What a week! Diploma complete!

A hectic week, completing my Personal Training Diploma, which involved a lot of concentration, paperwork and assessments. It was good fun and a real sense of achievement to complete all the modules (except for one final practical assessment – booked for a couple of weeks). I met some lovely people, and felt supported and inspired by my tutor, it made the hard work (and sore body) all worth it. A couple of days rest and then I am looking forward to getting back to my routine – swimming, classes, weights and whatever else I can fit in!

In other news….

I watched an interesting programme – Trust me, I’m a Doctor, they discussed sugar alternatives. For years we have been told to avoid sugar and use sweeteners instead, but maybe not now, (or at least not the one we used to use). On test was Saccharine (one of the oldest and most used) vs Stevia (relatively new and claims to be more natural). I was most alarmed that in just a week there were noticeable changes in blood sugar levels in the Saccharine group, interestingly the Stevia group didn’t see any changes of note. Make a note of that!

They also tested eating at set times. One doctor was monitored for 24 hours, he was only given snacks, but at regular intervals. The findings showed that naturally (without a meal) your fat and blood sugar levels increase at night, and drop again by morning. So the old saying breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper, could actually be apt.

Take-away notes from this:

Stevia doesn’t affect blood sugar levels in the same way as other sugar alternatives.

Eating late at night could increase your body fat. Try to eat you last meal before 8pm so your body has time to digest it before you go to sleep.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!