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| May 2009 Newsletter |
Welcome to May's Newsletter from Fitbiz Training.
This month we have all the usuals, including the second of the new monthly Body Facts:
- News from Fitbiz Training
- Body Facts: Muscles
- Lifestyle Tip: What's the Point of Organic?
- Seasonal Foods
- Recipe: Ginger Stewed Rhubarb
Remember, if you enjoy receiving this newsletter every month, please consider sharing it with friends and family. You can either forward them a copy, or send them a link to the website, where they can sign up for themselves! And don't forget, if anyone wants to find a previous newsletter, they are all available in the Newsletter Archive on the website!
News from Fitbiz Training [back to top]
- I'm pleased to tell you all that I have recently qualified as a Bio-Typing advisor. Bio-typing is all about our individual biochemical composition, and its effect on your individual personality and well-being. By looking at your body and establishing a few key facts about your lifestyle, I can now determine your bio-type, and thus provide even better, individual direction on the right food, exercise and motivation for you! For more information, see the new Bio-Typing section on the website, or drop me a line.
- My new Group Training sessions have got off to a flying start! At the end of the first month, the current members of the group have already reduced their body fat, seen great improvements in their energy levels and, so they promise me, have had great fun doing so! If you're interested in joining in, they are taking place twice weekly on Haslemere Recreation Ground - as ever, get in touch to book your place today!
- Finally this month, I'm very happy to announce that I am welcoming a new member to the Fitbiz Team. Hannah Smith is a newly qualified trainer, who will be joining me as my assistant and mentee. Over the coming months, she will also be writing articles for the newsletter, attending the Group Training sessions and will soon become Fitbiz Training's representative for Horsham and surrounding areas. Very excited to welcome you onboard, Hannah!
Body Facts: Muscles [back to top]
We have more than 600 muscles in our bodies, which deal with all aspects of movement. Muscle can be skeletal (examples include the biceps, triceps and abdominals), smooth (found in organs such as your stomach and bladder) or cardiac (located in your heart). The latter two are known as involuntary muscle types, meaning they work without concious control. Skeletal muscle is a voluntary muscle type, and that which you aim to develop through proper, effective training.
Did you know?
- The word muscle derives from the Latin mus, meaning "mouse"!
- The masseter (jaw muscle) is one of the strongest muscles in the human body. The Guinness Book of Records holds the best recorded bite strength as being over four kilonewtons, held for 2 seconds. That's the equivalent of 4,000 tonnes!
- Muscle tissue is approximately 15% denser than fat tissue - which is one reason why you may gain weight whilst actually toning up!
Lifestyle Tip: What's the Point of Organic? [back to top]
Organic food started off in the UK as something very exclusive and difficult to get hold of. It then progressed into the supermarkets but sadly continued to give the impression of being an expensive way to buy less.
Now though, the prices have come down now, and more and more people are seeing the benefits of organic food. It is often viewed as the ideal, but many people can't justify the extra cost.
While non-organic food is cheaper - you can buy 30-50% more food if you buy non organic - have you ever noticed that you're often going for second helpings, snacks between meals and having almost non-stop food cravings?
By eating organic food, you'll eat smaller portions, less frequently, and rarely (if ever) complain of hunger, or go back for a second helping.
But why is this; what makes the difference? The truth is, your body doesn't really care what it is that you eat, when you eat it or where you eat it - as long as you give it the nutrients that it wants and needs.
Our bodies are fantastic machines. Say, for example, your body is deficient, or "running low", on Vitamin C. Using hormones, your body sends your brain a signal to encourage you to eat and thus replenish stores of Vitamin C. This works the same for all nutrients.
So, when you eat poor quality food with limited vitamins and minerals in - either because the food has been processed, or sprayed with chemicals or pesticides - your body keeps commanding you to eat again and again until it has replenished the stores it needed to.
If we turn this around and look at it from the organic viewpoint, you'll see that your body can get its nutrition from less food by volume, because it is more rich in nutrients. Your body therefore won't send signals telling you to eat, because it doesn't need to - it has all the nutrients it needs.
And when you're not eating "empty" food to replenish stores of nutrients, you'll be eating less calories, and therefore will find achieving you fat loss goals considerably easier. Not only this, but you'll find that you don't have to buy nearly as much organic food as you do non-organic in order to get your nutrients.
Try it for one week, and see if you notice the difference. You'll probably find that it's not actually more expensive to eat organic after all!
Seasonal Foods
We all know the benefits of fresh fruit and vegetables in our daily diets, but remember that by buying and eating seasonal foods, you'll get the best quality and also help the environment, by limiting the demand and requirement for storage and transportation of non-seasonal foods.
To help you achieve this, the kind people at Gregg's Veg - which delivers locally grown vegetable boxes throughout the UK - are continuing to offer a discount on their family box for all readers of this newsletter. Simply visit www.greggsveg.co.uk and use the discount code 5%OFF.
This month's seasonal vegetables:
asparagus, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, lettuces & salad leaves, onions, radishes, rhubarb, rocket, spinach, spring onions, watercress
And some of the fruits of the month are:
apricots, bananas, kiwi fruit, lemons, oranges, passion fruit
Recipe: Ginger Stewed Rhubarb [back to top]
This is a super easy, quick, light and warming pudding to enjoy when the sun has gone in!
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Serves 4
- 8 Rhubarb Stalks
- 3 tablespoons of Zylitol*
- Small Ginger Root
Method
- Chop the rhubarb into perhaps 2cm chunks
- Put into a saucepan with the zylitol and about 2cm water
- Grate in some root ginger, to taste
- Leave to bubble away for about 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb looks nicely stewed
* Zylitol is available from any good health food shop. Use it instead of sugar in any recipe, but be advised that it is not generally recommended for young children.
Until next time, enjoy staying healthy!
Best wishes,
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