Beginner’s 101 Guide to Diets and Meal Plans

healthy, eating, meal prep, food,

We all know it can be hard to follow a certain diet when you’re getting up at 7am, sitting at your desk for 9 hours a day (or maybe more?!) and having to commit to your social life in the evenings. The reality of having access to those free coffee machines, birthday cakes and office snacks can be really tempting, which is why it is important to have a healthy and consistent diet throughout the week.

Skipping meals because you have no time, excessive eating at your desk and indulging in “healthy snacks” that are actually high in sugar are some of the most common diet mistakes we all make.    

Health-conscious gurus have researched 5 popular diets trends. Which one can you connect with?

 

The Atkins Diet

Want to lose a bit of weight? Focus on eating high-level amounts of protein and fat, but whatever you do, avoid mainstream carbohydrates. Low-carb vegetables such as kale, broccoli and asparagus however are still good to eat.

Atkins, Diet, Salmon, Asparagus, Lemon, Vegetables, Healthy

 

The Zone Diet

Controlling your body weight and successful weight loss can be one of the hardest things. Follow this guidance and balance your nutrition in each meal and you should see a difference:

  • 40% high-quality, unrefined carbohydrates (whole grains, plant seeds, fruit)
  • 30% fats (olive oil, avocado)
  • 30% protein (nuts, fish, poultry)

Diet, carbs, rice, protein, chicken, broccoli, vegetables

 

The Ketogenic Diet

Similar to The Atkins Diet, but not as strict, “Ketosis” focuses on reducing carbohydrate intake and upping fat intake, which allows the body to burn fat as fuel, rather than carbohydrates.

Ketogenic, diet, fat, fibre, protein, carbohydrate

 

The Vegetarian Diet

No animals (except for eggs and dairy). Simple as.

Studies show that vegetarians have a lower body weight, suffer from less diseases, and have a longer life expectancy. So if you want those three things, then go veggie.

vegetarian, eggs, avocado, green, leaves, spinach

 

The Vegan Diet

No animals at all. This is more than a nutritional diet. Vegans also care for the environment, ethics and compassion. So if you’re more of a plant-based gal or guy and care about animal suffering then this is for you.

vegan, diet, plant, vegetables, seeds, healthy

 

No time to stick to the diet during the week? Meal prepping is your answer! Here’s a beginner’s 101 guide to help you make use of those dragging Sunday mornings and prep your food for the week.

meals, weekly, everyday, healthy

 

And of course, slogging about at your desk is not just because of the food you’re eating, but probably because of the lack of exercise. Taking the stairs instead of the lift can be a good start but not enough to get your heart really pumping! TruBe trainers can come to you before work, during your lunch break or after work, so really, there’s no excuse. They are here to help you, to give you motivation and can advise on meal plans, so get in touch with TruBe and start a new journey by downloading the app now.   

How I beat my Personal Best at the Royal Parks Half Marathon, by Tashi Skervin-Clarke

Tashi Skervin-Clarke at Royal Parks Half Marathon 2017

The Royal Parks Half Marathon is one of the major highlights in every runner’s race calendar. It’s a flat and fast course with a huge crowd turnout, which means that at the Royal Parks Half Marathon, you’re almost guaranteed to run a PB. I ran my first ever half marathon last year at the Royal Parks and got my PB at another race earlier this year but I felt like I still had more to give. So I turned to TruBe on a quest to run a sub 1:40 minute half marathon and achieve a new personal best.

When it comes to running, I am actually quite disciplined in the sense that I can do the miles that my body needs to do and I lift weights to ensure my body is strong, but what I struggle with is getting in all of the other sessions that will help me become a better runner. Like yoga and pretty much any form of stretching. This in turn has limited my mobility and I have the tightest hamstrings in the world! This flagged up in a running assessment that I recently did so I knew that if I was going to run a half marathon PB, something had got to change. I needed to improve my mobility and flexibility as this in turn would improve my running efficiency.

Tashi Skervin-Clarke training in studio

What I love about TruBe is that along with their yoga and Pilates workouts, they also have stretching sessions which can be booked too! This meant that I was able to dedicate entire sessions to stretching out the muscles I use the most during running and I also learned which stretches worked best too. Long gone are the days where I considered touching my toes as the only hamstring stretch I needed! I now regularly perform what has been dubbed The World’s Greatest stretch (because it is) before runs and I have also added moves such as bear crawls and walk outs to my pre-running routine. It might sound strange stretching before a run but these stretches help to improve your mobility and essentially wake your muscles up so that when you actually start running, your body is ready.

Tashi Skervin-Clarke weight training for Royal Parks Half Marathon

Believe it or not, I didn’t even increase my mileage in the lead up to the Royal Parks Half. I continued with my usual workouts and runs. And instead of clocking up the miles as a bid to run faster, I started focusing on using mobility to get my body in PB shape.

