Keri McKibbin Personal Training

Talking about myths and plain untruth’s about why we do lose body fat, and why we gain body fat, here’s another misunderstood fact about our eating habits.

How many people tell us that we shouldn’t eat carbs if we really want to lose weight? This line of thought reached almost deafening proportions in the early 2000’s when the Atkins diet almost took the world by storm.

Potatoes and pasta were dirty words, and protein was king!

The realities of this diet soon hit home though and once people found out that this way of eating was not sustainable, the atkins empire crumbled quicker than shortbread under a hammer! In fact, its operations in the UK quickly went bankrupt soon after starting up.

People realised that eating bacon and egg for breakfast was not the magical cure for weight loss, and eating a diet higher in saturated fat was not a particularly great idea!

Carbs have had a reprieve since they are still misunderstood.

Refined carbs like white potatoes, white pasta, white rice, a lot of cereal box products, are not particularly good for you due to the much higher sugar content. This is where carbs get a bad name from.

Substitute those for wholegrain pasta, sweet and new potatoes, brown rice, and more natural cereals such as porridge, and you are all of a sudden on to a winning formula. Slow release energy is king in terms of fat loss and physical performance!

Portion control is vital too. You slam a plate full of carbs in front of someone every meal, and you will put on weight. If you control those carb servings to the size of your fist, then you have the perfect combination of energy and weight control. Most people find this hard, but if you balance your meal properly, its not so hard because you will be eating a healthy serving of protein and vegetables too, so your plate will already be bulked out.

Carbs are your friend and not your enemy-in moderation!!

Another myth of weight loss is that the more calories you cut, the better and the more weight you will end up losing.

One pound of fat equals 3500 calories, so a good idea would be just to get your daily intake by 500 calories, and over seven days, then you will have your magic 3500 calories (7×500).

The problem though with cutting more than that is that your body ends up in “starvation mode”. This is exactly what you do not want to do, as your body will go totally on the defensive.

This process evolved from the early days of man, when food wasnt so plentiful, and it doesnt take long  for your body to start holding on to body fat in any way it can.

When starvation mode starts, then your gets desperate for calories and will take it out of food and drink in all sorts of ways.

In order to keep functioning, your body will also unfortunaltely start to take calories from your hard-earned ultra-efficient lean muscle tissue, this is bad news because it will slow your metabolism down when lean muscle is reduced.

Muscle loss means a slower metabolic rate, which means slowing or completely stalling weight loss, exactly what you do not want to do!

Losing weight TOO QUICKLY is totally the wrong thing to do for a whole host of reasons, and this is why cutting calories too quick and by too many can help you lose more over the first couple of weeks, but will definitely lead to you piling it pack on and more when you begin to eat properly again.

This is the same old story maybe, but it  doesnt make it any less sad, and the more times i see it, the more angry and determined to get people doing their weight loss plan in the correct manner, and not falling for the totally unhealthy way of slimming clubs etc.

There are a lot of myths being exploded all the time by latest science in terms of losing body fat, and we should keep mentioning them on here.

We all know that drinking pop will put weight on us, especially the full sugar versions. In fact, studies have shown that they can contain up to 40% of total calories in some people!

Then we move on to diet pop such as diet coke or pepsi, or diet just about anything!

These WILL NOT help you lose weight and here’s why.

The problem is not with the one calorie but with the artificial sweetener.

The sweetener has been linked to weight gain because it stimulates your taste receptor than senses sweetness in the stomach, Once the stomach expects energy, it stimulates insulin production from the pancreas, which is a very important hormone for increasing body fat.

At the same time, chemicals are sent to the brain and it becomes confused whether it is having calories or not.

As your body gets tricked into whether it is receiving food or not, then your body tends to want to overeat to make sure you are having the required calories!

You will feel hungrier and less full, so the urge to overeat will always be strong.

Artificial sweeteners are 100 times more sweet than normal table sugar. This is very concerning since this makes natural sugars such as fruit quite bitter to some people who slam back sweeteners and products that contain lots of sweeteners.

The more natural you eat, the better. The same with drink. If you have a glass of water, then slice some lemon in it to give it a natural flavouring.

If you had the diet lemonade, you are conditioning your body to all sorts of negative eating emotions, which can be highly damaging to your long term weight control and performance.

Adjusting your eating in the first place to become a healthier, fitter person is one of the hardest, most uncomfortable processes we go through.

Although most of us show great enthusiasm when we say we will and want to change our lifestyle, the actual knuckling down to it all can be much harder than we thought.

