Do “Diet” Drinks really make you gain weight?

Feel Good Personal Training

Personal Training Services in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge

Do “Diet” Drinks really make you gain weight?

“Diet” and “Low Fat” foods have been named some of the most misconstrued and dangerous items in our supermarkets today. Clever marketing techniques and flashy sales pitches persuade you to buy in an attempt to lower your waist size and eat healthier. However how healthy are these products really? We will go into a little more detail over the next few weeks on the so called healthier food options, but in this article we will be focusing on the diet soft drinks.

There are many conflicting studies citing the effects of diet soft drinks on your waist size and body fat levels, but many athletes and dieters still consume them to help curb their cravings and get them through the harder days that dieting has to offer, yet still get themselves in incredible condition. So can they really be that bad for your waistline? Unfortunately the answer is a bit more complicated than a simple yes or no.

A recent study in America, which followed more than 5000 adults for between 7 and 8 years, showed that while both those who consumed sugar free drinks and those who consumed sugary drinks both gained weight, the weight gain was far greater in those that drank the diet soft drinks! This may be down to the fact that as you are aware you are drinking a lower calorie drink, it is proven that you eat more and snack more! It may also be down to the fact that artificial sweeteners actually increase your cravings for sugar, it’s the sweet taste that is incredibly addictive, so the more sweeteners you have the more sugar you consume from your diet!

However that is not to say that if you are following a calorie restricted diet that you will gain any weight at all by drinking diet drinks. If you are careful and monitor what you eat, controlling your cravings there is no reason that you will gain weight. It’s all about being strict with yourself, I personally allow myself one can of Coke Zero per 3 days whilst dieting, this has no effect on my progress as I monitor everything else that I consume during the day, and can be a great little lift when things get hard.

So just remember drinking diet beverages alone is not enough to counter over eating – the only way to maintain a healthy weight is by balancing calories consumed and calories burned!

For more information on our Personal Training Services in Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge, and what we can offer you, get in touch!

 www.feelgoodpt.co.uk

Feel Good Personal Training - Fat Loss and glycogen depletion

Feel Good Personal Training

Fat Loss and glycogen depletion 

In todays newsletter I would like to share some thoughts with you about glycogen depletion, fat loss and the ability to train.

In most training circles it is most commonly agreed that glycogen should be maximized at all times during the workout. In a nut shell the theory goes something like this. Intense exercise is required to stimulate muscle growth, increase fitness and improve performance. To fuel this intense workout you need glycogen in order to push yourself. Especially after exercise where there is a unique window of refueling where carbohydrates will be stored as glycogen instead of fat. I agree with this theory. However, I believe that in today’s world of energy drinks and bars it as been over applied to a detrimental affect. 

Firstly let me start by saying that there is a big difference between fuelling yourself to maximise the ability to perform to fuelling yourself to maximise weight and fat loss. Sure, you can argue that you need to be glycogen loaded in order to train hard therefore building lean muscle and burning calories during your workout, hence maximising fat loss. However, I don’t agree that being carb loaded during a workout is the best method for optimising fat loss. The vast majority of people being participating in exercise with myself and in gyms are doing it for fat loss and the health benefits and not to become body builders, bigger, stronger, faster or compete in an event. Therefore the question should be raised why is there such a strong culture amongst gym-goers to be carb loaded during there workout. We’ve all been to spin classes in January and seen the newbies in their sparkling clean shoes and new gym clothes whilst their drinking energy drinks like there going out of fashion. This glycogen loading philosophy that gyms and society seem to be centred around is stopping many hard working gym- goers from reaching their weight and fat loss goals.

We should be very careful when recommending working out in a carb-loaded state for weight and fat loss clients. There is a big difference between fueling yourself to optimize and improve performance compared to optimizing yourself for weight and fat loss. Studies clearly show that glycogen loaded athletes will perform better. However, glycogen loaded athletes will burn less body fat.

At Feel Good Personal Training by recommend to clients that they eat their last meal between 6 and 8pm. We then ask you exercise when you wake up in the morning before eating any food (between 6 and 8am).  We then ask you to eat breakfast within 2 hours of your workout. I realize some personal trainers, bodybuilders, and conditioning specialist will frown on this technique because of the “glycogen dogma”.  However, I have found this technique to be highly effective for weight and fat loss. It is true however that 90% of my clients are interested in weight loss and fat loss and I rarely have more than 2 to 5 athletes or bodybuilding clients I am training at one time. This is NOT a technique I recommend for these types, you’ll need to fuel yourself completely different in order to reach your goals however it will work brilliant for clients with weight or fat loss goals.  

I hope you find this article interesting and helpful to reaching your weight and fat loss goals. For more information on personal training or online training packages please get in touch.   

Dominic Burns

Director 

www.feelgoodpt.co.uk

www.onlinetransformation.co.uk

07757 345 764 

Vegetarian? Are you getting enough complete proteins to keep your body running efficiently!

Feel Good Personal Training

A Little Something Worth Thinking About..

Average women's waste size in the 1950's was 27 inches, today its 34 inches. If that trend continues the averages women's waste size in 2050 will be 42 inches.... 

Are you on the bandwagon helping to create this ever increasing average? Or are you one of the few people in todays society that thinks about their diet and the future problems that it could cause not only to your health but the negative externalities it greats?

Vegetarian? Are you getting enough complete proteins to keep your body running efficiently!

Becoming a vegetarian is rapidly becoming more and more popular in this evermore health conscious world. This is due to many reasons, the ethical dilemma of slaughtering processes, the scaremongering myths in the media informing you meat is bad for your health or just down to not liking the taste and texture.

Whatever the reason is, being a vegetarian makes it harder to consume the correct amount of ESSENTIAL proteins to ensure your body is getting what it needs! There are 9 essential amino acids that your body can’t produce itself, they have to be consumed in the diet, a food that contains all 9 essential amino acids is known as a complete protein.

  Eggs, Dairy, Quinoa and Flaxseed are great examples of a complete vegetarian protein. But you will often find that you need to mix sources of incomplete proteins! Try consuming

•  Grains with Legumes - sample meal: lentils and rice with yellow peppers.
• Nuts with Legumes -  sample meal: black bean and peanut salad.
• Grains with Dairy - sample meal: white cheddar and whole wheat pasta.
• Dairy with Seeds - sample meal: yogurt mixed with sesame and flax seeds.
• Legumes with Seeds - sample meal: spinach salad with sesame seed and almond salad dressing.