Stress can make you fat

by Joel Jelen 3. January 2012 11:15
Stress can make you fat, says January’s guest blogger Emma Robertson…who runs two businesses with real life partner Simon Whitnall (also a highly qualified PT and injury rehabilitation specialist) called Synergy Fitness Studios and Optimal Nutrition Clinic based in Liverpool City Centre but with clients in the UK and overseas.
 
Have you ever thought about a change of lifestyle in 2012 rather than just altering your diet regime…especially in view of the fact that stress makes us fact.
 
Many of us can associate with the notion of a friend or family member having being stressed resulting in weight loss, but stress can make you fat too.  
 
I’m  determined to encourage those struggling to tone up to keep as much of an eye on their lifestyle as their diet. I’ve been doing this for 10 years and have seen clients who, no matter what they do or how hard they work at weight loss, can’t seem to get the results. I’m convinced stress is one of the main factors. That may be internal stresses such as food intolerances or a nutritional imbalance or external ones such as not enough time in the day or holding down a stressful job. 
 
I see a lot of corporate clients but stress can just as easily affect mums too who are always on the go or people holding down more than one job; anyone in fact. 
 
Of course emotional eating will play a part – we all comfort eat – and portion control may also be an issue for some.
 
Hormones play a crucial part. If we’re frightened or threatened the body kicks in to ‘flight or fight’ mode, triggering hormonal changes which see our metabolism grab high-octane fat and quick burning glucose for energy. But when we’re permanently stressed those hormone levels don’t drop. We are stimulated to store fat for the ongoing stress response and that means we’re storing fat on a daily basis. Muscle tissue can also be affected with the body breaking down tissue to keep itself fuelled. In addition, under long term stress, the gut is prone to shut down preventing key vitamins and minerals and nutrients being absorbed and throwing out of kilter the balance between good and bad bacteria.  The human body is so complicated and these days it’s over-worked and under-rested. 
 
But there are strategies you can adopt to combat stress, hopefully lose weight and achieve a work-life balance. 
 
It’s crucial to examine your diet, work out what nutrients it may be missing, replacing them with nutritional supplements if necessary. I recommend trying some yoga too, in order to help build up opportunities to rest during the day. Ultimately you have to work on a protocol to re-balance both the body and the work versus life juggling act we perform.
 
A client, Mark Oakes couldn’t agree more. As a 40-year-old self-employed travel and leisure consultant and a dad of two he led a stressful life with no stress management strategy. And after a back injury the weight piled on. 
 
“I put on two stones in less than two years and couldn’t shift it, even though I’d always thought of myself as fairly fit.” 
 
He consulted us and we examined his lifestyle and sports injury before advising him to cut out carbs in the morning, re-balance his protein intake and use protein shakes. We also looked at his hormonal balance. After 12 weeks he had shed 4kgs and his body fat percentage had dropped while muscle mass had increased. So all weight lost was pure body fat, there was no muscle wastage which is what can happen with acute stress. 
 
“I’ve seen what people can put into their bodies when they’re working hard and tired. I’m certain stress can make you fat. But there is something you can do about it. I should know.” 
 
www.synergyhealthstudios.co.uk 
 
www.optimalnutritionclinic.co.uk

"Quit complaining – the customer isn’t always right" says Joel Jelen

by Joel Jelen 2. December 2011 09:36

Customer service, long the bain of the discerning shopper in Liverpool but times have changed since this city became a popular UK shopping destination. The evidence of improved and in fact, very good customer service has never been more apparent than in our burgeoning restaurant scene, particularly those with a coherent and committed policy towards training their staff.

So good has the service become… witness it for your self in the likes of Salt House Tapas, Hanover Street Social, The Italian Club and Malmaison…isn’t it about time that we learned how to be good restaurant customers?

Through our client base, we get to experience the many different varieties of eaterie in the city and of course, eating out is always about the ambience as well as the food.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had it ruined though by some pompous (often business) type being incredibly rude to staff without justification just because he or she thinks the world owes them something and they’ve got a few quid.

