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Tuesday, 21st February

Eating on a budget is one of the topical subjects that needs to be addressed, and just about everyone has thought of, or probably already taken action on, given the very harsh economic climate.

There is good news though, and there are many options. Being careful with your money usually means that you cut out the little treats in your diet, the things loaded with sugar and fat, guaranteed to wreck your energy levels and pile on the body fat over time.

So if you are cutting back financially, the junk snacks need to go right now.

I always encourage everyone to eat plain and more natural, if you’re cutting back, then this needs to happen and again, your biggest beneficiary will be your waistline and hips.

So start off the day with plain oats, which are very cheap if you go for the big bag the supermarket sell, around 75p a kilo. Add water or milk to taste, and this will give you up to 4 hours energy!

Try getting your fruit and vegetables from like likes of Aldis and lidl’s to save money, but they are actually nicer in my experience., and you save a fortune!

If you’re looking at pasta, try the big bag of wholegrain pasta, which keeps it slow release energy, again eat in moderation and you will lose body fat, try making your own tomato sauce for flavouring. Throw a tin of fish in there, mix it up and you have a great meal, and very low in cost compared to the first class nutrition you are getting.

Stir fries are great to make with all that veg, and with a piece of chicken, lean beef or any fish.

The cans of fish are still really cheap, and I consume them a lot. Mackerel, tuna, salmon will fit well into any meal and are a first class protein source you need in main meals.

Drinks are often a source of needless calories and things like diet drinks need to be avoided too, they cost money and not good for you internally. Plain old fashioned water will be zero calories for you, help you actively lose body fat, and give you up to a third more energy, a win win situation.

Don’t bother with supermarket sandwiches, high in fat, salt and sugar, expensive for what you get. Try making your own filled pitta bread wholemeal options. Vegetables and a protein source of your choice will work brilliantly and work perfectly for lunch.

 With a bit of thought, you can eat very well and economically!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 17th February

You are eating well most of the time, you are training okay and you think a lot about how you perform and look, but you may still not be sure that you are improving any more?!!

It may be tedious at times to check your progress, and maybe its time to look at things in a different light?

Every time you run, walk hard, swim hard, cycle hard, you have to realise that with every step forward, you ARE improving because things will be getting easier. You are bringing fresh oxygen into your cells, and your body will be functioning internally far better than it did first thing this morning, and a million times better than if you didn’t do any cardio at all, thats a fact!!!

Every time you eat well , you ARE improving and feeding your body like it derserves to be fed.

You didnt stop off in any one of the fast food places that a lot of people do these days. You did take the trouble to make food from scratch, instead of buying in ready made meals which are full of salt and every preservative under the sun!!! You are fulfilling your body’s potential to be much better and you’re not being one of the crowd that doesn’t care what they eat.

You drink water everyday to  IMPROVE, just think of it like that, if you don’t take enough water onboard, your body won’t function as well as you know it can, keeping hydrated is the single most important thing you can do for your body.

Every time you make your workout happen, you have reached your commitment for that day in terms of exercise.

Whether its struggling to get through traffic, struggling to juggle your time with everyday demands, whether its getting the focus together again to hit the numbers you know you’re capable in your big productive exercises, you finally got there and you will sleep with confidence that you can still improve, whatever your age!!!

EVERY DAY can be regarded as improvement if you look at this differently and keep things in prospective!!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 10th February

If you are exercising hard throughout this very cold period, then you ought to congratulate yourself because you are getting through the hardest time of year, this is the time for those of you who have the courage to “do”.

Not only in weather terms but you have managed to get through to February, which is longer than most of the population who often quit by now after the January surge in dieting and exercise. If you are active now, you have some serious momentum in your life.

Better times are coming with lighter nights, warmer days and even more inspiration for your training simply because “summer is coming”!

The spring and summer is the time when you really hoped you were in good shape. Most people at the end of the summer promise themselves that “next” year will be the summer they finally get into great shape,  and they will be proud to show their body off.

The reality is often quite different unfortunately.

It’s a good idea on a Friday to evaluate how you have been doing, and whether you have come close to achieving your goals? You should be able to know right now whether you have come up short, or have you over-achieved this week and actually taken yourself higher than you thought?!

