Its Time to Set Some New Goals/Shake Up Your Life

My theme this week is twofold.  I received lots of emails mentioning that its" status quo", results seem to have to a standstill.  I am also aware that we are now 12 weeks out from one of the biggest community events - the City to Bay.

Progress towards goals, whether its weight loss/fat loss/performance will regularly come to a standstill.  Our bodies get so good at adapting to what we are doing that before long what we are doing is no longer a challenge, and no longer forcing our bodies to adapt.  So the key here is to do something different.  Eat some different foods, change your exercise routine.  Try a new form of exercise, swap mornings for evenings, split a long session into two smaller sessions in the morning/night, pick up the weight training, start running.  Shake SOMETHING up.

In line with this, if you have found sending your measurements in here helpful, because it keeps you accountable, then I'd like to introduce to the concept of a training plan for a particular event - eg the City to Bay Fun Run.  A training plan has sessions scheduled ahead of time for you, gradually increasing the demands on your body so that you are prepared to meet the challenge on race day. Without a doubt, goals and training plans like this keep you accountable.  You don't want to miss a session for fear that you wont be ready on race day.  And the skill/fitness progression is scheduled in for you.  You don't have to think about how much you should do each week to keep improving, you just look at your schedule and do it.  So maybe this is a good way to take yourself to the next level.  Races like the City to Bay have training schedules on their website.  But if you would like a personalised one to walk it, walk/run it, or run it - then book in for me to set one up for you.  ($50 - either a face to face consult or via email, and then I will write it for you).  But be quick because its time to start training.  And if you follow my training program, I'm offering spa/champagne at the end at Glenelg, and maybe we should also do a group trip to Lorna Jane!

One final word - The City to Bay is a 12km fun run.  Any one of you could walk this provided you train properly. Most of you could walk/run it with some guidance.  Many of you could run it.  This is an achievable goal for everyone, and if the date doesn't suit you (Sunday Sept 15) there are plenty of other runs around.  Just tell me what length you would like to do and I'll find the run for you.

Week 8 Results
(NB we missed congratulating Anisa last week - I erroneously missed her great loss of 1.08% which would have put her in third place. Watch out for this girl - she's training for a Tough Mudder!)

This week:
1st Place: 1.69% Kathryn H
2nd Place: 0.94% Deb S
3rd Place: 0.77%  Anisa A

Overall
1st Place:  8.49% Trudy B
2nd Place: 8.30 % Ali C
3rd Place: 6.81% Ingrid C

Ooooh its close!
Hopefully I haven't made any more mistakes... Have a good week

Help I'm sick/Help its too cold/Seasonal Winter Weight Gain

Its true, research shows that people tend to gain weight, or find it hard to lose weight over winter.
Why?  It might be about the influx of colds and flu. It might be about the cold putting people off exercise. Or it might just be about winter comfort foods.   What ever the reason, don't let the season (out of your control) control your achievement of your goals.  Winter, is not an excuse, its just a rationalisation.

When you are sick:

Its time to assess how sick you really are. If your symptoms are all above the neck - you are fine to exercise if you can manage it.   ie - got the sniffles, no reason why you can't run. Can't lift your head of the pillow - then realistically you aren't going anywhere regardless.
If your symptoms are below the neck - congestion, breathing difficulties etc, you can still exercise but you need to reduce the intensity.  So avoid the cardio that makes breathing more difficult, and focus on low intensity weight training, or yoga, pilates etc.  Now's a great time to concentrate on your flexibility.  And if you are home from work - its gives you plenty of time to stretch 2 or 3 times a day, something you would normally not be able to fit in.  Gentle exercise will increase blood flow and help with your recovery
However if you have a fever, you must rest.

But remember - weight loss is 80% about your diet.  So here's a great opportunity to review what you are eating and make some great choices.  Don't forget that if you are sick, your body is probably burning some extra calories to fight the bugs, so its an extra opportunity to lose some weight.  Fight the urge for comfort eating , or at least limit it.

When its too cold:
Really?  People go running in the snow - what's your excuse?  Would you rather run in 40 degree heat?  Or in the rain?  Or are you just coming up with excuses.  At least exercise will warm you up!
Here are my tips:

• The night before set out your clothes, including some nice warm layers.
• Have your mental messages ready about how good you will feel to have done it, disappointed if you don't.
• Have a heater ready to switch on to make the whole getting out of bed thing easier.
• Remember that it feels the same what ever time you get up - might as well be now and start the day off on a good note.
• Choose an alternative exercise if you don't want to go outside.  Eg. - plan to run on the treadmill or do something else inside - have a heater set up and on for when you start, and see how long it takes you to be desperate to switch the thing off.
• Come to the gym and do a class with me at night - you got your warm sleep in, in the morning, and the trade off is to come from work to the gym, get nice and hot and sweaty, and then go home to the comfort of fire/heater, as a reward for doing a great job.  it will also help reduce your hunger in the evenings.
• And if you are competitive...... think about how good you will look after winter, compared to everyone else who has been  lazin around eating bucket loads of calories!

So who's in control - you?  or the weather?

The Double Whammy!

Here they are - 2 weeks worth of results.
If your name is not here - why not?  Dont let winter (or anything else) beat you!  More about this later.

Week 6 Results:
1st Place Trudy B - 1.99%
2nd Place Ingrid C - 1.05%
3rd Place - Maree C - 0.88%

Week 6 Overall
1st Place - Ali C - 8.12%
2nd Place - Trudy B - 7.12%
3rd Place - Ingrid C - 5.72%


Week 7
1st Place - Kel D -  3.53%
2nd Place - Ingrid C - 1.09%
3rd Place - Trudy B - 1.02%

Week 7 Overall
1st Place - Trudy B - 8.23%
2nd Place - Ali C - 8.12%
3rd Place - Ingrid C 6.81%

And so we have a new leader - well done Trudy!  But can you hold on to it.  There are a few people seeing some extraordinary  results - I (and everyone else) would love to hear from you - what are your tips/secrets?  Post here or on facebook - would love to hear from you.

PS - I didn't have my normal system this week for recording the leader board - so if I have messed up - let me know!

Never Count Your Chickens....

... Before they Hatch -well that's my learning at least for last week.  Wrote a great post last Monday (week ago) about 21 minute exercise regimes, decided not to post it on Monday - but to save it for mid -week motivation, and when I went back to publish it - whammo - gone!  It seems I didn't save it properly.  And there I was thinking I was super organised.  Now I'll have to redo it.  ah well.

Have been reading heaps over the last few weeks about nutrition, spurred on by the "Born to Run" bible - a fantastic novel (true story) about running ultra marathons and the benefits of barefoot running, and then Scott Jurek's book Eat and Run - one of the world's best VEGAN ultrarunner who is featured in Born to Run.  If you didn't know - ultrarunner's may run 100 miles or for as long as 36+ hours - hence  good nutrition is absolutely vital.  Scott totally believes that what you put in your body has a big impact on performance.  The key take home message is that weight loss may be about calories in versus calories out, but performance, recovery times, injury and illness prevention are all about the quality of the food you put in your mouth.

