You’re getting out what you put in
Why is that?
It’s frustrating when you are the person going through a fitness routine without seeing dramatic results. Might make you look for a reason outside of yourself to blame, such as genetics.
In reality, the thing holding you back is something that you have complete control over: it’s the intensity with which you exercise.
Intensity is something that’s difficult for the outside observer to measure but is felt within your body as you go through the motions of an exercise.
- It’s how hard you push yourself to go as heavy and as quickly as possible.
- It’s picking up a weight that feels hard to handle.
- It’s putting a boost behind each stride as you run.
- It’s resisting the urge to simply go through the motions.
- It’s outdoing your efforts from last time.
Now I understand the urge to put out token effort in your workout, going through the motions while cutting corners along the way. We all have days when the weights feel extra heavy and our energy stores feel depleted, and those days will naturally be less intense.
However, when low intensity workouts are your norm, you simply won’t ever achieve the results that you’re hoping for. And this is something that you completely control.
So, as you go into your next workout, think about the intensity that you’re bringing. Are you pushing yourself with each rep? Could you go heavier? Could you be faster?
Fight the urge to be comfortable while you exercise. There’s plenty of time throughout your day to feel comfortable, just not while you’re working out.
Does this make sense?
Attack your next workout with 100% intensity and set a new standard for yourself to continuously push to become stronger, faster, leaner and more fit.
This is better than perfection
Do you follow fitness stars on social media? Their perfect, chiselled images popping up in your newsfeed to give you just the right amount of motivation to get you into the gym…or does it?
Striving for perfection doesn’t always work.
Quite frankly, perfection is unattainable, and will always leave you falling short and feeling bad about yourself. Instead I like to remind myself of this quote…
‘Strive for progress, not perfection.’ -Unknown
Progress isn’t as exciting as perfection, but it is attainable. And progress builds upon more progress as you climb your way towards the accomplishment of real goals.
And yet…the gap between your current body and the body you want gapes wide and deep. Any time that you want progress and improvement in your life it requires crossing over from one way of doing things to a new way.
But how do you make it across?
- How do you go from 3 stones overweight to a healthy BMI?
- How do you go from a junk food lover to a health food lover?
- How do you go from a snooze-hitter to an early riser?
- How do you go from a couch potato to active and fit?
- How do you go from someone who talks about their goals to someone who accomplishes their goals?
Lucky for us there’s a formula to follow that will get you from point A to point B every single time without fail. And all you have to do is stick with it.
Small Degrees of Progress + Time = A New You
Commit to making one small degree of progress each and every day, and over time you will arrive on the other side of that chasm, a brand new you.
Did you eat white rice with dinner yesterday? Today choose brown rice. Next week choose cauliflower rice.
Did you eat a donut for breakfast yesterday? Today eat half of a donut and a piece of fruit. Next week choose a protein bar.
Did you wake up at 7 a.m. today? Tomorrow wake up at 6:45. Next week wake up at 6:30.
Did you sit all day today? Tomorrow walk for 15 minutes. Next week walk for 30 minutes.
And the end result, the reward, comes after you’ve made that new way of doing things a part of who you are.
We are all capable of great progress and great improvement – just not all at once.
Progress takes place one degree at a time, so don’t look to perfect fitness images on social media as your measurement of success, but rather look at your personal degrees of progress in the right direction.
Refuse the urge to compare yourself to others–the only comparison that matters is between yourself yesterday and yourself today.
Progress isn’t about finishing the race it’s taking that next step in the right direction.
If you aren’t yet one of my amazing clients then consider your next step of progress to begin a challenging and fun exercise programme with me. Call or email me today to get started.
Now that’s some serious progress!
The most important healthy eating tip
There’s a lot of talk today about the importance of eating healthy.
You hear it from your doctor, on the news, in magazines and online. The consensus is clear: in order to have your best body in good health, you must eat healthy.
Unfortunately for most, healthy eating is a confusing concept.
