Working hard with no results? It is time to work smarter not harder! We have all been there, you are eating well, moving a lot and resting as much as you can – living your best life, then, over the period of a few months or even years, you notice your jeans feel tighter, that hill gets a bit harder to climb… but you’re eating and exercising as much as you have for years. What’s up with that? You should be seeing a few results…right?
Why does this slow down happen? Sad face – if you are getting a bit older then you have a couple of things working against you. You’re probably not burning calories as efficiently as you once did. We don’t all have the metabolism of a teenager forever. Disappointingly, your metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn in a day) dips about 1% per year beginning around age 30.
Boooooooooo I hear you say. Well…You can outsmart that. When your lifestyle, training and diet all gets a bit slow, stale and boring it is time to start working smarter not harder. The team at Mingara One Fitness have put together their 5 tips to work smarter not harder. It’s time to shift a few habits so you can rev your body back up
1. Amp Up Protein
In case you did not know protein is the building block of muscle, and since muscle mass diminishes as you age, you need even more protein. Some good news – foods that are high in protein pack a greater metabolic boost than fat or carbohydrates. Biting, chewing, swallowing, and digesting protein-rich foods can burn up to 30% of the calories on your plate, compared to 5% for fat and carbohydrates. Protein balls make a super-convenient snack before your gym workout as a hit of sustained energy. Post workout, the protein can go towards replenishing your body as it enters recovery mode. View a quick and easy protein ball recipe here.
Watch how easy protein balls are to make!
2. Tame Your Stress
“Midlife can be one of the most stressful times”, says Florence Comite, MD, an endocrinologist in New York. Cortisol, the stress hormone is linked to an accumulation of hard to shift fat around your midriff.
Did you know that chronic (long-term) stress can also impact how well your body responds to insulin, which controls your blood sugar? Work to eliminate as much stress as possible from your daily routine and this will help cut the amount of cortisol your body makes. Reducing stress will need you to take some big steps to make time for you, prioritise, ask for help, seek guidance to find what works for you to assist in reducing stress. Everyone’s stressors are very different.
An easy activity to try is to meditate. No new equipment is required and you can meditate pretty much anywhere! Just 10 minutes of mindful meditation can make a difference. Meditation is simply a state of being, a state of acceptance that everything is just as t is. It gives you the chance to be still, be happy and create a strong mind. You don’t need to feel stressed to reap the benefits of meditation. Meditation can be used as part of a holistic approach to your mental and physical health. To find more out about meditation and how you can make it a part of every day click here.
Studio 3 at Mingara One Fitness offers a great space to focus on you. The studio is beautifully designed and offers classes like;
One Meditation
Training your mind to be peaceful is a learned skill. Take some time out in a guided meditation.
One Yoga
Take a breath, centre & regroup.
Hot Yoga
Stimulate your mind and body with hot yoga. Enhance your flexibility as you allow the heat to assist you to move into postures.
One Gentle Yoga
The perfect place to restore, rebalance and refresh.
One Pilates
A great one to assist with injury prevention and rehab.
Body Balance
Start your mental and physical journey to harmony and health with Body Balance.
3. Don’t Skimp on Sleep
Don’t miss out on catching enough zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’s.
When you’re short on sleep, your appetite kicks into higher gear. You know that is true! Never go grocery shopping when you are tired. All of the sweetest treats and high in fat items seem to jump in the trolley and you seem to forget the fruit and veg aisle. In one American study of some 68,000 women, those who slept for five or fewer hours each night gained 2.5 pounds more than those sleeping seven hours a night.
Our top tip – set a soothing bedtime routine that includes turning off all screens at least one hour before bed. Try not to have your mobile phone next to the bed too! Reduce the temptation to scroll that screen. Don’t grab for your social updates first thing in the morning. Wake up well rested and start the day without the social world invading your space.
4. Get Stronger
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when you’re at rest. As you get older you naturally begin to lose muscle mass and it is hard to reclaim and rebuild. You need to keep active and keep building muscle.
Resistance training can help. Keeping your muscles strong makes it easier to maintain your weight.
How do you do this? Use weights that are heavy enough to exhaust your muscles with 12 repetitions, yet light enough to complete at least eight repetitions. Do lunges, squats dead lifts, and pushups (12-15 repetitions per set). Or, if you’re not into weightlifting, do yoga or other exercises that use your own body weight for resistance.
Check out Mingara One Fitness trainer, Ryan’s great workout here.
5. Clean Up Your Diet
More bad news – you can’t eat the way you used to when you were 15, without some consequences.
A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that people who ate the most refined foods (like sugar, white bread, cookies, and cakes) developed significantly more belly fat than those who consumed the same number of calories from less processed foods.
Cleaning up your diet might take a little bit more planning but with a little bit of practice, you will become a pro food prepper. Always have healthy snacks on hand. Keep almonds in your pocketbook, trail mix in your desk drawer, and hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. It is simple to find wholesome simple foods to enjoy throughout the day.
Check in with us
The team at Mingara One Fitness are happy to help you get the most from your diet and exercise. Come and chat with us and anytime. You can find us here.