Singapore Personal Trainer » diet

Simple Eating Habits goes a LOOOONG Way

sharm — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:01:29 +0000

Eat 5 small meals a day – this increases the thermal effect on food, which means your metabolic rate is raised. Further, less of your intake gets converted to stored fat as they get used up often, in between your small meals.
Eat Salad – put the dressing on the side! You’d be amazed at how much dressing they pun in a Caesar salad. By the way, please dip it, not drown it.
Eat Slow, Drink plain water along the way and stop eating before you’re full.
If you need to sin, half or quarter it. Enjoy your cake and ice cream. Just don’t indulge too much.

How to lose FAT safely?

sharm — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:25:28 +0000

People who want to lose weight usually, and foremost, think about reducing the amount of food they eat. This may be quite a solution but not exactly the best there is. In fact, depending on the reduction in your food intake, it may even be dangerous to one’s health if the reduction is drastic. So how does one lose weight effectively and safely? Here are some points one should consider when trying to lose weight:

Beware of the Crash Diets

Most people think that trimming down the calories can alone shed off their unwanted excess. Probably this is because of advertising fads promoting low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don’t know is that it could be dangerous to decrease their calorie intake to way to below the required levels. Burning fat requires a lot of energy and since there is not much energy in the body to facilitate metabolism of fat (due to the drastic reduction in caloric intake), it will run at a very slow pace resulting in fatigue, illness and a weakened immune system.

A low-calorie diet

A low calorie diet is also compensated for by the body by burning muscles. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back some, if not all the weight they have shed off. And this weight would be made up mostly of fats. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscles, they end up having the same weight as before but look even bulkier. In losing weight, one should keep in mind that they should lose excess body fats only.

What should you do instead? You can try out eating small meals at more frequent intervals. This way the body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat.

Eat Properly

One may have considered junking the crash diet option but he should also not forget to watch what he is eating. Variety must always be considered so that one may be able to get the necessary nutrients from his diet. It is also healthier to eat food which are roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. It is also important to include a lot of fiber in the diet. Drink lots of water – frequent rehydration is a necessity.

Pump Up lean Muscle Mass

Muscles burn calories when they work; they even do so at rest. Unlike fats which just lie around, bulge around the pants and dangle beneath the sleeves, muscles burn calories all-day round. With this fact in mind, one can start weight loss by increasing muscle mass. The more muscles built, the less fat will be left. This is attainable by working out with resistance exercises.

Engaging in Aerobic type of exercises (Running, walking, jogging)

Aerobics exercises are not only good for the heart by increasing cardiovascular endurance, they also help in increasing lean muscle mass while simultaneously decreasing excess body fat. Aside from these, aerobics make the metabolic process more efficient keeps your metabolic rate high. This continues to be the case even after you’ve stopped the exercise for a long while. Imagine burning fat efficiently while driving along the freeway or even while watching television.

Extra “Push”

Some people believe that smoking and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. This can perhaps be true; however, they do the body more harm than good because of their side-effects. For that extra “push”, one can try out taking food supplements. Afterall, 95% of these products out in the market actually does good.

On Taking Diet Pills

I do not recommend anyone to take thermogenic supplements. Over-the-counter diet pills affect the amount of weight one loses as well as how long one keeps that amount of weight off. However, one must be wary of the side-effects of these diet pills. If you must, faithfully follow the instructions provided for in the packaging. It is also prudent to consult the physician anyway before trying out these drugs and also to find out which type would be best for the individual.

Losing weight does not have to include sacrifices and sufferings. It actually means opening up to a more full and healthy life where one need not have to feel bad about himself looking the way he does, or not being able to do what he wants to do. Losing weight might entail little adjustments plus some discomforts, but as the old saying goes, “no pain, no gain.” Besides fat, what has one got to lose anyway?

Sharm is a fitness consultant and personal trainer to many high profile clients since 1998. He is equipped with a Bachelor’s degree from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and Postgraduate in Physical Education and Sports Science from Nanyang Technological University (NTU). Currently he is in the midst of completing his Masters of Science (Exercise and Sports Studies) program in NTU. He also has international certifications, memberships and affiliations with the American College of Sports Medicine & National Academy of Sports Medicine. His expertise have been featured in ChannelNewsAsia’s documentary – Vanity the Slim Society, The Straits Times, & The Sunday Times. Magazines: Shape, Timeout, Women’s Weekly, The Finder, Her World.

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Fitness and Diet Strategies for This Week (14th May 2009)

sharm — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:21:02 +0000

1. If you’re sick, REST. Exercising will only suppress your immune system. Start again when you’ve recovered.

2. Stretch to be flexible – it also reduces the chances of injury, and improve your fitness performance – for better form and range of motion.

3. Make daily notes of your exercise activities. Place them somewhere visible, such as your fridge. Aim to do better everyday.

4. To do a back exercise effectively , you’d first need to depress your shoulder blades (scapula), then execute the move.

