Thursday, 27th September

These are choices that are going to work for you, these are real foods, no shakes, no bars, no faddy diets, these are real everyday choices that will strip body fat off, make you stronger and leaner, as well as keeping you very healthy on the insides too, which is vital! This is very sustainable and will positively contribute to your healthy lifestyle!!

 

Portion size for protein and carbs should be the size of your fist as a general rule, have as much vegetables as you like. This will make sure you do not overeat.

 

Try and avoid any packet or jar sauces, do not cook with salt or add salt to your meal (encourages blood pressure), and try to keep your ingredients as natural as possible for maximum results!!!

 

You can use these for lunch times, and for your evening meal.

Chicken breast with 100g pitta bread, add a serving of salsa and a serving of salsa-489 calories

Chicken breast, a serving of lettuce, 100g of boiled potatoes, 100g asparagus, plus 2 dates to finish-437 cals

A good piece of salmon, sweet potato, 100g of spinach, 10g of peas and nectarine to finish-423 finish

Piece of turkey,  50g brown rice, 100g broccoli, 100g carrots and an orange afterwards-402 cals

125g lean roast chicken without skin, 225g new potatoes, 100g butternut squash, brushed with tsp olive oil baked, 60g peas, 100g dark leafy greens, 50g home made rice, apricot but stuffing, 5tsp pan juices made into a sauce with a little wine

631 cals, 21g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 45.7g protein, 68g carbs

Thin sliced turkey breast, one tablespoon cranberry sauce warmed in small bowl for 30 secs, pour sauce over turkey. Serve with brown rice and broccoli-455 calories

I medium baked potato or sweet potato with 100g cottage cheese and tomato and cucumber-160 cals

1medium wholemeal roll, 100g tomato, good slice of 100g turkey breast plus some strawberries and low fat natural yoghurt-393 cals

Grill and lean cut of steak how you like it, squeeze the juice from half a lime over the meat and sprinkle pepper and garlic powder. Then slice and serve with brown rice and salsa-393 cals

Grill any fish with a selection of steamed veg-100 cals and that’s a ton of veg!!

100g haddock 81, mackerel 220 canned salmon 153, try with lemon and potato

Smother a grilled, skinless chicken breast with a freshly squeezed lemon, either a jacket potato or boiled potatoes with it-303 cals

Brown rice salad with beans and asparagus-263 cals

In small saucepan, mix one can of chicken broth, a sliced grilled chicken breast, a 50g portion of cooked barley and a handful of your mixed veg. heat for 5 mins.-400g

Tuna salad-drain a can of tuna in brine, place tuna in bowl and mix one tsp of very light mayo if you have to and some juice from a lemon. Pile tuna on top of lettuce and serve with a portion off fruit. This is a light meal with plenty of good stuff throughout the meal.

Pasta and tuna salad-50g of wholemeal pasta, 100g of carrots, 100g of tomatoes, 100g cucumber, a can of tuna in brine and apple to finish-373 cals.

For further information please go to www.kerimckibbin.co.uk

Or telephone 07968 980808

Wednesday, 26th September

As time goes by, technology allows us to do everything faster, more conveniently, and achieve a lot more in a record amount of time!

This has been proved to me yet again by two completely different training clients this week.

One is a 16 year old boy, who has already been training 5 years with me, and has gone from a very overweight young man, hating sport, to someone who has become very accomplished in exercise terms, is now very lean and pacy, and has reached national level in one of  his chosen sports, he plays three different sports now, and none of them rugby or foootball!!!

He has become very organised now, and now keeps training diaries and records of everything he does.

He told me the other day that he finds this whole process fascinating, purely because of the staggering progress he has made over the 5 years. He was shocked to see how he is training now, compared to the light and basic programme he had to start! He now realises that he can get in shape in a very quick period of time! He trains 5 times a week for 25 mins a time, and that’s it!!

This is how technology can work for you!

Then the other individual is someone who used to be fit and healthy, but now has several issues with his health and life in general.

He tried to get fit on his own, doing the same things he did when he was 20. It turns out he can’t do any of those things anymore, and he came to me in desperation, realising  even at 45 years of age, his body couldn’t move in any way like he used to, and he panicked about it!!

Six weeks on, he feels alive again! He is moving better, stronger, leaner and finally getting control of his diet, realising that whatever goes into his body will have a direct effect on the way he looks and feels!!

Best of all he says, exercising 4 times a week for 40 mins a time suits his lifestyle, and all the new moves and exercises are a tiny sacrifice to get him feeling young and healthy again.

Exercise doesn’t have to be all grunt, using your brain can make the whole process a lot more enjoyable and dramatically speed up your process!!!

Friday, 21st September

Finishing off the week well is just as important as starting it well!

This is when your balance in terms of your training week becomes all important.

I have this conversation all the time with people, what workouts to do and when, and this can make a huge difference to one’s improvements and the speed of progress.

For instance, i have the question “which exercise is the best one to  do?”, or “i don’t want to get too bulky from weights”, or “i go to spinning classes, isn’t that all i need?” or “we discussed in work the best exercise we should do and we decided it should be running”!!!!

Let’s get after these questions and answers straight away so you don’t make the same mistakes as these people may have done!

First of all, there is not ONE exercise that’s the best, or one exercise that will get you into shape quicker than anything else, it just can’t happen that way. The answer i give to these people is that EVERYTHING is need to get into great shape, and to work your body in as many ways as possible.

You need to do your weight training/resistance training AND your cardio (running/walking/cycling etc) AND your balance/core work involving bosu balls, swiss balls, balance pads, rollers etc. You can do some speed and agility work, rope exercise, the list is endless really and will definitely make sure you do not get bored, so you’re constantly moving on.

