STEPH Harris - 'StephieJaye'

Just squat!!
-Improve strength, stability and posture
-Improve blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity
-Improve bone density and slow down the rate of sarcopenia
-Increase metabolism and fat burning

SAVE $$$ WITH YOUR LOCAL MARKET!

You can still eat healthy if you are on a budget, just head to your local market for not only cheaper but also fresher produce!

Did my weekend fruit and veg shop at the local market, $25.40 can go a long way!!!

Keep the variety and make it colourful to get the benefits of different vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, your body will thank you for it!

From these ingredients I made a mixture of salads, stir fried veg, roast veg and fruit salad.
Super easy way to get your fruit and veg in, shop and chop!!! 🥦🥒🥕🍆🥑🍌🍉🍏🥗🍊

Meal prep is not as hard as it is made out to be, a few hours over your weekend is the first step to a healthier you! In this post I cover some tips on Simple Meal Prep for Busy People.

SIMPLE MEAL PREP FOR BUSY PEOPLE - Stephie Jaye | Health & Fitness Blog SIMPLE MEAL PREP FOR BUSY PEOPLE   Quite often people get overwhelmed when thinking about meal prep. Of course meal prep is not as easy as putting bread into a toaster however if you want the health rewards then it is worth a little extra effort. Like learning any new habit, meal prep will take …...

TOP WEEKEND ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH

Most of us are so busy during the week that it leaves us with little time to unwind. Taking some time for ourselves every weekend to get active helps to pulls us out of our head and away from technology and puts us into our body and aware of our surroundings. Being active without smashing ourselves can help us to switch off from the weeks hard work, reduce stress and also increase the release of endorphins (our body’s happy hormones).

The winter months tend to keep us indoors curled in a ball on the couch drinking hot chocolate and watching Netflix for hours on end. There is definitely a place for this however doing it every weekend can become a bit of a drag.

Here are some great fun healthy weekend activities you can enjoy that will help you bond with your friends, cost you less than a night out of drinking on the town and also have some awesome benefits to improve your health.

INDOOR ACTIVITES (like most indoor facilities this will not be free, but still much much cheaper than a night on the town).
These activities are not just for kids. Don't be fooled, I feel that adults have waaaaaay more fun than kids at these places!!!

- Trampoline parks - Bounce Inc, Latitude air, Rush HQ etc.
- X-Park (at Bounce inc.) - is an adventure challenge course similar to American Ninja Warrior.
- Indoor rock climbing - Clip’n climb Melbourne, Hard rock, Northside Boulders etc.
- Indoor Bubble Soccer
- Indoor Paint balling or Laser Wars
- Indoor Ice skating
- Gym session or Group fitness class like Yoga or Pilates
- Team sport like mixed Netball or Indoor Soccer

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES (most of which are free, or can hire equiptment)
These activities are often around nature, it definitely gives a nice relaxed and calming effect on the body.

- Walking with a friend or dog around the block or to the park
- Jog or stroll along the beach
- Get on your bike and explore bike trails with a mate
- Head to the local pool or to the ocean for a swim
- Hiking or bush walking with friends then a picnic lunch
- Kick the Footy or play some Cricket in the park
- Stand up paddle boarding
- Surfing
- Team sport like Footy

Call a friend an organise an active and fun activity this weekend!

THE AMAZING HEALTH BENEFITS OF PRACTICING GRATITUDE

It is easy to get caught up in our own chaotic world of work, stress and of course social media addiction. As our precious time is consumed more and more by these things we forget to be present and start to lose awareness of whats happening around us. Important things start to get looked over, romantic relationships and time with family can often get pushed to the side, and we take for granted the daily tasks that our loved ones constantly do for us like cooking the meals, cleaning the kitchen/house, working late or taking the kids to school and recreational activities. Without being present there is no awareness and soon gratitude becomes non-existent.

BENEFITS OF PRACTICING GRATITUDE
Increased production of dopamine and serotonin our ‘happy’ hormones
Improve awareness of people and things around you and reduced self centerdness
Improve optimism and life satisfaction
Improve positive energy to help you deal with tough times
Improve mood, happiness and productivity
Reduce stress

WAYS YOU CAN PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Volunteer:
Volunteering by helping those in need often results in seeing our own lives differently, we become more grateful and are reminded of the things that really matter in life - like family, friends, and health.

Keep a journal:
Take a moment every night before you go to sleep to write down the positive things that happened during the day (things that you are grateful for). You will find yourself smiling away.

Action your thoughts:
Tell someone you’re grateful to have them in your life. A little bit of gratitude and a hug to let the people who love you most know you appreciate them goes a long way. This exercise helps us connect and can improve relationship bonds.

