Hello,
when the bank holiday debauchery has finished, get your 'BUM-BUM' to the gym!
This TRX workout should dust off the cobwebs.
Prepare to get your sweat on.
Lots of love,
Za X
Hello,
when the bank holiday debauchery has finished, get your 'BUM-BUM' to the gym!
This TRX workout should dust off the cobwebs.
Prepare to get your sweat on.
Lots of love,
Za X
The ‘sweet crystalline substance’, that is sugar, is fuelling a global health epidemic. Alarmingly, consumption levels continue to rise, metabolic disease levels rocket and life expectancy is being shortened. I urge you now, reduce your sugar intake!
The problem: Why is it deadly?
To understand why common sugar (sucrose) is harmful we must look to its molecular structure. It is made up of two molecules:
1. Glucose (dextrose) - this is in every living cell, if we don’t get it from our macros, our body will produce it
2. Fructose – we have little physiological need for
In the gut these molecules separate, the glucose circulates throughout our body feeding our muscles and our brain, whereas, the fructose goes straight to our liver. Only the liver can metabolize fructose. Eating this in small amounts such as by consuming fruit is fine as it is converted into glycogen and stored in the liver until it is required. However, if the liver is bombarded with lots of fructose it converts it into fat.
Repeatedly hammering the liver with sugar can lead to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and all sorts of down stream metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, osteoarthritis, cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
Everybody knows someone whose life has been affected by one of the above diseases, could sugar have been the trigger? Don’t chance your health by indulging in too much sugar. Take charge, take control and conquer this addictive white and deadly substance today.
Top tips for reducing your sugar intake?
Good news, there are 6 simple things you can do to reduce and reverse sugar damage.
1. Avoid sugary drinks, opt for water, spice it up with a bit of lemon / mint / lime.
2. Read Food labels carefully, too often we are unaware an item may be packed with sugar – knowledge is power. Be aware that 4g of sugar = 1 teaspoon, and there are at least 56 different names for sugars and sweeteners, yet chemically they are all very similar. Look out for them:
3. Avoid processed low fat foods; the missing fat is usually replaced by salt and sugar.
4. Cut down fructose; restrict foods containing more than half their sugar as fructose such as figs, pears, mango, grapes, cherries, dried fruits and many fruit juices
5. Eat more fibre (25-50g / day), it is high in antioxidants, vitamins and keep you feeling full for longer.
6. Exercise a little! – it releases endorphins and helps take your mind off that sweet treat!
The food we eat can be the safest most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison. The choice is yours!
Good evening all,
Check out my Battersea Park workout - no gym membership required!
Enjoy! Lots of love Zaza X x x x
Find your A game for less than 30mins - let's do this! Do each exercise for 1 min, take 30 secs break after each one. Then do 1-11 one more time.
1. Leg Raises
2. Leg Raises with Butt Lift
3. Flutter Legs
4. Cycle Legs
5. Heel Taps
6. Criss Cross Legs
7. Sprints
8. Sit Ups
9. Side Plank with Dips (30secs one side, then switch sides)
10. U Bend
11. Upside down CycleEnjoy!
Sleep for that killer body, ok. You have got this. I believe in you.
Do you wake up naturally, fresh, energized, ready to kick some serious ass each day?
No? The chances are your alarm goes off, you hit snooze, you feel tired, you calculate how many days it is until Friday, drag yourself to work, grab a large skinny cappuccino and the cycle continues….
Sacrificing sleep is the norm and the truth is most of us are sleep deprived. I urge you, STOP underestimating the importance of sleep. Sleep is fundamental to our wellbeing, fitness and our nutritional goals.
Depriving your body of sleep means you run up a sleep debt; the body then borrows energy from the immune system, resulting in sub optimal performance. Let me explain:
1. Sleep deprivation disrupts and limits your body’s ability to use insulin. This is bad news as insulin’s job is to remove fatty acids and lipids from your blood stream and prevent fat storage. As your insulin function declines, more fat circulates in your blood and gets stored in all the wrong places like your tissues and liver, leading to weight gain and eventually diabetes.
2. Hunger is controlled by the hormones leptin and ghrelin, not willpower, ok! Leptin is produced in our fat cells, the less you produce the more your stomach feels empty. The more ghrelin you produce, the hungrier you feel and the fewer calories you burn and the more fat you store. Successful weight management comes from controlling these hormones; the problem is sleep deprivation makes controlling them nearly impossible. So gorgeous people, get more sleep, have better hormone control and you will eat less.
3. Lack of sleep leads to higher cortisol levels – the naughty stress hormone associated with fat gain (piss off cortisol)! This little bugger Mr.cortisol activates reward centres in our brain that make us want food! Along with rising levels of Ghrelin this is not good news, as this duo shut down areas of your brain that leave you feeling satisfied after a meal, leaving you feeling hungry, even after a serious chow-down.
4. Back away from the cookie jar! Sleep deprivation pushes you in the direction of foods you know you shouldn’t eat as it impairs activity in your frontal lobe, which controls complex decisions such as to eat or not to eat a [all the] cookie[s]!
5. Muscle helps us burn fat and stay young – LIKE! Sleep deprivation decreases protein synthesis, the body’s ability to make muscle, causing muscle loss.
6. Human growth hormone (HGH) has its highest production during slow-wave sleep, it is a key player in keeping us wrinkle free and looking fine!
The million $ question – between 7 – 9 hours is advisable, the more active you are, the more sleep your body requires.
Schedule your bedtime like an important meeting; you wouldn’t cancel on your boss. Ideally at 10.30pm or at least the same time each day. Darkness, oh hello there, turn off all electricals, put down the mobile and don’t bother to email your boss back! Sex, scientist say 6 minutes extra shut eye is had if we sexercise before bed! Temperature, keep it low as otherwise it will inhibit melatonin, which is the hormone that regulates sleep.
Now you are armed with some facts, I will leave you with some good news, sleep is free and it is available tonight!
Good night, sleep tight and don’t let the bedbugs bite.
X