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Why Women Should Lift Weights

Why Women Should Lift Weights

Leave a Comment / Body, Body Composition, Fitness

Why Women Should Lift Weights

Are you thinking, “oh no I don’t want to get bulky and big like a man or those women with BIG muscles?” I get it! I was thinking exactly the same thing when I first started to exercise at a gym. Hi, I’m Fatima, a Personal Wellness Coach who once upon a time was afraid of the gym. I am going to talk to you about “Why I BELIEVE women should lift weights”.

Fast Forward >>>  some years later and the scales have gone up but I could not be happier… WHY? More Muscle equals Less Fat.

PSSSTT.. if you are a guy reading this…DON’T look away, why not pass it on to a woman in your life… Wife, Partner, Sister, Mother or Friend. You never know it might be just what they need to hear to start lifting the iron!

Let me tell you WHY WOMEN SHOULD LIFT WEIGHTS…

  • Muscle is what gives you the “toned” body you are looking for (9/10 times when asked “What is your health and fitness goal?” Women will tell me it is to tone up).
  • Muscle is firm and dense like a piece of fillet meat and fat is soft and wobbly like butter!
  • 1kg of Muscle burns through more calories or uses more energy per hour than 1 kg of fat.  Do you know what that means?… It means that even when your sleeping your body is burning through more calories per hour. More muscle = a more efficient body.

Need more reasons…

  • The more muscle you have, the higher your bone density. Women are at a higher risk of osteoporosis, if your bone density is high, it means your bones are stronger. This is super important for women.
  • Planning on becoming pregnant any time in the future? A physically stronger body will support your body through the pregnancy and the bounce back post pregnancy. Show me one woman that does not think this is a good idea and I will shut up right now!
  • More muscle = more strength. The more muscle you build the stronger you can become, I have not met a woman that has not LOVED the feeling of becoming physically stronger. It feel good as a women to feel physically strong!
why women should lift weights
Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash

If you still want to know more take a look at this article Cardio versus Weights – What Should I Do?

Women and men’s bodies are different (ummm yeah obviously!!) LOL

Simply put (no offence intended here) biologically men were built to hunt and protect, women were built to gather and have babies. The reason I am sharing this is simple. Men have more testosterone, which simply means it’s easier for them to build muscle when they pick up a weight. Women however may lift the same weight and train just as hard, even harder than some men and not turn into the female version of incredible hulk because they do not have the same hormone make up as men.

If you want to lose weight, change the shape of your body and feel stronger, you MUST MUST MUST incorporate weight training into your week. Cardio alone will certainly increase your cardiovascular fitness, but cardio alone will not build you a strong body composition.

So… time to go lift some weights! 😉

Fatima, xo

Lime & Coconut Green Smoothie

Leave a Comment / Body, Health, Recipe

Lime & Coconut Green Smoothie

Packed with goodness and a BIG boost from the “superfood” Green Qi, this lime & coconut super smoothie not only tastes AMAAAZZING & so refreshing, but it also has a long list of benefits to your body:

  • Alkalising & Detoxifying,
  • Supports Gastrointestinal Health,
  • Big Injection of Antioxidants

Plus phytonutrients & other essential nutrients that stimulate your body’s healthy cell renewal, assists in maintaining a balanced diet by supplementing your fruit & vegetable intake.

What is even better is that it only takes a couple of minutes to prepare & can be enjoyed by the whole family. My 3 boys love the smoothie, we often have it as an after school snack – what a great way to up their veggie intake! It makes for a nutrient packed breakfast or mid morning snack.

Ingredients

Lime & Coconut Green Smoothie
  • 1 small frozen banana
  • 1/4 avocado OR 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • 2 inch piece of cucumber (skin on)
  • 1 scoop Vanilla Shake Pea Protein
  • 1-2 scoops of Superfood – Green Qi
  • 2 ice cubes
  • 1 handful of baby spinach or kale
  • 100ml iced water
  • 300ml coconut water
  • Juice of 1 lime

Method

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until your smoothie is smooth.

That’s it! Enjoy!

Fatima, xo

cardio versus weights

CARDIO versus WEIGHTS – What should I do?

Leave a Comment / Body, Fitness

CARDIO versus WEIGHTS – What should I do?

Should I do CARDIO or WEIGHTS? This is a question I get time & time again from people wanting to lose body fat and change their body shape.

The answer is both! But Why?

Cardio and weights each have their benefits but together they can be much more effective.

