Is this Your Mantra?

It was definitely mine when I had a lot of weight to lose.  Every time I was tempted to eat something I shouldnt, I remembered that norhing could taste as good as fit and healthy would feel.  What are you saying to yourself at the moment to keep yourself encouraged? Post a comment with your mantra

Heres the one that's in my head at the moment.  This is the body I am visualizing acheiving on a daily basis.

Drum Roll Please...........

And the first leader on the board after 1 week is......

Adam - with a massive loss of 1.5% Body Fat!
2nd Place goes to Anisa - 0.77%
3rd Place goes to Ingrid - 0.76% - could 2nd and 3rd be any closer?

Firstly congratulations to these three on an awesome job.  Please don't let these guys become complacent - be determined to knock-em off their podiums next week!

Secondly, a couple of words of caution about the results.  As this measurement relies on tape measurements there can be a lot of user error.  With only 1 measurement for comparison (Start vs Week 1), a 1cm difference in measurement can make a huge difference to the calculations.  So its the difference over a number of weeks that shows the real differences.  Also the male calculation is different to the female one and relies solely on waist measurement. (Mainly because men don't tend to carry fat on other parts of the body). So all Adam needed was one good result on one key measurement, where as the rest of you needed more. (Sorry Adam - but take it as a personal challenge to keep up the great work)

Lastly, its always interesting to know that the best BF results did not necessarily go to those with the greatest weight loss.  There were a couple of others with great weight losses who were pipped at the post on BF.

So remember the photo below,  make sure you are exercising, and hitting your protein and calorie targets this week.

Good luck!

Why its NOT all about the Scales (even though I just told you to pack them on your holidays!)

Take a really close look at this before and after shot.  No, go on, look again.  In the photo on the right, note the nicely defined abs, the toned and slightly narrower thighs, better butt definition, better chest area, better shoulder shape and arm definition.  Now look at the weights.  In the after shot she weighs 9 pounds more than her before shot.


Which body do you want?


The one that gives a lower figure on the scales, or the one that looks better.
Its all about body composition and how much muscle (heavier) and fat (lighter) that you have.

That's why this is a fat loss challenge.

Say no more.

A Few Little Hiccups for our First "Weigh" In

Well it hasn't been smooth sailing for this first weigh in and I'm still waiting on a couple of results, hence the delay in putting up the leader board.  And for those who are on the DIYOW plan, I'm yet to send out the emails with your body fat calculations.
I'm sure it will be a lot smoother second time round.  I've decided that if I don't get your results by 5pm Sunday, I will still hound you for them to keep you accountable (don't think its a way of avoiding reality!) , but they won't be included in that weeks leader board.  I need to do the work Sunday nights to keep us up to date, so I will work with what I've got.
So make plans first thing every Sunday morning to get up and weigh and measure.  And if you are going away, just slip the scales and a tape measure into your bag (Georg  LOL)!  My response to this aspect and all training and nutrition goals is NO EXCUSES.

Recipe of the Day - Banana and Kale Protein Smoothie

Here is one of my favourite protein shakes, add Kale (you can replace this with spinach), half an banana, banana protein powder and 250ml skim milk.  Blend and serve.  It may not look great, but trust me it tastes smooth, and sweet, and its a great way to get your green veggies in.  Try adding kiwi fruit or grated zucchine.  If made as per the meal planner (yes for those who are using it I've added it as a meal) it provides 259 calories, 29.4g protein, 4g fat, 1.6 g fibre.
Liquid protein plus some carbs is also perfect within 30 mins of a workout

What's your favourite recipe?  To make it easier for people to share, you will find an invitation in your email inbox to become an editor of this website.  Follow the directions in the email and then by clicking new post at the top right of this website - you can make your own entry, and post your own photos.  Who will be first?

A Gift For the Winner

Just as a little extra incentive, this gorgeous Lorna Jane crop is waiting for the winner for Christmas (blokes great gift for your partner!)

If you don't know already, I am just a little Lorna Jane obsessed, and if you ever want anything I can order it and save you the shipping costs, so just let me know.

Also last chance to put in your orders for protein powder or other supplements, I am picking them up tonight, will have them available Saturday.

By the way, why not join this site (scroll to the bottom left) that way you get emails about new posts and comments. If you havent been watching the comments, you may missed that there's a challenge on for the leadership, and more new members!

