West Wales Life&Style Winter 2020

West Wales Life&Style
West Wales Life&Style
Health and Fitness
Four-time UK fitness champion,
ballet dancer, mountaineer,
GB Adventure Racer and
mum of seven, Joey Bull offers
tips and advice on all things
health and fitness.
Enjoy a festive feast –
and still stay in shape
This year of all years we need
to find pleasure, enjoyment
and satisfaction where we can
- and Christmas comes laden with
possibilities when it comes to feeling
good.
I think in 2020 we really can have
our Christmas cake and eat it! So
fear not, I don’t intend to start
warning you about the perils of
overindulgence or how mince pies
should be replaced with squats and
push-ups.
But I can tell you how to buffer the
effects of that binge or binges and
keep you a few strides ahead of the
game when it comes to the reality of
New Year! That’s the point when all
the fun, feasting and festive frolics
are behind you and a depressing
awareness of the extra pounds,
additional inches around the waist
and general lethargy creep in - when
you feel a little lardy, slow and not
making your personal best time
round the block. And if like me, you
missed out on the supermarket slot
deliveries the entire year and your
new addition to the home vegetable
patch isn’t in full bloom, you can
still equip yourself with... a master
antioxidant.
According to a YouGov poll in
2019 – 48% of people stated that
‘losing weight’ was their resolution,
59% said they wanted to start
‘exercising more’ and 54% planned
to ‘eat healthier’ – all of which
are of course inextricably linked.
But quite often that objective can
feel like a steep climb, although
the thought of cleaning up seems
exciting, it is one of those desires
you wish to fall into place - easily
and effortlessly without missing out
too much.
So what’s the solution? How can
we enjoy all that Christmas has to
offer and still come out the other
side feeling tip-top and raring to go?
Well here’s a question: Do you
know why after a booze-up, you
fancy a kebab? Answer: Alcohol
blocks Glucagon without which, you
can’t get energy from fat so you get
hungry… and you’ve come up sugar
short. Each drink takes 1.5 hours to
process, so one glass with a meal is
a good match. But two and beyond,
the liver goes off the job and can’t
multitask.
Since the liver is our Hoover bag
and has to manage a dirty house
over Christmas, here are some tips
to care of any excess that might be
slowing you down and dimming your
1000watt energy:
Leptin: This is the hormone that
tells you when you’re hungry and
when you should stop.
At Christmas it might lose its voice
a little, so give it a voice and boost
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westwaleslifeandstyle.co.uk
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