Falling Off The Wagon (and how to get back on track)!

It happens to the best of us. One moment we’re happily powering through workouts and eating well, and the next we’re skipping the gym and our habits have slipped.

It can seem like a slippery slope back to square one, so here’s how to stop your slump in its tracks.

Ask yourself:

Why did I start going to the gym in the first place?

Take a few minutes to write down, or say out loud, why you want to show up to the gym. Is it to be able to play with your kids? Feel better in your own skin? To reduce bone loss as you get older? Whatever the reason, don’t just think it; make sure you either write it down or say it out loud. This helps you to acknowledge it properly and identify your WHY.

What went wrong that meant I fell off the wagon?

Did you commit to going to the gym at 5am, 6 days a week for a few weeks before realising that you can’t maintain that with your busy life? Are your workouts too strenuous? Consider what you can adapt within your workouts to make them more manageable and easier to show up to. Did you forget to schedule time for yourself?

Do I have an all-or-nothing mindset?

Remind yourself that a 20-minute workout is still worth it! Instead of justifying ‘Oh, I don’t have time for a whole hour workout, I just won’t go’, show up for something shorter! Make it work for you, not the other way around.

Some days, walking in is the hardest part. Even if you are not feeling that motivated, walk in the door and see how you feel. You will most likely do more than you thought and thank yourself later. If you are still not feeling very energetic, don’t get yourself down about adapting your workout to how you are feeling.

Once you have asked yourself these questions, make a plan of action. What will you do to get back on track? Make it manageable, be realistic, and get back to achieving your goals!

“Fitness HQ is a locally owned and operated boutique gym in the heart of Albany. With 24 hour access, you can get fit, when it fits you!”

Benefits of Cross Training

For women in fitness, cross training is a great way to get fitter and minimize injuries.

Cross training refers to incorporating a range of activities, outside of your ‘main’ one. For example, if you run multiple times a week, but participate in no other forms of training, adding in some strength training and cycling would be a great way to accompany your training.

The reason cross training is so beneficial is that it allows your body to worked in a different plane of motion, and use a different set of muscles. This creates a more ‘well-rounded’ fitness as the smaller muscles, in particular joint supporting muscles, become stronger.

Coming back to the running example, if you are always using the same muscles while you run, other areas may become weak in comparison. This imbalance of strength can make you more prone to injuries – and no one likes being injured!

Cross training also adds recovery into your main sport, without losing progress. Cycling as a runner is a great way to maintain cardiovascular fitness, but with using slightly different muscles. This means you can get your heart rate up and increase your fitness, without fatiguing running-specific muscles! This increased recovery time means you can go harder and faster in your running workouts. This concept can be applied to not just running, but any other sport.

If you’re a woman who loves the gym, incorporating a few brisk walks, or a couple of light bike rides or runs a week is a great way to increase your efficiency in the gym. Your fitness will increase, and you’ll gain more power in the gym, particularly through higher-intensity exercises such as plyometric (jumping) exercises. You could also try mixing up different styles of group fitness classes and using your body in different ways. Alternativity higher intensity classes one day to low intensity can get you the best results and stop you over training and getting burnt out.

A mix of cardio and strength training can also help you lose weight faster than either one alone. Weight training increases your muscle mass, and a higher muscle mass means you burn more calories at rest, contributing to weight loss. Cardio, on the other hand, burns through calories quickly before that energy can be stored as fat deposits. Combining both allows you to take advantage of the benefits of both.

As a result of cross training and incorporating cardio if you only lift weights, you will feel healthier, and stronger, and you will minimize the risks of injuries that come with only working out in a specific area. Adding in a range of different styles of exercise will have a flow-on effect to other area of your life and you’ll soon be noticing that you’re not as puffed at the top of the stairs!

“Located in Albany on the North Shore, Fitness HQ is the gym for Women. We run over 20+ group fitness classes as well as providing a safe comfortable space for ladies to work out in our main 24 hour gym”

Training for Menopause: What we really need to know and do!

All ladies dread the “changing of life” and the symptoms that it can bring. Unfortunately, it will happen to all ladies at some stage in their life, the average age being 51, but it can be anywhere from 45 – 55 years old.

What is menopause?

