With summer supposedly here! Many of you may be thinking about getting your beach body ready. After months of winter, it’s definitely possible that you might have put on a few extra pounds?

As well as overeating, there are a few other things that could be responsible for your weight gain. These are – Lack of physical activity, Genetics and Stress.

These are the main things that will affect your weight but there is another key factor that is influencing this as well…. your hormones. Hormones such as insulin, cortisol, leptin, and thyroid hormones all play a key part in metabolism control.

They also tell your body to store or get rid of fat. Keep on reading to learn what to eat to help you lose weight and get your hormones under control.

Firstly the Four Hormones

The four chemicals that tell your body to store or burn fat:

Insulin – Glucose is a primary source of energy for the cells, Insulin helps your body turn Glucose into energy. It also helps your body store it in your muscles, fat cells, and liver to use later, when your body needs it. After you eat, the rise in glucose triggers your pancreas to release insulin into the bloodstream.

Cortisol – This is known as the stress hormone, because of its connection to the stress response, however, cortisol is much more than just a hormone released during stress. It’s produced in the adrenal glands to prevent blood sugar levels from dropping below normal. This is why you crave sugary snacks when you are stressed out. Cortisol helps slow down the metabolism so you preserve more energy. If you have high cortisol levels, you will gain weight.

Leptin – This is called the satiety hormone, but also called the starvation hormone and it’s secreted by fat cells. It signals the brain that you are full and have enough energy stored in your fat cells to engage in normal activity. When levels are low, for instance when you’re trying to lose weight or not eating enough for your activity level, your brain senses starvation mode and the body may store food as fat.

Thyroid Hormones – T3 and T4 are produced by the thyroid glands. Their job is to prevent lipolysis and they help regulate the metabolic processes. So if T3 and T4 levels are low, your heart rate may be slower than normal, and you may have constipation/weight gain. If T3 and T4 levels are high, you may have a rapid heart rate and diarrhoea/weight loss.

What Should You Eat To Keep These In Check?

It’s important to avoid a strict diet. Sticking to extremely strict diets isn’t healthy because when you’re not eating regularly the body begins to think its starving and takes energy from the muscle tissues while trying to conserve fat.

Losing weight gradually and slowly is ultimately healthier for you in the long run. If you want to become slimmer and lose weight, start a small calorie reduction. Remember that each person’s calorie intake is different and should be calculated based on your height, weight, age, and activity level…

Eat Foods With A Low Glycaemic Index

I know, I mention this a lot! But sticking to LOW GI foods keep your blood sugar (glucose) levels steady and can even help your body metabolise fat more effectively, you should feel fuller longer, feel less cravings and therefore finding it easier to control your weight, or lose weight.

Remember that everyone loses and gains weight differently and for different reasons, so it’s okay to experiment with your diet and exercise..

Avoid Fast Carbs

Avoid foods that will fill your body with fast and fatty carbs. Fast Carbs are foods that are refined, low in nutrients and fast digesting, the sort of foods you crave when you are starving! So avoid going long periods without eating, if you eat regularly your body will be less likely to crave fast carbs.

Protein helps to build muscle mass and repair tissue. It can help reduce hunger, boost your metabolism and burn more calories during the day and even when you’re sleeping. Eating more protein has been shown to reduce cravings and desire for late-night snacking.

Staying Active Reduces The Stress Hormone

If you’re really serious about getting your weight gain hormones under control, it’s also important to exercise properly and to do the right type. So if you are unsure whether you are doing the right type of exercise or enough to lose weight, speak to a personal trainer.

You can look up a list of foods that are low GI foods online or check the links below.

See some tips on LOW GI here: https://www.josgym.co.uk/the-diet-that-isnt-a-diet/

Or see some low GI recipes here: https://uk.pinterest.com/josgym/my-recipes-eatclean-lowgi-high-protein/

Core fitness exercise has become synonymous with abdominal conditioning. In terms of core stability, the abdominal muscles don’t do very much. Without proper strength and conditioning of all core muscles, injury, aches and pains can occur more frequently. The core of the body is responsible for supporting the back, spine and shoulders. Core fitness exercises should aim to strengthen all muscles related to these areas.

A strong Core will benefit you for the following reasons:

The Power to Work Harder in the Gym
Strength and power originate in the core of the body. When the trunk, torso and pelvis are strong and stable, power is transferred to all other muscles. Powerful contractions, such as rapid muscle movements, require a strong core. The more stable the core, the more energy transferred to the muscles leading to quicker repetitions and more effective training.

Improved Posture
Core fitness exercises also support proper posture. Imbalances of posture can lead to improper weight lifting form, injuries, and undue pressure on the lower back. Pressure and pain of the lower back is a common symptom of weak core muscles.

