Over Eating at Christmas, What can we Do?

It is going to happen, there are work dinners, catching up with friends and family there is always extra food and drink around. So what can we do to minimise the damage of the unwanted KG gift.

Hidden sugar is the big battle nowadays sugar content has increased in most products, tins of beans, breakfast cereal, sources, bbq, ketchup - the food manufactures know that we get hooked on sweet things and although many products clam to be healthy, watch out for sugar content.

Focus on eating more cooked veg, add some extra virgin olive oil, the combination of eating more veg is you will fill up quicker and get more nutrients plus some oil being more calorie dense will give you energy for longer.

making veg soup with added ginger also helps digestion

Stay off the sweets and chocolates they also have sugar we know but the E numbers like E220 a common preservative damages our intestinal microbes and that can lead to inflammation. Even some natural foods that we think are a better option than the sausage rolls, for example hummus made from chick peas, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, lots of manufactures add a lot of sodium (man-made salt) and E220. So we risk bloatedness and not from the chick peas but from the 'preservativs'. Check the labels! don't feel bad about it feel 'interested'

'Eating Clean' was in the news this week and a food critic attacked this notion that other food then must be 'dirty' this polar view has some truth for me eating E220 or sodium added to normal foods is similar to eating contaminated foods. The long term affects can cause chronic digestion problems as well as headaches and skin complaints. Before seeing your doctor, look at the food labels.

Bread, I will do a complete post about this but Make Your Own, as most breads have lots of added E numbers, sodium/salt and even milk powders. If you are lactose intolerant then be very careful as most if not all wheat products, biscuits and cakes will have milk or dairy. Going gluten free over Christmas could also help reduce the work our digestive system has to do, as there is an excess of wheat based products at this time of year with all the pastry from mince pies so take a break.

Break'fast' is a nice way to remember that we can go without eating for quite a long time, I'm not into fasting but giving our digestive system a rest can help the digestive enzymes finish their work before loading them up again. So try from your dinner, of homemade veg soup and push your breakfast back till 10 or 11am the next day and see how you feel. try for between 12-16 hours without eating. Do drink. Water is good, green tea, white tea, try and keep one coffee or tea to the morning only.

70% full is another way to deal with lots of meals at Christmas time, if we eat up to this point of almost full and wait twenty minutes you will then start to feel 100% full as the food you have eaten swells in the stomach. Mint tea and camomile help with digestion too. We all have different digestion speeds, which again we need to eat accordingly, if you have a slow system (food spends a long time in small intestine) then eat less animal protiens and more veg.

A quick recap.

Hidden Sugar, tinned, bottled and boxed foods
E220, is a dirty word
Sodium too, Put those Pringels down Now!
Guten Break - give your intestins a well earned rest.
Leave your breakfast till later.
eat until almost full and Stop!

Thinking about what we eat makes a huge difference, and if you overdo it give your system time to recover. Any weight you gain from overeating will create extra work not only for your dygestive systim but your heart too as it has to suply blood to more of you!

Hope that helps,

Any question or comments welcome.

Merry Christmas
Caspar

Top Ten Mobility and Strength home Excercises

Here are my top ten functional movements that can help all of us stay active even when stuck at home.

1. Standing on one leg. core balance
2. Standing up from a chair or the floor without using your hands. legs, gluts and core.
3. Carry two bags of shopping up stairs. legs, gluts, core and shoulders, back.
4. Hold a 1.5lt bottle of water out in front of you. how long can you last! chest and shoulders.
5. Front and side Plank. core, shoulders, gluts, back.
6. Backwards Lunge. gluts and legs.
7. Side lunge. upper leg ab/adductors
8. Tricep Dips between two chairs.
9. Leg Lift. find a corner worktop in the kitchen. with hands on each worktop and your bum in the corner raise your body, shoulders chest and triceps. and now lift legs together. lower core and hip flexors.
10. the classic Push Up. if you can't manage one try it from your knees.

Good luck!

November New-s

Now autumn is around us the warm layers for the trail rides and wet weather gear must come out.

lots of storms this week but managed to get a few runs in a swim and of course a ride.
remember great time to work on intensity as the evenings are darker too so less day light hours.

Here are some highlights from the week. from a glass classroom to an upside down boat-church!

Also Hi Pro Nutrition in the UK sent me a vegan friendly peanut butter that hits Sainsbury Nov 12th. rrp £2.99. natural protein, taste good too.

Top read this month is Diet Myth by Tim Spector, no Bond connection. Find out how your microbes control you! 

More new things. local hydro charge station for mobile phones in the street. Murcia, Spain. mine didn't fit, but great idea. And new urban bike shop in Lleida, Cataloña. Bill Bikes. Bici-lleida. Cleaver name.

HOME WORKOUT - PAY ONCE - GET THE KNOWLEDGE

20 min Functional Body exercise.

Three main areas. Upper, Lower and Core. 

Movements to help balance and improve posture and make You stronger. Activities that you can do at home.

Start at the Top.

Upper Body
Chest, back, shoulders, arms

Core
Upper, lower, abdominal, side obliques, lumbar.

Lower body,
Gluts, hamstrings, quads, hip flexors, calves

Pay Once, have the knowledge for life. Gym routines, books and trainers forget to simplify. The functional movements here are the same for all types of sports, from tennis to crossfit. We all have different areas that are weak but the fundamental movements and muscle groups are the same. 

