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Getting leaner means eating smaller

 To answer some of your questions i have had this week, there is one theme running throughout.

Its vital for you now not to get too downhearted about your lack of weight loss if you’re having a bit of an up and down time. If you have been signing in most days, you have made significant improvements lately and for a long time now so its no time to quit and go off track, you’ve come too far.

If you have put an enormous amount of effort in your training and eating, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that you are burning more calories, burning more body fat in the vigorous nature of your workouts. You have complete confidence that you are getting fitter and healthier, now we have to fix the area which is dragging some of you down by your texts and emails

Portions size and inconsistency of eating is the area you need to look at, and getting some very stable habits into your life. Lighter lunches one day, then heavier lunches the next will not let you get used to the same desirable quantity of foods. Your body will like regular, smaller portions and will make you lose weight if done on a regular basis. Your body likes stability.

This one area is making a lot of you deeply unhappy when it comes to measuring and weighing times, and all that unhappiness is not worth going through if it makes you feel like that. If you change your eating habits that much more again, YOU WILL DO IT AND YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!

Some of you said you don’t eat the chocolate, the chips, the crisps, all the stuff everyone else is eating around you, as your priorities are being fit and healthy, and you should be proud of yourself showing such control, when in the past you would have caved in and joined everyone else so you have moved forwards significantly further than even you previously thought.

Many of you show guts and determination EVERY TIME you workout in adverse conditions (snow, ice and extreme heat), and the times you don’t really feel like it in the first place, some of this dedication has to go in now during the private moments when you’re struggling to control your eating binges, when some damage can be done.

Even if you eat smaller portions, and often you will still have much bigger portions, you’re not really teaching your body that you want to get smaller. You won’t be teaching your stomach to get smaller and smaller because you will still keep your overall long term capacity for food quite high. If you eliminate these bigger portions for good, you will be saying to your body that the old days are over, and that you want to get down to your desired weight/body fat levels very quickly indeed.

Smaller portions cannot support higher weight, remember that and if you 100% begin eating like much smaller and leaner people, you will struggle to start with but your body will get used to it, YOUR NEW BODY THAT IS SO LET’S MAKE IT HAPPEN AND BE PROUD OF YOURSELF AGAIN, you should be proud of your workouts and athletic ability, but imagine how good you will be if you didn’t carry all the excess weight you don’t need in your life anymore!

Its time to make it happen and that time is now! The fittest people aren’t always the leanest, so workouts don’t do it all, healthy structured eating counts big time when it comes to being in shape and at your very best so let’s do it!

Twitt
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Stay full

Dieting is never a good word to use, as it scares the hell out of most of us. It’s often associated with going hungry, so feeling full is one of the best strategies you can take on to make the whole process of losing fat tolerable!

Most of your hunger pangs and cravings happen in your mind, and not your body’s sudden urge to consume huge amounts of food. Watching TV is a good way to get hungry and snack on things you know you shouldn’t!

The best way not to make rash decisions with your food intake is not to get so hungry in the first place.

Ways to stay fuller start with water intake believe it or not, not only does it burn body fat and make your insides work well, it also makes you feel full.

Eating fibre makes you feel full too as it takes a while before it gets through your system. You also get better cholesterol, better blood sugar levels and better intestinal health, an all round winner of a strategy!

What about times when you get uncontrollable urges to eat  kebab, ice cream, chocolate etc? You need an emergency low-fat stash of healthy snacks to counter this, or your whole diet is going to come off the rails! I know some people who keep emergency snacks but they’re usually chocolate! If you keep chocolate in the house as an emergency, you’re going to have that “emergency” once a day so don’t buy them in the first place.

Healthy snacks include nuts, any fruit, lean pieces of beef, chicken, turkey and the occasional protein bar.

Other ways to avoid hunger bangs include staying busy, if you just hang around watching tv, you’re going to struggle big time, do something and you don’t think about food.

Eating at regular times will always help, if you know that a meal or snack is just around the corner, you’re not going to be looking to grab food in a haphzard way. Plus, you keep your blood sugar levels steady which is always good.

Don’t forget sweeter, sugary foods can re-ingnite your sugary taste buds, making you want more and more and this creates new “bad” habits!

Exercise doesn’t only burn calories, it suppresses appetite too to a degree so you’re not feeling hungry all the time.

Keep your protein intake up, eating protein in most meals fill you up, and helps keep you lean and your desire for sugary foods way down.

Staying full is vitally important, and help you make the consistent good choices you need to be in shape!

Twitt
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Move and eat less?

The move and eat less way of doing things is always going to work isn’t it?