Set an example:
If you have kids, when tucking them in at bed-time ask them to think about something they’re grateful for themselves. Lead by example and share with them some things you are grateful for.

See how you go with incorporating mindful gratitude into your life. Remember living a healthy lifestyle is not just about physical training and what you put in your mouth, it is also about what you feed your mind and how you train it.

NEW TO STRENGTH TRAINING? GET STARTED THE RIGHT WAY.

The last few posts covered the multiple benefits that strength training has on our physical and mental health. The next step is getting started!

To get the most out of your time and efforts the best thing you can do is ask for a functional movement screening or assessment from a qualified fitness professional. An assessment will help address any limiting factors or weaknesses so that a tailored program can be prescribed using exercise variations better suited to you.

Here are my TOP 5 foundation movement patterns you want to incorporate in your strength training program.

HINGE:
One of the most common movements we do in everyday life, bending over. The hinge is an important mechanic to learn to help protect our back.
HINGE exercises include: Deadlifts variations, Good mornings, KB swings.

SQUAT:
Another common movement we do in every day life. Great for increasing stability and mobility through the torso/hips/knees/ankles.
SQUAT variations include: Bodyweight, Goblet Squat, Barbell Front Squat, Barbell Back Squat.

LUNGE:
Working on balance and stability in an asymmetrical stance, the focus is placed on one leg/side at a time often showing any weak links or dysfunction.
LUNGE variations include: Split squat, Front foot elevated Split Squat, Bulgarian Split Squat, Reverse lunge, Forward lunge, Walking lunges.

PUSH (horizontal plane):
A great starting exercise is a pushup as it teaches stability, scapular control, tension and power in the shoulders and upper back. Mastering proper pushup mechanics will help you better transition to the bench press.
PUSH variations include: Hands elevated pushup, Floor pushup, Dumbbell Bench Press, Barbell Bench Press.

PUSH (vertical plane):
Pushing weight overhead requires the core and hips to maintain a strong position and hold tension. It improves control and stability not only in the shoulders but in the entire body.
PUSH variations include: Dumbbell Overhead Press, Barbell Overhead Press.

PULL (horizontal plane):
Helps with improving strength through postural muscles and posterior chain. Extremely important for people who spend a lot of their time at a desk where their posture is often jeopardised.
PULL variations include: Chest supported lying Row, Seated Row, Inverted Row, Single arm Dumbbell Row, Barbell bent over Row.

PULL (vertical plane):
Another movement to help improve upper body strength and posture. Learning the horizontal row mechanics and scapular control will help you transfer to vertical pulling exercises.
PULL variations include: Lat Pulldown, Assisted Pull-up, Pull-up.

Incorporating a mixture of exercises from the foundation movement patterns above will not only give you a good base of strength that will help you in everyday activities but it will also act as a stepping stone to prep your body for more advanced strength workouts down the track 💪🏽💪🏽

THE MENTAL GAINS OF STRENGTH TRAINING

In the previous posts we covered the multiple physical benefits of strength training. Here we cover the positive relationship between strength training and mental health.

IMPROVE CONFIDENCE AND MENTAL STRENGTH
There is something so damn satisfying about picking up something heavy! After a tough weights session I am beaming with confidence and have a great feeling of accomplishment. Generally when you feel stronger physically, you usually feel stronger mentally. During strength training you push yourself to overcome discomfort. That grit and perseverance definitely improves your mental toughness.

ENHANCE MOOD AND REDUCE STRESS
Strength training releases endorphins (our happy hormones) which improve our mood and naturally reduces stress and anxiety. Strength training would be greatly beneficial for people dealing with depression as the release of endorphins not only simulates the mind and makes you feel happier but it also boosts energy levels.

PERFORMANCE BASED FOCUS
Through strength training you can focus on the performance of your training instead of focusing on trying to be toned, strong, peachy, lean etc. I find that getting clients to focus on performance of their lifts during the session is a far more effective way to get to the desired result as self-talk and focus will be much more positive. For example a performance based focus might be to do 3 pull-ups, pistol squatting to a low box or adding 5kg to your deadlift. By having these more positively focused goals it leaves little room for any negative dialogue which is quite common with the goals of “being” a certain type of something.

There is much to be gained both physically and mentally from strength training. Add a little into your training regime to start to feel the difference in your day to day life. I warn you it can become slightly addictive though….

6 WAYS STRENGTH TRAINING CAN BENEFIT YOUR PHYSICAL HEALTH

When people think about the benefits of strength training it usually relates to aesthetics. Yes, strength training can improve your body composition by helping you lose body fat as well as strengthen, tone and shape your body. To top that, there are also other valuable physical benefits of strength training which can have a positive effect on your everyday life.

