06/04/2024

In Newsby Tarf Bodyfirst

Celebrating World Health Day

Every year, on 7th April, the world unites to celebrate World Health Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about health and wellbeing on a global scale. This year, amidst the ongoing challenges and uncertainties, it’s more important than ever to prioritise our health and take proactive steps towards improving our overall wellbeing.

First Steps to Improve Your Health and Wellbeing:

Prioritise Physical Activity:

Incorporating regular physical activity into your daily routine is crucial for maintaining good health. Whether it’s going for a brisk walk, practising yoga, or hitting the gym, find an activity that you enjoy and make it a priority. Aim for at least 30 – 40 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.

Eat a Balanced Diet:

Fuelling your body with nutritious foods is essential for optimal health. Focus on incorporating a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats into your meals. Limit processed foods, sugary snacks, and excessive amounts of salt and saturated fats.

Stay Hydrated:

Drinking an adequate amount of water is vital for your overall health. Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water per day, and more if you’re physically active or in a hot climate. Avoid sugary drinks and excessive caffeine, as they can lead to dehydration.

Get Sufficient Sleep:

Quality sleep is crucial for both physical and mental wellbeing. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night, and establish a regular sleep schedule to help regulate your body’s internal clock. Create a relaxing bedtime routine and avoid screens before bed to promote better sleep.

Manage Stress:

Chronic stress can have detrimental effects on your health. Practice stress management techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or spending time in nature. Find healthy ways to cope with stress and prioritise self-care.

Cultivate Social Connections:

Strong social connections are important for mental and emotional wellbeing. Make an effort to nurture relationships with friends, family, and community members. Spend quality time with loved ones, engage in meaningful conversations, and seek support when needed.

Schedule Regular Check-ups:

Don’t neglect your healthcare needs. Schedule regular check-ups with your healthcare provider for preventive screenings, vaccinations, and health assessments. Address any concerns or symptoms promptly to prevent potential health issues.

On World Health Day and every day, remember that your health and wellbeing are invaluable assets. By taking small, proactive steps towards improving your lifestyle and prioritising self-care, you can enhance your quality of life and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Let’s commit to making our health a priority and inspiring others to do the same. Here’s to a healthier, happier future for all.

22/03/202431/03/2024

In News, Nutritionby Tarf Bodyfirst

The Vital Importance of Hydration and Electrolyte Replenishment

The Vital Importance of Hydration and Electrolyte Replenishment

In the hustle and bustle of modern life, it’s easy to overlook the simplest yet most essential aspect of our health: hydration. We often hear about the importance of drinking water, but what about replenishing electrolytes? Let’s delve into why staying hydrated and maintaining electrolyte balance is crucial for our overall well-being and performance.

The Importance of Hydration:

Water is the elixir of life, and our bodies depend on it to function optimally. From regulating body temperature to aiding digestion and nutrient absorption, hydration is fundamental to every bodily process. When we’re dehydrated, our bodies struggle to perform these functions efficiently, leading to decreased energy levels, impaired cognitive function, and even mood swings. Moreover, dehydration can exacerbate existing health conditions and hinder our ability to recover from illness or exercise.

Understanding Electrolytes:

Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electric charge and play a vital role in various bodily functions. The primary electrolytes include sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphate. These minerals are involved in regulating fluid balance, nerve function, muscle contraction, and maintaining pH levels within the body. When we sweat during physical activity or in hot environments, we lose electrolytes along with fluids, which can disrupt these essential processes if not replenished adequately.

The Impact of Electrolyte Imbalance:

An imbalance in electrolyte levels can have serious consequences for our health and performance. Low levels of electrolytes, particularly sodium and potassium, can lead to muscle cramps, fatigue, dizziness, and even more severe complications such as heat exhaustion or heatstroke. Conversely, excessive intake of electrolytes, often seen in sports drinks or supplements, can disrupt the body’s delicate balance and cause complications like hypernatremia or hyperkalemia.

