Ultrafit Living Magazine

Younger, Fitter, Healthier

All the latest news, articles, tips, interviews and advice on health, fitness, wellness, running, beauty and anti ageing in the UAE.

Tips For Keeping Fit Over Christmas

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Lots of people tend to stop their fitness routines during the Christmas holidays, claiming they don’t have time to do their workouts. Lack of exercise and excessive eating is one of the main reasons for gaining weight. Here are a few tips to keep you fit and healthy during the holiday season, whilst still enjoying the festivities and spending time with your family.

  1. Don’t skip meals thinking you can save the calories and eat more later in the day. This doesn’t work and you can end up eating more, it’s better to eat a good breakfast so you stay fuller for longer helping to avoid having to snack too much.
  2. Keep active by going for a walk. Try to take your family and friends along with you so it can be more social.
  3. Take the stairs and do some strength exercises to burn more calories. Don’t be tempted to miss the strength exercises and just do cardio, as strength work can burn just as many calories as cardio whilst building muscles. This will help you to stop gaining extra fat if you over eat.
  4. Do shorter, more intense workouts, these can give similar benefits of longer, less intense workouts.
  5. Try not eat too much, you can still eat your favourite foods but take smaller portions, choose a smaller plate so you aren’t tempted to add too much to your plate, your brain will think you are eating more than you are.
  6. Eat slowly and chew your food, so you feel like you have eaten more.
  7. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated and chose lower calorie alcoholic drinks, like white wine, champagne and vodka.
  8. Stock up on vitamins and eat some fruits and vegetables.
  9. Get enough sleep, the lack of sleep can lead to hormones problems and weight gain.
  10. Enjoy your Christmas and don’t worry if you have to do less exercise, a rest can give your body time to recover from all the hard training and you will feel good for the New Year once you get back into your routine again.

Emirates Bio Farm

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Last weekend I visited Emirates Bio Farm and took a tractor tour around the farm to learn about the organic and sustainable farming methods that they use. You can harvest your own vegetables in the fields and take them home with you and even sample some of the fresh vegetables as you pick them.

The vegetables at Emirates Bio farm are free from chemicals and pesticides, reducing toxins and pollutions to the environment and to our health. They also contain more nutrients than vegetables grown by traditional methods using chemicals.

It is a fun and educational experience for the whole family and kids can enjoy playing on the tractor in the playground or feed the goats. You can eat in the restaurant afterwards where they offer healthy, wholesome foods and juices. The organic shop sells a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, eggs, milks, spreads and snacks and you can also purchase online via their website and they will deliver directly to your home.

Check out Emirates Bio Farm’s website for more information www.emiratesbiofarm.com


Making Lifestyle Changes That Last

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There is no point in going on a diet or starting a new exercise routine if you are only going to do it for a few weeks. You need to make lifestyle changes that you will stick to throughout your life.

If you think you don’t have time to change your lifestyle then you will become unhealthy and as you get older many problems as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle, lack of exercise, poor dietary habits and stressful lives will start to affect you.

Here are a few tips to help you to make gradual changes to your lives:

* Set goals and make changes, one change at a time, even if it’s just to add extra fruits and vegetables to your diet. You don’t have to change everything at once, otherwise you probably won’t stick to it.

* Make your goals realistic, such as to lose 2 kg of weight in the month or to start a Yoga class to reduce stress.

* Goals might include, eat a healthier diet, start an anti ageing diet or exercise routine, reduce stress with meditation or yoga, train for a race such as a 5 km or a marathon.

* Aim to get more sleep, even if you only start with a few minutes of extra sleep each night.

* If you can’t fit exercise into your daily work schedule, try and get up every hour and walk around for 5 minutes. If you are working 8 or more hours a day, those 5 minute walks will add up.

If you would like help to manage your lifestyle, I can design a plan for you which will include diet, exercise and stress reduction.

Book Personal Training, Yoga or Running sessions with me and we can gradually work towards a healthy you with a plan you will stick to.

