NOURISH WITH CARL

If you want to give yourself a real shot at being the best version of you, be that for peak performance in sports, in the gym or just looking damn good on your next beach holiday, you better eat like you want it!

Carl talks to Hannah Norris, a nutritionist with Fresh Fitness Food in London about optimising your daily food intake as fuel for your day. Understanding the basics of how food nourishes your life is key to unlocking peak performance.

CAN INTERMITTENT FASTING IMPROVE PERFORMANCE? 

Intermittent fasting is currently one of the most popular health and fitness trends. Many studies show that intermittent fasting can have powerful effects on your body and brain and may even contribute to a longer life! But what is intermittent fasting?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It’s not about eating less and it doesn’t specify which foods you should eat, it’s all about when you eat.

There are several different ways to do intermittent fasting, but they are all based on choosing regular time periods to eat and fast. For instance, you might try eating only during an eight-hour period each day and fast for the remaining 16 hours. Or you might choose to eat only one meal a day two days a week. There are many different intermittent fasting schedules.

When you fast, several things happen in your body on the cellular and molecular level. For example, your body adjusts hormone levels to make stored body fat more accessible. Your cells also initiate important repair processes and change the expression of genes. Some other changes that occur in your body when you fast:

• Human Growth Hormone: the levels of growth hormone increase. This has benefits for fat loss and muscle gain.

• Insulin: insulin sensitivity improves and levels of insulin drop. Lower insulin levels make stored body fat more accessible.

• Cellular repair: When fasted, your cells initiate cellular repair processes. This includes autophagy, where cells digest and remove the old and dysfunctional proteins that build up inside cells.

• Gene expression: there are changes in the function of genes related to longevity and protection against disease.

Many studies have been done on IF and have shown that it can have powerful benefits for the health of your body and brain. Some of the benefits of IF:

• Improves thinking processes and memory.

• Reduces insulin resistance.

• Lowers inflammation that can cause chronic diseases.

• Improves heart health. 

• Improves physical performance.

• Prevents obesity and diabetes.  

• Anti-aging.

Curious about what our trainers think about intermittent fasting? Please watch our new TEAM TALK video about intermittent fasting!

Please keep in mind that intermittent fasting may have different effects on different people. If you’re underweight or have hormonal issues, you should not fast without consulting your doctor or health professional first.

OUR ‘NOURISH’ TOPIC 1 RECOMMENDATIONS

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BOOST YOUR FOCUS, CONCENTRATION & PRODUCTIVITY

What can you do to stay focused throughout the day and peak your brain’s performance? Nutrition can do some heavy lifting towards increasing your energy levels, improving focus and boosting productivity. See our 10 habits below to incorporate into your daily life to hit your peak performance.

• FOCUS ON 3 MEALS PER DAY
  Every time you eat or drink calories, your body activates your immune system to investigate what you eat or drink in order to avoid pathogens. Your immune system is the most extensive system we have when it comes to energy. If you eat multiple times in a day, this consumes energy. Try to focus on 3 meals per day and stop snacking, it’s no problem to increase the amount of food per meal.

• STABILIZE YOUR BLOOD SUGAR LEVEL
  A disbalance in your blood sugar levels is caused by eating too many carbs/sugars. When you add veggies or healthy fats to your meal you will avoid this. Sugars give a short spike in your energy level but a huge dip after and you’ll lose focus. Examples of healthy fats to feed the brain and support the blood sugar level: avocado, nuts/seeds, fatty fish, olive oil or hempseed oil.

• DRINK ENOUGH WATER
  Drink enough water and not more than 2 – 3 coffee per day. You need to get rid of your toxics, toxics make you feel tired. Drink 35 ml x your body weight.

• MOVE BEFORE A MEAL
  This increases your insulin sensitivity that has a great effect on your blood sugar level. You will feel less hunger in between meals and will experience less energy dips throughout the day.

• ADD HEALTHY FATS TO EACH PLATE
  This nourishes your brain and supports blood sugar levels. Examples include fatty fish; salmon, tuna, mackerel, flaxseed, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, chai seeds.

• EAT ENOUGH VEGETABLES
  Eat veggies with two meals per day. You will feed the good bacteria in the gut that are responsible for your immune system, energy level and focus.

• LIMIT EATING GRAINS
  One meal with grains per day is enough. Do not eat two bread meals per day. Try to have variety, like yogurt in the morning or make a quinoa salad for lunch.

• AVOID FRUIT JUICES
  Fruit juices contain too much sugar. They have a negative effect on your gut flora, concentration and energy level.

• WORK OUT ON AN EMPTY STOMACH
  If you can stomach it, exercise on an empty stomach, use your storage. Especially after a night of fasting. The carbohydrate reserves are low and the body will find another way to get energy.

• INTERMITTENT FASTING
  See if intermittent fasting works for you. You only eat 8 hours a day, for example between 12 noon and 8 pm, and you fast 16 hours a day. Give it a try 2 – 3 times a week and see if you see a boost in performance.

OUR ‘NOURISH’ TOPIC 2 RECOMMENDATIONS

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