To maintain good health, we need to eat a variety

of foods from the five food groups. Eating them in

the right proportion will help to keep your weight

under control. A sensible rate of weight loss is

around 0.5kg to 1kg per week. To achieve this you

need an energy deficit of 3,500kcal to 7,000kcal

per week, which means eating 500 to 1,000 fewer

calories per day.

Meat, fish and alternatives

Meat, fish, eggs and alternatives such as beans and

lentils, provide protein, which is essential for

growth and repair. These protein rich foods, meat

in particular, are also good sources of iron, zinc and

B vitamins. Lean sources of protein can also help to

curb your appetite. To help reduce the calories you

get from fat, remove the skin from chicken, cut off

obvious pieces of fat from lamb, pork and beef, and

use minimum amount of oil for cooking. Aim to eat

two portions of fish a week, one of which should be

oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as

salmon, sardines or trout.

Bread, cereals and potatoes

Starchy carbohydrate foods, such as bread, pota-

toes, rice and breakfast cereals, provide us with

energy and other nutrients, including iron and B-

vitamins. Starchy foods should make up about a

third of your total daily energy intake. Choose un-

refined types that are higher in fibre. They’ll make

you feel full for longer and help to control hunger.

Fruit and vegetables

Fruit and vegetables provide essential nutrients

such as vitamins and minerals, and contain many

other compounds associated with good health. Eve-

ryone should aim to increase the amount of fruit

and vegetables in their diet. Because fruit and vege-

tables are bulky and contain a lot of water, they can

help to control your calorie intake. Aim for at least

five portions per day. A portion weighs about 80g

and can include fresh, canned, frozen and dried

fruit and vegetables.

Milk and dairy foods

Foods such as cheese, yoghurt and fromage frais

are an important source of calcium as well as pro-

viding protein and vitamins. Choose low fat or

reduced fat versions to reduce the amount of calo-

ries in your diet. Aim for about three portions of

dairy foods per day.

Foods containing fat and/or sugar

Fatty and sugary foods such as crisps, spreads, oils,

creamy dressings, sweets, cakes, biscuits and

chocolate, and sugar rich drinks, including alcohol,

are high in calories but relatively low in nutrients,

such as vitamins and minerals. Eating healthily

means including foods that are packed with nutri-

ents rather than packed with energy.

A word about salt

On average we eat about 50 per cent more salt than

the recommended level and more than twice the

amount we actually need. We’ve become used to

eating foods containing salt, so reducing the

amount we consume often means adjusting our

palates. A lot of salt comes from processed foods,

so look for low salt varieties and check the salt

content on the label. You can also cut salt by:

Preparing foods from fresh ingredients as much as

possible.

Avoiding salty snacks, such as crisps and salted

nuts.

Choose unsalted, no added salt or reduced salt

foods.

What’s a healthy weight-loss diet

E D E N M O R E G O L F & C O U NE D E N M O R E G O L F & C O U NE D E N M O R E G O L F & C O U NE D E N M O R E G O L F & C O U N T R Y C L U B

T R Y C L U BT R Y C L U BT R Y C L U B

Those who

think they

have no

time for

healthy

eating will

sooner or

later have

to find

time for ill-

ness.

Country Club News

June 2010 Health & Fitness Team

P A G E 2

Nutrition tips for strength training In order to build lean muscle mass you need to combine an adequate calorie intake with a solid muscle strengthening program. A large number of calories are needed to fuel both workouts and tissue building. While getting enough calories is important, it is also important to get the right kind of calories.

Carbohydrate

Carbohydrate is the predominant energy source for strength train-ing. Stored as glycogen in the mus-cles, it is the fuel used to supply energy for short, intense bursts of power. The harder and longer you work out, the more glycogen your muscles require. Once these stores of glycogen are gone your energy level will drop and you will run out of fuel to power muscle contraction. For this reason, ath-letes doing strength training exer-cise in the hopes of building lean muscle mass need to have an ade-quate carb intake. Experts recom-mend at least 500 to 600g of car-bohydrate per day to keep your muscle glycogen stores high.

Protein

Protein is the basic building mate-rial for muscle tissue, and strength trainers need to consume more than the non exercisers. However, most strength athletes still overes-

timate their protein needs. Daily protein recommendations for serious strength athletes are about 0.6 to 0.8g per pound of bodyweight.

Fat

After you’ve met your carbohy-drate and protein needs there is room for fats. Fat is an essential nutrient, however, you require a small amount of it to remain healthy. Less than 30% of your total daily calories should come from unsaturated fat.

Water

In addition to the regular eight glasses of water every day, you need to drink to replace fluids that are lost during exercise. To be confident that you are well hydrated before workouts, drink two glasses of fluids two hours beforehand. During your work-out, drink 4 to 8 ounces every 15 to 20 minutes. After exercise, replace any further fluid loss with 16 ounces of water.

Sports drinks

Energy bars and sports drinks may be helpful if exercise lasts longer than one hour. Carbohy-drate supplements can be useful to help fit adequate carbohy-drates into a busy day if you don’t have time to eat a meal. Consum-

ing a meal replacement bever-age just after muscle building exercise is convenient but you can do the same thing with a tuna sandwich, a banana, a ba-gel or other real food snacks. You should try to consume some protein and carbohydrate after your workout in order to fuel muscle growth and replen-ish glycogen stores for your next workout.

