At the presentation ceremony on Friday, we met other winners and came across a lady who really knows her stuff when it comes to nutrition and diet.

We have agreed to share some of her interesting Blogs with you, starting with this one, a warning for all latte lovers !

Enjoy

By Priya Tew who runs Dietitian UK and is a Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Drinks. We all need them, but are you being sensible with your choices. It’s surprising how much difference the right drink can make to your calorie intake. Many people work hard on their food intake and exercise but drinks can get forgotten. Extra liquid calories end up sneaking in without you being aware.
With a coffee shop on every corner it’s easy to be wooed by the delicious sounding drinks, however your favourite beverage may have more calories in than you think. Take a coffee for example: Latte, Cappucino, Americano, added syrups, sprinkles, small, medium, large, the possibilites are endless. An average large latte provides 340 kcal, equivalent to many people’s breakfast. A large Cappucino can be 200 kcals which is the size of a snack, whilst a large Americano is only 23 kcals. 

Drink	Calories
Fruit Juice 150ml	60 kcals
Cola 1 can	140 kcals
Diet Cola 1 can	4 kcals
Red Bull 1 can	160 kcals
Lucozade 380ml	266 kcals
Latte smalllarge	200 kcals340 kcals
Cappucino smalllarger	120 kcals200 kcals
Americano smalllarger	11 kcals23 kcals
Smoothie	150 kcals

 

Looking at cold drinks an average smoothie can be 150 kcals and an energy drink such as Lucozade 266 kcals. Having these drinks regularly could lead to your taking in more calories than you should be and prevent you achieving your weight loss goals.

Lower calorie drinks include:  No added sugar squash, all types of tea (earl grey, darjeeling, redbush, herbal and fruit), low calorie hot chocolate, diet drinks and the best choice of all is always water.

 

We are both looking forward to the Winners Event on 30th March at Edgbaston and hope that fellow Winners want to take up Pilates and do some DIY !

Dragon Chooses Wilmslow Studio as Business Winners

iPilates was started by Tracey Corcoran and Julia Jackson, following Tracey’s diagnosis with Breast Cancer in 2007.  Chemotherapy meant that Tracey had to give up her role as a teachers at The Physio & Pilates Centre, Wilmslow and was also unable to attend classes at the studio.

Realising that getting to exercise was an important part of her recovery, Tracey asked Julia to record some workouts for her, and iPilates was born.

Theo’s Small Business Sunday #sbs helps small businesses promote their products and services to a wider audience. The star of Dragon’s Den receives thousands of tweets on a Sunday evening and chooses just six of his favourites to share with over 225,000 of his followers on twitter.

Following Paphitis’ re-tweet, Julia and Tracey has been invited to the #SBS winners party in Birmingham at the end of March.

Core stability is the bodies ability to move functionally around a stable centre.

In other words, we can move our arms and legs freely and easily, without causing injury or pain.  Sounds simple doesn’t it ?

In reality, many of us have spent rather too long in one position, usually sitting, to have held on to the deep core muscular strength most of us had as children.

Problems can then arise when we expect our bodies to continue to perform complex moves infrequently.  In other words if we sit at a desk all day, but go to the gym once a week for a kettle bells class, our bodies are sometimes damaged, rather than strengthened.

Most Mums I know have the further issue of having very little time on their hands to spend trying to sort themselves out, they are far too busy with looking after others!

Furthermore, pregnancy can leave the body weakened and intensive exercise for the first 9-12 months after having a baby are not recommended.  However, society has created an “ideal” body shape that does not allow us to wait that long, we are often impatient to get back into our pre pregnancy shape.  Victoria Beckham has a lot to answer for !

Well we can still do plenty as long as we incorporate it into our daily lives, so I have been researching and designing some simple, easy ways to work on core stability, whilst carrying out daily tasks. So here goes.

