Having a healthier gut can help you to get thinner, be happier and live longer. Read our top tips to improving and maintaining a healthy gut microbiome.
Your gut microbiome is a vast community of trillions of bacteria and fungi that inhabit every nook and cranny of your gastrointestinal tract, and have a major influence on your metabolism, body weight, propensity to illness, immune system, appetite and mood. These microbes mostly live in your lower intestine (the colon) and outnumber all the other cells in your body put together.

According to research, the richer and more diverse the community of gut microbes are, the lower your risk of disease and allergies.

Follow the tips below to a healthier gut.

Eat as many types of fruit and veg as possible, and try to eat seasonally
The variety may be as important as the quantities, as the chemicals and types of fibre will vary, and each support different microbial species.

Pick high-fibre vegetables
Good examples are artichokes, leeks, onions and garlic, which all contain high levels of inulin (a prebiotic fibre). Some vegetables like lettuce have little fibre or nutrient value. Aim for more than 40g of fibre per day, which is about double the current averages. Fibre intake has been shown to reduce heart disease and some cancers, as well as reduce weight gain.

Choose food and drinks with high levels of polyphenols
Polyphenols are antioxidants that act as fuel for microbes. Examples are nuts, seeds, berries, olive oil, brassicas, coffee and tea – especially green tea.

Try time restricted eating
Increase intervals between meals to give your microbes a rest. Occasionally skip meals or have an extended fast.

Eat plenty of fermented foods containing live microbes
Good choices are unsweetened yoghurt; kefir, which is a sour milk drink with five times as many microbes as yoghurt; raw milk cheeses; sauerkraut; kimchi, a Korean dish made from garlic, cabbage and chilli; and soybean-based products such as soy sauce, tempeh and natto.

Steer clear of artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and saccharine
These disrupt the metabolism of microbes and reduce gut diversity – in animal studies this has led to obesity and diabetes. Ditch the processed foods too, as these also upset microbes’ metabolism.

Avoid antibiotics and non-essential medicines
Antibiotics destroy good and bad microbes, and it can take weeks to recover, so don’t take them unless you need them. Their use is also associated with obesity and allergies in animals. Even common medications like paracetamol and antacids can interfere with microbes.

9.4kg weight loss in 8 weeks.. What can we say apart from what an amazing achievement in such a short space of time. Mark started training at Bodypro in late June with the help, support, knowledge and motivation from James he has transformed his health and fitness in such a short space of time. Marks main goals are to 1, lose body fat 2, increase some muscle mass and more toned 3, get stronger. Training with us just x1 a week it was quite apparent to Mark if he wanted to lose body fat he would need to be disciplined with his nutrition. Tracking his calories and making healthier choices has had a dramatic change to his weight. One of Marks goals was to introduce strength and resistance training, so James has been programming slightly harder sessions week on week to challenge Mark without overloading him. Marks initial weight stats were 27th June 101.7kg 15th August 92.3kg. Keep up the good work Mark and keep progressing on your health and fitness journey. Well done from all the Bodypro team.

Super charge your sleep this summer. As summer arrives with its warmer temperatures, getting a good night's sleep can become a challenge. The hot and humid weather tends to disrupt our sleep patterns, leaving us restless and drained. However, there are simple yet effective solutions to combat the heat and ensure a restful slumber. One such winning combination is the use of an eye mask and sleeping in a cool room. Let's explore how this duo can work wonders for your summer sleep. The Power of Darkness: When it comes to quality sleep, darkness plays a crucial role. Excessive light exposure during the summer nights can interfere with the body's natural sleep-wake cycle, reducing melatonin production and making it harder to fall asleep. By donning an eye mask, you can create a pitch-black environment, even if your surroundings are flooded with artificial light or the early morning sun. Enhancing Melatonin Production: Melatonin, often referred to as the "sleep hormone," regulates our sleep-wake cycles. It is naturally produced by the body in response to darkness, signalling the brain that it's time to rest. Blocking out light in the evenings will stimulate higher melatonin production, allowing your body to synchronize with its natural sleep rhythm and facilitating a more refreshing sleep experience. Cool Room, Cool Sleep: Sleeping in a cool room is a time-tested solution to beat the summer heat and improve sleep quality. Lowering the temperature in your bedroom helps to lower your core body temperature, which is essential for falling asleep and staying asleep. When we're too warm, our bodies struggle to achieve the optimal temperature for restful sleep. A cool room promotes relaxation, reduces discomfort, and decreases the likelihood of waking up during the night due to overheating. When you combine the benefits of an eye mask and a cool room, the result is a recipe for deeper and more restorative sleep. Sweet dreams!