You WILL NOT get bulky from weights, it doesn’t happen unless you eat vast quantities of food and take steroids, so fear not.

Spinning is great fun, we do plenty of it in the gym, so i am a big fan, but its only PART of your programme. Using spinning exclusively will not get you into your best shape, use it wisely but only a small part of the big picture.

If you think running IS the best exercise, then what happens if you have a bad back? Or bad ankles or feet? Or you simply cannot run for whatever reason? I have taught many people to run properly but again, it’s only part of the big picture, and you should divide your efforts between lots of different forms of training.

This way, you get maximum results, maximum variety, never get bored and you consistenly get fitter, stronger and healthier!!

Thursday, 20th September

What a great subject contributors leighton and jean have brought up and discussed!

They talked about yesterday about the merits of fasting, and once again its getting popular, on some non-scientific notion that you clean your system out by fasting, and SOMEHOW, you get your body ready to drop weight quicker by the fact that your body is empty and will “therefore” take the new good food “better” and get the weight loss system moving quicker.

As a coincidence, a client of mine recently was given the hard sell on a cruise she has just come back on. I informed her that this method has no scientific proof, none whatsoever. I then asked her how much this so called seminar cost her? She said it was free but they did try to sell her drinks such as the ones you talked about, liquid meals and shakes that would somehow transform you into some kind of body beautiful!!!

The fasting and then shakes diet has never really gone away, and takes several different forms and they are all around us.

Number one on the list of shake diets is lighter life, number one as in giving you false claims about how it will affect you.

Sure that the birds of a feather star pauline quirke will have lost seven stone and well done to her. The problem begins when she starts to eat properly again, and the piling of the weight happened to her co-star in the same show, while she was following another faddy and dangerous diet. Hope it doesn’t happen to her but studies say that 97% of diets DO NOT WORK!!!!

You cannot live on 200-400 calories a day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the fasting period am i right?!!

Then when you take the shakes onboard, they may claim that you are taking onboard a few hundred calories but please consider this!!!

The NHS and any doctor will tell you that any calories under 1200, thats TWELVE HUNDRED will be considered as being MALNOURISHED!!!!

Imagine spending up to £40o a month on shakes and bars, only to be putting your health in serious danger!!!

This subject gets me very angry as you can tell, but i hate to see individuals and groups having their lives DESTROYED by these illegal criminals in my eyes, and based on false claims and tall tales!!!

Make your decisions based on science and common sense and you will be on the right path!!!

Friday, 14th September

 

Your best shopping list!

All of these foods will serve you well, and leave no shortage of ingredients for you to cook healthy meals. As long as you eat well 80% of the time, then you will be in great shape, and keep your sanity! A treat here and there is no problem when you use this philosophy.

Meat and fish

Anchovy fillets,Chicken breast,Haddock,Mackerel,Prawns,Salmon, fresh fillets and cans,Smoked salmon,Scallops,Squid,Swordfish,Tuna, fresh and canned,White fish fillets,turkey, lean beef

 

Dairy

Free range eggs,Goat’s cheese (soft and hard),Milk,Parmesan cheese,Tofu,Live natural yoghurt

Vegetables

Aubergines,Avocados,Beansprouts,Baby beetroot,Broccoli,Green cabbage, green red and white,Carrots,

Celeriac,Celery,Chineseleaves,Corn,babycobs,Courgettes,Cucumbers,Fennel,Garlic,Greenbeans,Leeks,Lettuce,Mangetout,Mixed salad leaves,Mushrooms,Red and yellow onions,Parsnips,Frozen peas,Red yellow and green peppers,Red chillies,Rocket, spinach,Shallots, Sprint onions, Sprouted seeds, Butternut squash, Swedes, Sweet potatoes,Tomatoes, Watercress

Fruit-Apples,Apricots, blackberries, Blueberries, Grapefruit, Kiwi fruit, Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Pears, Raspberries

Nuts and seeds-Cashew nuts, Hazelnuts, Linseeds, Pine nuts, Pumpkin seeds, Sesame seeds, Sunflower seeds,Walnuts

Pulses All canned-Butter beans,Cannellini beans, Chick peas, Flageolet beans, Lentils, Mixed beans, Mung beans (dried), Red kidney beans, Spilt yellow lentils (dried), Split yellow peas (dried)

Grains and wheat-Brown rice, Buckwheat flour, Buckwheat noodles, Couscous, Millet flakes, Oats, Quinoa, Rye/wholegrain, wholemeal bread

Herbs-Basil,Bay leaves, Chives, Coriander, Dill, Fennel, Lemon grass, Marjoram, Mint, Mixed herbs, dried Oregano, dried Parsely, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme

Spices-Black pepper, Caraway seeds, Cardamom pads, Cayenne, Chilli paste, Chilli powder, Cinnamon, ground, Cloves, Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds, Curry leaves, Curry paste, Curry powder, Fennel seeds, Fresh ginger, Ginger powder, Mango powder, Mustard seed, Nutmeg, Paprika, Poppu seeds, Star anise, Turmeric

Oils-Avocado oil, Olive oil, Sesame oil, Walnut oil

handy and essentials for your storecupboard

Anchovy essence, Black olives, Carrot juice, Coconut, milk, Honey, Horseradish sauce, Mixed vegetable juice, Mustard, Dijon Mustard, wholegrain, Peppers in olive oil, Ratatouille, canned, Soy sauce,Stock, fish, Stock, vegetable,Stock powder Sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil

Hopefully, you will find all of this useful!

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