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The Danger of Pre Supper Snacking

Do you often arrive home from work feeling so ravenous you could eat a donkey with the saddle on?!?!

If you do then you might find yourself routinely grabbing snacks before you’ve prepared a proper meal in the evening. This isn’t the worst crime in the world of course but if you’re aiming to gain control of your weight and what you’re eating then pre supper snacking can be a real problem.

I can tell you from my own experience that keeping hunger pangs at bay after a long day at work is not easy. In fact, back in the day when I was office bound I even found myself coming home from a day at the office and rummaging through my fridge without even having taken my coat off!

But it doesn’t have to be this way. At The Body Retreat we believe that balance is the key to keeping hunger in check.

Follow our simple tips below and you will soon find yourself in almost zen like control as you open your front door of an evening. Believe me, you will feel a whole lot better for it!

The Hunger Scale

You may already have read or heard about the Hunger Scale but even if you have then it is worth looking at again because it is a really amazing tool. We use it all the time at Weight Loss Retreats because it really helps provide a focus when we’re trying to take back control of what we’re eating.

The Hunger Scale is all about thinking more precisely about how hungry or full you are whenever you eat. It isn’t a magic solution that works wonders overnight but if you use it for a while you are sure to see some very worthwhile benefits. The scale is easier to use on retreat because there’s more time to focus but, if you find a way to use it in everyday life too, then it can make a massive difference to the way you think about and enjoy food.

As you can see below, the Hunger Scale goes from one, which is where you are so physically faint from hunger you could barely lift a fork to your mouth, through to ten which is feeling so full up that you could be sick in a bucket…(yes it really is that gross).

The Hunger Scale
1. Physcially Faint
2. Ravenous
3. Hungry
4. A Little Hungry
5. Neutral
6. Satisfied
7. Full
8. Stuffed
9. Over Faced
10. Sick in a Bucket!

Ideally we want to stay between 4 and 7. When we don’t eat or when we don’t eat well and we allow our blood sugar levels to drop down into the realms of 1,2 and 3, we find ourselves at the mercy of a brain in survival mode.

The Problem with Flagging Blood Sugar

When your blood sugar levels drop low your brain, which always has your very best interest at heart, senses the lack of energy and sends out a very compelling message that it needs high energy sources ASAP. The result is that your brain will literally send you in search of fast acting carbs that can be easily converted to energy.

Now there is great sugar in a carrot, but, here’s the thing, when you are low down the Hunger Scale you make bad choices. You open the fridge door, you see the carrots, you see the hummus you see the natural Greek yoghurt, but no. You need or rather you want starchy CARBS!!! So you close the fridge and turn to the bread bin…

The problem with eating starchy carbs on an empty stomach

As starchy carbs are quickly converted into glucose you start to feel better, but your body is also producing insulin to convert the glucose either into muscles for energy or into your fat stores.

In large amounts insulin prevents fat burning and stores surplus nutrients in the fat cells. After some time (a few hours or less) this may result in a shortage of nutrients in the blood, creating feelings of hunger and cravings for something sweet. Usually at that point people eat more. This starts the process all over again and that’s why snacking can be such a problem and why the associated cravings are often so hard to control.

In a recent study at Cornell University, students who consumed starchy carbs before or at the very start of a meal ate 47% more calories in their meals than those who ate vegetables or salad.

If this all sounds a little too familiar then you will be pleased to know that there are some very simple steps you can take to break this vicious cycle.

The Body Retreat’s Top Tips for Avoiding Pre Supper Snacking

Avoid having a glass of wine while cooking.

There is no need to come over all Keith Floyd in the midweek kitchen. Not only is the sugar in the wine converted in exactly the same way as the sugar in the starchy carbs but on an empty stomach you may find yourselves being a little too enthusiastic in tasting the meal as you prepare. Ever found yourselves saying…. “Mmm, nice” and then having another couple of spoonfuls? Leave the vino until you are at the table eating.

Drink a glass of warm water and lemon juice instead of wine.

Lemon juice is traditionally understood to support digestive hydrochloric acid in the stomach to aid digestion. This is why in ayruvedic or yogic traditions it is drunk upon waking. But drinking a glass while you are preparing your meal can also help to take the sting out of your appetite.

Eat a good lunch.

Soup or Salad makes a great lunch

Having a high carb lunch will leave you feeling empty by supper time (see our blog on why sandwiches may damage your waistline).

Having a mid-afternoon snack is a MUST!!

