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March 1st-start of the year for many!!

March 1st is a big boost to all of us, January and February are traditionally the darkest months and when our motivation is lowest. It is usually quite high in early January after the new year resolutions, but by February, everything slips back into the status quo and a gloom seems to set over everyone.

March 1st signifies new possibility with spring coming and everything seeming fresher.

So now that perhaps unrealistic expectations made on January 1st are seemingly over, its time to get some real plans together and stop kidding yourself you can eat all those weight watchers biscuits and still stay lean, you really can’t.

The sooner you realise that most diet organisations have got their own greedy agendas for selling you their products and versions of food, then the quicker you progress, start eating good proper food and actually start saving some cash on all those empty promises.

From the weight watchers biscuits and ready meals, to the slimmers world green and red days, to the lighter life £75 a week you will need to spend buying all their shakes and snacks. Of course you’re going to lose some weight, sometimes a lot, but as the media has shown this week, most if not all of those examples they use have put all the weight on and usually 5% more on your body that you never had even in the first place.

Here’s a challenge for you this week, visit the supermarket and try to only go down the aisles that will help you out big time physically and in terms of health.

Go down the fruit and vegetables section, in fact spend most time here, and start learning how to cook again using good fresh ingredients and GET USED TO IT, its not a fad, ITS GOING TO WORK FULL STOP.

Also get some lean meats in there, chicken, turkey, lean beef and get some fish in too, mackerel, tuna, salmon etc, lets make this a staple of your diet.

Make sure there’s some good carbs in there too, wholegrain and wholewheat pasta, brown rice, jacket, new and sweet potatoes, porridge etc, if the quality is good, then you’re going to look and feel good so lets give it your best!!!

Twitt
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Day 67 Never give up/ride out the storms!

The confirmation when someone improves so much that it takes your breath away always makes this job all the more satisfying. I have had many times when individuals have come down 5-6 dress sizes and the funny thing is, you are less surprised right at the end at the amazing progress for a very good reason.

The hardest thing in any programme is getting people over the biggest challenges along the way.

An individual will always improve at the start, as exercising, eating well and sleeping better will always create a positive result. When the challenges come up, some bigger than others, its at that exact time that you need to hold firm and stick to your principles.

For example, if someone had started off well, it is a shock when their eating come off their rails and they think it is the end of the world. There are many people who post on here who that has happened to, but have come back so strong the next week it is truly inspiring!! This has been fantastic and even inspiring for myself!

The doubt is in the mind and people often doubt their ability to carry on at times. The ability to stick at it and come through the other side is invaluable, and adds so much to self-belief it can be incredible.

We all want to take the easy way out, the quick fix, the faddy diet that ultimately doesn’t work and screws your metabolism up. We have all been through that, and thats why i do my best to encourage all of you not to taker that route that many take.

The facts are that less people travel the path we  are treading because it’s a little bit harder to follow to begin with. The rewarding part though is that for the long term and the rest of your life, it is the most viable and most productive.

Of course, none of us are perfect and all of our weight’s will go up and down. However, if we adopt the approach as i have said around ten million times already on here, eating well 80% of the time, allowing ourselves a treat here and there, we will be making substantial gains over the short and longer term.

It is heartbreaking to see people like Chris who did amazingly well to start with doubt his progress after getting a job away. Hope his programme is back on course and he’s overcome the challenges he had. It’s heartening to see jean reach former glories despite having many headwinds against her at times. She has now overcome them, and all credit to her for making a diary of her ups and downs, i have found that truly valuable for my experience and increased ability to help others in the future.

 We are all learning, and that includes me, and if we don’t we get left behind. It heartens me that people are still as enthusiastic to train at 5am, everyone asks me if its a hardship to get up at 4am every day, really its not when you consider you have some people enthusiastic to see me at 5am, that means a lot to me and keeps me fired up to reach new standards of service in my business.

In fact, i have never called it work (what i do), its something i really enjoy every day and read about every day in my spare time even. One of the best sayings i ever heard was that if you love what you do for a living, you never work another day in your life. What a statement, but very true!!

Will get a new recipe posted later!

