Weight loss, muscle building & changing body composition of an Athlete.
If you are serious about your training or just want to get fitter & faster than you have been these are areas, you can work on whatever the season.
Who is this for?
Anyone who takes part in sport & wants to be the best they can be whatever your speed or goals.
Athletes come in all shapes & sizes. Some started sports in school & others started later in life, sometimes as a way to lose weight or build a social network or try something new.
Some may have a genetic makeup that is suited to the sport they chose whereas others may have to try hard to get the body composition they desire.
While gaining the right body composition for your chosen sport, building muscle & strength along with decreasing body fat can lead to optimal health for your age.
Knowing how to do this & cycling your food around your training can lead to faster results long term.
As we head into the ‘off season’ (although this year was a little different), start thinking about your race goals for next year, plan your calendar, then plan your off season.
What can you do over the next few months that can help you perform better in 2021?
Do you need to lose weight? Do you need to fuel for training & racing?
Have you GI issues you could finally see the back of?
Instead of leaving the stone you could lose until January take a slower focus on it & start now. Don’t set too tight a deadline for weight loss pre-race. By losing weight now, you can start reaping the training gains early in the season & progress faster.
By assessing your body composition goals now will give you a clearer focus on your training.
Healthy weight loss starts with setting realistic goals in a realistic time frame.
Keep a healthy perspective on body fat reduction & set an approx. goal rather than targeting a particular number as this has to suit you & your lifestyle too (unless you are a full-time athlete).
This is where Optimal Health & Performance can advise you on how to get the best gains while holding down a full time job, family commitments & training for a sport you love.
Two good goals you could start immediately are;
To aid muscle building & better recovery eat high quality protein after your strength & conditioning sessions.
Including other nutrients around S&C sessions optimises muscle building too.
Learn to hydrate adequately before, during & after your sessions to help prevent dehydration, poor performance, muscle damage & better recovery.
At Optimal Health & Performance we work one to one with clients both online & in person to help you achieve your goals. If you would like to discuss your off season or 2021 season with a view to taking up one of our packages, contact me now at 087-7112046 or dm me. Jackie
I love to make this when the oven is on for a different, great to make when tomatoes are on offer too. Ingredients. 12-16 tomatoes. 1 onion peeled & sliced. 2 cloves garlic crushed. 2 red peppers, cut in half, seeds removed. 1 dessertspoon of olive oil. 1 dessertspoon of balsamic vinegar. Salt & pepper. Method. 1. Pre heat oven to 160 C. 2. Cut a cross into the skin of the tomatoes. 3. Put tomatoes, peppers & onions onto a flat baking tray. 4. Sprinkle oil, vinegar, salt and pepper on. 5. Place in the oven for 50 mins. 6. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 mins. 7. Blend all ingredients. You can add in lots of fresh basil before blending if you like the flavour. Use for spaghetti bolonaise by just frying the mince then adding the sauce. Use for lasagne, or over cooked fish. This is one of the very easy but delicous recipes you will receive in your recipe pack to go along with your meal plan. For more information or to book your appointment tel 087-7112046, Jackie See Less
Who doesn’t want to feel & look their best?
Don’t you love when you wake up and feel refreshed & ready for another gorgeous day!
Sounds great doesn’t it? Ok it doesn’t happen every day but when it does there’s usually why you feel better than other days.
As holiday season has just finished & we are a few months away from the next holiday season… you will probably have noticed your not as chirpy, (maybe a big sluggish, is it showing on your face?) if you’ve been celebrating the holidays, (ice cream, picnics, bar BBQ’s, chilled wine etc) & are probably looking forward to a return to you regular routine.
Your health or lack of can show on your face. Its not great to hear but its true so taking action will help you both on the inside & out.
You can work two-fold to slow the aging process on the skin.
If you are striving for ultimate skin health, you need to consider not only what you put on your skin but also your skin health from within.
I’m going to discuss how you can help your skin from within here in this blog for Mint Medi Spa.
Your skin is the largest organ in your body. It is constantly exposed to the different seasons & different elements, sun, wind, rain, heat & cold, not to mention air conditioning!
As we age your skin changes skin tone, loses elasticity & isn’t as smooth as it previously was.
Some vitamins and minerals can help to provide a brighter, healthier looking skin.
While its not an instant anti-ageing cure you need to include good nutritional food in your diet to provide your skin with the nutrients it needs for optimal health long term.
Take note of the food you currently eat. I find the best way to do this is to keep a food diary for a week.
Then ask yourself the following questions.
Do you eat the same foods all the time?
How do you feel in general, i.e. energy, sleep, how your skin looks?
Is your current diet nourishing you?
Are the foods you eat providing you with a balanced diet to help you achieve Optimal Health?