Menopause is technically diagnosed by the absence of any menstrual period. However, you can even be in perimenopause 7-10 years before this age too and start to experience symptoms as early as your 40’s or even your late 30s.

Did you know that estrogen effects every organ system in a woman’s body from the brain, skin and hair to the gut, joints, bones, muscles, and reproductive and cardiovascular systems. Our sleep can become more disrupted and inflammation can increase. Resulting in over 40 symptoms that a woman may experience from perimenopause to post-menopause, a woman can spend one third of their life trying to cope with menopausal symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms are Hot Flashes/Flushes, Insomnia, Weight Gain, Increased Visceral/Belly Fat – you can keep track of this by the waist-to-hip ratio, Hair loss/changes, Memory loss/brain fog, Mood shifts eg impatience, increased risk of depression.

As we age our hormone levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone decrease, and we start to lose muscle mass (sarcopenia – age-related muscle loss) and gain fat, particularly around our belly, belly fat or visceral fat is fat stored around our internal organs. Too much belly fat can lead to insulin resistance, an increase in inflammation, and a heightened risk of metabolic syndromes e.g. diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease.

With decreased estrogen production, women have an increased risk of heart disease, osteopenia (bone mineral density is lower than normal – before osteoporosis), and osteoporosis (bones become weak and fragile).

What can we do about it?

Through this period of our lives, we need to focus on keeping our metabolism up. This is done through strength training and building lean muscle which will increase your metabolism and fat burning. The amount of muscle mass we have defines our basal metabolic rate – or the rate at which we burn calories at rest ( Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR)

It is very well known that women are more likely to develop osteoporosis than men. Estrogen is essential for healthy bones and unfortunately, after menopause the level of estrogen in the body falls and can lead to a rapid decrease in bone density.

Resistance training before menopause is crucial to assist with building and maintaining bone mineral density. Yes, you can still build muscle post menopause, it just takes more effort and time.

Things we can do to help our transition and beyond:

Increase Protein intake – 1.2-1.5 grams per kg of body weight, Aim for 20-30 grams per meal.
Fibre – try to get at least 25 grams a day (preferably from food). Fibre is a prebiotic and promotes a healthy gut biome. A high-fibre diet helps you maintain a healthy weight, lowers cholesterol, regulates blood sugar levels, and reduces your risk of heart disease and cancer. It can help you lose weight because it displaces other less satisfying calories. More fibre-rich foods mean lower insulin levels and slow
Reduce added sugar – consume less than 25 grams of added sugar daily, this does not include the natural sugars found in fruit, vegetables, and dairy. Added sugar disrupts your gut microbiome which can lead to developing insulin resistance.
Progressive Strength Training – at least 2 times per week, preferably 3 – 4 days, lift heavy / less reps.
Increase your general daily movement – get your steps up!
At least 150 mins of moderate intensity physical activity a week – zone 2 training, this is low impact and requires a consistent pace at 60 – 70 % of your maximum heart rate (MHR = 220 – your age). Prolonged high-intensity or endurance training can contribute to high-stress hormones.
Prioritizing recovery – Exercise creates little tears in the muscle, which causes soreness. Rest provides the time for your muscles to repair and grow. You might need more recovery time as you age and progress through menopause.
Reduce stress – chronic stress contributes to inflammation through elevated cortisol levels and may cause increased blood pressure, headaches, depression, and anxiety. Here are some ways to help actively lower your cortisol levels, journaling, breath work, yoga, meditation, sleep hygiene, and saunas.

What type of exercise is best?

All exercise is beneficial BUT

Resistance training is essential. It improves insulin sensitivity by increasing muscle mass (so more cells take up glucose) and directly stimulates bone-building activity.
Pilates and Yoga for meditation, breath, mobility, flexibility and load bearing.
Aerobic training to help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system (150 mins per week)
Self-maintenance like foam rolling, trigger ball, core/posture exercises.

Need some help in the gym? Come work with one of our personal trainers and get confident doing resistance training, at the right intensity. Email us: info@fhq.co.nz

“STRENGTH OVER SKINNY”

” Fitness HQ for Women is the North Shores boutique 24/7 womens gym. At Fitness HQ we pride ourselves on having an inclusive gym where women can feel comfortable and non-intimidated”

How to set goals and actually reach them

Habit tracking and goal setting can be an effective way to help you stay on track to achieve your fitness goals. Many people start the year with big dreams and inspiring new years resolutions, but many fail to achieve those in the new year and are left feeling defeated and disappointed with themselves.

