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So you have decided to start exercise, you really want to do your best with your health for whatever reason that drives you on the most. Most if not all of us have reasons to exercise, most of them admirable.

You may be doing it because the doctor has warned you that you had better get active or else.

It could be because you’re sick and tired of slimming clubs giving you advice that never works long term, and you want to do things properly this time.

It could be because someone asked you whether you had put weight on, looked older, couldn’t fit into your clothes anymore, didnt feel good about yourself anymore, and your self-esteem was at an all-time low.

Whatever your reason, make sure its really important, because when the times of doubt and uncertainty come, you will need to remember why you’re doing this thing called exercise, and why you keep doing a good supermarket shopping trip, and avoid putting all of that chocolate and crisps in your trolley!!

If you are lucky to be attempting to get fit for the first time, then congratulations! There has never been a greater opportunity to get fit and healthy, and hope you don’t get fooled by all the mis-information out there.

If you follow some simple rules then you will not go far wrong.

Number one rule is that if someone promises you something to be good to be true, then it usually is! 30 pounds lost in 30 days is one such promise! Lose 2 dress sizes in 2 weeks is another one. Losing weight without exercising is yet another one, and so on! There’s a million of these out there so you had better keep avoiding all the snakes and charlatans out there!

We will discuss a simple way to reach your goals tomorrow, and what you need to do to be successful with a solid health and fitness plan!!!

We talked last week about how all sorts of artificial food,  how artificial sweeteners etc can really mess your body up (some of them have been banned in the states), mess your stomach up and brain up because your body doesn’t know when it is full or not, and how the food industry is continuing to market foods high in sugar and fat, in fact they are fooling us so much that the government knows we are getting fatter and more overweight each year.

This makes the government think that they need to bring a “fat tax” in to make these foods less attractive to people, because they know the way that high numbers of overweight and unhealthy people in this country are crippling the NHS because of the illness and disease related side effects of these foods.

Smoking has become socially unacceptable now, which I think is a wonderful thing. Smoking is the one very worst thing you can do, destroying vital nutrients in your body.

I think in a few years, eating and drinking rubbish and becoming extremely overweight will be seen as a huge burden to the state, this is why they have to act and act now and the government is taking tentative steps.

I am not against anyone as a person and believe everyone has the right to do anything they like within reason, but when they are pressing the self-destruct button every day, then self-responsibility has to be firmly encouraged, or the burden on the whole country gets overwhelming.

Im staying positive on this and im here to help anyone out of a hole they feel they cannot get out of.

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!!

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!

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!!!