By Jarryl Bryan
She is renowned for her passion and dedication to fitness. So much so that when she eventually launched her own fitness club, the only name for it, naturally, was Insane Fitness.
In an interview after I personally participated in one of her jarring but effective fitness sessions, trainer Denoila Bristol shared her tips for staying fit after the holiday feasting. She warned that in the first place, eating and drinking habits have to be monitored.
“It’s obviously eating a lot of fatty foods. Foods with a lot of high calories, especially when you don’t lose it during [the] day in your work out or your normal job. Another way you can have a lot of fat gain is using beer. Beer is made with yeast and that causes weight gain, especially in the tummy area.”
“Eating a lot of carbs, especially in the evening and not allowing it to digest. That causes a lot of fat. It might not be in the abdominal region alone, it might be in the arms and legs,” the fitness trainer explained.
Bristol advised that in the second place, foods high in calories and a sedentary lifestyle are not a good combination. In a world where so many live a daily routine of driving to work, sitting at a desk all day and then driving back home, the foundation is set for weight gain.
“Your level of activity during the day is a factor in weight gain. The person that sits in their office just sits there for 7 hours, and then they sit and drive home. And when they sit at their desk, they eat at their desk.”
“So when they intake that calorie, there’s nowhere to let it out. It’s ok if you’re going to take a walk in the afternoon, football cricket or whatever.”
Asked if, in her experience as a trainer, she has ever noticed a spike in weight gain after the Christmas holidays are over, Denoila confirmed that she had.
“Usually when you see people in January, you would say oh you gain a lot of weight. The pepper pot and the bread and the rum and the rice and chicken and all these things. So yes, seriously.”
Weight management is a responsibility, but it can also be flexible. According to Denoila, the important thing to remember is what, when and how you eat. It is also about knowing what certain nutrients do to the body. As an example, she noted that certain types of carbohydrates can increase the sense of hunger.
“For me, I would tell my clients it’s what you eat, when you eat and how you eat. That is how you manage your weight. So for example, in the bread-making, in the cake and stuff like that, you can use low-fat butter. There’s low-fat milk. There are options like that to reduce the calorie intake. Watch how you cook.”
“Watch what you eat. I’m not saying to starve yourself, because it’s not good to starve yourself. And for those persons who will be hanging out in the late evenings, it’s ok to have your few drinks. But do not consume a lot of carbs in the evening. Because when you go home, you go straight to bed and do not give yourself a chance to digest it properly.”
And, of course, physical activity, be it from exercise or sports, is by far one of the best methods to burn fat. Denoila’s motto is “go hard or go home”. Having taken part in an Insane Fitness workout minutes before this interview, I can attest to its motto.