Can you do more to ensure your skin is a true reflection of your health?
Do you know how to get the balance right?
Whole, natural foods will provide you with a good balance of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins & minerals which all help to achieve optimal health.
The macros!
We need these in larger amounts than the micros! Think protein, fats & carbohydrates.
Good fats help us to absorb vitamins, good sources are avocado, olive oils, nuts, oily fish like salmon, trout, mackerel etc.
Protein helps with muscle maintenance, good sources are meat, fish, poultry, dairy, eggs, tofu, lentils & beans etc.
Carbohydrates. These have received a lot of bad press in recent years, but they provide us with fuel and are the main source of fuel for our brains, (so looks like we need them)! Get your carbs from good nutritional sources like vegetables, fruit & wholegrains while ditching the processed carbs like sugar laden pre-packaged foods (they deserve the bad press). More about this below!
The micros!
Vitamins & minerals are often forgotten especially in a world where macros seem to be the main focus over the last few years when it comes to new weigh loss diets.
How many portions of fruit & vegetables do you eat? Most people get enough fruit, (some too much), but vegetable intake is generally low. Count how many portions you eat daily. Think of a rainbow colours & check you have a ‘rainbow of vegetables’ on your plate. By eating a variety of vegetables with different colours you will get a larger variety of vitamins & minerals to achieve optimal health.
Vitamins help release energy from other foods.
• They also aid the absorption of nutrients which may help anti-ageing & skin health.
• The best sources are found in fruit & vegetables.
• Aim to eat 4 plus veg per day Inc. 2 green.
• 2-3 fruit per day.
• Minerals help with digestion and absorption of nutrients from other foods.
• Al though we only need minute amounts they make up the jigsaw of optimal health.
• Again, these are mainly found in fruit & vegetables.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one vitamin that helps to retain your skin’s elasticity. Vitamin C helps to boost the production of a protein called collagen within your skin. Collagen helps to maintain your skin’s strength. Loss of collagen in your skin happens as we age & can lead to wrinkling, so you want to aid your skin to maintain elasticity
Good sources to include are red pepper and pineapple & oranges as sources of vitamin C.
Copper
Consuming copper — an essential mineral — can also help maintain your skin’s elasticity. Copper contributes to the production of elastin. Elastin works together with collagen to maintain the structure of your skin, which contributes to your skin’s elasticity. Consuming enough copper each day from seafood, nuts, nut butters and organ meats helps promotes normal elastin production.
Vitamin A
Another vitamin that can help keep the elasticity in your skin is vitamin A, or retinol. The vitamin A that you consume as part of your diet interacts with your skin cells and helps to regulate the production of natural oils within your skin.
These oils are important to your skin’s elasticity, since moisturized skin retains its elasticity better than dry skin.
Vitamin A is most widely used as a topical cream to help increase elasticity & decrease wrinkles in skin. It is also used in some acne products.
Good sources are egg yolks, liver & butter.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E can also contribute to maintaining your skin’s elasticity and helping to prevent visible skin aging. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in your skin cells, improving the appearance of your skin. Applying vitamin E lotion to your skin may help improve the roughness and scaling that can occur in dry, skin.
Other important skin health nutrients!
Omegas!
Mainly found in oily fish, heart healthy oilnuts & seeds these are fantastic for helping to plump your skin.
Calcium
Stored in the bones and teeth to make them strong. Calcium helps your muscles and blood vessels contract and expand.
Gut health.
Are you looking after your gut health? This is a huge area still being researched but it looks like there are direct links between our gut health & our overall health. As our skin is such a large part of us, our health or lack of, will show in our face. Ensure you are getting adequate amounts of prebiotic & probiotic foods to help achieve a healthy gut.
Processed, ready-made meals/snacks have very little nutritional benefits to the body & can make the skin more sluggish which can lead to it looking aged. Remove packet/pre prepared foods as much as possible you’re your lifestyle.
Alcohol too isn’t good for our skin & can leave it dehydrated, blotchy & even contribute to spots, (and how often have you been on a night out & are too tired too take your makeup off before bed), and that’s without adding up the extra empty calories.
If you want proof, try this for a month, take a photo of your face without makeup on the first & last day of the month. Check in with how you are feeling on a weekly basis health wise & recheck that photo after the month.
The easiest way to start!
Drinking adequate water (yes plain water), on a daily basis gives an instant boost to your metabolism. Skin starts to look plumper & fresher.
Sleep also plays an important part in your general health & again we have all noticed in the mirror if we are tired so try to get adequate sleep.
Reverse Skin damage with your Skin Clinic & ensure you have the correct products to use on a daily basis.
Why not make an appointment to invest in your health by booking for a one to one consultation or package to ensure your diet is Optimal for you.
