Have you ever really wanted to do that?

Probably because you had worked really hard, been eating well and exercising but that little metal box told you were a failure.

I was eighteen and a half stone, obese and unfit in August 2009, today I have lost six of those stones, I’m now fit, healthy and very happy.  And I have never owned bathroom scales and I didn’t weigh myself at all until I’d lost three stones.

I didn’t have scales when I was big for obvious reasons, I knew how big I was, I could see it every time I looked in the mirror, or put on my size twenty four jeans.  I’d been weighed for some surgery a while ago, had told the nurse I didn’t want to know the figure; I did though have a sneaky look, gulped and then buried my head firmly in the sand. I didn’t need scales to tell me how bad things had got.

So why do you need to throw your scales out of that window?

My reasons are very simple:

If you are eating well, maybe exercising too, you get on the scales and the first week you lose two pounds, you pat yourself on the back, you’ve done well, it was worth all the effort. The second week, you do exactly the same positive things; you may have been trying even harder, however the metal box tells you ‘one pound lost’.

How do you feel, I can almost guarantee that you will feel deflated, unmotivated and wondering why you are bothering?  You’ve lost the celebration of your achievement of losing three pounds and wondering what you’ve done wrong.

So if you hadn’t got on the scales for four weeks and found you’d lost seven pounds, how would that feel?  Fantastic, it’s half a stone, you’ve done really well and you’re motivated to carry on because you’ve succeeded!

What you didn’t of course see were the fluctuations in your weight across the weeks, this is a perfectly normal pattern. You won’t necessarily lose the same amount every week whatever you do.   For women your hormonal cycle will really affect this too.  Also if you lose seven pounds across a month, you will feel it too, your clothes might feel just that bit looser, if you’re doing the right things why do you need the scales to tell you that? If you eat less and healthier and move more you will lose weight, that’s guaranteed.

And if you weigh yourself every day, well the issue is just amplified massively!

There’s something else too, when you lose weight, at the back of your mind is the total amount to want to lose or the weight you want to reach, it may be an enormous number.  So every time you get on those scales, you are reminded just how big that challenge is. Whilst knowing what you weigh at the beginning is important, we may perhaps need a shock to get us to change. To be reminded constantly can take the focus away from what you are actually achieving each week.

It’s too much to ask of yourself; you need to focus on much smaller goals, those that you can see as being achievable, losing a dress size or not getting out of breath going up stairs for example.  Try to find things that you could do in a month or so, it’s far better to succeed at a smaller goal than fail at a bigger one.

At the beginning you won’t be able to visualise what losing the big figure will look like, and the more you have to lose the more relevant this is.  If I had started out with the goal of losing six stones, it would never have happened, it is too big, it would have felt impossible, however getting into a pair of size 22 jeans seemed reasonable and achievable.  And to be reminded all the time how much I still weighed and how far off twelve and a half stone was, I don’t think that would have motivated me in the slightest!

So try weighing yourself only every month, if this is too hard at the beginning, the minimum should be every fortnight but do try to increase the time intervals if you can!

The figures you’ll then see on the scales will be much bigger and far more motivating.

If you start off not being a slave to the scales then you stand a much better chance of being able to sustain weight loss too, I know that my weight will fluctuate now, I’ve had periods of doing a lot more exercise or times when there have been holidays or events where I probably eat more than I would normally do, however by not getting on the scales I’m not feeling ‘punished’, my clothes might feel a bit tight, so I adjust my exercise and food again!  So I still don’t own any scales and a year on from the initial weight loss, it’s all still off and I feel wonderful!

I don’t need a pair of scales to tell me that! Go on, give it a go and see if it works for you!

I‘m Trudy Kelly, I’m 43, and I lost 6 stone in 14 months not being on a diet, I just followed a commonsense, very simple approach. I’m not a health guru, I’m an ordinary girl who has achieved what I even thought was unachievable. And I’ve written a blog about it. http://loseweightandkeepitoff.wordpress.com/

Well here you go then!

These tips will give you the edge to fuel your body, gain a little muscle and become leaner.

The basic building blocks of muscles are basically what are called amino acids, and these are found in protein rich foods. The best quality of protein you can get that is the protein that contains the most amino acids comes from eggs but you can also obtain quality protein from meat, fish, dairy products and soya. If you’re working out on a regular basis or simply would like to get leaner you need to be eating around 1.5g to 2g of lean protein per kilogram of your body weight per day and this is one of the reasons that protein shakes are so popular as they are an easy and convenient way to take in protein without having to chow down all the time.

To be able to power and also fuel your way through your workouts you also need carbohydrates and it always makes sense to have a post workout shake that contains two kinds of carbs, namely slow release low GI (glycaemic index) and also quick release carbs, high GI. Try to get most of your carb intake throughout the day from a low GI source as in wholemeal foods but after a workout you’ll find that a high carbs mixed with protein in the form of a shake is the quickest and easiest way to replenish empty muscles.

