Fitness & Nutrition Expert: Pip August
Hi, I'm Pip, a personal trainer and nutritionist based in Northumberland with over 20 years experience working within the health and fitness industry. After doing a short stint in Nursing, I decided to turn my focus to health promotion and qualified as a Personal Trainer in 1998. In 2001 I gained a First-class Degree in Sport and Exercise Science, and then went on to develop my skills completing further courses in Nutrition, Cardiac Rehab and G.P referral. In 2018 I completed an MSc. in Nutritional Science achieving a distinction whilst receiving an award for the best academic performance.
I have always been passionate about looking after myself physically and mentally. I competed in figure competitions for 8 years and sculpted a body that won me numerous titles. During this time I was on fire. Strong, confident and invincible!!! When I gave up competing (age was not on my side), I became a busy professional with a hectic lifestyle, and my eating habits and general wellbeing started to suffer. Yes it happens to us all!!!
I started to crave more and more sugar as my energy levels were low and my digestive health was suffering. Lack of planning also made it more difficult to eat well and exercise. I had all of the knowledge and experience to get myself back on track. I just had to do it in a way that fit in with my new lifestyle. I turned my focus onto my digestive health as it’s the cornerstone to a healthy mind and body, with 70% of your immune system located in your gut!
I now specialise in helping women who want to balance their hormones, gain more energy and lose body fat. Learn how to plan, prepare and portion control meals. Transform your body by moving more. Manage and maintain these changes to make your new lifestyle work for you so that it continues to support your nutritional and overall health goals whilst leaving time for you to be YOU and enjoy your life.
Having recently hosted a weekend retreat at Brinkburn, it was apparent that there is a general lack of understanding as to just how important our gut health is when it comes to our overall physical and mental wellbeing. Over the weekend there were many “Lightbulb Moments”, and everyone went home with clarity on the best Nutritional Strategies for overall Health. With Brinkburn being such an idyllic setting it was really conducive to the learning experience, especially with the wonderful nutritious food that we provided and the cookery demonstration.
Here are some pointers on how to make some subtle yet simple changes to your diet…
Cut down on inflammatory foods like refined sugar, saturated fats and processed foods. Also foods that you don’t tolerate well.
Stick to 3 moderate sized meals a day and one or two snacks if needed eg. a smoothie or a piece of fruit and some nuts. Balance energy levels.
Eat the rainbow - wide variety of different coloured fruit and vegetables. Ideally 2 fruits and 5 veg. Fruit and protein.
Eat 2 tbsp full fat probiotic yoghurt daily - why full fat? Probiotics are good bacteria. Probiotics lactobacillus and bifidobacterium
Prebiotic foods feed the good bacteria. Increase their growth and activity. Prebiotic foods: oats, asparagus, onions, leeks, garlic, bananas.
When it comes to our nutrition, exercise and lifestyle it's so easy to become overwhelmed with all of the information out there, especially when so much of it is conflicting. "Should I go low carb, count calories, give up certain food groups or perhaps try something like the Keto diet". "Do I need to exercise every day and what type of exercise should I be doing? Well my friend is doing HIIT so maybe I will try that!" My mission is to take ALL of the confusion away for you, providing you with the information that YOU and your body need.