Optimizing Hydration and Electrolyte Balance:

So, how can we ensure we’re staying adequately hydrated and replenishing electrolytes? The key is to listen to our bodies and adopt healthy habits that support optimal hydration. Here are some tips:

Drink water regularly: Aim to drink at least eight glasses of water per day, or more if you’re physically active or in hot weather.
Consume electrolyte-rich foods: Incorporate foods like bananas, oranges, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and yogurt into your diet to naturally boost electrolyte levels.
Choose electrolyte-enhanced beverages: Opt for sports drinks or electrolyte mixes that contain a balanced blend of sodium, potassium, and other essential minerals, especially during intense exercise or prolonged physical activity.
Monitor your hydration status: Pay attention to signs of dehydration, such as thirst, dark urine, fatigue, or dry mouth, and take prompt action to rehydrate.
Adjust your intake based on activity levels: Increase your fluid and electrolyte intake when engaging in vigorous exercise, spending time outdoors in hot weather, or if you’re experiencing illness or excessive sweating.

Maintaining proper hydration and electrolyte balance is essential for our overall health, performance, and well-being. By prioritizing hydration and adopting healthy habits to replenish electrolytes, we can unlock our full potential, whether it’s in our daily activities, fitness pursuits, or simply enjoying life to the fullest. So, let’s raise a glass to hydration and embrace the transformative power of staying hydrated and replenishing electrolytes. Cheers to a healthier, more vibrant you!

Check out some of the hydration brands we stock from Per4m, Thirst, Prime, Naughty Boy, NUUN and High5 to name a few

03/01/202101/04/2021

In Nutrition, Newsby guest

Staying On Track During Lockdown

Staying on track during the lockdown

“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” – James Clear, author of Atomic Habits.

What we can’t control?

Gym’s closing.

What we can control?

Our Mindset.

This is probably going to be the biggest factor in overcoming any obstacles over the next month. We’ve been through two lockdowns already and with gyms set to close a third time, it’ll only be a struggle if we allow it to.

Instead of expending your precious energy in the gym, we can spend this time creating a bulletproof mindset to ensure that we can come back mentally stronger.

Some new hobbies that I would advise taking up include reading, meditation, and journaling.

Sleep Hygiene

If you can maintain a consistent time for going to sleep and waking up, it’s linked to a whole host of benefits. Your daily sleep routine habits influence your quality of rest, general day to day energy, and cognitive performance.

If you can maintain a consistent time for waking and going to bed, bonus points for including a pre-bed routine, better health outcomes are a result of just a little extra planning.

Look up circadian rhythms (fancy words for our bodies’ internal 24-hour clock) and you’ll get a better insight into why.

Food Quality and Calorie Intake

Your body needs calories for energy. But the overconsumption of calories relative to your respective activity levels will lead to weight/body fat gain.

So if you’ve never tracked your calorie intake before, it could be a good idea to start and that can give an insight into why you could be losing, maintaining, or gaining weight. Myfitnesspal is the app of choice, for any smartphone user.

Also, calories are not the only piece of the puzzle here. Yes, they are ultimately what it comes down to when we are looking to lose/gain weight, but you should also be making sure that you consume a variety of good wholesome nutrient-dense foods.

Having a broad spectrum of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes will lead to much better health outcomes, ensuring that we are not only fuelling our body. But ensuring that we are getting in a full panel of vitamins and minerals too, will be highly beneficial when looking to keep our immune system strong and our overall health in check.

Productivity

Yes, I know what your thinking. This is the perfect time to binge-watch one of the hundreds of different series on Netflix, or even browse social media for hours upon hours a day.

While this does sound enticing to some, it is not the most productive use of our time and will ultimately lead to our screen time going through the roof. Something that our minds will not enjoy.

So what can you do instead?

You could be investing more time in yourself, which previously would have been something unthinkable. Maybe this can be upskilling for work and helping you chase a promotion, new job? Or this time can be used to take up new skills, hobbies, or interests that could have seemed alien to you before.