Massive shoutout to our client of the season Sarah Horne
Sarah has been working her socks of as of late. Having trained with us for some years Sarah has always kept herself active however since the pandemic she’s really got into her running. So our focus has switched to improving her running and supplementing her current training.
She completed her first official 10k race back in 2021 and since then has feel in love with it. She most recently smashed her previous best from The Trafford 10k race completing the run in 59min 46sec (38 sec quicker than last time).
Now with our help we’re aiming to get Sarah ready for her next venture… the half marathon. Looking at attempting this around autumn time. So that time has come to work on formulating a tailored periodised plan to suit Sarah’s needs and ensure she’s in peak condition for around October/September time.
We’re already well on track, having done her fitness assessments again this quarter and already seeing significant improvements all round from the beginning of the year. Exciting times ahead, for Sarah, watch the space 👀💪🏼
Keep up the good work 👏🏼!

Jannine has been training at Bodypro since September 2022. Her goals are to lose weight and improve her general fitness. Jannine had a long standing back injury and when starting training at Bodypro training her training was tailored to improve her core strength, posture and flexibility. To achieve her goals we set her a daily activity target, a daily calorie target and increased her exercise output. Training consists of x1 Bodypro session a week and several workouts at home. Jannines Bodypro sessions are a mixture of interval based cardio (using HR zones) and introducing resistance training. Over time Jannines back has improved so much so that her back does not bother her anymore. She has smashed her goals with 4.9kg lost so far and massive improvements in assessments like her 300m ski initial scores were 3.27av speed 164bpm on our re assessment scores were improved to 3.05av speed 162bpm. We were also able to add new fitness assessments which Jannine was unable to do on her initial assessment either from injury or lack of fitness. Last session Jannine ran 1km without stopping for someone who hasn’t run for years this is a big achievement. Jannine puts her success down to improving the quality of her diet and training hard at Bodypro. Well done Jannine we are super proud of your achievements. Well done keep it up.

With new year just around the corner and the resolutions soon to be set. What better time to discuss goal setting.
Now when it comes to goal setting there are a lot of tools and methods we can opt to use. However the first and most important factor when it comes to goal setting is to understand your “WHY”.
Time and time again do we meet clients who walk through our gym doors with a goal of what they want to achieve but when asked why they can become unstuck.
Most cases they’re why’s are extrinsic motivators such as ‘I want to look like … or I need to be in shape for my holiday. Which albeit can be effective in the short term but when push comes to shove and things become difficult most often these goals are not compelling enough to make actions stick and also don’t marry up well to making meaningful lifestyle changes. Instead they are short lived and in a large majority of cases end up experiencing some form of relapse to their old habits and behaviours.
Instead to help bridge the gap between intentions and actions we need to ensure goals we set are meaningful (come from intrinsic motivating factors such as wanting to be fitter and healthier to be able to watch their kids grow up… or to improve quality of life).
Once we have determined our WHY we need to ensure to keep a level of accountability to that goal. Writing your goals down and having them somewhere either around your house or office to remind you of your goals can be a great way of keeping us accountable or sharing your goals with a family member of friend and asking them to check-in with can be a great tool. Furthermore we want to ensure we set a realistic plan of action as to how we will reach our goals. This can be done by breaking down your goals into short, medium and long term goals. Setting short reachable targets helps keep us motivated and provides us with an all important structure and satisfaction when we reach each individual target.

T his weeks recipe comes from our latest book review the Genius Kitchen by Max Lugavere. He's put together a convenient lamb dish, that is both easy to cook and clean up. Tasty and low in calories, this classic roast lamb is perfect for cooking in batch or serving as health tea the whole family will enjoy.

You'll need: 8 cloves of garlic 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary leaves 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves zest of lemon and orange 1 teaspoon of ground pepper 1 teaspoon of coriander 11/2 teaspoons of salt (divided) 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard 1.6kg of leg of lamb 6 cups of broccoli bite-sized florets (11/2 large heads) 1.5kg of sweet potato (peeled and cubed)

Amounts above serves 8 portions. 1 portion contains 586kcal with 43g of Protein, 4 5g Carbs and 26g of Fat.

To cook preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius. Line a roasting pan with foil for convince when cleaning. Then using a blender blits together 4 cloves of garlic, the rosemary, thyme, lemon and orange zests, coriander, pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the mustard to form a smooth paste.

