How to get weight loss results "accidentally"...

When we are focused on achieving a result, there is a danger of over-focusing on the measuring process...

Like weighing ourselves every day or for health measuring blood pressure every day...

And when the numbers don't change or seem to fluctuate in the wrong direction...

It causes unnecessary demotivation...

hydration is the biggest content on the weighing scales we are measuring and it fluctuates, getting anxious over blood pressure figures, is probably responsible for increasing blood pressure...

What if we could get the results we want accidentally?

It's great when my clients tell me, " I wanted to lose weight primarily, which I have done, but my fitness is better, I am more stable and my back isn't as tight"...

These were by-products along the way that may have been less important goals, but were achieved as a result.

So if you find yourself getting frustrated with the endless measuring, change your focus somewhat...

Strive to just have less foods that contain sugar and bad fat for a month or so to get you started...

Aim to improve your energy and monitor how you feel by consistently doing short exercise routines where you can and aiming to find opportunity to be more active...

Just try decreasing alcohol, maybe a glass or two at week ends only...

If some of the above lifestyle elements sound difficult, focus on what triggers eating or drinking things you didn't intend to and ask your self if you felt better or worse after, if worse than your goal is to deal with the trigger and increasing awareness and trying a different response...

Or take up a new class or activity, this can inspire you to improve lifestyle along the way...

Getting results accidentally...

Just by taking a step back slightly and focussing on other elements that help with your main objective.

Ed.

Your "ups and downs" are deciding wether you lose weight or not.

There is a simple thing going on in your body over the course of a day...

Of course it's under your control and effected by your lifestyle...

But it decides in the near future your likely hood for diabetes and increased risk factors for other illnesses...

Decides wether your body fat related weight is creeping up, maintaining or slowly dissolving away...

Can even effect your state of mind...

How hungry you feel, wether you seem to be constantly reaching for simple processed foods or feeling content and craving free for at least a few hours...

Your blood sugar...

Which is relative to your food choices and how active you are...

Eating high energy processed food regularly sends the blood sugar rapidly up and then rapidly down...

Causing a pattern of storing body fat, followed quickly by sugary or high energy cravings and then a repeat of the process...

Whilst getting a good balance of nutrients; moderate energy, enough protein and healthy fat from good sources, stabilises blood sugar...

Exercise stabilises blood sugar by utilising some of our supply...

When blood sugar is stable, we feel fuller for longer, our pancreas doesn't get over worked, our cravings for sugary stuff is decreased and the more constant and ongoing this process is, the more body fat weight we use for energy.

It's a case of being aware of your choices, but it's absolutely in your control.

That's why you can do this.

Ed.

Don't give up your weight loss exercise routine!

Caught the end of a TV programme, this time about exercise, rather than a wacky eating plan...

A sedentary couple were fitness tested and basically shocked into starting an exercise routine...

They were definitely not keen on the gym, or healthy eating but tried to get into a habit...

Some time in, they weighed them selves and nothing had changed much...

Of course cue the big contemplation to give up...

I know so many people who get to this point, it's the reason the gym gets quieter about now...

Of course when they were re-measured, they had lost a lot of body fat and their muscle and water content was higher...

Which means they had lost and their shape was starting to change...

Even with the fancy body composition measurer I use, one component (and it's the biggest of the human body) goes up and down...

Water; the state of your hydration....

It just fluctuates...

So if you are exercising frequently, if you are eating less processed food overall, cutting down on alcohol, or if you have even gone as far as to moderate high energy foods and slightly increase protein and healthy fat...

It's working! (The weighing scale just can't differentiate between good and bad weight)...

There is absolutely no good reason or  advantage to going back to unhealthy habits...

Unless you quite fancy your doctor and want to see more of them...

Or you don't own a single pair of shoes that you would actually like to be able to look directly down and see :)

Stick with it, there will be a whole host of benefits.

Ed.

How to have an ultra fast metabolism.

If you are a regular reader of my blog...

you will know my philosophy is to help people "lose and shape up" and be all together healthier, by adopting a long term lifestyle rather than a quick fix...

I've said before everyone I know who has lost weight rapidly has gained it back and more!

Rapid weight loss promotes a slow metabolism, slow metabolisms make it easier to consume more energy than we need, which turns into the dreaded flabby stuff... 

I know when you are weighing yourself it can be very motivational to see things changing quick...

You see, even by making subtle changes to your lifestyle, when you are aiming to be "healthier lighter" shall we say or even maintaining a high metabolism...

To create a change, the idea is to expend more energy than we ingest...

What tends to be somewhat inevitable is that we lose muscle along the way...

I would recommend doing every thing you can to preserve muscle as this keeps your resting metabolism up...

All this means is getting adequate protein (for maintenance and repair) at each meal and stimulating muscle through regular strength training (can include body weight exercises)...

Trying to consume less energy is hard enough and so is burning more by moving more...

So what if you could naturally burn more calories at rest? You could burn more calories than your peers even while watching TV and no more weight yo yoing.

Ed