Friday, 25th October
Friday is a day which perfectly illustrates what we talked about energy levels being affected by lack of carbohydrates-the body’s preferred energy source.
How many of you have skipped your Friday session because you have “no energy left in the tank”. Perhaps you say to yourself that it doesn’t really matter anyway, because you have worked hard enough in the week anyway! I see this a lot.
If you manage to get a Friday session in, you will go into the weekend feeling good and much better about yourself. You will feel as if you have had a very good week, and you won’t be leaving your training Thursday until Monday, which is a who four days of training. This approach definitely won’t get you into the shape you really want to be in.
On top of all of this, when you get to the following Monday workout, you will feel that much more sluggish, and be less enthusiastic about starting your week with a bang!
Missing Friday also encourages you to start early on your weekend treats too. If you aren’t training, then you may just buy some junk food early, keen to “relieve stress” of your week with some sugary treats or alcohol bottles.
Friday for me is a “just do it” kind of day!!! Don’t think about, just do it and reap the benefits afterwards and put yourself in a great frame of mind coming into the weekend!
Friday, 19th April
How to get your eating right
Write down what you eat and when/why you eat it, or what your drink and why you eat it. If you do this you can really see what you’re eating and drinking, how much more than you may need and what stresses are causing you do it. Once you know where you are, then you will know how not to get into situations in the future that destroy your progress.
Accurate food records for 3 days are the quickest way to fix your eating. If you are stressed, hungry or bored, there will be issues when you make food choices. Write down how long you are training for too because you will need more food on those days, and you cannot train on fresh air alone.
Are you skipping breakfast, nibbling on rubbish all day, overeating in the evening and late at night because you are so hungry you have to eat much bigger amounts of food than normal?
Do you entertain yourself with food when you are bored? Perhaps you reward yourself with chocolate when you’re stressed?
You may need to watch your moods when you eat, most people will feel better when they eat a tub of ice cream initially, but it does nothing for anxiety and stress you may be experiencing in your life. The problems that made you stressed in the first place are never really solved by the ice cream, and you just added a new one of piling on body fat if you do this regularly! You need to avoid this vicious circle.
If you eat food on a regular basis OTHER than giving you energy and health, then you need to recognize that food should be seen as fuel and not as an emotional crutch to get you through some stressful times.
Food becomes dangerous in terms of weight gain and in terms of worsening your internal health when it is eaten for entertainment, reducing stress or just making you feel more comfortable.
It’s a fact that no amount of food solves any problems.
For example, if you eat lightly during the day, and eat excessively at night like a lot of people I start with do, then try and change it right away by having a bigger breakfast, a decent lunch and lighter evening meal, with mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. This way of eating will give you far more energy, keep you feeling fuller for longer, make you less prone to have sugary/fatty snacks and transform your body every single week. This is the way your become far more efficient in the way you create energy for yourself, burn fat, and create lean muscle which in turn boosts your metabolism greatly.
You won’t feel like eating late, and you’re going to be far more in control of everything so give it a go for better results.
Any problems tel 07968 980808
Or www.kerimckibbin.co.uk
Wednesday, 4th January
If you are approaching this new year with an attitude that enough is enough, and you’re not willing to take being out of shape, unfit, no energy, no drive ANYMORE, then you are in the perfect situation to change your life around and you’re really ready for change this time!!!
Its time to get rid of your internal fear that stops you doing good things for yourself. Your negativity can be smashed if you employ the right tactics and you can banish it forever!
Some people thrive in negatvity and others being sad, you have to avoid these people at all costs, or they will drag you down and will always try to spoil your ambition and future success.
When i start off training someone these days, i make sure they REALLY want to improve because if they are half-hearted, then those no way they can get the kind of results they want. Commitment is everything in getting what you really want.
There’s an old saying that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. When you are ready, you will find all the avenue’s to success appearing all over the place for you.
Smashing through the fear you have right now and looking and feeling your best physically may seem impossible, but once you take the first couple of steps, you will not only get where you want to be but you will ENJOY the process too, perhaps this will be the most important and most developing part of it all.
When you get out of your comfort zone, you will be initially scared, thats the exact point when you don’t step back anymore, use the fear to not only push forward but to create your new life!!!
Don’t be stuck in your thinking and you should realise that the change in the way you think will directly change your life from where it is now, and for some can literally transform it!!!