Any way - here are the results for Week 4

1st Place:  Emma G - 1.87%
2nd Place: Ella H - 1.8%
3rd Place- Jo A -1.51%

Overall

1st Place:  Ali C - 7.57%
2nd Place: Tracey B - 5.22%
3rd Place: Ingrid C - 4.64%

There are some newcomers to the leaderboard - make sure if you see them you make them feel special - its always nice to receive a bit of recognition for your hard work.  Also - placegetters, dont get too comfortable  - you can't tell, but there are many others very hot on your tail, only narrowly missing out!

Have a good week

Lisa

Oh and the photo - its my view at the moment - am holidaying this week in my new apartment at Glenelg....!!!!!

Week 3 Results are in .....

Here they are:
Want to be a part of the action - ask these people what they are doing!

Week 3
1st Place:  Jo  A        - 1.73%
2nd Place: Andrea B - 1.69%
3rd Place: Hannah G - 1.51%

Overall
1st Place:  Ali C  -      7.3%
2nd Place:  Ingrid C - 4.64%
3rd Place:  Tracey B - 3.75%

One of the things that occurred to me this week is the distinction between being comfortable with what you eat, being relaxed with what you eat, and having rules about what you eat.

We need to find the first.

There is no point me telling you to eat what I'm eating - not many people are ready or willing to foods they have never heard of - and I don't expect you to.  You need to eat foods that are tasty and palatable to you, but not excessive in calories and as wholesome as possible so that you can keep eating them.  I also don't want you to have so many "rules" about what you can eat, that it becomes an obsessive endeavour.

On the other hand - if you are on a 10 week challenge to make a difference - you can't be totally relaxed about it.  You can't afford to have a "poor" eating week or weekend!  Bad choices whilst eating out, alcohol etc can totally negate a whole weeks worth of hard work. Do you really want to eat well for a week, then cancel out your hard efforts the next week, sending you straight back to where you started?  The key is diligence and consistency.

The relaxation about eating and enjoying a weekend of "eating out"  comes when you have achieved your "happy weight", and are not looking to achieve significant losses.  Also - once you've achieved this, you've changed your nutritional habits so much that you wont eat the same anyway.  Yes, there is good science to a "cheat meal" once a week - provided you have been sticking diligently to your nutrition plan, and its only 1 meal out of 35 (yes ideally you are eating 5 small meals/day, 7 days/week).  So dig deep and plan all those social activities carefully.  Remember the purpose is in the socialising, not the eating or drinking. You'll be surprised how much more you will enjoy them when you know you get the fun plus the satisfaction of knowing you have stuck to you goals and are that much closer!

What Should I Eat?

When I talk to people about when to eat protein and carbohydrate, do people actually know what foods I'm talking about?  And how much is a real serve?

Do you eat a really healthy diet but still gain weight?  Perhaps your serving sizes are not realistic - the information below from CoachCalorie gives you a good system for estimating serving sizes - you may be surprised.

Eating small servings but still gaining/not losing weight?  Perhaps the quality of your food is not ideal.  See the list below of what you should be eating.  

When I talk about what to eat when, I refer to macronutrients - its a way of classifying food into three main areas:  Protein, Carbohydrates and Fat.  Most people can identify protein and fat but are unsure about carbohydrates - these are basically fruit, vegetables and grains.  Within these groupings are good choices and not so good choices nutritionally. (eg chocolate is a carbohydrate with limited nutritional value).  The lists below give you an idea of good choices

Notice the lack of things like white flour, pastry, breadcrumbs, cream/creamy sauces, salt, processed meats (eg things like salami, sausages, processed deli meats), packaged foods like cornflakes, biscuits, instant meal packets etc.  Your plate, or your food for the day - should be packed full of just these things below - maybe the occasional additional item.  eg fresh salmon and vegies for tea not schnitzel and chips, no matter how you cook it.

Many of these foods may be unfamiliar to you.  Why do we limit our foods so much?  I have had a great journey in enjoying and experimenting with new foods and you can too.  I'm going to try and post one recipe per week that I've tried and enjoyed and you can give it a go too and see what you think

CoachCalorie also gives you an idea as to how many serves per day, and at the end how often.  

from: www.coachcalorie.com

Protein

Most people get too little protein in their diets. Increasing protein intake can stimulate your metabolism, improve exercise recovery and muscle mass, and reduce body fat 

One serving of protein = the size and thickness of one palm of your hand for a woman, and 2 palms for a man. This equals about 20-30g for women and 40-60g for men, 3-5x per day. Here are some examples of protein sources:

• chicken, beef, turkey, bison, or other lean meats
• tuna, salmon, shrimp, crab or other wild-caught fish/shellfish
• Eggs (have only 6-7g of protein each, so best to add to a smaller portion of meat or other protein source)
• greek yogurt
• legumes/beans
• supplements such as whey or soy protein powder 

Vegetables

Vegetables can be eaten pretty much without restriction. Load them on your plate and fill up on them before you move onto the other foods. Full of phytonutrients, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, they are essential to your overall health, fight illnesses like cancer, and keep your bones strong and your muscles from deteriorating over time 

One serving of veggies = enough to fill your two hands cupped together. Eat 1-2 servings of veggies with each meal, 3-6x a day. Basically every single time you eat, add a veggie. Here are some examples of vegetables:

• spinach, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, cabbage
• broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts
• carrots
• bell peppers
• asparagus
• summer and winter squash
• celery, cucumber
• sweet potato, yams (starchy, so keep these to one serving per day if trying to drop fat)

Fruits

Like vegetables, fruits also contain micronutrients and fiber. Unlike vegetables, it is best to limit fruit if trying to drop weight, because it does have a high sugar content, even though it is natural sugar.

One serving of fruit = a medium sized piece. Eat fruit 2-3x per day. Here are some examples:

• apples
• bananas
• strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries
• mango
• peaches, plums, apricots
• oranges, grapefruit, tangerines

Healthy Fats

Fat got such a bad rap in the last few decades. The truth is that a balance of saturated (yes! saturated!) and unsaturated fats is essential for good health. The right balance of fats keeps your body inflammation in check, gives you energy for your brain and the rest of your body, and transports the vitamins and minerals you eat throughout your system 

One serving of fat = 2 thumbs put together, or 2 tablespoons. Have 1 serving 2-3x per day. Eat a mix of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats for optimum nutrition. Here are examples of each:

Saturated

• animal fat such as eggs, dairy, meat, butter, cheese
• coconut and palm oil

Monounsaturated

• nuts such as almonds, cashews, pistachios, macadamias, pecans
• pumpkin seeds
• olives, olive oil
• avocado

Polyunsaturated

• fish oil, canola oil, flax oil
• sunflower seeds, flax seed
• peanuts, walnuts

Whole Grains

Whole grains are healthy because they are high in fiber and nutrients. Try to always ingest whole grains with a protein or fat to slow down the digestion and keep insulin levels steady. If your goal is fat loss, eat these in the morning or after your workout when insulin sensitivity is prime.

