Friday, 2nd August

Catherine’s comment again that “everybody seems to be on protein shakes the days” is a very relevant one, because protein shakes seem to be very much in vogue at the moment and have been for a while.

The problem comes when something seems like the the all encompassing “saviour” and its all in a shake, which makes things a lot easier for many people.

You don’t have to cook anymore at certain times of day, you will feel full for a while longer than your traditional shake, which often contains simple sugars just to make the shake taste better.

Protein shakes actually work too! They will make you feel full, they will discourage snacking needlessly, and they will give some people stability when they are all over the place with their eating habits.

So these can be big positives for a lot of people in the busy lives we all seem to live these days.

The only problem comes when people go back to eating properly, and by that I mean proper food and real meals.

If you rely just on protein shakes, then you are not really learning how to eat properly for a lifetime, there are no learning processes such as which foods work well for you, and which foods are full of hidden sugars and fat but you don’t realize it yet.

I know people who take protein shakes for a few weeks, lose weight and then say they will never come off them, but I can assure you THEY DO! Then if you come off them and as I said eat real food, then the whole trap of losing weight and piling it all back on happens all over again!

Summing it, protein shakes can be a viable tool, but use them as a balance in your day and week, don’t let them become an overwhelming factor.

Protein shakes are a million times better than the charlatans who sell other powdered drinks and bars, such as herbalife, lighter life who create longer term misery, but there is no magic solution out there apart from eating sensibly and using portion control so you don’t overeat.

Everything must balance and you need to adopt a longer term sustainable plan.

Wednesday, 31st July

Two obsessions with people trying to lose weight that can be counter-productive, are how many calories you burn in each workout and how many calories you take in during the day.

Two examples of a workout can bring surprising results would be the following.

If you just do 300 calories of work on a stationery bike, and then you do 300 calories walking on a treadmill, then obviously this should lead to a 600 calorie workout.

If you worked out hard with weights with real intensity, and you did some boxing afterwards, you may only burn 400-500 calories.

So which one best? Both I have to say are very good for you!

In terms of OVERALL calorie burn, it is easy.

Aerobic only type of workouts such as the bike and treadmill will burn extra calories when you stop exercising for 12 extra hours.

Weight bearing and higher intensity exercise will burn calories when you stop exercising for a further 36-48 hours!!

So you can see which one gets your metabolism going higher and for longer.

The same with your food. You can eat a curry and a pint of lager a day only and take in 1200 calories.

If you take in a higher quality of food and drink, such as fruit, whole grains, vegetables, lean protein sources such as chicken, fish etc, then you can easily take in 1800 calories and still look far better, and feel better too!

So you can see its about the quality of your calorie burn, and your calorie intake will make ALL the difference!!!

Tuesday, 30th July

Those of you who spend a lot of time on the road will realize that its not always easy to eat well on the road.

In fact, if you rely on just stopping in places to find your meal every time you’re hungry, you are very likely to be eating a lot more saturated fat and refined sugar than you ever thought.

The individuals who I have trained over the years who have constantly worked away, have been the ones who have struggled with their weight, struggled with their performance and in general have been less than happy with their existence of “life on the road”.

I have seen turnaround situations happen though quite easily, as long as the individual was willing to spend more time preparing their meals and snacks before getting in the car.

Most hotels these days have a fridge, and this is an ideal place to store most of your ingredients for the week.

For example, let’s say you are used to eating sandwiches in petrol stations of supermarkets, then if you do this more or less every day, then you will never be in the shape you really want. You will often feel lousy during the day, and the last thing you will feel like after a hard day is have a tough workout!

Instead, if you packed your fridge or cooler box with fruit, wholemeal bread or wholemeal pitta, then no butter or margarine, no mayo or salad cream, put some tins of mackerel or tuna, make a cooked chicken before you go away, and you can pick away on this for sandwiches and snacks for most of the week.

Make sure you have a big bottle of water by your side for much of the week, just buy one and keep filling it up overnight, and stash it in the fridge ready for the next day.

Cottage cheese, low sugar low salt tins of beans can be example of ingredients for good snacks and meals.

If you have access to a microwave, then even better because you can use it for two minutes to heat up your porridge first thing in the morning or sometimes tea time just before a big workout.

Please don’t rely on pre-prepared packaged foods to get you in shape because it will not, simple as that!

Preparation is everything and you CAN be in great shape on the road, but it does take far greater planning!

Monday, 22nd July

It’s officially holiday season now for most as schools have just about finished for the summer, and many work places are going to be off soon, or more or less in shut down mode.

Personally, I have already had people who have been away and are now back from their holiday.

The biggest problem this week is the tiredness from the return journey to get themselves up for the exercise part, and to wean themselves off all the excess sugar and fat they had on holiday.

This week then is ultra-important for getting back into the habits you had before you went away.

In my experience, if you don’t get back into it this week in eating terms, then you are going to take a long time to get back to where you were before you went away.

Taste buds are always changed on holidays, and getting back to plainer foods is a real shock to the system this week, but if you don’t do it, then the next few weeks are going to be a big struggle for you. Just think that if you commit yourself to eating well just for this week after a holiday, then you will be back to your best sometimes in just two weeks. Either that or you will have the rest of the summer carrying all those extra pounds that you didn’t want, and you will be too afraid to take your top off in the sun!

This is why I try to impress upon you the importance of keeping a good structure in your eating, and how vital it is to get right back into that schedule again that you very likely lost on your holiday!

You will look and feel a whole lot better, and your performances in your workouts will soon again be top drawer!!!

Thursday, 18th July

We talked this week about how to eat, what to eat and how often.

What we didn’t discuss is why and what this pattern of eating will achieve for you.

If you are heavily involved in sports performance, then you will be very keen to recover as soon as possible, and prepare properly before your upcoming workouts.

There are two states your body can be in.

Anabolic state is the one where your body is thriving, ready to grow and recover quickly. This is an ideal state to be in, and for those of you looking to perform at your best, and keep on improving at regular intervals.

Catabolic state is where your body is not energized at all, your lean muscle tissue breaks down, you feel weak at times, and you will suffer from inconsistent performances. It doesn’t take a genius to say that you need to avoid this state.

Eating every 3-4 hours not only keeps you fuller for longer, it keeps your energy levels high, keeps your metabolism going at an elevated rate, and gets you into the desired anabolic state.

Eating regular will keep you away from having big binges on food, stop you overeating at certain times due to longer periods without food, and generally let you have a very healthy relationship with food, and helping you stay in control of your nutrient intake.

So you can see that having a healthy, regular pattern of food intake will make you far closer in terms of the habits of pro athletes, and all of this will help you reach your potential FAR SOONER than if you had not taken your nutritional habits as seriously.

Having a professional approach will deliver the results you have always wanted but never knew how to get!