Back to our Hunger Scale. If you allow your blood sugar levels to drop too low then you will put yourself into the snacking danger zone. Ideally you should aim to have a small protein based snack midway between lunch and supper. So if you lunch at 1pm and have supper at around 7.30pm then having a snack around 4.00pm will help to keep your blood sugar levels balanced.

The thing to remember is that no one plan suits everybody, so you need to learn to listen to your own body and eat when you are hungry and stop when you are satisfied. That way you are respecting your body and giving it the nutrition it needs and deserves. At The Body Retreat we work with all our clients to create a plan that works for their lifestyle and their goals so that they can build healthy habits that work for them. Our Weight Loss Retreats are based on the principle of balancing blood sugar which combined with the behaviour element of the programme ensure that clients are set up for long term success once they return home.

What are your thoughts and experiences of Pre Supper Snacking? We would love to hear from you, so please leave us a comment below.

If you have found this article helpful then sharing is caring so please spread the word on your favourite social media.

Are Toxins Making You Fat?

“A Toxic Body Will Cause You To Gain Fat, While a Cleansed Balanced Body is Slim & Healthy”

We don’t often use the F word at The Body Retreat. Too often Fat is used as a derogatory term. It’s a label used to put you in your place. Fat… its not who you are, it’s what you have. We all have fat, we are meant to, it is part of the body’s natural defence and survival system. Problems only start to arise when we have too much fat and it begins to negatively impact our health.

Recently we attended a course with one of the countries most eminent sports coaches, Phil Richards is a world renowned sports coach at the very top of his game, training professional athletes like Amir Khan and Stuart Stokes as well as professional sports teams like London Harlequins and Leicester Tigers amongst others. A specialist in strength and conditioning Phil has trained some of the world’s strongest men and women.

On the face of it Phil might seem like an unlikely training partner for The Body Retreat and to be honest when we arrived at the training centre at least one of us felt a fish out of water. In a room filled with muscular men, buff boys and a smattering of gym bunnies I was a tracksuit and supplement shake bottle short of the dress code not to mention a dress size (or 2) in the opposite direction.

But, at The Body Retreat we pride ourselves with not only working with the best but learning from the best. Phil is a passionate advocate of detoxification and places this at the heart of all his training and weight loss programmes. Intrigued to learn why this world class sport coach placed so much emphasis on this natural function we attended his certified course to learn more.

Detoxification, it’s A Natural Process, Right?

We all know that we live in a toxic world, toxins are everywhere, in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink. They are in the clothes we wear, the products we wash in even the pans we cook with. There is no escaping them. The body has a perfect inbuilt system to cope with toxins and the main organ responsible for ridding the body of the toxins is our liver.

However, over the past 60 years the amount of man-made chemicals introduced to our food and drink has significantly increased and a recent survey by The Centre for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that adults carry around 700 toxic substances in the body that the liver cannot effectively cope with.

A Toxic Body Will Make You Gain Fat

When the liver cannot process these toxins fast enough it becomes overloaded and this can lead to your feeling sluggish, struggling with skin problems, aches and pains, or digestive problems. But did you know that when the body cannot cope with toxic overload these toxins are stored in the body to be dealt with later… and you’ll never guess where the body stores these toxins….In Your Fat!!

In particular in belly fat. That’s because the body’s self preservation mechanism kick in to protect you from the harm that storing these toxins may have, so they need to be stored somewhere safe.

How the Body Gets Rid of Toxins

Detoxification is a natural process, it is happening all the time through:

Respiration– Your lungs not only filter the air you breath but provide the essential oxygen that every cell in your body needs.

Perspiration – Your skin is your single largest organ of elimination

Defecation– One or two well-formed bowel movements every day is one of the best ways to get toxins out of your body.

Urination– The kidneys are responsible for flushing waste from the blood.

Boost Your Body’s Detoxification Ability Right Now

Practiced for centuries by cultures all around the world — including Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine systems. Detoxification is about resting, cleaning and nourishing the body from the inside out. By removing and eliminating toxins, detoxifying can help protect you from disease and renew your ability to achieve and maintain optimum health and help you to lose that toxic fat.

4 Tips to Help to Detoxify

Respiration – Breathing techniques increases your lungs effectiveness to provide more oxygen for our bodies resulting in increased energy levels and a clear state of mind.

