Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the body's preferred source of energy as they are the most efficient to convert to energy of the three main nutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat). They provide energy for the central nervous system and to power muscles during work/activity.

So carbohydrates are:

The primary source of energy, the only fuel for the central nervous system, an aid to metabolising fat (without glucose present in your muscles fat metabolism or break down cannot occur) and carbs spare the protein in your body, being used in preference as energy,  leaving the protein for growth and repair.

1g of carbohydrate supplies 4kcal of energy.

Carbs can be broken down into two categories, simple carbs and complex. Simple carbs are simple sugars such as fructose - fruit sugar, maltose and glucose these breakdown quickly providing energy for approx 30 minutes. Complex carbs are made of strings of sugars and take longer to breakdown, they can be found in the form of starches and fibre etc (potatoes, rice, vegetables, beans etc)

To maintain metabolism throughout the day try to eat complex carbs with breakfast, simple carbs with your mid morning and afternoon meals. Keep carbs to the front of the day and fill up on vegs and salad with your tea/dinner.

Basic food groups

I have been asked to talk about carbohydrates, how much, when etc. but before I can do that we need to start with the basic food groups and make sure we are all talking about the same thing.....

There are six main nutrients that we need to survive. When we plan our eating (or diet) we need to be aware of each, they are:

• Carbohydrates (including fibre)
• Fats (including cholesterol)
• Proteins
• Vitamins
• Minerals
• Water

We will explore each in more detail later (we have already looked at water). For now we need to think about sources of each of these to maintain a balanced diet. For most healthy people the published recommended daily intakes of each of these nutrients (published by the department of health) will ensure that levels in the body are not deficient or toxic.

Our bodies use energy from food to fuel internal functions such as digestion, breathing, muscle function etc. The energy in food comes from carbohydrate, fat and protein. We all need to eat a balance of these food groups to ensure we have energy for activity and bodily functions.

NOTE: another energy source is alcohol but this is not considered a nutrient or food group.

Water, water everywhere.....

As a human being you are made up of a varied mixed of substances and water. Yes you are over 70% water.

What this means in terms of your diet and nutrition is that you need to replace that water regularly. By drinking two litres of water a day you can assist your body in flushing through excess chemicals, minerals or toxins. The kidneys process substances in the body and get rid of waste in the form of urea (wee to you and me).

An added benefit to drinking more water is that the body doesn't feel it needs to hold on to water as it is getting a regular supply. This means less water retention and puffiness. Probably the only down side is the need to visit the loo more often.

Aim to drink 2 litres of water a day. Remember Jon says,

Good water in, Bad water out......

Breakfast - is it really that important?

A Big YES to this one.

Link it back to the last blog and the 5 to 6 small meals which keep your metabolic rate higher throughout the day breakfast is the meal that starts this process. Overnight your digestive system finishes digesting everything from the day before and slows down lowering your metabolic rate. The first meal of the day kicks the digestive system back into action and gives the boost to your metabolic rate. This is key to encouraging your body to burn off more energy (calories).

In addition, the first meal of the day provides the nutrition that boosts all your body's functions thus you will not be as tired, will be able to concentrate better, feel more energised etc..

I eat breakfast everyday but often find it quite difficult and have to make myself eat it.... A good basic cereal is a good choice, quite a lot of breakfast cereals are mainly sugar so stick to the basics, weetabix, shredded wheat, bran flakes etc.....




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Rotherham town centre gym, making your health and well-being affordable.

Little and often the way to go

A good tip for healthy eating is to split your meals into smaller portions and eat more often. Try to eat every two and a half to three hours and eat 5 to 6 small meals a day.

Remember this is not an excuse to eat more than usual you need to break down your daily intake over the more frequent mealtimes.

The key to this is metabolism. Your metabolism is the rate at which your body uses energy or calories in order for your body to function. Everybody has an individual metabolic rate ( some have a naturally fast metabolism and are people who can eat quite a lot and not seem to put on weight, others have a slow metabolism and put on weight easily).

Metabolic rate is directly affected by food intake, when you eat your body's digestive system etc kicks into action to turn the food into energy. When we have large gaps between meals the rate slows down in-between whilst not digesting food, thus burning less energy. By eating little and often and reducing time between meals you are able to keep your body's automatic functions like digestion going more constantly using more energy whilst processing the food.

Therefore, if you eat the same amount of food but over more frequent smaller meals your body will use more energy to do this which should result in burning off more calories without actually changing the content of your diet.

It may be that you need to change what you eat as well to make your diet healthier and to achieve a goal of weight-loss or toning but this approach will form a good basis on which to build.

Another benefit is that more regular eating will help to regulate blood sugar levels reducing peaks and troughs which tend to lead us to hunger pangs and binge eating.

Small meals are important as the body can only digest so much food in one sitting, any additional food will either be discarded as waste or stored as fat another reason for little and often.

5 to 6 meals per day, every 2.5 to 3 hours.....

Call in the gym and ask Jon about his campfire theory.......it works!!

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Let's start easy

Hi everyone

The first thing to remember is the use of the word diet - DIET doesn't always mean reducing food it is a eating regime or plan, is may be aimed at putting weight on or gaining lean muscle mass so don't be fooled that we are going to reduce your eating. We may just change it a little.

But having said that, assuming you want to lose weight then Let's start with the obvious and simple. The basic of weight management is input versus output.

Quite simply if input (what you eat) is greater than output ( the energy you need during the day) you will put weight on, if input is the same as output you will remain static and if input is less than output you will lose weight. So quite simply reduce what you put in and you will start to lose weight.

Let's start 2011 by keeping a food diary for one week to see what you eat In a normal week, when you eat (time of day), how you feel and how much you weigh.

So make a note from tomorrow of what you eat and when.

Start by weighing yourself and taking key measurements, chest, waist, hips, thigh, bicep. Note all these down and away we go. I will do it to tomorrow too so we are all taking this journey together.

It does get a little more complicated but this is the basic principle. When we add in exercise you can start to change your shape more quickly as this will burn off additional energy using up the food you are eating.

Keep up with the blog for the next step.....




Revolution gym, Rotherham 35-37 Bridgegate, Rotherham. A town centre based gym for all, your needs. 01709 372659


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Revolution Gym Slimming Revolution

No fads, gimmicks or points. The Slimming Revolution aims to provide you with the information and motivation to design an eating regime that suits your needs and achieve the results you want.

This blog will support and reinforce the information supplied in our gym based classes which are due to start in Januray 2011. Again these are aimed at putting you in control. You get out what you put in, simple!!!

Revolution gym, Rotherham 35-37 Bridgegate, Rotherham. A town centre based gym for all, your needs. 01709 372659