Many athletes may fuel their bodies with refined carbohydrates, consuming too many empty calories which lack essential nutrients. They consume some protein but the optimal amount they require is unclear and although they will cut back on saturated fat they may be missing the intake of essential fats.

The first areas which need to be addressed are to ensure that blood sugar levels are stable and every meal consists of healthy fat, fibre and lean protein.

Blood sugar fluctuates every three hours, for athletes it is important to never go hungry and thirsty, ensure that you have planned snacks and spread your meals throughout the day. Try having a smaller breakfast and have the remainder mid morning, do the same for lunch and dinner, you will consume the same calories but less energy deficit and enhanced performance. Large meals will cause more insulin to be released and could lead to a sharper fall in blood sugar and leave you tired with low energy.

It is also of vital importance that you listen to your body. Through keeping a food log every 7-10 days note why, when and what you are eating. Do this five times and you will become an instinctual eater rather than just eating for eating’s sake.

Exercise has two effects on nutrient requirements: it increases the rate of energy usage and increases sweating, if there is not enough energy consumption it will have a negative impact on the body and on performance. That is where restricting calories come into play when trying to loose body fat. Although you may be loosing weight on the scales, you will also be loosing lean muscle mass because the body is compensating and needs to get energy supplies from somewhere.

Weight loss of one to two pounds per week is safe and realistic and won’t have a negative impact on you training.

Eating real food may take time and preparation but will deliver results!

If you are not getting results from training program, a diet overhaul may just be the ticket to help you achieve the results you are working so hard for. Get in touch to find out if we could help.

Kate Cook helps people deal with their diet, digestion and stress.
Contact 0845 0502442 or kate@thenutritioncoach.co.uk http://thenutritioncoach.co.uk/contact-the-nutrition-coach.php”>

by London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

There is a connection between our adrenal glands, thyroid glands and weight gain. When these two glands are not kept in a healthy state, the result can often be weight gain. The good news is that on the other hand, if these two glands are supported through proper nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, it can lead to a natural weight loss.

What our adrenal glands do

The adrenal and thyroid glands are very closely connected in how they enable the body to function properly. The adrenals are small triangular shaped glands that sit on top of both kidneys. They are responsible for releasing the hormones adrenaline and cortisol which among other functions, help control body fluid balance, blood pressure, blood sugar and are designed to help the body deal with physical and psychological stress. In addition, the adrenal glands produce small amounts of oestrogen when women enter into menopause and the ovaries reduce their oestrogen output. This is why it’s so important to maintain adrenal function in the menopause years.

Adrenal Fatigue

Adrenal Fatigue is a collection of signs and symptoms, known as a “syndrome” that results when the adrenal glands function below the necessary level.  This happens most often when you are exposed to constant , uninterrupted stress so that your body (and adrenal glands) cannot fully recover, or during or after acute or chronic infections. Consequently, the adrenal glands become fatigued and are unable to continue responding adequately to further stress.

You may look and act relatively normal with adrenal fatigue and may not even have any obvious signs of physical illness, yet you live with a general sense of feeling unwell, tiredness or “grey” feelings. People suffering from Adrenal Fatigue often have to use coffee, tea and other stimulants to get going in the morning and to prop themselves up during the day.

Some Manifestations Of Adrenal Fatigue:

• Confusion, poor concentration, and memory recall
• Chronic fatigue
• Cravings for salt or sweet foods
• Decreased immune response – recurrent coughs, colds, flu
• Difficulty during menopause (the adrenals take over the role of the ovaries after menopause)
• Fatigue in spite of sufficient sleep
• Increased fears, anxiety, and depression
• Insomnia
• Thyroid problems
• Weight gain

How cortisol levels affect the thyroid gland- and your weight:

1. Cortisol is required to facilitate the release of Thyroid-stimulating hormone (also known as TSH ) from the pituitary gland, which in turn stimulates the production and release of T4 (the inactive thyroid hormone) and T3 (the active thyroid hormone)by the thyroid gland.