Be the best you can be!
No matter what age you are we can all be the best you can be!
Jackie@ Optimal Health & Performance
Keeping it simple I have enclosed a short description of each. For more information or to get your individual macro requirements contact me at 087-7112046. Jackie
Macros, short for “macronutrients,” is the term used to describe the three major (or macro) nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Simple put, you get protein from meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans & lentils along with a few other sources. Carbohydrates are pasta, potatoes, bread, rice, oats etc. Preferably wholegrain, unprocessed versions when available. Fats should come from natural sources like fish, oils, butter, nuts, seeds & avocado. (These lists are just examples & not complete)
Micronutrients are your vitamins & minerals, some of which can be stored in your body, but others need to be eaten on a regular basis as they are know as water soluble. You need very small amounts of micronutrients hence the name micro. Fruit & vegetables are great sources of vitamins & minerals, aim for a rainbow of colours to gain different nutrients.
Whereas macro nutrients you will need a lot more of. Macros are measured in grams, whereas micros are measured in milligrams. All are important & work best with each other to aid absorption.
The food tracker app I make available to everyone allows me to set your macros & track both macros & micros to provide you with a clear picture of your health & to promote a healthy balanced diet. If you would like to find out more or make an appt contact me here or @ 087-7112046.
This is a really easy wholesome recipe. Good fibre & energy provider. Great to use in an open sandwich at lunchtime or with eggs at breakfast. It freezes well & is a hit with kids too.
If you are new to baking this is a really easy recipe. You can do it all in a bowl & just pour it into the tin, ready to cook.
Ingredients.
350g wholemeal flour
75 g plain flour
75 g porridge oats
2 tsp bread soda
1 tsp salt
2 tbls mixed seeds
500 ml buttermilk
Method.
1. Preheat the oven to 165C.
2. Line a 2lb tin with greaseproof/parchment.
3. Mix the flours, porridge oats & seeds together.
4. Sieve the bread soda & salt in.
5. Mix together to disperse salt & soda.
6. Add in the buttermilk & mix well.
7. The mix will be wet at this stage.
8. Pour into the tin & flatten slightly. You can sprinkle some oats or seeds on top.
9. Cook for approx 35 -40 mins, put a skewer in & if it comes out clean it’s ready. If not put it back in & check every 5 mins.
10. Leave to cool completely before cutting.
Its the week before the biggest marathon in Ireland.
For the first timers you may be feeling a little nervous & wondering if you should do more this week. First off, its taper time!
That means letting your body rest & recover so that you feeling your best for race day.
There are some things you can do over the next week to help you feel good on race morning.
1. Eat well between now & race day. Because you have reduced your training load over the last couple of week, you also need to reduce the volume of food your eating. Calories in / calories out! Ensure you are eating good quality food with plenty of protein & veggies. Fuel your body & mind!
No need to start carb loading yet (if thats your plan).
2. Hydrate well. Aim for a minimum of 2 litres of water per day. If you are dehydrated starting the race your pace will suffer & you may find your legs feel heavy. Don’t go overboard though as this can lead to other problems.
3. Sleep; aim to go to bed earlier than you usually, even 30 min extra over 6 nights is an extra 3 hours sleep. You may not sleep well the night before so at least you will know that you have ‘sleep’ already banked.
4. Lay out your kit,take a photo of it so you dont forget anything on race day (especially important if you are staying away from home the night before. Ensure you have a spare top that you can throw away at the start & warm clothes/shoes to be left in the baggage area to wear after your race.
5. For the 2 days before start to increase your carbs slightly, (if your carb loading). You dont need to overload though, its not an excuse to eat everything in sight!
Make your morning/ afternoon snack a carb based snack.
6. Eat your main meal the day before at your usual time.
7. If your staying away from home book a restaurant or you could be left eating a very late meal or food you are not used to. On that point ensure you eat food you have tried and knows works for you. This varies from person to person.
8. Have a race day breakfast plan in place & stick to it. Do not change anything on race day.
9.Allow enough time to get to your start area, (dropping a bag in the the baggae area can take 20 mins so allow enough time. Also if you need a portaloo remember you may be in a Q with 1000 others so again allow enough time.
10. Are you planning on eating/drinking anything before the start of the race?
11. Do you know how often, when & what you will take on to help fuel your race & how you are going to carry it?
12. Have you checked out the route? Water stops are usually every 3 miles/5km until approx 18 miles then you will have the additon of an energy drink stop & gels available too.Water is usually in 250 mls bottles so are easy to carry with you but try to dispose of carefully. Portaloos are usually at every water stop too.
13. Stick to your nutrition plan, dont try something new on race day because someone else told you they do something different, (they will have practiced this).
