Posted on

Tuesday, 10th January

I always tell people that when they employ me, i can give you all the correct advice but i won’t be able to do their exercises for them!

You have to exercise yourself if you are to get any value out of this programme.

If i give you the programme, its like giving you a map but you still have to drive the car. I can teach you principles but you’re going to have to apply them. If you decide to put the effort in, then the rewards are going to be well worth it!

You have to realise one thing though, good things come to those who have patience.

You will get times and wonder “why all of this isn’t working faster? Why haven’t i reached all my goals in super-quick time? Why aren’t people telling me how good i look already? When am i going to be at my ideal body fat?”!!!

Success takes time, perserverence, effort and patience as i have previously said.

If you go in the diet section, you will begin to eat better and you WILL reach your ideal levels of body fat.

If you go into the training section, you WILL get fitter, healthier and have more endurance than you ever have.

These statements only come true if you apply them and actually do what you say you’re going to do, no secret in that piece of information!!!

Its normal in any endeavour to come up against obstacles, to hit plateaus regularly. This is perfectly normal and anyone who has ever tried out a new sport, played the piano for example or just about anything, know there will be times when you feel as if you have made no progress at all. This is when  most people give up, drop put or just try something else they think will be easier.

The smart people find out that if they just keep practicing, and thats what exercise is, practicing, you will eventually make a big leap in terms of progress and you will become a much more impressive athlete with an abundance of health.

Its only early in the new year, but you have to realise that you’re going to be into some kind of health and fitness programme for the rest of your life. Don’t give up, ever, this is the true secret of success with health, or just about anything else!!!

The principles on here will ALWAYS work, and its time to get started!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 9th January

A fresh story out today is the levels of alcohol consumption and what is okay and what is bad for you?

There have been many different guidelines over the last few years, with most of the medical profession recommending around 20 alcohol units a week.

One pint of beer was 2 units along with a glass of wine the same.

Women were advised one to two units a day, men up from two to four units a day.

Now the advice comes out today that people need to STAY OFF alcohol for at least two days a week.

This doesn’t go anywhere near far enough in my book.

We talk about achieving the best physical performance on here every day and unfortunately, alcohol will be the leading factor STOPPING  you get to where you want to be.

When it comes to looking and feeling good, alcohol will trip you up in a big way. The feel good factor is very temporary and usually only lasts for just a couple of hours. Then it can actually depress you.

Alcohol is actually classed as a depressant so I assume you don’t want to feel down and sad, so it doesn’t make sense to drink too much?!

Alcohol will stop you burning body fat to a large degree too the day after you consume it. So not only do you get the excess calories when you initially drink it, you develop a hunger for sugary and fatty foods, which will put weight on.

Then the next day, your ability to burn body fat is cut down by a third. Its hard enough to burn body fat anyway, making the task even harder seems like madness!

There are 120 sleep disorders out there, 80 are linked to alcohol, so anyone who tells you to have a glass of wine to help you have a good sleep is talking rubbish!!

Also, if you abstain most of the week, you will naturally feel better when your system is clean and clear.

Your skin will be better and your vital organs will function properly.

You read this to be healthy and get and stay in good physical condition. Alcohol once a week maximum is advised, that’s not harsh, its just my assessment of working with a lot of people for a lot of years, when results have always mattered!

Time to act now and get some real balance in your life!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 6th January

Hope you have made a great start to the new year, and things are working out in a very positive way for you!

If things are positive for you, then you have actually taken action and you are a DOER instead of a talker and you are on your way. You have probably realised that the DOING comes before you feel better.

When you do something, you get rid of your fear and you build a good amount of self-confidence, this is the power of it all.

So if its the fact that you are on your way and you have trained well this week, you will soon enjoy this experience and you have overcome all of your initial fears. This feels so good usually that you want to challenge yourself again and move on to the next level.

Then the fear starts all over again, and you have doubts in your mind again! This is a good sign!

You have to realise though that this fear of a new challenge is experienced by EVERYONE ELSE TOO!!!! All those people you may have admired from afar and achieved a lot in their lives were actually scared to death themselves at some stage, plucking up the courage to actually “go for it” and reach their seemingly lofty goals!

Instead of seeing fear as a massive obstacle and retreating at a rate of knots, you should see it as a sign inviting you to improve and change your life for the better!

Instead of settling for what you have now, its going to be far more rewarding for you to be fitter and healthier for the rest of your life, in terms of inner satisfaction and quality of life to name just two massive benefits!

You may ask why you would want to put yourself through the uncomfortable nature of trying to change your life, but that temporary feeling is going to be hundred times better than sticking with a lifetime of being overweight, unfit and unhealthy, and all the negatives that situation brings.

 Its time to make the change to grab the chance with both hands!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 5th January

The term “snacks” can be viewed in two different contexts.

Snacks have been given a bad rap, but this is usually because most people consider snack as mid-morning junk or mid-afternoon treats. If you imagine pasties, cakes, biscuits, sausage rolls, chocolate, bags of crisps as the right sort of choices for snacks, then you are going to be highly destructive to your body.

These types of foods not only pile the weight on, but they will create wild swings in your blood sugar, causing potential diabetes if consumed over a longer period of time, mood swings due to the sugar swings, and low energy levels again due to the sugar swings. A bad idea all round then!!!

I have included some snack ideas at the end of this piece, and all of them will be based on my philosophy of eating natural foods when possible.

After an initial period of a few days, you will appreciate the natural flavours of these foods, and not revert to the saturated fat, high sugar, high salt nature of the foods mentioned in the second paragraph.

I love these snacks also due their ability to sweeten your “plainer” foods. Try dates and figs, chop them up and use them as a sweetener for porridge for example.

Chop fruit up and make natural fruit salads from an assortment of fruit, with natural yoghurt as a topping. Nuts also make great toppings for just about anything, and include vital natural fats that will enhance your skin, and just about all your internal workings of your body, making sure you perform and look your best at all times!

This is the time right now to convert your very poor choices of snacks to the natural variety we have just talked about. Eating in between meals used to be a big no-no, eating these snacks though will keep you full in between meals (mid-morning and mid-afternoon) and stop you overeating at meal times, and don’t forget the energy they give you too, a win-win situation I think you’ll agree!!

Snacks-calorie breakdown

Snacks are vitally important, to keep energy levels up, and to keep important nutrients coming in throughout the day

Fresh fruit for energy-100g usually

Apple-50

Pear-64

Banana-95

Blueberries-30

Kiwi fruit-29

Plums-34

Grapes-60

Strawberries-27

Satsuma-23

Dried fruit-to cure a sweet tooth and good for you

Sultanas-138

Raisins-136

Figs-43

Apricots-29

Low-fat yoghurts-provide calcium and nice desserts

Natural low-fat-56

Whole milk-79

Low-fat fruit-90

Low fat fromage frais-58

Nuts-50g-for essential fats

Cashews-287

Brazils-341

Almonds-306

Walnuts-344

Pumpkin seeds-57

Sunflower-57

Mixed nuts chopped-304

Hazlenuts-325

Twitt
Posted on

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