There’s so much contradicting information out there about what is or isn’t healthy that even the most well informed dieter becomes overwhelmed.
Should you eat a grain free diet? What about dairy? Is it OK to include fruit? What about rice? How about these granola bars that are labelled as heart healthy?
It’s enough to drive you crazy!
The most common reaction to this confusion is to give up. Why continue to strive for a healthy diet when a granola bar that’s mostly made with refined sugar is marketed as healthy?
I’m going to clear up some of the confusion for you with this very simple, very effective healthy eating tip: Eat low sugar.
By eating low sugar I mean check the sugar grams on each thing that you eat throughout the day, and only eat items that contain low single digit or zero sugar grams.
This single strategy will cut out a majority of the confusion surrounding healthy eating. Since eating items that are high in sugar is the biggest downfall of most dieters, by honing in on sugar grams you can avoid many bad food choices.
Are there other aspects to eating healthy, such as including enough lean protein and fibre-filled veggies in your diet? You bet! And once you have grown accustomed to eating low sugar then you should work on increasing your fibre and protein, but for now simply work on cutting out sugar.
Remember that participating in a consistent, challenging exercise programme is vital to getting into amazing shape. I’m here to help you do just that.
Call or email me today to get started on the most effective exercise programme around!
Easiest fitness hack that you’re not doing
It’s the time of year for focusing on fitness, health, and self-improvement; and, as to be expected, I’m busier than ever with clients looking to shed pounds and to take the New Year by storm.
I love seeing this renewed enthusiasm for fitness and the surge of motivation in the air! I hope that you’re feeling it too.
What’s not as awesome is the struggle that I see so many of you endure when it comes to shedding pounds and transforming your body to firm and toned. Improving your fitness level should be enjoyable, and it’s my sole purpose to help you in this process of achieving your best body and best health yet.
Let’s start with the easiest fitness hack of all, something that I can almost guarantee you’re not doing. By making this small change to your daily routine you’ll quickly find those unwanted pounds coming off quickly and easily.
***Warning: This fitness hack is going to sound so easy that you may be inclined to simply dismiss it. My advice is to try it out before writing it off as too easy.***
The easiest fitness hack that you’re not doing is to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water daily.
Now I know that sounds boring, but take a moment to reflect on your water intake over the past few days. Did you even get close to the minimum of 64 ounces? Really, for optimal fat loss, you want to be drinking closer to a gallon of water each day.
Why is water such a big deal? Here are 3 compelling reasons as to why drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water a day will help you drop pounds and achieve a stunning transformation…
#1) Water Aids Fat Metabolism in the Liver
When it comes down to the technical process of losing fat, your liver is where the action is. The key to having a highly functional liver, one that quickly removes metabolic waste and built up toxins, is to be properly hydrated by drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water each day.
Your liver is a filter for your body. When you aren’t drinking enough water, your liver accumulates a build up of waste product that slows the process of fat metabolism down.
#2) Water Helps Balance Hormones
Without getting too technical about the science of fat loss, it’s important that you understand that your hormones play an important role in your body’s ability to lose fat. When your body enters a state of dehydration, your organ and digestive functions are compromised, which in turn negatively impacts hormonal balance.
This stress, brought on by dehydration, impacts your adrenal glands, signaling the need for an increase in cortisol, which encourages your body to begin storing fat, rather than burning it.
#3) Water Reduces Calorie Intake
Now that you understand the science behind water and weight loss, let’s examine the positive effect that proper hydration has on your daily caloric intake.
By drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water daily, your desire for high calorie, sugary drinks like soda and high fructose juices will diminish. This decrease in fattening calories really adds up!
In addition to weight loss, drinking water has an infinite number of benefits – including improved skin complexion, boosted immune system, cleansing toxins out of the body, etc.
While it’s important to drink plenty of water in general, be sure you’re increasing your amount before and after your workouts. The more you sweat, the more water you lose, and it’s important to replace that lost water to avoid dehydration.
Does this make sense? Remember: Drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water each day.