Hope you found yesterday’s breakfast ideas helpful, try some of these lunch and evening ideas!
Lunch and dinner choices often mix so here’s some options
Making the time for lunch is essential, so no skimping on time and take time out for yourself!
Chicken breast with 100g pitta bread, add a serving of salsa and a serving of lettuce
489 calories
A chicken breast, a serving of lettuce, 100g of boiled potatoes, 100g asparagus, plus 2 dates to finish
437 calories
A generous piece of salmon, a sweet potato, 100g of spinach, 10g of peas and a nectarine to finish
423 calories
A piece of turkey, 50g of brown rice, 100g of broccoli, 100g of carrots and an orange to finish
402 calories
125g lean roast chicken without skin, 225g of new potatoes and 100g butternut squash, brushed in tsp olive oil and baked, 60g peas, 100g dark leafy greens, 50g home made rice, apricot and nut stuffing, 5 tsp pan juices made into a sauce with a little wine and cornflour
631.5 calories, 21g of total fat, 4g saturated fat, 45.7 protein, 68.5g of carbs
Thinly sliced naked turkey breast, one tablespoon of cranberry sauce in a small bowl for around 30 seconds. Poor sauce over turjey breast. Serve with a portion of brown rice and broccoli.
455 calories
Grill a lean cut of steak until it’s to your liking. Squeeze the juice from half a lime over the meat and sprinkle with pepper and garlic powder. Then slice and serve with brown rice and salsa.
396 calories
Grill any fish with a selection of steamed vegetables-around 100 calories and that’s plenty of veg!
100g haddock-81, mackerel-220, canned salmon-153 etc
Lemon chicken and potato
Smother a grilled, skinless chicken breast with a freshly squeezed lemon, either a jacket potato or boiled potatoes with it.
303 calories
Brown rice salad with beans and asparagus
263 calories
In a small saucepan, mix one can of chicken broth, a sliced, grilled chicken breast, a 50g portion of cooked barley and a handful of your favourite mixed vegetables and frozen ones can work just as well. Heat for around 5 minutes and you’re ready to go.
400 calories
Tuna salad
Drain a can of tuna in brine, place tuna in bowl and mix one tablespoon of very light mayonnaise and some juice from a lemon. Pile tuna on top of lettuce and serve with a portion of fruit. This is a light meal with plenty of good stuff throughout the meal.
Pasta and tuna salad
50g of wholemeal pasta, 100g of carrotes, 100g of tomatoes, 100g of cucumber, a can of tuna in brine and an apple to finish
373 calories
I medium baked potato or sweet potato with 100g cottage cheese and tomato and cucumber
160 calories
I medium wholemeal roll, 100g tomato, a good slice of 100g turkey breast plus some strawberries and low-fat natural youghurt.
393 calories
12th April 2011
Great things happen in your body when you first start exercising. You body responds well to moving around more, and your body likes the feeling of doing things again, and you develop your confidence as you go.
Your body responds very well in particular when you adjust your food intake. Most people who go from eating processed food to more natural, fresh foods will experience increased energy levels, and an inner confidence that they are going to get healthier if you keep your habits up.
Most of the measurements i take on individuals who start an exercise programme look a lot better at the end of their first month. Progress is relatively quick and 4-6 weeks can make a good difference to anyone as long as they show commitment. Two inches off your waist will always look and feel great, and your clothes will feel a lot looser too. I always tell people if they are carrying a lot more weight than they should, that the biggest worry they will have is changing their wardrobe!!!
The trick is to keep these exciting feelings going well into the times when the novelty factor of keeping fit and healthy has gone, and make it part of your daily life and make it become routine.
This is why routines are important so you end up doing healthy things without even thinking about it, which is exactly where you want to be.
Your workout becomes “your” time when you relax, get rid of stress and you find yourself again after a long day, or even before you embark on your challenging day. If you can keep your workouts going in times of stress in your life, you know that you have fully integrated a healthy lifestyle into your life and you should already be relatively fit and healthy, and have some good ability in terms of exercise of all kinds.
A true athlete and i mean that in a broad term, should be able to do outside exercise such as running, cycling, hill walking as well as work inside with resistance workouts, and you should be able to combine them too. You should be versatile and open to new ideas, no need to spend all your time in the gym, there are endless and exciting ways to keep fit and the gym is just one angle you can use. You will learn more about your body in different environments so lets keep it varied and keep doing your best!!!