Let’s start here. Contrary to popular belief 1 kilogram of muscle mass does not weigh more than 1 kilogram of fat mass. 1kg = 1kg no matter what you are weighing. The difference is muscle mass is more dense, firmer and uses more energy (burns more calories) per hour than fat mass. Muscle mass spreads over smaller area than fat mass.

Another way to think of this is to visualise a tonne of feathers and a tonne of bricks, the weight is the same but you would need so many more feathers to reach the 1-tonne weight and they would certainly take up a larger space than the 1 tonne of bricks would.

1kg Muscle -v- 1kg Fat

Why is this important?

Building muscle mass increases your base metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is the minimum amount of energy required to sustain your vital functions whilst at rest.

Think of it this way. There are 2 females, both aged 35yrs, both weighing 65kg and 165cm tall but female “A” had 4kg more muscle mass than female “B”. Female “A” base metabolic rate would be higher than female “B”. This is due to the fact that muscle mass uses more energy than fat mass, even while sleeping. That essentially means the body is more effective when it comes to burning calories with more muscle mass. Calories must be burned to achieve a fat loss goal.

To achieve a 1 kilogram fat loss approximately 3800 calories must be burned while correctly tracking your macronutrient intake.

A one hour weight training session may not burn the same amount of calories as one hour of cardio. Depending on the intensity of each type of workout. The post workout “burn” – the amount of calories your body continues to burn after the workout is higher post weight training than it is post cardio. Studies(1) have shown that the time frame your metabolism is boosted for can be up to a whopping 38 hours.

According to CFDU Crossfit Coach and Something RXD podcaster Raul Valenzuela.

“Roughly there are 7,777 Calories in a Kilogram of fat. (Wow a lot !! that’s like a quite a few happy meals )

This means you need to create a calorie deficit of 7,777 calories in your eating plan to create a 1-kilo weight loss.”

Raul delves deeper into this topic over at his short, sharp and to the point blog. I recommend spending a few minutes reading his article right here: “How many calories should I eat to lose weight”

SIDE NOTE: I recently interviewed Raul on “The Life, Body, Business Impact with Fatima” Podcast. He shared so much gold, check it out #7: Being Paid To Quit His Day Job Changed Thousands Of Lives.

The Final Wrap

Both cardio and weights can help you to achieve your body composition goals. In addition you can increase your fitness and overall health.

An intense, long cardio workout can burn more calories than a weight-training workout BUT it can also get pretty boring! Long cardio workouts can also be difficult to maintain in our busy lives. Another downfall – it does not help to achieve muscle tone, you can only do that by building muscle mass – lifting weights!

Studies show your metabolism may stay elevated for longer after a weights workout than a cardio workout.

Weight training is better to build muscle, which has a host of other health benefits. Increased bone density and reduced risk of injury to name just a couple. Weight training is not just about the “look”.

If you enjoyed this article or have any questions please leave a comment and share with your friends.

Fatima, xo 

Coconut Oil – Why You Need It Everyday

Coconut Oil – Why You Need It Daily

Leave a Comment / Body, Health, Life

Coconut Oil – Why You Need It Daily

Let’s talk about Coconut Oil and “Why You Need It Daily” but first let me explain this fat. Although classed as a saturated fat, coconut oil functions differently in your body to other saturated fats, which are know as long-chain fats. Over half of the fats in coconut oil are medium-chain fatty acids – MCFA (also known as MCT Medium chain Triglycerides) which provide a host of health benefits, including not being stored as fat and being available for energy use.

Coconut Oil Aids Weight Loss

It may not make sense to add fat to your diet to aid weight loss, based on the what we have been taught over the years BUT Coconut oil is a no-carb oil that helps burn fat, calories and decrease appetite. More and more information and studies are surfacing to support the claim that this magnificent oil can play a role in fat loss.

A study conducted on 40 women with abdominal obesity revealed positive effects related to coconut-oil supplementation. After 12 weeks, the women consuming coconut oil daily showed a reduction in waist circumference, as compared to the group who consumed soybean oil.

Dr. Bruce Fife says in his video:

Adding fat into your diet can be the key to your weight loss success. Low-fat dieting actually causes weight gain, and is one of the reasons for our current obesity epidemic. You can lose weight on these diets temporarily, but in the long run you end up gaining all your weight back, and then some.