Before I knew it, race day arrived and I crossed the finish line in 1:38. A 2 minute PB and well under my goal of running a sub 1:40 half marathon.

If you’re looking to run your first half or full marathon or even a 10km, make sure you have a good stretch and mobility routine in place. It’s something I completely overlooked and if you don’t know how to stretch or improve your mobility, book a session on TruBe to find out how. Your session will be completely tailored to your needs and you’ll walk away with exercises that you can do on a daily basis to help improve your running.

Download the TruBe app and take a look at the website.

Introducing Pietro L: Personal Trainer and Movement Specialist

Pietro is a personal trainer and movement specialist with expertise in lower back pain and workout routines for weight loss and fat loss. With over 6 years experience in group fitness classes and one to one personal training, he is an expert in providing a full body workout and creating workout plans to achieve your fitness goals.

What is your background in fitness?

I always been passionate about endurance sport and “body movement”, with many years of experience as a master swimmer and triathlon participant. I have completed several regional and national Olympic distance triathlon events in Italy. I have always been keen on helping friends and as many people as possible  to improve their movements and to “understand” their body and take cake of it. This is my life, I can’t imagine another way to live my life!

What is your top tip for someone just starting their fitness journey?

Explore the elegance of your body. No matter who you are, what your age is, or your background. There is always space to improve and discover something new in your body as well as in your mind. Keep moving forward and have fun!

How do you keep yourself motivated?

I always try to remember the reasons I started doing what I do and the effort I put in to get here. This gives me so much motivation and inspiration to keep going.  Another thing I like to do is to reward myself every time I achieve a particular goal which spurs me on to achieve more.

What is your favourite thing to do to unwind?

I love to be around people, especially the people that I love! I always try to make time during the week to enjoy cooking and practising Vinyasa yoga. These are activities that help to centre myself.

Don’t forget that our TruBe trainers can come to you right in the comfort of your own home!

To book a session with Pietro, download the app and find him as one of our featured trainers.

 

NEW! Running, Stretching and Pre & Postnatal Workouts

TruBe are excited to reveal that we have added THREE new services which are now live on our website and app! We now offer running and stretching workouts as well as pre and postnatal workouts.

Running:

couple running

One of the most popular types of exercise, running is a great way to improve your  and cardiovascular fitness whilst burning a high amount of calories. Whether you are training for your very first 5k, have an upcoming marathon or just want to start jogging, TruBe running sessions will help get you there. Our trainers will be with you every step of the way whilst you run, motivating you and helping you to improve your endurance and technique. Additionally our trainers provide guidance and tips on how to avoid ‘the wall’ during a marathon race, and prepare you mentally and emotionally.

Stretching:

Two people stretching

Stretching helps to improve flexibility and range of motion. Our expert TruBe fitness trainers will show you a variety of different types of stretching to target specific muscle groups. If you have an injury or are looking to improve your mobility, stretching can aid the process allowing you increase your range of movement and improve any restrictions. Your TruBe stretching session will cover both dynamic and static stretches, and develop a personal stretching program that complements your exercise goals in the comfort of your own home or private space.

Pre & Postnatal:

Pregnancy workout

There are multiple benefits of keeping healthy, mentally and physically, during pregnancy and as a mother. Our TruBe expert trainers will provide a full body programme of exercises for pre and post pregnancy, and with our on-demand service, are able to workout alone in the comfort and security of your own environment. During your pregnancy, you stay toned, comfortable and active whilst post pregnancy working the body safely back to its full range of movement and strength again.

Book your session here!

Don’t forget we also offer a range of workout disciplines such as personal training, kickboxing, boxing, pilates and yoga. Search our network of expert trainers and send a request in seconds!

We’re excited about this new developments, and as always, we welcome your suggestions.

 

NEW! You can now book TruBe in-app and online

The TruBe team have listened to your feedback and we’re excited to reveal that we’ve just launched our website booking platform. Now you can search and book your sessions from your computer.

WHAT IS TRUBE?

For people that are new to TruBe, we offer a service that connects users with highly-qualified trainers from a range of specialist sporting backgrounds. This includes Personal Training, Boxing, Kickboxing, Pilates, Yoga and Ballet Fit. We have an extremely talented London team ready and waiting to deliver one of our signature workouts wherever and whenever you want. That means you can workout in the privacy of your own room, at the park or for the busy travellers amongst you, within an hour and a half you can arrange a personalised session in your hotel room.

With our website booking platform, we’ve made it easy and fast to make a booking, just like our app. You can search our network of expert trainers and send a request in seconds!

We’re excited about this new developments, and as always, we welcome your suggestions.