If you can most fridays, deliver on the promises you made to yourself on a Monday morning, then being in shape is probably a reality for you and a healthy lifestyle an everyday reality that you enjoy.

Dieting on some crazy faddy diet is no fun, never has been and never will be. Plus they never work long term.

Living healthy by eating healthy and training sensibly and often has never been more enjoyable, given all the options we all have in front of us these days.

There is more known about exercise and nutrition these days than ever before, yet according to statistics, most of the population ignores all of this research and never gets active, and constantly fall for all the foods high in sugar and saturated fat, sad but true!

You will discover that living a healthy lifestyle is not being part of the crowd, but more of an individual journey that will develop more and more the further you travel, in age and in health terms.

Its Friday and lets be honest where you are at the end of the week.

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 3rd February

I know i have posted on a lot of different issues regarding health and fitness, there are some i tend to mention more than others.

One of the ones that is very relevant to the month of february is the fact that today in the press, a story was focusing on people’s lack of success in terms of weight/fat loss since christmas, and the lack of success in terms of new year’s resolutions too.

In fact, some papers have christened this month as “FLABRUARY”!!!!

The vast majority of those questioned had failed miserably on their plans to get rid of the christmas weight, not only that but the weight from the previous year too!! People were feeling flat, disappointed, fed up and all the usual negative feelings that leave a lot of us disillusioned.

If you have been following this blog for a while, we always examine why people do not succeed in their “get in shape” plans.

We have gone through a million reasons by now, and we have come to the conclusion that success can only come from sustainable training efforts, sensible healthy eating in smaller portions and at regular intervals, drinking less alcohol, drinking enough water, sleeping well and having a bit of what you fancy occasionally so you don’t go totally mad!!

So expect to see stories such as these in the media all the time. There is no one faddy tactic that’s going to solve the puzzle for you, its a combination of different tried and tested factors that will make the difference in the long term, so being in shape never becomes a struggle again.

Working out for life sounds like a tall order for some, but why not treat every week and day as it comes, try to do your best when you become educated about food, try and not make excuses to exercise, try not to overdo it on the food or booze, try and hit the sack at a decent time in the week and try and stay positive at all times, even when roadblocks come up and test our patience to the full!

Forgot the marketing rubbish you hear daily and let’s put the foundations in place to be very successful with your health full stop!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 2nd February

Hands up who has jacked it in for this very cold spell of weather?

If you did, it probably leads to a pattern of behaviour that has stopped you getting into the shape you’re really capable of.

Did you quit last summer in the really hot spell of weather because it was “too hot” to train?

When it rains, do you find it easier to stay in the house and not do anything?

If your training is governed by the weather, then as I always say, you had better write off nine months of the year. This will be a serious obstacle to getting into any kind of good physical condition!

This type of weather usually dictates who you will see out exercising too. The coastal paths in mumbles, Swansea marina, Llanelli and burry port are always full on a nice day, full of individuals or groups dressed in the latest workout gear, and this is to be applauded.

Week’s like these though when it is brutally cold always sort out who’s serious about their training and who’s not. Im not trying to make some kind of “we are better than you because we train in the freezing cold” comment either (I actively encourage everyone to exercise as many of you know), its just that you need to realise that the weather REALLY DOES NOT and should not make a difference to your ability to train.

One less excuse is always welcome and the weather seemingly is a big excuse for many.

Your inside options in terms of workouts should really be firing on all cylinders now, and when you do resistance/strength training like you would inside, your levels of body hardness and staying lean in general should be at their highest.

What I like about inside workouts as well is that they are measurable.

5 press ups in week one can easily turn into 30 press ups in week 6, and this along can lead to a difference not only in performance, but in terms of results of course.

If you never measure your performance, then how do you know you’re improving. Most people have not got a great memory so this is why its vital you write things down, especially in your early stages of training experience.

When you write things down, your goals will become much more real and you will be focused much more on every workout, because you know the pressure will always be on to try and improve.

Use this weather as an opportunity, rather than an immovable object that stops you in your tracks!!

Twitt