Steve Swann Full Fitness & Nutrition

28/09/2024

Good morning!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank everybody who donated towards my recent Maggie’s fund raising event, the London night hike. The weather was amazing and met some wonderful people.

Here are a few pictures taken on route and once again, thank you so much for your donations. With people like you, the wonderful, supportive charities like Maggie’s Cancer Care Centre can continue to provide support.

Steve

04/01/2023

WHAT ARE ADDED SUGARS???

There are naturally occurring sugars in all foods and drinks, but added sugar refers to any type of sugar or sweetener that is added to foods or beverages when it is prepared or processed.

Some common types of added sugars include:
Brown sugar, honey, isoglucose, maize syrup, molasses, raw sugar, sugar molecules ending in "ose", like fructose, glucose and sucrose.

This also includes the sugars you add yourself, like a spoonful in your coffee or a bit of honey on your oatmeal.

Naturally occurring sugars are found in foods like fruit (as fructose) or milk (as lactose). While sugar is sugar, naturally occurring sugars are usually accompanied with fibre or protein or both, which makes food choices like apples or yogurt a healthier source of longer lasting energy. Sugar promotes quick energy, however that burst is shortly followed by a steep drop.

All packaged products must provide nutrition information and a list of ingredients, so strictly speaking sugars can’t be ‘hidden’ as they must be listed on pack. But you may find that sugars are sometimes added to products that you do not think of as ‘sweet’ such as ready-made sauces or salad dressings. For example, sugar is sometimes added in a tomato-based sauce to counter the acidity of the tomatoes. Sugar also features an ingredient in some homemade sauce recipes for the same reason. Savoury foods do not appear to be making a significant contribution to our free sugars intake, which mainly comes from sweet foods and drinks. But, when you are choosing products, it is a good idea to go for those with less sugar most of the time or you could try making things like pasta sauce yourself so that you can control how much (if any) sugar is added.

Understand Your Intake
The British Heart Foundation recommends limiting added sugars to no more than 6% of your daily calorie intake:

For most women in the UK, that limit is about 6 teaspoons of sugar.
For most men in the UK, it is about 9 teaspoons.
Teens and children should have no more than about 6 teaspoons each day.
To help visualise your intake, divide the total grams of added sugar by four to estimate the teaspoons of sugar in your food. If a food has 20 grams of added sugar, we can equate that to about 5 teaspoons of sugar, it adds up fast!

Prioritise Your Health
There are ways to avoid too much added sugar, and everyone can benefit from reducing added sugars in their diet. While this often means eating fewer processed foods, most foods that we eat are processed in some way.

Some tips to help balance your diet:

Read your food labels. You can learn a lot about what is affecting how you feel based on your diet. For example, you might see that the Greek yogurt you have been eating has more sugar per serving than some ice creams.
Combine your macronutrients. Pair your carbs with protein and some healthy fats, like those found in avocados and nuts. Meals and snacks will not just be more filling and satisfying, but they will also last longer.
If you are having a hard time cutting back on your added sugars, talk to your doctor. They can help you craft a plan with safe and easy ways to eliminate excess added sugar from your diet.

29/11/2022

SPECIAL OFFER ALERT!!!
I am currently running a Christmas special offer of 5 sessions for the price of 4, normally 5 sessions will cost you £175 but you can now grab 5 sessions for £140!
What a bargain, how can you resist? I may even throw in a mince pie ☃️🥧😀

29/11/2022

Looking to improve your fitness levels in the New Year and get a new you?
Treat yourself or your loved ones this Christmas to personal training sessions in my private garden studio with an undercover outdoor exercise area.
I am currently offering 5 sessions for the price of 4 and I can also provide a Christmas voucher for you or your loved ones.
Based in South Ealing, I am a fully qualified, insured level 3 personal trainer who specialises in ante and post natal exercise, muscle toning, muscle mass gain, core strength improvement, HIIT (high intensity interval training), boxercise and much more.
I provide a free Zoom, Facetime or phone consultation, which will allow me to better understand your current fitness levels, along with your needs and goals.
Check out my fb page for full details https://www.facebook.com/SteveSwannPT
you can also follow me on instagram

12/10/2022

10 Ways to Move More in Everyday Life

It can feel overwhelming when you’re trying to make time for exercise. Here are some tips I give my clients… and how I manage to keep myself moving.

I get it. We’ve all said, “Who has time to exercise when you’re a…”

Just fill in the blank: working parent, working night shifts, entrepreneur, student, person who commutes, or parent who stays at home keeping children alive. You’re not alone in trying to figure out how to fit exercise into your day.

