The Institute For Health

Do you eat late?

According to the latest research, the earlier we finish eating for the day, the better!

There have been at least two studies published this year that confirm that late-night meals contribute to weight gain (and make it difficult to lose it) even when overall calorie intake is within the healthy range.

This is most likely due to the fact that our natural circadian rhythm is winding us down for bed, and our metabolism follows suit.

Do you have a time that you stop eating?

Reposting this from one of my favourite trainers Lochi Horner (because it's too good not to share)

Looking to torch calories quickly? If one of your primary goals right now is losing body fat, it pays to understand which forms of activities will help you lose that fat as quickly as possible.

After all, if you’re going to hit the gym to workout, best to maximise every single second that you spend. Also keep in mind that at times, the highest calorie burning activities aren’t even going to take place in the gym, but rather outside doing other activities.

To help get you started, let’s walk you through five of the top calorie burning activities you should be considering.

1. Skipping

One of the best ways to ignite calories quickly is to grab a jump rope and get skipping. This form of exercise can easily burn up just as many calories as you would running and the great thing about it is that it’ll work both the upper and lower body at the same time.

This gives you a more complete workout session. You’ll receive a burn of around 100-150 calories per 10 minutes of straight skipping (depending on how often you have to stop and restart).

2. Uphill Sprinting

Moving along, one of the most intense cardio workout sessions you could is uphill sprinting. Regular sprinting is a real calorie torcher, but now that you add the uphill component to things, it cranks the intensity up a notch further.

Furthermore, because of the nature of the workout session, you’ll not only burn calories while you’re doing it, but you’ll continue to burn calories for hours after its completed as well, sometimes up to 48 hours, depending on your intensity!!!

This leads to ongoing higher rates of total body fat loss.

This workout is also great for strengthening the lower body muscles extensively since they’ll be working to push you up the hill.

For a 20 minute workout session, you can burn anywhere from 180-250 calories depending on how much sprint and rest time you incorporate into the session .

3. Progressive Weight Training

Progressive, heavy weight training is another great form of exercise you must consider. The ‘post-workout burn’ with strength training, is the highest out of any exercise choice.

You can perform a 30-40 minute weight training program and continue to burn calories faster for up to 48 hours post-workout. This means the total calorie burn is going to be tremendous.

The trick here though is making sure that you are lifting slightly heavier weight each session to challenge yourself. Aim for around 10-12 reps for each exercise to begin with, then each 2 weeks look to bring the reps down and the weight up. An example would be: The first 2 weeks 10-12 reps, then next 2 weeks 8-10 reps, then 6-8 reps and finally 4-6 reps. Once you have completed a full loop, rest for a week, and start from the top again and move through the different rep ranges, always increasing the weight as you go.

The calorie burn for this will vary depending on what type of exercises you’re doing, but expect to burn around 200-350 calories in 30 minutes, however the calories that will be burnt in the days that follow are insane!

4. Rowing

Another great cardio activity to do, rowing will torch calories quickly as well. This one is great since it’ll be working both the lower and upper body muscles at the same time, provided you are using a rowing machine at the gym.

If you decide to get out and row in water, not to worry, it’s still a good calorie burner and is a great way to cross train, giving the lower body a break while working the upper body instead.

A 62kg woman can burn around 690 calories per hour of rowing activity.

5. Boxing Using a Heavy Bag

Finally, last but not least, consider boxing using a heavy bag. This form of exercise is ideal for those of you who like to sweat-it-out in the confines of your own, imitating scenes from Rocky.

A good hour of heavy bag work can easily torch over 550 calories, putting a dent in your fat loss program. I would advise that you at least strap your wrists if you are to complete this activity over this period of time. Remember not to over-complicate this activity, sticking to basic straight-forward punching and upper-cuts are best and require little coordination so that the focus of the workout remain on intensity.

So keep these forms of exercise in mind next time you head out to do your workout. Utilise them and you’ll be reaching your goal weight in no time.

An important note, if you feel that you are not particularly 'good at' or 'coordinated' at a particular activity, the chances are you will gain more effect from doing that exercise. In summary if you're really bad at something, you should definitely be doing that more often than something that you're good at....So there is literally no excuse for getting started 😉

And if you haven't exercised at all in a while: just check in with your GP to make sure that you are in good health to start ramping up the intensity. And if all good, then go for it! Find something that you love and want to challenge yourself with and do it!

As I promised... lifting the veil on another endocrine disruptor that may be getting in the way of your best health and weight loss goals...

How your thoughts can impact your hormones and negatively affect your metabolism 💁🏻‍♀️

What you might not have considered to be a reason for stalled progress... let’s talk about obesogens - what they are and how to avoid them.

How your thoughts can impact your hormones and negatively affect your metabolism 💁🏻‍♀️