Our minds love a challenge and will only benefit from learning more. The worst-case scenario is that you end up not enjoying it and finding a different said hobby or skill to do with your time.

Something as simple as going for a walk with a friend or listening to a podcast/audiobook is a great way to make use of your time, learn something new, and increase your overall energy expenditure (bonus points for getting it in during daylight, away from your work, home environment).

Not every single second of our day has to be 100% productive, but instilling some good habits like these, can only be beneficial.

Activity levels

Some big advice I’d give would be to hit a daily step goal. While not everyone will have the benefit of getting outside for as much time as they’d like to. Setting yourself a daily step goal is a great way of keeping your general activity levels consistent.

Most smartphones, watches, and/or fitness trackers have built-in pedometers that measure your step count/activity levels for you without you even needing to do anything.

There are also apps you can download for this, simply search step-counter/pedometer in your app store and choose your preferred app of choice.

Remember what we said about going for a walk with a friend or listening to a podcast/audiobook? That’s one way of increasing activity levels.

If you still don’t have the time or miss training in the gym even though we cannot supply that for you, what we do have on sale soon is Bodyfirst adjustable dumbbells that range from 2-24kg or 5-40kg in 2kg increments.
These a great way to ensure that you can still have some form of progressive overload and can bring a small piece of the gym home, rather than having to use general household items.

Graham Keenan
Personal Trainer & Coach
(Instagram @grahamkeenan_)

02/11/202001/04/2021

In Nutritionby guest

6 Protein Myths You Need To Stop Believing

Chances are you’ve snacked on a bar or knocked back a post-workout shake at some point in your life. If not, how have you managed to miss the ever-growing trend that is protein?! This macronutrient ringleader can be found in many foods and now, with its popularity rising, the market is awash with snacks and treats packed full of the stuff like protein bars.

Despite its popularity, protein is still a bit of a mystery to many. So, we thought we’d bust a few of the myths and spill the beans on this popular nutrient.

1) Protein will make you fat

As a macronutrient, protein is a source of calories and, as you know, eating too many calories leads to weight gain. It’s as simple as that, really! Consuming the correct amount of protein as part of a balanced diet will not make you fat. It’s all about balance, ladies and gents.

2) You can only get protein from animal-derived foods

Red meat, fish, eggs. All great sources of protein, right? Well, not if you’re a vegan. But, believe it or not, vegans can still get their protein fix without consuming animal-derived foods. From beans and veggies to tofu and soy-based products, there are so many options for those following a plant-based diet.

3) The more protein, the better

You can have too much of a good thing, you know! The body can only actually utilise around 25-30 grams of protein at once so filling up on this macronutrient doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll benefit more. Next time your gym buff mate shows off about their protein intake, set them straight!

4) You only need protein if you work out

Big fat nope. Protein is so much more than a fad food eaten by meat heads and gym bunnies. Alongside carbs and fats, protein is an essential macronutrient that everyone needs to consume as part of their daily diet.

5) Protein shakes make you fart

Ah, the famous protein fart. Unfortunately, you can’t point the finger at your protein shake! Protein itself isn’t the issue here. But consuming excess amounts of protein can cause extra smelly wind – nice. When you consume more than the RDA, the excess protein heads straight to your colon, where gut microbes begin to feast on it. This makes the body produce hydrogen sulphide gas, the root cause of those whiffy farts.

6) Protein is best consumed straight after a workout

Now, we’re not against a post-gym shake. But it’s not the only time you should be packing in the protein. Experts recommend consuming small amounts of protein regularly throughout the day. Not only does this help keep hunger pangs at bay but, as mentioned, the body can only absorb 25-30 grams at one time so packing it all into one snack or meal isn’t beneficial.

19/01/202019/01/2020

In Nutritionby guest

Get back on track (Part 2)

GETTING BACK ON TRACK IN THE NEW YEAR PART 2 – WHICH HABITS AND BEHAVIOURS TO WORK ON

Now that we have discussed how to go about goal setting in part one of this post, if you haven’t read part one then please do because it’s important and sets the basis for any of the following – it’s no good picking habits if you don’t know why you want to choose them based on what you want the overall outcome to be.