Once that's done and the oven is ready place the leg of lamb fat side up. Using sharp knife score the fat by making shallow cuts all over. Rub the paste onto the lamb coving as much of expose area as evenly as possible. Leave to cook for around 1 1/2 to 2hrs.

Whilst that's cooking, thinly slice the remaining garlic. Once cooked remove the lamb from the pan, tent with foil and allow to rest ensuring to turn the oven up to 200 degrees. Once the oven is up to temperature place the broccoli, sweet potatoes and garlic in the roasting pan and leave to cook for 15-20mins until tender in the middle and crispy on the edges.

Bon Appetit :D.

HIIT VS LISS debate and which should you be doing for fat loss?

Well before we can decide we need to take a look at the differences amongst the two styles

HIIT training also known as High intensity interval training is defined as short bursts of high intensity exercise combined with periods of lower intensity, between intervals. An example would be a 10-30 second sprint at maximal effort, then a light pace jog for 2 minutes, which would then be repeated for the desired number of intervals.

Well before we can decide we need to take a look at the differences amongst the two styles

HIIT training also known as High intensity interval training is defined as short bursts of high intensity exercise combined with periods of lower intensity, between intervals. An example would be a 10-30 second sprint at maximal effort, then a light pace jog for 2 minutes, which would then be repeated for the desired number of intervals.

Low intensity steady state training or it’s abbreviation (LISS) is where you perform aerobic at a Low to moderate intensity exercise that remains at a steady state throughout without the use of maximal bursts or changes in intensity. A good example of LISS would be maintaining a steady paced walk for a desired time period (Commonly somewhere between 30-60 minutes).


So know we know the difference what does the research suggest? Well it was thought for many years that LISS training was the most effective method for fat loss, due to its ability to burn fat for fuel during exercise. In contrast, HIIT training has been shown to use more carbohydrate stores for fuel. Research now suggests that what substrate you are burning within your session actually matters less and what is more important is what happens to fat balance over a 24 hour period [4]. This has seen an increasing trend over recent years in favour of HIIT training. It is often said, that HIIT training burns more calories faster. However, according to the research this may not be strictly true.

The premise is based on what is known as the ‘Post exercise oxygen consumption’ (EPOC). The belief is that if you train at higher intensities within your session you will burn more fat in the hours after your training, due to increased oxygen consumption, which is an adaptation that does not occur from LISS methods of cardio. Nevertheless a number of studies have shown that the effects of ‘EPOC’ is unlikely to account for any greater fat loss [2].


Studies by Laforgia et al, (2006) [3] and Wewege et al (2017) [5] reported similar findings. Laforgia reported that effects of EPOC after an 80 minute HIIT workout lasted for 7 hours, but those 7 hours only equated to 80 extra calories burned. Whereas Wewege found no significant difference in calories burned between HIIT vs moderate continuous training (otherwise known as LISS training).


So given the research there seems to be little to separate the two modalities. I suggest that providing you are recovering sufficiently, to choose which ever method fits around your routine and lifestyle best and gives you the most enjoyment. After all consistency is key.


Remember that whichever approach you choose, whether it be HIIT or LISS, cardio should not be the main driver for fat loss. It can be used to assist however diet and a calorie deficit should be the key variables. [1].




References:


1. CONTRERAS, B., HELMS, E., FITSCHEN, P., SCHOENFELD, B. AND VENUTO, T., 2013. Cardio Roundtable with Bret Contreras, Eric Helms, Peter Fitschen Brad Schoenfeld Tom Venuto: Intensity and progression for fat loss and muscle retention. Alan Aragon Research Review.


2. KEATING, S., JOHNSON, N., MIELKE, G. AND COOMBES, J, 2017. A systematic review and meta-analysis of interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on body adiposity. Obesity Reviews, 18(8), pp.943-964. [Available at]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28513103[Accessed 10 Dec. 2018].


3. LAFORGIA, J., WITHERS, R. AND GORE, C., 2006. Effects of exercise intensity and duration on the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Journal of Sports Sciences. 24(12), pp.1247-1264. [Available at]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17101527[Accessed 9 Dec. 2018].


4. PAOLI, A., MARCOLIN, G., ZONIN, F., NERI, M., SIVIERI, A. AND PACELLI, Q, 2011. Exercising Fasting or Fed to Enhance Fat Loss? Influence of Food Intake on Respiratory Ratio and Excess Post exercise Oxygen Consumption after a Bout of Endurance Training. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, pp.48-54. [Available at]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21411835[Accessed 11 Dec. 2018].


