Ben Menear - Nutrition Coaching

When asked if I'd be interesting in putting together a nutrition talk to present to club members, I barely hesitated and jumped at the chance.

That was immediately followed by, "s**t, now I have to actually put something together and present to a room full of people".

I'm far from a natural public speaker.

I have confidence issues I constantly battle.

BUT...

I do love a challenge.

This evening was huge step out my comfort zone, and despite that, weirdly, I loved it.

I learned from the experience and more importantly, I'll grow as a coach from it.

Keep flexing that muscle of discomfort, in whatever form that might look like for you, and keep yourself growing.

No time to prepare or make dinner?

So how on earth do you make time?!

And I'll be honest, I'm struggling with this lately.

Family
⬇️
Dog Walks
⬇️
Exercise
⬇️
House & Cooking & Cleaning
⬇️
Work

The list goes on... Or is that just what we tell ourselves?

STOP telling yourself you don't have the time and INSTEAD change what you're doing with the time you do have.

Top 2 tips for combatting this are:

1) Work with the time that you have. We're all guilty of spending too much time on our phones, watching Netflix or whatever, and that is actually conflicting the time we have available to achieve our goal. Find that unproductive time. Keep a note where you typically spend your time during a single day and cosider how much of that is not supporting your goal. If you are spending too much time on something that isn't moving closer to your goal, how can you make better use of that time by, say, using 15 minutes to plan your meals, write a shopping list, or researching some recipes.

2) Get ahead of the week. Batch cooking is great for gaining time back later in the week. Try not to be overwhelmed by cooking for the entire week. Say, you have just one hour, pick one or two meals and focus on that. If you're not a fan of batch cooking, try preparing a few meal components by chopping all your veg for the week, or marinade your protein, or cooking some rice or quinoa. That way you have elements already prepared for later in the week, with an added bonus of being able to mix and match for meals throughout the week.

As an added third bonus. Create a menu. List all meals you already know how to cook. Voilà! An easy go-to list of meals to pick from and slot into the weekly plan.

Choose to focus on your week ahead and find that time to make your goal, your reality.

Who'd have thought being an adult basically means having to decide what to eat.

Every. Single. Damn. Day.

On multiple occasions no less!

So what the heck should you eat?

Here are some principles that can be applied for choosing the best food.

This isn't about labelling food as good or bad.

Nothing is restricted. There's only "eat more of" and "eat less of".

It's not an inclusive list of foods, just some examples of a practice that, when based on where you are right now, a shift to "eat more of" might see significant positive change.

The more you aim for a choice that is a little bit better, and you do that more consistently over the course of a day, weeks, or months, the more you increase your chances of success.

How has your first week of 2023 gone?

Are you guilty of focusing on the negatives? Of overthinking? From holding yourself back?

Especially at this time of year.

Sometimes we just need a counterbalance to our negativity bias.

All wins, no matter how small, count.

It builds confidence.

From confidence you find courage - perhaps even renewed courage.

With confidence and courage, you continue to take action.

If there is something holding you back from achieving your fitness or nutritional goal, take a step back, re-evaluate, find those bright spots, and keep moving forward.

In previous years you may have never felt the urge to make a resolution for the new year ahead.

Perhaps you've found it challenging to actually identify a goal.

Maybe the prospect of setting a goal only to be unsure on how to achieve it puts you off.

Or there's something you feel is standing in your way. An obstacle you feel is so insurmountable you don't attempt to even make a start.

Here's the thing...

💡 There's what you want to do.

😳 And there's what you think you should do.

Focus on what you want to do and think:

🤔 How would the person I'd like to be, do the things I’d like to do in achieving my goal?

Save this post as a reminder to keep moving you forward - or help in making a start - with your fitness or nutrition goal.

What goals, challenges, or projects are you excited about and ready to tackle?

Whatever you're working towards this year, go after it 💪

I've been busy over the last year having a baby (not physically me having the baby, obviously)... figuring out how to be a dad... having a full time job… and running the odd marathon!

I’ve realised how hard it is to fit everything into my busy life AND eat a balanced diet.

With 2023 upon us, here are some ways I've found to keep myself on track even when it feels like everything else is on top of you.

🍗 Prioritise protein for each meal and bulk it up with vegetables or fruit.

🏃‍♀️ Be active when you can as often as you can. Don't overcomplicate as this can be as short as a 15 minute walk a day or 10 minute active stretching session.

🤔 Always remember there's difference between "can't" due to other commitments, and "can't be bothered".

🍏 Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. Never leave the house - especially for work - without at least two portions.

📓 Keep a journal of your movements and food. Don't miss out on such a valuable insight into yourself.

🚰 Drink plenty of water. I can feel the difference when I haven't drank enough. Give this a try -> increase your intake by 500ml (one bottle) for a couple of weeks and see if there's difference in your energy and concentration levels.

If you've found a spark of inspiration from the whole New Year's resolution thing, then get yourself started with clear intentions from the outset.

That's not as easy for everyone.

You might be currently battling with a snotty child or two.

Maybe you're battling that lurgy yourself.

You may have work commitments or deadlines that limit your time.

This is just some of what real life for a lot of us, so what could your “real life resolution” look like?

1) Consider your health and fitness goals for this coming year. Where are you now? Where do you want to be?

2) Take some time to reflect on 2022. What has worked well? Celebrate that s**t. What didn't work out for you? Take the lesson into this year.