Twitt
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Day 59

Choosing which workout is right for you is one thing, but always looking for the “magic fix” is another.

 I frequently have questions on which exercise equipment or exercise dvd is best, and the answer i usually give is that you’re lucky to find something that works in this world of gimmicks and workouts with “celebs”, which often have little or no foundation to them, as often these same “celebs” are seen weeks or months later having piled back on all the weight and more!

One such question this week was on the power plate, or standing on a “vibration machine” would be the plainest way on describing it. You can pay a lot of money to use one of these machines in some gyms or “health clubs”, and you will undoubtedly be peddled the same old marketing information on them, hearing that old favourite “madonna uses it”, that famous football club uses it and so does that famous film star!

 The reality is that madonna is on her 6th trainer, and she goes with some kind of “new” training routine all the time, but her weight training and cardio work (running etc) never changes, she likes re-inventing herself so much that she has to mention another revolutionary way of training, once a year usually that maybe forgotten about next year!

This is all great and the marketing campaigns get that little bit more elaborate each year, but here’s get down to some facts before some of these “establishments” take even more of your hard earned money out of your pocket.

The official university studies on most of these products (and there are many different ones) conclude that there is NO MORE BENEFIT of working on these machines than regular, conventional methods. I repeat this again, not one percentage more than doing your normal workouts!

I’m not saying they are bad, but its time to stop looking for that “missing link” in your training, that “sliver bullet” that will sort everything out once and for all, IT DOES NOT EXIST.

The missing link is actually, and this is actually true,  you taking control of your programme, knuckling down to some hard work, forgetting about all those “fancy gadgets”, not falling for the sales person’s talks in these “health clubs” and spending that money on something that will actually do you some good! I say health clubs in inverted commas because they are usually little more than money making machines designed to get you on longer term contracts, and using latest national statistics, they really bet on the fact you won’t turn up most of the time.

We have touched on this before, why do they try and get 6000 members, if they are lucky to get 100 people in that gym at any one time!! If you work out the numbers, they are betting that 1% of their membership turns up at any one time, that is scandalous!!

I love the way these sales people say the latest mircale machine will increase your metabolism, your heart rate, your muscle tone, Gosh I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT BEFORE! Isn’t this what ALL exercise does anyway and aren’t they using every technique in the book to get you to sign on the dotted line!! To sign that contract that you have paid for so many sessions or even a year or two, once they have your money they have done their job, its time to get wise to all of this and see through all of these “cowboy” salespeople, because that’s what they are, most have never set one foot in the actual gym……ever, or least they don’t look as if they have ever trained, with no knowledge thrown in, this can be a very worrying situation for the newcomer to exercise!!

All the information you need to get into great shape is on here, its based on improving your programme most weeks, its about eating sensibly, little and often, sleep well and keeping a very positive approach in everything you do, in short, its about results and being the best you can be! It’s not about ripping you off in money terms, its about staying with a programme that will stand the test of time, and will be as good in 20 years time  as it is now, long after all these dreaded gym sales people are in their “other career’s”, whatever that may be but it probably will have nothing to do with improving your health, unless they get a lot more education and actual experience! They ought to try that sometime?!!

You can see i’m steamed about it, but i try to put people right and protect you from the con artists of this world, and believe me there’s a lot of “fly by nights” in the health and fitness world.

Please do the right thing, and follow common sense when trying to get fitter, healthier and more positive in your attitude to your life and those around you.

Hope day 59 is flying for you and your workout has been a huge one today! You’re doing it through hard work and doing it through tried and tested ways can be much more satisfying, plus you will keep getting amazing results, long after all the faddy machines have come and gone!

Twitt
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Day 58

How’s your daily strategies going?

Are you filling up your plate with vegetables at every opportunity?

Are you eating white meats, leaner beef and plenty of fish?

How about your fruit intake? Is there always a constant supply in the house?

Are you eating wholemeal bread, or wholemeal pitta bread? Have you made this change yet?

Are you have whole grains in your day, such as brown rice and wholegrain/wholewheat pasta?

