On a sunny Sunday, Imperial ladies took to Hyde Park to take part in Race for Life.
On the 27th July in Hyde Park the Active Lifestyles Energia team took on the challenge of the Race for Life (5k/10k race). With over 60 Imperial staff and students registered to our Energia Race For Life team, the day was packed full of fitness, fun and sunshine for a fabulous cause. Women across all campuses at Imperial came together to support cancer awareness and raise money for the charity. Both groups have raised over £400 and counting. We hope to raise over £1000 by the end of the week. You can still donate to either the 5K group or the 10K group.
With everyone taking the event in their stride we all managed to walk, jog and run around Hyde Park to loud cheers from friends and partners, sporting our Energia designed t-shirts kindly provided by Sport Imperial the whole group managed to get around Hyde Park successfully. A special thank you for Eastside Bar for providing food and drinks after the event and to Mike Mussard who was our official camera man for the day.
If you would like more information on events the Active Lifestyles Team joins or organises please email actlife@imperial.ac.uk. Be sure to visit our Active Lifestyles Team blog and website for weekly updates.
(Picture of some weight management clients during an open class – boot camp 12pm Ethos performance room, £3.50 per session, book at Ethos reception)
35 people signed onto the Energia Active Lifestyles Weight Management program 2014 based in Ethos. With some trepidation the group were taken through an eight week fitness and nutrition program. All Imperial staff, students and external members of Ethos are all welcomed onto the course. Each member has now built up the confidence and nutritional knowledge to attend our classes and follow their macros.
Often people assume weight management is just for people who want to lose weight, however our program caters for all goals. Often we have people sign up whom are looking to increase muscle mass, help with motivation to attend training sessions or develop more knowledge about nutrition and this was no different for the 35 who joined the third weight management program lead by Shannon Jewell Active Lifestyles Manager all required tailored advise.
During the eight week cycle, the group was taken through a detailed battery of health tests and initial screenings. Once all testing was completed week 1 started with the group gaining access to the gym, swim, small group personal training (fast classes) and studio classes as part of their program. The members also were invited to group nutrition seminars, provided with goodies bags of health snacks and t-shirts.
Weight was monitored on a weekly basis with body fat testing at the half way stage during a 121 consultations. Finally during the last week everyone went through all the health assessments again to compare and provide information on their progress. A detailed initial and final testing report was given to each member and within the final evaluation a three month exit strategy out of the program overviewed each person’s new goals which will help them stay on track once they left weight management. The eight weeks intense program finished with a fabulous presentation evening at East Side bar.
Sharon – Finance Dept
“ Before weight management I was not confident in the gym and therefore did not like to attend any classes or come into Ethos. Having been through the programme three times and had the support from the Active Lifestyles Team for a year and a half I have lost over two stone, feel amazing and enjoy coming to the gym daily to attend the free 5pm fast classes, morning spin and circuits classes on offer in Ethos. The best thing about the program is the friendly and helpful staff. They are always here to support us and make sure we reach our goals even after the program finishes”.
Victoria – Computer Science Dept
“I’d pretty much given up on the idea that yet another new approach would work, and was ready for anything from you saying to keep the weight loss to 1/2 a pound a week to putting me on a strict 1200 calorie a day diet (same old, same old). I certainly wasn’t expecting you to put me on an (almost) 1500 calorie diet and telling me that I could comfortably lose 6kg if I followed your eating and training advice for eight weeks. I know it is early days, but I’m thrilled with how much I have lost, how much better my skin is looking, how much more energy I have and how much more comfortable I am feeling – even with the sore muscles! I am eating far more than I normally would on a diet, far more healthily and I’ve never lost weight this fast. Most importantly I realise that I can’t go ever back to how I was eating before, and actually that doesn’t make me feel sad or scared, which is a nice surprise.
I am also really impressed by the ALT classes. It is amazing how much personal tailoring your team is managing and I love that when the group became too large you said ‘great, let’s have two groups’ rather than struggling to try and do a good workout in too small a space. Plus, when sensing it is the right time, pointing out a solid exercise set that we can do by ourselves outside the class. And even when the class is over there is advice and encouragement”
Out of the 35 people registered onto the program 23 people aimed to lose weight, and together achieved a total weight loss of 108kg in eight weeks including the groups body fat reduced by a total of 48%. A special thank you goes to Coan Beef Jerky whom sponsored all the health high protein snack treats.
