May 2019
- ‘Fitness Hacks for Cyclists’ Workshop
- Testimonial of the Month
- Easy Healthy Recipe: Grrrr… Tiger Nut Milk
- Article of the Month: Effects of Stress on the Body
Hello healthy people,
Happy May! It’s a busy time of year, and sometimes busy-ness = stress. I’ve been trying to reduce stress by hanging out with Coco the Fitness pug (she’s on Facebook, y’know), eating well and going to the allotment. Consolidating tasks also helps reduce workload. So for the first time I’m running the same workshop for Leith Festival and Edinburgh Festival of Cycling. Tickets for ‘Fitness Hacks for Cyclists’ are selling quick, all info from the Facebook event page, or email me.
Testimonial of the Month
Keeping fit after a knee replacement can be tricky, unless you know how. Combined with an anxious (but adorable) dog, Yvonne appreciated learning to exercise from the dog-friendly Griffen Fitness studio:
“I’ve just finished a 5 session course with Tracy. I was very impressed with her knowledge about my limitations, regarding my knee replacement. I felt that everything we did was safe, which is a big consideration for me. I was able to take my dog with me and Tracy was very patient with her. I was very pleased with the results and I’m feeling fitter and more lively.” – Yvonne M, April 2019
Easy Healthy Recipe: Grrrr… Tiger Nut Milk
On Dragons Den last year was an enthusiastic entrepreneur touting tiger nut milk. I had never come across tiger nuts, but you can get them locally at Real Foods, as their website states:
“Not strictly a nut, this grass root node is packed full of carbohydrates…Tiger nuts (Chufa nuts) were one of the first domesticated crops, and have even been found stored in the tombs of the ancient Egyptian Pharaohs. The tiger nut is a member of the sedge family and is actually a herb and has a sweet nutty taste slightly reminiscent of almonds. Tiger nuts grow in the ground much like peanuts, and are high in protein, calcium, iron, thiamine, and phosphorus.”
The resulting ‘milk’ is absolutely delicious, worth the effort. Have it straight, on your porridge or as a smoothie with ripe banana and vanilla essence.
200g Tiger nuts
2 tsp maple syrup
½ tsp cinnamon
water
– Soak tiger nuts in a big jug of water overnight.
– Drain, then blend with 800mL fresh cold water in a blender, add maple syrup and cinnamon.
– Refrigerate and enjoy.
Article of the Month: Effects of Stress on the Body
More, now than ever, people are stressed. Social media and an increasingly online world mean that we’re sitting and scrolling (often hunched over), getting overwhelmed and going nowhere. Stress affects the body in negative ways. In the old days, stress was a fleeting and useful response. If we saw a lion, the fight or flight mechanism (adrenaline) being activated was a survival response. Nowadays we are constantly stressed with the threat of looming deadlines and things that are unremitting. Our stress hormones are elevated continuously, rather than for a short time (i.e. to run away from a lion).
Excessive adrenaline and cortisol levels (a hormone that facilitates release of glucose to the muscles, so you can run away quickly) can have a negative effect on the body. In short, they make you fat. Personally I believe it’s both excessive sitting (bad for the body) and also the relentless scrolling (bad for the brain) that cause these issues. Ironically the more you ‘sit and scroll’, the more difficult it seems to get up and get active. Nowadays, some online activity is necessary both for work and home but be realistic with yourself, how much time are you wasting online? Try an audit of your online time.
You can find extra time in your ‘busy’ day for exercise.
Have a happy and healthy May,
Tracy 🙂