Most people who are overweight and unhealthy exist on a diet of high refined sugars and high in saturated fat. This is the ultimate double whammy in becoming the most unhealthy version of yourself, and the bad news is that this way of eating can take a lo of getting used to.

Not only that but those of you who eat a lot of “bad” and “empty” calories (in terms of nutritional value), will usually be prone to drinking a lot of these worthless calories in too.

If you see someone carrying a big bottle of coke or pepsi down the road for instance, then its fairly reasonable to expect them to be overweight.

If you see someone who “calls for a pint” every night or every other night in the pub, then is usually guaranteed they will be overweight, and if not, certainly unhealthy inside which can be even worse.

Since most people who live this lifestyle have been on it most of their lives, then of course it is going to be very difficult indeed to get off this path.

The great news is though that once you leave the path of making yourself extremely unhealthy over the long term, the changes can start happening fairly quickly, and happen much quicker again when you start exercising properly, or just even moving around more.

As I said, the hardest decision is often to change your diet in the first place and get on the right road. I don’t consider the right road to be slimming clubs either, they are the quick path to yo-yo dieting and ultimate failure and self-confidence destruction (scientific studies say that 97% of dieters put the weight back on and 5% more).

Im talking about eating healthy, eating fresh when possible and eating foods as much in their natural state as possible. This is the right road that will eventually take you to ultimate health and a strong standard of fitness.

Are you one of those who is feeling very tired after the long bank holiday weekend? If so, then you are not alone!!

Most people who have not exercised at the weekend will automatically feel more tired yesterday in particular, and maybe today too.

This shows that if you do not move around on a regular basis, then you are not helping your energy levels one bit. Some people think that if they sit around all day, somehow they will have more energy and that exercise is somehow “counter-productive” to their day. This is the ultimate in negative thinking and does by those who are usually way out of shape!

If you listen to the anecdotal evidence from those who exercise on a regular basis, then you will have heard energy only comes from exercising and eating fresh natural food. Most people who exercise regularly are more positive than their sedentary counterparts.

So if you have been one of the more inactive individuals at the weekend, then you should know what i am talking about.

Hopefully, you have got a great workout in over the last two days or even got two workouts in, chances are by now you feel 200% better by now!

Energy is earned by your body and not a god-given right!

Your body will look after itself if you look after it, this is always something to remember the next time you think you should “retire” from exercise. This lack of ambition will get you nowhere, and its time to make that  ”SOMEDAY” happen today in terms of getting into shape, and dumping all that rubbish refined sugar loaded food straight into the black bags and head them straight over to the rubbish dump!!!

Actions speak louder than words so lets make sure you make it happen!!

The revolution in training goes on and some remarkable changes have happened the last few years in particular.

The return of bodyweight training, and the rise and rise of functional training (exercises that have real life meaning) has been fantastic for me, because it what i have done for many, many years and its great to see a lot of people embracing this style of training!

I spoke to an equipment supplier last week and he told me what i already thought-that steppers, cross trainers, treadmills even were on the way out, and that steppers were totally out, and on the way to joining the dinosaurs!!! A lot of companies dont even make steppers anymore!!

I have been banging on for years that these machines should not form the foundation of your training. Steppers in particular don’t offer much value in terms of results, and are an example of a machine doing a lot of the work for you, plus wasting a lot of money.

Treadmills have their place if you are forced to exercise inside, but there are a million other options thats for sure!

If you’re fed up about me talking about  medicine balls, bosu balls, swiss balls etc, then tough! This is the way you should be training for all kinds of amazing results. If you want a strong back, then this is for you. If you want a strong tight stomach, then this way of training is for you, if you want great balance, then this way will work big time for you.

Bottom line is that if you want to be fitter, stronger, better balanced and healthier in every single way, then you have to learn how to handle your own bodyweight and really “find” your body again and its true source of power. This isnt some kind of mystical thing either, its entirely possible and its about time you made it happen!!!

Moods can sometimes dictate your workouts.

I find i have to change my workouts to suit an individual’s mood many times.

For instance, if someone has been all-consumed with work pressures for a week or so, and has a lot on their mind, then a longer run on the beach getting a lot of fresh air will work particularly well for them.

If someone has had a terrible day and comes to our session in a nasty, angry mood, then i find its great to get them hitting sprints on steps, doing a lot of resistance work and hit things at 90 miles an hour! This really gets the job done i find and relieves tension and anxiety like nothing else!

