Wednesday 15 July 2009

My Trip To Prague (plus 5 diet rules to help you stay lean)

It's amazing what a few days away can do isn't it.

I've just come back from a wonderful city break in Prague, Czech Republic where I was on a stag-do for the weekend.

I've never been to Prague, what a great city! One of the very few cities that wasn't bombed in the war so it's managed to keep alot of it's architecture and history.

Behind me is the famous River Vltava than runs straight through Prague.

I'm not going to lie to you, it wasn't ALL sight seeing.

I didn't eat exactly how I intended and as you can imagine, there was plenty of drinking going on (although not copious amounts)-

Hey, it was a stag-do! give me a break! = >

However, a few of us DID manage to do some sight seeing.

We passed through the famous old town square on several occassions and everytime it was always real busy. Tourists taking photos of the old square clock, market stools selling and horse drawn carriage tours were just some of the things going on.

At times it was hard to walk through due to the sheer volume of people.

I really enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the old town square.

I managed to get my brother to take another snap of me with the famous square clock in the background.

As you can see, plenty of people milling around!

A great place to people watch!

So anyway, I haven't written this just to show off my holiday snaps to you

There IS a reason why I wanted to write to you today..

As I strolled through the town square with my buddies, people watching, my personal training instincts decided to kick in (it happens suddenly, I can't help it!)and I kept noticing one thing.

And the more I saw of this, the more it confirmed my thoughts.

(And it REALLY stood out for me!)

How so many Czech Republicans WEREN'T overweight!

I'm serious. I hardly saw one local that was overweight.

Ok, maybe a couple here and there but generally speaking, hardly any.

Which led me to the question...WHY?

Why is it when we go to other countries, certain cultures seem to be thinner, leaner, less over weight than Britain and the States?

Now the typical answer I usually get is "our diet is far worse than other countries" which is true to a certain extent, but walking around Prague, there wasn't any evidence that that they WEREN'T consuming a western world diet?

MacDonalds was there, KFC was there,and amongst some nice restaurants there was the usual fast food outlets like any other city you'd find in Britain or the States.

This is strong evidence that the western world diet is already in Prague wouldn't you say?

They are already subject to it so why aren't they overweight?

After a lot of thinking this lead me to the conclusion that this pure and simply comes down to calorie restriction.

Simple I guess...it's not rocket science.

Whether the Czech Republicans are exercising more, eating less, or simply can't afford to eat like we do (after all, Britain and the States are considered to be richer countries than the Czech Republic and richer countries usually means over indulgence in everything, including food),

whatever the reason they're doing something right!

They're simply consuming less calories than us.

This was plain to see just from people watching in the Old Town Square of Prague.

There is growing evidence suggesting that a calorie restricted diet is not only great for staying lean but also increasing longevity too.

Somtimes I think our fitness industry over complicates things when it comes to diet. We need to take note from the Czech's and do what they're doing.

Eat Less!

Stick to these 5 diet rules and you'll be well on your way to achieving great fat loss success this year.

******

Rule 1) Eat fewer foods from a bag or box, and eat more whole, natural foods such as fruits, vegetables, and raw nuts.

Rule 2) Avoid wheat, dairy and gluten whenever possible

Rule 3) Try to consume some protein with every meal.

Rule 4) Be consistent with your diet plan but don't stress out if you've had a bad day. Just get back on the wagon again knowing that tomorrow will be MUCH better

Rule 5) And most importantly...CONSUME LESS CALORIES.

Eat Stop Eat will help you consume less calories. Flexible Intermittent Fasting is an easy and effective way to reduce your overall calorie intake while still enjoying the foods you eat.

******

And that was my trip to Prague.

Catch up with you very soon,

Sam Winkworth
CPT, SPN

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