Fit for Life with Blair

Let's talk about protein. Having covered the role of macronutrients, and their place in understanding our bodies energy needs for the purposes of fat loss. Understanding how each macronutrient works in the body, their role, and the best sources of nutrition for your targets is important. The aim for this post is to focus specifically on protein. - what it is. - what role it plays in the body. - how much you need, specifically when looking to build muscle and lose fat. This post will not specifically look at protein supplementation as this is something I will cover in more detail in a future blog entry. As a macronutrient, protein has three main roles within the body. Namely: - structural - homeostatic - fuel Proteins are essential for the growth, maintenance and repair of body tissue. It is a major part of every living cell and most tissues, such as skin, and - as will be discussed in more depth - muscle. The structural and physiological role of proteins in the body includes: hormo...

In my last post, I set out the role of strength training and its effect on metabolic rate. Today, I want to expand on some of these themes to fully highlight how calories work in regards to your metabolism, and how to effectively calculate the calories you need for your goals. This will form part of a wider series of posts covering each aspect in greater detail. Hopefully, this will increase your knowledge and awareness and provide some guidance on how to apply nutrition effectively towards your goals. The purpose of this post is to therefore: - Understand calories and macronutrients. - Understand macronutrient targets. - How to calculate macronutrient targets for a fat loss goal. First, it is important to acknowledge and remember that a calorie - or more specifically, kilo-calorie (kcal) - is a unit of energy. This is an important distinction to be aware of, because the discussion of 'good' calories and 'bad' calories is far too detailed to discuss fully here. For the ...

I wanted to start my informational blog, by revisiting a topic I put together from social media. This is a topic I have discussed numerous times, as I think it is important to highlight the role that strength training plays in assisting weight loss and improving body composition. Specifically in regards to the loss of body fat. One of the most common themes I come across in client consultations - particularly with females - is the desire to lose weight and get stronger, but that there is a fear that weight training will lead to becoming 'bulky.' This is somewhat of a myth and as I'll cover here, increasing or decreasing your body mass index is inextricably linked to your metabolic rate and the number of calories that you consume. One other reason for this myth persisting is the societal conditioning associating weight loss with cutting calories/going on a diet, and prioritising aerobic exercise and cardio training as the primary means to achieve this.  Therefore, some of th...