One serving = size of fist. Eat one or two servings per day. Here are samples of whole grains: (watch out for processed foods like cereals and cookies that claim to be “whole grain”!)

• oats
• rice, preferably brown or wild
• barley
• quinoa
• whole grain bread or pasta
• cracked wheat
• millet

Put It All Together to Create Healthy Meals

So now that you know proper portion sizes and how often you should be eating them, you can plan your meals accordingly.  Each meal will have a serving of protein and a veggie or two. Add in fruit and fat 2-3x a day, and the optional whole grain – choosing from the foods listed above or others you find. You now have the blueprint for a healthy meal plan! Enjoy.

For this week: sit down and plan out your meals according to the above recommendations with foods that you know you will enjoy, and won’t be too difficult to prepare.

Week 2 Results

Here they are:

Week 2
1st Place:  Ingrid C - 2.55%
2nd Place: Ali C -     1.78%
3rd Place: Jacqui H -1.72%

Overall Leaderboard
1st Place - Ali C -       6.85%
2nd Place - Ingrid C - 4.06%
3rd Place - Tracey B  2.8%

Well done to everyone on a great week!
(Now sometimes I make mistakes - so if I've missed you off this list - let me know!)

At the risk of sounding like a broken record...

Whilst I finish off the last few results for Week 2, I am struck by a persistent theme of disappointment regarding little change on the scales.

So at the risk of sounding like a broken record (albeit a very cute one above) may I remind you that:

The Tape Measure Talks the Truth, and the Scales LIE!

So many of you saw little change on the scales but LOST cm's off the waist and hips - showing great fat loss, and overall great results.  This is why its a "transformation" challenge and not a "weight loss" challenge.  Because we want to increase muscle and decrease body fat - and sometimes on the scales this just evens itself out.  A smaller number on the scales (which might be the result of decreased muscle, increased body fat, which often happens with reduced nutritional intake and lack of exercise) wont get you into that smaller pair of jeans, or make you arms, abs and legs look any more shapely.

Even my pizza eater (you know who you are!) who saw the increased number on the scales the next day, dropped cm's from the weeks effort.

I'm so glad that I can feed this back to you in your results, because how often to people respond to the stubborn scales by giving up, when in fact they are making great changes, and just not looking in the right place.

So keep up the great work - and remember - The Mighty Tape Measure Rules!

Dont Run to Get Fit...

A controversial statement perhaps..... Especially from someone who loves to run!

Here's why
Running can be one of the most glorious exhilirating experiences in your life.  It can be done anywhere you are - you dont need a gym, a special time, or any fancy equipment.  All you need is a pair of shoes, (and as I experiment with barefoot running,  I'm learning you possibly don't even need that).  The photo above is from my trail run on Sunday around Eagle on the Hill I think as we crested the hill, and then thundered down a single track with breath taking views of Adelaide.  The sense of freedom was exhilirating.
And I wish I had taken photos one day as I ran Glenelg beach at twilight, the sun glistening off the water, the sea breeze through my hair.  It was awesome.  Walking shows you wonderful views, but running helps you to experience them in a way that nothing else does.  I want everyone to experience this.

So why am I saying don't run to get fit?  Because a wise saying is

 "Don't run to get fit, get fit to run!" 

I thought about this for a while after a first heard it, and then it dawned on me as to how incredibly wise this is.  Running is of course a high impact activity.  It pounds heavy  impact through your legs with every step and you need to be ready for it.  So many people embark on a fitness campaign, determined to do whatever it takes, and rush out to try and run every day (or something similar) and within a week or two injure themselves, become despondent and dejected and give up.

Building fitness is like building a house - you need the foundation first, then the structured walls, then the roof etc,  Put the roof on first and everything collapses - its a house of cards.  You need to build a solid base of fitness first to enable you to take on higher impact activities like running. In your quest for fitness, you can of course use running, but it needs to be in moderation, at a slow pace,  and broken up with intervals and rest, and combined with many other options.  This applies to far more than just running of course.  When you decide to get fit, you need to develop a sensible exercise plan that gives you enough rest to recovery, varies the demand on your body, and it doesn't need to all be at high intensity,. Alternate high intensity days (eg a cardio session) with low intensity - like walking. It needs to be at a level that you can continue with for ever, and when its comfortable - up the ante.

So a new goal might be -" to be fit enough to run". To be fit enough to run and enjoy the amazing experiences I have described, and live to tell the tales.



(NB: of course if you want help with this, book in for a Fitness Consult and  I can help you set up an exercise schedule)

Weight Loss is NOT a Linear Equation

Your results are coming (tomorrow night) as I seem to be having a run of very busy weekends, (or is that weekends busy with running!) but I've had a quick scan of some of your emails and I thought I'd pass on this message to you.

How is it that you can do everything right - and lose nothing on the scales?  Because your weight is not an exact equation - well certainly not one we can calculate.  Eat pizza and have a few drinks the night before weigh in and the salt from the pizza may cause your weight to rise by as much as 1 kg (possibly even 2) by the next day, due to fluid retention.  But think that through.  A 1 kg increase in body fat, requires you to have consumed 7,700 calories MORE than what you need to eat to maintain your weight. If you've eaten well for the rest of the week,  did you pizza and drinks equate to at least 7,700?  I dont think so.  So what the scale shows is not  a real weight gain ( or even a lack of loss ("help my weight stayed the same"?)  but a daily fluid variation which will return to normal over the next few days.  In fact, stick to you guns and you'll get a double whammy loss the next week - when you see the real results of two weeks worth of good nutritional intake.  But thats the key isn't it?  Don't get despondent and throw in the towel.  Believe in yourself and you will eventually reap the rewards

And this is why we measure ourselves.  The scales will go up and down sometimes like a yo yo. The graph above is what a typical weight loss graph looks like.  But measurements tend to be much more stable.  Feeling bloated and cheated on the scales - check your waist measurement. (in the morning)   If its the same or going down  - that's exactly where you want to be.

Sunday is Planning and Prep Day (well it is for me)

One of the key themes I see when talking to people about their difficulties in achieving their goals comes back to one thing – failure to plan and prepare.

We lead busy lives.  We rush from one thing to another.  It exhausts us.  And then we make poor choices.  Ones that we know aren’t the best but we are too tired and time deprived to make better ones. Right?

Wrong. 

We have the time but we haven’t planned its use out carefully enough.

We would have the energy if we had eaten more nutritiously and exercised more regularly.

Can you see that it’s a vicious circle?

Here’s how you break it.

Invest in some time each week – about a half an hour for planning and 1 – 2 hours for prep. I usually do it on a Sunday, but when is up to you – as long as you know – that’s your planning time. 

Sit down for the first half hour and plan out your exercise schedule for the week.  Write it down in a time table.  What work/family/travel commitments do you have that week?  How will you slot your exercise around this to achieve it on a minimum of 5 days/week, preferably 6?  Which day works best as a rest day?

Now look at meal times.  When will you be rushed for time?  When will it be hard to grab nutritious snacks.  What are you going to eat  this week?

Then make sure you have the right food in the house and do some “forward” cooking.

