16-30 Year Olds

Get the Best Out of Leg Day With These Top 6 Exercises

VPH 1 Comment 3 May 2022

Our legs contain some of the most powerful muscles in our body. They carry most of our weight all day and it’s essential that we keep them strong and sturdy with regular exercise. Even though we are out of lockdown, a lot of home leg workouts can be used when at the gym and I would even suggest that they work better for you than assisted machines.

Still worried about getting jelly legs or those terrible aches that you feel the next day? That’s where protein shakes come in. Protein is essential to the recovery and refuelling of our muscles. You will notice a huge difference in how your muscles feel when taking a protein shake straight after a workout (obviously after stretching). We have our own tasty Nutrishake that will work wonders for your recovery!

Alright, let’s get into the 10 workouts that will change how you look at leg day!

1. Squat hold

The first exercise we have is the squat hold. for this, you need to have your feet spread slightly wider than your hips. Sit down roughly to the height of being seated in a chair. keep your chest up, whilst making sure to squeeze your glutes. If the tension begins to hurt your back you may want to curve your back in slightly more. If you need balance, you can hold your arms out in front of you. For this exercise try to stay on hold for 45 seconds.

2. Split squat hold

Quite similar to the squat hold, Stand with your feet hip distance apart. Then place your right foot forward putting you into the lunge position. make sure that your knee is perpendicular to your right foot which should be placed firmly in front. Make sure that your chest is kept upright and hold this position for 45 seconds. Switch to the opposite foot when the 45 seconds have been completed.

3. B-stance Romanian deadlift

If you are doing this exercise in the gym, then you could perform this with a flat barbell. If you are working out from home then we would recommend purchasing a resistance band. With the resistance band, to begin place your right foot about half a foot behind your left foot. bend the right knee slightly and grab each end of the resistance band that you’re stepping on with your left foot. keeping your back straight, bend down from the hip until your elbows roughly reach your left knee height. When the band goes slack squeeze your glutes and stand. Repeat for 45 seconds then switches to the opposite leg.

4. Single-leg Romanian deadlift

This is another exercise that will be more effective if used with equipment, in this case, a dumbbell. Holding the dumbbell with one arm down by your side and your feet together. Lift up your preferred knee to a 90-degree angle. From the hip, bring your torso forward to also a 90-degree angle whilst kicking your lifted leg straight back. once completed return back to the original position and repeat for 45 seconds. Perform this on the other leg once the time has finished.

5. Forward to reverse lunge

Standing up straight step forward into a lunge position with your preferred foot. With the opposite foot planted, step into a backward lunge position. Return to a standing position with both feet hip distance apart. Repeat this for 45 seconds and then switch onto the opposite foot leading first.

6. Kneeling step-ups

Holding a dumbbell or some form of weight, kneel with both knees on the floor. Then with your preferred leg, step it forward to a lunge position and press through so that you’re now standing. Reverse these steps back to your original kneeling position. Repeat this process for 45 seconds and then switch with the opposite leg leading first.

If you want to get the best out of your exercise take a look at our Protein Pro for Muscle Mass in order to keep up your gains and ensure your body is happy and healthy.

General Health 16-30 Year Olds

Energy Drink vs Supplements

VPH 0 Comments 27 April 2022

There has been an ongoing argument about how energy drinks are dangerous for the body’s health and whether they should be allowed to be consumed. Likewise, the same cannot be said for supplements, as many people believe that there are no risks involved in taking supplements. However, there are some risks involved in taking supplements—not many, but a few.

Energy Drinks

There are many different pros and cons regarding your body’s health and the ingredients found in energy drinks.

Pros:

Help people function when tired.
Higher attention.
Elevates the mood.
Higher exercise performance.
Faster caffeine delivery.

Cons:

Sugar crash.
Caffeine withdrawal.
Energy slumps.
Heart problems.
Increased heart rate.
Anxiety.
Panic attacks.
Caffeine withdrawal symptoms like headaches, depression, insomnia, etc.
Increased urination.

There are many serious health risks regarding ingredients used to make energy drinks. Here is a list of ingredients and how they might cause harm.

Caffeine

Energy drinks contain on average 10mg of caffeine, this is similar to the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee. However, this amount can really add up if you consume many of these drinks daily.

