What's Your Body Fat "happy place" ?

You know you want to lose body fat - but how much?  Without all the fancy equipment you can actually use a technique called "eyeballing".

Have a good look at yourself in the mirror with minimal clothing - and then estimate where you're body fat % might be at the moment - using these pictures as a guide. To lessen the chance of you eyes not being honest with you, ask someone close to you (who sees you in your underwear)  to estimate as well.

Then look at which body you would like to have.  Now you have a before and after picture and a guide as to how much body fat you want to lose.

If you haven't already, why not join the New Year Body Transformation Challenge to give you the push to make the positive changes.  It can be totally free if you like, or you can ask me for help - see an earlier post for the options.  And if you set a body fat % goal I can help calculate this into approximately how much weight you would have to lose to achieve it.  (of course this is just an approximation, as it is possible to lose no.overall weight, and achieve your goals)

Msg me soon to be involved, we start Feb 9!

Have You Had a "Harajuku Moment"?

I've been reading an interesting book lately called "The 4 hour Body", which as a fascinating take on how to achieve great results (in all sorts of areas, including reducing body fat) in the shortest amount of time.  The author, Timothy Ferriss is often asked by some high achieving people to "just tell me what to do and I will do it"  Which he does, and as he expects, they fail.  Here's his take on why, and why you need a Harajuko Moment:

"People suck at following advice.  Even the most effective people in the world are terrible at it.  There are two reasons:

1. Most people have an insufficient reason for action. The pain isn't painful enough.  Its a nice-to-have, not a must-have.  There has been no "Harajuku Moment".
2. There are no reminders.  No consistent tracking=no awareness=no behavioural change.  Consistent tracking, even if you have no knowledge of fat-loss or exercise, will often beat advice from world class trainers.

But what is this all important "Harajuku Moment"?

Its an epiphany that turns a nice-to-have into a must-have.  There is no point getting started until it happens.  It applies to fat loss as much as strength gain, to endurance as much as sex.  No matter how many bullet points and recipes I provide you, you will need a Harajuku Moment to fuel the change itself.

Chad Fowler knows this......

.. He'd recently lost 5+stone (32+kgs) in less than 12 months.  It wasn't the amount of weight I found fascinating, it was the timing.  He'd been obese for more than a decade, and hte change seemed to come out of no-where.......I wanted to know what the defining moment was....

The Harajuko Moment
"Why had I gone 10 years getting more and more out of shape (starting off pretty unhealthy in the first place) only to finally fix it now?
I actually remember the exact moment I decided to do something.
I was in Tokyo with a group of friends.  We all went down to Harajuku to see if we could see some artistically dressed youngsters and also to shop for fabulous clothing, which the area is famous for.  A couple of the people with us were pretty fashionable dressers adn had some specific things in mind that they wanted to buy.  After walking into shops several times and leaving without seriously considering buying anything, one of my friends and I gave up adn just waited outside while the others continued shopping.
We both lamented how unfashionable we were.
I then found myself saying the following to him "For me, it doesn't even matter what I wear; I'm not going to look good anyway"
I think he agreed with me.  I can't remember, but thats not the point.  The point was that, as I said those words, they hung in the air like you say something super-embarassing in a loud room but happen to catch the one randomly occuring slice of silence that happens all night long.  Everyone looks at you like you're an idiot.  But this time, I was looking at myself critically.  I heard myself say those words and I recognised them not for their content, but for their tone of helplessness.  I am, in most of my endeavours, a solidly successful person.  I decide I want thing to be in a certain way, and I make it happen.  I've done it with my career, my learning of music, understanding foreign languages and basically everything I've tried to do
For a long time, I've known that the key to getting started down the path of being remarkable in anything is to simply act with the intention of being remarkable.
If I want a better than average career, I can't simply "go with the flow" and get it.  Most people do that; they wish for an outcome but make no intention-driven action towards that outcome.  If they would just do something,  most people would find that they get some version of the outcome they're looking for.  That's been my secret.  Stop wishing and start doing.
Yet here I was, talking about arguably the most important part of my life - my health - as if it was somehting I had no control over.  I had been going with the flow for years.  Wishing for an outcome and waiting to see if it would come.  I was the limp, powerless ego I detest in other people."