Other types of stress can be relieved with strong bike rides on the coast due to the abundance of fresh air, and relatively low concentration levels required, although its always best not to leave your mind drift too far on a bike!!!

Moods can develop for all sorts of reasons, but if your diet isnt very good, then you are likely to develop moods for NO REASON!! Food can have a very negative effect on your mindset, and foods high in refined sugar in particular will have you up and down like a yo-yo!! Don’t forget that all of these ups and downs will play havoc with your blood sugar too, which is bad news for diabetes of course if carried on for a longer period of time!

Most people i train who eat very well tend to have less dramatic highs and lows than those who do not train and eat poorly.

Managing  your moods is more within your control than you thought!

Getting out of your comfort zone regularly when it comes to your training should be your number one priority but most people are either scared, cant be bothered or don’t know how to change the programme they initially started with the first day they were shown how to train.

This is almost a “silent killer” when it comes to progressing year after year.

Do this experiment-think of all the people you know who regularly exercise and perhaps they have been for many years.

Then think of in terms of a percentage, how many of them have actually IMPROVED year in year out over those years.

If you get 20% you would be lucky.

Then, another experiment for you to try!

If you know a couple of these people well enough to ask, then trying questioning them on how they train, and then ask them on the last time they actually changed anything substantial with their training?

I’m not talking about one or two exercises, I am talking about their speed or tempo of their workout, their rep ranges, the workout frequency, whether they just use weight, just do cardio, mix them both up, and do they do any core stability work, and what lengths do they go to in the core strengthening?

Do they use medicine balls, bosu balls, swiss balls for example, and what variations of these exercises do they use?

If you carry on with this line of questioning and they soon get agitated or fed up that you want to know, or just dismissive saying they are on the “best programme and that’s that”!!! Then you know they are becoming all defensive and they know deep down that they are now unwilling to change at this “late stage” seemingly in their “training career”.

The truth is that everyone needs to change regularly and test themselves in different ways. This not only keeps things fresh and fun, but will give you the regular results and health benefits we are all looking for!

Its amazing to hear how many of you are changing your diet for the better, and not at all missing the “old days” of eating badly, eating fast food and for some, drinking to excess. The change in some of you has been remarkable, not only visual but in attitude and this means total mindset change in many cases.

This proves you are not doing mindless training sessions, you are actually challenging yourselves by taking on new exercises and movements, and reaching new levels of intensity on a regular basis. This is a formula for long term success.

You will also realise by now how important eating is, and how junk food used to make you look and feel.

Where once you may have scoffed at all of those healthy aisles in the supermarket, and you were proud you ate food that simply tasted nice with all that sugar and fat in it, you have turned full circle now!

Now you look with nostalgia at those aisles full of ready meals with a touch of sadness, how your life “used” to be and how much life you missed out on because you were constantly giving your body fatty and sugary foods. Now that you have educated yourself with food, you know how your big energy levels come from, how you are looking leaner, exactly how you are performing so much better with your exercise sessions, and in general, you are far more positive about your life in general!

Change doesn’t happen by accident, if you are successful with your health and fitness programme, then its extremely likely you have a plan and you take action every day to make sure it is implemented.

Those who take action in life are the ones who get things done, and congratulations to those of you who are making it happen!!!

Start of the month and although you may not think it, it is after all MAY!!! Wild winds and rain may be greeting us but this is, in my experience anyway, THE best month when it comes to good weather, sunshine and warmer temperatures!

You may think the rest of the summer is in front of us, and it is, but may is usually the big statement when it comes to announcing the summer to come, or at least giving us a couple of weeks of fantastic weather.

May is also the month when we realise if we have been working hard throughout the winter or not! I have been banging on here all winter long about how much you will appreciate all the hard work gone in…………..by the time may comes around and now we are finally here!

May on the opposite side of the scale is the month when people panic, go on all sorts of crazy diets and try to lose weight very quickly and this means usually TOO quickly. Faddy diets are waiting to steal your hard earned money again, a kind of a “smash and grab” situation that they are used to doing, because they know their diets are not sustainable and this is why their classes go up and down so much.

May is the perfect month for you to put in your calendar so that you can remind yourself how important it is to train all year round, and how it is virtually impossible to get to may and somehow be in shape in two weeks flat! You know it can’t happen secretly and as long as you learn this vital lesson, then you know you will improve from this day onwards.

This is what life is about, constant improvement and looking to better yourself and find ways how you can become a better version of yourself, in all sorts of ways!

Start May well and stay positive for a big summer!!