Contact Emma Phillips – Email: [email protected] or call +971 52 9779426

 

 

The Benefits of Yoga

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Below are just a few of the benefits Yoga has to offer:

  • Yoga has many benefits from healing ailments, lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol, reducing levels of sugar in the blood of diabetics and relieving stress and anxiety with controlled breathing and certain Asanas.
  • Yoga asanas can flush out toxins and speed up recovery after exercise. Athletes risk becoming injured, sick or burnout from too much training and not getting enough recovery. With a carefully control training plan and by incorporating Yoga sessions into your plan you can get stronger and cope better with the hard sessions, whilst recovering quicker for your next training session.
  • Yoga can also keep you younger for longer, by increasing your flexibility and strength. As you get older the muscle mass starts to decline. Bones can also become weaker but by practicing Yoga and other strength/load bearing exercises you can slow down the process.
  • Yoga lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, helping the body to destroy viruses and to helps the immune system fight off diseases.
  • Controlled breathing and certain Asanas can help to alleviate asthma and to give an energy boost to the body, it can help you to relax better so your sleep improves and you feel happier and more relaxed overall.

 

 

 

 

Tips to get back running after a break

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If it has been a while since you last ran due to injury, illness or maybe you just lost your motivation, don’t suddenly rush back into full training or you could risk re-injuring yourself and setting your self back even further.

Try these tips to start back running and to keep motivated:

  1. Join a running group and find people of a similar level.
  2. Follow a training plan so you build up your running gradually and also to keep you motivated with a goal. Choose short term targets along the way. Maybe you want to start with aiming for a 5 km race in 8 weeks or even a time trial to see where you are at.
  3. Spend the first month building up your stamina and gradually increase the length of your runs. Don’t increase your runs by more than 10 percent each week to avoid the risk of injury.
  4. Cross train by cycling or swimming to increase your fitness and strengthen key areas such as your glutes, hips, back and core.
  5. Add stretching to your training program and maybe try Yoga to stretch and strengthen.
  6. Enjoy seeing your times improve but don’t try to rush it.
  7. After 4 to 6 weeks gradually add interval sessions, hill work outs and tempo runs to improve your strength and speed.
  8. Aim to run 4 to 5 days each week to start with then as your fitness improves you can add an extra day.
  9. Don’t get frustrated if you don’t improve very fast, there is plenty time to reach your goals, aim to be healthy and try to enjoy your training. If you are enjoying your running then you will notice that you start running better and stat to improve.
  10. Make sure you eat well to repair quicker after runs with a good balance of protein’s, carb’s and fats such as avocado on Toast, scrambled egg on toast, salmon and potatoes or beans on toast. A few nuts after a run or some chocolate milk are good, quick snacks to eat straight after your run to help your body repair.

Enjoy your come back!

 

 

 

Beauty Tips for Glowing Skin

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Try these simple tips for naturally healthy, glowing skin.

 

Eat Nutrient Rich Foods

To improve your skin start by eating well.  Eat simple natural foods, fresh fruits and vegetables which include vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Proteins will help to tone and repair your skin, try eating nuts and seeds, foods rich in Omega 3, such as oily fish, walnuts or flaxseeds to help hydrate and moisturise the skin.

Drink Enough Water

Aim to drink 2 litres of water a day to hydrate, tone and moisturise the skin from the inside.

Sleep

The skin renews and repairs itself as you sleep preventing dull sagging skin. Always cleanse, tone and moisturise your skin before you sleep to avoid clogging the pores. Leaving make up on the skin can cause the skin to age quicker. Try adding some olive oil to a cotton pad and massaging it into the skin to gently remove traces of make up and dirt. Follow with a natural toner and moisturiser.

Exercise

Exercise regularly to boost circulation and reduce stress levels which can show on the skin.

If you live in Dubai I offer Yoga sessions or Personal Training at your home, in the park or at the gym

Sun Protection

Always wear sunscreen with a high SPF, even on a cloudy day to protect the skin from UV rays that can lead to ageing of the skin.

Try theses 3 home remedies to improve the skin

Green Apple Mask

Mash 1 green apple and mix it with 1 tablespoon of honey and apply to the skin. Leave on for 20 minutes and wash off with warm water.  This mask will prevent antioxidants from damaging the skin and help to repair any skin damage from the sun.

Avocado Face Mask

To moisturise dry skin and help the skin glow, try this face mask. Mix 1 avocado with 1 tablespoon of honey, apply to the skin and leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse well with warm water.

Banana Mask

Bananas applied to the skin will hydrate and smooth wrinkles as they contain potassium and other vitamins which are great for healing dry skin. Apply one mashed banana to the skin and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse well with warm water.