5. WEWEGE, M., VAN DEN BERG, R., WARD, R. AND KEECH, A, 2017. The effects of high-intensity interval training vs. moderate-intensity continuous training on body composition in overweight and obese adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obesity Reviews, 18(6), pp.635-646. [Available at]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28401638[Accessed 11 Dec. 2018].



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Meet our latest client of the month winner Peter Bootland
Back in April peter set out on his fitness journey with some rather specific, but otherwise rather straightforward and realistic goals. His aim was to return to a 32inch waist, improve his strength, flexibility and fitness all before his 50th birthday. Well safe to say mission accomplished in just 6 months (year and half earlier than he’d anticipated) we have helped him do just that. - Working closely with one of our personal trainers @aidenclowes_fitness Peter has lost a very impressive 9kg, seeing his waist drop from 39 to 32inches. Whilst simultaneously seeing drastic improvements in muscle mass, strength, flexibility and fitness. - Like many of us peters fitness journey started after a period of self reflection where he had become unhappy with his exercise and eating habits. He’d noticed a gradual decline in both his activity levels and motivation to prioritise his health. Kids, work a lack of time many of the same restrictions we all face had stopped Peter reaching his goals. However, since coming to bodypro we have been able to set short realistic targets that have helped incorporate health and fitness into peters routine. We worked on creating good habits so that exercise is now a part of his lifestyle and have done so by guiding Peter through the process providing him with the accountability and knowledge he needed to succeed . Check out Peters before and after pictures

Calling all the hard-gainers out there..This weeks recipe is for you! We’ve got some quick, super tasty, high protein Chicken and Avocado Burritos for you. Perfect for meal prepping and having on the go during busy working days. Coming in at 1,017kcal per serving this ones aimed towards those looking to build muscle and gain weight. We recommend 1 serving contains: 100g Chicken, 1 Avocado, 125g Jasmine Rice, 40g Mature grated cheddar and 2 Tortilla wraps. At this serving size you’ll be looking at around 49g Protein, 41g Fats and 114g Carbs. Cooking Method: Fry chicken and avocado in pan until chicken is cooked through. Once the chicken and avocado is ready, warm up rice and tortillas in microwave for desired length then add all the ingredients and wrap into two Burritos. Once ready grill-pan the wraps to give the burritos a nice crunch and allow the cheese to melt on the inside.

Huge shoutout to our January client of the month @scottj8_ Scott's Bodypro journey started 3 months ago after he had recently made the jump to senior level semi-professional football. At the time he was finding the transition a challenging one, particularly the the physicality and demands of such level of football. As such our focus was to get him feeling strong, focusing on a strength building plan attending the gym along side his football commitments 2x per week. After just a few weeks we started to see his strength sky rocket and so did his confidence. Providing him with the belief he could compete at such a level and seeing his performances on the pitch go from strength to strength breaking into the first team. All in all in the short time Scotts been with us we have seen him add around 4kg of lean mass whilst strength increases have gone up significantly. Seeing a 33.5kg increase on his squat 1 Rep Max, 10kg increase on his bench press and 10kg increase to his Deadlift. Very excited to see where the next 3 months take us. Great work Scott.

Recipe of the week- Slow cooked Turkey Meatballs Struggling for time this January, Looking for a delicious low calorie meal which you can leave cooking throughout the day ready for the whole family to enjoy? Then why not try this slow cooked Turkey Meatball dish, perfect for batch cooking or as a tasty family tea. Serves 4/ cooking time 1hr prep with 5hr in slow cooker. Nutrition per serving: 326kcal, 30g Protein, 12g fat and 23g carbs (kcal/macros will vary based of amount of spaghetti added/portion size). For this weeks recipe you’ll need: 1 tbsp Rapeseed oil 1 onion finely chopped 2 carrots (diced) 2 celery sticks (diced) 2 garlic cloves (sliced) 500g carton tomato passata 2 tbsp chopped parsley Meatballs require: 400g Lean Turkey mince 4tbsp porridge oats pinch of paprika 1 garlic clove (crushed) Cooking Method: To make your turkey meatballs first: Tip mince into large bowl and add the oats, paprika, garlic and black pepper. Mix everything together with hands, then divide the mixture into 20 lumps (walnut sized). Roll each piece into a meatball. Spray or run a non-stick pan with a little oil and gently cook until they begin to brown. Add them to tomato base and cook on low heat in slow cooker for 5 hours.