Fitness and nutrition tips

If you’re new to exercise and  embarking on a fitness  campaign for the first time, It’s particularly important to have your blood  pressure checked.

And don’t over do it at the beginning – set yourself realistic goals and train two or three times a week so that you don’t get bored to soon and then give up completely after a month take it one step at a time, and try to enjoy it

Always warm up properly before starting any kind of exercise session – this will reduce the risk of injury.

Always stretch at the end of an exercise session – stretch out all the major muscles you have worked

Don’t over-train your body.

It’s important to have at least one rest day during the week otherwise the muscles don’t have a chance to repair themselves properly before the next training session and that’s when you risk injury.

Rest is important.

Try to drink lots of water every day – 2 litres if possible and more on the days you exercise.

Eat at least 5 portions of fruit and vegetables every day.

If possible always steam cook your vegetables to preserve the vitamins and minerals in them.

It is the cooking process which destroys the goodness in many vegetables. And yes, frozen vegetables are full of goodness too, if you don’t have any fresh ones at home.

Try to avoid eating anything after 8pm because you are more likely to sleep better if your body has already digested all the food you have consumed that evening.

Always eat something for breakfast, even if it’s just a piece of fruit and some yoghurt.

The consumption of food will kick start your metabolism so the sooner you get it working for the day, the more calories your body will burn doing your day-to-day activities, even just sitting at your desk.

Your metabolism will be at its slowest until you eat something for the day – so the worst thing to do is to avoid breakfast and lunch, effectively starving yourself all day, and then eat a big meal in the evening.

Try not to skip meals throughout the day.

If possible eat something healthy every 4 hours rather than leaving yourself to get so hungry that you end up eating food high in fat and calories.

Eating 6-8 small meals a day rather than 3 big ones, is much easier for your body to digest, maintains blood sugar at more stable levels and keeps the metabolism boosted.

If you tend to get hungry and crave snacks mid morning and mid afternoon, then don’t struggle to ignore these hunger pains, but rather than having chocolate or crisps, keep a big bowl of fruit and reach for that instead.

It will keep your hunger at bay without piling on as many calories as some of the alternatives.