fit20 adds nutrition coaching in Exeter
Not only can fit20's clients in Devon access the best 20 minute workout available, they now also offer a nutrition coaching option through Peter Eggleston Fitness & Nutrition.
Along with franchise owner, Duncan Attwood, Pete Eggleston hosted a nutrition coaching taster recently. He has MSc in the Psychology of Sport and Exercise and is the studio manager at fit20 Exeter. Pete is also a PN Nutrition Coach and has helped many people get off the diet roller coaster by helping them to build sustainable eating habits, one step at a time.
It was a fascinating evening, held in the fit20 studio in Honiton Road, with an excellent presentation from Pete and thought-provoking practical exercises including one where each group had to come up with what they considered to be the best diet. That was an eyeopener and underlines Pete's firm belief that good nutrition is more about developing healthy eating patterns than dieting.
"When it comes to nutrition coaching, we need to focus on more than just diet," Pete says. "There are multiple factors including such appetite, hormones, mental state, the environment we live in, right down to what our kitchen looks like.
"For example, do you have loads of food on display or is it tucked away, out of sight, out of mind? What's the first thing you see when open your fridge? It helps if you have something healthy at eye level as you are inclined to eat the first thing you see!
"And of course, our psychological state has a huge role to play as well. Stress, low self-esteem etc certainly affects our overall intake." So how can nutrition coaching help?
A boost for nutrition coaching in Exeter
The new coaching programme from Peter Eggleston Fitness & Nutrition will provide a unique add-on service to fit20 clients that aims to help them identify why they struggle to lose weight or more importantly, body fat. It will also help them to learn more about body transformation; how to achieve health and nutrition goals and create an action plan for success.
This is all done in tandem with fit20 training and an understanding of how weekly high intensity, minimal dose exercise sessions can lead to weight loss by replacing fat with muscle. See Weighing up fit20 and weight loss for more information on how this is achieved. Pete also shared several valid reasons why people fail when it comes to weight loss. These include:
- Choosing the wrong diet;
- Unrealistic deadlines;
- Abruptly stopping a programme;
- Returning to old eating habits and amounts;
- Having an all or nothing mindset;
- Dissatisfaction with body weight and shape;
- Poor coping / stress management skills; and
- Not participating in strength training.
In addition, he stressed that people have different rates of metabolism, however everyone can benefit from a diet that has minimal processed foods. Additionally, the secret to body transformation lies in improved nutrition and gut health; appetite control; having a food prep ritual; good sleep routine; the management of stress and emotions; doing regular resistance exercises and having a daily movement routine.
7 components of a healthy diet
"What is the best diet?" Pete asked the audience. The answer is of course, "The diet you can consistently stick to that maximises your health, mood and energy levels." Ideally it should comprise of the following:
1: An eating plan that focuses on whole foods;
2: Contain natural sources of protein;
3: A diverse range of plants - vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices;
4: Foods full of fibre – legumes, nuts and seeds & vegetables;
5: A diet rich in healthy fats – omega 3 – fish, dairy, nuts, seeds, eggs, avocado etc;
6: Prebiotic and probiotic rich foods – yogurts, cottage cheese, sauerkraut, kimchi, apple-cider vinegar;
7: Drinking fluids free of sugars and artificial sweeteners; and
8: Eating slowly and mindfully.
Pete's plan for nutrition coaching in Exeter involves breaking goals down into skills, then turning skills into practices such as hunger and appetite awareness, eating more slowly and stopping when one is satisfied. Plus, he handed out some very useful leaflets focused on what we should eat more of, eat some of and eat less of! This included a leaflet entitled, 'Eat the rainbow', showcasing the healthy eating options across the full spectrum of vegetables of different colours.
Get fit in 20, Eat in 20!
The nutrition coaching event contained so many golden nuggets it's hard to pick a particular highlight. However, Pete's challenge to everyone to eat slower made a lasting impression on the clients attending the evening. In fact, he stipulated that each meal should take 20 minutes. Sound familiar? It is! "I think one of the biggest takeaways from tonight is that, just as we can get fit in 20 minutes a week, we can get thin by taking 20 minutes to eat our meals," Al remarked.
"We are all so busy just rushing through mealtimes, so that's one thing that I am really going to try and do something about," another client said in giving feedback on the evening. "I think your handout on protein sources is really interesting too. The only thing you could have done to improve tonight was to have some of those exotic sounding vegetables available for us to taste, like kimchi or whatever you call it!"
Perhaps you'd like to come along to the next nutrition coaching taster? You may even get a side of sauerkraut! Email petereggleston@fit20.co.uk to find out more about nutrition coaching in Exeter.