I hope that you find this simple fitness hack to be helpful in your quest for a new and improved you this year! Remember that participating in a challenging and consistent exercise programme is absolutely vital when it comes to getting into great shape.
That feels good…
I realised something important about exercise that’s worth sharing with you.
Most of the time, when encouraging you to exercise, I focus on health and fat loss. These are two significant benefits, but there’s another side effect of exercise that’s hugely important…
How you feel after doing it.
Every workout has an immediate impact on your energy, mood, body chemistry, and even mental functioning. The endorphins released are specifically designed to make you feel good.
All of these factors combined create your overall feeling of wellbeing.
Don’t you want to feel good?
The tricky part is that most of us are habit driven, and so our activity level (or lack thereof) is fairly consistent day-to-day and week-to-week. This makes the impact of each sedentary day less noticeable, since another similar day causes no obvious change. It simply perpetuates your current state of un-wellbeing, with a slow decline.
Why this matters: You could begin feeling a lot better than you do today by starting to exercise.
This could come as a surprise, especially if you believe that the way you feel today is a given, and not something that can be improved.
By maintaining a consistent, challenging exercise plan:
- Your aches and pains can disappear.
- You can feel light and your energy levels can soar.
- Your mood can naturally become more optimistic.
- You can avoid illness and disease.
- You can think and process information quicker and with more clarity.
And then, once you’re in the groove of exercising regularly, you’ll forget about the pain, the sluggishness, and the discomfort that you used to live with.
Making regular exercise part of your routine is a foolproof method for improving your overall wellbeing. It’s a gift that you give to yourself with each workout.
5 Sneaky Ways to Burn Calories at Work
You may think the 30 minutes you spend every other day in the gym is enough to keep you trim and healthy, but it’s not. If you want overall good health, you need to eat well and find windows of exercising opportunity every day—not just during your scheduled workouts.
How can you squeeze in a little exercise when most of your hours are spent sitting at a desk, meeting in the conference room, and preparing for big presentations? Read on to find out when you can squeeze in exercise and how to do it.
1. On the Way to Work. To start your day with a smidgen of calorie-burning exercise, you may need to wake up a few minutes earlier than usual. Not to get in a workout before tossing on your power suit, but rather so you’ll have time to torch a few calories on the way to work. To shed some calories before clocking in, you have a number of options depending on your situation. You can bike or walk to work, perform seated calf raises on the bus or train, or park your car at the far end of the parking lot so you get to walk farther to reach your office. And of course, once you get to your building, take the stairs.
2. When Doing Mindless Tasks. Admit it: everything you do at work doesn’t require an amazing amount of brainpower. Take advantage of the easy tasks by multitasking with some exercise. The easiest option is to flex and squeeze your body. From your glutes and your abs to your pecs and thighs, you can get rid of a few calories by simply flexing them as you work. As you grow accustomed to the flexing, you may find it to be a great way to work your way through a long, difficult meeting.
3. Every Time You Finish a Task. When you first get to work, make a to-do list. This will help keep you on track and will also set you up for exercise rewards. Each time you cross a task off your list, give yourself an exercise reward. This could be walking a couple laps around the office, standing up and doing a couple quick stretches, or closing your office door and knocking out a dozen push-ups. Know what your reward of the day will be and go for it.
4. When You Need to Communicate. Helpful as email may be, there is a way to communicate with your colleagues that actually keeps your body moving. That way? Getting out of your seat and walking to your coworker’s office to talk things through. Have to make a few phone calls? Stand up as you talk or better yet, pace back and forth during the conversation.
5. At the Top of the Hour. A great way to sneak a little calorie burning into your routine is to get up every hour. And your exercising doesn’t need to be super intense. All you need to do is stand up. Do this for five minutes, eight times a day, and you will drop 100 calories a day.
That’s right—all you have to do to stand up for your health is stand up!
Never crave naughty foods again (here’s how)
You wake up each morning with every intention of eating “good” today.