The book goes on to describe how Chad slowly made changes, however the key thing was about the role of gathering data to keep track of progress.  Chad also described this insight:

"If you ask the average obese person: "If you could work out for ONE year and be considered "in shape" would you do it?  I'd guess that just about every single one would emphatically say "Hell yes!".  The problem is that for most normal people there is no clear path from fat to okay in a year.  For almost everyone, the path is there adn obvious if you know what you are doing, but its almost impossible to imagine an outcome like that so far in the distance.
The number-one realisation that led me to be able to keep doing it and make the right decision was  to use data."

Chad goes on to describe his use of a heart rate monitor, calorie and Basic Metabolic Rate (BMR)calculations, scales, measurements etc.

But it comes back to the author (Timothy Ferriss)'s two key points at the beginning - you need to have a Harajuku Moment that turns a nice-to-have into a must-have, and you need to have reminders and data that keep you accountable.

I had one of these momentsmyself  that lead to significant weight loss; have you?  How much do you want it?  If you really want it, its easy.  But you have to really want it, it has to be essential to you first.

And if you have, then the upcoming New Year Body Transformation is my way of helping you to be accountable, to have reminders, and to use data to track your progress, just like Timothy Ferris's second point.

I can guarantee you that it is possible to turn you're life around and change your body composition for ever, you just need to believe it, stop wishing, and start doing.

NB - For info on the Body Tranformation Challenge starting Feb 9, see the earlier post.
         Excerpts from The 4-Hour Body, by Timothy Ferriss - a great read

New Year Body Transformation Challenge

4

These women all weigh 70 kgs.  Do they all look the same?  Of course not, and its not just about their height.  Look carefully, some carry a lot more body fat than others, even at the same height.  Do you actually want to lose weight or body fat?  Check out the post below from Calorie Coach about the difference.

So I'm about to run my third  10 week Body Fat/Transformation Challenge.  Its available to any one any where in the world and it can be entirely free.  Have you said that this year you are going to lose weight/improve your eating habits, or just finish hte job you started?  Then put your money where your mouth is (so to speak, because it is free) 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.

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 and an email address.

The method types this time are:

1. Do It Your Own Way - Cost: Free
2. Personalised Fitness Assessment/Program Planning at the beginning of the 10 weeks to work out what you should be eating and design an individualised fitness program - Cost $50 (can be done onlin or in Crystsal Brook)
3. Fitness Assessment + 10 x  Personal Training Sessions -  $300 (sessions are in Crystal Brook)

Plus of course support through this website.

Then
I will send you a starter email with a table of all the measurements that are required.

Each week starting Sat Feb 9th, 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,
I would like to increase the amount of online banter this time (as it becomes very motivating) so I am asking that you attempt to comment on something 1 x week, or even write your own post/ask questions etc. Its not essential I'd just like to encourage it.

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!

So are you up for it?

Message me now!

Fat Loss ? What's this all about?

Interesting article here from the Calorie Coach about Fat Loss vs Weight Loss, which forms the basis for my upcoming fat loss challenge.

Weight Loss vs Fat Loss – The Difference, Explained

Written by Tony Schober  from The Calorie Coach· 

Do You Want to Lose Weight?

If you answered yes, you are wrong. Well, not wrong actually, but what you’re really wanting to do is lose fat. Anybody can lose weight. You just don’t eat. You will lose weight, unfortunately, the weight you lose will be both muscle and fat.

The goal to successful weight loss is to preserve as much muscle as possible, or possibly even gain some, while at the same time lose as much body fat as possible. Your body fat % is a key indicator of your success, not the scale. In fact, stay off the scale.

Here are 10 smarter ways to measure your weight loss progress.