Some common side effects of high caffeine intake include:

Anxiety.
Panic attacks.
Irritability.
Heart palpitations.
Insomnia.

The caffeine found in the majority of energy drinks is not a natural substance. It’s most likely that the energy drink contains synthetic caffeine. This type of caffeine can have serious consequences involving your body’s health.

Sugar

Energy drinks contain an astonishing 20 teaspoons of sugar per serving. They contain a higher amount of sugar per serving than a can of Coca-Cola.

Here are some of the common side effects of high sugar intake:

Becoming addicted to sugar as it releases dopamine in the brain. Similar to the way certain habit-forming drugs do.
This contributes to feeling sad as this is caused by the increase in brain inflammation.
Dramatic decreases in blood sugar levels can make you irritable and jittery.
High risk of diabetes.
Alter the brainwave patterns, making it harder for you to think clearly.

Refreshing Natural Energy Drinks

There are many different types of natural energy drinks available. Here is a list of the different types:

Smoothies
TENZING
XITE ENERGY
Exalt
Coffee

This is just a small portion of natural energy drinks on the market. They have all the benefits of typical energy drinks without the health risks involved. Click here to see a full list and comparison.

Supplements

Supplements are good for your body’s health, but there are some risks involved that are not common knowledge. Listed below are some pros and cons revolving around taking supplements.

Pros For Supplements:

Allows people who aren’t getting enough vitamins or minerals to get them.
Helps to build muscle.
Aids in the prevention of diseases.
It May help with anxiety and depression.
Provides immune system support.

Cons For Supplements:

You can overdose on certain supplements.
Not a food substitute. They should be taken alongside foods.
You should consult with your doctor before taking any supplement.

How to Help

Here at VitaProHealth, we provide the highest quality supplements available to help you with your needs. Our supplements are the best vitamins and minerals for people who keep vegan support to give their bodies everything they would need. Additionally, if you have any questions about what the best vitamins are for you or want to know more about our General Health page, please contact us via email at info@vitaprohealth.com.

General Health 16-30 Year Olds, 30-40 Year Olds

How Can Insomnia Take a Toll on Your Mental Health

VPH 0 Comments 22 April 2022

Insomnia is a widespread condition all over the world. Even those who do not suffer from chronic insomnia frequently battle with sleep issues. As a result, it is critical to comprehend the possible impact of sleep deprivation on health, particularly mental health and well-being. However, many of us struggle to get a decent night’s sleep.

Poor sleep affects one in every three of us, and the implications may be far more serious than feeling irritable or distracted. Sleep and mental health are inextricably linked: having a mental health illness may influence your sleep, and sleeping poorly can damage your mental well-being.

Sleep deprivation may also make us physically ill. It has been related to heart disease, diabetes, rapid ageing, and fatal car accidents. It impairs our ability to manage our emotions. In the long term, this increases our chances of acquiring a mental health problem. Anxiety and despair, for example, might create more sleep disturbance.

We all need to sleep soundly in order for our bodies to recoup from the day and for healing to occur.

The Relationship Between Sleep and Mental Health

It’s no secret that sleep is essential for excellent physical and mental wellness. Short-term sleep deprivation might make you irritated and weary, but it can also have major long-term health repercussions and issues. Sleep deprivation has been related to a variety of negative health outcomes, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and depression.

In other words, sleep problems can lead to changes in mental health, while mental health issues can exacerbate sleep problems. Sleep deprivation may precipitate the emergence of some psychiatric issues, while experts are unsure of the underlying causes. Because of the cyclical link between your sleep habits and your mental state, it is critical to consult with your doctor if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms.

What Causes Sleep Problems?

There are several factors that might influence our sleep. They include stress or concern, a change in the noise level or temperature of your bedroom, a changing habit, such as jet lag, too much caffeine or alcohol, shift work, physical or mental health problems, and so on.

Sleep is necessary for the physical maintenance of the body, but it also aids in the maintenance of cognitive functions such as attention, learning, memory, and emotional control

How can mental health problems affect sleep?

