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Thursday, 30th January

Working as a team is always better when it comes to your family’s eating habits.

I see both sides of the fence, I train a lot of teenagers and I train a lot of parents, and they can both blame each other for their eating habits.

Your parents buy the food, they make the food and they actually put the plate in front of the kids in most cases. So the parents decide everything?

According to latest statistics this is not true, more and more teenagers are heavily influencing the family shopping, whether in the supermarket or through online shopping for groceries.

Over 50% of teenage girls contribute heavily to the eating choices, and a third of boys will say loud and clear what the foods should be in the household.

It doesn’t stop in the supermarket, most parents when surveyed said the kids were most influential when it comes to choices for fast food, snacks when they are out and restaurant choices.

So when teenagers say they have no control of what their parents give them, research says that if they keep telling their parents that they really want, then well made tasty healthy food with a bit of imagination should become a reality, as the parent is likely to eventually cooperate for the benefit of everyone in the family.

So if you are a teenager who is looking to get fitter and healthy, you had better keep on to your parents. The parent will be confused because for years you may have told them that you want Mcdonalds or pizza, or fish and chips and they got used to providing those foods that made you happy.

So changing your choices takes a while for the whole family to sink in.

If you are the parent, then usually you have got used to those “little treats” too, as you usually will get stuck in yourself! So change for you may be hard too!!

This is why when the teenager suddenly discovers that they really would like to be fit, healthy and strong, the parent needs to be completely onboard and live a healthy lifestyle themselves.

Expecting your child to be eating good nutritious food, while you’re stuffing yourself big time on sugary and fatty foods sets a terrible example, and will lead to a much big struggle in your child being successful.

Work as a team and the whole thing is much more likely to work!

Twitt
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Tuesday, 28th January

We are nearly at the end of January, and have been doing a succession of measurements already.

The toil of a hard January is starting to bear fruit now, with those who have put the work in surprising themselves to the upside in terms of body fat lost, lean muscle tissue gained and a lower stronger heart rate.

We have had some people improve their blood pressure dramatically, as well as other health-related issues that can be improved a great deal through exercising regularly, and changing one’s eating around to make sure good natural foods comes in on a regular basis.

Most people forget that we are really exercising for health as the primary reason, and not for vanity. If you structure your exercise and eating programme so you think of how your body is improving internally, then your outside visual image will take of itself.

The goal is to be healthy inside and out surely?

This is why just weighing scales are a poor barometer on your overall health. For example, most women I train are very volatile with their weight when its time of the month, some putting up to 5 pounds on during a few days, then losing it once it is over.

Also, we encourage training that is going to improve and support lean muscle tissue (which raises your metabolism and keeps you burning fat 24 hours a day), so this will definitely affect your weight on the scales.

This is why I measure body fat properly, and don’t rely on some gimmicky scales that “claims” to measure weight and body fat at the same time. It simply cannot be done accurately, not a chance!

Getting measured is vital and we are just having all our early January results come through.

Knowing where you are is vital so you can chart your future progress, and you know how much you have to do to get there.

Twitt
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Sunday, 19th January 2014

The so called “ideal body” is always on our tv’s, internet and magazines. These images will always pressure us to be as good looking as possible, have a six pack, and as be lean as possible.

There are two big problems with this-all of us come born into this world in all different shapes and sizes, and I know girls who look great at 12 stone, and I know girls who look overweight at 9 stone, it all depends on the way you are made and this is why I despise faddy diets, that purely rely on your weight as a guide to your physical wellbeing and condition.

They make all these “ideal body” photographs these days from sophisticated photoshop software packages available on all computers these days.

These ideal bodies are not real, you can erase poor complexions, thighs and bums can be slimmed down by a couple of clicks, you can make hair look glossier and fuller, so what you are seeing are “created” versions of a person.

These photos create real problems for teenagers and especially those in the early 20’s.

From the age of 12 to 13, you are likely to add 25% more body fat on to your body until you are fully grown. This is why we NEVER weigh under 18’s, because you are going to weigh heavier and heavier anyway, and this is part of your natural development.

So just as most people are getting bigger, the “skinny is beautiful” message is hitting you loud and clear. This is when negative body images become very real because you think you are doing something wrong.

The facts are that what the media is telling you is WRONG and NOT REAL.

Blokes don’t get away with it either, how many times have you been told by magazines that you need a bigger chest and arms, that you need to “bulk up” and get “ripped them same time?!!! This is why an increasing number of teenagers and young men take steroids and spend endless hours in the gym thinking more is better.

This never ends well!