2. Cortisol is required to convert the inactive T4 hormone to the active T3 form.

3. Cortisol allows each T3 cell receptor to more readily accept T3.

Thus, low adrenal functioning can lead to decreased cortisol output. This in turn can actually lead to decreased thyroid functioning, or cause someone’s existing thyroid problem to be much worse than it would be otherwise. As discussed in the other issues of this series on the thyroid, because thyroid functioning is intimately entwined with weight management, stress can really impact on the adrenals and therefore on your thyroid functioning.

So, if you have been exposed to chronic, unrelenting stress, think you might have thyroid problems and are struggling to shift those pounds, please call us on 0845 0502 442 for a  FREE 15 minute chat to see how nutrition can help you recover your vitality and health.

Wishing you the best of health

London Nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

by London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Hi again! In part 1 of this series on the thyroid we talked about what the thyroid is, how it might be affecting your weight, symptoms of an underactive thyroid and a simple test you can do at home to give you an indication, but no firm diagnosis, as to how well your thyroid is functioning.

In this 2^nd part of the series, we’ll look at how you can support optimal thyroid functioning, and therefore optimal weight management, through nutrition.

Foods to help support optimal thyroid functioning

1. Iodine is required to manufacture the thyroid hormones. Without sufficient iodine, your thyroid cannot produce adequate thyroid hormones to help your body function on an optimal level. Seafoods, iodised salt and sea vegetables such as kelp, as well as foods grown in iodine rich soil, are rich sources of iodine. It should be noted, however, that too much iodine can actually trigger thyroid problems and worsen symptoms, so it’s important to have a healthy balance.

2.       Zinc is another essential mineral for optimising thyroid health.

3.      Selenium: This mineral is critical for the proper functioning of your thyroid gland, and is used to produce and regulate the active T3 hormone. Selenium can be found in foods such as shrimp, snapper, tuna, cod, halibut, calf’s liver, button and shitake mushrooms and Brazil nuts.

4.      Zinc, Iron and Copper are needed in trace amounts for your healthy thyroid function. Low levels of zinc have been linked to low levels of TSH, whereas iron deficiency has been linked to decreased thyroid efficiency. Copper is also necessary for the production of thyroid hormones. Seafood, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds can help provide these trace metals in your diet.

5.      B vitamins help to manufacture thyroid hormones and play an important role in healthy thyroid function. They are found in whole grains, pulses and green leafy vegetables.

Foods which can compromise optimal thyroid functioning

Goitrogens get their name from the term “goiter,” which means an enlargement of the thyroid gland. If the thyroid gland is having difficulty making thyroid hormone, it may enlarge as a way of trying to compensate for this inadequate hormone production. “Goitrogens,” like circumstances that cause goiter, cause difficulty for the thyroid in making its hormone.

Although research studies are limited in this area, cooking does appear to help inactivate the goitrogenic compounds found in food. Both isoflavones (found in soy foods) and isothiocyanates (found in cruciferous vegetables) appear to be heat-sensitive, and cooking appears to lower the availability of these substances.

Please remember that you do not need to avoid the foods below unless you have a confirmed underactive thyroid, as many have numerous important health benefits.

1. Soy: The principal goitrogens in soybeans are the estrogenic plant hormones known as isoflavones. The antinutrients known as saponins in soy may also be goitrogens. Cooking and processing methods, using heat, pressure, and alkaline solutions, will neither deactivate nor remove isoflavones or saponins.

2. Cruciferous vegetables: compounds called isothiocyanates found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and Brussels sprouts are goitrogens as well. While it’s true that large amounts could interfere with thyroid function, especially if eaten raw, they offer a myriad of other health benefits that make the benefits outweigh the risks for most people. If you know you have thyroid disease and want to be especially careful, steaming these vegetables reduces the goitrogenic effect.

3. Other foods: millet, peaches, peanuts, radishes, soybean and soy products, including tofu, spinach and strawberries

Do you think you might have an underactive thyroid that is stopping you from shedding those pounds, despite eating healthily and exercising regularly? Then please call us on 0845 050 2442 for speedy and expert advice.