Mental health issues can have a variety of effects on your sleep.
Anxiety might lead your mind to rush, making it difficult to sleep.
Depression can cause oversleeping, either sleeping late or sleeping a lot throughout the day. It might also induce sleeplessness if you have disturbing thoughts.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can result in nightmares or night terrors. These may wake you awake and/or make you feel nervous about falling asleep.
Mania might make you feel exhilarated or active, so you may not feel exhausted or desire to sleep. You may also have racing thoughts that make it difficult to sleep.
Medication might cause adverse effects such as sleeplessness, nightmares, and excessive sleep. Sleep issues might arise after you stop taking your medicine.

If you have insomnia, try out VitaPro Health’s Early Bird Energy for Insomnia. For more information, visit https://www.vitaprohealth.com/product/early-bird-energy-for-insomnia.

General Health, Slimming 16-30 Year Olds, 30-40 Year Olds

How Stress Causes People To Overeat

VPH 0 Comments 20 April 2022

Anxiety can have a significant impact on your food intake, resulting in your overeating. Stress eating can derail your weight reduction efforts. The idea is to discover stress-relieving activities that do not involve food.

We’ve all experienced being stressed, whether it’s from a quarrel with a spouse, a job deadline, or simply having too much to accomplish. And if you’re exposed to a lot of it, it might influence your eating patterns. There is a clear link between stress and our hunger – but it isn’t the same for everyone. Being stressed can lead some people to disregard their hunger cues and go for extended periods without eating. Others become emotional eaters who mindlessly nibble as a result of stress.

When we are stressed, our brains transmit signals to our bodies. That is part of our fight-or-flight response to perceived threats in our surroundings. When you are stressed, your body produces cortisol, often known as the stress hormone. Cortisol might drive you to seek sweet, salty, and fatty meals because your brain believes it needs fuel to combat whatever threat is generating the stress.

You may, however, learn how to manage stress without resorting to food. First, you need to understand the connection between being stressed and binge eating.

Stress and Binge Eating Cycle

Being stressed can lead to binge eating disorders as well as the desire to overeat. It is normal for people with the disease to use food to cope with stress and other feelings they desire to suppress, such as anger, grief, and boredom.

It can result in a bingeing cycle that looks like this:

You overeat when you’re anxious.
When you overeat, you feel guilty or anxious about gaining weight, which adds to your stress.

One in every four persons who binge eat has a mental health condition known as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How to Avoid Binge Eating When You’re Stressed

Keeping a food journal might be beneficial. Keep track of the time you binge eat and how you feel while doing so. Once you’ve identified what causes you to overeat, you may attempt these healthy stress-reduction strategies:

Exercise. Take a long stroll outside or enrol in an aerobics class. Staying active also takes your focus away from the fridge and pantry.
Meditate. For a few moments, concentrate on your breathing. It can help with anxiety and tension. Doing this on a regular basis may help you make more deliberate dietary choices.
Consume nutritious “comfort meals.” When you want something to eat, choose meals that will make you feel good without adding fat or calories.
Seek assistance. Seek help from professionals such as a therapist or counsellor, a nutritionist, and/or a trainer. When things get rough, even chatting to a friend or relative might help.

If you are experiencing problems with stress eating or overeating, you can try VitaPro Health’s Metabolic Miracle Capsules.

Slimming 16-30 Year Olds, 30-40 Year Olds, 40-50 Year Olds

Lose Weight with Dieting: What You Need to Know

VPH 0 Comments 29 January 2022

There are different types of diets that are currently being used around the world. Each has its own restrictions and health benefits. The only thing that is consistent when you look at each of the diets is that they will help you shed a significant amount of weight. One of the easiest ways to lose weight is by dieting.

Why Dieting Is The Best Way To Lose Weight

Losing weight is simple and easy to understand. To lose weight, you have to intake fewer calories than you use up. This is known as a calorie deficit. While there are plenty of factors that can affect your weight loss, such as sleep, stress and even your genetics, the most obvious factor that affects people is looking at their diet.

If you have a poor diet; full of fatty, processed foods that are short on nutrition, the basic framework of most diets can help to restrict the unhealthiest foods you consume, while promoting the increased consumption of healthier foods, like leafy greens, healthy fats, lean meats and more. This will, of course, help you to both cut down on your calorie intake by eating lower-calorie foods, and will make you satisfied, and less likely to turn to unhealthy snacks to satisfy you.