Exercise in Standing

• Stand with your feet 3 inches apart while doing any static tasks in standing, for instance, brushing your teeth,  and then slowly lift one foot off the floor so that you are standing on one leg. Maintain this position for a minute, longer if you can and then change legs.  It may help to gently draw you tummy in to do this. Remember to swap legs and stand on each for the same amount of time.
• You will wobble a little, it’s the wobbling that strengthens you deep core postural muscles.
• Keep this regime up for a week, morning and night and you will start to notice an improvement in your posture.
• If you struggle with your balance make sure that you can hold onto something for support.
• Another plus is that standing on one leg will improve your cognitive function too, jargon speak for it will make you cleverer! That’s got to be worth a go.

Exercise in Sitting

• Imagine that you have a string coming out of the crown of you head which is attached to a hook on the ceiling.  The string is long enough for you to sit comfortably with the back of your neck lengthened.  Now bring your feet and knees together and gently squeeze them as you take a long breath out.  Hold that squeeze as you breath in and then release on the next out breath.  Repeat up to 10 times.
• This will engage your deep abdominal muscles and pelvic floor, without creating any muscular tension.
• The postural effect of this exercise will lengthen your spine, making you appear taller and slimmer, plus its a great back pain reliever.

Let me know how you get on.

For more great pilates exercises visit www.ipilates.co.uk or if you are interested in taking Pilates classes at our Wilmslow Studio visit www.physiopilates.co.uk

Stronger Core Muscles

All of the muscles in the Pilates sequence are designed to originate from the “core.” This means the torso, including abdominals, lower back, gluteal muscles and hips. These areas are the foundation for any movement of the body. Even when the limbs are involved in a particular exercise, the focus is on the muscles of the core–Joe Pilates called this muscle group the “powerhouse.” If these areas are strong, the whole body is strong. If they are weak, injuries often occur.

Better Body Awareness

Pilates requires that you constantly pay very close attention to your breath, balance, alignment and movements. Over time this practice creates better body awareness, more efficient movement and better coordination, according to Dr. Beth Glosten of Spine-Health.

Simultaneous Stretching and Strengthening

With Pilates exercise, there is no muscle isolation, as with weight lifting. The body is stretched and strengthened simultaneously. The eccentric contraction is emphasized (the “release” part of the movement, when the muscle is lengthening) as opposed to the concentric contraction (when the muscle is shortened.) In addition, there are very few repetitions in the Pilates method, as few as five and no more than 10.
The claim that Pilates can actually “lengthen” muscles is false. Pilates can, however, create the appearance of longer limbs. Many people come to Pilates after doing other types of strength exercises in which they worked their muscles with many concentric isolated repetitions and pounds. Pilates, on the other hand, emphasizes the eccentric contractions. Combined with idea of quality rather than quantity, precision, less weight, fewer repetitions and imagery of length, the muscles get strong. However, they do not carry disproportionate “bulk.” Muscle shape is genetic, so it can’t be changed, but the way you train your muscles makes a difference. In addition, simply standing up straighter due to the increased strength and length through the spine can give the appearance of a taller, leaner body. This may be where the notion of “lengthening muscles” has come.

Increased Flexibility

Pilates includes lots of stretching, but all while strengthening the opposite muscle group. For example, the abdominal muscles are engaged during a forward bend, and therefore are being strengthened. The opposing muscle group, the lower back, is stretched. Every exercise in Pilates is balanced in this way.

Less Back Pain

When the body is breathing, circulating and in alignment, posture is improved. When that happens, compression is decreased, the lower back feels much better, according to Dr. Beth Glosten.

With situations involving acute injuries such as herniated disc or degenerated disc, seek the guidance of a physical therapist who can further instruct you about how to use Pilates as a recovery tool.

Greater Range of Motion

Pilates, over time, can increase your range of motion. When flexibility and strength increase, your body moves with less effort and more ease. This is a good thing when you do any physical activity, such as dancing, walking, swimming or other sports. Moving is supposed to feel good, after all.

Better Circulation

Movement is healing because of the circulation of oxygen and blood through the body. The sequence of Pilates is designed with that in mind. There are exercises for every muscle of the body, including the fingers and toes.

Low Impact

Unlike other forms of exercise, Pilates is a no-impact exercise, while at the same time being a form of resistance exercise. Much of the Pilates sequence is performed lying down. This is why is is a wonderful alternative for those recovering from injury, illness or pregnancy. It is a vigorous yet gentle form of strengthening the body.