Are you eating as a family together? It’s a great way to educate the rest of the family on what they should be eating, and to introduce difference vegetables mixed in with other foods.

Are you volunteering to cook? You can’t expect to impose a healthy eating regime and have it all literally put on plate for you! Contribution is the kitchen is vital, plus you can see that your food is being prepared in the right way.

Is there still tempting food in the cupboards or the fridge? You know it’s always going to be eaten at sometime in the future, you don’t need temptation in front of you every day!

If you have a family, are you helping them to learn about food, and the importance of eating properly, and the way it will make them look and feel in the future? This can be of enormous help to them, if it’s not done in a patronising way of course!

Are you avoiding butter and margarine on your bread, this is an easy way to save 100-200 calories in a sandwich, plus save your arteries from work extra hard every day!

How’s your drinking going (alcohol)? If you are drinking in the week, you’re not likely to be successful and your body’s fat burning will be largely shut down!

Are you sleeping properly? This is one of the most underestimated areas of your programme, try getting to bed early in the week and your performances will be good, if not they are likely to be mediocre, your choice!

Are you drinking enough water? If you are, notice how good you feel during that period of time after you have drunk it, relying on teas and coffee actually dehydrates you, and can make you very irritable, 3 cups of either are the maximum before their benefits decrease sharply!

How’s you salt intake? Truly the silent killer, salt in your food means you are pushing up your blood pressure, and you will see significant differences too if you don’t add salt when cooking, tough for about a week or so but after this time, you will learn to actually TASTE your food again, this is a must believe me so throw it out now if you want good health!

These strategies are tried and tested and will help you be very successful, give them a go!

Twitt
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Day 51 Use your imagination and let’s mix it up!

Day 51

One of the reasons why some people give up and some people keep with their exercise programmes is down to flexibility and variety. I’m not talking about stretching or anything such thing, I’m talking about being flexible with your workouts, and if you can’t do your scheduled workout, then do a variation of what you were aiming to do in the first instance.

For example, if you were planning to run for 30-40 minutes, and somehow you only had 10-15 minutes, and were still focused on great progress, I would rush over to the nearest most vicious looking hill, and hammer 6 sprints forwards, and 6 sprints backwards, each for a total of 30 yards of so. If you go flat out, you WILL get a great workout in!

Jean asked about interval training, should she do it? I think Jean already knows the answer, of course you should jean and show everyone what you can do! I always say that most people are only limited by their imagination when it comes to training variety.

Jean is talking about interval training, which could be described easily as jogging between one lamppost, then sprint the next post, then jog the next, then sprint the next one and so on. Now THIS is a workout that you will struggle to last more than 5 minutes each time, it is that intense!

Now we are starting to use our minds for our workouts, please don’t end up like some mindless zombie doing boring treadmill runs all the time, PLEASE, PLEASE vary it, not only because it brings great results doing different workouts, but freshens up your mind too!

One word of caution before doing ANY type of sprint work. In my experience, it is always advisable to do some kind of warm up before you sprint flat out, the always present threat of pulling a hamstring or groin never goes away, and the more weight you carry, the bigger danger there is. I’m not being prejudiced there, I’m just saying that I’ve done a million sprint sessions, and although you will get massive benefits from the session, the goal should also be not to get injured, in which case you probably wouldn’t run for a month at least!

The different ways of training are literally endless, and although you must still have a good structure in place, any type of workout is good as long as it’s safe and you’re capable of doing it. The more experienced you are, the more options you should have and as you should realise by now, it’s not simply a case of training for longer the fitter you are, that’s simply not true. It’s about doing “higher quality” training sessions in the time to suit you, and as long as you are improving physically, that’s a great sign surely you are doing all the right things.

Always stick to your fitness standards and we all have our benchmarks on how we are doing. Most people training with me may have a very tough hill as a benchmark, if they can do that consistently, they know they are in great shape. If you can do 40 press ups in one go, and your new limit is just 25, you know you have been slipping and you need to re-examine what you’re doing.

Being in shape physically and mentally can be easier than you think, as long as you know what your good standard in life is, and you try your best to stay there, even through the highs and lows that life often brings.

Twitt