Utilising habit tracking and goal setting helps to break down those bigger aspirations into smaller, more manageable chunks – helping you to succeed in the long run.

Goal Setting:

When you have a goal in mind, follow this SMART checklist to help you set and achieve it:

Specific – Be specific about what the goal is. What do I want to accomplish? How will I know when I have achieved my goal?
Manageable – We all lead busy lives. Is this goal manageable for the other stressors I already have in my life? Do I need to scale my goal down to fit into my routine?
Achievable – It’s easy to get excited and bite off more than we can chew. Is this goal realistic for my current fitness?
Relevant – Here’s where you should identify your WHY. Why is this goal important to me?
Time-bound – Decide on when you would like to have achieved your goal by. When do I want to have achieved this by?

Example:

Before:

“I want to be good at push ups.”

After, using SMART:

“I want to be able to do 10 push ups by this time next month, so I will practise as many push ups as I can before I go to bed each night. This will give me more strength to be able to more freely play with my kids.”

In “After”, we have identified what the goal is, how it will fit into our routine, adjusted the amount of push ups so that it is realistic for our current fitness level, identified our ‘why’, and decided when we would like to achieve that goal by.

Habit tracking:

Habit tracking helps you to stay on track with goals that require consistency to be achieved. For example, in our push ups goal above, we can use habit tracking to help us stay consistent with practising those push ups each night before bed.

How to:

Using a journal, or notes app, create a table where each square represents a day of the month. Label your goal at the top, to remind yourself of what you are doing and why. Each time you complete your push ups before bed, you can tick the day off and record how many push ups you achieved. This helps you to visually see your progress, and be motivated by it, as well as gain satisfaction from ticking the day off.

How this helps:

To-do lists and habit trackers, with the act of ticking things off, releases feel-good dopamine in the brain. The more tasks we complete, the more chemical rewards we enjoy.

Remember, consistency is key. By creating SMART goals and tracking our habits/progress we can keep ourselves accountable and get to those goals faster.

“Fitness HQ for women is a 24-hour women-only gym in Albany. They offer a non-intimidating space for ladies to work on their health and fitness. We love teaching group fitness, personal training and overall helping ladies work to become the best version of themselves.”

The importance of mobility

Mobility is important in day-to-day life. It allows us to move and flow through whatever life throws at us, without pain or strain and risk of injury. For some, having mobility means being able to bend down to tie a shoelace or jump over a puddle, and to others mobility means being able to climb a tree with the kids or do a triple backflip as you cross the road.

Especially for women in fitness, mobility is essential – and it all starts in the gym. Mobility, particularly in the hips, knees, shoulders and ankles, allows us to carry out exercises with good form.

Having good form while exercising in the gym is important as it allows the joints to align correctly, and reduces the risk of misalignment injuries where the tendons and ligaments of your joints are rubbing against your bones incorrectly. This can lead to pain – and you want to be pain-free to reach your goals faster!

Adding just a few minutes at the start of your workout, or before you go to bed at night, can massively increase the strength of the tendons and joints to help you exercise with good form and reach your goals.

Some exercises for the…

Hip Flexors (hips):

Banded hip flexion

Equipment needed:

Resistance band

How to:

Standing upright, place the resistance band around your feet. Standing with your feet hip width apart, slowly raise one foot so that the band is resisting the movement. Complete 10 foot raises on one side, then do the same on the other. Repeat 3 times.

Plantar Flexors (ankles):

Banded plantar flexion

Equipment needed:

Resistance band

How to:

Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of you. Place the resistance band around the balls of one foot. Hold the other end of the resistance band tight in your hand. Slowly extend the toes away from you, pointing your toes. Slowly let your toes come back, feeling the tendons in your ankle working. Complete 10 flexions on each side. Repeat 3 times.

Patellar Tendon knees):

Banded crab walks

Equipment needed:

Resistance band

How to:

Place the resistance band around your ankles. Lower into a squat position. Leading with one leg, side squat laterally. Complete 10 walks to one side, then walk back 10 side squats on the other side. Repeat 3 times.

