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Vitamin deficiencies are increasingly common leading to various different health concerns and issues. But mainly these issues are associated with tiredness, lethargy etc.  Some of the more well know vitamin deficiencies are iron, vitamin c, and vitamin d. But it may surprise you to know that one of the most common vitamin deficiencies is actually IODINE. And what’s more this vitamin has a vital role to play in both thyroid function and your metabolism. So as well as having health implications, having an iodine vitamin deficiency could be stopping you losing weight.

What is Iodine?

Iodine is a mineral essential for normal thyroid function. Thyroid hormones are responsible for a lot of functions in the body, but one of the key ones is regulating metabolic rate. Iodine deficiency is scarily common, affecting up the a third of the world’s population.

Signs that you may have an iodine deficiency include unexplained shortness or breath, increased heart rate and weight gain.

What foods are rich in Iodine?

1/ Seaweed – Just 1g of kelp contains between 460-1000% of the RDI (recommended daily intake).

2/ Cod – 85 grams of cod provides 66% of the RDI.

3/ Prawns – 85 grams of prawns provides 23% RDI .

4/ Tuna – 85 grams provides 11% RDI.

5/ Milk – Depending what type of milk but one cup provides at least 50% RDI.

6/ Yogurt – Half a cup of plain yogurt gives you 50% RDI.

7/ Cottage cheese – A cup of cottage cheese provides 33% RDI.

8/ Eggs – One large egg gives you 16% RDI .

9/ Prunes – 5 dried prunes gives you 9% RDI.

There are more but these are the most common and iodine dense examples. Obviously if you eat seaweed every day you will have no issue whatsoever. But how many of us do that? And where would you get it from? So can you honestly say you are getting enough of the other foods on the list to make up you Iodine RDI every day? If you don’t eat much fish and/or dairy the chances are you aren’t.

Conclusion – Could this Vitamin Deficiency Affect Your Metabolic Rate?

Absolutely. Make a concerted effort to get you Iodine intake up and it will help you weight loss and well and our health.

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A lot of people have a stability ball, but either don’t want to or don’t know how to use it. So they end up sitting half deflated in a back bedroom or garage. The stability ball is a great bit of kit when used correctly and imaginatively. Due to the instability you engage core muscles in a completely different way to other exercises. It is also a great way to make certain exercises you may already do more challenging. And it’s not just useful for working the core, this is a complete total body stability ball workout;

1/ Stability Ball Press Ups

Perform these just as you would on the floor, but with your hands on the stability ball. Make sure you keep your back straight throughout. Lower as far down as you can or until your chest touches the ball.

2/ Stability Ball Split Squats

Regular split squat movement, except your back foot is on top of the stability ball (which is behind you). Then keeping your balance, lower your back knee towards floor and push back up.

3/ Stability Ball Front Plank

Exactly the same position to a front plank on the floor, but place your elbows on the ball. The further you push your elbows forward, i.e. away from your body, the harder the exercise becomes.

4/Stability Ball Tricep Dips

Hands on the stability ball ( which is behind you) facing forwards, then lower your body towards ground and push back up. The straighter your legs are the harder it is. If you are having trouble keeping your balance, place the ball against a wall to start with.

5/ Stability Ball Leg Curls

Lay on your back with both feet on the ball. Lift your bum and lower back off the floor as high as you can. Then draw your knees in towards your chest and then push legs out straight.  This can be made more advanced by lifting one leg up off the ball and putting it straight up in the air.

6/ Stability Ball Sit Ups

Lay down on the ball so your head and shoulders are leaning off the back of the ball. Hands either side of your head and then perform a sit up, making sure you keep looking straight up (don’t crunch your neck forward). Can be made harder by placing a medicine ball or dumbbell on your chest or head.

7/ Cardio?!

I have put this in because I don’t think any circuit is truly complete without some sort of cardio blast. So 30/60 seconds on a bike or other cardio equipment if you have it. Or just a bodyweight exercise such as star jumps or squat jumps.

Conclusion – Stability Ball Workout

The stability ball is a great bit of kit that works your core and body in a different way to other exercises.  So if you go to a gym or have one at home, make sure you use it and have a go at this stability ball workout.

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Do you feel tired a lot of the time? Do you put it down to busy work schedule/stress/lack of sleep. Whilst these are definitely contributing factors to low energy there is a way you can undoubtedly help to boost your energy levels. Here are my Top 5 Energy Boosting Foods;

1/ Oats

Oats are packed full of b vitamins (as well as magnesium, protein and iron) which are vital in keeping your energy levels high. Also due the slow release nature of the carbohydrates in oats you will maintain your energy levels through the morning.

2/ Almonds

Almonds (and to a certain degree all nuts and seeds) are packed full of protein, manganese, copper, and riboflavin. Manganese and copper play a vital role in keeping energy flowing throughout the body and neutralising toxins within your cells. Whilst riboflavin aids oxygen based energy production.

3/ Eggs

Eggs contain the highest complete form of protein out of any food. A massive 97% of it can be absorbed into your body. They also contain all the essential amino acids that are needed to help your body recover and repair (especially after a workout).

