If you read ‘My mother taught me a lesson, part one’, then you’ll know that sugar may be the main culprit when it comes to weight gain.
You can learn a lot from your parents and, because I work with women, I tend to take what my mother tells me and turn that into helping you.
I guess it’s to her advantage that I can advise her about healthy eating and exercise though I’m not sure how much she actually takes notice of!
I’ve discussed the drawbacks of eating the so-called ‘healthy’ breakfast cereals and canned foods such as baked beans and soups.
Just to recap, regularly eating these products can cause blood sugar surges, reduce insulin sensitivity, and spike cortisol levels in the blood, which leads to weight gain and many other potential health problems.
It is far better to rethink your diet and see what changes you can make to reduce the sugar. Finding healthy alternatives can be a challenge but it is well worth it.
So what is part two of my mother’s lesson?
Exercise!
Once you’ve assessed your diet and you’ve started to think about healthy alternatives, exercise is the next challenge.
Keeping active is crucial to staying fit but how much exercise do you need to do?
It varies from person to person but there’s no doubt that incorporating some form of weight-bearing exercise, as well as general activities such as brisk walking, can help to maintain your muscle tone.
Use it or lose it – maybe an old wives’ tale but it’s true.
If you don’t use your muscles, you run the risk of atrophy – or muscle wastage. The less muscle you have, the lower your metabolism and the more chance of weight gain.
In my mother’s case, she attends one fitness class a week. She says it is ‘gentle’ exercise, sometimes sitting in a chair and using light resistance bands.
Now, that’s good but is it enough for her?
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect my mother to get down and give me 50 full Pushups! That wouldn’t be right, would it?!
But even in your 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond, you can still include some weight-bearing exercises into your week.
For example, Squats are great for the thighs and buttocks.
The aforementioned Pushups (adapted version!) are great to build upper body strength.
Recent research has shown that high intensity interval training (HIIT) is what ends up giving the most benefits in terms of time spent working out delivering measurable weight loss results.
I’m not talking high intensity sprinting here – it has to be to YOUR fitness levels. But it does mean coming out of your comfort zone and making your muscles work.
There are so many health benefits associated with exercise and even as you get older, it doesn’t mean you have to sit on the sofa and watch Coronation Street every night!
Get active!
With this in mind, and because people have little spare time now, I’ve designed very short but effective workouts. Most are just 12 minutes. Some are even just 5 minutes! They will burn a load of body fat too.
I currently work with women – just like my mother and just like you – who use my short workouts and get fantastic results. They don’t go to the gym for hours and they don’t waste time doing ineffective exercises.
They work and the end result is sustained weight loss, decreased body fat and more toned muscles. The knock-on effect is increased health, fitness and wellbeing.
How great is that?
If you want to know more, get in touch and I’ll let you in on my 12-minute workouts!
Ps/ I’m still offering a free one-hour personal training session for women in the Newcastle area. To claim your free session, just register your interest right here: