Gym St Johns Wood
Good nutrition and discipline forms the cornerstone to fat loss so it’s important we implement smart eating into our routine. Snacking during the day can have a positive effect on achieving better body composition for a number of reasons when its done correctly.
There are a lot of different methods to eating healthily but eating smaller meals more regularly throughout the day is a great option to choose for most people as it keeps their satiety levels in check and stokes their metabolisms for fat loss at Gym St Johns Wood.
The blueprint for leading a healthy well balanced diet is to consume 3 meals a day with 1 or 2 snacks in between. The snacks should be timed to limit hunger and avoid blood sugar levels dipping. You want to avoid the feeling of hunger during the mornings or afternoon as you are far more likely to consume a sugary snack to try and for fill your low energy levels.
Below are suggestions on how to snack smart and enjoy better energy levels and body composition.
Snack for increased Energy Levels.
Most people find that they experience a mid afternoon crash at work where they feel they have low energy levels. “Snacking smart” means that you consume a small snack to avoid this by eating a source of food that is high in protein and healthy fats. This aid’s with stabilizing blood sugar levels and produces sustain energy release until dinner. Below are some great suggestions for some healthy snacks.
- Raw almonds unsalted. These are easy to over eat so make sure you consume a portion which is close to the size of your thumb
- Low fat natural cottage cheese
- Avocado and egg white
- Teaspoon of hummus on whole grain crackers.
- Apple and organic natural un-sweetened and salted peanut butter.
Snack for better Body Composition
Many people when trying to loose body fat assume that less food is better and often cut any snacking out and try to eat little to no carbohydrates.
This approach is not ideal as any results you may initially gain will be at the expense of muscle tissue and will also affect optimal immune system function. Snacking and eating smaller more regular meals ensure you have a well balanced nutritious diet that is healthy and improves body composition. It stops you from feeling hungry during the day and keeps you feeling alert and energized.
In terms of choosing healthy snacks it has to fit in with your daily calorie expenditure and nutrient needs.
If you want to become lean and loose body fat choose low calorie nutrient filled snacks. If you have a strenuous training schedule and you want to add muscle or replenish your body with fuel opt for high protein high calorie snacks.
Snacking to meet your nutritional demands
Snacking will help you reach your nutritional targets through the day in regards to vegetable, calcium, protein and fruit intake.
They offer you an opportunity to consume valuable nutrients your body needs to function and burn fat. It is important to be organised when it comes to your nutrition so always try to have healthy snacks ready made and available for when you need them. This will go a long way to helping you avoid snacking on sugary quick fix snacks.
The Variety of food you eat throughout the week is important for several reasons. Making sure you eat a variety of foods throughout the week ensures your body is getting amount of nutrients and it helps to keep you satisfied.
If you eat the same meals day in day out you are far more likely to slip up because you will be sick of it.
Ideal small meals or snacks include boiled egg salad with mixed spinach leaves, tomatoes and Kidney beans. Tuna and low fat cottage cheese with black pepper and tomatoes. Avocado, beetroot salad with mixed leaves, basil, feta and grilled salmon.
Weight Loss London
Below are five steps that you can implement to generate a fat melting environment for your body. By following these steps you will be able to increase your metabolism, maintain lean muscle tissue, optimise hormonal function and strengthen your immune system.
In order to achieve the above you have to assess your lifestyle then adapt or change certain parts of it. This doesn’t mean it has to be disruptive to your life, usually its simple small factors that you may need to tweak in regards to how you exercise and your approach to nutrition.
If you are successful in making these small lifestyle changes you will lose body fat and keep it off.
The five steps below are small adjustments you need to make in order to get great results.
Step 1) Cutting out sugary Drinks
There have been many studies that indicate sugary drinks have a strong correlation to weight gain.
This study from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio concluded that those who drank two or more diet soft drinks a day had the largest waistline increases—about five times more than that of non-drinkers.
Soft drinks often have misleading information and marketing on them stating their healthy etc. Even if they are low in calories they will be high in sweeteners and additives creating health issues.
They also increase your appetite for other sugary foods. So by adjusting to drinking water or green tea you will dramatically promote fat loss.
Step 2) Stop eating bread
The energy in white bread especially is released rapidly into the blood stream. Your body cannot process it all so instead of being used as a fuel for the body it is more likely to be stored as fat.
Make lifestyle changes by swopping bread for alternatives. Instead of having a traditional tuna sandwich with bread, opt for tuna lettuce raps. Select a robust type of lettuce leaf such as a gem lettuce and rap the tuna up inside it and adding vegetables.
Step 3) Intensity is Key when it comes to Cardio.
In order to achieve better body composition we need to implement the most effective forms of training that will help to produce results efficiently.
There have been many studies into what forms of cardio are most beneficial for fat loss and maintain good body composition levels. They found that high intensity interval training is the most efficient for fat loss when compared to steady state aerobic exercise.
To implement high intensity training into your program complete short rounds of exercise at your maximum rate of intensity followed by a short rest period and then repeat for a desired number of rounds or time.
For example Sprint for 30seconds followed by rest for 30 seconds and repeat for 10 rounds or more.
Step 4) Cut down on sugar
Cutting down on sugar is another change which has to happen if you’re going to achieve a leaner physique. Your body doesn’t need refined sugars so don’t consume any and you will eventually feel and look much better for it.
Many people crave sugary snacks but avoid it by filling up on whole foods and keep your blood sugar levels steady.
Step 5) Find a good personal Trainer
Employ a professional to take the guessing out of your workouts. When I write your personalised programme it is designed produce the best results in the most efficient time possible.
By using the knowledge and experience I have in body transformations you can expect to build lean muscle tissue, burn body fat optimise hormonal function through good nutrition.
Take a look at the body transformations my clients have already achieved.
Before and After
There are many before and after pictures of people who have lost a considerable amount of body fat and added lean muscle tissue improving their physic, lifestyle and confidence.
They worked hard to achieve what they have achieved and didn’t give up when things got tough which is the attitude you need to improve your body composition and quality of life.
Many people are still trapped inside a physic that they hate. They are despite to change things around but different obstacles keep getting in their way such as family commitments, work and social life so they put it off for another week or month. The truth is you will always be faced with these obstacles in life so don’t hide behind them.
Find away around them and make your self happy with the body you live in.
Get the body you deserve
Realizing that you have the power to change your life around is where it starts. By taking responsibility your health and fitness you build the body you want. Below are 3 steps to follow to make these changes and achieve your goals.
1) Feel the pain
Remember the pain caused by your un-happiness with the body you live in and let this emotion drive you forward. Use it as motivation to stay focused and work to achieve what you need to do regain your confidence, health and lean physic.
2) Set Your Goals
Set your goals and know what you want to achieve. This clarity will help you work hard because you have a specific motive. Picture the body you want and get it.
3) Get on With it
Do not get stuck on the first step, actually putting in the hard work is what really counts so you have to stop thinking about it and put all your efforts into achieving it. There is no time like the present to get started on your nutrition and workouts.
Stop gaining and start loosing
Gaining weight can be due to a number of different factors in your life which can effect eating and exercise patterns. Why has your body weight increased and how can you stop it increasing further.
1) Avoid these fat mistakes
People go through different things in life which effect them in different ways. Similarly people gain fat for different reasons, whether its comfort eating due to depression or lack of exercise because of low confidence there is never one simple solution that works for everyone. You have to come to terms with the reason why your comfort eating or not exercising to get the results you really want.
The first step is to think back to when you where at your healthiest weight and ask your self when did I start putting on weight. Did you put it on slowly over a long period of time or was it sudden? Below are some major events in people’s lives which often effect peoples eating and exercise habits.
A) University:
Studies show that time spent at University is the easiest time for us to gain body fat. This is usually down to the life style students lead from drinking more alcohol to not eating right.
B) Being Married:
Putting on weight when you’re married can be easy. Through comfort eating in front of the TV with your partner can quickly put on the pounds.
C) Pregnancy:
During pregnancy women of course put weight on but so do men. Through sympathy eating with their partner. Men often gain weight too.
d) Work: The type of work you do largely effects your body composition. Many people spend hours sitting behind a desk every day with a commute to and from work leaving little time to exercise.
The second step is to again think of the time things started to slip and work out where the changes in your lifestyle. Below are some behavioural categories that may be what changed for you.
A) Nutritional Habits:
Was it you’re eating patterns that changed during university or marriage for example? Often peoples nutritional habits change due to adjustments in their life and it could be that you had a well balanced diet eating sensibly to filling up on empty calories from alcohol and eating cheap processed foods at University.
B) Activity Level:
The second point is your activity level which can lead to weight gain. Think about how active you where before your life changing event and are you doing anything different now.
Now you can be sure of what events started the weight gain and what behavioral patterns changed as a result you can make your first step in putting things right by contacting me.
5 Marketing scams that won’t get you a flat stomach
Summer is around the corner and it’s now you have to think about your training and nutrition if you really want to achieve your goals by the summer. There’s money to be made from people who are desperate to shed their body fat ready for their holidays and the summer months so in this blog I will list 5 marketing scams that will not help you achieve your goals so you don’t waste your time or money.
1) Fat burning Pills
People want to believe there is a quick fix to looking and feeling great so are easily sold on diet pills. There expensive and they don’t work effectively. Instead strip body fat and stay lean and healthy through regular intense exercise. Not only will you improve your body composition but you will increase cardiovascular health too.
2) Sit ups everyday isn’t the answer
Many people are led to believe that performing sit up or crunches is what’s needed to reveal tight abs. This is a big mistake leading to disappointment. Big compound exercises such as front squats, deadlifts, over head presses and pull ups are the best way to build a solid core. Then you need to incorporate high intensity cardiovascular work to further help strip the layer of abdominal fat away to expose your chiselled mid section.
3) Weight loss and Fad Diets
There a plenty of companies who release pre packed diets marketing them as low fat or low calorie meals. They often contain refined sugars or artificial ingredients that your body can’t use effectively. Stick to whole foods to ensure your body receives all the nutrients it needs to function and burn body fat.
4) Avoiding Carbohydrates to burn fat
Don’t avoid carbohydrates all together; your body needs them for fuel. Stick to eating complex carbohydrates for higher energy levels such as sweet potatoes, quinea and bulgar wheat for slow sustained energy release and to keep blood sugar levels stable.
5) Making yourself Hungry
This is a very common mistake. People who cut their calories drastically in an effort to lose weight, slow there metabolism down, they become irritable and much more likely to binge of refined sugars. If you don’t give your body the nutrients it needs it can’t function properly. Eat smaller nutritious meals throughout the day.
Avoid the 5 marketing scams above and you will save money and time in achieving a tight defined torso. Below are 3 simple points you need to be aware of in order to achieve your goals.
1) No Processed foods
Cut out processed foods. Clear your kitchen out of junk food so you aren’t tempted and remind yourself of your goals and why you want to achieve it.
2) Eat Nutritious Foods
Only consume whole foods such as fresh vegetables, whole grains, raw nuts, lean meats and fish. Keep your diet clean.
3) Train efficiently
Train efficiently with me. Take all the guess work out of your workout programming and cut the time it takes to achieve anything in half by training with a professional.
7 ways of staying lean and healthy
When you have worked hard and reached your original goal you now have to stay focused and keep it on. This blog will look at 7 ways of staying lean and maintaining a healthy body.
1) Keep Active
Don’t forget how you achieved your goals in first place. It’s vital that a resistance program should form the cornerstone of your workouts with some form of interval training at the end of the session to enhance your fat burning capabilities. It is essential to have your nutrition plan become second nature while becoming more active in everyday life.
2) Nutrition
Eating well is a lifestyle which you have to maintain to stay lean. Stick to basics of a well balanced nutritious diet. Cut out all processed foods, consume healthy fats from almonds avocados and eggs, lean protein from chicken, fish and lean red meat, lots of dark green vegetables and complex carbohydrates found in sweet potato.
3) Avoid TV
Many people watch up to 35 hours of TV every week. Not only are you sitting down being inactive, it encourages snacking and a sedentary lifestyle. Get out and about and live life.
4) Simplicity is Key
Your nutrition is not complicated; as long as you have a balanced diet you can eat similar meals to keep it simple.
5) Keeping on Top
Make sure you keep on top of your weight management, weigh yourself every 2 weeks to monitor your progress.
6) Eat for muscle tissue growth and not emotions
Eating emotionally is often the reason why people become overweight. Nutrition is to be used as fuel for your metabolism and muscle synthesis, eliminate emotional eating.
7) Forget the slip up
You will have bad days for different reasons, life will get in the way and you may not have the time to workout etc. Do not let this discourage you, tomorrow is another day and you must get back on track straight away.
How to be Successful
Many people set them selves goals which they want to achieve but never do. Their failure can be put down to a number of factors such as, unrealistic goal setting, no action plan in place or loss motivation. How do we get around these problems and make sure we are successful in achieving our fitness goals?
An approach popularised by author and psychologist Richard Wiseman uncovers 5 points which will help you achieve your goals and 5 points to avoid doing. These points are listed below and taken from Wisemans book; 59 Seconds Change Your Life in Under a Minute
1) What you should do
Set your goal and then you must create an action plan on how to achieve it. The plan should be broken down into achievable goals which need to be measurable; time based and is productive in helping you achieve your overall goal.
2) What you should not do
It is good to have a role model but you cannot focus your motivation around that person. This motivation will not be strong enough to help you sustain your fitness; it has to be more then this.
3) What you should do
Always tell your family and friends about your goal and what you are going to do to achieve this. This holds you accountable for doing the hard work. If you tell the people around you what you’re going to do, you’re far more likely stay focused and driven to succeed, not only because of the support you will receive from them but there will be that added pressure to succeed.
4) What you should Not do
Don’t start focusing on the negatives about what you have to do. If you start doing this it will become very hard to sustain.
5) What you should do
Write down and keep a copy of the list which has all the positives on it. Use it to motivate your self and remind your self of the benefits that will come from achieving your goal such as a better lifestyle and better confidence.
6) What you should Not do
A common mistake when it comes to nutrition is trying to ignore the tempting foods like biscuits and block them from your mind. This technique rarely works for people as you will always be around these types of processed foods. The answer is to learn how to deal with them being there.
7) What you Should do
It’s important to reward your self for your success to keep you motivated and encourage further success. These rewards should never conflict with your overall goal so don’t use food to motivate your self.
8) What you should not do
Although you do need it, you cannot rely on your willpower alone to succeed.
9) What you should do
Always keep a detailed journal of your nutrition and workout program. This tracks your progress and highlights anything you may need to change.
10) What you should not do
Start daydreaming, you have to get on with it and work hard.
Common problems that prevent us from reaching our fitness goals
It’s not easy getting lean, becoming fit, building muscle or getting strong, if it was everyone would be exactly that. Achieving your fitness goals and living life the way you want to sounds great. You know you are over weight or maybe your week and you want to do something about it, but you can never seem to make it apart of your life because of the challenges that life gives you. This blog will discuss some solutions you can adopt to over come these obstacles and achieve your fitness goals.
1) Achieving your goals is hard work
Many people will evade hard work when it comes to working out, and instead pleasure them selves with treats. The best way around this scenario is to find something painful about being overweight. Use this emotion as your motivation and drive to successfully sustain a good nutrition plan and a work out program.
Think about all the negatives points of being overweight on your lifestyle, confidence and health and tell your self this pain far out weighs the pain of training hard and eating well.
2) Portion Control
Portion control is something we face everyday. It’s our decision making when it comes to how much food we consume that effects the amount of body fat we carry. Our natural instincts tell us to consume plenty calories and keep eating, the fact is that these days we don’t need that much. Most of us lead fairly sedentary lifestyles so we need to control our portion sizes. Suggestions on how to over come this problem are listed below.
- Eat at a slow pace to allow for digestion
- Drink water with your meal
- Eat a good amount of protein and vegetables to help fill you up
3) When Life gets Busy.
Life often gets very busy with work commitments and social events. The first thing that takes a backwards step is our fitness and nutrition programs, which is unfortunate. We need to realise the importance of staying healthy and getting enough sleep, working out regularly and eating whole foods should come first on your agenda, there is nothing more important than your health. Push your fitness to the top of list, plan things around your workouts and remind your self that exercise and healthy living is a necessity in life, you will feel better for it.
4) You are worth it
It is often a vicious circle of low confidence, comfort eating and lack of exercise that keeps people from achieving their fitness goals. You have to start believing that you are worth it. You can achieve what you want this will give you a chance to get started and break those bad habits.
You deserve a lean healthy body so start believing and starting an exercise plan will be a lot easier.
5) Do not be scared.
Failure is something everyone fears and most people often stay clear of things they may fall short of because of this fear of failure. Change can also worry people as they don’t like to be out side of their comfort zone but you have to stay on top of both these things and make the change for the better. Changes will have to happen to make you successful such as your nutrition plan, workout program, buying new clothes that fit and lifestyle changes like becoming more active. Always remind yourself that by achieving your goal and loosing body fat your life will change for the better.
The behaviour that shapes your lifestyle
Our behaviour is what shapes our personality and our lifestyle. How do you behave? What are your habits?
It’s important to understand that if we make good habits in our life, our lifestyle and health will follow.
If we make a habit of getting 8 hours of sleep a night we will have higher levels of testosterone. As a consequence you will be leaner, have less stress and better brain function. If we make a habit of pre packing lunch and healthy snacks to take to work, you will increase performance at work and avoid the mid afternoon crash due to unstable blood sugar levels.
It’s easy to make bad habits such as eating sugar rich puddings every night after dinner, or not getting enough sleep. John Dryden famously said, “We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” It is the small things we do or don’t do that mould your physique and personality. In terms of health and fitness, it’s your approach to exercise and nutrition that determines whether you’re lean and strong, or over weight and weak. So adjust these two habits to make sure they are healthy habits and work for you.
This is how to do it:
Make a Habit out of it
Follow my suggestions below to change your behaviour, adjust your habits and meet your fitness goals.
1) The first thing you need is to come to a decision on what habit would you like to develop. By targeting one specific habit to develop at a time you are more likely to achieve it. Below are some great habits that will help you reach your goals:
- Eat a good source of protein for breakfast and avoid processed food such as cereal.
- Take a packed lunch to work
- Exercise 3-4 times a week including weight training and interval training
- Find a personal trainer and accelerate your goals
2) Record your one habit and write it down. Think about what is motivating you to make these adjustments, what problems you may face and how you’re going to over come these obstacles and achieve. Below is an example of what you would write down so you can remind yourself why and how you’re going to achieve your goals.
- I am going to eat a good source of protein for breakfast and cut out cereals
- My motivation is to 1) loose 10kg for my summer holiday. 2) increase my core strength to eliminate my back pain 3) Increase my energy levels
- Problems I may face are 1) not having enough time in the morning to get breakfast. 2) Not performing the most effective exercises to strengthen my core muscles and performing them incorrectly. 3) Not having enough energy to workout after I finish work.
- Solutions on how to over come the obstacles 1) Make breakfast the night before and leave in the fridge to speed things up in the morning. 2) Find a good personal trainer to help educate and coach me on technique. 3) Workout before going to work.
3) Let your friends and family know about your new habit, this will hold you more accountable for changing your habits.
4) Make sure you keep a detail journal of your workouts in terms of reps, sets, load and rest periods etc.
5) If you do not complete your habit make sure you figure out the reason for failing so you can avoid it in future.
6) Make sure you reward yourself when you do succeed.
After a while your new habit will become second nature you start doing it without thinking about it. Once this happens, think of another habit you want to develop and start the process again.
Fitness in 2013
Although I am a firm believer in that there is no time like the present to start exercising and eating well, January offers a clean slate for everyone to asses how they feel and consider what they need to do to achieve there fitness goals.
It’s due to this reason that the health and fitness industry becomes very busy with new clients, all wanting to shed body fat, build lean muscle and feel more energetic and alert. You may want to achieve your goals in the New Year and build a more confident, stronger, fitter, leaner version of your self.
Below are 5 points that I think will happen over the next year for many people.
1) 2013 will be the year that many people will reach there fitness goals.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes are increasing along with cardiovascular disease, and the general public are starting realise the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. There is much more awareness of good nutrition and why processed foods are so damaging to you. People are also becoming aware of what exercise can do for you and the quality of life.
2013 will be the year that many people will live a healthier lifestyle. Due to the awareness and information available there is no excuse to start improving the quality and longevity of life.
2) 90% of people’s new years resolutions will fail.
This prediction may seem slightly discouraging to some people however, there are several reasons why this usually is the case, and I have some easy suggestions on how to avoid failure and achieve your New Years resolution.
People often set unrealistic goals that they are unlikely to achieve, there for end up giving up. The key to achieving your New Years fitness goals is to set your self smart attainable goals. Set out a plan so you know how you are going to achieve your target. For example:
- Instead of simply stating your going to loose 15kg in 6 months, make a commitment to training 3-4 times a week.
- Instead of saying I am going to cut out carbohydrates from my diet, commit to eating a healthy breakfast everyday and become organised with taking nutritious food to work to avoid eating out at lunch times.
- Rather then saying your cutting all refined sugars out of your diet, set a realistic goal of eating well through out the week and having one cheat meal a week.
- Set your self smaller but achievable goals. Instead of setting a target of dropping 4 dress sizes in as many months, commit to losing a 2kg every week until you reach the size you want.
New Year resolutions have to be attainable. You need a plan to achieve and sustain them. Setting smaller achievable goals is the best way to do it.
3) We will fast track clients to achieving there fitness goals in 2013.
Our passion is helping clients change there life and achieve there goals. January is always an exciting time as we get to work with new clients and help them accomplish great things. Through hard work and dedication we love to accelerate every client’s achievements.
4) Our system gets results for clients in 2013 fast!
Our programming and expertise accelerates client’s achievements. If a client uses our programming and nutrition strategies over the next year they will achieve there goals in 2013. Our programs are a built around tried and tested strategies, combined with cutting edge science and nutrition all personalised to the individual.
5) Train with us in 2013 and your success if guaranteed.
By committing to us you will be among the 10% that will achieve their fitness goals in 2013. We are about getting results for our clients, we will help you strip body fat, build lean muscle tissue and make you feel great. If you train with us, 2013 will be a great year for you.
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