How to increase your protein intake I’ve often found that clients can have greater difficulty with increasing their protein intake, than they expect to have. Before we discuss how to increase your protein intake, let’s briefly let’s run through why you should increase your protein intake. Which foods are protein foods?   Fish, meat, eggs and cheese are great, very highly absorbed, non-vegan sources of protein, whereas pulses – lentils, chickpeas, various forms of beans - as well as nuts and seeds, can be fabulous vegan sources of protein. Then we have the more hidden sources of protein, foods that contain...

How to support yourself through the menopause As a rather big and broad arena, I’ve done my best to simplify this menopause and peri-menopause conversation into a few key points that in my experience (primarily professional, but also on occasion personal!) will best support you (your body and possibly your mind) through this time, avoiding or at the very least reducing, the lesser enjoyable “side effects” and as importantly, allowing you to feel genuinely better and stronger than you ever before: that’s what to focus on. We hear it time and time again: once women come to terms with the...

Let’s talk about strength training My favourite line from mothers, whether old or young, used to be, “I’ve never lifted weights”. It was a common opening remark to the somewhat uncertain discourse around whether or not they should embark on a course that didn’t involve their more familiar turf of yoga or pilates. Of course, my response was always the same, “how do you define 8kg-18kg of moving body mass being hefted in and out of cars, shopping carts, through airports, on hikes not to mention putting a child or children to bed, not once, but every night?” Strength training,...

Build Muscle Increase your protein - or at least, the quality of your protein.  This may seem obvious but very few eat as much protein as our body requires to sustain our lifestyles, never mind build muscle, especially now as many of us are moving towards more vegetarian and vegan lifestyles. The best sources of protein are fish, meat, dairy (cheese) and eggs. Vegans can get a lot of their required protein intake from lentils and chickpeas. If you are moving towards either vegetarian or vegan lifestyles, consider food combining to get the most of your protein! Focus on weight...