Lastly for this morning, watch for the next post about someone who did the first challenge, has continued on to lose an amazing amount of weight, and is back, I guess, to finish the job off.  Who?  Check back to find out!

So what's Body Fat all about?

So I called it a Body Fat Challenge, not a weight loss challenge.   Why?  What's the difference?

A heck of a lot if you are losing weight to look good or be healthier.

Weight is a measurement on a scale of all of your body parts.  Bone, muscle, fat, water, connective tissue etc. Muscle weighs more than fat.  If your body composition is high in fat and low in muscle you can weigh less than someone who has a lot of muscle and not much fat.   But guess who LOOKS significantly better, healthier and yes smaller? (muscle may weigh more but its more compact.  Its like comparing a tonne of feathers against a tonne of bricks).

This is why BMI and weight are not good indicators of health, fitness or fat!  You can have two people who weigh the same, are the same height, and one's waist measurement may be 20 cm higher than then others.  Its all about body fat.  The best indicators for health, are waist measurement, hip to waist ratio, and body fat.

The gold standard for measuring body fat is a dunk in a water tank to see how much water you displace compared to your weight.  Whilst its very accurate, its very expensive.  There are other ways to do it including skin fold tests, bioimpedence (done electrically on scales) and tape measurements like we are doing.  Tape measurements are probably the least accurate due to errors in measuring, and  the formulas used make predictions on body shape based on your measurements.  But for the purposes of this challenge, they provide us with a consistent cheap way of measuring change.

As far as where you are now, below is a table of how to classify your body fat results.  However, you need to add caution to this as I've already mentioned that the results we have are not very accurate.  For example, if I've measured my body fat using this method, + a different formula ( the one we used last challenge + skin callipers + bio impedence) and come up with four different results.  They are all within about 6 %, but the formula we are using comes out the lowest, the others put me at about 5 % higher.  So if you are close to or in the acceptable range, I would suggest your body fat is actually slightly higher than this - please don't let this make you complacent.   You can also tell how good your body fat is by looking in the mirror - are you "pudgy or soft" in some spots - this is fat.

Here's the table

So what about waist measurements?
 For most people a waist measurement of greater than 94cm for men or 80cm for women is an indicator of internal fat deposits, which can coat the heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas, and increase the risk of chronic disease.  So you need to get your waist measurements below this for good health.

The body fat equation is why careful attention to your diet is really important. If you don't get enough protein in your diet you will not maintain your muscle bulk (or develop it) and you will lose muscle as well as fat when you lose weight  ie your body fat % will pretty much remain the same.  You can see the protein in your diet in the meal planner on the right hand side.  Try to hit your protein targets as well as your calorie targets.  Yes, there's a lot of protein in foods like red meat and cheese, but they also come with a lot of fat and/or calories, so lean protein choices are better, like egg whites, chicken breast, turkey, tuna, and whey powder

Changing your body CAN NOT be just about eating less.  It has to be about eating better.

Christmas Challenge Roll Call!

Here it is - here's the group you are challenging!  (in alphabetical order)

Georgina Bickley

Andrew Cockington

Lisa Cockington

Fiona Cockington

Ingrid Combe

Lisa Donnon

Adam Donnon

Carly Green

Kathryn Hansen

Mikalya Hill

Melissa Koch

Olivia Sice

Tracey Stringer

Watch out for Lisa Donnon - she won last time (and now wants to go even further)  and you might like to read her guest post listed earlier about how she did it.

Its not too late to join, so if your friends are still thinking about it, get them to contact me asap.

I still need measurements for some of you - will probably send you some individual text reminders.  If you are using the meal planner, you need to enter all of your measurements here (they are in your profile, under progress, plus click on the body fat calculator and add in these measurements too.

If you are not on the meal planner, you need to send them to me, they are height (first time only) then weight, chest, waist, butt, left thigh, left upper arm, left lower arm, left wrist.

If you are generally fairly active, and dont lose weight, it is definitely your diet, despite how healthy you may think you eat.  Diet is 80% of the weight loss equation.  You have to get it right.  I notice that people are taking a while to get into using the meal planner function.  This is essential, you need to focus strongly on measuring what you eat (unless you are a really experienced healthy eater).  YOu don't need to worry about planning a week in advance, or using all the recipes on the website.  Write down on the planner (by clicking on "add ingredient") what you plan to eat for the day.  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE click on the comments section below, and list all the foods you would like added, if they are not there. I just need the name and brand of the item and I will add them all.  In reality we don't eat a huge variety of foods  - we are creatures of habit. So send the lists through below, add to what others have asked for and it will become really simple to add your foods.  Then look at the calorie calcuations (and other nutritients) and see how you are going for staying within your targets.