This is also a great movement to activate the glutes pre workout too.

Rotator Cuff (shoulders):

Rotator cuff swings

Equipment needed:

Bench

How to:

Lean forward and place one hand on a bench for support. Let your other arm hang freely at your side. Gently raise and lower your free arm. Repeat the exercise moving your arm side-to-side and then again in a circular motion. Repeat the entire sequence with the other arm. Repeat 4 times.

Sarah’s Fitness Journey – Part 1

As a kid I was really active. My favourite things to do was riding bikes, climbing trees, playing football and running around. As a teenager this developed into playing a lot more sports, which I tried everything from sailing to water polo. I was a really keen football player and when I was 16, I had just completed my first season for a Women’s club team, when I contracted glandular fever. This stopped me completely. I couldn’t do anything! Bed ridden for months, very weak and very sick. I still suffered the effects of Glandular fever for over a year afterwards and would commonly take Monday’s off school as I was too exhausted after a normal weekend. Even after I got better, I was not allowed to play football again for 6 months as the risk of hitting my kidneys (that could be fatal), was too high.

This devastated me as football was what I loved and the only exercise I really did. Before all that, I had joined the school gym previously for 6 months and went a huge total of 2 times! The gym environment I thought was not for me, but now I look back, no one actually took the time to show me what to do, so I just felt lost.

Fast forward a good year and my mum past away very suddenly. I was suddenly faced with the task of finding a new home, becoming independent and at the same time as grieving for my mother (my father lives in the UK). Exercise was my LAST priority. After a while I developed a very bad habits and lifestyle of eating takeaways, morning tea pies and bingeing energy drinks! On top of all of this I was in a bit of a grief hole and was drinking a lot every weekend. I also worked at a takeaway pizza place, which did not help with free or cheap pizzas readily available. The weight piled on and it was another good 12 months until I said enough is enough and set about changing my lifestyle.

I firstly thought that I could get fit by joining my old football team. My first game back was the hardest of my life. I remember not being able to breathe, lungs screaming and the player I was meant to be marking always 5 meters in front of me. I had the coach yelling at me from the sideline “GO ANDREWS!”, but I was so unfit I literally could not keep up and felt like I let the team down.

I then joined a gym with a friend and shadowed them around the gym for a bit. I started lifting weights and really got a kick out of how lifting made me feel. Overall, I got a lot stronger but I was not seeing the results I really wanted. That’s when I took an offer from a personal trainer at my gym, Jae, for an 8 week challenge. This ultimately changed my life.

Looking back, I was quite a bad client. I would often ring him last minute to cancel our appointment as I honestly wanted to sleep in (sorry Jae!, I was not a morning person). When I was there though, I worked hard. The hardest part of all for me was actually the nutrition. I learnt that I was not nourishing my body and seeing calories as just a fuel. We would complete food diaries and I would write down, just a banana for breakfast and a small V and a Moro bar for morning tea! WHAT! Looking back now, that seems crazy and Jae was quick to point out that it was not ideal. I still have my exercise folder from that challenge and have never shown anyone as I am too embarrassed. My eating was not great until the last few weeks. Even though that was the case, I still got results! My body fat decreased, my muscles grew, I lost CM’s from everywhere and my strength increased. I went from only being able to do 15 push ups MAX, (on my knees) to 32 on my feet! The most surprising was that my weight also decreased, but not by much as I had thought as I had built muscle mass! I also found muscles that I did not know I had. Just imagine what I could have achieved if I took the nutrition seriously from the beginning.

I continued my fitness journey by seeing Jae regularly and also keeping up with my own workouts. I carried on doing a mix of weights, cardio and playing football. After a few years I realised that I loved the way I felt and wanted to help other people find their love for exercise and achieve their goals, so I went to university. I completed a degree in Sport and Recreation at AUT and have not looked back.

One particular memory I have is after about a year of my fitness journey, I went back to my old favourite bakery (where my love of pies began) and the lady recognised me in there after not going for almost a year and a half (I purposely stayed away). She was like “long time no see! How are you?” I laughed and politely told her that her great pies made me fat and purchased a sandwich. A matter of fact, it wasn’t the pies that made me fat, but my overall lifestyle and not understanding the energy balance equation.