What about protein shakes? There is a huge cult of youngsters think that by simply taking these shakes, you will get your body of your dreams!! This is down to false marketing by the protein making firms, “before and after” photos that are grossly exaggerated and a lot of lies spread by the shops and internet firms selling these.

Protein shakes can work, but only when you diet is already good, and you are training really hard and consistent, and even then getting into great shape takes a long consistent period of doing everything right.

How many ads do you see when beautiful people, with great skin and bodies are skipping down the road laughing and giggling all the time, like their life is fun

ALL the time, then you wonder why your life isn’t like that all the time?

Then you may think, that if you are as lean, as tanned then you would be popular and happy go lucky too and have a great life?

This is exactly what the advertisers WANT you to think!

What all this means is that you are comparing yourself to a fantasy, and you are never going to reach this goal which DOES NOT even EXIST!

Maybe its time to stop buying these fashion mags or watching these online sites, and focus on who you are on the INSIDE!

Your body is only ONE part of you, and you have a million other things to offer.

Of course its great to want to look good, dress your best and have a good appearance, this is what we promote after all.

I try to do the same myself (with varying results!) but I also like a beer once a week, ice cream now and again and I don’t spend hours a day obsessing about exercise and starving myself all week to allow me to do that!

So its great to want to look your best, but the images of role models you see in the media only exist in the computer of the professional who is using photo shop packages, so accept where you are, who you are and set realistic healthy goals that you CAN reach AND look your very best!

Your results will be much more long lasting!

Twitt
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Saturday, 18th January

Everyone wants to feel better about themselves, and most people I have dealt with at the beginning think that they have to change how they LOOK so that they can feel good about themselves.

This is the biggest mistake they make because they never actually get the whole story and concentrate too much on looks.

If you change your attitude towards your body-not changing your body-is one key element to feeling a lot better about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you can do what it takes to get more out of yourself in terms of your body fat levels and your health as a whole.

The next question is how can you go about doing that?

How can you change your body image?

How can you stop feeling so bad about the way you look?

The first thing to realize is that your body image is influenced by many areas of your life.

For example, how about the negative comments and teasing from school, work colleagues or your family even? These can seriously hurt your body image and make you feel terrible about your appearance.

What about the media? How about all those bodies that are too thin and make you believe that THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG with you just because you are not that small when it’s probably not even possible to be that small without getting ill!

What about the way you talk to yourself about your body. Talking internally to yourself and constantly putting yourself down will take its toll over the short and long term and set yourself up for failure.

If you have parents who think negatively about their own bodies, then their influence tends to rub off on you creating yet another damaging role model on the way you think you should treat your body and health.

If you can realize right now that all these examples may be working against you, then this is the first step. Now you HAVE to do something about it!

More Monday.

Twitt
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Wednesday, 8th January

I have already got through an awful lot of measurements with individuals in 2014, and the range of emotions has been dramatic.

My easiest measurements were the ones who trained all the way through Christmas, some even hit personal bests through the holiday period, and to actually improve substantially during Christmas is staggering!

My toughest measurements were the ones who stopped training perhaps 3-4 weeks before Christmas, and ate much more than usual, didn’t train, and some drank too much alcohol a few times a week.

When you are measuring someone all year long and they get used to dramatic results every four weeks, then to undo a chunk of that progress can floor someone who has become to regular victories in their training challenges.

The psychological let down usually makes people go one of two ways.

Either they stand up and fight, and really promise themselves that they are going to eat well again, get right back into regular training, cut right down on alcohol, and although there is a tough month to get through, that they are going to stick with it and make big inroads on the excess body fat they have gained.

Most people can’t stand feeling all the extra weight on them again anyway, especially after feeling so fit and well at their peak only weeks before Christmas, so its usually a matter of simply wanting to feel their best again anyway!

However, some people take it really badly, and a lot of the hard won confidence levels they developed through successive positive physical improvement can be damaged.

This is when the individual concerned needs a mixture of big emotional support from friends and family, from myself and regular exercise to get their body remembering how good it felt to be at their best.

The support system for the individual is all important, and will make the difference between long term sustainable success, or becoming someone who once did well, but loses self-esteem and hits a long slippery slope when body fat gain becomes the norm, and one’s self-worth hitting an all time low.

This is exactly the time of year to stand up and fight, really accept you do not want to feel overweight, unfit and lacking in ambition.

Really, whatever your situation, this is exactly the time to stop talking about it and get on and change yourself right now, because all of you have the resources and power to change and reach your absolute potential once again!

Twitt