Then if you are looking for a healthy meal idea for the evening - try looking through the recipes on the site, or add your own.  Pls note though that the recipes have to be added for single serves (so that when you print your shopping list and select how many people it calculates the right number).  So take your recipe, and if it serves 4, divide all the ingredients by 4.  Or choose own on the site that is very similar, and either use it as is, or copy and edit it, changing over the different ingredients you use.  It will then be saved as your version  (eg Lisa's Pad Thai) 

Have you tried one of the recipes, or have a favourite to share?  It would be great to share healthy recipes here to motivate and support each other.  I'll start a post for recipe ideas, then just click "comment" and add your own!

Step Up to the Start Line TOMORROW

Tomorrow (Sunday) is the official start day of the 10 week Christmas BodyFat Challenge!  Time to transform your body!

Here's what to do

Sunday morning before eating, and without clothes, weigh yourself and measure yourself
If you are using the meal planner, fill in all the measurement details in profile section, including body fat. You will be able to see your progress immediately, and I can run a report that will give me these figures for the leaderboard.
If not measure your chest, waist, butt, left thigh, left upper arm.  I also need your height and email them to me at bfit4life@live.com.au by 5 pm every Sunday.  I will email back your body fat calculations and losses for the week

TAKE a Before PHOTO.  DONT skip this step.  And take it in a bikini, or underwear.  You want to SEE differences and you will.  They will be much more motivating when you can see the difference in the photos.  If you are on the meal planner you can upload it to your site.  Dont worry, no-one else can see it.

Sunday night/Monday morning the weekly leaderboard will go up on this site listing the 3 people who have lost the most body fat for the week, and overall. This will start at the end of week 1.

Keep checking the site for information and motivation - and may the fitness force be with you!

(PS if you are reading this and we have already started, you can still join, you will just be a little behind on the time available for weight loss)

Tips for Using the Meal Planner!

So you have your overall plan - your goals that you want to achieve - but is that enough?  The reality is that goals are rarely achieved with out specific regular attention to daily planning.  It can be a bit of a chore, but its the difference between achieving and letting yet another dream slip by whilst you were "busy".

If you really want to make this happen, you will find a way.  If not, you will find an excuse.

The meal planner can be a bit daunting to start with, particularly if you are not used to planning your food in advance.  But putting a little bit of time aside each day can be the difference between heading towards your goals or away from them.  Do the yo-yo each day and you'll never go anywhere.  It will be the difference between getting home at night without the right foods to cook a healthy dinner so resorting to a poor choice meal, or finding yourself going hours with no good food choices because you're on the road and having to eat something you said you didn't want to.  15 mins planning at night, can save you wasting a whole day.

So how to do it?

You can use the meal planner to generate a daily or weekly plan for you, and then swap the meals with other recipes until you have something that suits you.  But this might take you more than 15 mins at first, as you get used to the system and we get your favourite foods and recipes on there.  But I am here to help.  Send me lists of foods you cant find and would like on there and I'll add them.  You can add them too but if I add them everyone will see them, and I'm happy to save you the time.

As you experiment - if you find you've run out of time to plan for the next day - try entering what you eat as you go, so that you can keep track of how you are going for the day.

 On the right hand side of the meal planner are two columns of figures - one is your recommended ranges of calories,protein, fat etc, and the other is what you have had (or planned) so far.    If you can only manage to track your eating after you have eaten, at the very least add it all up BEFORE you have your evening meal - so you can see whether you need to be very careful about what you eat for the rest of the day as this is a time that many people eat a lot - lots of energy to fuel doing nothing!

You are given a range of calories eg 1200 - 1600.  I suggest you use the higher number for days when you exercise and the lower number for days when you don't.
Use the next day or so to get organised and find your way around the site.  I'll be sending a welcome email shortly about the challenge starting Sunday and how it works - lets get it happening!

