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Tuesday, 3rd January 2012

Its fantastic news that on the first day back working for many people, some common sense has taken over the world!!! Or most of it anyway!!!

The government is persuading us all to eat healthy, no faddy diets, in fact they tell us faddy diets DO NOT WORK, they detest them in fact, just like i do!! Its great these charlatans are finally being exposed!!!

Some papers advise proper exercise and good healthy food in sensible portions, and to forget the diets that never worked for the last 30 years, a lot of people got rich out of them, but to see them ridiculed is great news for all of us today!!!

Hope you have made sensible resolutions this year, and made attainable goals that can be achieved gradually, and not by the end of the week. Don’t forget that 99% of new year resolutions are usually broken in just 14 days!!! Most diets are all over by valentines day, and most gym memberships are never actually used in the first place!!!

I like to give tried and tested sustainable advice that’s going to work for you, that’s going to inspire you to greater heights and take you on to new levels when you get there. If you don’t progress, you will go backwards so life ends up being a case of constant improvement, or you get left behind.

If you are treating this day as your first day of self-improvement, then you have to be eating well first thing in the morning to give yourself the most energising start possible. Breakfast is classed as a meal eaten within one hour of getting up. This fires up your metabolism and gets you into a fat-burning machine when practiced regularly.

A big mistake at breakfast time is not drinking water when you get up. This will get rid of impurities built up in your system overnight, and get your body functioning closer to its capacity. Water also helps enormously in the fat-burning process too, and will get you performing a minimum off 33% higher according to latest research!!!

So lets get on to breakfast, and here are some ideas for you to get you performing at your best!!!

Breakfast

Vitally important and a very good start to the day

150ml of natural yoghurt with 1 medium banana chopped in, half a grapefruit, a slice of wholemeal bread with either a small amount of honey or a small amount of olive oil spread

400 calories

150ml low-fat bio yoghurt topped with 50g of no added salt/sugar muesli and a portion of strawberries, with a small piece of bread with a small smearing of olive oil spread

414 calories

Beat 2 egg whites and one whole egg with 2 tablespoons of skimmed milk. Toss eggs in a bowl coated with low-fat spray or no spray at all. Have one piece of wholemeal toast with no butter and you have a god meal with a good balance of carbs and protein. Have a big glass of water and a great breakfast!

317 calories

Two Weetabix with a big spoonful of walnuts and skimmed milk, a small portion of apricots, a piece of wholemeal bread with a small smearing of olive oil spread, with a little honey, and a glass of diluted orange juice

507 calories

Some low-fat natural fromage frais with a level teaspoon of honey and a slice of melon, plus half portion of chopped almonds, with a piece of wholemeal toast with a very light olive oil spread

487 calories

Porridge with skimmed milk and sultanas as a sweetener

284 calories

Wholemeal toast with cottage cheese for energy

166 calories

2 poached eggs on toast without spread on one piece of wholemeal toast

275 calories

1 big banana mashed with kiwi fruit and some lemon juice on a slice of wholemeal toast with no spread, with a glass of skimmed milk

273 calories

2 egg white omelette with peppers and mushrooms with one piece of wholemeal toast

219 calories

Fruit salad with natural low-fat youghurt

156 calories

A milkshake with 200ml of skimmed milk with a banana, small amount of orange juice, 1 teaspoon of honey and drink chilled

268 calories

100g of Muesli with no added sugar/salt plus 100ml skimmed milk

215 calories

Twitt
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Friday, 30th December

After the christmas festivities, and the impending new year celebrations, a big thing is looming for many people and that is doing something about feeling better again. Most people are scared of doing so for whatever reason and this applies to just about everything.

Some people want to be more assertive, some feel they can’t make the right decision or ANY decision, some fear getting intimate, some are scared of changing careers or jobs, some are scared of being  alone, some people are scared to learn to drive, some people can’t end a destructive relationship, and some people yes are scared of getting fit and healthy!

No point making fun of that last paragraph because most if not all of us have been in this situation at some time or another?!!!

A lot of us fear being successful or being a failure, some of us hate living and all of us worry about dying at some stage!!

I talk on here all the time about the power of actually DOING something about it, and the massive positive difference that can bring to your life.

If you are depressed and find your current life painful, making a fresh start in 2012 will bring much more power and excitement to your life, if you set off on a sustainable course.

You should accept fear and being scared as a fact of life, rather than a obstacle to your success. Use the fear to your advantage for a change, how many people who become successful say that the number of people who said “they couldn’t possibly achieve all they did” was actually a massive spur for them in their careers and  they used all that fear and negativity as a tool, rather than a hindrance.

I’m sure there are lots of you dying to prove a lot of people wrong who have previously written you off? Its time to accept the fact that you are actually very capable after all, and its a case of re-educating and re-programming your mind, rather than writing off your obvious potential.

The people who tell you that you had better not change your situation, there’s nothing else in life for you or you’ll never do it all on your own are the negative people you want to delete  from your life. After doing this, you can move on to great things!!!!