Improved Balance
The abdominal muscles are important to core stability and strength. When the abdominal muscles are weak, the lower back holds additional pressure and weight from simple daily tasks like walking. When exercising, this pressure grows exponentially leading to painful back injuries. Strengthening the abdominal muscles allows the weight of the upper body to be evenly distributed over the front and back. When weight is distributed, balance improves.

Choosing Effective Core Fitness Exercise:
In order to choose effective core fitness exercises, you must first learn the muscles supporting the core of the body. The core muscles begin at the top of the abdominal trunk and run down to the lower torso.

These muscles include:
Gluteus Medius, Gluteus Maximus and Gluteus Medius these are the muscles of the middle hip and buttocks area. Hamstring muscles are also included in the gluteus muscles.

Hip Flexors and Adductors these are the muscles of the upper hip andpelvis.

Abdominal Muscles which are the the external and internal obliques, traverse abdominis, and rectus abdominus.

Erector Spinae and Multifidus, are muscles supporting the spine.

Working the Torso as a Solid Unit
The torso can be pictured as a solid unit. This unit needs to be strong and stable like the frame of a car. If the torso is weak, the muscles of the body will not perform at optimal levels. Core fitness exercises can help build stability of the core. Building strength in the core of the body does not require weights or gym machines.

Some common core exercises that work the core as a solid unit include:

Abdominal Bracing – Pull the belly button in toward the spine and hold. Continue breathing while bracing

Plank – Start in a push-up position with the elbows and forearms on the floor. Hold the back straight do not dip the back or raise the bottom, its called plank because you should be as straight as a board!

Crank it up by adding a lift, lift one leg, hold then lower the leg and repeat with the opposite leg.

V-Sits – Sit on the floor with your legs out in front of the body. Lift the legs to a 45 degree angle and keep your back straight with your arms out in front reaching forwards in the direction of the feet. The body will resemble a V shape.

Crank it up by doing in outs, maintain the strong V shape, but close the V and then extend it to a wider flatter V.

Spiderman – start in a strong press up position, bring your left knee to the outside of your left elbow without your position lifting or lowering, return leg back to start and do the same with the right leg, don’t let foot touch the floor, if you cant reach your elbow at first bring it in and to the outside as far as is possible without losing form.

Ok so firstly here are the 6 things you need to stop doing if you want to get lean, ripped and ignite your fat burning furnace! Get results with HIIT…

1. Doing isolated exercises – Doing isolated exercises like bicep curls and tricep kick-backs will NOT get you any significant results. These one-muscle-at-a-time moves simply don’t stimulate enough muscle fibers to build lean muscle or expend enough energy to maximize your calorie burn. If you want to build lean muscle while burning fat so you can get serious definition, you need to perform exercises that stimulate as many muscles and expend as much energy as possible at the same time.

2. Working out with machines – The problem is this: Machines alter the way your body naturally moves and restrict your range of motion. This severely limits your ability to fully activate all of your muscles fibers — that means less fat burning and less muscle definition. Worse yet, machines can cause excessive strain on your joints, leading to nagging injuries down the road. If you want fast results, it’s critical that you incorporate exercises that allow your body to move naturally with full range of motion so you can skyrocket your metabolism and tone your entire physique.

3. Doing long bouts of cardio – you need to do cardio if you want to lose weight and burn fat…BUT there’s a right way and a wrong way to do your cardio workouts. If you’ve been pounding the pavement or the treadmill with nothing to show for it (except sore joints and a worn out pair of sneakers), you probably already know it takes a lot of effort to get minimal results.

4. Doing crunches to get 6 pack abs – If you want washboard abs, doing traditional ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups WILL NOT get you a six pack. In fact, doing any exercises that target your abs won’t get you a six pack either. They don’t make your abs get any more defined and they definitely don’t burn any fat. The key to getting sculpted abs is to burn off that stubborn layer of belly fat that’s hiding them!

5. Repeating the same workouts over and over – Repeating the same workouts over and over is a surefire way to STOP getting results. We’re creatures of habit and we tend to stick to things we’re familiar with and good at. But when it comes to your workouts, if you want to keep making progress and keep seeing changes in your body, you’ve got to start switching things up.

6. Doing really long workouts – Longer workouts do NOT equal better or faster results. If you’ve been slaving away at the gym and your body isn’t visibly changing, you can’t do more of the same thing and expect a different result.

The best way to supercharge your workout and start getting the results you want, is with shorter more effective, full body workouts or HIIT training….for more on HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) click this link https://www.josgym.co.uk/prepare-yourself-for/ and get the body you want!