Wishing you the best of health

London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

by London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Have you tried every diet known to man, really watch what and how much you eat, exercise regularly and find that you STILL CAN’T LOSE THE WEIGHT???!! Well, here’s some good news. Research is pointing to the fact that an underactive thyroid might be the number one cause of weight problems, especially among women.

So what is the thyroid and how might it be affecting your weight? Well, the thyroid gland is a small butterfly shaped gland with two lobes found just in front of your neck below the Adams Apple. One of its main functions is to control metabolism- that is, the rate at which we burn calories to maintain vital functions. Our bodies need fuel just as a car needs fuel to power itself, so whether we are sleeping, shopping or exercising, we are constantly burning calories.

Now, your thyroid gland produces two main hormones. One is called thyroxine (T4) and the other is called triiodothyronine (T3). The thyroid produces approximately 80% T4 and 20% T3. T4 is generally considered to be inactive and only becomes active when converted to T3, although some researchers believe that T4 does, in fact, have a function. T3 is an active hormone needed by all of the cells and tissues of the body and is the one which does all the work of regulating the body’s metabolism.

Thyroid problems often run in families and can happen at any age. Things can go wrong with the thyroid in two ways:

Hyperthyroidism, also called an overactive thyroid where the thyroid produces more thyroid hormone than it should which causes the metabolism to run too fast.

Hypothyroidism, also called an underactive thyroid where the thyroid doesn’t produce enough thyroid hormone which causes our metabolism to work too slowly.

What are the symptoms Of An Underactive Thyroid (Hypothyroidism)

• Fatigue is the most common. You feel tired and exhausted like you can’t enough sleep, or want to take daytime naps
• You’ve gained weight inappropriately or you are finding it difficult to lose weight despite proper diet and exercise
• You feel depressed or sad
• Impaired memory & concentration
• Sensitivity to cold
• Cold hands & Feet
• Constipation
• Difficult for a person to sweat and their perspiration may be decreased or even absent even during heavy exercise and hot weather
• Your skin can become dry, cold, rough and scaly
• You are losing hair, particularly from the outer part of your eyebrows
• Nails are breaking or splitting and are brittle

Does this sound like you? Then read on…

A Simple Test To Provisionally Evaluate Thyroid Function

If you’ve read this article and some of the symptoms ring true for you, but you are not sure if you have low thyroid, there is a simple test called the Broda Barnes Temperature Test which can give you an indication, but NOT A FIRM  DIAGNOSIS, as to whether or not your thyroid is functioning optimally.

Here’s what to do.  Starting on the 2^nd day of your period, take your body temperature for 14 mornings in a row. Shake down a glass thermometer and place it by your bed before you go to sleep. Upon waking, place the thermometer in your armpit for a full 10 minutes. It is important to move as little as possible during this time. Don’t get up for any reason. After ten minutes, record the temperature and date. This should be done for 14 consecutive mornings. Individuals with normal functioning thyroids have a basal body temperature between 36.6 ° C and 36.8°C. Basal body temperatures below this range may reflect hypothyroidism.

How Can Nutrition Help You Lose Weight?

In part 2 of this series, we’ll be looking at how you can support optimal thyroid functioning, and therefore optimal weight management, through nutrition.

But what about those of you who may have been to the doctor’s to check out your thyroid functioning and been told that it’s working fine, but you still feel there’s something not quite right? Well, in part 2 we’ll be looking at what and how to eat to support your thyroid, but also at the latest cutting edge technology which can help us determine whether you might be what is described as borderline hypothyroid. This means that your thyroid might not be under functioning so poorly that you are diagnosed as having an underactive thyroid, but it might be sluggish enough to be causing you weight management problems. And this is what I’ll be discussing next time.

Wishing you the best of health

London nutritionist Sylvia Hensher

Can’t wait till next time? Want to know NOW what you can do to shed the pounds and find out how well your thyroid is functioning?

Then get in touch with our London clinic either online or by phone on 0845 0502 442 for speedy and expert advice.

Spring is finally here!  People have peeled off their winter coats, the birds are chirping, the daffodils are out, trees have blossomed, bikes are everywhere and runners too – but, do you still feel blue?