Try the 7/11 Breathing Technique. Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and allow your hands to rest gently in your lap. Now take a deep breath in for the count of 7, hold it for a moment at 7 and then release the breath counting out to 11. Now, the first couple of times you do this it may seem impossible to breath out to 11, but that is only a result of habitual shallow breathing and in an indicator that you need to practice this technique daily to increase your lung effectiveness.

Perspiration – Using saunas and steam rooms can help eliminate toxins through perspiration and can help your kidneys to increase their ability to clear the toxic material they have removed form your blood. In an ideal world you would take a sauna daily as part of your detox programme.

Defecation – Fibre helps move waste through the colon because it is indigestible by the human body. In other words, fibre adds ‘bulk’ to the stool. If your bowel movements are too loose, fibre can make them firmer; on the other hand, if your stools are too hard, fibre can make them softer.

Don’t think fibre is only found in cereals, it is in all types of plant-based foods, including fruit and vegetables. So increase the amount of fruit and veg and if I may be indelicate here keep an eye on your poo.. it will tell you when you have the balance right.

Urination – One way to ensure that the kidneys are functioning to their maximum level is to drink around 8-10 glasses of clean, filtered water daily. Its really important that the water is filtered as most water sources contain toxins which can lead to impaired thyroid function which in turn increases weight gain.

Its Hard to lose Toxic Fat

There are lots of other things you can do to help this detoxification process that will not only help you to safely lose toxic body fat, increase your energy levels and solve digestive issues and that is why we created our Detox Retreat. With an intelligent focus on behaviour, exercise and nutrition as well as some good old fashioned R&R, you’ll emerge cleansed, balanced and an average of 6lbs lighter as an extra confidence boost!

If you would like to discover for yourself how to safely detoxify your system, kick start your metabolism and lose fat join us on our Summer Detox Retreat.

Right now we are offering 25% off Shared Rooms at our next Detox Retreat starting 7th July 2014.

Contact us now on 0203 7011603 or by email here to secure your place

Our top 3 tips to Enjoy rather than Endure Exercise

When you hear the words exercise or work out do they fill you with a sense of dread? Is exercise always on your “to do list” but some how it never makes it to the top of the list?

You are not alone.

We often meet women, either on our retreats or in private practice, who tell us that they just don’t have enough time to exercise, or that they just flat out don’t want to. Some women tell us that in the past they had managed to lose weight by following a diet alone not be exercising, they counted calories, or grams of fat, it worked then, but since then it never seems to get the same result. They approach us at The Body Retreat hoping to find a new diet that will allow them to lose weight and not need to exercise. Thats not what we are about at The Body Retreat. All our events are based on 4 elements, Behaviour, Nutrition, Exercise and R&R and a balance in all four areas is needed to optimise health for life. We are not about quick fix weight loss at The Body Retreat, so there is no miracle diet here.

Funnily enough though, the NHS refers to exercise as “the miracle cure we have always had, but neglected to take” that is because research has proven that regular exercise reduces your risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes by up to 50%. For women it is also important for bone health and for reducing the risk of osteoporosis. Exercise is also incredibly important for mental health as it prompts the release of dopamine, endorphins, norepinephrine and serotonin.

However, despite the evidence to support the benefits of exercise, for some women, it can still languish at the bottom of the to do list. Despite their best intentions some women just don’t want to work out, don’t want to run or join a gym. And that makes perfect sense. We naturally move towards the things we want or desire and move away from things that will cause us pain or discomfort, we are biologically designed to do this, this is how we have evolved and survived. Lets be honest, who is going to make time to do something they hate?

So, how do you get the great health benefits of exercise if you are really turned off by it? Can you really make exercise something you love to do not need to do?

Well lets start with the terminology, when you hear the word exercise or working out, what images come to mind, is it sweaty gym bunnies on spin bikes, or perhaps its beefy boys lifting weights at the gym, or maybe even lycra clad ladies on impossibly thin bicycles. If those images leave you cold then you are not alone. The important thing here is to find what fits for you, and most importantly to do something that you enjoy, something that you find a pleasure, then you will truly make time to take part rather than find time to make excuse not to.