Believe it or not you also need a sufficient supply of minerals in your body in the form of metals. No I’m not talking about eating iron filings but eat foods rich in minerals like red meat and spinach. Having enough iron in your diet is important as it helps to oxygenate your blood which improves oxygen levels in your muscles and increases fitness. Zinc is also an essential component for energy and you can find it in shellfish, nuts and seeds. Magnesium is also a great idea and can be found in wholegrains, nuts, seeds and soya.

Timing is everything and the sooner you down your combined protein and carb shake after a workout the better. Your body is crying out for nutrients immediately after a workout and is also at its most receptive and try to eat a nice balanced meal about two to three hours after your workout to help the building and “leaning” out phase.

Exercising against resistance is also ideal for increasing bone density so make sure you’re also taking on board enough calcium which can be found in cheese and other dairy products. Just don’t overdo the double cream.

Just because you’re working out hard and regularly doesn’t give you an excuse to eat all and everything as it’s counterproductive to take in empty calories. Ditch the junk as every excess empty calorie will trigger a hormonal response of insulin and take it straight to your fat stores.

Taking regular doses of creatine have been scientifically proven to help get you leaner and work out for harder and longer in the gym and also help your muscles to look and feel fuller.

Try to avoid having a truly empty stomach as the energy stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen burns off after about 45 minutes of intense exercise and it’s looking for fuel sources. Body fat is hard to break down so your body will go to your hard earned lean muscle tissue for fuel first, that’s why it’s so important to fuel up before and after your workouts as this will preserve your muscle (your lean tissue) and help to burn fat!

Caffeine has long been proven to give you an energy boost pre workout and is also a fantastic fat metaboliser, so have a double espresso before you hit the gym.

Fitness and strength are fantastically good for you but all that exercise can also release free radicals into your body so it makes sense to eat your five a day because of the stress you’re putting on your body and system. It’s important to eat high levels of fresh fruit and vegetables for their high levels of anti oxidants which will help to repair any damage.

Best wishes as always Garth.

If you’d like a FREE NO OBLIGATION chat to discuss any problems you have with your lifestyle, nutrition or exercise, email me for an appointment.
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Breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dine like Pauper!

Sage and wise advice and still good to this day!

To help to keep your weight in check or if you’re really serious about losing weight it makes to downsize your meals as the day goes on.

Coffee for breakfast, sandwich for lunch if you have the time, huge plate of meat and potatoes and very probably a nice slice of cake or a tasty dessert all washed down with a glass or two of wine.

It’s the great traditional British way of eating and it goes a long way to explaining why a huge percentage of the population is overweight or struggling with their weight.

It makes that in the morning you need energy to not only kick start your day but also give you the energy to get through the day, so this makes it an ideal opportunity to stoke up your boiler with carb heavy foods, cereals, toast, fruit etc.

As the day progresses try to eat less with each meal so that your final meal of the day is a fairly small one and try to make it primarily protein based with lovely fresh vegetables and no carbs.

There’s absolutely no point going to beddy byes after having a huge bowl of pasta as all that energy from the food will not get used up and all that will happen is that it will go straight to your fat stores without “passing go or collecting £100”!

Eating like this is a wonderful way of getting in all the fuel you need throughout the day without overloading your system.

If you’d like a FREE NO OBLIGATION chat about your lifestyle, nutrition or exercise, email me for an appointment, you’ll be happy you did.

Best wishes Garth
Like to know how your eating is affecting you? Gimme a call

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Most of us have been brought up on the concept of three square meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

However this may not be the ideal eating pattern to suit your body or metabolism as this kind of eating pattern throws your metabolism into complete disarray because you tend to stuff yourself with  which then creates an energy overload which is then followed by a period of starvation until the next meal is due.

What you find is that your insulin levels bounce up and down as it fights to keep your blood sugar levels even and consistent throughout the day and the end result ends up with you storing more fat than you actually need to.

A much better way of eating is the “little and often” method that I’m always banging on about and eat small meals constantly throughout the day. That way your metabolism gets a constant “drip feed” of the energy that it needs on a regular basis which in turn will keep your blood sugars levels stable and a big plus is that you never feel hungry so you’ll have no excuse whatsoever to reach for that biscuit tin mid afternoon!

By eating little and often you’re body will also be able to process the food that you take in much more easily as it won’t be overloaded and you’ll absorb much more of the nutritional elements of all your meals and you won’t have that stuffed and bloated feeling that usually accompanies a full on meal.

If you’d like FREE NO OBLIGATION chat about your lifestyle, nutrition or exercise, email me for an appointment.

Best wishes Garth.
Like to know how your eating is affecting you? Gimme a call

Subscribe or miss out!

Want to turn your body into a fat burning furnace?

Want to do it fast, easy and as cost effective as possible?

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