IMPROVED STRENGTH AND STABILITY
Strength training will not only make you stronger but will also improve your body awareness and proper recruitment of major and stabilising muscles. This has a direct impact on your ability to perform everyday activities such as balancing on one foot to reach a high shelf, lugging shopping bags, lifting kids into the car, moving furniture, or stopping yourself from falling when you trip on something.

IMPROVE BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS AND INSULIN SENSITIVITY
Through strength training and building muscle we increase the bodies overall demand for energy and receptivity to insulin. During and post training, high amounts of glucose are pulled out of the bloodstream and into the muscle. Whether you have diabetes or risk factors, strength training can help regulate blood glucose levels.

IMPROVE POSTURE AND PREVENT BACK PAIN
Developing strong posterior chain and core muscles can improve posture and prevent back pain.
This is especially important for those working at a desk all day or who have lower back pain and stiffness.

REDUCE RISK OF INJURY
Strength training also increases the strength of connective tissue and joints. Strong joints, ligaments and tendons help to improve motor performance and balance which decreases the risk of injury.

FIGHT OSTEOPOROSIS
As we age we naturally lose bone mass. Weight training not only strengthens muscles, it also improves bone density. One of the best ways you can control bone loss as you age is to add strength training into your workout plan.

SLOW DOWN RATE OF SARCOPENIA
As we age we naturally lose muscle mass (sarcopenia). This slow deterioration of lean muscle mass is one of the greatest long term threats to our ability to stay strong, mobile, healthy and function optimally. This can be significantly reduced with regular strength training, get ahead of the game while you can.

Is strength training a part of your training regime?

WILL STRENGTH TRAINING MAKE ME ‘BULKY’?

One of the biggest concerns I find that women have at the gym is the belief that lifting weights will turn them into a She-Hulk, so they spend most of their time in the gym on cardio machines. To put it simply for the general population women don’t have the same hormone profile as men, and therefore it would be much more difficult to gain extreme amounts of muscle. Not saying it can’t be done, but it definitely wouldn’t happen over night. To get to a body-builder level of muscularity, you'd not only have to train 6 plus sessions per week and follow a particular diet regime to support muscle growth, but you'd have to keep at it for years…..YEARS!!! In other words you wont end up there by lifting weights 3 days a week.

As well as the multiple health benefits of strength training (which we will cover in a later post), it also works wonders with reducing body fat and improving the body’s composition.


So how does Strength Training affect your body composition?

Firstly, strength training increases muscle mass.
“But I don't want to increase my muscle, I just want to be firm and toned” ….. This is a common response I get from women when I mention the words strength training or weights. It is a common misconception that weights make women ‘bulky’ however the more we can educate the community that this is not the case and the benefits of doing weights the better.

Strength training not only helps to build muscle giving you a firm shape but it also reduces body fat by increasing your metabolism, resting metabolic rate (energy you burn while at rest) and EPOC ‘excess post-exercise oxygen consumption’. This is where the body continues to burn energy also taping into the fat stores during the 24hours after exercise restoring muscle energy stores and repairing damaged tissues. All of these things increase the body’s fat burning potential, pair your strength training up with some good nutrition and you have a recipe for success.

Not only can strength training improve your aesthetics and composition giving you a strong, fit and toned body, but it can also provide extremely valuable physical and mental health benefits. Stay tuned as we will cover these in the next posts 💪🏽😊

THE FOOD CRAVINGS FIGHT

Food cravings can be related to a few different things mainly nutrient deficiencies in the body, hormone imbalances, psychological reasons as well as our automatic habits. However of all those things nutrient deficiencies in the body are the main cause of strong food cravings.

Nutrient deficiencies can be caused by numerous things some include leaky gut or gut bacteria imbalances, overgrowth of bad bacteria, chronic stress, eating foods that have no nutritional value and under-eating.

The main things we often crave are sugar, bread, dairy, salt and alcohol. Here are some things you can do to help beat these cravings.

SUGAR
Sugar cravings are related to low phosphorous, sulphur, chromium and tryptophan levels. Often we crave sugar when we have a long break between meals and our blood sugar level drops. Also we crave it if we are feeling down as it temporarily increases serotonin in the body (our feel good hormone). Chocolate cravings are specifically related to magnesium with raw cacao being extremely high in magnesium.

Include more: garlic, onions, nuts and seeds, broccoli, cabbage, meats and sweet potato.

DAIRY
Dairy cravings especially cheese are related to essential fatty acid and calcium deficiencies.

Include more: fish oil, nuts and seeds, salmon, sardines or other oily fish, leafy greens.

SALT
Salt cravings are related to our sodium balance, low in chloride and electrolytes. Often comes hand in hand with bouts of dizziness, dehydration and cramping.

Include more: himalayan pink salt, olives, celery, anchovies, seaweed or kelp.