Have a great new year and we start on monday with how you can really fulfill your true potential!!!

Twitt
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Thursday, 29th December

If you got into your workouts gently yesterday, then today is a day to step up the ante.

You have to face reality that your first “proper” workout will hurt a little bit, and it will be a little uncomfortable, due to the high likelihood of your eating too much and drinking too much maybe. Throw in some lack of sleep and you have the perfect combination for inferior workouts!

The great thing about getting through a good workout today is that you are bound to feel better from it. It may be painful to get through at times, but after you have managed to get your blood flow going, the aches and pains will slowly go and you will leave the scene of your workout in much higher spirits than when you first started!

Another neglected part of Christmas for most people is the lack of water consumed.

Water is the most important part of feeling and looking food. Without it and its not going to happen for you full stop. Your internal workings and your vital organs wont function properly if you don’t hydrate yourself adequately every day. Water is vital to human life, so lets make every effort to get something that is so fundamental to your health 100% right now.

I was guilty of it myself over Christmas, drinking too much tea and coffee, and in a matter of days, realising your energy levels have gone so far south, you don’t have the inclination to exercise, and even if you have, your performance is unlikely to be anywhere near your normal levels.

I guarantee that if you get a good workout in today, and you sip water throughout the day and especially in your workout, you will feel 100% better and as close to your normal self as is humanly possible.

After all, the sooner you feel better, the sooner you are going to perform better and eat well too. A lot of people I know don’t feel they have the incentive to eat well unless they have trained.

It all starts with today’s workout, don’t follow the crowd and wait until the new year, hit it today and lets get the feeling good process moving right now!!!

Twitt
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Wednesday 28th December

Back into it today as far as work goes, and judging by the sessions i have done so far, everyone  seems very happy they have got their first session under their belts!!!

Most people who are employed or self employed are back next tuesday, or some in the public service are back on the 9th January would you believe!!!

The sooner you get back into exercise the better, and its a good idea always to  get into your programme nice and gently!!!

If you attempt your pre-christmas efforts today, then you are risking injury or disappointment, as these levels will take some getting used to again.

Same with your food, no need to attempt to be  ultra-strict already as its likely to fail, getting into healthier habits gently can be more sustainable and more enjoyable.

With alcohol, if you have been drinking every day or most days, its time to cut that down as exercise and alcohol don’t really mix too well! New Year’s eve is coming of course but surely you can last until then?!!

The bottom line this week is to get outdoors and actually do something, however small, its guaranteed to make you feel better.

Being active or moving more every day should be a new year’s resolution for you.

Another new year’s resolution is not to fall for faddy diets, i keep on saying this but you only have to observe the hard facts, 97% of people on these diets not only fail, but put on an EXTRA  5%  on top!!!! PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THESE CHARLATANS AGAIN THIS YEAR!!! Save the money and spend it on something nice for yourself, maybe new clothes when you have dropped a couple of sizes, its entirely possible if you eat well and train regularly, and drink a maximum of once a week.

So its small things advised this week, a gradual change from over the top christmas habits to a sustainable healthy future. Make the change and reap the benefits!!

Twitt
Posted on

Wednesday, 21st December

We talked about the benefits of eating well the last couple of days, but don’t beat yourself up if you are not eating “perfectly” from day one, because that perfect world doesn’t exist in the first place.

You have to develop your own personal standards, nobody else’s, just your own when you measure how much progress you get.

For example, if you have a 44 inch waist and you have lost 1-2 inches over the first month of january, then you have been very successful.

If you continued at that rate of progress for the first 6 months of the year, and it is totally possible, that could be 6-12 inches off your waist!!!

This would turn you from a 44 inch waist to at best a 32 inch waist!!! This is an incredible transformation, and the great news is that not only your waist will see the difference.

If you are using weights or some kind of resistance training, your arms are likely to be much more toned and more shapely, all that fat that was hanging on your back will disappear and tighten considerably, your legs and calves will become much more defined, you will get more energy and your “mojo” will be back for the first time in a long time!!!!

So to achieve all of this, you need to start following the advice on here all week and click on the diet section immediately.

Lets take breakfast, you may be having a bash at porridge and fruit juice, trying to be “healthy” for the first time!

Ideally, you will get used to porridge with water and you will find no need for sugar or honey. You will dilute your orange juice with some water, cutting back on the natural sugars. This will get you burning body fat.

A lot of people cannot to do this first time, or for the first few weeks, so how about having porridge with milk, having a LITTLE sugar or honey or dried fruit to start, to get you into it all, and so it still tastes sweet enough? You can have your normal orange juice too, if dillution is too hard for you at this stage with water.

The point im trying to make is you CAN get into things gently and you can’t go from point A to point Z in a week, getting used to more natural plain foods definitely takes time. This will still bring you excellent results, especially if your diet was very poor before.

Its about your own personal standards and how you constantly rise them over a period of time, theres no rush, as you have the rest of your life to get used to it!!!!

Twitt