You will likely have specific goals and be able to distil behaviours from those that are going to help you succeed. I would encourage you to do this as these will likely be the most meaningful to you (so important as discussed in the previous post) but in the spirit of getting fitter, healthier and more well both physically and mentally this year here are some habits that will give cover a lot of bases and give you a lot of return on the time and effort you invest.

If you haven’t taken heed by now once you select one or two from this list to get started REFER to part one so that you know how to implement them successfully and so it doesn’t end up just a six-week fling. All of these habits and behaviours must be viewed through a lens of successful implementation that is discussed on part one.

1) Practice Gratitude

This may be a surprising one to start off with because ‘hey you’re a nutritionist and this is a nutrition blog’ – true, and there’s a lot more to health than just what you put in your body and how you move it. You can’t separate what happens in your head from what happens in your body either – they are intimately linked. So if there’s ONE thing I could encourage people to take on board for this year it would be to adopt a regular practice of gratitude. There are many many ways to do this – the simplest is probably to dedicate five minutes in the morning to write down some things you’re grateful for though you could do the same in the evening or at any point in the day really. Writing it down does seem to have a more powerful effect than just thinking it so put pen to paper or thumb to screen or fingers to keyboard and get going. Practicing gratitude is the simplest thing you can do to improve your happiness and sense of well-being. In some studies it’s shown to increase your happiness as much as doubling your salary and that was only with practicing once per week. I would suggest doing it daily or close to it. And the best thing is the change is lasting – doubling your salary might make you happier temporarily (and not at all past a certain point) but it’s shown that once you adjust to this being the new ’normal’ the effects wear off. Gratitude will keep you happier!
My best tip for practising gratitude is to be quite specific about what you’re grateful for. ‘Friends, partner, family, health’ will get stale pretty quickly and you lose connection to it. Think about specific people and what about your relationships with them you’re grateful for. Events, trips, opportunities etc. What your health allows you to do that you’re grateful for.

It can be as simple as just getting a copybook and a pen and writing one to three things each day. Or if you want some help and structure to it there are many gratitude journals available. My favourite being The Five Minute Journal.

2) Get more quality sleep

Similar to a gratitude practice this habit will pervade your entire day and life. Better health both physical and mental awaits you when you start taking your sleep seriously. Improvements in well-being, fat-loss, muscle gain, recovery, performance, protection from diseases, improved symptoms, improved mood, increased resilience and tolerance to stress and more – sleep does it all. For most people 7-9hrs of quality sleep per night is ideal – you can tell if you’re getting enough based on your energy levels when you wake up and during the day. If it’s a major struggle to get up each morning it’s probably worth investigating your sleep. And if you’re getting less than 7-9hrs then you would first address this before looking elsewhere.
If you need more help on getting better sleep read this blog post.

3) Eat more protein rich foods

These contain essential nutrients to help you recover, stay healthy and sustain stable energy and hunger levels throughout the day. If you exercise then you want to get about 1.5g-2g of protein per kilogram of your bodyweight per day. And even if you don’t exercise I would still aim for 1.5g/kg. The best protein-rich foods are all meats, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, soy products like tofu, protein powders. Secondary to these foods that will also contribute are pulses and legumes i.e. lentils, chickpeas, beans and grains like breads, pastas, rice and oats. If you want somewhere to start consider adding a scoop of protein to your breakfast (breakfast is quite low in protein for most people) and/or a protein bar or biltong as a snack during the day. Improving your health, fitness or weight-loss efforts becomes infinitely easier when your protein intake is high. That’s why it’s the one thing you’ll rarely see argued about in the field of nutrition. We all pretty much agree high protein is a good idea.