These days I do strength and circuit training in the gym, pretend to run occasionally, slowly getting back into playing football (after having my second boy last year,) dabbling in some regular mountain biking and paddle boarding when the weather is right.

Notable achievements: 13 football seasons, 1 x 12Km event, 6 x half marathons, 2 x Tough Mudder (18km), Step Up Stair Challenge – fastest female team in 2019 and have 2 beautiful children.

The Fat Burning Zone

You might of heard people talking about or seen it written on cardio equipment, this mysterious “fat burning zone”. What does this even mean?!

To understand this better we need to know how about the 3 different energy systems and how they produce energy.

The Phosphagen System / ATP-PC System

This energy system uses phosphocreatine (PC) that is stored within the tissues of the body. This system does not require oxygen and works very fast. As your cells don’t store a lot of PC the amount of energy is limited to around 10 seconds of max exertion. Eg. Max effort sprints

The Glycolytic System / Anaerobic Lactic Energy System

This energy system can produce energy quite quickly and utilizes carbohydrates in the form of blood glucose and stored glycogen to produce energy. This system also does not require oxygyen and is utilized for activity from around 10 seconds – 90 seconds.

The Oxidative System / Aerobic System

This energy system requires oxygen and can produce a lot of energy. The Aerobic system is used for exercise of lower intensity cardiovascular exercise. With this system, although it predominantly burns fat, a supply of carbohydrate is required for the breakdown of fat into energy. The ratio of how much fat vs carbohydrates that are utilized during exercise is determined by the duration of exercise along with your training experience. More intense workouts tend to burn more carbohydrates for fuel, whereas longer less intense exercise will burn a higher ratio of fat.

It is important to remember that with exercise, the body utilizes a mix of all three of these systems. The method that is used to create energy depends on the type of activity and its intensity and duration.

Therefore, now we know about the energy systems, we can understand that this “fat burning zone” is when we train within our aerobic system using longer, less intense exercise.

In regards to your heart rate zone you ideally need to be working between 65% – 85% of your max heart rate (MHR).

How do you work this out?

To find out what your individual fat burning zone heart rate range is, depends on your age. To simply work out your MHR:

220 – Age = MHF

For example, I am 34. My MHR is 220 – 34 = 186 beats per minute

My 65% is: 120 BPM / 85%: 158 BPM

Heart rate ranges simplified:

90 – 100% of MHR – Develops maximum performance and speed

80 – 90% of MHR – Increases maximum performance and capacity

70 – 80% of MHR – Improves aerobic fitness

60 – 70% of MHR – Improves basic endurance and fat burning

50 – 60% of MHR – Improves overall health and helps recovery

At the end of the day, fat loss is about our daily energy balance and an important part of this is our nutrition. Simply we want to move more and eat slightly less to create a calorie deficit (energy in vs energy out). While you may be focused on fat, it’s still important to elevate your heart rate into the vigorous zone from time to time. Working harder strengthens your cardiovascular system and burns more calories than moderate activity.

Bouts of higher intensity exercise can help our energy balance by burning more calories (in less time too) during exercise and therefore creating a calorie deficit that way. Resistance/weight training we use our muscles and create an “after burn effect” which elevates our metabolism for up to 48 hours exercise.

Exercising in all three energy systems offers lots of benefits, regardless of your goal or your method of training. If you’re a cardio girl, adding resistance training into your week can boost power and reduce the risk of injury. If you typically resistance train, adding cardio can help with your endurance and therefore increasing your training volume. Either way, creating variety within our planned exercise can guarantee we are seeing the best results and become the best human possible.

“Fitness HQ for Women mission is to provide women of all walks of life an environment where they can feel empowered to live a healthier lifestyle. We provide over 20 Group Fitness classes, personal training and a 24-hour main gym.”

How to get the best results – progressive overload

What is Progressive Overload?

Progressive overload is a strength training principle to make your workouts more challenging overtime. We have a saying in the gym “Do the same, never change”. This doesn’t mean changing your exercise or program everyday or week. But to change something to make the exercise more intense and therefore beneficial.

By changing the way you exercise, it can hinder plateaus, help you gain strength, encourage muscle growth, and build endurance. This is what you need to become fitter, faster, stronger, increase muscle mass, increase the “after burn effect” and therefore how many calories we burn at rest too (BMR).