If you would like to find out more information about weight management please contact Shannon Jewell – Active Lifestyles Manager on actlife@imperial.ac.uk
Fat will not make you fat. Please remember this when choosing your meals. It is important to understand the difference between trans-fat, which are in processed food such as pastries, cakes, packaged meats and meals. Trans-fat have been showen to be linked with some cancers. The fat is not natural and has been manufactured to improve the taste of cheap food products and increase shelf life.
Increase you’re unsaturated and saturated fat examples includes unsalted raw nuts, avocadoes, red meat, fish, full fat milk, yogurt and butter. Both fat groups help improve hormone release, which develops brain
function, menstrual cycle, hair, skin, nails and more recently has been shown to help reduce depression.
Low fat dieting
Low fat ties nicely with sugar so I thought I would place them together. If you buy a product that is low fat it has to have some kind of taste to it, otherwise businesses would not make a profit, shareholders would stamp their feet and executives lose their jobs.
Food is then supplemented with sugar or artificial sweetener to help develop a great tasting product. The great tasting product is then labelled very carefully. Placing a huge organic sign and a zero % fat label will continue to develop sales. At the back in small writing the word carbs and of which are sugars is added. However we have already been sold on the organic, zero % fat and beautiful country side picture we don’t really care. After all its fat that makes you fat, right???
Gym Challenge
Sugar
Simple sugars will stop your body burning fat (consuming unsaturated and saturated fat will not). You are more likely to go over your recommended calorie daily intake by eating sugary based foods because they taste good and don’t fill you up. They are the foods we graze on (fruit) and snack on whilst we cook or treat ourselves before bed with a cup of tea (chocolate and biscuits are great examples).
Here is a list of foods that either have sugar or are refined carbohydrates. All cereal (even the “organic ones with pretty countryside pictures on them”, fruit, biscuits, cereal bars, chocolate, cakes, pastries, low fat yogurts, diabetic ice cream, fruit juices and the list goes on.)
Protein
We are made up of protein and in order to recover from fitness sessions, help repair our muscles and continue to perform daily bodily functions we need a consistent source of protein.
Protein helps supress our appetite throughout the day and controls insulin release. Good sources of protein are from meat, eggs, dairy, pulses and raw nuts. Consume between 1-2grams of protein per kilogram of your lean body weight.
For more information on carb cycling, intermittent fasting, IIFYM and supplements, please contact actlife@imperial.ac.uk
With weight management coming to an end, week 8 has arrived fast. On the final week weight management clients will go through a battery of tests including body fat, height and weight. These results create an individual evaluation of their progress and importantly their exit strategy out of the program. All clients will receive 4 weeks of free classes to continue their journey with the support of the active lifestyles team. If you are interested in the next weight management, please email actlife@imperial.ac.uk
The Active Lifestyles team hosted the second Energia Fitness Fun Day on Wednesday 18 June. With a record number of 420 participants, the event once again was a big success! Imperial students and staff members were able to enjoy a range of free fitness activities, free t-shirts and prizes for gym challenges! Also, for one day only, all the studio group exercise classes were free of charge!
The team also invited external guest trainers to run a selection of brand new classes, including the Les Mills ShaBam, BodyStep and Body Jam; Belly Dancing and the very fun Boxing Fit and Jumping Fitness!
Katherine Parkins said ‘Boxing was fun in the sun! I enjoyed the change of scenery and I find it cool that I could have a good punch up with colleagues!’
Sharon Sheenan said ‘Jumping Fitness was wicked! It really gets your heart going and it feels like a full body work out.’
The Active Lifestyles team would like to say special thank you to everyone participated in the event! We would also like to say thank you to Angela Cameron who gave up her own time to teach back to back classes; Julia Balazova for volunteering to bring Jumping Fitness to Imperial – it was a class enjoyed by on-lookers and all who attended. Finally, we would like to thank the Belly Dancing Society, the class was very unique and it appealed to very diverse audience.
For more information about Energia Fitness Fun Day and to find out about upcoming healthy initiatives, please email us at activelifestyles@imperial.ac.uk
We are nearly at the end. All the weight management crew have been put through their paces and blimely they have achieved some great things. Next week will be final testing and the ALT hope to see some fantastic results. Everyone has put in some brilliant hard work adding loads of studio classes, fast classes and gym sessions. If you are interested in joining the next weight management please contact Shannon Jewell on actlife@imperial.ac.uk for more information.
The picture below shows Kat, Edward and Rachel joining in today’s boot camp which was run outside. Boot camp is held every Friday at 12pm. Come and join us.