You’ll skip the drive thru line on your way to work. You’ll refuse to get fast food with co-workers at lunch. You’ll boycott the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you won’t even think about having dessert after dinner.
But then your cravings kick in…
Your friend drops by with a big fluffy muffin and a latte for breakfast. A group of co-workers invite you to that greasy spoon down the street for lunch. Cake is passed around at the mid-afternoon staff meeting. And after dinner your honey surprises you with a bowl of your favourite ice cream.
You tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.
Tomorrow you won’t give in to food cravings.
But then tomorrow comes with its own special circumstances, and cravings get the best of you once again.
Why Do Food Cravings Always Win?
Let’s face it, we live in a world where food temptations are everywhere…which leads to cravings, which leads to eating things that you shouldn’t, which leads to pounds gained. Again. And again. And again. Until you’re so fed up with your body that you don’t even know where to begin to get yourself back on track.
Stores display the most tantalising junk food items right where you could easily reach them. TV commercials for greasy, fattening foods portray them so scrumptiously that you literally salivate. Sugary snack items have full-page, glossy pictures in your favourite magazines. And as if all of these weren’t enough, the people in your daily life are another (constant) source of food temptation.
To make matters worse, you’voe been conditioned since childhood to have a positive association with the act of indulging in your cravings. You use food as a reward. You use food as a source of emotional comfort. You use food as a way to relieve stress. And quickly these associations and uses of food become habit. A habit that’s not easily broken.
New Technique to End Food Cravings
Food cravings don’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. Here’s how you can fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.
Remember that your mind is an amazing thing. Once your mind is made up about something it’s nearly impossible to change it.
Try This Powerful Mind Exercise: Imagine that you are peacefully floating down a river on a raft. The sun is shining, birds are chirping, and you are having a fun, relaxing time. You feel wonderful about the river because it’s making you feel happy.
Now change perspectives for a moment. You’re now in a plane flying over the river and the raft. Instantly our eye is drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. Then you look back to the person floating on the raft, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.
With this new perspective of the river, do you think that you’d agree to get on a raft and take your chances floating toward the falls? Laughable, right? You’voe seen the hidden danger of the river. You know it leads to pain and suffering.
Now your negative association (watery death) with the river has replaced your initial positive association (relaxing fun).
This is the key to overcoming food temptations and putting an end to food cravings: building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. I’ll break this process down for you in two steps:
Step One: Create a STRONG Negative Association with Unhealthy Food
You may not have realised it, but up until this point you’voe placed unhealthy, fattening foods on a pedestal in your mind. As long as the wrong foods are on that pedestal you’ll continue to give into your cravings and will continue to gain fat.
Take the wrong food off that pedestal by listing off everything negative about them…
✓ These foods make you unhealthy.
✓ These foods cause weight gain.
✓ These foods drain your energy.
✓ These foods kill your confidence.
✓ These foods lessen your quality of life.
✓ These foods damage your love life.
Every time that you feel tempted to eat an unhealthy food, focus on your list of negatives. Kick the junk off the pedestal and put something healthy in its place.
Step Two: Create a STRONG Positive Association with Wholesome Foods
Now that your mental food pedestal has been cleared, put truly wholesome food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savoury lean meats are the place to start.
List off the things that you love about healthy food…
✓ These foods make you healthy.
✓ These foods promote fat loss.
✓ These foods boost your energy.
✓ These foods build your confidence.
✓ These foods improve your quality of life.
✓ These foods enhance your love life.
I encourage you to immerse yourself into the world of healthy, wholesome foods. Browse the aisles of your local natural foods store. Stroll through a farmer’s market. Pack healthy snacks to bring to work. Clear your kitchen of junk.
Use the technique above consistently and you will soon find that healthy, wholesome foods are your favourite. And craving the wrong foods will be a thing of your past.
6 goal killers inside from A St Johns Wood Personal Trainer
I’ve got a quick list of 6 things you can stop doing now … so you can start getting results NOW!
Ready? Let’s go!