Dieting Is Only One Step

If you’re overweight, or not happy with your current body weight, it can be easy to view weight loss as merely a goal to achieve. This could lead to quick and easy plans to help you burn weight fast. However, the best way to reduce weight is to have a diet that can promote weight loss.

If you are looking to lose weight through a certain diet plan, this will cause a change to your lifestyle, temporarily, to reach the end goal of losing weight. If you choose a diet that you don’t enjoy doing, you are far more than likely to not continue that diet for the recommended amount of time until you see results. While a healthy diet is critical, it isn’t the only way to lose weight.

A good healthy diet, in combination with regular exercise, a stable pattern of sleep and good control of your stress levels, is by far the best way to manage your weight. Losing weight is affected by multiple things when you only focus on reducing your food intake level, which misses the big picture of a healthy lifestyle. For example, you might have discovered the best diet plan that will restrict all your bad habits. But, if it’s a diet that causes you unnecessary anxiety, that is followed with little to no exercise and poor sleep patterns, weight management will be very poor. Losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight should come as a benefit of an overall healthy lifestyle.

Make A Plan

Before you pick and choose your diet, it is recommended that you create a plan on what you will be eating during your diet. The key thing to remember is that your metabolism is how your body turns calories into energy. If you cut too many calories from your daily intake, it will have a bad effect on your weight loss. This is due to your metabolism slowing down and it won’t be able to burn enough calories to make the energy needed.

There are many ways you can do this without cutting too many calories. You can do the following:

Cut portion sizings
Figure out ideally your calorie intake (this is so you can have a calorie deficit)
Read the nutrition information on your food
Drink more water

Whichever diet you choose, always pick one that is more suited to you and your lifestyle. For example, if you decide to try intermittent fasting, pick a method [8/16 method] that is better for you. If you are looking to change the different types of food to eat, there are certain food groups you should try to eat more to maximise your weight loss. Working with a dietitian is a good idea, so you can make sure your plan covers all that you require. A good way to ensure these guidelines are met is with the NHS diet plan.

How Can We Help!

At VitaProHealth, we value you as the customer and want you at your best. We have specialists that know what you need to better your physical and mental wellbeing. Regardless, do not hesitate to visit our website for lifestyle advice and supplements. Look at our lifestyle page for general health and slimming for tips and tricks. Contact us today by email at info@vitaprohealth.com.

Slimming 16-30 Year Olds, 30-40 Year Olds

What Diets Are There and What’s Best for Me?

VPH 1 Comment 14 December 2021

It’s natural that most people want to become slimmer or fitter. There are, of course, many ways to achieve this, such as exercising, dieting, or slimming tablets. Both exercising and dieting require hard work and dedication to be able to see them through. Today, we’ll discuss the different types of diets and how they vary from one another. Which diet is best for you?

How does the Keto Diet work?

Keto, also known as a ‘low-carb diet’ is a type of diet that limits your intake of carbs to 20-150 grams a day. How does the Keto diet work? Well, when your carb intake is low, fatty acids are moved into your liver where they’re changed into ketones. Your body is able to use these ketones as its primary energy source. Following this diet will put your body into a state of ketosis, dramatically increasing weight loss by up to twice that of low-fat diets.

What is the Atkins Diet?

Many people wonder, what is the Atkins Diet? Atkins is one of the most well-known low-carb diets. The idea is that if you don’t eat any carbs, then you can eat as much fat and protein as you like. This has the effect of reducing your appetite and means that you’ll eat fewer calories without realising it. The Atkins diet has been shown to lead to faster weight loss than low-fat diets.

What is the Dukan Diet Plan?

The Dukan diet plan is a low-carb, high-protein diet that works in phases to help you lose weight. Because of this, the meals leave you feeling full, but it can lead to you missing out on important nutrients. The Dukan diet plan is extremely structured, meaning it’s good if you want a lot of rules to follow when dieting.

What is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting has you cycle between periods of eating and fasting. Instead of restricting the types of food that you eat, it restricts when you are allowed to eat. Intermittent fasting leads to easier calorie restriction but can be difficult to keep to, given how long you have to restrict yourself.

