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Beauty

My Top 3 Steps To A Healthier You!!

dylan abs

Hi everyone!

My name is Dylan ( Sue’s boyfriend ) and i’ll be looking after the new fitness section on www.sosueme.ie. I’m a qualified personal trainer, fitness instructor, and not to mention, a fitness fanatic. For months Sue has been asking me to write a few light hearted fitness blog posts for you guys, the readers. Everyday Sue is inundated with fitness related emails and instead of her giving out the wrong info, she has asked me to step in and give my honest opinion.

Over the next few months, I will be here on call for any of your fitness needs. Expect to see articles such as, the perfect at home workout, exciting competitions and general girl fitness inso blog posts. Before I get into my first article, I just want to say, that fitness is not about being skinny or restricting yourself when it comes to eating, it’s more about leading a healthy lifestyle and feeling the best you can about yourself, inside and out.

If anyone has any ideas for future blog posts or just general fitness questions, you can email me at [email protected] and I will try my best to answer as many of your questions as possible.

Now, for my very first blog post…. my top x3 steps to a healthier you!

Don’t get me wrong, I love to indulge in the odd take away and vodka or two on the weekend ( who doesn’t ) –  but these three topics I’m about to discuss with you are in my opinion essential to becoming a healthier you. The way I see it is, everything in moderation, so don’t feel guilty if you slip up once in a while, try have fun and experiment with foods and exercise.

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1. Diet 

  • You have probably all heard the saying, “Abs are made in the kitchen.” Well unfortunately, this is true, so my first bit of advice is to cut out the pizza, chipper, chinese etc to a minimum.
  • I try to eat healthy 80% of time and have cut down to just 1 cheat meal a week, which, I more then likely enjoy on a Friday or Sunday as a reward for a good week of eating and working out. That way, I’m not totally depriving myself.
  • Another villain you need to cut from your diet is sugar, so that means no more fizzy drinks, sports drinks, sweets etc. When we take in sugar, the liver stores it as glycogen for energy, but the liver can only store around 100g, and, after it’s full, it is returned to the blood stream and stored as body fat. Not what we want.
  • Each meal should contain a source of protein, greens, a small amount of good carbs and fats.
  • In terms of meal frequency, I prefer to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day compared to 3 large ones. I find by spreading them out, I am less likely to snack on sweets, chocolate etc. A good way to prevent yourself over-eating at each meal is to use smaller portions and a smaller plate. This tip has definitely worked for me because normally, if I have a big plate of food in front of me, I will keep eating until it’s all gone.
  • Choose fresh, wholesome foods over pre-packaged, processed foods. Packaged foods are loaded with preservatives, especially sodium and saturated fats, and often have high amounts of sugars, such as high-fructose corn syrup.
  • Use coconut oil when cooking. It is great for sugar cravings and keeping you fuller for longer. It also improves digestion and boosts your metabolism. In my eyes, this is an essential ingredient.
  • If you need to snack throughout the day, then try to eat unsalted nuts such as cashews, almonds, pistachios, etc. These will help fill you up until your next meal.
  • You should try prepare your meals the night before. By doing this, you are less likely to reach for poor food and snacks when you’re on the go.

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2. Exercise

 If you’re looking to tighten up that tummy or lose weight then you must do some sort of exercise, whether it be running, going to the gym, classes, home workouts … basically anything that gets you moving.

I know from training with Sue that the gym can be a daunting place for some girls. It doesn’t have to be though! If you find you don’t like going because you don’t know what to do or you simply don’t have the confidence, then you should grab a friend and try to attend some bootcamp/circuit type classes.

These classes are great and will burn more calories then jogging on a treadmill. The key to burning fat is high intensity, and these style classes are exactly that. If you work out at a high intensity for 45 mins, you will burn fat for that amount of time, but the great thing about this style is that if you train with extreme intensity your body can continue burning fat for up to 12 hours after exercise. This is called the after-burn effect.

If, however, you do low-intensity exercise, like a slow jog for 45mins on a treadmill, then you will only burn a small amount of fat when you train and none afterwards. That’s right, there is zero after-burn effect, so you might as well give it all you’ve got!

Classes are also a great way of building self-esteem and meeting like-minded people. They’re a quick workout but they require maximum effort and they pay-off is huge if you really apply yourself. Another great thing about these classes is the amount of knowledge you will gain especially regarding the type of exercises to do for each part of the body. You will also learn proper techniques that you can incorporate into your home workout.

If you are not a member of a gym, don’t worry. There are plenty of classes that take place outside of gyms and you probably already know of someone that goes to them in your local area. I say give it a go! I know Sue did and she loves them.

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3. Hydration

Most of us don’t drink enough water. It is hugely important to drink a sufficient amount of water and here’s why…

  • When your body is not getting enough water, it holds on to what it has, resulting in water retention. As a simple survival mechanism, your  body has a tendency to hold onto and store what it doesn’t think it will get in the future. Once your body recognises that it is getting a steady supply of water it will release the water weight it has been holding. Water weight is stored in your waist, face, and ankles, and is released when there is no longer a reason for your body to store it.
  • Drinking a glass or 2 of water in the morning revs up your metabolism for the day ahead.
  • By always having water by your side, it will stop you reaching for fizzy drinks which contain lots of sugar.
  • A glass of water before a meal will help you digest your food better.
  • Your muscles and joints use water as a lubricant and will prevent cramps and injury.
  • By drinking water throughout the day, you will help kill hunger cravings.
  • If you’re not a big fan of water you can a add a squeeze of lemon to flavour it.

evian

 Hope you found this post helpful guys. Don’t forget, if you have any questions for me, you can email me at [email protected]

Dylan 

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11 Comments

  1. Edwina O' Leary
    27 July 2014 / 21:06

    Thanks Dylan this is great 🙂

  2. Tanya
    27 July 2014 / 08:02

    Loved this post, really interesting information broken down and nicely written.
    An idea for a future post might be suggestions for fitness Instagrams or websites to follow for recipes and exercise ideas?

  3. Lisa Walsh
    18 July 2014 / 09:26

    Really enjoyed the article and look forward to reading more in the future- check out my Instagram lisaeatshealthyfood

  4. tasha
    18 July 2014 / 00:11

    Love it great work

  5. Michael King
    16 July 2014 / 20:48

    Dylan, this is really well put together with great information. Thank you, Michael King

  6. Ciara Kelly
    16 July 2014 / 10:26

    Great post thanks esp the food break down chart.
    Will be interested to see any future ones!

  7. Ck
    15 July 2014 / 18:24

    What type of classes do you suggest ? Is a mix of pilates once a week , trx twice a week ok ? I cycle to work as well but not seeing any results 🙁

  8. Joanne
    15 July 2014 / 15:14

    Great post!! Looking forward to more 🙂

  9. siobhan mc carthy
    15 July 2014 / 14:30

    What kind of classes would be high intensity? Thanks 🙂

  10. Jaclyn Bolger
    15 July 2014 / 13:05

    Well done Dylan on your first post. Very informative…Look forward to the next one…

  11. deborah
    15 July 2014 / 12:45

    Great tips , thanks Dylan, looking forward to the fitness part of your blog sue xx


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