6 Ways You’re Making it Harder to Reach Your Goals
- Aiming too high, too soon. This is a recipe for failure and frustration.
Goals like shedding 20 pounds in a few weeks… or running a marathon within a couple of months can be daunting and discouraging. Instead, set smaller, realistic targets to fuel your long-term progress. If this is an area you struggle with, a coach can help.
- Comparing yourself to others. It’s okay to draw inspiration from others but don’t let their progress define your worth.
Plus, you never know behind-the-scenes of what it REALLY took them to get there. Your journey is unique, so own it and celebrate your progress.
- Over-restricting your diet. Eliminating foods (and food groups), skipping meals, or obsessing over the scale is not only discouraging… but it can lead to cravings, fatigue, and a serious lack of motivation.
Aim for a balanced, enjoyable lifestyle that supports your health and well-being.
- Navigating without a plan. Having a proven game plan to take you from where you are NOW to where you want to be will save you time and effort. Otherwise, you’re relying on guesswork to reach your goal.
- Short-term vision. Being fit for a vacation or an event is great… but staying in shape is even better. Consider your long-term health and avoid the exhausting cycle of temporary fitness.
- Isolating yourself. Everyone needs support. A strong support network or a great coach can hold you accountable and help you reach your goals even faster.
Having someone in your corner cheering you on – and helping you find the inner strength to step out of your comfort zone – is invaluable!
Remember… what you DON’T do is just as important as what you DO do in reaching your goals.
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How to reset your metabolism From A St Johns Wood Personal Trainer
Ready for a quick list of actions you can take starting TODAY that will help you reset your metabolism naturally?
The secret is to upgrade your self-care. (Sorry, I’m not talking about hitting the spa for “you” day. 🙂 )
That’s because your healthy metabolism depends on your healthy daily habits.
Here are the 5 pillars to focus on when it comes to naturally rebooting your metabolism:
- Exercising, including using weights & doing higher-intensity workouts at least 2x a week
- Eating a balanced, low-sugar, whole-foods-based diet that includes protein at every meal — and eating at regular times throughout the day
- Sleeping 7-8 hours every night
- Being more active in general — not only does this burn more calories, but it also “primes” your body to release more fat-burning enzymes
- Have an outlet for your stress — whether it’s meditation, exercise, hobbies, or talking it out with a friend
THEN… once you get your habits squared away, you can start adding a few “extras” to give you a little boost:
- Be diligent about drinking at least 8-10 glasses of water a day
- Add spicy foods to your weekly rotation
- Drink a moderate amount (1-2 cups) of unsweetened coffee or green/oolong tea a day
- Get your vitamin D levels checked because low levels are linked to less energy and a slower metabolism.
Naturally resetting your metabolism is like doing a “reset” on your health and fitness, from the inside out!
I hope this info helps you move closer to your goals. 🚀
How many calories do you burn every day From A St Johns Wood Personal Trainer?
What if I told you there’s ONE number you need to pay attention to BEFORE you start counting calories, macros, or anything else?
For many of us, this number is a complete mystery. But once you figure it out, it’s a complete game-changer.
Ready for it?
It’s your estimated TDEE – aka your Total Daily Energy Expenditure.
In everyday language, it’s how many calories you burn every day.
No matter what your goals are, knowing this number can help you fine-tune your nutrition — and be more intentional with your choices.
● Looking to lose weight? You now have a concrete number to work with to create a deficit.
● Looking to maintain your weight? Knowing your TDEE can help you keep your perfect balance.
● Looking to gain some weight (in the form of muscle)? When you know your numbers, you can do it the healthy “clean” way.
I’ve got a calculator you can use to figure out yours right now.
Here’s the link: https://mynutritioncalculator.com/mifflin-st-jeor-calculator
A little tip for using the calculator: A lot of us overestimate our activity level. Read the choices carefully and think about how active you are on most days of the week. 🙂
It can be a real eye-opener!
Hope this helps you take a step closer to your goals.
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