Health benefits of a 30 minute brisk walk

Everyone has to start somewhere on the road to fitness and one of the best ways to start is by walking.

 

Walking for health

Walking is simple, easy and one of the easiest ways to get more active, lose weight and become healthier.

You don’t have to walk for hours, just a steady speedy 10 minute daily walk has many health benefits that count towards your 150 minutes weekly exercise.

You don’t have to wear specific walking shoes, any shoes or trainers that are comfortable will do as long as they don’t cause blisters and have enough support.

Why not start by walking to work, you can always wear your work clothes and walking shoes and then change your shoes once at work.

If you are going on a long walk you may want to consider taking a bottle of water and a healthy snack, and depending on the weather forecast, a foldaway waterproof jacket could be handy.

A brisk paced walk is generally about 3 mph, which is slightly faster than a stroll. A good way to tell if you’re walking too fast is that you are able to speak but not sing the words to a song.

If you’re not generally an active person build up to longer distances gradually. If you are inactive due to medical reasons seek advice from your doctor first.

The simplest way to walk more is to make it a habit.

A few ways to walk more is try;

• walking part of your journey to work
• walking to the shops
• using the stairs instead of the lift
• leaving the car behind for short journeys
• walking the kids to school
• doing a regular walk with a friend
• going for a stroll with family or friends after dinner

If you find going for a walk alone mundane why not try listening to some music or a podcast, this will help take your mind off the effort, it can also get you into a rhythm,  which in turn makes you walk faster, burns more calories and you’ll get to your destination quicker!

Starting to enjoy walking? Why not join a walking group, you’ll make new friends and also stay motivated, after all motivation is key!

Courtesy of @challengeannika

This recipe is a breeze to make and packed with vitamins and antioxidants. Eat this and you’ll be well on your way to your 5-a-day!

The benefits of this dish don’t stop there – sweet potatoes also have a low Glycaemic Index (GI).

Eating foods that have a low GI can keep blood sugar levels steady and can even help your body metabolise fat more efficiently.

INGREDIENTS

100g frozen fine cut green beans

100g frozen baby carrots

100g frozen mixed peppers

100g british petits pois

200g frozen spinach

150g Sweet potato

1 medium size onion

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon of hot curry powder

Pinch of dried chilli flakes (optional)

 

Makes 3 nice size portions

Calories per portion approx 220/250

 

 

METHOD

 

1 – Put all items in the slow cooker other than the curry powder

2 – Fill up half your empty tomato can with water and mix curry powder in

3 – Pour over the vegetables

4 – Put slow cooker on a low setting and let cook for at least 6 hours, I generally leave mine on for the whole working day. As it’s cooked in a slow cooker it keeps it’s moisture and I like my vegetables soft. If you do prefer your vegetables with a slight crunch then I would go for approx 6 hours cooking time.

 

Courtesy of @challengeannika

 

 

Are we ever satisfied with our weight? Maybe we want to lose it as we are overweight, perhaps just tone up, or avoid gaining more. Then there are the ‘skinny’ people that have an accelerated metabolism who battle to put weight on, and finally there are those that look like they have the perfect athletic body, do no exercise and eat what they want, better known as ‘Skinny Fat’ (medically known as metabolically obese normal weight) a phrase used to describe people who look fit and healthy on the surface yet, due to lack of exercise and poor diet, have an abundance of health problems brewing beneath it.

 

The weight that’s best for you depends on a number of factors; height, bone structure, body type and possibly genetic factors.

 

1 pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. This means that to lose a pound a week, you need to “lose” 3,500 calories a week, which works out roughly to be 500 a day. The easiest way to do this is through a combination of exercise and diet. Here are a few tips which may surprise you that can hep you lose those extra pounds;

 

Eat Snacks!

To help you lose weight you should eat snacks! Eating healthy snacks between meals helps prevent you overeating during meals, and it also keeps your blood sugar level balanced throughout the day, which in turn helps sustain energy levels.

 

Eat your favourite foods!

We all think to lose weight or tone up we need stop eating all our favourite foods, as normally they are high in calories or fat,  but evidence shows that cutting our favourite foods out altogether only makes us miserable, then we develop a craving for that food and end up binging on it.

 

Make small changes

All we need to do is make some small changes – for instance we can still eat our favourite food, but half it – so instead of two chocolate biscuits just have one. Try changing from full fat milk to semi skimmed milk.  Cut down a little on carbohydrates – for example have less pasta, rice or potatoes  – as these easily convert to fat if overeaten. Try having extra vegetables instead as these are lower in calories and are mostly carbohydrate free. Small changes are easier to make, but they will give you results and will help you to quickly adapt to smaller portions.

 

Eat more slowly

Try eating slowly, chew your food and fully take on the flavours. Did you know it takes approximately 20 minutes for your brain to receive the signals from your stomach that you are full?

 

Use a smaller plate

Also try using a smaller plate at meal times, as your portion will appear bigger. It’s proven that you’ll feel much more satisfied than if you had used a larger plate with the same size portion, as you are tricking your tummy with an optical illusion.

 

Article courtesy of @challengeannika

Are you feeling inspired by a friend, family member or even a work colleague who has entered a cycling sportive or a running event, maybe the local 10k or half marathon, but don’t have the confidence or know where to begin?

Maybe you feel that you can’t enter or train towards an event as it means wearing the dreaded figure hugging LYCRA and the general public will be staring at you as you train? Well firstly, you don’t need to wear lycra for either activities and secondly people won’t really be staring – and those that are are normally the ones that wish they had the confidence to be doing what you’re doing, making that personal journey to a fitter healthier you. After all, we all have to start somewhere, but once we’ve made that first step outside the front door everything changes for the better.

Follow a training plan and decide how you’ll implement it at the start of each week, then gradually build it up over the weeks, maybe with a mixture of walking, running and cycling to start with.

There will be days where you’re just not feeling it. Whether it’s after a tough training session the day before or a long day in the office, getting out the door and training isn’t always going to be easy. On days like these a little motivation goes a long way.

To motivate yourself maybe you could train for a charity that you’re passionate about or one that has helped you or your family. Training for a good cause is always a good motivator because when the going gets hard you just have to think why you’re doing it.

You have to remember though your body will take time to adapt to a new activity, so avoid going too far, too fast, too soon.

At KOM Coaching we can construct a training plan specifically just for you and your ability and tweak the plan as and when needed depending on your progress. This helps you get the balance of training and recovery just right and progress steadily towards your goal.

If you believe it, we can help you achieve it!

Courtesy of @challengeannika

 

I was really excited to be questioned for an article in the latest edition of Cycling Plus Magazine!

It’s out now! ( Issue no. 342  Pg 82)

Thanks Chris McGuire Out of Depth Dad #outofdepthdad Cycling Plus