Eg cook up chicken breasts and throw them in individual bags in the freezer  so they are easy to grab in the morning to add to a salad, or heat up at night with vegies for a quick meal. 

Pre – cut a whole heap of vegetables for snacks, salads and for cooking.  Arrange them decoratively in your fridge to enjoy the colour and make them appetising and attractive when you open the door.

Get rid of poor choices that have crept in that you don’t want to be eating.

Prepare meals for the freezer for those nights when you are going to be rushing in and out.

Make sure you have food on hand that makes good healthy snacks.  If appropriate – put them in snap lock bags ready to go  - so you can just grab on the run.

Here are some snack ideas:

Air popped popcorn (not the butter microwave varieties – start with real popcorn)

Rice cakes with:

• 1.       Peanut butter and banana or apple (keep the peanut butter to 1 tbsp per snack)
• 2.       Avocado and tomato
• 3.       Cottage cheese (or cream cheese but cottage is better) and strawberries and cinnamon
• 4.       1 sliced apple with 1 tbsp peanut butter spread thinly on the slices
• 5.       Thinly spread pate

Small tub yoghurt

Carrot and celery sticks with low fat dip (eg hommus)

100gm tin or tuna

1 half chicken fillet

10 almonds and an apple

Any other ideas – share them in the comments section below.

Now you are on your way to a great week. 

Here’s an interesting thought.  If really pushed for time – it would be better to sacrifice an hours exercise, and give it over to planning and preparation.  In an hour – you might burn 500 calories, fail to plan your week and make poor food choices – and it may cost you thousands of calories.

Get the best bang for your buck.  Invest in planning.

By the way - this photo is from the Clean Eating App called CE Recipes, and its based on the Clean Eating Magazine - check it out - heaps of ideas for healthy meals

Your First Set of Results - Oooooh!

Yep, the first set of results are here.
May I say though - how wonderfully exciting it was to review them all.  Most people have had FABULOUS weeks.  If you learnt something this week that worked really well for you - please share it in the comments section below - other people could really benefit from this!

Secondly - I tried to change the dates on the results table - but I am unable to cut and paste a new row on the table, which means that I would have to manually change every one of the 40 results tables I have received.  (Which would take forever!)  So when you send your next results in - can you change the dates? It should read  START, 11/5 (not 4/5) and then continue on until 13/7!  Many thanks

Lastly - look out for my next post about planning and preparation - the investment you HAVE to make!

So here they are

Week 1 Winners
Say congratulations to:

1st Place -   Ali C -      5.07%
2nd Place - Susie G -   3.52%
3rd Place - Tracey B - 2.32%

These figures blew me away - as I'm sure they do for you also.  Well done girls!

Is That Number Really Me?

When you look at your starting calculations, you may be a little shocked or dejected.
Is this number really me?  The answer is Yes, and No.

One of the key things in transforming your body is to be able  accept the statistics for what they are, a number. Don't deny them what ever the reasons are - catch the excuses, dump "em and move on. Leave them behind.  For good.

But tomorrow is another day - and you need never have the same results again.  Right?

But don't let them define you.  You are who you are.  Despite what we think, no-one actually defines who we are by our weight, that is almost not seen - its who we are and what we say and do.  Don't lose sight of the wonderful creation that you are.

There have been a few questions about measurements - and to clarify - measure your waist around the smallest part you can find, and your hips around the largest part which may be your butt/thighs.  If you measured this incorrectly, send me your new ones and I will recalculate this for you.  If you haven't sent me your measurements yet, don't give up before you have started, still send them in.  The cut-off time is only critical from next week when I need to identify the top three place getters and cant keep waiting for late stats.

What do the stats mean?

The body is composed of different types of tissue, and we can roughly divide them into muscle and fat.  Muscle is dense firm and lean in shape, fat is light and lumpy.  The fat sits between the muscle and the skin and gives that wobbly look.
So Lean Muscle Mass - is how many kgs of your total weight is likely to be muscle.  You want this number to be big and to keep going up each week.
Body Fat is how many kgs of your total body weight is likely to be fat.  You want this number to be small and go down each week.
Body Fat percentage, is Body Fat (kgs) divided by Total Weight (kgs) x 100.
The chart below shows what levels of body fat percentages are healthy.

Also placing you at risk is a waist measurement above 80 cm for women and 94cm for men. Unfortunately not many men and women make this grade.  One of my goals for you - is to get you there.

You can expect to lose 1/2  % body fat per week as an acceptable loss.  This may be a lot more if you have a lot of weight to lose , and it may be less if you have very little to lose.  Don't worry about minor variations in the first few weeks, over the course of the challenge you will be able to see if the trend is going in the right direction and make the appropriate changes.

If you are not happy with your results - always feel free to ask me for advice.  I can't make the changes for you, that's your job, but I'm happy to problem solve with you.
Also - please share on this site.  Use the comments box below.  Sometimes I feel like a priest - everyone confessing their deep dark secrets about their weight, and their challenges, I don't want to break confidences, but little do they know that everyone else has similar struggles!  So share and support each other!

Rate Your Daily Commitment

How determined are you to reach your goals?

Here's a way to keep yourself in check, and give yourself the needed "kick up the ****" when appropriate.

At the end of each day, give yourself a rating out of 5

1 point for planning your food according to your targets (eg calories, clean eating or protein)
1 point for eating according to the plan
1 point for planning your exercise
1 point for exercising to plan
1 point for drinking to plan (6 - 8 glasses water, no alcohol)

Basically - If you don't plan, you can't score anything apart from the last point

Remember

If you are really serious about your goals you will be scoring 5 out of 5 - right?  If you are consistently scoring say 3/5 you can't really expect great results can you?

To visually help and reinforce this, why not make up a good old fashioned star chart?  One square for every day of the week, for 10 weeks.  Put in on the wall and colour in the days that you score 5/5.  When you don't score a 5, write in what score you do achieve.  Be real, don't kid yourself. Maybe even write your results at the end of the week to reinforce what a difference dedication makes.  And this way - every day has a goal to achieve.

Here's a sample chart of what it might look like:

See the way I can visually see why I haven't had good results in the second week?  And every day that I don't get to colour in the square - it tells me what I have to work harder on the next day?

Then again - a very colourful row makes me feel very cheerful about how hard I am working.

And its not about meeting anyone else's standards, its about achieving my own plans.

What if I achieve my plans but I dont get the results I want?  Well its back to the drawing board - either your plan is flawed or your goal is unrealistic.  But at least you KNOW that something has to change.  I will help you with this - just ask the questions on your weekly email.  I will email you a copy of this chart in case you want to use it.

By the way - when I drew up this chart I realised that I still have the dates wrong on your measurement chart - I am one week out - with the starting measurements coming in on 4/5 and Week 1 results coming in on 11/5.  I will see how I go changing this on your return emails today.

ON with the challenge!

Its not D Day its GE Day (Get Excited)

Its time to GET EXCITED

You are on the way to the new version of you!

As Day One dawns of the new challenge, its time to get your attitude in check.

Make sure this challenge inspires and motivates you and is not seen as depressing and restrictive.