Creatine

When combined with a good diet and strength training pro-gram, creatine has the potential to produce slightly more power during workouts. Re-search has also found that load-ing creatine into the muscles may help speed up muscle gain. While many creatine supple-ments are available at a price, meat is the best dietary source of creatine. Typical dose for creatine loading is, 5g of creatine monohydrate four times per day for five days. A maintenance dose of 2g per day can follow. Taking more than the usual dosage of creatine offers no added benefit. Also users should be aware that, because of little government regulation, there’s no guaran-tee its pure.

E D E N M O R E C O U N T R Y C L U B N E W S

Dish of the month You will need

4 Rump steaks. 8-10 Radishes,

finely sliced. 1 red onion, finely

sliced. 4 large carrots, finely

sliced. 1 red chilli, deseeded and

finely sliced. 100g cashew nuts,

toasted. Large handful mint,

roughly chopped. Large handful

coriander, roughly chopped.

Juice of 2 limes. 1 Tbsp fish

sauce. 1 Tsp sugar. Oil for fry-

ing.

Thai beef salad

What to do

1. Fry the steaks using a little oil

for 2 - 3 mins each side and

leave to rest.

2. Mix the radishes, carrots,

chilli, cashew nuts, mint and

coriander in a bowl.

3. Make the dressing by whisk-

ing the lime juice, fish sauce

and sugar in a bowl.

4. Finely slice the steaks and

mix well with the salad and

dressing.

You are

what

you eat.

Get your body fit for Summer

The winter is now over and you are probably

thinking about how to get your body fit for

Summer. If you want to reshape your body,

you have to lose fat and gain muscle. A com-

bination of cardio and weight lifting will help

you reach your goals.

Cardio

Cardio, like weight training, is crucial for los-

ing fat. Be sure to get your heart within your

target heart rate zone and workout long

enough (20-30 minutes) to get the benefits. To

calculate your heart rate, simply subtract your

age from 220, and then multiply that number

by 0.65 and 0.85 to get your lower and upper

limits respectively. Any pulse rate above your

upper limit generally means you are working

too hard and probably gasping for air anyway,

while any pulse rate falling below your mini-

mum means you are not pushing yourself hard

enough. How much cardio you do depends on

what you are trying to accomplish:

• If you are trying to build muscle, keep

your cardio about 30 minutes, 3days a

week to keep your heart in shape with-

out burning too many calories.

• If you are trying to lose body fat, start

with 3days of cardio and work your way

up to 4 or 5days a week for 30-45 min-

utes of activities such as walking, run-

ning, climbing stairs and kickboxing. If

you have access to a gym, then try the

treadmill, stepper or bicycle.

Weight Lifting

Weight lifting is an essential factor in both

weight loss and muscle gain. Not only does it

make your body and bones stronger, it also

helps raise your metabolism so you burn more

calories. For those wanting to lose weight,

make sure your workouts are balanced be-

tween cardio and lifting. Keep your reps be-

tween 10-16 and lift enough weight so that

your last rep is challenging.

Eating properly

If you want to lose body fat, you need to eat

fewer calories than you burn. The key is to

safely reduce your calories so that your body

can continue to function as well as burn

more calories. Experts generally recommend

losing no more than 1-2 pounds a week in

order to preserve your muscle mass and keep

the weight off permanently. Your job is to

simply make better choices that will help

you reduce your calorie intake from 300 to

500 calories each day.

The strategy

• Schedule your workouts - and stick to

it!

• Keep track of your workouts - this will

show overall progress and give you a

boost on days when you are not feeling

100%

• Start where you actually are - not

where you hope to be.

• Don’t give up - keep with your routine

and if you break it, just return to it as

soon as you are able.

• Do things you enjoy - working out

doesn’t have to be boring!

• Eat properly and drink plenty of water

- working out will not benefit you as

much as it could unless you are eating

properly.

Stuff you need to know Summer Student Offer

During the summer months we are offering a 3month stu-dent membership for only

£120. Please see a member of staff for more details.

Referral Offer

Just a reminder to all members that are referral scheme is still ongoing. Refer a friend into membership and receive £30

cash back.

Polar We now have a new stock of polar heart rate monitors. All units on dis-play at gym reception are being sold off at discount prices. So get in there quick, as this offer is for the month of June only. A heart rate monitor is the best and most accurate way of monitoring both level of fitness and how many calories you are burning in each workout.

Promax Diet is a unique meal replacement, designed for weight conscious individuals looking for high quality nutrition

to support their weight loss goals. Each serving of Promax Diet has 228 calories and contains 38g of Biomax™ whey

protein, with just 10g of complex carbohydrates and fibre to keep hunger at bay, along with essential fatty acids (EFAs),

1700mg of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), green tea, caffeine and other beneficial ingredients. The whey protein in

Promax Diet is rich in essential amino acids, which are important when dieting to spare muscle tissue. Promax Diet is

an ideal substitute for breakfast and lunch or any time where a healthy, quick and easy alternative to fast foods or un-

healthy snacks is required. For optimum results, take 2 servings a day, along with Maximuscle’s other ‘diet solution’

products, train hard and follow a sensible diet and you should achieve your goals in record time. Promax Diet mixes

easily with water to form a great tasting shake.

Maximuscle Promax Diet