…Fat also satisfies hunger so that you don’t feel like you are starving. You feel satisfied. In fact, with an adequate amount of fat, you don’t get hungry even when you cut down on total calorie intake. Your metabolism and energy levels remain elevated. You feel a lot better and get better results.”

To watch the video in its entirety, click here.

Coconut Oil Boosts Your Immune System

Coconut Oil – Why You Need It Everyday
Image Source: MedicalXpress

MCT’s are antiviral and antibacterial, medical studies have discovered that Medium chain Fatty Acids found in coconut oil can kill bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites that are the cause of many illnesses.

These are just some illnesses MCFA’s combat:

  • Herpes
  • Hep C
  • HIV
  • Measles
  • Conjunctivitis
  • Toxic Shock Syndrome
  • Throat and Sinus infections
  • Giardia – parasite infection
  • Thrush
  • Jock itch
  • Gastric Ulcers… the list goes on!

Refer to to the book “Coconut Cures” by Dr Bruce Fife CN,ND if you want to learn more about this.

Coconut Oil Improves Energy and Endurance

The MCFA’s in Coconut oil are sent straight to your liver and converted into ketones that are very quickly released into your bloodstream to be used for energy, they produce a longer sustained energy and increases your metabolism.  According to Dr Mercola “MCFA’s can even pass the blood-brain barrier to supply your brain directly with energy. This is one of the reasons coconut oil is thought to have positive effects on those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.”

Coconut Oil and Oral Health

You may have heard of oil pulling, this is an Ayurvedic practice, Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest holistic health systems.

The practice of oil pulling requires you to swish to an oil such as coconut oil around the mouth for 20 minutes before spitting it out (not in the drain) the mouth is home to billions of bacteria, pulling acts as a detoxifier in the mouth.

When done daily the benefits include:

  • Brightening & whitening teeth
  • Healthier gums
  • Removal of mucus
  • Boosting the immune system
  • Preventing bad breath
  • Increasing energy
  • Having a clearer mind
  • Decreasing headaches
  • Clearing the sinuses
  • Alleviating allergies
  • Better sleep
  • More clearer skin
  • Decreasing inflammation

How to Oil Pull

I personally practice this ritual on a regular basis, if you want to try it here is how:

  1. Drink a glass of water
  2. A tablespoon of coconut oil in the mouth (does not need to be melted – the warmth of our mouth will melt it)
  3. Swish it around for 20 minutes while you are doing something else like listening to a podcast, housework, writing affirmations etc
  4. Spit the oil into the garden or rubbish but NOT down the drain, the last thing you want is to block the pipes.
  5. Your done, just repeat it the next day.

Coconut Oil Prevents Heart Disease and High Blood Pressure

Heart disease, which includes heart attacks, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, is the leading cause of death in Australia and affects more than 3.7 million Australians.

Although coconut oil is classed as a mostly saturated fat, it is not to blame for the spike in heart disease, on the contrary, coconut oil:

  • Increases your HDL cholesterol (thats the “good” one)
  • Lowers your risk of heart disease due to the increase in HDL
  • Helps convert your LDL cholesterol (the bad one) into good cholesterol – I personally experienced this through adding coconut oil to my diet daily, I drank a cup of of hot water with a tablespoon of coconut oil to start my day
  • Promotes heart health

Ways To Use Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil – Why You Need It Everyday
Photo credit One Green Planet – Delicious recipes
  • Topically on you skin, your skin will be moisturised and absorb some of the oil
  • In your mouth for oil pulling (see above instructions)
  • To make raw treats such as chocolate, raw cheesecakes & bliss balls
  • Make coconut oil tea, just add 1 tablespoon to hot water
  • In your cooking, baking, simply replace other fats with coconut oil
  • Boost your smoothie with a tablespoon of oil – Try this Lime Green Coconut Smoothie

The Wrap Up on Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil health benefits are immense both internally and externally, the benefits detailed above just scratch the surface, if you want to learn more Dr Bruce Fife is an expert on all things coconut, check out his books or you tube videos. When purchasing coconut oil opt for the organic unrefined oil.

If you enjoyed this article, I would love for you to share it and leave a comment.

Food really can have powerful healing effects as described in this article. In my podcast interview (episode 17) with iridologist, health coach and semi pro ice hockey athlete Mitchell Villani you can learn more about Food as Medicine & How To Heal Yourself With Mitchell Villani

Fatima, xo
detoxing your body & 5 foods that naturally assist

DETOXING Your Body & 5 Foods That Naturally Assist

1 Comment / Body, Health

DETOXING Your Body & 5 Foods That Naturally Assist

Detoxing your body rids it of toxins that are stored in the fat cells. It increases your metabolism, strengthens your body’s immune system function and fights off infection. In this article we share 5 foods that naturally assist in detoxing your body.

