happy to see the finish line! So much so that I barely noticed the last waist deep pit of water which was strategically positioned 100 meters from the end! I'm sure it was just to ensure that we'd all have to drive home absolutely soaked!

The good news however is that we survived and got the t-shirt to prove it! Well done to Anthony Speelman and Ezme Moyse who came along this year, I'm pretty sure that they'll be back next year for more sadistic fun at the Grim 8 event! As usual, I will keep you posted for next years entry, so for those who are keen, keep your eyes open early next year for news!

To join us on up-coming races and events contact us through our website at www.insideouttraining.co.uk

New Year Charity Challenge Anyone?

As ever I'll be encouraging (nagging perhaps) people to put their fitness to the test and get involved in some charity sporting event in the New Year! We already have teams set to go to the following, the more the merrier though so please contact me (sam@insideouttraining.co.uk) if you or someone you know wants to join us:

FOR ANY FITNESS LEVEL....

SPARKS 5K RUN - 24th January 2010

This is a short picturesque fun run that anyone can do, 'plodders' to 'sprinters' are all welcome. Being at the end of January it's also a brilliant time to snap out of 'Christmas mode' and get serious about your fitness again! The race starts at 1.30pm at Eton College Rowing Centre, Dorney Lake, Windsor.
http://www.tri247.com/event_7714.html

FOR THE MORE 'SEASONED' RUNNER....

READING HALF-MARATHON - 21st March 2010

This is a massively popular half marathon event which always gets full quickly. The run is completely flat and finishes in the Madejski stadium to a huge show of support and applause. It's a brilliant race for anyone who wants a big challenge for next year. You will need to train hard for this one, but the good news is you've got plenty of time!
http://www.readinghalfmarathon.com/index.htm

To sponsor:
http://www.justgiving.com/Sammy-Wilson

If you'd like to be added to our race mailing list please contact us through www.insideouttraining.co.uk and we will keep you posted on all our events!

A Low Fat Christmas

Mince pies are our favourite festive staple, containing approximately 475 caolries per supermarket version. But before you use Christmas as an excuse to chomp through one a day - take a look below to see how much exercise you'll have to do to work it off!

Running.... 40 minutes
Spinning... 40 minutes
Walking.... 1 hour 50 minutes
Boxing...... 40 minutes
Rowing..... 55 minutes
Pilates....... 1 hour 15 minutes
Resistance training.... 55 minutes

''Britains Most Gruelling Exercise Session''

For more information about these sessions see www.insideouttraining.co.uk

NEWS 'Britain's Most Gruelling Exercise'

http://www.insideouttraining.co.uk/britains-most-gruelling-exercise.php

Healthy Snack Ideas

As ''Queen Snacker'' I wanted to write a post to dispel this myth I often hear about avoiding 'snacking between meals'. One of the key factors in any healthy diet is to accept that you'll need to snack and to prepare for it - problems only arise when you're not prepared. Planning is critical! It's no use trying to avoid eating if you're hungry, you may manage to go without once or twice, but its simply not a pattern that you want to set for the rest of your life!

Instead know that its okay to snack and to have snacks that fit with your daily plan to hand. The best piece of advice I can give anyone is to buy yourself some Tupperware so that you can prepare portions of healthy snacks in advance!

Shopping List
Fresh fruit (any type)
Strawberries / blueberries / raspberries + Elmlea low fat cream (makes a great dessert!)
Dried fruit i.e. raisins, crunchy bananas
Nuts (natural, not roasted or salted)
Cereal bars
High fibre breakfast cereal with low fat milk
Yoghurt
Yoghurt + muesli
2 plain biscuits (rich tea, garibaldi etc), or Jaffa cakes
Fruit milkshake using low fat milk and fresh fruit
Smoothies
Tinned fruit (in natural juices)
Oat biscuits / Wheat biscuits
Wholemeal crackers + jam / low-fat cheese spread
Ryvita snack packs – numerous flavours
Rice cakes / Rice cake snack packs – numerous flavours
Dark chocolate
Raw vegetables i.e. celery and carrot sticks + low-fat dip
Popcorn
Pretzels

Challenge for Charity 2010?

There's no better incentive to get fit over these dark Winter months than knowing you have a big chairty event looming in the New Year! The Royal London Society for the Blind have race spots available for some fantastic running events in 2010. As a small charity they don't get the same level of coverage as some of the larger ones, but need your help just as much!

Brighton Marathon – 18 Apr 2010 (sponsorship £500)
Sevenoaks Triathlon – 18 Apr 2010 and Sept 2010 (sponsorship £250)
Virgin London Marathon – 25 Apr 2010 (sponsorship £1500)
British 10k – 11 Jul 2010 (sponsorship £300)

If you are interested in or would like more information about any of the above contact Penny at penny.wedesweiler@rlsb.org.uk she'd love to hear from you! Good luck to those of you who take on a challenge for this wonderful charity! You know where to come for any training hints and tips!

Diet Myths

There is so much misinformation today about nutrition, it can be impossible to know what’s true and what’s not! Factor in the additional challenges faced by those people trying to lose weight, and you can see why so many fail. Just for fun read the following statements and decide which are true.
a. Eating more than the recommended daily allowance of protein will help build muscle.
b. White spots on your fingernails indicate a calcium deficiency.
c. If you have an upper-respiratory-tract infection, you should consume less milk in order to reduce mucous production.
d. None of the above.
For those of you who answered ‘d’ well done! But don’t feel bad if you failed the test, these are just some of the misconceptions I hear from people day in day out. Here is a few other common diet myths that you can help debunk.

MYTH: Skipping breakfast helps promote weight loss by reducing total calorie intake.
FACT: This couldn’t be further from the truth, skipping meals is a big mistake. In fact, research has shown that going without breakfast is associated with a higher risk of obesity, whereas people who eat four or more times a day experience a 45% lower risk of being obese (Ma et al. 2003). Simply put, those people who regularly eat breakfast tend to be thinner than those who don’t! Try whole-grain cereal, yoghurt or fruit as a great start to the day.

MYTH: Carbohydrates are the bad guy.
FACT: A diet rich in carbohydrates – particularly high fibre foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole-grains – is essential. Carbohydrates are the body’s favourable fuel source, you require adequate amounts to ensure sufficient energy for daily activity, metabolic function and repair. Aim for 50-60% of total calories from carbohydrate as part of a well balanced diet.

MYTH: In order to burn fat you should exercise on an empty stomach.
FACT: You are likely to fatigue more quickly when training on an empty stomach, resulting in suboptimal performance! You should aim to eat a small meal or snack containing both protein and carbohydrate, such as wholemeal cereal topped with low fat milk before heading to the gym.

MYTH: Fats should be completely avoided in order to lose weight.
FACT: Fat is an essential macro-nutrient for good health. Among other roles, it helps maintain proper body temperature, provides essential nutrients, protects vital organs and is a dense energy source that helps us feel satiated for longer periods of time (essential for all dieters!).
It is the type and amount of fat that one should monitor. Limit ‘bad’ fats (meaning saturated and trans fats) and replace them with ‘good’ fats such as nuts, seeds and olive oil. Our daily intake of fat should be around 30% of total calories.

MYTH: Eating after 6pm makes you gain weight.
FACT: There is no magic hour at which everything suddenly turns to body fat! There is nothing wrong with having supper and a light snack at night as long as you don’t overindulge by eating more than your recommended daily calorie allowance. The truth is that many people eat too much in the evening during sedentary activities such as watching television. Make sure you are eating in response to hunger and not boredom!