4) Eat more plant foods

Vegetables, fruits, pulses/legumes, wholegrain are among the healthiest foods you can eat – they contain many important nutrients you won’t find elsewhere to keep you healthy and strong and resistant to illness and they tend to be very filling and low in calories and high in fibre which makes them ideal for anyone wanting to lose fat. Instead of removing foods at random focus your efforts on eating more of these plant foods. Experiment with different cooking methods and seasonings to make them tastier if you need to build up to eating more of them. There are endless recipes online to help you with this. I particularly like the BBC Good Food website. Consider using a blender to make smoothies with spinach and fruit (and maybe some protein powder) as the sweetness of the fruit or protein will help hear. Similar to eating more protein this is one we can pretty much all agree on. Except for those pesky carnivore advocates but it’s probably best to ignore them. Greens powders are also an easy way to get in more plant nutrients while working your way up to eating more plant foods.

5) Get some exercise

We all know that exercise is good for us, or at least helpful when wanting to lose weight. The fact is there are far more benefits to some sort of exercise than just to help to lose weight. In fact, studies show that when exercise is used alone without any change to diet the results for fat-loss are quite poor. So if fat-loss is your main goal then you should focus on diet and nutrition and you should exercise for other reasons. Better sleep, improved strength, better mood, more social interactions, improved cardiovascular health are all extremely good reasons to get involved in some sort of exercise. Do something you enjoy and will therefore stick to. It doesn’t have to be running and it doesn’t have to be going to the gym. Anything is a good idea. And it’s one of the greatest acts of self-care so think about it as such – not something you have to do to punish yourself. F*ck that.

6) Eat oily fish or supplement with a marine omega-3 supplement

There’s a good reason oily fish consumption is at the top of many nutritional guidelines – they are an excellent food and are shown time and again to be one of the healthiest foods we can eat, much of this is due to the high concentration of omega 3 fats found in them. These are essential for us to be healthy both physically (particularly heart health) and mentally (very important for brain health). Oily fish are salmon, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and herring (kippers). One to two servings per week is enough and if you’re like most people and not great for eating oily fish then an omega-3 supplement might be for you. When you check the label you will see quantities for EPA and DHA – these are the omega-3 fats we want. For a daily dose you need to get 1000-2000mg of EPA and DHA combined. For example if a serving of fish oil is 2x soft gels and that gives you 500mg of EPA+DHA then you need to take 4-8 soft gels per day. Take them with a meal that contains some fat as they are better absorbed this way. The only valid plant source of marine omega-3 to get these fats is algae oil, so for vegans this is the one to go for.

7) Take a vitamin D supplement

Vitamin D is an extremely important nutrient that we can’t get enough in Ireland between October and March because we don’t get enough appropriate sunlight. This is how we usually get our vitamin D and since it’s nearly impossible to get enough from food, a supplement is advised. Somewhere in the range of 2000-5000iu per day, taken with a meal is going to be ideal for most people. Vitamin D is crucial for bone health, hormonal health, immune function, mental health and a whole host of other things. It’s the most common nutrient deficiency in the Western world so address it. Then when there is adequate sunlight between March and October you still need to make an effort to get enough sunlight. Fifteen minutes of face and forearm exposure in daytime sun five days per week is enough but remember this has to be ‘unprotected’ sun exposure that isn’t blocked by suncream. Also, please don’t burn, that is not good for you either.

8) Cook more at home

The more meals you prepare yourself the healthier they are likely to be both for your body and for your wallet! Look to develop your cooking skills little by little and get more accustomed to cooking at home and meal preparation. You don’t need to be a master chef, you can do a lot with very basic cooking skills to create tasty meals and quickly. Recipes online or in books can be a great help and give you ideas of what to shop for. If you’re not used to cooking or meal preparation then take it slowly – try one new recipe per week or some appropriate amount for you and your situation and build up your repertoire from there. If you are very time poor or near more of a helping hand to get you eating healthier while you figure out this cooking business consider a meal prep delivery service like Bodyfirst Prepp’d.

By Brian Ó hÁonghusa
Nutritionist & Head Coach, The Fit Clinic
Instagram: @brianohaonghusa