Post by Amy Freeman
When I first moved to Kuwait from New Zealand, my workouts stayed pretty much the same as did the contents of my diet. So when I found it really hard to lose weight one of the things that I realized is that I hadn’t taken in to account how somewhat inactive my life had become outside my workouts. It’s a common thing in Kuwait especially in summer which starts in May and lasts all the way till October.
So I started doing something that I had never done before and to be honest I had never had to do before. I started counting my macronutrients (carbs, fat and protein) and calories.
After finding that this had positive results I suggested it to some of my clients to try out as well. They also ended up having positive results.
What this made me realize first and foremost is that ‘accidental exercise’; such as walking down 2 blocks to pay a phone bill or taking the dog to the park does actually make a difference overall to your body composition and it does make it easier to be a little more flexible with nutrition.
It also made me realize how much unnecessary snacking I was doing such as while preparing dinner or when I was bored. Probably the biggest thing I noticed is how much of a difference NOT eating out makes.
There are many ways to find out how many calories a day you should be having and what your macros should be but I suggest going to see either a nutritionist or a reputable coach that has experience. If you don’t have access to either of those things then you can get an idea of where to start at this website [Here]
Most of the time it is a trial and error thing, everybody is different and sometimes it takes a
couple of months to fine tune things.
Lastly remember that not all calories and macros are equal. For example, If you have a 1,500 calorie diet of chips and chocolate versus a 1500 calorie diet of beef, quinoa and broccoli, there is going to be a huge difference in how those two bodies look and perform.
Happy Training Kuwait
Post by Amy Freeman, a Strength and Conditioning Coach from New Zealand and currently a Personal Trainer at Inspire Pure Fitness in Kuwait.
9 replies on “A Tip for Keeping Your Nutrition in Check”
Think indoor daily walkathons like the one they have going in 360 Mall or Hamra Luxury Centre is a killer idea.
Avenues have even better potential to organize daily walkathons: charity or no charity, starting from Prestige to Avenues One and all the way back. It can be part of their CSR- adding healthy foot falls and all 🙂
Wonder how many calories can potentially be burnt brisk walking the entire length of the Avenues at a quieter time of day??
In Kuwait and other gulf countries it is hard to walk in summer where temperature can reach 50’c. Anything that gets people to walk is a good thing. And people who use the mall to walk is a smart idea.
Someone told me Avenues is 1.2KM from start to end. So back and forth twice and you’ve basically run like 5K.
get your self a gym subscription, exercising in malls should not be allowed, I hate when people speed-walk in malls with full sport attire, especially there is no dedicated area for that. it is very annoying and rude, just like public smoking and speeding. daily walkathons ??! one could tolerate a yearly event or so, not daily !!
I agree if they could make that work that would be awesome!
I have a question for you, Ms. Freeman. Does having light exercise prior to breaking the fast at Iftar help in any way and if yes, how so?
From what I understand, walking for an hour is like burning 300 calories which is equal to one donut. But that is not the point. Exercise builds body mass (muscle.) So the bigger your muscles the more you burn to stay idle. Its like the same car with a bigger engine. You will burn more fuel just to keep it idle. so the point of exercise is to increase your metabolism which is not only for weight loss but also for good health.
Well to be honest, most of the people I train during Ramadam find it does help improve their mood and keep them sane pre futoor. Body wise their is research to prove working out in a fasted state does help your body to switch into burning fat stores (because there is no other fuel to use when fasted). But the other side of the arguent is that without fuel you can’t workout as hard so is it really beneficial? I would try it and see how you feel. If you find you can walk without feeling dizzy or Ill then go ahead.
Disagree with the last point
it has been demonstrated numerous of times that all calories are the same for body composition, the only difference is how it impacts your health and mood.