Better Posture

Pilates stretches tight muscles, and strengthens weak muscles so that the entire body gets a workout. By enabling the muscles of the body to work and strengthen together in a balanced way, the body is placed in proper alignment and posture is greatly improved. When posture is good, you feel good.

Six years ago, almost to the day, I suffered a prolapsed disc so severe my entire back went into spasm and my right leg felt as though it was on fire from thigh to sole. For two days, I couldn’t even move.
In desperation, I went to see an osteopath, who gave me a stern lecture about making my spine more flexible and my stomach muscles stronger. I diligently followed her exercises and then, after six months, started going to yoga classes.
I can’t pretend I didn’t feel faintly ridiculous doing the Sun Salutation or the Downward Facing Dog pose. But I stuck with it, because my back got better and stronger by the week.

Beneficial: Doing yoga poses can feel faintly ridiculous, but researchers have found yoga is better for a bad back than going to the doctor
So I wasn’t at all surprised to read yesterday that researchers have found yoga is better for a bad back than going to the doctor (except I’d argue that Pilates, which I now do instead, is even more beneficial, as it concentrates less on stretching and more on strengthening the muscles that support your spine).

Until my prolapsed disc, I almost prided myself on the fact I didn’t exercise at all. I had the arrogance of someone who was still relatively young and had been lucky enough to enjoy good health.

Like most of us, I used to expect a quick fix from doctors for anything that might go wrong. So learning how to fix my own back has been a kind of revelation.
Because, dreadful diseases apart, I really do believe we’ve forgotten that keeping healthy is mostly down to how we help ourselves.

The irony is, in an era obsessed with image, many of us have lost touch with our bodies and how they work.
Women are so terrified of giving birth — an act we are specifically designed to do — they want Caesareans on demand (and, unbelievably, it looks as if we’re going to get them).
We’re queuing up for diet pills and operations to fit gastric bands, yet — as a study revealed earlier this year — Weight Watchers is a far more effective way of losing weight.

Similarly, studies have shown exercise, meditation and cognitive behavioural therapy — all of which help sufferers help themselves — are far better first steps for dealing with mild depression than pills.
Instead, too many of us when we are feeling down reach for a drink — and then expect the NHS to repair the damage.

A friend who’s a doctor in a busy London A&E department says asking people how much they drink has become a routine part of her consultation — and people of all ages and social classes frequently confess to drinking 35 units a week, the equivalent of half a bottle of wine a night.
When, I wonder, did we lose the ability to help ourselves, preferring instead to persist with our harmful lifestyles and then expecting doctors to wave a magic wand when our bodies can no longer cope with the consequences — all paid for, of course, out of the public purse.
What we urgently need to do is to reconnect with our bodies and with life’s simple pleasures.

Most of all, we need to take control of our health and the best way to start is with exercise. Not even, necessarily, by enrolling for yoga classes or my beloved Pilates.

No, there’s a much simpler way. It’s free, easy and guaranteed to make you feel fitter and happier.

You won’t need a doctor’s prescription or any expensive equipment.
We just need to get off our sofas — and go for a walk.

The best way to improve your sitting posture long term is to take it slowly.

Start by recognising how you normally sit and try to come out of the position you habitually adopt, this postural self awareness is the first step to improvement.

I would recommend sitting on a Swiss Ball for 10 minutes a day.  We often use Swiss Balls in our Pilates classes at The Physio & Pilates Centre in Wilmslow.

Sit comfortably with your feet and knees far enough apart to feel stable but with a little bit of wobbly, this way you can tap into your body’s natural balance reactions.

Have bare feet if possible and make sure your not on a slippy surface , place the ball next to a chair so you have something to hold on to to begin with until you get more used to sitting on the ball.

Now, slowly engage your core muscles by drawing your tummy button toward your spine and then lift your right heel off the floor.

Next, allow the toes on the right foot to lift just off the floor and hold that lifted position for a slow count of 10.

Repeat with the left foot, remembering to engage you tummy muscles to support you before you start to lift the foot.

Keep going until you have completed 5 lifts with each foot, or until you become too tired and wobbly on the ball.