ALCOHOL
Alcohol cravings are related to glutamine, protein and potassium deficiencies. These play an important role within our central nervous system and our ability to wind down and relax. So if you find yourself reaching for a bottle straight after work then these deficiencies might have something to do with it.

Include more: slow cooked meats with the bones still in, black olives, bone broths.

Of course everyone is different and food cravings may come from different root causes such as hormone imbalances/changes, psychological reasons as well as automatic habits, however addressing nutrient deficiencies is a great start.

HEALING LEAKY GUT

So now you know about my run in with leaky gut from the previous post. I am by no means a doctor, this post is simply me sharing some things I incorporated into my life to overcome leaky gut.

Treating leaky gut is a multi-stage process, when done correctly the gut lining will heal and the body can return to a healthy state. I followed a 3 month leaky gut protocol from the team down at 5th Element Wellness, however the duration and type of protocol as well as supplements used may vary from person to person depending on the types of bacteria and parasites (if any) in your gut. The best way to find this out is through a comprehensive stool test.

Here are a few food and lifestyle changes that you can incorporate straight away to start to heal leaky gut.

STOP THE INFLAMMATION
To prevent further leaky damage remove processed foods, sugars, grains, gluten, legumes, starches, dairy, alcohol and any other foods which are causing inflammation to the gut. By doing this you are reducing the inflammation and starving out any yeast overgrowth.

HEAL THE LINING
By healing the gut lining toxins can no longer pass into the bloodstream and nutrients can start to be properly absorbed. The following help heal the gut lining and reduce intestinal inflammation.
1. Bone Broth (gelatin and bone marrow) and Slow cooked meats - Rich in minerals and healing compounds collagen, glutamine, glycine and proline.
2. Glutamine - An essential amino acid that has anti-inflammatory properties and helps with the growth and repair of the intestinal lining.
3. Sardines - Are the highest form of calcium, assisting with gut lining repair.
4. Cayenne pepper - Positive effect on the digestive system stimulating digestive tract.
5. Probiotics - Improves gut flora and replenishes a variety of good bacteria in the gut reducing inflammation.
6. Cod liver oil - Helps increase DAO (diamine oxidase) which helps to reduce histamine.

REDUCE STRESS
For me stress contributed to a large amount of inflammation. I made big changes in my lifestyle to not only reduce stress but also manage it better. These included 10min of daily meditation, 1/wk yoga, cutting back from 6 gym session per week to 3, spending more time with family and friends, taking time out for myself once a week to do something I loved and of course reducing my work load.

These small things made a world of difference to not only my mood but also my health. I hope this info can help you too :)

IBS, MIGRAINES, EXCESSIVE FATIGUE, FOOD SENSITIVITIES....Sounds familiar??

Do you have a leaky gut?

Symptoms of leaky gut can vary from person to person depending on the level of damage and the tissues being affected. Common symptoms of leaky gut are multiple food sensitivities, IBS, brain fog, poor memory, thyroid problems, phyroluria (form of depression), anxiety, migraines, allergies, excessive fatigue and nutritional deficiencies due to poor vitamin and mineral absorption.

I’d like to share with you my experience with leaky gut and the havoc it wreaked on my body.

A few years ago I started having an adverse reaction to the cold. When I came into contact with anything cold whether that be a cold glass of water, a cold door handle, cold flooring and even going into the cold water at the beach, I would break out into hives. These hives turned into welts and were extremely painful and itchy, the area would get hot and red then disappear in the space of 5-10 minutes. This went on for months gradually getting worse and worse.

So what bought all of this on? Every individual is different, for me it was a combination of things, however mainly it came down to stress. At that time of the year I was extremely busy with work (aren’t we all!) taking between 55-60 1-on-1 personal training sessions per week, writing content for my website, training myself, under eating due to poor time management and organisation, lack of quality sleep and not being able to switch off at night. In a nutshell I was trying to do everything with every little bit of time I had. Stress was creating huge amounts of inflammation in my body, I was malnourished, tired and wired and it was taking it’s toll on my body, the extreme hives reaction was my immune system over reacting producing way to much antibodies and histamine, simply another warning sign for me to slow the f%$ # down.

It was clear that my immune system was stressed and I had to listen to these signs before it developed into a possible autoimmune problem.

It was then that I got some help from the team down at 5th Element Wellness to work out what was going on and I spent the next 2-3 months working on nutrition and lifestyle changes to assist in healing my leaky gut and strengthening my immune system.

After 2 months not only did I feel much better in my health and energy levels but I also have not had an extreme histamine response to the cold since.

If you have experienced or currently have leaky gut then I’m looking forward to hearing your story! In the next post I will share some simple things I implemented to help heal my gut.