One of the things that I’ve always struggled with is boredom eating. If there’s food around and I’m not busy it magically appears in my hands and before I know it I’ve scoffed more than I should ever be eating.

When I’m busy it’s really not a problem, I’m much more disciplined which is useful in an office environment because there’s always better offers for lunch than my tupperware of salad, and there’s also constant chocolate and biscuits being passed around.

I was on a commercial shoot last week from 9am-9pm followed by dinner with clients which sounds glamorous but when you’re sat in a cold, cavernous, semi-dark studio in Acton all day it loses its appeal pretty quickly. Food on shoots is notoriously awful and awfully available so although lunch was relatively healthy (salmon and salads), I followed it by a piece of apple tart and then binged on sandwiches and pastries in the afternoon. Dinner was rich and heavy and eaten much later than I normally would. I ended up house-bound for the next 2 days with the worse IBS flare-up I’ve ever had. That’ll teach me.

Here’s my top 5 tips for dealing with temptation and kicking it to the kerb:

1) Be prepared

You know when you’re going to be faced with serious temptation so prepare yourself by bringing something healthy (or at least healthier) and delicious with you to eat while everyone else is tucking into their triple fudge chocolate cake

2) Volunteer to bake/cook

You know what you like to eat and what agrees with you so rather than forcing someone else to try and cook for your requirements, why not do some cooking yourself? A few people might moan about it tasting ‘healthy’ but you can feel secretly smug knowing that they’ve eaten something that’s good for them.

3) Plan in advance

If planning a week’s worth of food seems too much of a task, try planning a day in advance. Write down everything you’re going to eat the next day, prep it the night before and stick to it. It’s always easier if you have a plan.

4) Retrain your palate

This one isn’t quite so easy but try and train your body to enjoy the sweetness of fruit rather than chocolate or the nuttiness of wholegrain pasta, rice and bread. It will gradually happen over time so stick with it.

5) Surround yourself with positive influences

Not all of your friends will see the benefits of how you want to eat, especially if, like me, you used to be a bit of a food dustbin. However, once they see how much happier you are following your chosen lifestyle they’ll come round and accept it. In the meantime, find supportive influences to help you through the transition. Whether these influencers are online, in the gym or a bit closer to home, you’ll need them when times get tough to lean on.

What do you do when the temptation monster hits?

When I was offered a chance to try out Speedflex, a new concept in low-impact, high-intensity workouts I was intrigued. Their selling point is that their resistance machines provide an intense cardio workout whilst allowing participants to work at their own level and (this is the bit I’m struggling to get my head round) won’t give you any muscles soreness following the workout. I had to try it out.

The studio, located near Bank station, is inviting, luxurious and clean. It was very quiet on a rainy Thursday evening, in fact there was only me and one other person in the induction.

I was sent into the (beautiful) changing rooms to fit my heart rate monitor which was exciting as I’ve never really tracked my heart rate during a workout before.

I was then taken down into an assessment room where I was weighed and my height was measured. I stood on an InBody machine which sent signals through my hands to my feet and measured the speed that the signals travelled through all the tissue. They travel faster through muscle as it has a higher water content than fat and by measuring the speed the machine can work out your body composition.

I was pretty pleased with the results as my muscle mass came out as above average, especially in my midsection and legs. Bizarrely though, I have significantly more muscle in my right leg than my left! Must stop standing on my right leg all the time…

We then went into the studio which looked like an alien spaceship. The machines are certainly new-age…

Each machine can be used in several different ways and the trainer demonstrated each one (eg. squat + press, bent over row, lat pull up + press, military press). In a normal 45 minute class up to 15 participants would circulate around the room with additional equipment (such as kettle bells, free weights, swiss balls etc.) between each machine with tabata-style timings (15-45 seconds on, 5-20 seconds rest).

Your heart rate appears on screens around the studio meaning that you can’t hide anywhere! The numbers change colours depending on which training zone you’re in and you get a summary at the end of the class of all your data including calories burnt and how long you spent in each zone.

We just tried a 7 minute round with 30 seconds on each machine and 5 seconds rest in between. It certainly works the body and within the 7 minute circuit my heart rate rose to 83% of my max heart rate, well and truly into the training zone.

So what did I think? Well, to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure it’s much more than a fad, albeit a good one that provides a great workout. I personally prefer my circuit workouts a bit more lo-tech where I can get down and dirty with some weights and burpees. Some of the moves on the machines felt a bit alien and they’re very arms, shoulders and chest heavy. The trainer said that the lower body workout comes in more in the additional stations between the machines.

My feeling is that it will be perfect for the city workers who need a new fad to feel ahead of the curve and like a bit of luxury but give me a set of dumbbells and a skipping rope any day.

Details

What? Speedflex - more info here

Where?

Ground Floor
Plough Court
33 – 36 Lombard Street
City of London
EC3V 9BQ

When? Classes run between 7am and 8pm

How much? There’s no prices on the website (which suggests it might be expensive…) but they offer an induction and first session for free and plenty of packages which should bring the price down.

Thanks to Entice Communications for the opportunity to review Speedflex