As a personal trainer with my own business, believe it or not, I have to schedule my exercise time — otherwise, it won’t happen.

Over the past few years, I’ve realised the I’ll-work-out-later approach doesn’t work for me. I have to block time out of my day to exercise so I can stay sane and maintain my health and strength.

And here’s another tip: Try adding in a few bonus activities throughout the day and week to keep your body moving. Just a few extra minutes of movement here and there really do add up over time.

Here are 10 ways to move more during everyday life, without having to block more time out of your busy schedule!

1. Take the stairs
I know. This is so boring, and you’ve heard it a bajillion times. Yet, it’s one of the best tips for a reason.

Taking the stairs instead of the lift increases your heart rate, helps with balance, and improves lower-extremity strength. If you’re feeling saucy and have a few minutes, you can even do some heel raises off the edge of a step for calf strength, or take the stairs two at a time. Skip the lift, your body and heart will thank you.

2. Incorporate walking meetings
If you work from home or have transitioned to virtual conference calls, schedule a walk during one call per day.

If you don’t need to be staring at a screen looking at spreadsheets, plug in your headphones, slip your phone in your pocket, and solve the world’s problems on a walk. It’s a great way to mix up your daily routine. And if you work in an office, take your one-on-one meetings to go. Walking together enhances team bonding, and you may even come up with better ideas. Research shows walking boosts creativity and enhances mental acuity.

3. Lunge it up
I do this a lot, and I get funny looks sometimes, but hey — I’m a busy man, and my time is precious!

When you’re shopping, try walking lunges down the supermarket aisles while holding onto the trolley. The trolley offers a good balance point, and you can get about 10–20 lunges in a single pass, depending on how long your supermarket’s aisles are. Go for it, it’s surprisingly fun!

4. Sit on an exercise ball
Swap out your office chair for a stability ball. This can help with back pain and help improve posture, and while sitting on the ball, you can do some gentle mobility stretches for your neck, pelvis, and spine.

Try a hula-hoop motion and tucking and un-tucking your pelvis to help fire up your core stabilisers. If you want to add in some abdominal work, you can also try seated marches or other exercises on the ball — all while sitting at your desk!

5. Park far away
While we need to be safe and alert to our surroundings, if you’re in a safe and well-lit area, consider parking further from the entrance of wherever you’re going. Adding in a few minutes of walking time here and there adds up over time and can increase your daily step count!

6. Have more s*x
Yup, you’re welcome. Research states that s*x burns calories at a rate of about 3.1 calories per minute for women and about 4.2 calories for men.

So although it’s not the same as a vigorous jog, you can (for sure) work up a sweat during s*x. Have fun, try new positions and techniques, and bond with your partner all while moving more.

7. Foster a pet
Our local shelter and other adoption agencies are always looking for volunteers to help. Take the family to the shelter and volunteer to take a few dogs for a walk.// You get to increase your time outside, help a dog and your community, teach your kids about caring for others, and spend some quality family time being active and moving your body. It’s a win-win-win for all involved.

8. Have a dance party
Clear the furniture from the room and put on some tunes. You can do this while cooking dinner, folding laundry, hoovering or just because you feel like dancing!!

Dancing is a fabulous way to burn calories and work on your balance and coordination. Plus, you can make it a game or contest with your kids. They need to learn about 80s rock, right? Put on some ACDC (or whatever makes you tap your feet) and get shakin’.

9. Switch up your game night
During your next family game night, swap out cards or board games for active games.

Here’s a list to jog your memory: hide and seek, kick the can, scavenger hunts, Twister, freeze dance, potato sack races, pin the tail on the donkey, musical chairs, hopscotch, double dutch skipping, hula hoop contests, limbo… the games you once played as a kid are just as fun to play now.

Games like these can be played with people of any age, as well as indoors or outdoors. My family has a blast playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey, musical chairs or statues and Freeze Frame Dance Party, and we all are sweaty and tired afterwards.

10. Exercise or stretch during TV time
I know this goes beyond all tenets of “binge and chill,” but hear me out. Walk on the treadmill, use a stationary bike, stretch on the floor, use weights for upper- and full-body strengthening, or do Pilates during your next Netflix sesh.

If you watch a 30-minute show and move the whole time, that’s 30 minutes of exercise you didn’t have before! You can even limit it to when the commercials come on if that feels like a good place to start.

Keep your exercise stuff near your “binge-watching” place, and do some body weight exercises or even foam rolling during your show. Just a few reps of bicep curls, tricep presses, or arm raises with light hand weights will make a huge difference in your arm strength, posture, and well-being.