3) What does this renewed commitment to health and/or fitness look for you and your own unique and challenging life?

4) Accept you won't be 100% all in, all the time, all year. You will face challenges and things will occasionally go wrong.

5) Have a 12 month mindset. Most people forget or give up on their resolution by the end of January. Thinking longer term helps.

Whatever you commit to, do the best you can, when you can, with whatever you’ve got. Day in and day out.

Do you have any New Year's resolutions?

Inspired by my own recent training block ahead of Abingdon Marathon on Sunday, I've spent years figuring out how nutrition best supports me to train effectively.

This isn't a checklist that works for every person or every situation (we're all different), but below are some key principles that I strive to achieve during training blocks:

1. Plan ahead. Coaches always bang on about the importance of planning ahead but there is a reason for it. Ensuring meals are protein and carbohydrate rich is vital for training to your best and recover efficiently.

2. Adjust your intake based on your training. Over or under eat during a training block and you know something isn't right.

3. Never "earn" your calories. Food choices should not be influenced by how much you exercised. Don't let that mindset destroy your relationship with what exercise is, and what food is. Food and exercise are to be enjoyed and can form part of a balanced lifestyle, just make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons.

4. Refuel. Start refueling with carbohydrate foods to replenish glycogen stores and protein to aid in recovery. Take on board fluids as soon as possible after exercise.

5. Strive for five & hydration. Eat at least five portions of fruit/vegetables a day and ensure you're well-hydrated by drinking throughout the day. This'll go a long in supporting you to train at your best.

And not forgetting, sleep which is super important too - albeit I'm personally finding that a bit harder these days with a six-month-old!

These are just some of the things that I have found that worked for me; what has worked for you in the past? What challenges have you faced What is working for you now?

Fruit and Vegetables - How To Get Five-a-Day

You know. I know it. I think we all know it.

Eating enough fruit and vegetable is key to a better or improved diet and lifestyle.

They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, and fibre. All good stuff that is vital for good health.

1. Eat the rainbow: Variety is important. It keeps things interesting and with different coloured fruits and vegetables comes a different combination of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

2. Try something new: Not sure what rainbow coloured food to eat? Set yourself a mini-goal that week to try a new fruit or vegetable. Expanding your pallet can be winner in preventing food fatigue and boredom.

3. Bulk it out: pack out stews, curries and casseroles with vegetables and pulses by adding them. Extra flavour, extra texture, what's not to gain from it?

4. Boil as a last resort to get more bang for your back: As a nation, we are hell-bent on over cooking (boiling) vegetables. Doing so can destroy the nutritional content, so whenever possible eat them raw or try steaming, microwaving, roasting or poaching rather than boiling. This'll keep the maximum amount of nutrients.

5.Keep your freezer and cupboards stocked: Keep a supply of frozen and/or canned vegetables and fruits at home. They are a convenient alternative to fresh varieties, stay fresher for longer and they all count towards your five-a-day.

If you would like a sample day on what a five-a-day could look like, drop me a message 🙂

4 tips to eat better, consistently 🍎

How often do you find yourself inspired to "eat better" but then feel like you're starting from a square one? You know, that blank stare as you attempt to meal plan your fresh start.

The answer in starting is easier than you think and starts smaller. Keep eating what you're eating with a few simple tweaks:

1️⃣ Recognise the basic components of a meal.

We're talking a balanced plate to include protein, vegetables/fruit, carbohydrates, fat, and water.

2️⃣ Assess your current meals.

Do your meals contain all the above? Are they all present on the plate? What is the proportion of each?

3️⃣ Optimise your current meals.

What do you need to add? What could be reduced?

4️⃣ Create a plan with meals you currently enjoy.

Think about those enjoyable go-to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Review them using the above steps, adjust as needed, and land on some meals to get you started.

Depending on your goal, this isn't the end of things, but take that initial inspiration and use it as spark to get you started without :

❌ Massive overhauling.

❌ Restrictions.

Tweaks like this can lead to smaller wins, and smaller wins lead to a feel good factor of enjoyment. These initial actions when practiced consistently help you feel good about your ability to change which has a domino effect leading to more change. It will all add up in the end, I promise 😉

Should you be tracking calories? It has a purpose in helping us monitor our intake of energy and if you're determined to reach a weight or fitness goal, or particular body aesthetics, you may benefit from tracking your calories and macros to achieve the best results.

It does however, in my experience, have a shelf life for it to be of maximum use.

It comes down to individual preference, your lifestyle and fitness goal. It depends on where YOU are starting from, where YOU are now, and whether this is the right thing for YOU to do at this moment.

If you don't already have the fundamentals of nutrition down to a tee for most of your meals throughout the week, then tracking calories/macros will likely make you feel hard done by when you don't hit targets, So maybe it isn't for you... at this time.

If you have some of these fundamentals well established, and think you will thrive from calorie or macro tracking to maximise results instead of inflicting an additional stress on yourself, maybe now is the time to try it.

Top tips:
👉 Before jumping in, do you have the nutrition fundamentals firmly established in your everyday actions? This means getting enough fruit, veg, and protein, prioritising sleep, and drinking enough water.
👉 Speak to a PT or a coach about how to best implement it for YOU and YOUR situation.
👉 Lean on the experiences of others to help navigate it.
👉 Experiment and have some fun with it. Be curious, learn from what you're logging, but don't let it consume you or let it rule your food choices.