In our book of café bar/brasserie/restaurant marketing parlance, the customer is NOT always right if he or she feels it give them the right to treat waiting-on staff as second-class citizens.

The prevailing image in the UK of someone working in licensed and leisure (even though it’s slowly changing) is still of a transient type who could do better rather than that of an aspiring careerist on the way to the top of their game. And sometimes that all too obviously manifests itself in the behaviour of your arrogant suit.

Of course, the issue cuts across all footfall and it’s not just about the suits. So, whoever you are or think you are (!) never mind about complaining. 


 

Here are seven golden rules on being a good customer:

1, Don't talk on your phone while the waiter is taking your order. It’s a two-way relationship and he or she wouldn’t do it to you.

2, Please ask about menu items once your guests are all seated if you’re in a big party, rather than ask the poor waiter to repeat over and over as they trickle in. It’s the wrong way to start the evening.

3, Don’t get personal with the waiter, so you think you own him or her for the night. Nobody likes over-familiarity in everyday relationships so what makes you think your waiter will appreciate it?

4, If you know the proprietor, just ask the waiter to pass on your regards to them in case they are present. Don’t play ‘Billy Big Biscuits’ sounding like you’re his or her best mate and are looking for special treatment or a discount. It’s embarrassing and won’t work. Anyway, if for example, the restaurateur was your best mate, he or she would have personally invited you.

5, If the restaurant has a ‘bring your own wine’ policy, ring in advance to check they don’t stock, e.g. your favourite New Zealand Marlborough. If they do, don’t bring it!

6, Move to pay the bill soon after receiving it and don’t hide it under plates or your bag. Don’t make it a treasure hunt for the waiter. It’s degrading and makes it look like you don’t want to pay.

7, Tipping is your prerogative, but always do it in cash. Ten per cent is sufficient and courteous, whilst beyond twenty per cent is entering into Billy Big Biscuits territory again.

Make the waiter feel appreciated not subservient and that’s the key to a successful experience for all concerned!

 

Copyright Joel Jelen 2011. All Rights Reserved. 

www.ubiquityprfishnetworking.wordpress.com

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Customer Service | Networking | Restaurants

Nothing’s new in networking in 2011 because nothing’s changed, says Joel Jelen.

by Joel Jelen 12. November 2011 08:36
Here’s why with a few hints and tips…

Your personal value still is whom you know.

 If you’ve been in business for 10 years, mathematically you’ll probably have around 75 close contacts. That may not sound a lot but I’m talking about real close, i.e. people you like and respect and would recognise you if you bumped into them next to the fruit and veg in Tesco’s. Add to these 75 all the folk in their close quarters and the cumulative figure is some 20,000 potentially valuable people. The trick of course in using your contacts is to always think ‘givers gain’. And, to remember that little of the best-connected people’s networking activity is carried out with a specific goal in mind. Granted, if you ask for everything when networking you get nothing. But if you concentrate your effort on people you most like and who seem to like you back, watch your business grow. Leveraging your own network really is nothing more than just asking people whose company you enjoy, to dinner for nothing other than the pleasure of their company. Even the shyest people can do that. 

The next stage does require some application in terms of making sure how well people know what you do and then how inspired they are to refer you.

 Think of this as part of your referral strategy and if you haven’t got one, get one! Don’t get lost in the word ‘strategy’ either. All I’m saying here is get organised by making sure your merry band of close contacts tick all the boxes under the headings in 1, they know exactly what you do 2, trust highly in you 3, understand how you help others 4, the problems or pain you solve. And, don’t forget, that because very few people want to ‘talk turkey’ after work hours (if that’s when that next networking event is), make sure you are perceived as having a wider purpose to your working life. This will greatly increase your chances of a referral. You might also want, in a quiet moment, to sit down and make a detailed assessment of your best contacts. Ask yourself, whom do they know, how willing are they to refer you and what might inspire them to make a free introduction? Oh, and don’t forget either that the best networkers are altruistic and selfless. Give referrals like you don’t remember and receive them without forgetting.

Copyright Joel Jelen 2011. All Rights Reserved. 

www.ubiquityprfishnetworking.wordpress.com