There a lot of different ways to progressive over load:

Using a heavier weight for the same exercise. Make sure if you are lifting heavier, your technique is still perfect and not compensating by swinging and using other muscles to assist.
Add more repetitions to your exercise. If last week you could do 10 reps, try slightly more e.g. 12, 15 etc.
Add more sets. Do another round of the exercise to get more volume. By adding more sets you can significantly burn the muscle out more and get closer to failure. If you usually do 3 sets of 12 repetitions, try 4 sets next time.
Change the tempo of the movement. Try slowing down the movement to create more time under tension and fatigue the muscles. You can try slow negatives or pausing at the bottom of the movement. Just remember that doing negative reps (e.g. 5 sec on lowering stage) needs more recovery time.

The national academy of sport recommends increasing your volume by no more than 10% each week. For example, if you are currently barbell squatting 50kg and that is not challenging for you any more, try 55Kg the next week. Progressive overload is the key to building strength faster, break through plateaus and make your workouts more efficient.

If you are unsure how to progressive overload safely, consider using one of our personal trainers and get that push you need.

“Fitness HQ is a locally owned and operated boutique gym in the heart of Albany. With 24 hour access, you can get fit, when it fits you!”

Why am I not losing weight?!

A lot of women don’t have an accurate picture of what “enough” food really is, especially when trying to lose weight. A big reason for women not losing the weight they desire is because of undereating.

There’s this ongoing myth that women should not eat more than 1200 calories a day. This makes little sense when you consider the wide variety of body sizes and goals among different women. You might have also heard the saying “calories in vs calories out” or “energy in vs energy out”. This is a very simplified equation of how to lose weight. Meaning what food, we put in our body vs how much we burn.

Our energy expenditure is made up of 4 elements:

BMR: Basic metabolic rate – how much energy we use just doing daily bodily functions.
NEAT: Non-exercise activity thermogenesis – How much energy we expend doing daily activity (eg. Daily steps, playing with the kids).
TER: Thermic effect of food – How much we burn from digesting food.
PA: Physical activity – Planned bouts of exercise eg. gym sessions, planned walks, etc.

We often make the mistake of believing that it’s easy to calculate the calories “in” (what we eat) and the calories “out” (what we expend). We think “If I burn all these extra calories working out, and eat much less, I’ll easily burn fat”. In reality, eating too little can instead hinder fat loss, strength gain as well as energy levels, and overall health.

Undereating may be hindering your progress, whether that is weight loss, or increasing your muscle strength or size. It can also diminish your power in training sessions. Our body is an adaptable machine – it wants to feel “safe”, with survival as its top priority, it is constantly regulating how it responds to its environment. So, to conserve energy and direct calories to essential functions for survival, your body will resort to burning fewer calories, even as you’re exercising regularly and intensely.

When calories are scarce, your body will prioritize essential functions such as regulating your body temp and blood pressure over other functions like rebuilding muscle tissue.

Undereating can also affect your recovery, which is just as important as the training itself. When you exercise especially with weights, you’re breaking down muscle tissue, and without adequate calories and protein intake, your muscles won’t have the materials it needs to rebuild. Your body may also turn to protein already in your muscles for the fuel it needs. Remember that if you have more muscle mass, you not only are fitter, faster, stronger and look good you also have a higher BMR (resting metabolism). Undereating can also lead to disturbed sleep and getting good quality sleep is essential for recovery after a tough training session. Poor sleep can lead to fat retention.

If fat loss is your main goal, then the main thing that matters is being in a sustainable calorie deficit. You eat slightly less than you burn, and your body will tap into stored body fat for the extra calories. For best results aim for a few hundred calories – 300 to 500 max below your estimated needs, about 10 – 20% max.

To stay in a calorie deficit more easily, focus on eating lots of Protein (meat, fish, poultry, eggs) Try and get your carbs from sources like sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, and beans and fill your plate with non-starchy veggies, and leafy greens to help you feel fuller for longer.

“Fitness HQ is a boutique 24 hour womens gym on the North Shore in Albany. We offer a huge range of Group Fitness classes as well as a full service 24 hour gym”

Are carbs evil?

