Rik Lindsay Coaching

21/09/2026

Growth doesn’t always happen overnight. Sometimes it’s learning from a mistake, stepping outside your comfort zone, or simply choosing to keep going when things get tough.

As a business owner, every challenge is an opportunity to learn, improve and become stronger.

Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep moving forward.


E: [email protected]
W: http://www.perfect-balance.uk
T: 01252 594141

20/09/2026

I am still practicing what I preach.

The Rebuild continues.

19/09/2026

18/09/2026

The same meal can produce a different glucose response depending on the order you eat it.

A new 2026 randomized crossover trial tested this in 33 healthy young Korean women. Each participant ate the same isocaloric foods under four different conditions, including vegetables first, carbohydrates first, and eating everything together. Continuous glucose monitors tracked what happened for three hours after each meal. When the meal was eaten vegetables first, then protein, then carbohydrate, the early glucose rise was smaller, peak glucose was lower, the peak occurred later, and overall glucose variability was reduced compared with the other meal sequences.

This is not an isolated finding. A 2024 randomized crossover study in 18 healthy adults compared a standard mixed meal with the same meal eaten vegetables and protein first, followed by carbohydrate. Simply changing the sequence reduced total post-meal glucose exposure by 40.9% and insulin exposure by 31.7% over the following two hours. The participants ate the same calories and the same foods. What changed was the order.

There are several plausible reasons for this effect. Starting with vegetables and protein may slow how quickly carbohydrate reaches the circulation and can alter the hormonal response to the meal. But those mechanisms were not all directly measured in these trials, so the strongest conclusion is narrower: meal sequence itself can materially change the acute glucose response to an otherwise similar meal.

That does not make meal order more important than total diet quality, carbohydrate amount, energy intake, or insulin sensitivity. These were small, short-term studies in healthy adults, and they do not show that eating vegetables first causes weight loss or prevents diabetes.

But for someone already eating a mixed meal, the practical implication is unusually simple: vegetables first, protein next, carbohydrate last may produce a flatter post-meal glucose response without changing what is on the plate.

References:
Choi M, Lee S, Bang E, et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2026. PMID 42608327.
Shaheen A, Sadiya A, M***a BM, Abusnana S. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2024;17:4257-4265. PMID 39559800. DOI 10.2147/DMSO.S468628

15/09/2026

The MMC (Migrating Motor Complex) happens between when you eat; it's cyclical.

It's an electromechanical cleansing wave that sweeps through your stomach and small intestine.

Here’s why it matters for your gut health:

The MMC can only occur during an interdigestive state—specifically when you are fasting or in the periods between meals (roughly every 90 to 120 minutes). As soon as you eat, the "fed state" overrides it.

Its role is to sweep the digestive tract clean. It clears out undigested food residue and dead cells from the intestinal lining, and crucially, it prevents excess bacteria from colonising the small intestine by pushing them toward the large intestine.

A functioning MMC is vital. When it's weak or infrequent (due to constant grazing, chronic stress, or certain conditions), it can lead to issues like SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), where bacteria ferment food and cause bloating, as well as general indigestion.

11/09/2026

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How Dark Chocolate Affects the Gut

When it comes to Dark chocolate, percentage matters.
Many commercial dark chocolates under 70% still contain high amounts of sugar, which can inadvertently feed inflammatory bacteria or yeast in the digestive tract.

Moving past 80% ensures that sugar dominates far less of the nutritional profile. This delivers the prebiotic fiber and polyphenols your gut needs without providing the excess refined sugar that can disrupt microbiome balance.
Polyphenols are natural plant nutrients found in dark chocolate. They act as fuel for good bacteria in your digestive system. Because these compounds are not easily absorbed in your upper stomach, they travel intact directly to your large intestine.

Once there, they act as selective prebiotics. This dense concentration actively feeds and increases beneficial strains like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium while simultaneously suppressing less helpful, opportunistic gut microbes. Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium are common types of bacteria that support a healthy gut lining and normal digestion.

A small portion of 80%+ dark chocolate provides a notable amount of soluble fiber, which physically assists in intestinal motility and serves as an extra energy source for your gut cells.

Higher cocoa percentages provide rich amounts of magnesium, iron, and zinc—Minerals that support the metabolic processes of your body and help maintain the structural integrity of your intestinal lining.

A single square or two (about 10 to 20 grams) is typically plenty to capture these gut-microbiome benefits without overconsuming fats or calories.

09/09/2026

Your conditioning is rarely the real bottleneck. Your nutritional strategy is.

High-intensity output demands glucose, electrolytes, and steady amino acid distribution.

​Four critical corrections improve your performance:

​Carbohydrates: Hit 4 to 7g per kg daily. High-intensity aerobic and anaerobic outputs are glycolytic, stop going low carb.

​Hydration: Plain water dilutes serum sodium levels. Add a serving of electrolytes to fluids around your session.

​Protein: Target 1.8 to 2.2g per kg, spaced evenly across 3 to 5 meals rather than loaded into one evening meal.

​Timing: Eat low-fat, low-fibre carbs 90 minutes pre-session. Replenish with easy digesting carbs and protein immediately after.