5. Plan for a 29 minutes workout everyday if you’re pressed for time. Some movement is WAY better than no movement

6. Do fun activities (workout/sports/games) with friends – working out with peers/family brings about better exercise adherence

7. If ‘exercise’ turns you off, do ‘fun’ things instead – cycling, skating, playing catch, walk the dog. Get moving and start playing!

8. Top 3 suggestions from survey done by 1,000 ACE PTs on best techniques to get fit. Strength,Interval,Aerobic training.

9. Include protein sources to your meals – protein preserves muscle mass, keeps you feeling full and increases metabolism.

10. We’re easily confused between hunger & thirst – we look 4 food & calories instead of getting water (that’s what we need).

For more tips and strategies on fitness and fat loss, you can also add me on twitter @efitnessguru

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Diet and Fitness Strategies (21st May 2009)

sharm — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:10:11 +0000

Dear Friends,

Hope everyone is well – eating healthy (5 small meals a day, before 8pm) and working out (at least thrice a week). If you’re sick or have flu symptoms, please rest – do not workout. If you have been procrastinating and putting off your workouts to get fit, TAKE ACTION NOW.

We have an application for you to log down your food intake – you can find it on our website, at the applications category – look for Food Journal Entry Do bear in mind that it is open for everyone to view – so may want to use an alias when doing your entry.

There are many benefits of doing a food journal – some are

(1) it encourages you to take responsibility and face your food choices.
(2) Help you to identify when and why you eat and help you to learn more about your eating patterns.
(3) keep track of the type and amount of calories you consume – We usually forget what we eat
(4) Share the details of what you eat with the world – motivates you to BE GOOD

Usha shared with us http://nutrition.com.sg/ho/index.asp – local food calories – you may want to check it out if you’re here in Singapore.

Fitness & Diet Strategies for this week (Also on Twitter, but with a little bit of elaboration)

1. Visualize yourself working out while on your way to work/home if you intend to workout later in the day. Helps you ’stick to the plan’ later.
* When we do this, we are programming our minds to stick to the plan – You’ll be able to block off the distractions that might change your plan along the way.

2. Schedule your workouts and mark them as important. Having it in your diary is the first step to ACTION. Make side notes at the end of the day.
* Planning – When we plan, we’re planning for success. Plan and believe that you’ll reach your goals. And follow through with ACTION.
* Reflection – Making notes on the side makes you think of your workouts / food that you ate. Helps you plan for the future and correct/improve the things that were done earlier.

3. When U run, don’t let your foot get ahead of your knee. Use your upper body straight up & used only for balance. Run from the hips down.
* This is for long distance running – think running economy – running your optimal speed using the least amount of energy. If you’re sprinting or striding (Short distances – 50m to 400m), then you’d have to have your foot in front of your knees so that you get a good stride.

4. Use motivational shouts/chants to improve your workout – increase mental strength, stay focused, distract from tiredness.
* It’ll give you the mental edge when you’re fatigued.
* International athletes and sportsmen have team cheers and such to boost morale. Why not you?

5. You’ll need to work on all parts of your body to ensure proper posture – don’t just do Chest and Shoulders – do back and abs.
* Your muscles will tighten and tone up when you work them. As such, if you just do Chest presses, the muscles will pull to the front, giving you a ‘hunch back’ look. This is one of the reasons it is imperative that you do back rows or lat pulldowns – to tighten the back muscles so that your posture is ‘maintained’. Of course you’ll also get the other benefits of working out your back.

6. Learn to say “sshhh” to tighten your abs, lessen neck tension, breathe in oxygen, focus on form increase your strength.
* When you say “sshhh”, your abs will tighten (check by putting your hand at your lower abs.
* Try closing your eyes and say “ssshh”.. you’ll tend to be more relaxed and focus on breathing – hence lessening neck tension.
* When you say “sshh” when performing your set – you’ll focus on the breathing and correct form executing your set (such as bicep curl). It also helps maintain neutrality of intrathoracic pressure.

7. Just because you’re sweating, it does not mean you’re burning fat. That’s just your body thermoregulation system at work.
* Hatha Yoga is good – but remember that you’re not burning as much fat as you think you would.
* To check if you’re burning fat without any heart rate monitor, check out the next strategy.

8. Use RPE (Rate of perceived exertion) to check on the intensity at which you’re training. 1 (Easiest) to 10 (Toughest).
* Work at 4 to 5 if you’re new to workouts.
* Work at 8 to 10 if you’re very fit.

9. Take pineapple juice (bromelain [enzyme]) 30 min after workout.
* Helps removes lactic acid buildup in the muscles / soreness – try it!

10. Working out with friends is great but it’ll backfire if the talking is too much
* I like doing this – working out with friends – if you do go with your friends, always plan your workout beforehand. Talk if you must, but keep it MINIMAL.

For more tips and strategies on fitness and fat loss, you can also add me on twitter @efitnessguru

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