14.If you plan on meeting family/friends/supporters along the route have a position picked & also make sure to pick a side of the road they will be on.
15. When the race gets tough (and it will) feed off the energy of the crowds, the support is amazing!
16. Enjoy the race, enjoy the atmosphere, enjoy the after race celebrations.
Eat well, feet up & recover well.
Feel free to share with your running friends & ask any questions. Jackie.
With the exams about to start I have enclosed a very easy recipe that will provide plenty of energy in a small bite sized portion. Handy when your studying & don’t want to have to leave your desk or don’t feel like a big meal. They provide plenty of good nutrition in a small bite.
These will keep well in the fridge (if there not all gone)! for 3-4 days.
Best of luck to everyone starting there exams tomorrow.
Blend the nuts well
Optimal Energy bites
Recipe.
200 g dates.
100g dark chocolate.
100 g mixed nuts.
1 dessertspoon of cocoa powder.
1 tsp honey. (I used Sarah’s Mileeven honey with cinnamon).
Pinch sea salt.
1 level dessertspoon of maca powder, (optional but is good for energy, easily found in all supermarkets now).
1 tsp vanilla.
Method.
1. Cover the dates in water & leave to soak for 30 mins.
2. In a blender (nutribullet type), blend the dates until smooth.
3. Remove to a bowl.
4. Blend the nuts until almost powder like.
5. Melt the chocolate.
6. Mix everything into the bowl and stir well to combine.
7. Leave to set in the fridge for 5-10 mins.
8. In a small bowl, mix chia seeds & desiccated coconut together.
9. Taking approx. ½ dessertspoon of the mixture roll into a ball, toss it in the coconut/chia mix until covered.
10. Store in the fridge in a sealed container.
More & more often I hear from my clients that the hardest part of trying to eat healthy is time or the lack of time. Our lives are busier than ever & the evenings are taken up with activities, often multiple activities & the time to cook is taking a back seat. The juggling act takes a toll on our stress levels & then add in arriving home late, hungry with a hungry family to feed. Its not easy & while the fastest thing to do might be pop a frozen processed meal into the oven its not going to be the most nutritious or filling meal in the world. I’ve taken one of my favourite pieces of time saving equipment to discuss here.
I think this are so handy & I use it almost daily at this stage.
It can be bought locally & are well worth the investment (if you use them weekly).
Today I’m going to discuss the Slow cooker!
I’m on my 2nd one (due to overuse) & often contemplate buying a another one so I can cook more food for the freezer when I am cooking.
Soups, so easy, any type/stews think beef & vegetable, Irish stew/casseroles/curries. All easy to make & can cook on low so you arrive home to the a beautiful aroma when you open the door after work.
You can also make a homemade chicken stock from the leftover carcass for use in the soups to make them more nutritious.
They have a range of different settings including low so you can cook the dish slowly over the day.
Optimal Health Kilkenny, now offering an online programme for those who cant commit to a weekly weigh in (or don’t wish to weigh in weekly). This programme is suitable for you if you are self motivated & would either like to lose weight or ensure you are eating an adequate amount of nutrient dense foods to increase your health.
Would you like to improve your diet? Lose weight? Get a health check on your food intake but find you don’t have the time or don’t wish to keep a regular appointment for a check/weigh in?
The Optimal Health App may the perfect solution for you.
You have access to a successful Dietary Coach with proven results at Optimal Health, who will monitor your food intake, check your calories, ensure you are getting enough protein, fat & carbohydrate along with essential vitamins & minerals. I will also suggest different foods so you never feel you are starving yourself.
You track your weight and log in to the food diary daily.
If you would like to find out more, email me @ jackiei@optimalhealthkilkenny.com.
Its pancake Tuesday & I always make pancakes. While there a lot of different recipes out there the toppings can be endless. You can’t go wrong with chocolate no matter what age you are making pancakes for. This is a simple recipe, feel free to adjust it according to your taste.
150 g hazelnuts.
3 dessertspoons of milk.
2 1.2 dessertspoons of honey. I used Mileeven honey here.
3 dessertspoons of coconut oil, melted.
3 dessertspoons of cacao (or cocoa)
Pinch of sea salt.
In a dry frying pan toss in your hazelnuts and toast them for a couple of minutes on a medium heat.
Leave to cool.
Pop them into your blender and blend for 30 seconds.
Add in all other ingredients and blend for a further 90 seconds.
Open the blender and mix everything before blending again until you get a smooth consistency.
This can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days, (mine won’t last the night)!
For a traditional pancake try this;
100g flour.
300mls milk.
1 egg.
Blend all together.
Leave to stand for 30 minutes before cooking your pancakes.
ing together & cook immediately.