Check your language.  Replace words like "I can't"  with "I don't",
eg" I cant have that cake", instead is "I don't eat junk", (I choose to fuel my body with things that are good for it)

How about the "I have to" ones?
I remember an article on this one where the person was recounting their busy day -" first I have to get my kids ready for school, then I have to drop them off at school, then I HAVE to go do a hills run, then I HAVE to....."
I'm sure this is familiar thinking to you.  But how many people would love to have kids around to look after, and how many people would love to actually be able to run?   So this person changed their thinking and replaced all the "have to's" with I "get to".  Subtle change but significant.

Exercise, eating well, and transforming your life is full of opportunities and is an absolute privilege.  Dont treat it as a chore.  It will lead to such positivity if you let it, and THAT will keep you on track for life.
So GET EXCITED - BRING IT ON!

Its Time to Reflect.....

You may not be publishing a paper as in this photo, but its time to reflect on what has stopped you from achieving your goals in the past.  Or for those of you who are on the right path, and/or maybe taking a break from the last challenge, take time to pause and reflect on what you have achieved and whats ahead.

What has worked well in the past, and needs to be cemented in for the next 10 weeks?

What are your versions of the people (or things) standing on the road keeping you back?

Recognise your excuses.

If its time - remember everyone has the same 24 hours in every day - its how you choose to use them.  They say the busiest people get the most done.  If you exercised for just 1 hour a day - that's only 4% of your time.  To prepare and plan your eating may only take 1/2 an hour each day - so lets add another 2% to your day. That's still only 6%.  Are you really spending the other 94% of your time doing more important things.  Its 6% such an unreasonable commitment in the balance of life to commit to yourself, your goals and the future?

If tiredness gets to you, remember the things that increase energy:  exercise, and good, well balanced healthy nutrition.  Eating junk will exhaust you - you don't have decent fuel in your body to do what you need to.  Can you see the vicious circle here?  Break it.

If its looking after others, remember you are no use to others if you don't look after yourself properly first.  You will be a much better mum, dad, friend, partner, if you are fit healthy energetic and comfortable within yourself.  And what about modelling to your children what a healthy lifestyle is all about?  Just take one look at the Biggest Loser this series and you'll know what I'm talking about.  Obesity isn't a disease, its not hereditary; its all about lifestyle and the environment we create around ourselves.

If its not knowing what to do, or how to get there - make it a point to find out.  I'm here, I'm offering support information and advice, and you can find heaps of information on the internet. Invest in knowing what you are doing will make a difference.

What else is stopping you?  Plan your path around this now!

Gearing up for the Winter Challenge???

If I put you in a room with gorgeous fresh foods, all beautifully displayed - would you eat them?

Of course you would.  By nature we can be both lazy but also impulse driven by what we see and it turns in to what we want. Its know as the SeaFood Diet, what you see is what you eat.

You can exercise all  you want (and don't get me wrong, I strongly believe that dieting without exercise is a waste  of time) but if you don't eat well - you will never change your body either.  Its the 80/20 rule. Your body transformation will be influenced 80% by what you eat, and 20% by exercise.

So what's in your house?  What food is lying around encouraging you to eat it?  Don't fool yourself by saying its there for the kids or the partner.  No child needs to have junk food sitting in the cupboards ready to grab. By the treats as that, a special treat, occasionally.  Model to you children what normal food it.  Normal food should be all the fresh single ingredient things, like fruit, veg, meat, grains, cereals (not the processed kinds), seeds, nuts. If you want to eat clean look at ingredient list on the side.  If there isn't one - you're on a winner as foods that are just themselves (ie a single ingredient like peas) don't need to have them. If there's a whole list of ingredients, think about ditching it.   Set the good stuff up like snacks.  Carrot and celery sticks with peanut butter in little bags or containers, little bags of dried fruit and nuts.  Platters in the fridge of fruit.  Put them front and center where everyone can see them. Start thinking about what meals you are going to prepare next week and make sure these ingredients fill your pantry, not the easy processed style.  What about the nights next week when you are going to be rushed - what can you have ready on standby?

So two thoughts as you prepare to start:
What you see is most likely what you will eat  - so make sure what you can see will help you not hinder you
If you fail to prepare - be prepared to fail.  Planning, is absolutely critical.  A Goal Without a Plan, is Just a Wish

Here's a link to an earlier post about my pantry and clean eating if you are interested
http://bfit-4life.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/my-clean-eating-kitchen.html

You've got 5 days, so get started
  

So Many Transformations, So Many Winners!

And the winner is - YOU

To all of those who saw this through to the end, you have all made amazing and inspiring transformations, and I have been privileged to be a part of  this.
So many people have seen how with negligible weight loss, they have lost massive amounts of cms of their waist and hips - and their bodies must look great for it.
My next challenge for you (apart from considering whether you want to take if further and join the next challenge) is to be an ambassador and inspire someone else to make a real and positive change to their life.  I encourage you to post your success on facebook, or write me a guest comment (or email it to me and I will post it here) about your changes, how it made you feel and any tips/motivation for others.  You don't have to be at the end of your journey to look back and ask others to follow, you just have to be on the road.

But I know the suspense is killing you....

Week 10 Results:

1st Place - Sophie T  - 0.99%
2nd Place - Amy S  - 0.91%
3rd Place - Kel D - 0.8%



and



drum




roll


Overall Placings - for the New Year Body Transformation

1st Place: Kel D - 16.37% !!!!!!!
2nd Place: SophieT - 13.5%
3rd Place: Deb S - 10.93%


Well done girls!  Awesome effort.

So what are your next goals?  For many of you this is the beginning of your journey not the end.

The Beat the Winter Woes Challenge starts May 4th - drop me a line if you are interested.  I'm doing Fitness Consults on May 5th if you wish to get some one on one advice, review your goals, plans etc.
Stay tuned also for a few other things I have planned, like City to Bay training, how to incorporate weight training into your schedule etc.

Train hard, eat clean and enjoy life to the max!

Need a Bit More Motivation?

One of the ways to stay motivated, enthused or focused on your goals, is to keep reading and immersing yourself in information and stories about healthy lifestyles and fitness.

When I returned to my healthier self in 2006, I spent a lot of time reading weight loss blogs, and supporting other people in their journeys - who in turn supported me also.

I'm pretty sure if you click on my profile you will find a link to my blog from 2006 - but you will have to dig right back to the beginning if you want to read it in chronilogical order.

Last year I also wrote a book about my musings and thoughts about health and fitness - you might find this interesting.  Its an e-book - designed to be read on an e-reader/iPad/computer, but its also available in PDF which means you can print it out (its not very big).  If you want to pick up a copy for some light but hopefully inspiring/thought provoking reading - pop over to the left hand side and pick it up in the BFit Shop. Its called Carpe Diem - meaning Sieze the Day.

"Beat the Winter Woes" 10 Week Body Transformation Challenge - How does it work?

