At the beginning of a new year many use it as an opportunity to overhaul our health and fitness, with lots of people hitting the gym, beginning a new sport such as running or cycling, or simply increasing your daily activity in an effort to shed some excess weight and feel healthier in general. It can be very easy to focus solely on the physical aspects and neglect your daily nutrition. In fact, long term, healthy weight loss is a combination of physical exercise and a healthy diet, with diet accounting for 70-80% of your efforts.
It is essential to refuel after exercise and avoid the temptation of skipping a meal in an effort to keep calorie intake low.
What an individual consumes directly after their exercise will have a huge effect on how the body recovers from the aforementioned activity, and therefore your progress and improvement rate. By avoiding food, you will force your blood sugar to drop too low, which will encourage sugar cravings and you will be more likely to overeat at meal times, making it a fruitless process. However, by eating a healthy balanced meal, your muscles will have the raw material to repair, your glycogen (stored energy) levels will be restored and your body will return to equilibrium.
When it comes to refuelling, the advice I consistently give is to consumes healthy protein, healthy carbohydrates and healthy fats as part of your post exercise meal or snack.
Omega 3 essential fats are particularly important for recovery as they:
- Improves oxygen delivery to cells, thereby reducing muscle fatigue and soreness during exercise but also afterwards
- Reduces inflammation post exercise
- Improves recovery times from exercise, which increases improvement and progress
A very easy way to get additional omega 3 essential fats is by using Newgrange Gold Camelina oil in your daily diet. Here are some simple tips:
- Drizzle some oil over your side salad
- Use it instead of olive oil in homemade pesto’s and hummus
- Dress your steamed greens with some Camelina oil and a little crushed garlic
- Drizzle over some avocado with some chilli flakes
- Add a glug into your post work-out smoothie. checkout our recipe for a beautiful Camelina Breakfast Smoothie.
- Sautéing your onions and garlic in it as a base for soups, stews and casseroles
Aside from the exercise and recovery benefits of maintaining a high Omega 3 presence in your diet, these benefits translate to all areas of health, including cardiovascular health, brain health and hormonal balance.
If you would like to try our Camelina Oil you can buy it on our online shop, or go to our stockist page and find your local supplier.
by Joanne Gribbin LifeForce Nutrition