25 Reasons to Exercise and Eat Healthy That Aren’t Weight Loss

More often than not, we hear at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers that people want to start working out and eating healthy so they can lose weight. While a healthy weight is a great goal, when it comes to exercising and eating healthy, it should not be the sole focus and goal. The problem with solely focusing on the number of a scale is that this number is not a reliable indicator of your overall health. Further, if your only goal is to lose weight, what happens when you achieve this weight? Do you stop? Our personal trainers here in Abu Dhabi advise that for long term success, an individual’s key motivator should be to feel better about yourself and/or to have better health. So, if the only reason you are currently exercising and eating healthy is to lose weight then read on for 25 reasons you should start living healthier today that have nothing to do with your weight.

1. Exercising works as an antidepressant.
2. Exercising reduces PMS.
3. Exercising reduces stress and anxiety.
4. Exercising boosts creativity.
5. Exercising can help out allergies.
6. Exercising strengthens your heart.
7. Exercising helps you resist temptations like sugar, cigarettes and even drugs.
8. Exercising reduces risk of metabolic syndrome…
9. Exercising can add years to your life…
10. … And life to your years.
11. Exercising strengthens bones.
12. Exercising helps your fertility.
13. Exercising improves self-esteem.
14. Exercising helps you sleep better.
15. Exercising can help manage chronic pain.
16. Healthy foods are often cheaper than processed junk food.
17. Eating healthy makes you happier.
18. Healthy foods give you an iron-clad immune system.
19. Eating healthy foods can help cure irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
20. Eating healthy foods can help delivers clearer skin.
21. Healthy foods prevent insomnia.
22. Healthy foods soothe sore muscles.
23. Healthy foods gives you more energy.
24. Eating healthy reduces cravings for bad food.
25. Eating healthy can add years your life!

8 Tips for a Healthy Kidney

Here at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers we believe in overall health – overall health is more than just exercising! It is important that in conjunction with exercising that you take care of your critically important organs. Our personal trainers have compiled a list of 8 tips to keep your kidneys functioning properly and keeping them, and you, as healthy as possible.

1. Exercise regularly – regular physical activity can help prevent weight gain, support weight loss and stave off high blood pressure.

2. Stop smoking – Smoking can damage your blood vessels and raise your blood pressure. Damage to your blood vessels decrease the flow of blood to your kidneys which means that they cannot function at optimal levels.

3. Stay hydrated – drinking 4 to 6 glasses of water will help keep your kidneys in working order!

4. Eat healthily – avoid fast foods which are hight in salt, sugar and saturated fat and can cause damage to your kidneys.

5. Reduce your salt – try not to add salt to your dishes – salt increases blood pressure.

6. Maintain a healthy weight – obesity puts a lot of pressure on your kidneys and is very harmful to your heart and your kidneys.

7. Be smart with medication – do not take painkillers without asking your doctor as taken too regularly over a prolonged period they can cause kidney damage.

8. If you’r at risk, get test regularly – if you have diabetes or high blood pressure then make sure your physician is screening your kidneys for dysfunction regularly.

The most important thing that you can do to keep your kidneys health is to look after your body to reduce your chances of developing diseases that put a strain on your kidneys.

Stretch Out!

Stretch Out

Finding the time to workout every day can be hard enough so it’s no doubt many of us either forget to stretch or don’t make the time to stretch. Here are Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers we know how important it is stretch and work on flexibility. Stretching can help reduce stress, improve blood flow and flexibility, can lead to better posture, fewer aches and pains and can provide a variety of other health benefits. We have asked some of our personal trainers local to Abu Dhabi what they believe are the best benefits of getting flexible and incorporating stretching into your fitness routine.

1. Decrease risk of injury – general stretching and flexibility training can improve your physical performance and help reduce your risk of injury. By improving your range of motion and flexibility in your joints, your body requires less energy to make the same movements – these in combination will lessen the likelihood of injuries sustained during workouts, or any other time.
2. Improved posture – static stretching can reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Static stretching is slow, gradual movements that are held for 30 seconds in the farthest position possible without pain. Static stretching can help improve your resting posture and muscular balance.
3. Reduced lower back pain – stretching promotes muscular relaxation and can thus lessen lower back pain. To reduce lower back pain our personal trainers recommend stretching out your hamstrings, hip flexors, quads and other muscles around the lower back – this will reduce the tightening that causes your pain.
4. Increased blood flow to tissue – stretching increases the blood supply to your muscle tissue and also increases joint synovial fluid (the fluid that promotes nutrients to be transported to your joints). This results in a greater range of motion at the joints, less joint pain and a reduce risk of joint degeneration.
5. Overall health and vitality – as a result of stretching you will notice less pain and muscle soreness, improved movement and physical performance. Stretching can help relax your muscles and your mind – resulting in you stressing less.