Muscle is vital to your success for losing fat. Muscles have these little fat burning powerhouses called mitochondria. Mitochondria are cellular power plants that are responsible for the production of energy. It’s in the mitochondria that fat is metabolized. There is a positive correlation between the amount of muscle you have and the number of mitochondria. And it stands to reason that the more mitochondria you have, the more the potential to burn fat.

Read here to get 10 muscle-building tips to increase muscle tone.

Get More Mitochondria

How do you get more of these little cell powerhouses? You need to be giving your body a reason to create more of them. You do this by performing high intensity exercise. HIIT training is just one of these methods. Weight training is another. By creating a large demand for energy up and above what your body can already produce, your body is forced to create new mitochondria in order to be prepared for the next time your muscles call on that needed extra energy.

The great thing about muscle and mitochondria is that they are active tissue. Unlike fat, they need constant energy to maintain themselves – energy like fatty acids. What does this mean? It means that your body will be burning fat at all times of the day – even while you’re sleeping. Yes, it is possible to burn fat in your sleep, and that is how.

Don’t Worry About Your Weight

Telling people to ignore their weight is a very common theme for me, and for good reason. Too many times successful dieting is sabotaged because of a meaningless number on a scale. A scale does nothing other than measure the force of gravity on your body. Why should this matter at all? It can’t tell you if your clothes fit better, it can’t tell you if your body fat percentage has changed, and it definitely won’t tell you that you’re looking any better.

When you start dieting, it is imperative that you track your progress using methods other than the scale. You need progress measuring tools that are going to track fat loss – not weight loss. Body fat calipers, tape measures, pictures, clothes sizes, and people’s comments are all going to be more useful for you. Don’t worry about your weight – even if it goes up. If you’re looking better, you’re weight doesn’t matter. The only time it matters is when you tell your weight to someone who doesn’t understand the difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Preserve Muscle While Losing Fat

Alright then, if our goal is fat loss, we are going to need to focus on preserving muscle while we lose fat. People tend to sabotage their diets by eating too little food and too few nutrients resulting in muscle loss. Once you start losing muscle, you are fighting an uphill battle to lose fat. This is one of the main reasons why diets fail, just behind food addiction.

Learn more about how to overcome your food addiction.

To prevent muscle loss, make sure you are following these basic guidelines:

• Get in enough calories for your body size and activity level.
• Make sure those calories are nutrient dense by having them come from fruits, vegetables, meats, legumes, tubers, dairy, and whole grains.
• Aim for calories in the 10-12 times your body weight range.(in pounds)
• Try to get in 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight, and divide that evenly among 5 meals.
• Eat enough carbohydrates to support your activity level. You can start at 150 grams and adjust from there.
• Fill the rest of your calories with fat – healthy fats and EFAs (essential fatty acids).
• Make sure you exercise and give your muscles a reason to maintain themselves. If you don’t exercise, your body is going to shed that unneeded muscle. Force your body to preserve it and even grow it by giving it consistent stimulation

Follow these guidelines and you will reach your true goal of not just losing weight, but losing that unwanted fat, and keeping your beautiful muscle.

About Tony Schober

Healthy living curator, blogger, foodie, certified personal trainer, husband, & step-dad to 3. Founder of Coach Calorie. Hates scales.

- read more about me

Eating Enough....

Well I've had a bit more time to experiment with fine tuning my nutritional intake whilst on holidays.
I mentioned before that I have bought some new fancy scales that link with my Garmin fitness watch and the Garmin Connect website.  This info has been facinating.  Basically its telling me I don't eat enough.