4/ Bananas

Packed full of natural sugars and fibre bananas are tailor made to give you a long lasting energy boost. Before the days of sports drinks bananas are what sports men/women such as tennis players would eat to keep them going through long matches.

5/ Salmon

Not only is salmon good for you due to the omega 3 fatty acids. It contains a lot protein, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin, which all help convert the food you eat into energy.

One other key element in maintaining energy levels is not leaving huge gaps between meals. The best ways to achieve this is by having a small snack mid-morning and mid-afternoon. So if you want to give yourself a serious energy boost you could do the following;

Porridge for breakfast.
8/10 almonds as a mid-morning snack.
Omelette of scrambled eggs for lunch.
Banana mid-afternoon.
Salmon with stir fry veg for dinner.

Conclusion: Top 5 Energy Boosting Foods

Most of us have busy lives and fell tired a lot of the time. Don’t underestimate the role food and nutrition can have in making you feel a whole heap better and more energetic.

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Most people have heard that it may be better for you in terms of health and/or weight loss to eat more of your calories and your bigger meals earlier in the day. But is there really any truth to this or is it just another myth? Surely weight loss is down to calorie in vrs. calories out regardless of when you eat them? Is it better to eat bigger meals earlier in the day?

The Science

Research has shown that ‘circadian rhythms’ can affect our weight. According to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, circadian rhythms are physical, mental and behavioural changes that follow a roughly 24-hour cycle, responding primarily to light and darkness in an organism’s environment.

In practice because of circadian rhythms we all have variations in hormone levels, enzyme levels, and glucose transporters at different times of the day. This in turns means how fats and carbohydrates are metabolised varies depending on the time of day.

Studies show that the calories we burn from digesting and absorbing the nutrients from the calories we eat is greater at 8am than it is at 8pm for example. The same has been shown for other metabolic processes such as insulin sensitivity and fat storage.

In short your body is much better prepared to process the food you eat efficiently earlier in the day. You will burn more of the calories naturally whereas later in the day your body is more set up to store the calories as fat.

Real Life Studies

Science is one thing, but what I believe really matters is how eating different sized meals at different times of day actually affects people in reality.

One study followed 2 groups of women on identical 1400 calorie a day diets. Both groups ate 500 calories for lunch, but one group ate 200 calories for breakfast and 700 for dinner. The other ate 700 for breakfast and 200 for dinner. The food they ate was identical, the timing of eating it was the only variable.

After 12 weeks the ‘big breakfast’ group lost 2.5 times more weight than the ‘big dinner’ group. Quite a startling result. Not all studies show this degree of difference between the 2 groups. But the vast majority do see more weight loss in the group that eats more of the calories earlier in the day.

Of course metabolism and hormone levels vary greatly between person to person. But across a large group of people the results are fairly conclusive.

So What Should You Do?

Personally I wouldn’t want to just have a 200 calorie dinner every day. But these results will make me eat my bigger meal at lunchtime wherever possible. And just have a lighter, lower carb meal in the evening. Ultimately this isn’t a difficult restrictive change to make so I would argue (especially if you want to lose weight) you would be foolish to not at least give this a go.

Conclusion – Is it better to eat bigger meals earlier in the day?

All in all both the science and the studies show that you stand a better chance of losing weight/keeping it off if you eat more of your daily calories earlier in the day, and less later in the day. So making that simple change (if you are not already doing so) will help you.

Visit the main page of my website here; Complete Fitness 4 Life – Personal Training Tunbridge Wells.

There are so many different ab exercises. Some a lot better than others. I thought I would share my top 3 ab exercises that I feel gives my clients the best workouts and results.  These 3 exercises work as a trio, i.e. they all work the core slightly differently but as a trio give you a great overall core workout.

1/ Bike Crunches

I picked this one as it works those outer abdominal muscles that everyone wants to work. But without putting too much strain on your lower back. It also has some rotation which is vital to get certain muscles working.

Position:

Lay face up with knees bent.

Technique:

Raise shoulders off mat and reach 1 elbow towards the opposite knee.

Lower back down and repeat on the opposite side.

Points To Remember:

Brace and squeeze through the stomach muscles.

Keep chin away from chest and eyes pointed towards ceiling

 

2/ Front Plank

To be honest I could have picked a different type of plank but I went for the front plank in the end. There is no substitute for the way it works your deep core muscles.

Position:

Raise up on your elbows and toes holding your body up.

Technique:

Raise hips so your whole body is in a straight line.

Hold position still .

Points To Remember:

Make sure your back remains flat, i.e. your hips don’t sag down or raise up too high.

Make sure your elbows stay directly beneath your shoulders and don’t slide further forward.

 

3/ Hanging Knee/Leg  Raise 

This may be my personal favourite so I couldn’t leave it out. You do need some equipment for this one though so not everyone will be able to do it.

Position – Hang from a bar with your legs straight.

Technique – Draw you kneed up towards your chest keeping your body as still as possible. As you get better at this you can start to do it with straighter legs.

Points To Remember – Keep body still as possible. Fully engage core. Lower legs down slowly.

Conclusion – My Top 3 Ab Exercises

Get these 3 exercises in your workouts regularly and you will be working every muscle in your core!

 

 

Visit the main page of my website here; Complete Fitness 4 Life – Fitness Training Tunbridge Wells