Good morning guys and gals
Wow today looks like it’s going to be beautiful
I’m super excited to be driving to London today for the Annual Metabolic Effect Summit
The amazing ME team are coming over from America and hosting a weekend filled with learning and networking
I love refreshing knowledge and learning new stuff to pass onto you guys, so keep posted for Monday’s Blog summing up all I learnt
Anyhoo, the weather is surely looking fab and I hope you guys have lots of fun stuff planned for the weekend
and you are going to utilise the massive health benefits of the sunshine
which makes us feel so much more energised, happy and positive
This is all related to the ‘fell good factor’ that the nice weather is creating and the fact that it is giving us the opportunity to get out and about in it, spending time enjoying with family and friends in the fresh air.
Doing things we are usually restricted to when the weather is bad.
I have discussed stress with you previously and how this affects us in our fitness and fat loss goals.
Stress on our bodies and minds can be in many forms and can affect us all differently.
Spending time with loved ones, doing things that make us happy is a huge de-stressor and will help lower our Cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
Ok so what does this beautiful sunshine actually do for us?
Well it triggers the release of endorphins ‘happy hormones’ mainly Serotonin this is the hormone of feelings, happiness and mood, thus improving these and giving us that happy feeling.
The hormone Melatonin is reduced now this is a sleep hormone and gives us that tired, slowing down feeling at night when dark.
As the days are lighter for longer with the sunshine this hormone is reduced and the awake, energetic feeling we have during daytime is prolonged.
When we are exposed to the sun’s UV rays, Vitamin D is produced under the skin,
Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, so requires a diet of good fats to aid with this, it is very important for the absorption of calcium, driving the calcium into muscles.
Calcium is vital to ensure your bones and joints are strong. It is also essential for the maintenance of muscle, lean body mass and preventing fat storage in muscles and helps with fat burning ,relating specifically to burning visceral fat, which is the fat inside the abdominal cavity, surrounding the internal organs.
Vitamin D also has significant anti-inflammatory and anticancer effects and a vitamin D deficiency has been linked to the development of diabetes, heart disease, osteoperosis and autoimmune diseases.
Vitamin D levels need to be adequate to aid weight / fat loss as it gets trapped by body fat, thus causing a deficiency in overweight people, as the vitamin D is not released into the blood stream to be used by the body.
Vitamin D deficiency is directly linked to high belly fat.
A healthy lifestyle and diet consisting of fish and lots of outdoor activity in the sunlight, should ensure we are getting enough vitamin D.
Our climate in the UK means we don’t get adequate amounts of sunshine, plus when we do see some sun, we plaster ourselves in sunblock to prevent cancer, which then also prevents the absorption of adequate vitamin D levels.
For Vitamin D to be produced we do have to have complete exposure to the sun, not blocking it’s absorption with chemical sunscreens
This can obviously be dangerous and should be limited to about 15 minutes a day to prevent burning and skin damage.
Therefore, a vitamin D supplement is important for most of us, especially those who are overweight.
Research has proven some other benefits of sunlight exposure are increased circulation, reduced blood pressure, increased cardiac output, increased immunity, increased metabolism and balanced hormones.
So all in all it is very important we make the most of the sunshine and get out in it when we can. Take time out during your lunch hour and boost those happy hormones for the rest of the day
So peeps, make sure you make the most of our lovely weather, get outdoors with the kids, walk, bike ride, barbecue
Have fun, and stay fit and healthy at the same time, while lowering stress and improving your mind’s health too
Have a fantastic weekend
Keep fit, happy and healthy. Invest in yourself, remember health is wealth
Emma xx