Carbs (carbohydrates) are everywhere, not just in ‘evil’ bread, rice or pasta but they are also found in most things including nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruit, dairy, lollies, and soft drinks. Often when people are making a conscious choice to lose weight, they immediately cut carbohydrates from their diet, thinking that carbs are the reason they have gained weight. This is not true!

Carbs are an essential macronutrient. They provide us with fuel in the form of glucose, which is used by the body and brain for energy. The body can produce and use Ketones when glucose is not available (Keto diets) and are made from fat stores and certain proteins. However, very high levels of ketones can make the blood acidic and can lead to serious illness. It is also important to know, that when glucose is inadequate the body also creates glucose from certain proteins leading to a breakdown of muscle.

There are two types of carbs: Complex (good) or Simple (Bad)

Complex (good, low GI) carbs require our bodies to work harder to digest, and the energy produced is released over a longer time. They are high in fiber and nutrients, are a low glycemic index food, help you feel full with fewer calories, and naturally stimulates metabolism.

Good Carbs: Vegetables, Whole fruits, whole grains, nuts & seeds, Legumes, and Root vegetables.

Simple (bad, high GI) carbs are digested quickly into our body. Energy is stored as glycogen and if it’s not used immediately gets converted to fat. Bad carbs are generally ‘processed’ food. They’re low in fiber and nutrients, have a high GI, are empty calories converted to fat, high blood glucose levels = feel tired.

Bad Carbs: Sugary drinks, Fruit juices, white bread & white rice, regular pasta, cakes & cookies and other sweet treats, deep fried food and potato chips.

The general problem with carbohydrates is that we overconsume them. It is too easy to put two massive scoops of rice or potato on our plates for our dinners and consume unhealthy sweet “pick-me-up” snacks throughout the day. Carbs should ideally be between 45 – 65% of your daily calories which can equate to around 40g – 75g for each main meal, depending on your body weight and energy needs. Vegetables are technically a carbohydrate. However, vegetables contain a huge amount of water content, so can be very full, with very few calories. Plus the vitamins, mineral, and fibre = bonus!

Overall it is best to consume more complex, slower-burning carbs in our diets. These are not only better in terms of nutrients but will also keep you fuller for longer and prevent overeating. Cutting down on simple carbs is recommended as they spike blood sugar levels, which does not sustain our hunger and energy levels for very long. Remember that life is about balance, as long as you are good 80% of the time, you can enjoy the odd treat now and again.

Benefits of Water

How many of you have felt thirsty today? Now the weather is colder, the desire to drink water throughout the day gets a bit harder. Well did you know, by the time you actually start feeling thirsty your body is in fact already dehydrated? The thirst you are experiencing is your body’s way of calling out to you to rehydrate your body.

Our body is composed of 60% water, which means when we are dehydrated our body’s water composition is less than that of 60% and closer to 58-56% water composition. Although this may not seem like much it is important to note that all systems within our body do not function as well without the proper water intake.

We all know that we need to consume water on a daily basis. That saying about 8 glasses a day has been drilled into us, but why do we need it? What does water actually help with?

Researchers have discovered that by keeping our body hydrated we can maintain a better mood. Drinking more water also enables you to think clearly throughout the day helping you develop a better mindset for the day and in turn make you happier.

In a sporting context, an increase in water intake can help you perform better. Proper hydration contributes to increased athletic performance. Not only due to the fact that it keeps you hydrated throughout your workout but 75% of our muscle tissue is comprised of water! Lack of water intake or dehydration can also lead to weakness, fatigue, dizziness, and electrolyte imbalance.

Now the point you’ve all been waiting for… keeping well hydrated has been linked to weight loss. Sometimes we think we are hungry when actually we are thirsty. Our body just starts turning on all the alarms when we ignore it. For those of you trying to drop some kgs, staying hydrated can serve as an appetite suppressant and help with weight loss. It will also keep your digestive system healthy and functioning properly. We clear waste through urine and sweat, so if we aren’t drinking enough water we aren’t flushing out all the waste our bodies don’t need. Water is also essential for proper circulation of nutrients throughout our bodies (water-soluble vitamins). Water serves as one of the body’s transportation system and when we are dehydrated things just can’t get around as well.