This is especially true for women, who are at a higher risk of osteoporosis. Incorporate weight training into your routine to keep your bones healthy and strong.

The bottom line
I hope these ideas will motivate and inspire you to get up and move a bit more throughout your day.

I know how difficult it is to maintain a good routine. It can seem overwhelming when you first start to exercise, but trying a few of these things will help.

Start small by adding in a few lunges here and there, a walking meeting once a week, or stairs a few times, and before you know it, you’ll be movin’ and groovin’ much more than you were before.

28/09/2022

This Turkish Bulgur Salad (Aka Kisir) is going to be your new favourite salad! It’s unlike other salads because it’s mostly made from Bulgur Wheat, which is very filling. It’s super healthy, very delicious and can be eaten alone or with a side of protein. This vegan salad is perfect for make ahead meals and is packed full of fresh and vibrant flavours.

Ingredients - Serves 6
400g Bulgur Wheat dry (I used Turkish Bulgur)
1.5 pints of boiling water
65g tomato puree
2 tbsp roasted red pepper paste
1 tsp salt or more to taste
4 tbsp olive oil (I used Turkish Olive Oil)
125g cucumber diced
1 red pepper diced
40g onion chopped
20g fresh parsley chopped
3/4 tsp cumin powder or 7 spice
1 lemon juiced
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

Instructions
In a bowl, soak the bulgur wheat in the boiled water for 20-30 minutes, mixing occasionally until they are soft and tender. Bulgur wheat should not be chewy.
Meanwhile dice and chop all your ingredients.
In a frying pan bring the olive oil, salt, tomato and pepper paste to a simmer and keep cooking on low for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally to form a creamy tomato paste base. Turn off the heat.
Add in the bulgur wheat and mix to coat well with the tomato paste. Allow the bulgur wheat to cool down for about 10 minutes.
In a bowl, add in all the salad ingredients with the bulgur wheat, pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and cumin. Taste to see if you need to add more salt.
Serve straight away or cool in the fridge to serve cold. Once the salad has cooled to room temperature, transfer it to an air tight container and it will keep well for 3 days in the fridge.

Nutrition
One serving provides: Calories: 346kcal | Carbohydrates: 68.3g | Protein: 12.4g | Fat: 2.8g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Sodium: 407mg | Fibre: 6.9g | Sugar: 4.1g

28/09/2022

Apologies for the crass word but it is oh so true!

28/09/2022

27/09/2022

Top 6 Benefits of Taking Collagen Supplements

Collagen is a key component in bones, skin, muscles, and other body parts. People often take a collagen supplement to support skin health, among other things, but does it really help?

What is collagen?
Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body.

It’s the main component of connective tissues that make up several body parts, including tendons, ligaments, skin, and muscles.

Collagen has many important functions, including providing your skin with structure and strengthening your bones.

There are 28 types of collagen, but here are the four most common:

Type I: the most common type, found in all connective tissue
Type ll: found in joints and intervertebral discs (the cushions that serve as your spine’s shock absorbers)
Type lll: the main component of reticular fibres, which are found in your skin and blood vessels
Type lV: a component of your kidneys, inner ear, and eye lens

In recent years, collagen supplements have become popular. Most are hydrolysed, which means the collagen has been broken down to make it easier to absorb.

These supplements come primarily in powder form but are also available in capsules. The types of collagen found in supplements vary — some contain one or two types, while others contain up to five.

Several foods may naturally increase your collagen intake, including pork skin and bone broth.

Foods that contain collagen
Foods that contain gelatin, such as bone broth, provide collagen. Gelatin is a protein substance derived from collagen that has been processed.

Collagen is found in the connective tissues of animals. Thus, foods such as chicken skin, pork skin, beef, and fish are sources of collagen.

Vitamin C is crucial for collagen synthesis, so you should also be sure to eat foods rich in this vitamin, such as citrus fruits, broccoli, and peppers.

More research is needed to determine whether eating collagen-rich foods helps increase collagen levels in your body, as they may not have the same benefits as supplements.

Digestive enzymes break down the collagen in food into individual amino acids and peptides. However, the collagen in supplements has already been broken down, or hydrolysed, which is why it’s thought to be absorbed more efficiently than collagen from foods.

Health benefits of collagen supplements
Collagen supplementation provides a variety of health benefits.

1. May improve skin health
Collagen is a major component of your skin. It plays a role in strengthening skin, as well as in elasticity and hydration. As you age, your body produces less collagen, leading to dry skin and the formation of wrinkles.

However, several studies have shown that collagen peptides or supplements containing collagen may help slow the ageing of your skin by reducing wrinkles and dryness.

