The Fit Positive Method

The Fit Positive Method aims to help people achieve their health goals through a focus on all aspects of health - meals, movement, mindset and sleep. We pay particular attention to metabolic health - as we approach middle age, our markers for metabolic health can indicate increased risk for metabolic diseases such as obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes and so, we take a proactive stance on metabolic health.

Meals

Scientists have been studying how food affects us for a long time, and we now know more than we ever have on this topic. In the last 5 years, scientists have revealed our body’s reaction to food in real time, and have proven that although what we eat matters, how we eat it - in which order, combination and grouping - matters too. What the science shows is that there is one metric that affects all systems. If we understand this one metric and make choices to optimise it, we can greatly improve our physical and mental health. This metric is the amount of blood sugar, or glucose in our blood.

High blood glucose is one of the main risk factors for metabolic disease. This is something that can easily be measured and monitored with a constant blood glucose monitor and it has been proven that high blood glucose levels lead to obesity, inflammation, which in turn lead to chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.

The Fit Positive method centres around keeping blood glucose levels at safe levels by eating a balanced plate at every meal, including proteins, fat and fibre with carbs in appropriate portion sizes. This significantly reduces inflammation in the body, which can result in a multitude of health benefits, such as increased energy, decreased joint pain, improved mood, skin and vitality.

We avoid processed foods and drinks as much as possible - processed foods are not natural and can contain ingredients that are toxic to the body, or cause difficulty in digestion and are almost invariably high in sugar or sugar substitutes which will of course impact blood glucose, and increase inflammation.

We ensure a healthy amount of omega 3s and brain-healthy plant foods, all of which support the microbiome and brain health, helping to prevent cognitive decline.

We focus on including probiotic foods and increasing fibre diversity (ie plants) - this improves gut motility, digestion and most importantly, our microbiome, which is where 70+% of our immune system lives. We now know that having a healthy gut is critical to having a healthy body and mind.

Lastly, a minimum of 2 litres of water a day is recommended - most of us are walking around chronically dehydrated and this puts un-necessary stress on the body which needs water for every single biochemical process.

In summary, reducing inflammatory foods, increasing nutrient-dense natural foods and hydrating properly will support clients in reaching their health goals.

Movement

The Fit Positive method focuses on programming exercise plans that are tailored to the client’s preferences - if we don’t enjoy it we won’t continue to do it. However, common to all plans is a focus on both cardio/aerobic and resistance/strength training. Aerobic exercise includes jogging, swimming, cycling - anything that uses large muscle groups and can be maintained for the long haul. Benefits of cardio exercise include:

Lowers risk for heart disease, the more you do the lower your risk
Reduces visceral fat and total abdominal fat, which are both strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction.

Strength training is of particular importance as we age, some of the benefits are:

Increases bone density: with the drop in oestrogen post menopause women are more at risk of osteoporosis. Training with weights stimulates new bone growth & reduces risks of fractures.
Improves mobility and stability - it is our muscles that hold our body upright and keep us stable. As we age, we lose muscle mass. Strength training counters that by building muscle mass which in turn keeps us stable!
Boosts mood - exercise releases endorphins which help with stress/anxiety.
Supports weight management - strength training builds lean muscle, increasing our metabolism and burning more calories over the course of the day.
Reduces the risk of obesity, heart disease, stroke and diabetes - in other words, it keeps us metabolically healthy.

Mindset

Stress is any sort of mental tension related to work, relationships, and life

Our mental reaction to stress determines our metabolic reaction to stress. If we move ourselves to act on a stressor, there’s a balance. If we keep the stressor inside of us and don’t act, there’s an imbalance. And that’s exactly what metabolic disease is – an imbalance where energy is stored rather than used.

Stress could be one of the biggest metabolic health challenges of our time. Chronic stress diminishes insulin sensitivity, it impairs our sleep, and it’s linked to diabetes and metabolic syndrome. But we’re not slaves to stress.

If stress is an issue, we work together to make stress management a priority through deep breathing, tackling to-dos, exercise and sleep, which in turn improve our insulin sensitivity and blood sugar levels, inflammation and disease risk. We can transform our negative stress into good stress just by acting on that stress in a positive way.

Sleep

Sleep is our superpower, and if we are not getting good quality sleep, we are unlikely to succeed in any efforts to improve our health. This is often the first pillar we target and we focus on improving sleep by:

Getting some sunlight as soon as possible after waking (setting the circadian rhythm to daytime and starting the clock to count down to bedtime)
Getting a better bedtime routine
Controlling the surroundings at bedtime (e.g. dim lights in the evening, tidy bedroom)
Keeping the bedroom for sleep
Improving nutrition and exercise habits to ensure better sleep (e.g. avoid sugar & caffeine)
Including some stress management techniques to ensure better sleep, such as breathing techniques and meditation