I've been eating about 1500 cals/day for a while now, and not seeing much in the way of changes.  So I need to change something.  The dilemna is, do I eat more, or less (yes eating too little will actually slow your metabolism and decrease fat loss).  (And I'm only recording all my food at the moment because I seem to have plateaued - and want to work out what needs changing).  To lose "fat" and not "fat + muscle", you shouldn't create a calorie deficit of more than 300 -  500 cals/day.  Every calculator I've used to date says that my maintenance calories (for age, weight, height) are 1800 - 2000.   Hence the figure of 1500 that I''m aiming towards.  However my new scales measure my statistics in a lot more detail - they give readings on bone mass, body fat, hydration, lean muscle mass, visceral (tummy) fat etc.  AND they add that information together with the traditional height/weight/age info and estimate my maintenance calories =  2378!  That of course is related to how much muscle I carry.  So finally I have some guidance as to which way I need to swing the calories - 2300 -500=1800.  It suggests I need to eat more.

So for  two weeks I am aiming for 1800 calories and will see what happens to my body fat.  If it goes up - then I'm wrong - along with the fancy scales!

I have also decided that this year I am going to lose 10% Body Fat - with a goal of 1% per month.  Totally Doable.

BUT - eating so cleanly has meant that it is soooo hard to eat enough.I read somewhere that it is hard to overeat when you eat clean and laughed. 
Yet -  seriously, I eat all day and am yet to manage to fulfill my 1800 cal target.  I keep having to scheme at ways to sneak in extra foods.
Must eat more...

Lastly I found a fabulous vegan no added sugar cake at the health food shop in the mall - it was full of wonderful fruit and took me all day to get through just one piece (i could only eat about a quarter at a time).  Really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

The Sugarless Life - 2 weeks on

 

Well its been 16 days since I totally cut out refined or "added sugar" from my diet, and I thought I would update you on how its been going.

Has it been hard?
I'd have to say - no, hardly at all.
I had a clean "ish" diet before, focussing on whole foods, raw where possible, mainly lean meat, fruit vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and some dairy.  (A whole food is one that doesn't have a list of ingredients attached, because it IS the food eg lentils, carrots, etc).  I would generally eat this 80% of the time and only ate cakes/biscuits etc as very occasional treats (eg 1 x every month or two) so I haven't missed these sugary things.  The only time that has been hard so far was when we went out as a family to see The Illusionist - and the meal beforehand had a set menu that included beautiful little "petit fours" which I passed on, and then after everyone had hot chocolates which was also a no- go (not to mention the cocktail at the performance called The Potion - also full of sugar).  But that was just one night and nothing else has been really hard.

What has changed?
Well - I said the treat stuff hasn't really changed - though no ice cream at Glenelg is a bit of a bummer -  but I have just continued reading all my food labels before eating any thing and now I just have to look  for sugar in the ingredients also

So no things like tomato sauce, or pre-packaged sauces/marinades, only a couple of yogurts are ok, basic cheese like camembert is still ok, (no dry biscuits to have with them though), and I have found some great sugar free chocolate - so the world is still ok.  Oh and Feel Good iced coffee has no added sugar so I can have this if I want, and I do like it because it covers my calcium requirements and has reasonable protein although its no longer a regular feature.

Has it made a difference to my weight?
Many people talk about how much weight they lose cutting out sugar - but for me - nada so far.  But then I didn't eat much in the way of high sugar food or drinks before so its not surprising.   But we will see.

Has it had any other effects?
Maybe.  I think I can feel the  effects of much more stable blood sugar levels.  I don't get as hungry as quickly (unless its after a heavy workout which is to be expected) or much at all really.  I'm not sure though whether this is also as a result of me paying closer attention to my nutrition in general (eg healthier eating reduces hunger) or the sugar or a combination of both.
It has also made me want to "clean up" a few other things.
Prior to this decision, I have been focusing on green vegetable intake and last year started taking a greens product called PharmaGreens to boost my immune system.  Its the equivalent of 6-8 serves of green vegies, comes in a powder form and I just add it to my smoothies. Very easy as a supplement (not replacement) to my vegie intake.  But through this I have been looking at Ph balance of our bodies (how alkaline or acidic our system is) as this affects our resistance to disease. Whilst I decided this year to still use artificial sweeteners (otherwise it would just be too hard) these are very acidifying, except for Stevia (we can buy it as Natvia). I'm thinking I might just reduce the other ones as much as possible.
I'm also losing interest in many less healthy foods like Diet Coke (my one true vice) ... watch this space for updates!
And I'm thinking of giving up white foods  - eg white bread/rice completely.  I generally only eat them in the first half of the day now, and not all that much any way - so it wouldn't be much of a push to drop em off all together.