For any of you out there that seem to have sore joints throughout the day or just when you are working out, I have some good news for you! Drinking water can reduce pain in your joints by keeping the cartilage soft and hydrated.

And last but not least adequate water intake throughout the day can help with your skin, it can give you your natural glow, obviously not literally but figuratively. Our skin is the largest organ in our body. Regular and plentiful water consumption can improve the colour and texture of your skin by keeping it building new cells properly. Drinking water also helps the skin do its job of regulating the body’s temperature through sweating.

If plain water is not your thing or it gets boring, try infusing your water with some no sugar water drops or try adding fresh fruit to it to flavour it a little (try slices of lemon, limes or sprigs of mint).

10 Benefits of more water:

Weight loss
Your skin will glow
Better performance and productivity
No more headaches and migraines
Replaces lost electrolytes which are thought to prevent cramping
Helps digestion and bowels
Improves your immune system
Relives fatigue by flushing our toxins
Reduces risk of bladder and colon cancer
Helps aches and pains

“Fitness HQ for Women is proudly locally owned and operated based and is the only 24-hour womens gym on the North Shore”

Should I be taking protein powder?

One of the most common questions we get at the gym, is should I be taking protein powder?

Why protein is important in our diet.

Protein IS NOT just about building muscle and is only needed by bodybuilders. Protein is one of the three macronutrients (the other two being fats and carbohydrates), which means your body needs it in a relatively large amount and is vital for the body. Protein is the building blocks of the body and is used to repair everything. Your bones, muscles, cartilage are all repaired by protein. And your skin, hair and nails are mostly made from proteins (keratin, collagen, and elastin). Fats and Carbohydrates are stored in your body, but Protein is not, which means it needs a fresh supply every single day. Even if you don’t exercise, your body still needs protein to regenerate and repair different cells in your body.

Use of Protein Powder

Whey protein powder is actually a bi-product from casein and cheese manufacture. people like to use protein powder, mainly out of convenience. You may not always be in the position to roast a chicken, pan fry some steak, or boil up some beans. This is when you can utilise protein powder to give you a good serving of protein, without cooking, prepping and refrigerating. Also, protein powder is very economical in comparison to buying meat.

It is recommended that you eat a minimum of 0.8 x your body weight (KG), up to x 2 of your bodyweight. Athletes who are strength training are near the higher end and also people who are recovering from serious wounds or injuries. Women especially tend to be very low in their daily protein amounts.

Consuming more protein in our diets can really help with satiety, which in turn, helps with weight loss. By consuming protein we tend to keep ourselves fuller for longer and tend not to overeat. A study has also shown that participants that consumed a high protein breakfast did not overeat at the end of the day.

Examples of Protein:

Some examples of this (using calories just as a comparison for how much protein you get for the number of calories you consume) are as follows:

2 Eggs: 14g of protein
Serving of black beans: 8g
Piece of fish: 20g
A thin slice of shaved ham: 2.9g of protein
2 Vegetarian Sausages: 8.4g of protein
½ cup of Lentils: 9g of protein
Baked Beans: 10.8g of protein
A serving of broccoli: 3g
1 glass of milk: 3.4g of protein
10 almonds: 2.5g of protein
Milo “Protein Clusters” Cereal: 5.5g protein
2 scoops of Horley’s 100% Whey Vanilla protein powder: 18.6g of protein
Chicken breast: 30g

When should you use protein powder?

Whenever you want! Protein shake for breakfast, or morning tea, or afternoon tea, or for dessert! That’s the great thing about protein powder, it’s quick, easy, and versatile! You can have it alone with water, make it a smoothie by adding some berries or half of a banana, or you can even put it in some yoghurt and make a thick flavoured mousse! If you are rushing around in the morning a protein shake can be a convenient good option or even as a post-workout snack.

At the end of the day, you don’t need protein powder. There are many foods high in protein that would let you reach your goal easily! However, Protein powder is usually lower in calories, super tasty (if you find the right one!), and convenient! If you need to up your protein intake and want convenience, definitely give protein powder a try!

“Fitness HQ for Women is a New Zealand owned and operated gym in the heart of Albany, North Shore. Our services include group fitness classes, personal training, and providing a 24-hour access boutique women-only gym”

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