How We Can Help

It can be very difficult to keep to a diet. Though they’re effective at helping you lose weight fast, that’s only if you’re able to stick to them. If you’re looking for an easier way to lose weight, our slimming tablets might be just what you need. Our slimming tablets are of the highest quality, and a guaranteed to help you on your weight loss journey. Or, if you’re looking to keep to your diet, we have a variety of vitamins to help ensure you’re staying healthy. Plus, if you’re starting a meal replacement diet, we have a number of meal replacement shakes to help your meal replacement diet go perfectly.

Slimming 16-30 Year Olds, 30-40 Year Olds

Intermittent Fasting vs Conventional Dieting

VPH 0 Comments 10 December 2021

There are currently hundreds of different diets you can go on to slim down for special occasions or if you want to lose some weight. Recently, there has been a huge influx of people starting intermittent fasting diets, rather than trying conventional dieting to lose their ideal amount of weight. However, what exactly is the difference between them? Does one offer you more benefits than the other does?

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent fasting is currently one of the world’s most popular health and fitness trends. There are many different reasons why someone would decide to choose to do intermittent fasting. These are to lose weight, improve their health and change up their lifestyles.

How exactly is it done?

Intermittent fasting is the alternating cycles of fasting and eating. Unlike other diets, e.g. some conventional diets, intermittent fasting does not tell you which foods to eat but tells you when you can eat them. If you were to look at your day, you ‘fast’ every day while you sleep. This simply extended that fast for a longer period.

There are different forms of intermittent fasting you can do. The most popular form is known as the 16/8 method. This is when you are fasting for 16 hours every day and restricting you’re eating to an 8-hour window.

Things to be aware of before you start intermittent fasting

As you can expect, hunger is a big issue that will occur to anyone who starts intermittent fasting. This is because your body is not used to you not eating for a long period of time. Even though no food is allowed during the fasting period, you are allowed to drink water, coffee, tea and other non-caloric beverages.

Taking supplements is allowed while fasting, as long as there are no calories in them.

If you are interested in using intermittent fasting in helping you slim down for the New Year, HealthLine has a 101 beginner’s guide on how to conduct it.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting

As Intermittent Fasting allows you to have periods where you don’t eat, there are studies that have found this method of weight loss improves your way of life.

Here are some of the benefits of intermittent fasting:

Cause weight loss
Improve metabolic health
Protect against disease
Reduce inflammation in the body
Help the health of the heart
May prevent cancer
Help the health of your brain
It May help you live longer
Lower blood pressure

Conventional Dieting

There are many different types of conventional dieting each one having its own list of benefits.

Plant-based Diet

What can you eat?

Fruits
Vegetables
Plant-based substitutes

Benefits

Reduced inflammation
Improved kidney function
Lower risk of type 2 diabetes
Reduced risk of heart disease
Lower levels of “bad” cholesterol
Reduced risk of dementia
Reduced cognitive development
Improved gut health
Reduced risk of certain cancers

Paleo Diet

What can you eat?

Vegetables
Fruit
Unprocessed meat
Eggs
Nuts
Seeds
Seafood
Fish

Benefits

Improved Cholesterol
Lower Blood Pressure
Healthy blood glucose
Longer life span
Improves insulin sensitivity

Low-fat Diets

The low-fat diet follows a low-fat plan where meals contain less than 3 grams of fat per 100 calories.

What can you eat?

Whole grain
Lean meats
Whitefish
Lentils
Vegetables
Fruits
Reduced-fat dairy

Benefits

Lower chance of heart disease
Short term weight loss

The Mediterranean Diet

What can you eat?

Bread
Pasta
Fruit
Vegetables
Fish
Products made from veg oils
Eating less meat

Benefits

Prevents heart disease
Increase life span
Reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s
Reduce the risk of Parkinson’s
Prevents Type 2 Diabetes

Weight Watchers

What can you eat?

Most foods in moderation

Benefits

Don’t have to reduce the number of foods you can eat
Fits in with a busy lifestyle
Reduce the risk of diabetes

The DASH Diet

DASH means Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, this is recommended for people who wish to prevent/treat hypertension and reduce their risk of heart disease.