Does it feel like everyone around you has energy and looks healthy as if its’ been spring all year long, and not a horribly cold winter? Have you gained weight over the winter because you’ve over indulged during the festive season and been less physically active because of the cold? Have you lost energy and feel fatigued?  Well then maybe the metabolic balance program is for you to speed your metabolism up and wake from hibernation.

The metabolic program is a diet individually tailored to your body chemistry through the aid of a blood test.  Foods will be specifically selected for you to adjust your metabolism, gain vitality and boost weight loss.  All foods included on the diet are natural and wholesome and will provide you with the right levels of nutrients, vitamins and minerals to re-balance your metabolism.

The program includes:

• A blood test and diagnostic session
• A four -stage diet program
• A food plan individually tailored to you
• Seven appointments to give you the support you need throughout the diet to achieve your goals

Many people have succeeded from this nutritionally sound program and so can you.

If you’d like to find out more about Metabolic Balance and weight loss, get in touch with our London clinic either online or by phone on 0845 0502 442.

• Don’t hold back on the turkey.  It’s low in fat and high in protein, and particularly the amino acid tryptophan which is needed to make serotonin the feel good neurotransmitter.  It’s also an excellent source of selenium and vitamins B3 and B6.
• Pile up the Brussels sprouts – they are a wonderful cruciferous vegetable that should be on every Christmas plate.  They are high in sulphur which is needed to support detoxification in the liver, as well as being rich in vitamins C, E and A and flavonoid antioxidants to support the immune system.
• Snack on walnuts and tangerines.  Walnuts are an excellent source of the essential omega-3 fats, which have many health benefits including cardiovascular, immune, metabolism and mood benefits.  They are ideal teamed with immune boosting, vitamin C filled, tangerines.
• Season with cinnamon – use it liberally in home-baked mince pies and Christmas cake.  Cinnamon has many health benefits, but what is particularly important at Christmas is its ability to help lessen the impact of carbohydrates on your blood sugar levels.  It improves the insulin response, meaning you’re less likely to suffer from a blood sugar slump in the afternoon.
• Cook your vegetables in a steamer, or lightly boiled, or if you’re roasting them then why not try using some coconut butter.  Coconut butter contains lauric acid and helps support metabolism.

So focus on all the nourishing qualities of your Christmas meal.  With all this goodness we promise you there’s no need to feel guilty when you indulge in that chocolate father Christmas… which after all is nourishing for the soul!

Wishing you all a nourishing time.

 Julia

In a “real diet” all the time you are thinking about how much weight you are NOT losing and how you are failing.  The Dump The Diet course is not letting you off the hook – far from it there are Rules to follow (just like everything in life that works.  You have to follow rules to make anything a success) but unlike diets in Dump The Diet there is enough flexibility for the regime to be for life and not just a short spurt.

Normal diets don’t work for just this reason – ie it is a short spurt.  You can do anything for a short enough space of time – so you “stick” to it for a week, a month or even a year but sooner or later you have got to crack and when you do it opens up the possibility of instead of being totally strict to go totally bonkers and eat everything in sight.  You can get all the special food in but what happens the first time you go on a business trip and you don’t have the “special foods” prescribed in the diet – oh no..crash and burn and “failure”

Diets encourage you to be “good” (ie not to get off the sacred dieting path)  but remember if we can be good – boy oh boy can we be BAD and when we do it is spectacular.  We say to ourselves that we will start again on Monday but Monday never seems to be the right day to start.  If we are not being bad we are rewarding ourselves with little “treats” – once we have had the treat we feel bad.  “Oh Well” we say,  if I have had one Jaffa cake – I might as well finish the packet to neaten it up and so I don’t have to have them in the house!

Another diet deception is the weighing scale.  We are encouraged to set ourselves Weight Loss Goals in normal diets – this is madness!  Once you get to your weight loss goal you stop applying the diet and of course the weight piles back on and you are back to where you were before.   Weighing yourself is OK if the weight is going down, but of course it can’t go down forever or you would fade away.  So one fateful day the scales start to go up a pound or two.  At this point there is a major panic that “you are losing the ability to lose weight”  and that it is not working anymore.  Of course weight will fluctuate but you can’t really accept this if you are in “dieting mentality”  – you only want it to go down.  So you get back on the scales just to make sure that you haven’t made some horrible mistake but the scales still seem to say that you are 2 pounds heavier.  You fiddle with the dial.  You get off and undress.  You take off your jewellery including your wedding ring.  You take a trip to the loo.  Well that got one pound off..phew.