Well the New Year Body Transformation ends this Saturday.  I hope you are working hard to send in your final results.  If you've achieved all of your goals - fantastic work.  If you are still on your journey, then it time to take a weeks breather, reflect and re-evaluate, then dig deep and plan the next steps. I'm starting a new challenge, and I'd love to have you on board.  I would also love to have guest posts from those in the top three, or anyone for that matter, to share on this blog about tips that you have to share.  Bash out a few words and email me.  I'll do the rest.

For those who are reading this for the first time - here is an introduction to my world of Body Transformation Challenges.

What is a Body Transformation Challenge?  Firstly, lets talk about what its not.  Its NOT about weight loss.  Weight on the scales is a fickle mindless figure that tells you very little about how your body is changing as a result of good nutrition and exercise.  It is possible to lose NO weight at all, and completely transform the way you look.  Because if you do it right, you will lose body fat (the wobbly stuff we all hate) gain muscle (the nice firm toned looking stuff) which just happens to weigh more and look fantastic.
Check out this before and after:

She gained weight - but I know which body I would rather have, and I'll bet you would too.

So we take measurements with a tape measure, (as well as weight) and I'll calculate for you any changes in body fat, so that you know how you are going.  Ask anyone who's done a challenge before and they'll tell you how upsetting it is on one hand to see no result on the scales - usually the point where you give up, and on the other hand how amazing and motivating it is when they take their measurements and realise there have actually been great changes - the scales just didn't share them with them.

You can follow your own plan, or follow the advice I post here about how to build muscle, burn fat and eat well, or arrange for a 1:1 consult where we can talk it through together.  But each week, you must pay the piper by sending me your measurements.  This helps by making you think twice about deviating from your plans or giving up - because you know someone is expecting something from you, and someone is going to be looking carefully at what you have achieved.  Don't worry - I'm never nasty - but if you need some tough mother love, you might get it from me!


Starting on May 4th,  the Beat the Winter Woes  10 week BodyTransformation Challenge is starting.  Its available to anyone anywhere in the world and can be done for as little as $10. Have you said that this year you are going to lose weight/improve your eating habits, or just finish the job you started? Then put your money where your mouth is and sign up now. What the challenge does is make a commitment on your behalf to weigh in/measure up weekly and have someone else (me) analyse your results. It makes you accountable. Yes, I run a bit of a leader board for extra motivation, but its all about commitment and sharing your experiences with other people in the same headspace.  (The leader board, or any other communication, never shares your weight or measurements, just what % of body fat you have lost for the week if you are in the top 3 - its very non-threatening)

Here is how it runs.

Message me any way you like (facebook, this blog, email, sms) to register your interest and indicate which method you will be using, an email address. and a mobile phone number. You can pay by using paymate on this site, or paypal if you send me your paypal email address, or cash when you see me next.  The $10 is just a nominal admin fee, and will help to increase your commitment.

The method types this time are:

1. Do It Your Own Way - Cost: $10 (I don't mind if you are doing Weight Watchers, Body Trim, whatever works for you - but you keep yourself accountable and motivated here)
2. Personalised Fitness Assessment/Program Planning at the beginning of the 10 weeks to work out what you should be eating or design an individualised fitness program or ask all your burning questions about what you should or shouldn't be doing. - Cost $50 (can be done online or in Crystal Brook).

Plus you will get support through this website.

Then
I will send you a starter email with a table of all the measurements that are required and details about booking in for the fitness consults (Option 2).

Each week starting Sat May 4th, you email the table back to me with that weeks measurements. (Measurements received after Sunday 9.00 am will not be counted for that weeks leader board)

I will calculate your current body fat % and losses for that week and overall and return the email to you.

Each week I will post a leader board of the top three results for that week, plus the top three results overall.

I will try and post some info as often as possible along the way for motivation and encouragement,

In the end we see who has made the biggest transformation (ie lost the most body fat, (not weight) but of course everyone should be celebrating the gains (ahem losses) they have made!

That's it!  Its simple, fun and aimed to keep you on track.
So msg me now (or comment below)  for your spot - Only 40 places available.

Q & A Sesh: Help, I Lost My Mojo!

I hear this quite often.  People often embark on a weight loss program with great enthusiasm and determination.  They throw themselves into it, getting totally in the groove, and then WHAM, something happens, and suddenly the MOJO is gone, and everything stops.
Did you know that only 15% of people who lose weight keep it off?  (and I would suspect its even less than that)
As someone who has lost a significant amount of weight and kept it off for 6 years I'm going to share an important secret - so read this carefully.

Motivation Never Lasts.
You Cant Rely on Motivation.
If you Rely on Motivation YOU WILL FAIL

Read it again, and this time take it in.

No-one (and I've heard many famous people like Michelle Bridges say this too) is motivated every day. 

Motivation gets you started, but habits, goals and commitments are what keep you on the journey.

This is why I also think that weight loss, without exercise is doomed to fail.  I keep myself active and on track by setting plans to compete in different events, goals to achieve different challenges etc.  If you lose weight by diet alone, once the initial enthusiasm is gone, what ongoing goals can you set that are not all about some sort of restrictive behaviour/mind set?  But with exercise, there is always something you can't do/haven't done yet that you would like to achieve.

Dream It, Plan It, Achieve It

The reality is that most of the time good nutrition follows.  Who wants to eat crap when exercise makes you feel so healthy?  Exercise changes your mind set.  But the trick is - how do you keep doing it when you're not motivated?

What commitments can you put in place that make you get out of bed in the morning and exercise whether you feel like it or not?  I'm almost 100% certain you will feel great afterwards, but you might only feel great about pushing yourself out the door about 50% of the time.

What accountability have you put in place that will show if you haven't put in the effort?  That's the whole idea behind my Body Transformation Challenges.  You've signed on the dotted line, and I want to see your results every, single, week.

What goals have you set that will suffer if you don't make the effort?  Sign up (and pay your money) in advance to walk/run a fun run event or something similar.  Then when your mojo is wanes, you'll be forced to think about the consequences.

So as this challenge comes to a close - what are you going to do to keep going, and not lose all the gains you have made, and become part of that 85% statistic.  Or what have you not done well enough that you could improve on next time?

They are questions for you.
Here's what I can do to help:

The next 10 week Body Transformation Challenge starts Saturday May 4th.  Sign up now if you are interested.  This time I am charging $10/person - partly to cover my time, and partly so that you are making a financial commitment (purse strings can be a good financial commitment).  You can also book in for a General Fitness Consult (see below) to help you with this.  Information on how the challenge works is in an earlier post (10 weeks ago - January 22nd) I will post this again soon.

Sign up to train for the City to Bay Fun Run, September 15.  It is far enough away that there is enough time for anyone to train to walk/run the 12 kms. I will set you up your own personalised training plan and support you through it.  I have done the C2B at least 8 times; there is not much I don't know about this race, so I can answer all your questions about training, what to wear, are there drinks, what I do with my jacket, how do I get there etc.  One Fitness Consult ($50) will do it, and then I have set up a training blog for tips, ideas encouragement and support at www.bfit4lifetraining.blogspot.com.au.  (useful for training for other events too, it will be online by about 6pm) ) As a group we will support and encourage each other, and at the end I have a spa and some bubbly waiting for you at Glenelg.  I'm also negotiating with Lorna Jane for some discounted shopping for you!  Think about the fact that this will keep you on track until September, AND if you have never entered a major event before the amazing sense of achievement when you come down Jetty Rd to a cheering crowd. 