How do you find out what you might enjoy doing? First, ask yourself some questions. Ask yourself if you want to be indoors or would you prefer to be outside, do you want to join a group or team or do you prefer to be alone. Next start by googling what’s available near you, looking for exercise classes or specialist gyms or groups. Most will be delighted to answer any questions you may have and even offer a free initial visit to see what you make of the environment, people and the event itself. You might consider attending a residential retreat where you can sample a wide range of activities for yourself. At The Body Retreat we offer a wide range of events to suit all lifestyles and activity levels. For example our Dance & Tone Weekend offers a wide range of dance classes such as Fitsetps, Zumba, Ballet Conditioning, Bokwa to name but a few mixed with walking and toning class like pilates, yoga and even kettlebelltone. In this way you can discover for yourself what you might like to take up permanently. But most importantly the muscle we exercise the most at our retreat are your facial muscles as we guarantee that you will have a great time, you will laugh, a lot.

Our TOP 3 TIPS for women to move from Enduring to Enjoying Exercise

1. Fake it Till you Make it.
If you have lead a very sedentary lifestyle in recent years then any new activity or exercise plan that you begin to follow will seem a little difficult at first, its bound to as you discover muscles that you haven’t used for a while or perhaps didn’t know even existed 🙂 But don’t give up, what you tell yourself has a tremendous influence over how you feel, so rather that tell yourself how sore you are feeling and how bad that is, turn it on its head and tell yourself instead how good it feels to have used your muscles and that how each time you use them they will get stronger and stronger. You will be amazed at how much better you will feel.

2. Go Shopping.
This may seem very superficial, but having new shiny bright trainers, a new sport bra that holds everything up and in the right position or even a new colourful t-shirt can give you the most amazing boost and make the overall experience a better one. So treat yourself to a few new items and you will lift your motivation to get out there and use them.

3. Phone a friend.
More specifically phone a friend and ask them to join you. Having a date set with a friend to go to a class or out for a jog or whatever activity you choose can mean that you are more likely to get up and go than if it is just a date in your own diary. You are doing the exercise for yourself but why not make it fun, have a catch up, support each other. While at the same time every time you go you make the habit of going stronger and stronger and before you know it… you enjoy it.. you look forward to going.

Whatever the reason to exercise, wether that be to lose weight, to shape up, to improve your health or to protect your body for life, there are numerous reasons to be more active in life. So perhaps it’s time to stop accepting the excuse of “I don’t have time to….” and instead make the time to find something you really enjoy doing. Time that could well be the best investment you can make for your health and wellbeing.

Would you like to join us at our next Dance & Tone Weekend and try a wide variety of classes and activities to see for yourself how it is possible to enjoy exercise then book now

Helpful Snacking beats the Afternoon Slump

Believe it or not we often have women who join us at The Body Retreat who tell us that we feed them too much!!!

Yes, you did just read the right.

Of course we don’t over feed our guests, but we do feed our guests frequently. When it comes to not only weight loss but achieving health we believe that blood sugar stabilisation plays a major part. Not only does this help to balance hormones, reduce cravings but it also makes sure that you have the right amount of energy to do what you want to do.

If you find yourself looking and feeling like our poster girl above then it may be that your blood sugar is out of balance and you have literally run out of energy for your body to get through the next few hours until supper time. Your brian, thinking that you have slipped into some survival situation will send out very strong message urging you to eat quickly and to eat something that can be quickly converted into energy…so it sends you to the vending machine for some chocolate or to the cafe for a coffee and a muffin. And guess what you will feel great…for about half an hour, then …whoosh you are right back where you started, feeling drained and tired.

This can seem like such a hard cycle to break but choosing the right foods will make a huge difference to help blood sugar stabilisation.

If you find yourself crashing in the afternoons rethink lunch, ditch the processed carbs at lunch, so forgot the sandwich in favour of a soup or salad. Pack the protein into your lunch choice, this will give you a slower release of energy to keep you going for longer.

Plan to have a mid afternoon snack, lets be honest if you have lunch at 1.00pm and then supper at about 7.00pm thats a long time to go without fuel. So plan to have a great snack to keep your energy levels stable. Some of our favourites are listed below.

2 oatcakes with nut butter
Bounce Bar ( have you discovered Bounce yet?)
Apple with 3 large brazil nuts
Celery Stick with a tablespoon of cottage cheese
Home made flapjack (not the huge sugar laden ones from the coffee shop!!)
2 tablespoons natural yoghurt with 2 walnuts (chopped and sprinkled on top) and a squeeze of honey

On all our retreats, whether that be Weight Loss, Fitness Holiday, Detox Retreat or our Stress Reset Retreat achieving balance for both body and mind though good nutrition is a the heart of what we do.