A major theme is self-esteem.  We have to learn to live with ourselves just the way we are NOW.   We are were we are at in this moment (a bit philosophical this bit!)  – but so often we are only going to be happy WHEN.  When we are thin…we will buy that new dress, get that new relationship off the ground,  get the new job.  I would encourage you all to look in the mirror and only look for the good bits don’t focus on the future you by criticising ourselves constantly.  We wouldn’t talk to our worst enemy the way we talk to ourselves.

Be good to yourself this coming year and learn how to eat for life and in the process learn how to relax and see food as a wonderful friend!

And what better way than drinking yourself warm with a fancy holiday latte, hot chocolate, or mug of mulled wine?

But be warned, it’s not just the mince pies that add up to a festive muffin top. Looking at the nutritional value of some of these festive drinks, you might be crossing the finish line of the eat-athon sooner than you expected.

Here are some numbers:

Calories in a mug *

Your normal, everyday skim latte has about 190 calories. Go for some caramel syrup on top and you can add about 50 calories. If you feel more festive, you may choose to drink a small meal worth of calories and have a gingerbread latte (320 calories) or a hot chocolate (370 calories – this includes whipped cream because you’re treating yourself). But if you want to top it off and drink ¼ of your daily recommended calories, go for an eggnog latte which has 470 calories.

That’s not a problem, you say. You’ll just skip your lunch or have a smaller dinner to make up for the calories – you’ll still fit into your LBD at the upcoming Christmas party. But then you find yourself going for a cheeky after work drink in Winter Wonderland, and soon you’re sipping on more calories in a mug, approximately 230 in your first mulled wine.

Here’s a thought to take on board: skipping meals will not help you lose weight, and neither will swapping your lunch for a fancy latte. It will only cause your blood sugar levels to drop rapidly or rise very quickly (due to the high sugar content in those winter warmers), which means you will quickly hit the keyboard wanting another of those yummy sweet warm drinks (or one of the mince pies you saw in the kitchen).

Now let’s have a look at the sugar content of some of those warming festive drinks.

Sugar in a mug

When looking at these numbers, remember what I wrote about previously: Your body can only ever deal with one to two teaspoons of sugar circulating in your system. One teaspoon equals about 4.2g of sugar. (I will leave some of the maths to you when converting the sugar content into teaspoons.)

Your normal skim latte has about 16g of sugar (because of the sugar in milk), but choose one of the festive lattes and you can easily double the sugar content and drink up to 39g of sugar in a medium sized cup. A hot chocolate might even have up to 43g of sugar which is about as much sugar as your daily recommended allowance. And if maths has never been your strengths, this equals about 10 teaspoons of sugar. Now imagine having your morning cup of tea adding 10 (in words, ten!) teaspoons of sugar. I would like to know if you will still be able to enjoy it.

The problem with all this sugar is that you will not only get an energy slump, but your body will also release more insulin to take the sugar out of your cells. And if you don’t end up using all this energy, your body will eventually store it, and your LBD won’t be looking as good anymore.

Why not choose an equally warming herbal tea that’s full of spices, such as yogi or chai tea? After all, you don’t want to be first to cross the finish line of the six week eat-athon. Because you most definitely won’t be wearing your LBD.

Think you might be addicted to sugar? Drop us a line and get in touch so we can help you getting back on track!

Enjoy the festive season,

Lisa

P.S. And if you’re still looking for a christmas present, why not give away a consultation with the Nutrition Coach in January!

Studies have shown that 50% of the average annual weight gain is most likely to be gained in the six weeks between mid-November and Christmas. So we’re about one week in to the fixe week eat-athon which usually finishes with the consumption of a whopping 6,000 calories on Christmas Day (that’s three times the daily guideline amount of 2,000 calories for females). And unfortunately, that weight gain will (for most of you) still be there when Christmas comes around next year.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be taking a closer look at the nutritional value of some of the foods we tend to stuff our faces with during this six week eat-athon. The first on the list is the seasonal must-have, mince pies.

