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Showing posts from October, 2019

Eating Disorders and Recovery

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Image source https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uUyykTKmKXQ/hqdefault.jpg Eating disorders are commonly associated with female adolescents. Yet, this widely accepted stereotype does not match the reality, and is a dangerous assumption that shouldn’t diminish the seriousness of the illness. The cliché of eating disorders being something that only affects the younger generation has led to many people ignoring signs and symptoms of eating disorders. Eating disorders are serious illnesses, and getting access to treatment as early as possible can give a person the best chance of making a full recovery. Eating disorders can happen to anyone at any age. Typically, they start as an unhealthy coping strategy, which the person uses to try and manage overwhelming emotions and difficult situations. Regardless of age, gender or ethnic diversity, the symptoms and behaviours associated with eating disorders remain similar. It can have an equally devastating impact on any person’s quality of

In Pursuit of perfection...

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Our lives have becoming increasingly busy over the years with the ability to never stop. We have access to work emails 24/7 and endless to do lists. And, when we finally do get 10 minutes to spare, we usually spend that aimlessly staring at our screens and looking at strangers 'perfect lives'. Perfectionism is a term that is thrown around quite a bit, but there is a huge difference between the productive mindset of wanting to do well and the counterproductive mindset of 'striving for flawlessness'. The latter mindset can leave individuals sensitive to criticism and plagued by self-doubt when it comes to estimating their performance abilities.  But what makes people feel like they need to be perfect, and why is it an increasing phenomena? As we develop we adopt personality traits that allow us to reach certain goals which are further influenced as a result of the experiences we go through. For example, If a child believed that they are inferior for some reason, they

Changing your body with exercise.

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In personal trainer training we are taught to describe people’s body types in three ways. Ectomorph – Lean and slender build with slight muscular development. Mesomorph – Athletic/muscular body build. Endomorph – Heavy rounded body build with a tendency to become overweight. Most people fit into one or two of these categories. Just because you are in one of these categories does not mean you can’t alter the way your body looks. But, you defiantly cant go from being a ruler to an hourglass or vice versa, it just won’t happen due to your genetics, build, your bone structure, despite what fitness industry marketing claims! What you can do through exercise is change the size of your natural shape, as well as increase muscle and bone strength. For example, going from a large ectomorph to a slimmer toned one or vice versa. Either way the actual shape of your body will not change. I am telling you this, because I see so many people embark on a

How to spot a FAD diet

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Image source https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NR6Lm1WZINLtwD_43ytyGRxNYCh47CBoSCX-9yFvWBAmCOEocQUEpnxXTf-i-Vd8moiZPLsVyOY4zbOtLUWJLbRs1fvVRQe-yPyNzMthoaEomxoSadOCW4Y2Yz18WiahJqTWWN9wWmw/s1600/FAdDiet-BAd-Diet.jpg How many diets do you know of? Off the top of my head I can easily think of a dozen. And I think we all know someone (if not yourself) who has pretty much tried them all, yet they are still battling with their weight and struggling with their diets. So, why are there so many diets, and why do none of them really work? We are bombarded with marketing campaigns, endorsed with some once 'fat' individual (or celeb) who lost 100lbs and are now living the life of their dreams! Well, if it worked for them, it must work for you too right? However, I think you know by now that basically all of these diets just dont deliver what they claim to. Why? because they are just not sustainable long-term. Yes, if you start a diet and cut calories,