So don’t be too surprised if you join us on retreat of our love of snacks 🙂

Is it time to Spring Clean Body and Mind

Despite all evidence to the contrary with the wild weather we have had in the UK recently we are actually headed towards spring.

Traditionally this is the time of year when our thoughts turn to spring cleaning. Its a time to get rid of the heavy feeling of winter, clear away the cobwebs and prepare for the sun… that will show its face (eventually!!) I love a good spring clean, it feels so good to clean out from top to bottom, you feel in control, and really quite virtuous.

Of course spring cleaning is often a term that applies to the big house clean we like to do around this time of year, but the technique can also be so easily applied to spring cleaning our own bodies. Over the winter you may have hibernated, stocked up on heavy rich foods, indulged in a little more treats than usual. Winter may literally be weighing you down.

Spring is a great time to detox.

The body already is detoxing all the time, it has to. Your inbuilt cleaning system is dealing with toxins every day. Toxins are everywhere, our bodies are bombarded by them, in the air you breath, the food and drink you consume the products you use around the home and even on your body. Under natural circumstances, the body is able to eliminate many of these toxic substances, however if your system is out of balance then the bodies ability to do this can become compromised.

Signs you need to detox:

Dry, botchy skin
Outbreaks of spots
Headaches
Fungal infections
IBS symptoms (bloating, constipation, flatulence)
Lack of energy
General feeling of heaviness

Detoxing is safe, effective way of supporting your bodes ability to heal itself. But… and there is a big BUT… we are not advocating quick fix detox plans, like those which suggest you eat nothing at all, but drink a juice made-up of lemon, water, sugar and pepper… this is not a way to support your system. Any detox plan you choose to follow should not be too low in calories, it should be nutrient rich and have a varied meal plan.

Detoxing is a way of giving your body a new start. A safe detox combined with a gentle exercise programme and tools to support a positive attitude towards life gives a fabulous boost to everyone.

At The Body Retreat our Spring Clean Detox Retreat is designed to provide the tools, resources and environment to make detoxing not only, simple and safe but also a real pleasure. Our Detox Programme follows a juicing plan, based on vegetable juicing, supported by nutritious broths and towards the end of the week a menu that incorporates healthy nutritious meals. The purpose of the plan is to reduce the load on your digestive system while at the same time flood your system with enzymes, vitamins and minerals in their most absorbable form.

When you are detoxing you do not want to redirect your bodies energy into high intensity exercise, but increasing your activity levels will support the process as well as provide you with a mental lift. So it is a great time to explore low intensity exercise, Pilates, yoga, nordic walking, swimming are all great options.

The body detox is only half of the equation. This is also a fantastic opportunity to detox your mind, to lose the internal negative chatter or toxic emotions that may be keeping you stuck in situations that are not healthy for you. On our Spring Clean Detox Retreat we use NLP along with relaxation techniques and guided visualisations to help overcome any mental obstacles that may have held you back in the past and help you to refocus on new positive goals.

When body and mind are detoxed you feel lighter, brighter, clearer ad re-energised ready to embrace life. At our Spring Clean Detox Retreat there is the added benefit of around 6lbs weight loss in the 4 days, which gives a great confidence boost as you start to shed your winter layers.

Want to try a detox plan at home?

Follow our top tips to getting started.

It will come as no surprise that increasing your water intake is No1 on the list. Aim to drink at least 1.5 litres per day
Start your day with the juice of half a lemon with hot water to give your liver a boost.
Get into the habit of dry skin brushing daily, it will take a bit of time to begin with but you will soon find a rhythm and you will be amazed at the difference in your skin tone.
Cut out Caffeine, Dairy, Meat, Carbs from your diet. Your meal plans should be 80% veggie based, go organic and local where possible.
Go Green… green veggies are packed with chlorophyll helps flush out environmental toxins.
Garlic in almost everything, it activates liver enzymes that help filter out wastes. Counteract the garlic by eating lost of parsley, which also happens to be a great detoxifier 😉
Keep the good fats in, Avocado, rapeseed oil, seeds and nuts all in small quantities
Get into the fresh air for at least 15 mins every day and breath fully and deeply
Spend at least 5 mins every day in quite contemplation.
Get your hands on The Detox Plan by Jane Alexander, this great book will take you through a weekend or month long safe detox programme

If you are a first time detoxer or would enjoy a break to boost your well-being and balance your energy while at the same time lose a few unnecessary pounds this spring then our Spring Clean Detox Retreat starts on 17th March 2014

Tag: weight loss