Lose Weight, Change Shape and Indulge.

I know for some it is very hard to believe...

Difficult to comprehend even...

That I am not perfect, not just in real life...

But lifestyle...

I don't get excited about lettuce...

Or sprinting on Treadmills or doing push ups...

It's merely a means to an end...

But I am rock solid with my lifestyle habits from Monday morning until Saturday afternoon...

Unshakeable even...

Then at some point Saturday afternoon things change...

Even if there isn't a full moon involved...

I just relax it a bit, in fact I look forward to it...

The problem is I can eat, yes eating protein rich food and healthy fat satisfies you quicker, but for me it only works to some degree...

I don't visit them often, but the word "gluttony" would sum up me at a Buffett, it's not record breaking but my habits do Make Buffett owners sweat...

The first round of a Buffett is a bit of a recce, have a little bit of everything to suss out what's best, and then go back as many times as you can for what tastes best...

At a restaurant with family and friends, they don't have to ask, if there are left overs, they just send them over...

But the point of it all, is that I never ever ask those that I'm working with and helping to give up anything, that's just a short term strategy...

So yes, you can have your favourite indulgences and still get the results you want, you just have to make sure that for most of the time you are practicing good habits...

Then there is no guilt involved, I can enjoy food a Personal Trainer shouldn't be seen to be eating normally...

You can lose, change shape, improve health, feel better, look better and have a little bit of what you like...

See you really can do this...

Ed (As the waiter/waitress asks "did you enjoy your food?" I say mine was good, his was good, hers was good, hers was good, his was good...) Stride.

Focus on this one thing to lose weight.

In this day and age, we are lucky in that we are swamped in information...

We can get the answer to any question with ease...

Although whilst the information is out there, being able to piece it together into a system or programme is harder...

So one tip that you can apply straight away to get results that may be harder to search for is this...

One thing that if applied will get results...

Is to keep an eye on your grams of carbohydrates per meal...

In fact, aim for 30 grams maximum per meal...

This is a biggy, constantly consume over this and you are storing, the same is maintenance, a bit less and you are burning!

But where to start? Depends what point you are at...

The first sources to try and reduce are the obvious ones, that didn't exist until recently and contain processed fat too...

Then the high energy Carbs that have 30grams in a very small portion...

And watch out for the hidden ones, found in ready made sauces, fruit and low fat yoghurts,  ready made smoothies and juices, baked beans, muffins and more!

But if you are overwhelmed by all the information, which is causing you to not take action, through not knowing where to start...

Then focus on this one thing, everyone I know that starts taking action, wonders why they didn't do it sooner...

It will probably change as soon as I mention it, but it's getting warmer, can't hind under layers...

You can do this...

Ed ( Remember different Carbs have different amounts, about two thirds of a cup of pasta is 30g, whilst 800g's of spinach yields 30g, yes I did just enter that into a database, I know, it's called a rock n' roll lifestyle) Stride.

www.loseandshapeupexpert.com

Are you doing regular exercise, but not losing weight?

OK this might not be good as a Personal Trainer to reveal this information...

But the idea is always to help you get results...

I have stated this before many a time...

In the states they did a study with groups of equal people...

The first group were non exercisers who were told to maintain their current eating habits for 12 weeks...

The second group began a consistent exercise programme for the 12 weeks, but were also told to make no changes in their eating habits for the duration...

On average group 1 just about maintained their body weight...

Group 2 on average lost 1.5 Lbs (0.7 Kgs) of body weight...

Relying just on the second and third most effective methods of losing (strength training and interval cardio) yielded a return of 1.5 lbs loss of body weight...

So that must make the first method pretty important then?

I'm aware it's not a fun subject, when I'm discussing how to lose weight with someone (usually they initiate it, be rude just to accost someone say in a lift, where they can't easily escape)...

But depending on how well they know me, would mean the difference of just looking at me with heavy eyes or if a weight loss chat with a friend or family member, them mid way letting out one of those undisguised full on yawns, a bit like the ones Lions give out whilst lying under a tree for 16 hours on a hot day...

But this is further proof if you should need it, that weight loss without making changes to eating habits is not that effective...

Even if you exercise regularly...

There are numerous benefits to exercising regularly, but if the objective is weight loss, then eating habits are key...

So I see it as being my duty for those that have requested my help to make sure the message gets across, to coach, support and hold accountable, because the end result will be worth it...

You can do this.

Ed ( "I don't think it could get any worse than being in a lift with you despatching your advice". Of course it could, the lift could get stuck, the lift could get stuck and I exclaim I have my "lifestyle consultation" form with me, I could keep going... ) Stride.

The one thing that makes weight loss successful and long term.

There is one thing that links everything together...

The more I learn the more I'm finding out it governs a lot of other things in life too...

Regarding my areas of knowledge -lifestyle and in particular helping busy mums and busy professionals lose weight and improve their health...

There are a lot of diet and exercise plans out there, often they are compared to what I teach...

The deeper I dig and research, the more everything comes back to one thing...

Firstly I learned about exercise, it was very clear from the off we were designed to move, it was part of our survival; how we move and our posture and what effected this, it was obvious that the body is an incredibly complex thing and I still have to look things up now...

We are very much governed by the fact our genetics are millions of years old, our bodies primary instinct is short term survival...

When your posture is bad, your body will move however it can - the path of least resistance, not being able to move meant slowly dying for our ancient ancestors... 

When you balance in a controlled way, your body does everything to align you, to stop you falling over and getting injured - detrimental to survival...

Stress was something that warned us we were under threat and we needed to take a evasive action (fight or flight), usually it was more black or white, we survived or we didn't, nowadays stress is less black and white but more prolonged and having increased levels of the hormone cortisol is not healthy and not good for weight loss as the body believes we have survived and there is a need to replenish spent energy, it's why stress and hunger go together...

Big decisions we make now a days can come with a touch of fear and sometimes inaction, especially regarding the unknown, again way back when, a wrong decision could kill us, it's unlikely now but the brain still tries to keep us safe...

I was thrust back into the dating game when I separated quite a while ago, I decided to learn dating phycology, even this was pre ingrained...

What didn't fall into place until a few years in was nutrition...

The relationship between calories consumed and calories burned by someone each day seemed a logical thing to focus on, but didn't quite give us a healthy guide of what we should be eating...

When the above was a little hit and miss, of course it was obvious...

We have this ancient genetic design, that hasn't changed much, in the animal world it's no different- nature provides...

Except humans being "superior" we have started making our own, not developing food to make it even healthier, but focusing on taste and visual appeal, because essentially that sells! 

Business and survival of the fittest, another example!

Every single thing I have learned over the last two decades comes back to this, moving as we were designed and having a diet that consists of naturally found foods as much as possible is the very essence of wether we will successfully be healthy and lose and or maintain a healthy weight.

Ed