The "Clean Eating" app has  a pantry list of what a clean eating pantry should look like.  I cleaned mine out last weekend and put empty containers back in for the products that I didn't have on their list.  There weren't many but it will remind me what to start to stock up on.  Might post a photo of it later.

I am also watching my calorie intake again for a while, to see if I can pinpoint any over eating, or under eating and how this is affecting my body composition.  The scales continue to be stable, so I've bought new ones!  (LOL) Not to get a different answer, but to understand the changes better.  The new ones will show body fat, lean muscle mass, hydration and a few other things so that I can see the impact of my effort - because as you all know, I dont care about the weight, I just want to know if my efforts are improving the health and fitness of my body by increasing muscle mass and decreasing body fat, and being an information junkie - i want more information!

Cheers for now
By the way -commenting on this blog doesn't require you to have a google account or be registered or anything - I would just love to hear from you.  Add your thoughts to the discussion!

And the winner is...

(I was just playing with you re the commercial break!)

1st Place - Lisa D - with a total loss of 9.77%

2nd Place - Anisa - with a total loss of 8.59%

3rd Place - Maree - with a total loss of 7.25%

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL!

A few notes - Anisa and Maree did not start till week 3 - learning - its never too late to start
We had 3 women in this challenge who are in their 60's and 70's and between them they lost a whopping 19.77% - learning - age is no barrier!

Well done to all of you who saw it through to the end.  Everyone made great gains
Or maybe you didn't manage to hang in there and would like to give it another go. Its perseverence in the end that makes a difference, not a flash in pan single challenge.

I will be starting another challenge soon, message me if you are interested.

Also - for those of you who are on the Nutrition Complete Meal Planner, your subscription will be ending soon - drop me a line if you want to purchase another 3 months.

Stay in touch, stay strong, and watch my sugar free journey in the meantime!

Lisa

Drum Roll Please......

And the winner of the 2012 Christmas Body Fat Challenge is....


Stay tuned until after the commercial break

"I Don't Eat Sugar"

Read the story in the last post from the Calorie Coach.

January 1st this year I decided to give up refined sugar from my diet. I have been unable to find any value in this nutritionally, apart from energy, and western civilisations just eat far too much of it. As I explored this idea I came with a few "rules" or better clarity of what this means.  I don't want to give up all sugar as thsi would mean cutting our fruit, milk etc. I subscribe the philosophy of clean eating which means aiming for eating whole foods in their natural state and avoiding processed foods, and fruit and milk are definitely "in" this category.  So I decided whole foods are in, anything packaged I would read the ingredients label and any form of sugar is listed as added to product (including all the different forms of sugar), the product would be "out" of my list.  I also decided that "gels" would be in (these are basically all sugar) for fitness endurance events, as they have a very specific nutritional value.

I also decided that artificial sweeteners would be ok. Its not that I think they are good for you, but just that to give these up as well (which would mean giving up things like diet coke) would just make the transition too hard, and not achievable.  Maybe next year.

Its been a week and it hasn't really been hard. I don't eat cakes/biscuits etc very often anyway, and in the last week I only had to turn them down twice. But its been more about discovering what's in the "healthy" food that I eat anyway - and finding alternatives.  Like to chocolate!  I'm really interested to see what difference it might make to my body shape/body fat this year, and I thought I might post my experiences over the next 12 months as to how I am finding it.  And yes, posting this makes me more accountable and more likely to stick to it.

Re the story below, I automatically started with the concept of "I don't eat sugar" rather than I can't.  Because I certainly can, I just don't want to.  It does make a difference.
What don't you want to do anymore?