Many of our personal trainers here at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers have qualifications in Yoga and Pilates and can help you today with stretching and flexibility. Remember that stretching does not just have to be a part of your workout – you may dedicate your entire workout to stretching.

Tags: Personal trainers in Abu Dhabi    Find a personal trainer in Abu Dhabi      Personal trainer

Tips to Eat Less Sugar Without Trying!

We are sure that we don’t have to talk about how bad sugar is for us. We are all aware of it. We believe here at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers that everything can be okay in moderation, unfortunately, when it comes to sugar, many of us struggle with moderation. Reducing your sugar intake can help you to lose weight and also stay healthy on the inside. Here are some tips and tricks from our personal trainers about how to eat less sugar without feeling like you are depriving yourself and cutting everything out!

• Cut out liquid sugar! Avoid adding sugar to your coffees and teas, avoid take away smoothies and juices as these are often marketed as healthy but are full of hidden sugars and cut out soda’s – instead opt of citrus infused sparkling water.

• Be mindful of dried fruit! In its purest form, dried fruit is just fresh fruit with the water removed. The problem is, when have you ever eaten just one dried apricot? Most will eat a handful, but you must remember, a dried apricot has the same number of calories and amount of sugar as a fresh apricot, however a dried apricot is a fraction of the size – this means that naturally you will eat more dried than you would have fresh. For our locals in Abu Dhabi, this also means being mindful of the amount of dates you eat!

• Read labels! As a rule of thumb – if it has a label you should be questioning your need to eat the food at all. However, we understand that this may not be realistic so our personal trainers recommend having a look at the nutritional value of a few different products and picking the one with the least amount of sugar – make note that some sugars may be natural sugars.

• Choose dairy carefully! A lot of dairy products have added sugar. Read the label ingredients and look for the product that does not have sugar listed as an ingredient. There are lots of unsweetened yogurts and milks available these days.

• Don’t keep sweet foods in the house! Staying no once to sugary sweets at the shops means you won’t have to say no to them every time you open the pantry or the fridge. If you are desperate for a sugary snack, opt for a single serve ice cream or single serve chocolate bar instead of buying an entire tub of ice cream or an entire block of chocolate. Aim to not bring the treat home with you.

• Limit energy bars and muesli bars! While energy bars and muesli bars may be the most convenient snack, they are often loaded with added sugars. There are healthier snack options out there. Our personal trainers recommend vegetable sticks and hummus or a piece of fruit.

10 Ways to Lose Weight Without “Dieting”

Here at Abu Dhabi Personal Trainers we know the struggles of trying to lose weight. Losing weight is made all the more confusing and difficult due to so many different, and often conflicting, schools of thought about what works and doesn’t work. Should you eat a low-carb or low-fat diet? Or should you eat 6 meals a day or do intermittent fasting? Our personal trainer here in Abu Dhabi believe that to help shed those pounds you should not look at your new way of eating as a “diet” but rather a new “lifestyle”. To help you lose weight, the key is making simple tweaks to your lifestyle – all of the tweaks will add up to cutting down your weight. Adopt one or more of these simple, painless strategies to help you lose weight without going on a “diet”:

Eat breakfast every day. It is common belief that skipping breakfast if a great way to cut down on calories, however, studies have shown that you end up eating more through the day. Our personal trainers recommend eating a bowl of whole-grain cereal like oats and topping it with fruit or wholegrain bread with avocado and eggs.

Close your panty and fridge at night. Establish a time when you will stop eating at night – this will help set boundaries for late-night snacking and mindless munching. Our personal trainers recommend brushing your teeth after your final meal of the day as it will make you less likely to eat or drinking anything more.

Be careful of liquid calories. Sweetened drinks are often full of empty calories – this means that they will not fill you up or help reduce your hunger like solid foods do. Instead of sweetened drinks opt for water, sparkling water or unsweetened teas. Also, be aware of alcohol calories, which will add up very quickly! Our personal trainers recommend limiting alcohol to a few nights a week instead of every night.

Avoid packaged food. The best food to eat are the foods that do not come packaged with a label – think fruits and vegetables. Think of starting your meals with a salad or soup and having most of your plate full of vegetables.

Go for whole grain. Substitute refined grains for whole grains. This will give you much needed fibre and will fill you up faster. Our fitness trainers recommend whole-wheat breads and pastas, brown rice, bran flakes, popcorn, and whole-rye crackers.

Get more active. This does not mean exercise for hours on end but rather get more active with your everyday life. Take the stairs instead of the elevator, get off the bus or train one stop early and walk the rest of the way or pace while talking on your phone. This can also mean making time to play with your children or walk the dog.

Drink more water. Often when we think we are hungry we are actually dehydrated – always try to carry a water bottle around with you and have a glass of water before every meal.

All of these simple tweaks will help you in your weight loss journey.