Did you know the female record holder ate 46 mince pies in 10min? With an average 250 calories per mince pie, this equals 11,500 calories, the recommended calorie intake of 5.75 days! Now I’m sure you don’t eat that many mince pies, but let’s have a closer look at this serious calorie punch.

So we’ve established an average mince pie contains 250 calories, 1/8th of your daily guideline amount of 2,000 calories. Put this into the mince pie calculator, and it tells you if you go swimming for an hour you burn off 1.4 mince pies. (But who has the time to do more exercise with all those festive dinners, ice skating events and shopping evenings. And be honest, do you really fancy showing off your body in an all-too-revealing swimming costume at this time of the year?) The mince pie might be small in size but high in sugar, containing up to 25gram per pie – that’s a total of five teaspoons of sugar in one mince-pie!

Considering your body can only ever deal with one teaspoon of sugar circulating in your system, you know what this will do to your blood sugar, insulin, and energy levels. The fat content isn’t much better – some of the mince pies out there contain a whopping 8g of total fat, and that’s not the healthy kind of polyunsaturated fat. So if you happen to eat 2.5 mince pies (which can happen too quickly, I know) you can easily reach your recommended daily allowance of 20g of saturated fat. The puff pastry offers little to no fibre, and can cause you to feel bloated and sluggish should you tend to be wheat or gluten intolerant. Protein levels are low so you won’t be satisfied for a long time, and you’ll want more mince pies in no time.

Now add a teaspoon of single or double cream (or brandy butter) and you can easily hit the 500 calorie mark. If you can’t resist a humble mince pie, keep these figures in mind, start reading labels, and try one of the gluten-free and lower calorie/fat versions out there.

After all, you don’t want to be first to cross the finish line of the five week eat-athon!

Lisa

P.S. Check out my weekly column to find out more how to survive the festive season and still fit into your LBD on Christmas day.

We associate certain foods with particular memories and the mood or emotion that the memory evokes.  Therefore the memory of special times infuses foods eaten at that time with warmth and happiness.  For example, many people long for foods that they’ve eaten on holiday, or foods eaten with people they loved.  Therefore, the particular food isn’t as important as the mood that it evokes.  If you have a particular comfort food, think back to when you first had that food and how it has before a comfort.  Is it connected to a story that triggers happy emotions and a connection to other people?

Many people are aware that they eat in an attempt to fill a hole, not in the stomach but in the heart.  For example, eating when they are lonely or when a relationship ends.  These are ways that we try to take care of ourselves, but we need to be mindful that filling the stomach doesn’t ease emptiness in the heart. 

Over eating comfort foods wont satisfy heart hunger, but we can start to feed our heart by preparing food for ourselves, and treating ourselves as well as we would a guest.  It only takes a few minutes to arrange food nicely on a plate, to sit down at a table set with colourful utensils and a candle, rather than standing up at the kitchen counter.  In this way we are eating in the present and connecting with the experience, which is far more fulfilling and comforting.  According to Zen teachings, whenever we eat, we take in the energy of many other beings.  The food on our plate, for example, is the product of the sun, the earth, the rain, the insects that pollinated the plants, and many people along the food supply chain, including farmers and grocers.  When we eat we are therefore connecting to this flow of energy that has enabled to food to get to our plate. 

If you feel hungry and recognise that it has arisen from heart hunger, then try to deliberately nourish the heart, by doing something that you love.  For example, talk to someone you love, create something, listen to your favourite music or do anything that you really enjoy.  If you eat, then be mindful to prepare your food as if you were preparing it for a guest and eat slowly with mindfulness of the many steps that have brought the food to your plate.

Heart hunger affects everyone, but can be a particular problem in cases of binge eating, overeating and other disordered eating patterns.  If you have a question about disordered eating then please do give us a call to see if we can help you, or to book a consultation at one of our London nutrition clinics.

Julia