Benefits of Regular Sunshine – Craig McDonald

I’ve been reading a lot lately about the Sun and its good and bad effects on the human body so with summer just around the corner I thought it timely to put something out there to give both sides of the spectrum.

We all know that over exposure to the Sun is not recommended and can lead to various problems including cancer, however this shouldn’t mean we all stay inside and avoid the sun at all costs. The sun is the provider for all life on Earth and without it everything would die, so it can’t be all bad for us.

With more and more people working indoors and living in air conditioned houses we are seeing less and less of the sun. The sun, of course, is an excellent natural provider of Vitamin D and regular consistent small amounts of exposure to the sun, without getting burnt, can actually have a protective effect on the skin, can improve moods and help with depression.

It is hard enough to get sufficient Vitamin D from the foods we eat or supplements we take so why not get it free from the sun? Another interesting factor about the sun and its links with cancer, is that rates of skin cancer due to excessive sunburn are typically higher in areas of the body that get irregular sun and occasional burning as opposed to areas of your skin that get regular sun exposure such as the back of the neck and the forearms.

There are of course exceptions to the above, but modern trends show that areas of the body that get irregular exposure to the sun, such as the back and chest, are more likely to develop cancer.

So my recommendation would be to try and get around half an hour of sunshine in the morning every day of the week. Try it and see if it has a positive effect on you. It may be a great way to also get some exercise at the same time? Get up half an hour earlier and take the dog for a walk in the morning sunshine or go for a walk or run by yourself or with a friend or partner.

Please remember these thoughts are my opinions only from many different articles and books that I have read and you would be wise to consult your GP should you have any specific questions regarding your own health and well being.Let the sun be your friend, but always avoid overexposure.

It's not a good look either is it?

Organise your fridge - Craig McDonald

After talking to one of our loyal members recently and she mentioned how well organised her kitchen was. This got me thinking about my own kitchen and more particularly my shopping list and my fridge and its contents. If you’re like me you get the shopping home and just pack it in the fridge anywhere it fits and with little concern for the types of food or what is already in there? Well I’ve started a new system just this week and thought I would share with you my tips.

The first and probably most important thing I do is store my fresh fruits and vegetables on the top shelf so they are the first thing I see and hopefully the first thing I grab when a snack is calling me

Secondly, ensure you have cold filtered water readily available in the door of the fridge so it becomes your first and most convenient option. Vitamin D is most important to our bodies and one of the best sources of vitamin D is Milk so always ensure you have Milk on hand and preferably low fat rather than full cream or skim as low fat milk contains the good fats that help our bodies burn calories more efficiently

Butter is better, as the saying goes, so if you must have it, choose butter instead of margarine as butter contains saturated fats that are a slightly lesser evil than the trans-fat in margarine. While on the subject of dairy products, use the middle of the fridge to store other dairy products such as Yogurt and low fat cheeses which will boost your calcium levels.

Protein is also a very important part of our diet and can be obtained from various sources including meat, eggs and fish so we should always have options in this area when we open the fridge door. With eggs, leave them in the carton on a shelf rather than using the egg craters in the door and they will remain good for a lot longer. Store any meat or fish that you haven’t frozen, on the bottom shelf so there is no chance of it contaminating any other food in the fridge and avoid leaving it for more than 1-2 days without freezing it.

Finally we come to leftovers which should always be stored in clear plastic single serve containers that are in plain sight when the fridge is opened. Avoid wrapping leftovers in aluminium foil and shoving them towards the back of the fridge where they can be forgotten about and left to go bad and possibly spoil fresh food in other areas of the fridge.

So go to it, clean out and organise that fridge, think about your shopping list and enjoy the benefits that come from a healthier, more organised system.

Are sports drinks any good for you? – Craig McDonald

Today I want to talk a bit about sports drinks. You’ve all seen them heavily advertised on TV and in magazines and whenever you go into a lunch bar or supermarket the fridges are filled with various forms of sports drinks. But are they in fact any good for you?

In my opinion, unless you have been exercising in extreme conditions and are severely dehydrated, the answer is no. These drinks are overloaded with sugar and some people drink 2 or 3 of them per day thinking they are a ‘healthy’ alternative thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns that show high profile athletes, who are in peak condition, drinking them.

Most of these sports drinks contain approximately 30 grams of sugar per serving, so if you had 3 of them in a day that’s an extra 90 grams of pure sugar in your system. Some brands try to lure you in by advertising the addition of artificial vitamins however these ‘vitamins’ add no benefit either as they don’t come from real foods which are the main source of our bodies vitamin requirements.

Another ploy they often use is advertising ‘light’ or ‘sugar free’ drinks however these versions are simply loaded up with artificial sweeteners and other chemicals that can cause even more hormonal imbalances in your body.

As an example, if you were to drink 3 ‘sports’ drinks per day for a whole year that would add, approximately, an additional 130,000 calories to your diet. This could equate to an extra 10-15kgs of body weight per year that is either being added to your existing weight or that you are exercising to keep off.

The alternatives to ‘sports’ drinks are simple. Water or unsweetened teas would be my recommendation. If you have trouble making the change, try making small changes and working up to replacing those ‘sports’ drinks with a better alternative.

Start spot reducing body fat and lose that muffin top

We are so excited here to let the fat out of the bag so to speak because we feel we have found a way to spot reduce belly fat almost instantly. I know this sounds too good to be true but we have tested it and got the scientific proof. So ladies you can start saying goodbye to that muffin top and guys you can get rid of that extra six pack that has been accumulating.

The basis of the program was started from scientific research that proves the only spot reducing of body fat can occur at the stomach, after all the years of us telling you it can't be done; sorry this research proved the fitness industry wrong.

The Half Hour Rock n Ride program was also put together to help mums and dads with kids who had limited time and just wanted to get in and out quickly. So taking all of these factors into consideration we came up with 30 minute sessions of riding to adrenalin pumping music and the results have been fantastic and the interest is now building.

To read more hop over to the Half Hour Rock-n-Ride page and see what all the noise is about. There is even comments from two of the participants and how they are finding the program. Mixed with Matt O'Neill's wonderful Metabolic Jumpstart program there is no reason why you can't be fitting into jeans and bikinis from yester year. Imagine being 10 kilos lighter by Christmas!!!!