One review of 11 studies focusing mostly on women found that taking 3–10 grams of collagen per day for an average of 69 days led to improvements in skin elasticity and hydration.

These supplements may work by stimulating your body to produce collagen on its own. Additionally, collagen supplements may promote the production of other proteins that help structure your skin, including elastin and fibrillin.

There are also many anecdotal claims that collagen supplements help prevent acne and other skin conditions, but these aren’t supported by scientific evidence.

2. May relieve joint pain
Collagen helps maintain the integrity of your cartilage, the rubber-like tissue that protects your joints.

As the amount of collagen in your body decreases with age, your risk of degenerative joint disorders such as osteoarthritis increases.

Some studies suggest that collagen supplements may help improve symptoms of osteoarthritis and reduce overall joint pain.

A review of studies in people with osteoarthritis found that taking collagen led to significant improvements in joint stiffness and overall osteoarthritis symptoms.

Researchers have theorised that supplemental collagen may accumulate in cartilage and stimulate your tissues to make collagen. In turn, this may lead to lower inflammation, better joint support, and reduced pain.

Even though the research is promising, experts caution that stronger evidence is still needed before recommending collagen as a treatment for osteoarthritis.

3. May prevent bone loss
Your bones are made mostly of collagen, which gives them structure and strength.

Just as the collagen in your body deteriorates with age, so does bone mass. This may lead to conditions such as osteoporosis, which is characterised by low bone density and a higher risk of bone fractures.

Studies note that collagen supplements may help inhibit the bone breakdown that leads to osteoporosis.

In a 12-month study, post-menopausal women took either a calcium and vitamin D supplement with 5 grams of collagen or a calcium and vitamin D supplement with no collagen daily.

At the study’s end, those taking the calcium, vitamin D, and collagen supplement had significantly lower blood levels of proteins that promote bone breakdown than those who took only the calcium and vitamin D. The collagen group also had lower loss of bone mineral density.

Another study found similar results in 66 post-menopausal women who took 5 grams of collagen daily for 12 months. Those who took the collagen exhibited an increase of up to 7% in their bone mineral density (BMD) compared with those who didn’t take collagen.

BMD is a measure of the density of minerals, such as calcium, in your bones. Low BMD is associated with weak bones and osteoporosis risk.

Although these results are promising, more human studies are needed.

4. May boost muscle mass
As the most abundant protein in the body, collagen is an important component of skeletal muscle.

Studies suggest that collagen supplements help boost muscle mass in people with sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass that happens with age.

In a 12-week study, 27 older men with this condition took 15 grams of collagen while participating in an exercise program. Compared to men who exercised but didn’t take collagen, they gained significantly more muscle mass and strength.

Researchers have suggested that supplemental collagen may promote the synthesis of muscle proteins such as creatine, as well as stimulate muscle growth after exercise.

However, collagen protein isn’t more effective than whey protein for building muscle or strength. That’s because collagen is lower in branched chain amino acids which play a key role in muscle building. Whey protein is a richer source of these amino acids.

More research is necessary to investigate collagen’s potential to boost muscle mass.

5. May promote heart health
Researchers have theorised that collagen supplements may help reduce the risk of heart conditions.

Collagen provides structure to your arteries, the blood vessels that carry blood from your heart to the rest of your body. Without enough collagen, arteries may become less flexible and elastic.

This may lead to atherosclerosis, a disease characterised by the narrowing of your arteries. This condition may lead to heart attack and stroke.

In a 6-month study, 31 healthy adults took 16 grams of collagen daily. They had experienced a significant reduction in measures of artery stiffness from the study’s beginning to its end.

Additionally, their levels of HDL (good) cholesterol rose by an average of 6%. HDL is an important factor in the risk of heart conditions, including atherosclerosis.

Nevertheless, more studies on collagen supplements and heart health are needed.

6. Other health benefits
Collagen supplements may have other health benefits, but these haven’t been studied extensively.

Hair and nails. Taking collagen may increase the strength of your nails by preventing brittleness. Additionally, it may help your hair and nails grow longer.
Gut health. Although no scientific evidence supports this claim, some health practitioners assert that collagen supplements can treat leaky gut syndrome, also called intestinal permeability.
Brain health. No studies have examined the role of collagen supplements in brain health, but some people claim that they improve mood and reduce anxiety symptoms.
Weight loss. Proponents believe that collagen supplements may promote weight loss and faster metabolism. However, no studies support these claims.
Although these potential effects are promising, more research is needed before formal conclusions can be made.

Downsides and side effects of collagen supplements
Collagen supplements are generally well tolerated, with few reported side effects.