General Fitness Consults - I offer these to anyone ($50) to review where you are at, what your goals are and help you set up some plans about how to achieve them.  This is a chance to sit down one on one, and ask all those nigly questions that perplex you.

The rest is up to you!

But what you've really been waiting for - Week 9 Results - here they are!

1st Place: Soph T - 1.45%
2nd Place: Maree C - 0.92%
3rd Place: Deb S - 0.9%

Overall
1st Place: Kel D - 15.57%
2nd Place: Soph T - 12.51%
3rd Place: Deb S - 10.42%

Last Chance Training

Here is your last chance training before weigh in tomorrow morning.
Do as many rounds of this circuit in 20 mins that you can, preferably no breaks!  Good luck

1. Lunge Jumps (6 each side)
2. Inverted Row (lie down under the bench press, and hold on to the bar and lift your body towards it) 15 reps
3. Pushups (10)
4. Kettlebell or Dumbell swings (20)
5. Fitball Ab Pike or Crunch (10)
6. Reverse lunges (from a step if possible) 10 each side
7. Renegade pushups (10) (have a dumbell under each hand and raise one side at a time)
8. Jumping Jacks (50)

Power to the Finish!

Did the image grab your attention?  Either in rebellion or enthusiastic support?  Either way I hope it fired you up.  Just two weeks left in the challenge - time to review your goals, dig deep and power to the end.

Did anyone watch the biggest loser this week when the young boy had a mid week weigh in and devastating gained 0.7kgs?  He has lost good numbers all along, and was sure that he had trained hard (5 hours/day) and eaten well.  Commando's response was that it just may have been that he had eaten before hand or downed some water - whereas in the normal weigh in they know its happening, and do a big last chance training session before hand.

So this week - I'm setting you a last chance training session.  Actually its your second to last chance, but an opportunity to power to the end.  Try it before you weigh in, or the day before. I'll post it a bit later today.

I've had a big week or so, Easter with our family geocaching challenge, a 50th birthday, my eldest daughters birthday, my youngest daughter got her drivers licence, then was in her deb, and I ran my second half marathon on Sunday. I've set a couple more goals - another 1/2 marathon in 6 weeks, and a full Marathon in August.  What are your goals?  and more importantly - what are your plans?  Remember goals without plans are just wishes. 

Here are the results for last week:

Week 8 results:
1st Place - Soph T - 1.42%
2nd Place - Terraise D  - 1.38%
3rd Place- Kel D  - 0.94%

Overall
1st Place - Kel D - 15.94%
2nd Place - Soph T - 11.06%
3rd Place - Deb S - 9.34%

2 more weeks to go- can Soph knock Kel off her perch?  Who will be in the final three?   Will you meet your goals?
Stay tuned for another exciting episode!

When the going gets tough, the scared run and hide......

Does this relate to you?

40 people started this challenge, and on weekend I received *17*  yes you read it correctly *17* results.  Were you one of the ones that overate on Easter and didn't want to send in your results????

The problem with this is, if you give yourself an excuse one week, suddenly one becomes two, then three, and then, damn it all, another challenge is forgotten about.

So get back on the horse, put your money where your mouth is, and face up to the outcomes of your actions.  Good or bad.  Just face them.  If you don't, there will always be another excuse around the corner that stops you from achieving your dreams.

But for my now very favourite 17 (LOL I do love you all, just being Mother Tough Love tonight)
here are your long awaited results.

Now there have been some upsets and some challenge flags issued.

Firstly - a big apology to Deb Smart who was overlooked last week and actually should have been on the leaderboard in 3rd place overall, with 7.55%.  Lets call it an admin error - I will be duly firing my assistant!

Secondly - this weeks leader board was hotly contested with two people tie-ing for 3rd place, until the last minute when someone else's result jumped ahead and pushed them both out of 3rd place.  Its the quick or the dead here, or should that be the fit or the thin?  Who knows.  All I know is this:

Week 7
1st Place:  Sophie T - 2.32%
2nd Place: Kellie B - 1.66%
3rd Place: Kel D - 1.02%

Overall
1st Place: Kel D - 15.03%
2nd Place:Sophie T - 9.64%
3rd Place: Deb S - 8.44%

Oh and about the picture.  Isn't this just the most gorgeous crop EVER?  Im in love - its just been released today in the new Lorna Jane catalogue.  The minute it comes online, I'm ordering it. I may  have to sell the husband to pay for it, and I may have to share my midrift at the gym to show it off = what ever it takes. There's also a tank like it too - with the colours at the top and a solid black body.   Don't even try and hold me back - they're mine!

Q&A Sesh: Do I have to do 45 mins of cardio to burn fat?

Do I have to do cardio for 45 mins to burn fat?

This question was asked of me the other night - a well known (but questionable) Body Transformation program has said this is the case.

As someone who has studied Cert III and Cert IV in fitness, and read a million articles on the topic - the answer is very very clear, and very resounding NO.

The science behind burning fat is that the body uses a mixture of fuel sources for exercise - usually  a combination of glucose (in your bloodstream) and  fat.  Fat is more difficult to burn, glucose is very easy.  So initially when you start to exercise, you will predominantly burn glucose, and a small amount of fat. As time goes on and the amount of glucose readily available in your blood stream decreases, the body burns greater and greater percentages of fat, and less and less glucose.  At some point it switches over and the majority of the burn is from fat.  So you are burning fat right from the beginning, just smaller amounts.  Don't disregard any amount of cardio as a fat burner.

However there are far more effective ways of burning fat that don't require you to exercise for so long.

See what Coach Calorie has to say about it below:
from www.coachcaloric.com

Goal: Drop Weight

Mistake: Walking or running at one pace.
Leisurely strolling on the treadmill or the elliptical for a solid 45 minutes may get you sweating, which will help with temporary weight loss, but there are more effective strategies for your longer term goals. I'm assuming if your goal is to see the scale go down you probably want the weight you lose to be from fat. The most effective cardio workout for fat loss is interval training.
The Fix: Interval training.
Instead of shuffling along reading your magazine or watching TV, get ready to work.
The bad news is you'll need to work harder than you have been working. The good news is you can go for a shorter period of time.
Plan on a 20- to 30-minute workout. Warm up for 5 to 10 minutes, then perform a 30s-90s interval at a pace you couldn't hold for longer than that. Your heart rate should be above 85 percent of your max heart rate or at a point where you couldn't carry on a conversation. Follow with equal or more recovery period at an easier pace, letting your heart rate come down to under 70 perecent of max. Repeat for 5 to 10 rounds.


How does this interval training sound?  If you were at my class last night -you would know that its an exact match for our HiiT Class.
So do yourself a fatburn favour - and join me next Wednesday night at 6pm for HiiT - your 37min express checkout to fitness!

The Meaning Behind Numbers....