I’ll be giving more tips out for you to follow but let’s start with this one and see how you get on. Keep me posted!

Pilates reverses that.

Pilates takes a different focus: balance and heal the whole body, which in turn will promote a healthy body. Pilates offers a whole body approach to weight loss, acknowledging that being overweight is more than the tired calories-in/calories-out equation. So, does Pilates help with weight loss? I think the answer is a definite yes.

5  Ways Pilates Can Help You Lose Weight

1. Pilates is a Fantastic Workout This is only a part of why Pilates is so beneficial, but I want to address it first because many people tend to think Pilates is just a leisurely session of stretching exercises. Let me tell you, this is not the whole picture. Pilates includes every part of the body & exercises all the major muscle groups in a way many “sweaty” exercises cannot, and while some of the exercises are relatively easy, others will challenge your muscles in surprising ways. So Pilates is not for sissies or cop-outs who don’t want to do “real” exercise–it’s a serious activity that requires a good dose of  discipline.
2. Pilates Really is For Every Body Yes, many professional Pilates teachers have sleek, lean figures that intimidate the rest of us, but that doesn’t mean you have to be skinny to do Pilates. You don’t even have to be in shape at all. Pilatesis actually perfect for those who are just starting to exercise, because it gently conditions the muscles and teaches important breathing techniques that will help you as your fitness level improves. And for someone who is used to driving themselves with high-intensity workouts, Pilates offers an important lesson in challenging your body by slowing down and focusing to strengthen those all important core muscles.
3. Pilates Aids Cleansing and Detox While manufacturers would like you to think detoxification is something you can package in pill form and sell for £30 a bottle, there are plenty of ways to improve your body’s natural cleansing abilities without popping pills. Pilates focuses on revitalizing the muscles and joints in the body, the digestive system, the circulatory system and the lymphatic system. All of these contribute to natural detoxification and cleansing. This is part of why Pilates is such an invigorating, restorative exercise. Detox is an important part of losing excess fat weight, and Pilates offers a simple, natural and safe way of incorporating detoxification in your life.
4. Pilates Helps You Live in The Moment A good Pilates workout includes more than just rearranging your limbs through a few different exercises. You also learn to free yourself from distractions and focus on exactly what you are doing in a given moment. This not only makes your workout more effective, but if you take what you learn on the Pilates mat into real life, you may find your eating habits improving. We often give into cravings or overeat when we’re feeling distracted, anxious, deprived or emotional. Pilates encourages confidence in your body and self-awareness, which can help you make better food choices for the right reasons.
5. Pilates Teaches You to Appreciate Your Body Many of us feel better when We are thin, and hate ourselves when we gain weight. It can feel like we are at war with our own bodies. Pilates teaches us to take care of our body and in turn it will be able to take care of us. The is central in practicing Pilates: learn to listen to your body and appreciate what it does for you. Your body is a complicated piece of equipment that performs a myriad of tasks every day to keep you up and running. Give it some love!

Beginning Pilates: Where to Start?

When starting Pilates to lose weight, a class is a great way to begin, since you’ll have an expert teacher who can help you learn the exercises and make sure you’re doing them properly, which is what Pilates is all about.

If you live near Wilmslow in Cheshire I suggest you visit The Physio & Pilates Centre, one of the best Pilates Studios in the UK.

You could also take a moment to try our iPilates Beginners Workouts too, so that you can practice at home.

Good luck.

Arthritis and the Exercise Gap
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR

Exercise can help ease joint pain and stiffness for arthritis sufferers. But despite urgings from health officials and plenty of science documenting its benefits, many men and women with osteoarthritis do not engage in any meaningful physical activity in a typical week, according to new research.

The findings directly contradict what many arthritis patients themselves report when asked about their exercise habits. Studies in the past have generally shown that 30 to 40 percent of people with arthritis say they get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week, or about 20 minutes a day, the minimum amount that the federal government recommends for all adults.

But when researchers at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine used special devices to track the activity levels of more than 1,000 people with knee osteoarthritis, they were surprised to find that many were in fact couch potatoes. Only 13 percent of men and 8 percent of women met the federal guidelines for activity.