However, some supplements are made from common food allergens, such as fish, shellfish, and eggs. People with allergies to these foods should avoid collagen supplements made with these ingredients.

Some people report nausea and bloating when taking collagen supplements, but research has not consistently shown these as side effects.

There are some reports that collagen supplements may cause other digestive side effects, such as heartburn and feelings of fullness.

Regardless, these supplements appear to be safe for most people.

12/09/2022

Which is Worse for You: Fat or Sugar?

Few things in this world are more complicated than nutrition. Nutritional recommendations and diet fads change more than the wind. It’s hard to say that anything in nutrition is definitive. Fat used to be the enemy in the 90s, then accepted in the 2000s, then high fat was praised in the 2010s. In just two decades, fat went from enemy to friend.

When the low-fat diet trended in the 90s, food companies had to replace the taste that was missing with their reduced-calorie and low-fat foods. Sugar became the most common replacement. Despite the low-fat trend, obesity rates continued to climb. That’s when sugar became the enemy.

So which one is the enemy? The great food debate of the past few decades seems to revolve around fat and sugar.

A Quick Breakdown of Macronutrients
There are three sources of calories: protein, carbs, and fat. These are called macronutrients. Macronutrients are where we get our energy from. Protein has never been the issue. Food scientists, dieticians, and nutritionists alike have always agreed that protein is good for us and should comprise around 10-30ish percent of the human diet.

Sugar is a carbohydrate. Specifically, it is typically a simple carbohydrate, which means it can be quickly converted into usable energy. If that energy isn’t quickly expended, the body tends to store it as fat for later use.

Fat is also complex. There are many types of fat that can be consumed. You may have heard of saturated, unsaturated, trans, omega 3, omega 6, and 9 fats. Even you have different types of fat in your body.

Is Sugar Good Or Bad For You?

The good
Carbohydrates like sugar are the preferred fuel source for the body. Simple sugars help deliver quick energy when we need it but can also be used for energy later in long-term storage. Sugar can be a dynamic nutrient.

The bad
Unused sugar is like getting pumped up for a game, but you decide not to play at the last minute. Some not-so-great things can happen from there. As mentioned earlier, the sugar is later stored as fat. That is a process that takes time and energy. It is theorised that the body sometimes has a hard time converting it all to fat. This is thought to cause ADHD-type symptoms, making it difficult to concentrate or even stay still. Research isn’t definitive on this, but there’s no question that having a lot of unspent energy can cause problems in the body.

Is Fat Good or Bad for You?

The good
Fat offers lots of protection. Fat helps protect our brain, nerves, and cells and is vital to their optimal function. Low amounts of fat in our diet will cause problems in how our body functions.

The bad
One gram of protein is 4 calories. One gram of carbohydrate is 4 calories. One gram of fat, however, is 9 calories. Fat doesn’t make us any more fat than the other macronutrients. The problem is that it doesn’t take as much to put on unnecessary weight. A tablespoon of fatty oil has as many calories as a fistful of protein. It’s very easy to consume too much fat, giving us more calories we can use.

Which is Worse, Sugar or Fat?

Both sugar and fat are vital to athletic performance and our general health. However, given the standard diets of the modern world, getting enough sugar or fat is never much of an issue. The typical child, adult, athlete, and non-athlete eats too much of both sugar and fat. Over consumption of each has its consequences.

The sugar and fat debate will continue to rage on in future decades for various reasons. How much of it should we eat? Should we eat more carbs than fat? Or the other way around? There is no doubt that sugar is good for you, and too much is bad for you. Fat is also good for you, but too much is bad as well.

We’ve established that fat is vital to many bodily functions. There are many types of fats, but most types can be used to support these functions.

Sugar is also vital to health. Sugar provides glucose, which is the only fuel source for the brain. Without sugar, the body is in trouble.

So the truth is that neither is the bad guy. It just depends on the circumstance that is you! Sugar and fats provide benefits in their own way.

Is fat worse for you than sugar?

If you are an active athlete, then probably yes. Active people tend to use sugar and carbohydrates better than less active folks. For less active folks, sugar is typically worse for you. Sugar is a great way to prepare for physical activity. If you aren’t physically active, it’ll probably be stored into fat that you won’t easily burn.

These dietary trends didn’t consider that not all humans are the same. Some of us have very different activity levels than others. Quantity, quality, and timing matter too. In the 2020s, we probably have a more intelligent understanding of that now.

Is sugar or fat worse?

It depends. They are both vital. They are both enemies when abused. Your health needs are unique. It’s up to you to figure out what’s best for your body and goals.