Aren't numbers a funny thing.  To some people they mean nothing, and to others, like me, they are almost everything.

Each week, I try and extend the distance of my long run by 10%.  I'm trying to get back to a comfortable 2hr run distance following a calf injury about 6 months ago.

This week the plan was set for the full 2 hours.  I decided to run on the treadmill (not my favourite) because last time I did this due to rain the recovery was fantastic.  The downside is that its boring - but I overcome this will TV shows on my ipad, and that I can't run as fast on the treadmill - something to do with my technique.  I have to run by feel, not by speed which means I have to slow down the number of the pace. Never mind, I tell myself - long runs are not about speed, they are about endurance, about how long you turn the legs over for.  In fact, slower is better for building mitochondria.  As long as I do my two hours, the pace doesnt matter.

Except after 30 mins my calf was aching/tired, and I was worried about re-injuring.  So I walked for about 5 mins, and then discovered if I slowed my pace even further, it didn't hurt.  No matter - it doesn't matter how far I go in the 2 hours, it doesn't matter how fast, as long as I run the 2 hours.

Then I was interrupted by a visitor looking for hubby.  Had to get off the treadmill, run and find him, and 10 mins later get back on.  At about the 1hr30 mark I realised the treadmill was showing a different time to my watch - and then realised that the watch was out because of the interruption.  Have to go by the time on the treadmill.  No probs.  Except then I knocked the treadmill and the timer re-set.  Grrr. restart.  How many minutes had I done?  Exactly?  And then I noticed I hadn't worn my pedometer, so my watch wasn't recording distance either (to upload my workout to my computee, it was only recording time, which we've already established was wrong). I ran another half hour, cause I knew I had seen some time frame after 1 hr 30, but what exactly I didn't know.

And now, at the end of the run, I feel totally disatisfied with my achievement.  Even though in my mind, I know I must have run at least 2hrs, even though I watched an episode of the Mentalist (45 mins) and episode of the Good Wife (45 mins), and 30 mins of another episode (totalling 2hrs) - not having a solid record - a number in front of me that I can record, leaves me feeling disatisfied and almost cheated. Even though my legs are aching and telling me that I've challenged them, its not the same.   Yes, I know, some people wont relate to this at all, but for me, it appears, everything is about the numbers!  Are you a numbers person?  Do you need them to be motivated or pushed?

I hope you like these numbers better!

Week 6 Results

1st Place - Kel D - 1.54% 
2nd Place - Sarah U - 1.11%
3rd Place - Maree C - 0.89%

Overall
1st Place - Kel D - 14.01%
2nd Place - Julie R - 7.68%
3rd Place - Sophie T - 7.33%


Well done girls.  You have some close challengers though - so stay on track over Easter!

Achievable. Yep, you heard me

Have a look at this gorgeous photo of Erin Stern.  You could achieve this if you really wanted. Dont shake your head, yes, you could.  Its not genetics, its about eating clean and training hard consistently over a long period of time.  Its really just about how miuh you want it, how much you are prepared to do, and WHAT YOU SET YOUR SIGHTS ON.  Im going to achieve it.  i work on it every day.

Maybe this is isnt the body of your dreams. But what is?  Find a picture of it and put it somewhere front and centre.  Dont be limited by how you look now, or what others tell you is possible. This limits your achievement.  Aim low, achieve low.  Did you know that many fitness models used to have weight problems until they set their minds to change their life.  (Gillian Michaels is a prime example). What the mind believes, the body will achieve.

What do you need to do?  Eat clean, train hard.  Embark on a journey to discover what these terms actually mean.  Cause yes, I'll say it again, bodies like Erin's dont come from exhausting yourself with cardio everyday, you need a good strong weight training routine.  And eating clean doesnt mean eating a schnitzel on a freshly polished floor!  Choose your goal picture now.  Aim high and visualise it every time the going gets tough.  Remember, it IS achievable.

Q&A Sesh

What should I be doing to get that Ultimate Bod?  Cardio or Weights?

We all know that cardio burns lots of calories, our Heart Rate Monitors tell us this.  But unless we are planning on developing a super sculpted heart muscle, its not just the heart that we want to be pumping, its all the other muscles as well.  After all - you could wear a HR monitor, get very excited about something - record a high heart rate and supposedly burn lots of extra calories.  Not really.  HR is just one indicator as to how hard we are working.

If you read lots of fitness mags, and look at all the fitness models, they all have one thing in common:  they prioritise weight training above cardio.  Lifting heavy weights burns a lot of calories, whether your heart rate goes up high or not.  Plus, what we really want - is to develop a body that is a furnace when it comes to food.  A body that will allow us to enjoy the good things in life, AND still look good.  Being 'skinny fat' wont do this for you.  If you lose weight through cardio, and dont weight train, your body will still be high in body fat/low in muscle.  You might have small thighs, but they will be flabby, the waist may be smaller than it used to, but there will still be the "pot".  AND you will regain weight very easily as there is no muscle mass to maintain.  Muscle requires/burns a lot of calories just at rest.  Fat doesn't.

So really, the ultimate aim is change the composition of your body - increase muscle - decrease fat to develop a great looking bod.

A couple of things about gaining muscle:
1.  Its really hard for women - forget thinking you will look like the incredible hulk.  To become the first Incredible Hulkette - you will probably need to take steroids -so no real risk here

2. You wont be gaining much muscle from cardio.  In fact, too much cardio without the correct diet and rest may have the opposite effect.

3. To build muscle, you must engage in resistance exercise (either weights, or body weight) and you must give the muscles you have trained  - 48 hours to recover afterwards.  Yep, that's two days.  So if you do a lot of leg work one day - say weighted squats, lunges etc, you shouldn't repeat these exercises, or similar ones for 2 days.  When you push these muscles out of their comfort zone, you are aiming to break down the muscle fibres.  The body will then go into adaptation mode, and rebuild the muscles stronger than before so it can cope better next time.  But it does this during rest, not during  exercise.  If you repeat these exercises too soon, you will further break down the muscles, to the point at which they can no longer repair, and the muscle tissue will deteriorate, not build bigger and better.

4.  Therefore - you need to plan your exercise schedule.  Body builders get around the 48 recovery period by splitting their weight training into different muscle groups on different (consecutive) days.  Eg Biceps Chest and Abs one day - Triceps, Back and Shoulders the next, Legs on the third day.  Or you can train all muscle groups in one session on alternate days. Obviously a split routine allows you to spend more time on individual muscle groups.  For good results - you need to be weight training at least 3 times/week.  So plan in your weight sessions, and then work your cardio around this.  Whatever you do, don't bunch together similar training regimes into short periods of time.  This is a case of where "more" is not always "better".

5.  Quality of training and good technique is vitally important.  Use poor technique and risk an injury.  Perform an exercise that you are not ready because it looks super hard and you are "gun ho" and not only do you risk injury but you risk developing poor habits, poor posture and not achieving your goals.  Where-ever possible have your routine set up by a qualified instructor who can take into account your needs and abilities.  One size doesn't fit all.

3 You need to eat enough protein at the right times of day to feed muscle recovery.  Lots of training and no