We need mobility of movement and strength to do everyday tasks and beyond. 

An example a few weeks ago I helped a friend do some transmission work on his truck. And like always the ramp didn't work and it took me all day on the floor, lifting and pulling and pushing. These are the basic movements that we do in a workout. Push ups for example. The next day I felt ok, tired from lots of hard work but not in PAIN because I do these exercises two or three times a week, EVERY week. 

Prices from $20 / Euros / Pounds let Paypal do the hard work. caspar1975@gmail.com

Call or email to Book. 07939019030

Training Days

Have a personal trainer for the day looking at all aspects of your life, from your kitchen to your walk to work.
Re balance, your muscles, your nutrition, your daily activities.

£100 sound a lot? What would you pay the Cesar Millan to sort out your dog...what does it cost to have a full service on your car?

Solutions for the weak areas in your life, simple ways to stay flexible, strong, eating well.

Where, how and why training activities that you need. Realistic goals for you.
Six week plan done on the day with you completely individual.

Food and nutrition; what you eat, when, how, who with, what to shop for, we go to your supermarket.

Understand latest news about health, old myths and sayings. An apple a day...why is that true?

*Day will start with 'walk n talk' finding out about you, where and how you live.

*Base data, heart rate, measurements, injuries.

*Kitchen check over, see what you normally eat.

*Shop and prep healthy lunch, cooking tips to save time and stay on track.

*Resistance training for you and your weaknesses.

*Cardio for you and your fitness.

*Six week plan, with weekly follow up call or email.

September Free Training Log book and Half Price Consultation. SAVE £20

It's Now Time to Book your consultation and get into shape for the new you this Autumn. Free Training Log Book

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Don't Drink, Don't Smoke. What do you Do?

You may remember the lyrics from this 80s Adam Ant hit. Well I was thinking about this on a hike in the Peak District near Leek.
I like to think that both these habits are becoming a thing of the past. Now the trend is to cycle, eat whole foods and be active.
last week I was able to get to Cannock Chase area of natural beauty and ride alongside heather plants, spotting deer and even a kingfisher down by the river Trent.

Today the rain came: the answer get wet, but not outside, in the pool on a quiet bank holiday and home to cook up a tasty vegetable soup.
So in short your answer to the title question should be a list of activities that fulfill your life with energy and the desire for more. Run, Ride, Hike, Swim, Skate, cook fresh food, even grow your own.
thanks for reading. leave a comment and tell me what healthy activities you enjoy. :))

LUD'S CHURCH, NEAR LEEK

Food for the Tour

Over the last two weeks I have ridden the mountain bike about 300km and accumulated over 4000m of assent. And driven about 1500km. Camped for thee nights and stayed with friends. The car is simple it uses petrol, but the legs on the bike need a more complex diet.

I have been following a whole food diet - that means I want to get my carbs, fats and proteins from foods that can give me all of these things in one hit - plus I want to to stay healthy and not get sick. So I want foods that give lots of vitamins and minerals. What is the answer.? Fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, root veg, flower and leaf veg.

Along the way I have done training session too with army fitness friends and lake swam. We have all been trying out how this re-focus away from animal proteins has helped us feel full but at the same time light. So digestion has been quicker.

I am happy to say that from the breakfasts, lunches to dinners all of which have been different. With the  huge range of vegetables in both France and Spain as well as the organic AB label that French shops have it is easy to change the foods you normally eat and add something new.

The diet is starting to become a lifestyle that is making meals ever-more tasty and interesting. Here is a few photos: Bon apatite

gluten free bread with olive oil and pepper

My favourite, with fresh mint.

Give it a tri

August MTB stages tour

The start of August has meant some extra time to travel and ride new areas. incorporating visits to friends which is a great help for local information and having down time to look for the right route distance and accumulated height. nothing worst than expecting a nice ride that becomes a grind.
So with that the first ride started in an small sierra in Murcia but with a twist. a trail that once was considered too extreme was re evaluated after over a year of skills improvement and is now top of my list to do again. the local name for this trail is Bisbal.
With the very hot conditions we rode through an area where there had been a forest fire some six weeks before.

Next stop is the north of Spain with a ride in the mountain Izki (ith-ky) close to Vitoria. I was given a trail map the year before by a friend so I downloaded the gpx files and slotted together a combination of three numbered routes that put me to the test.
being the north there was now mud, trees and lots of mosquitoes. But also rustic mountain villages to see and my favourite bird - vultures!

Next up is a local ride with Gonzalo in the La Rioja campo. A very popular area for hikers on there way to Santiago. international mounting bike association have established routes here running through some of the vineyards and the hills are a challenge too.

Next stop will be Arragon to try out some of Zona Zero trails. these guys are hosting the downhill champs in September and have marked over 30 trails from lighter, intermediate to extreme. gpx files and descriptions are on the web. I will be hitting trails 1, 4, 15 starting from Ainsa. this is an special town that has castle walls it feels like you are in a Connan film.

I have added some more photos from phone from French VTT trails near Carcassonne, Montbel. Check out the trails now uploaded to Wikiloc. 

Burnt Mucian Hills

France Lac Montbel, what makes more dammage, horse or bike!?

Ainsa, Zona Zero

Lac Montbel

Zona Zero Ruta 1