Exercise is specifically recommended for osteoarthritis patients because it can reduce pain, ease joint stiffness, increase strength and improve mobility, said Dorothy Dunlop, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern and an author of the study.

“Physical activity is a positive intervention for people with joint disease,” she said. “We certainly applaud the 10 percent of people who met the target, but we also recognize that many adults with arthritis are not meeting the target, and for that group the advice is to be as physically active as possible, even if they accomplish less than the recommended level.”

As part of the study, published in the current issue of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatism, Dr. Dunlop and her colleagues asked more than 1,000 people with osteoarthritis to wear accelerometers, small pedometerlike devices that measured their levels of movement and activity. The participants ranged in age from 49 to 84 and wore the devices for a week.

The finding that was most alarming, Dr. Dunlop said, was that almost half the people in the study met the Department of Health and Human Services definition for “inactive,” meaning they did not participate in any moderate exercise lasting at least 10 minutes at any point over the course of the week.

“Frequently they’re very surprised,” she said. “They thought that they were doing vigorous activity and working hard, but the monitor measures no vigorous activity.”

Some arthritis sufferers steer clear of physical activity because of pain and stiffness. Others find their energy sapped by conditions like diabetes or heart disease, Dr. Dunlop said.

But there is also a widespread perception that people with arthritis need to rest their joints, a myth that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has worked hard to dispel. The American College of Rheumatology has also made a point of encouraging people with arthritis to spend more time going on brisk walks or taking part in water aerobics and other activities that can benefit their joints.

Still, Dr. Dunlop said she believes doctors who treat patients with arthritis are the ones who can have the greatest effect. “There is evidence that if a person is encouraged by their physician to be active, it’s a stronger message than if they’re encouraged by a friend or a family member,” she said. “So it would be wonderful if one of the first messengers was their own physician.”

If this has inspired you take a look at our workouts at iPilates

Dr. Marc Nimchuk

Ironically, as you are reading this column, I am contributing to the condition that is the topic of this column. In fairness however, the amount of time you spend on this page likely pales in comparison to the overall amount of time you spend in front of a computer or in a very similar position.

Depending on the source, the average teen and adult will spend anywhere from 60 minutes to several hours per day of leisure time on the computer. Keep in mind this does not include work time on the computer, which for sedentary office type work can add several hours per day. Being stuck in this position for hours on end is a source of chronic pain and worsened biomechanics for many people. This position of neck forward and rounded shoulders has recently been termed “Computer neck”.

In reality, this position has been traditionally known as Upper Cross Syndrome and was first described by Valdimar Janda from the Czech Republic, a pioneer in rehabilitation medicine. Basically what upper cross syndrome describes is a weakening of rhomboid (mid-back) and deep neck flexor (front of neck) muscles along with a tightening of upper traps, levator scapulae (shoulders) and pectoralis (chest). These muscles when linked form a diagonal cross, hence the name upper cross. And yes, there is a lower cross syndrome as well, but that’s for another time.

The effect of all this weakness and tightness is to alter your posture. Your shoulders round forward and is followed by your neck and head tilting forward as well. Your mid-back increases its kyphotic posture and becomes very stiff. Symptoms of this type of posture include:
Cervicogenic/Migraine headaches
Neck pain and immobility
Rotator cuff (shoulder) pain
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Mid back pain
In order to treat this syndrome, a number of things have to happen, not the least of which is trying to spend less hours in front of your computer. If that can’t be changed, then a review of your workstation should be completed to put you in the best possible position. Chiropractic treatment can be very effective at not only relieving the symptoms of this condition, but also to make the changes in your spinal mobility to improve your posture. Your chiropractor will treat the joint restrictions and soft tissue tightness. Exercises to strengthen the weak muscles and stretches to lengthen the tightened ones should also be provided. Implementing microbreak exercises at work to unravel yourself is also a great idea.

“Computer neck” is a progressive, chronic condition that sneaks up on people and can already be quite advanced before any noticeable symptoms arrive. At the beginning, it is easily fixable, however if left untouched for months or even years, permanent postural dysfunction can result.

Thanks and have a healthy day!