If you concentrated this week and moving around more than last week, pushing your workouts a little harder, trying new activities maybe, just doing more, plain and simple!

What about your eating, a key tactic i find is to control your portion size at each meal. I may have said eat less but i still recommend eating often, every 3-4 hours, it keeps your blood sugar levels steady and stops hunger pangs from ruling your life. So portion size is always important.

A good tactic would be to use smaller plates which will automatically get you used to less calories. Stick to the smaller plates and don’t be tempted to grab the big dinner plates, because this will be a good way of putting on weight, exactly what you don’t want!!

When looking at portion sizes, use your carb and protein portions wisely and look to have them the size of your fist, a rough but good guide when serving up your favourite dishes, another way of keeping your waist down long term.

This is a big week and it starts tomorrow for many of you, after the bank holiday so lets move around more and definitely eat less and smaller portions. This is a simple and forgotten strategy.

Twitt
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52 week hero

52 week hero

Why do people like so many short cuts and so many easy but non-productive ways to do things?

I seriously think that the true hero’s are the ones who can train throughout the year, never miss a workout unless they are ill and always look for improvements and consistent progress.

Yes, these people ARE out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I get questions all the time about the best training programme, whether the power plate vibration system is any good, whether the masai based trainers with the big heel’s are truly the answer, whether the vibration belt’s you put across your stomach really work, whether the latest gym opening is really going to work this time, whether the latest fitness dvd is any good, whether the 2 minutes a day workout can really change your life, whether the flimsy machines you see on the shopping channels are really any good?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These are the questions I always get and they get the same answers.

If you show up 80% or more of the time, you WILL progress.

If you eat well 80% or more of the time, you WILL progress.

If you train with purpose 80% or more of the time, you WILL progress.

THIS IS IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why look for questions and answers and try and re-invent the wheel?

Cyril is back in good form, and yes he is a hero because he does show up consistently, and that mean he “gets it”!

Isn’t the time you don’t train for an extended period the least productive part of your year?

That time you give up again doesn’t really HAVE to happen does it? Do you really want to go backwards that much, because im telling you now that’s what’s going to happen unless you start showing up to your workouts, instead of making the same old excuses why you can’t train again.

A week off turns to a month off, and this can turn to the whole summer off! In my book, that’s not acceptable and all of those endless and big talk promises you made to yourself don’t count for nothing!!

That’s why this is called 52 week hero, that person who achieves that (allowing for the odd cold/illness, holiday etc) really is a hero in my book. When you think about it, how many people do you actually know who make that kind of commitment in their life.

Someone who achieves this deserves all the benefits they get, because they quietly beaver away at achieving the most important thing you can get, GREAT HEALTH!!

The time for talking a good game is over, its time to go for it and be your best once and for all!

Twitt
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Recovery story

Everyone loves a recovery story and most people can remember one. The biggest problem is that we don’t really believe that we can create our own “recovery” story.

All of us have let ourselves go at times, and its usually a question to which degree we have let ourselves go.

Some of us think we have gone beyond the point of no return. This can be a depressing place to be and ends up a vicious cycle. The long road to recovery is always daunting, with the temptation to give up a very strong one at times.

When we have got from the stage of “one more won’t hurt” to “several more won’t hurt”, we know we are in trouble. This is the point of hopelessness as weight as accumulated at a rapid pace and the realisation we have to get it off is an extremely frightening thought.

I have seen several people come through such situations, and mentally it can be very draining and challenging. The road is never straight and the recovery phase is filled with bumpy roads. Those who keep their eye on the ultimate goal though are the ones who come out the other side having achieved an amazing result, far beyond what they ever expected.

Going through this journey also gives you great mental strength, as you need to become a very strong character to develop the skills needed to shift huge amounts of body fat, but the good news is that I have seen it many times.

Most people who do it never do it on their own either. They usually have a very strong support network and close friends who always at hand to help you when you most need it.

While the ultimate goal needs to be kept in mind, the most successful I’ve seen do it have been the ones who have taken one day at a time.

When you adopt the strategy of taking every new day as a new challenge, you remain focus and you are likely to make the rapid progress you want.

This rapid progress and new daily habits become second nature after a couple of months, and once you and your body have fully adopted the new healthier structure in your life, you will want to do more and more and your ability will increase on a weekly basis.

There are plenty of ideas on here on how to do it, and logging on each day on a site that’s updated daily will help take you a long way. Remember every day is different and to be enjoyed, get some tried and tested structures into your life, a very good support system and you will go a long way to achieving your biggest ambitions in life!

Twitt