What can you eat?

This diet doesn’t list certain types of foods to be eaten but lists serving sizes per day.

Fruit – 4-5 servings
Veg – 4-5 servings
Lean meats: no more than 6 servings
Whole Grains – 6-8 servings
Dairy products – 2-3 servings
Nuts, seeds – 4-5 servings
Fats and oils – 2-3 servings
Candy and added sugar – no more than 5

Foods to avoid

Red meats
Salt (high amounts)
Sugar (high amounts)
Fats (high amounts)

Benefits

Following the DASH diet reduces the amount of daily salt intake, this aids in the decrease of blood pressure among other things. Here is a full list of benefits:

Helps to lose weight
Reduced blood pressure
Decreased risk of heart disease
Reduced risk of diabetes
Lowers risk of metabolic syndrome
The risk of cancer reduced

Low-Carb Diet

Benefits of a Low-Carb diet

Reduces your appetite
Lose weight quickly at first
Reduces harmful belly fat
Triglycerides in the blood lower
HDL at a good level
Reduce blood sugar levels and insulin levels
May lower blood pressure
Metabolic syndrome effective
Increase in heart health
Helps prevent brain diseases

If you are interested in using a low-carb diet to help you to lose weight EverydayHealth has a beginner’s guide for how a low-carb diet will help along with some tips and tricks.

How We Can Help

Here at VitaProHealth, we provide the highest quality supplements available to help you through the slimming process. Our slimming supplements are the best. If you have any questions about exactly the best slimming vitamins are for you or want to know more about our slimming lifestyle page, please contact us via email at info@vitaprohealth.com.

General Health 16-30 Year Olds

5 Exercises to Get You Started at the Gym

VPH 0 Comments 29 November 2021

With the New Year approaching, many people will have the resolution to start exercising at the gym. Doing this is a good way to help promote an overall healthy lifestyle, but there can be many obstacles to overcome when beginning. A large proportion of people won’t go to the gym because they’re uncertain of exactly what to do there; what is the most effective way to work out? To help get you motivated at the start of a healthy life, here are some workouts for beginners.

Cardio

Cardio is a good exercise for beginners that anyone can do in or out of the gym. 10% of the population jog, as it is a great way to get your blood pumping. In addition to just jogging or running, if you have access to an elliptical machine or cycling machine, they can also be excellent cardio. Not only is cardio the best way to burn fat and calories, but it also helps to improve heart function.

Chest Press Machine

The chest press is an excellent workout that focuses on your chest. While the chest press can be done using a barbell, it can be very difficult to start off with this (especially if you don’t have a gym buddy with you). As such, the chest press machine is an excellent chest workout to fit into your workout plan. Using the machine is easy to get started with and helps with improving your form when starting out.

Squats

Squats are a great exercise for beginners, mainly because they help to promote good form for further workouts. These help to target your legs and glutes, improve mobility in your lower body and joints, and help to burn calories.

Bicep Curls

Bicep curls are a very simple and effective exercise for your arms. They’re a perfect exercise for beginners, as you can freely adjust the weight of the dumbbell that you use. In addition to this, they’re a free weight exercise which is a very efficient way to build muscle; getting used to using free weights early is good for planning future workout plans.

Plank

Planks are a good workout for strengthening your abdominal muscles. Planks are good as you can do them whenever and wherever allowing for flexibility in your schedule and workout plan when fitting them in.

A good workout plan is constantly changing and involves increasing reps or the number of sets. Of course, these workouts might not be for you in the long run but are certainly a good place to get started. Workouts for beginners can feel very tiring at first, so it’s good practice to encourage muscle repair after exercising. Protein powder is perfect for doing this. Mixing protein powder with a drink and having it immediately after your workout can help with muscle repair and helps to alleviate the fatigue you feel the day after exercising. Most important of all is to keep at it!

Exercise for beginners can be very fickle, but persistence is key. If you’re looking for good protein powder, we here at VitaProHealth offer a high-quality powder that is perfect for your post-workout shake. Or, if you’re looking for more workout plan advice, other workouts for beginners or ways to live a healthy life, check out more of our blogs!