Join Up Now for the Complete Nutrition Meal Planner Now in time for the Challenge

I'm really excited about using the Complete Nutrition Meal Planner - its a fabulous system, set up by qualified dietitians, and customised just for BFit clients  to plan healthy nutritional meals, monitor your calories, protein, fat etc, record your weekly measurements and exercise.  At $90/3 months that's less than $1/day for great support.

When you log in for the first time and you do this at the log in on the right - you will be asked to update your profile with height weight, activity level etc, and you can choose to receive daily, or weekly motivational messages, and reminders to weigh in weekly.  Note if you use this system to record your measurements and weight, you will not have to email them to me each week for the body fat challenge it will calculate your body fat for you, and i can take the number straight from the system.

You can then also choose your weight goals, choose how much prep time you have available for each of your meals, and also dietary preferances like gluten free/vegetarian, or foods that you just dont like eating, before setting up your meal plan for the week.  And when you've done that, you can print off your plan complete with photos of the fab foods, and/or print off a shopping list, calculated based on the number of people you are cooking for.

If you've got great recipes - we can share them on this website (and then everyone can add them to their meal plan) and there's a forum to discuss food/exercise ideas.  And this website is just for BFit clients so you can relax and share freely!  Can't wait.

Sign up now on the column on the left (Bronze package is just the meal planner) and I can get  you started so you are ready for the Body Fat Challenge starting on Sunday!

(Ps if paying by Sunday is an issue - msg me on F/book or 0419858707 and we can work something out. Installments, credit cards, cash are all fine too),

Rd 2 of the Body Fat Challenge is on (and just in time for Christmas!)

Starting on Sunday October 14 we're going to squeeze in a 10 week body fat challenge, and transform the way you look before Christmas.  In 10 weeks you could lose anywhere between 4 - 20kgs, depending on your starting weight, and if you combine it with the right exercise and nutrition, the changes will be more about fat loss and looking great than a unimportant number on the scales.  Last round Lisa B dropped a massive 10% body fat (see her post below to find out more) and this time around I've added in heaps more support.

Here's how it works.
Sign up for the 10 week challenge on either the DIYOW (free), Bronze, Silver or Gold Plans (see side bar for details).  Making a commitment/plan and making it public (well to me anyway) is a sure fire way to hold you to your goals, and make sure they are not just a "wish".

Each Sunday you msg me your weight, waist, hips measurement (the first day also includes height, age and neck measurements).  I will punch the measurements into a body fat calculator and give you your current body fat%, plus how much you've lost this week and to date.

Each week I'll post the top three Body Fat losers and how much they lost, plus the overall leader board.  Use this as an incentive each week to keep working hard.

How much support you want to do this is up to you - the different plans provide support with nutrition and/or exercise or you can Do It Your Own Way (DIYOW) at no cost.

Many people tell me they have no probs adding in the exercise, but its keeping the eating healthy that's hard.  So I have included access to Complete Nutrition - which is a comprehensive online meal planner.  It calculates how many calories you need to lose weight - and as you add in the recipes (yours or theirs) adds up your tally, not only in terms of calories, but also in fat/protein/carbohyrdrates and measures it against how much you should be eating.  It will also generate your shopping list based on the meals you choose!  To see a demo of this - check it out here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RONszCC9tME&feature=share&list=ULRONszCC9tME.  It will just cost you $1/day - although I need a minumum of three people to sign up for this option.

And some can eat well - but find it a challenge to push themselves physically - so I'm continuing to offer weekly Personal Training sessions at half price ($20/hr) (if you live in the local area) whilst I complete my studies, plus I can set up and or review your plans for the next week - all tailored specifically to your needs and fitness levels.  If you choose this option plus the the nutrtional program - its cheaper again.

Now's your chance to commit to making a difference to your life - will you take it?

You've got 7 days to sign up - post a comment below, or message me here or on facebook, or on 0419858707.  Payment plans/credit card facilities available

Personal Training Here I Come (and at 1/2 PRICE!)

I am currently offering Personal Training at 1/2 price ($20/hr) whilst I complete my Certificate IV training, building on my existing Cert III in Fitness qualifications.  I have sessions available in the mornings at 6am and 7am Monday - Friday at my personal BFIT gym, 70 Brandis St Crystal Brook.