How to Say NO to Unhealthy Foods - from The Calorie Coach

How to Say No to Unhealthy Food and Mean It

Written by Deanna Schober · 10 Comments

The typical person decides that they are FINALLY going to do something about their extra fat or unhealthy eating habits. They pick a start date, usually Monday, and spend every minute up until then eating the foods they won’t be able to eat after Monday. They say “goodbye” to them, making sure they get one last indulgence of everything they will miss. They buy all the food that they think is healthy for them and stock their pantry with it in preparation for the big life change. They go to bed dreading eating a vegetable omelet for breakfast instead of their usual sugary cereal. They shiver at the thought of salad at lunch instead of take out. But it must be done! It will be for the best and all the struggling and starvation will be worth it in the end. Right?

The I Can’t Diet

But then Monday comes, and they sit down to their vegetable omelet. Yuck. All they think about is the cereal they can’t have, and that is all they want. This tastes nothing like cereal, I don’t care how healthy it is, they think to themselves.

By lunch they have spent the entire morning grouchy and angry. “Why can’t I just eat the foods I love and lose weight? It’s so unfair!” They pick at their lunch salad. Disgusting. They think fondly of this past weekend, when they so freely enjoyed pepperoni pizza. It was so cheesy and wonderful. They can’t believe that they’ll NEVER get to eat pizza again.

When co-workers ask them to come enjoy birthday cake in the break room, they say “I can’t. I’m on a diet.” They grumble to themselves how this diet is ruining their lives and how miserable they are. They complain to anyone who will listen about how all they want is a freakin’ ice cream sandwich! But they can’t. Ice cream sandwiches are in the “never again” column. They can’t eat them or they’ll never lose weight.

Read here for 21 ways to stay healthy at work.

Somehow, the foods they can’t eat seem to smell even better than before, seem to look that much more delectable. They’re up on this illustrious pedestal, and only the lucky people get to eat them and not gain weight.

This continues for a bit. Some might give up after a day, maybe a week, maybe they even force themselves to lose some weight. But it’s never permanent, because they are always faced with the foods they “can’t” eat at parties, social gatherings, restaurants, and stores. It’s a completely negative experience that they can’t wait, subconsciously, to get out of.

The mentality of “can’t” creates a perspective from the dieter that they are missing out on something great. They can’t join in the fun. They aren’t worthy of it. They’re left out.

The Power of “I Don’t”

Now change the phrase from “I can’t” to “I don’t”. Suddenly, the phrase takes on a completely different philosophy. “I don’t eat that” implies control, leaving something behind that isn’t good, a belief that you abide by.

Instead of feeling like you’re being left out of a big party that everyone else can participate in, you feel like you’re making the choice, like you know something that the rest of them don’t know and are in full control of your habits.

So now, when breakfast time comes, you’re not thinking about the things you can’t eat. You can really taste the vegetable omelet for what it is, because you’re not comparing it to the cereal on the pedestal (which didn’t actually taste all that awesome, now that you think about it). Maybe it’s not so bad, and I bet with some added spices or even some chicken, it would be even better! You are now able to focus on the things you CAN eat that you actually enjoy!

Read here for tons of healthy recipe ideas.

At cake time, when asked to join in on the birthday celebration, you join but bring your ownhealthy snack. When the cake is passed around, you say “Thanks, but I don’t eat sweets”. You feel in control of your choice, you feel intelligent, and the person who passed you the cake wonders what you know that they don’t.

The memories of the junk food you left behind are fading because you aren’t focused on them as something you want but can’t have. They’re beneath you. You only treat your body with respect and feed it the foods that make it healthy. The Can’t mentality makes the junk food positive and the diet negative. The Don’t mentality achieves the exact opposite. Don’t is a definitive statement that won’t be questioned by you or those around you.

Changing from “I Can’t” to “I Don’t” puts YOU in control and gives you a belief system to abide by rather than a rule to follow. Try it with a habit that you are trying to change and see how it feels.

Need more mental secrets to stay on track? Read here.

What are your “I Don’t’s”? Do you have a rule for food?