Toxins can affect our health in many ways potentially leading to a multitude of healthy functioning issues:

  • Some can kill the friendly bacteria in our gut
  • Block oxygen from binding to red blood cells
  • Block absorption of vitamins and minerals
  • Hindering the body’s natural ability to burn fat – leading to weight gain

How do these toxins enter our body?

  1. Consumption – The foods and drinks we ingest. These days even some fresh foods can carry toxins in the form of pesticides, water & plastic water bottles.
  2. Inhalation – The air we breath, air fresheners.
  3. Absorption – Your skin is your largest organ and absorbs some of what it comes into contact with. Think of household cleaners and personal care products such as detergents, deodorant, toothpaste and body wash to name a few. Any product that you put on your body that contains harmful chemicals.

If you experience digestive issues, weakness, bloating, nausea, mood swings and skin issues, these are all signs that there are too many toxins in the body.

Detoxing at least once a year for a 2-4 week period would prove beneficial to any person’s health. I personally embark on a 28 day detox after Christmas and upon returning from any holiday.

Benefits of Detoxing your body are many:

  • Reduced inflammation
  • Healthy skin
  • Increased energy
  • Cleanse the liver
  • Sharp thinking
  • Boosted libido
  • Improved physical performance
  • Increased metabolism leading to weight loss

5 Foods That Help Your Body Naturally Detoxify

Asparagus

Asparagus are full of amino acids and minerals that protect your liver and cells against toxins. An additional benefit of this power vegetable is it is a natural diuretic. This is important to aide the body in liver drainage, an essential function to remove toxins from the body

Food Tip: Use it in frittata or omelette, grill or BBQ it to add to your meal.

Avocados

Packed with antioxidants and good fats, avocados can dilate blood vessels while blocking toxins that have been known to destroy arteries.

The nutrients in Avocados promote healthy circulation, they contain the powerful antioxidant known as “glutathione”. Glutathione helps the liver detoxify synthetic chemicals from the body. This in turn helps to cleanse your body off the unwanted toxins. And if that isn’t enough reason to add Avocado to your meals, it has been found to block 30 various carcinogens!

Food Tip: Add it to your smoothie – like this quick superfood smoothie recipe, or mash with lemon, salt and chilli and spread on your favourite meat, rice cake or sourdough.

Beetroot

Beetroot has the ability to cleanse and restore energy to the body, and naturally detox your blood and liver. Thanks to the many minerals they contain beetroot can provide you with an immune boost that assists to improve blood flow, protect the blood vessels from damage, and prevent you feeling fatigued.

Including beets in your diet will give you a boost of potassium, fibre, manganese, and folate. It’s detox power is in the compound “betalains” that help to remove heavy metals and neutralize toxins in the body.

Food Tip: Opt for fresh beetroot, grate into a salad, meet patties or simply have a beetroot juice pre workout.

Parsley

Parsley is a diuretic that assists the digestive tract and helps to control cholesterol. It is rich in minerals that help kidneys stay strong, remove toxins and fats. Parsley contains a powerful antioxidant that helps regenerate cells and facilitate the function of the kidney.

Food Tip: Add it to your juice for a boost, make pesto with parsley to dip veggie sticks into or boost salads and steam vegetables with fresh parsley.

Lemon

This refreshing citrus fruit has a compound in the peel that stimulates liver enzymes, making them water-soluble and easier to flush the toxins out of your system. An additional benefit is the antioxidants in lemons are great to alkalize your body and maintain a healthy PH level to maintain your best health.

Food Tip: Add to good quality oil with salt as a salad dressing, place slices in your water; cold for summer, warm water for winter.

Detoxing your boy & 5 foods that naturally assist

Remember by detoxing annually for a period of 28 days you will improve your body’s immune system and promote optimal function.  Keep this in mind after the Christmas blowout or the holiday indulgence.

Make sure you include these 5 Foods That Naturally Assist Detoxing in as many meals as possible. Set your health and fitness goals, consider starting the year with a detox. I will be enjoying this 28 day detox after the Christmas festivities and post holidays.

If you enjoy this content please leave a comment and feel free to share away, this might just be the information someone near to you might need to hear today

Happy Detoxing! 

Fatima xo  

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