I have experience in weight loss, running, cycling and training for events, as well as being able to offer general cardio and weight training but even better - specialty sessions in boxing, kettlebells and suspension training (think of the rings in mens gymnastics - you can use this sort of system with pushups, squats etc to really get ripped).

I encourage you to buy a 10 Pack of sessions and pay up front as it helps with your commitment, and to ease the pain I have credit card facilities available.

Summer is coming, the mornings are beautiful - why not start off your day well?

Introducing Carpe Diem - my motivational book about exercise, healthy eating and weight loss

 

Ever wanted to pick my brains about exercise, food and nutrition?  Ever wondered what I learnt when I lost 40 kgs all those years ago, and more importantly, how I kept it off?  Well its now all in a book, that I hope may motivate and inspire you in your own journey.  But its not about how to be skinny, fitness and healthy weight is all about a means to an end - about how to live life to the max, and to seize the day (which in Latin is translated as Carpe Diem).

At the moment I'm offering this e-book FREE to anyone who donates $20 to Go The Distance for Heart and Cancer.  This is a fundraiser for the Heart Foundation, and Cancer Council, and I've written this book specifically as a way of encouraging people to donate.  You can donate by clicking on the link below, all of your money goes to this cause, in return you get my book and hopefully some ideas and motivation, I get closer to my fundraising target of $2,000, and at the end will run a 1/2 marathon in the Go The Distance Event. Its a win win situation for everyone.

http://gothedistance.org.au/fundraisers/418

Dont forget to leave me a message at the site (or any where really) to let me know your email address so I can send it to you.  You can read it on your e-reader, your computer, or print it and read it the old fashioned way!

Lisa B - Winner of our Fat Loss Challenge - Talks about how (and why) she did It! (and is still doing it)

Short story today about living, I have just read a thought provoking story about dying, doesn’t seem to be much of a way to start a blog, but bear with me….you see being a nurse I have had the opportunity to see many people in their terminal journey and the story resounded to me things I already new but had never really thought about. I’m sure you have all heard the cliché about how near death experiences are a pivotal change for a person’s life & they begin living better or caring better or being a better person, but that’s not quite what I mean, I am talking about the people who know they are dying, they have a terminal condition and decide to make the best of every single moment they have to live with & love the people that matter most. They live like they are dying, in the best way, cherishing the things that are worth living for.

What has this got to do with fitness or fat loss? Well ask yourself a serious question…. Are you healthy? Really healthy, I don’t mean the excuse “well I’m a bit overweight for my size (actually BMI says you are obese), I can’t do exercise cos I have bad knees (well they are worse cos you are carrying so much weight & your muscles haven’t been challenged in so long they have disappeared into the fatness), It’s cold today, I’ll burn off that maccas in no time (no hope, the amount of calories you just consumed could feed you for days), doing weights makes you look like some muscle bound freak” (do you know how much effort it takes to look like that? Those people train for hours everyday, have the most ridiculously strict diets & strip down fluids on the day to look so ripped, anally dedicated). And my special favourite “I’m just putting on my winter coat to keep me warm over winter, and I’ll get it all off when spring hits” (uh, no, very likely not, and really, with our level of living when are you really ever cold, cold, really cold to the bone, which is the only time you will really burn up those excessive calories). So are you living like you are dying, or could you do more to better yourself, your life, you family & those you love? Ask the question….are you happy with how you are?

 

And if you want some help…here’s some of the things I have been doing lately for fitness & fat loss that have me feeling pretty good about the journey into low body fat.

 

Lets start with diet, I found out about this woman by accident, but love what she has to say about dieting (well, non dieting really) she talks about lifestyle changes and what food can do to you & for you, so very simple to implement her strategies, and I have not looked back. Her name is Isabel and below is a link to her website, obviously if you want the details you have to pay, but seriously, how much have you shelled out for crap food over the years? Worth it, I guarantee…

 

http://the-non-diet.com

Now if you buy her product (and this isn’t a plug) you will likely then link to many of her colleagues with similar ideals & great trainers that have some awesome workout ideas & fat loss tricks, which I have also done, and have found numerous ways to cut my fat percentage all without once going to the gym…all I have at home is a fit ball, hand weights (started with just a set of 5kgs) and good shoes. Colleagues that I have sourced from Isabel include Mike Geary, Shaun Hadsall, Craig Ballantyne, Joel Marion, to name a few, each have online training books you can buy & all have great science behind their programs.