Monthly Archives: July 2012

Healthy inspiration – motivational quotes

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Below are 10 inspirational quotes to spur you into taking control of your own health. We all need reminders like this every now and then.

  1. To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. Buddha (c. 563 BC to 483 BC) – a spiritual teacher from ancient India who founded Buddhism
  2. Life is not merely being alive, but being well.  Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial) (circa 40 AD – 103 AD) – a Latin poet from Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula) best known for his twelve books of Epigrams
  3. Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness. Edward Smith-Stanley (1752-1834) – English statesman, three times Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  4. A vigorous five-mile walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world.  Paul Dudley White (1886 – 1973) – an American physician and cardiologist
  5. You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan
  6. Without health, life is not life; it is only a state of languor and suffering.  Francois Rabelais (c. 1494 – 1553) – a major French Renaissance writer, doctor and Renaissance humanist
  7. A healthy body is a guest-chamber for the soul; a sick body is a prison. Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626) – an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist and author
  8. To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can’t just accept the ones you like. Mike Gafka
  9. People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success. Norman Vincent Peale
  10. Train insane or stay the same. Eat clean… talk dirty.

 

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Don’t have time to cook or plan your food? Here are some fuss free food preparation ideas..

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613661939I’m always hearing from clients that they don’t have time to prepare food in advance, or sometimes they just lack the inspiration.

Being organised with your food is CRUCIAL to you getting the health results you so desire. If you leave your next meal unplanned, well… need i say more, as you know its often a case of having no discipline once you are already hungry and it can be a downward spiral from there. This is normal but its also preventable. So below are some tips to get you organised and inspired so you can GET RESULTS! plus keep reading below for an example week of my food preparation…

Tips for being organised with your food:
  1. Plan what you are eating/feeding yourself and or your family for the week, before you shop for your food. This takes only a few minutes. Keep it simple, you can always add variety by changing the seasonings and sauces that accompanying things (I understand some of you have to feed fussy eaters, I have one myself, this is not an excuse).
  2. Buy groceries when you are not hungry – and of course after you have planned, even roughly, what you are cooking for the next 5-7 days.
  3. Only cook 2-3 times each week – Each time you cook allow at least 1-2 hours and cook 2-3 different meals at the same time (making the portions large enough for several servings ie. dinner, lunches and snacks the next day).
Example Menu ideas for bulk cooking:

This is what I do. For example I usually only cook on a Wednesday and Sunday, each of these days I cook enough to last the following few days. Very rarely do I reheat things. (I don’t have a microwave, if you need to reheat things google ‘microwave dangers’ first – instead try using a little boiling water on the stove, or cook it from frozen rather than defrosting in the microwave.)

  1. Oven roasted Meats – Use 2-3 different pieces of meat, Eg, Lamb, Chicken, Fish. These can be either traditional full roasts or casseroles (I prefer roasted meat as its easier to eat cold without needing to be reheated). Always throw a tray of veges in the oven at the same time. Try pumpkin, sweet potato or carrots, in fact most veges taste great when roasted. A meat free option would be Frittata (egg based for those non cooks). A fast alternative to meat which can be cooked in the oven.
  2. Slow cook – meat and veges/Soup/Curry – Either meat and veges without much fluid (water to make sauce/soup) or with lots of fluid and then make a soup out of the fluid at the end after you pull the cooked meat out.
  3. Rissoles made using various mince – Roll mince into balls using any rissole recipe you like (grain free of course), and simply pan fry in a little coconut oil. Recipe here.
  4. Chopped or whole raw veges – Good for any accompaniment, but best warmed or steamed on the night of use.
  5. Optional Extras – Try rice, rice noodles or extra vegetables for those fussy eaters or for more carbs.

Click here for more recipe ideas and a fantastic health resource ‘Nourished Magazine’

Now have your say… Feel free to comment below to ad your own cooking and organising food tips, everyone can benefit from your ideas. Thanks!

 

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Heard of these? Unusual Metabolism Boosting Tips

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The following are not in any order.. Except for the importance I’d like to place on number 1 – ‘be nicer to yourself’. This is very personal to me as it was what kick started my weight loss after having Stella (after almost 4 years of putting myself down). You may have had a different experience, please feel free to share it in the comments section..

5680829581. Be Nicer to yourself

I’m not suggesting you look in the mirror every day and praise the fat on your butt and say how magnificent you look, as if you are going to believe that right!? What I am suggesting is that you interrupt these thoughts, or actions if you are grabbing fatty bits on your body, of self criticism and hatred by purely distracting yourself and starting to do something else. Try to be aware of when the little voice starts inside your head… and no you are not crazy, we all do it, just say thanks for sharing and move onto the next thing you were doing. Becoming aware is a great way to interrupt the pattern and break the habit. Remember you will only get more of what you think or talk about, whether you think about it in a positive light or not. Click here to read more about self sabotage. Click here – Want more from life? – Read about the power behind self love.

9081507612. Rotate Your food

Try not to eat the same thing all the time. Simply rotating the top 10 foods you eat by swapping them for completely different things is going to stimulate your metabolism just like changing your exercise routine. Write a list of the top ten foods you eat and change them completely. Especially the protein, try it and watch your digestion improve and your waistline shrink.

3. Change your exercise routine…

I know I harp on about this but really is what you are doing working for you? Do you really want to have to do more areobics classes or up your gym sessions from 4 to 6 or 7 times/week? Wouldn’t you like to be able to do less and achieve more? Then possibly its time for a change? Click here for more info (Warning – you may have to change your thinking..)

4. Common sense… Keep it simple

Drink Clean (filtered) water and breathe properly using your diaphragm (as if you are filling up your stomach with air when you inhale). As simple as it seems, not many of the other fabulous weight loss tricks will help if you don’t master the basics. After all what are some of the most important substances for all human beings to be able stay alive??

4901844385. Get enough sleep and time out

This is critical to balancing your hormones. The ones that help you to repair from exercise, digest your food, repair your nervous system, the list goes on. Going to bed early is definitely something most people, including myself find hard to do, but hey sometimes the housework can wait 😉

6. Have Fun!

Don’t forget to smell the roses as they say. Remember you’re here for a good time, not a long time 😉 Start to plan to have fun during your week. If not now… when? Some ideas could be to attend regular comedy shows, watch funny movies or you tube, do a dance class, learn a new skill like cooking or art. Why is it we are one of the most technologically advanced cultures, yet we have the most loneliness and depression? Make the effort to connect with others. Always make time to catch up with your friends.

Have a healthy, fun, fabulous week!

Please leave any tips you’d like to share on what boosts your metabolism in the comments below..

 

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Why do we torture ourselves with the scales??

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602815230I keep asking clients, why are you weighing yourself in the first place? Think about it… honestly… Is it because you are going to let that little number on the scales determine whether or not you have a good day? Is the way you feel about yourself today honestly going to be determined by the number you see on the scales?  How exactly are you going to be positively motivated by feeling bad about yourself for the next day/week/whatever? In my experience I think I’ve met perhaps 10-20 people over the past 14 years who have been able to weigh themselves regularly (weekly, and no more aften than that) who are actually able to stay well balanced in their perspective about what that number on the sclaes says. For the rest of us (myself included) it seems to ruin our day and negatively reinforce how what we are doing is not working. When in fact this is not true, what you are doing is working. You are growing leaner, losing fat and growing stronger and it is not reflected on the scales! IT IS reflected in your measurements and your clothes!

Reasons NOT to weigh yourself:
  1. Muscles weighs more than fat when compared by volume – see pic below715043414
  2. At certain times of the month you are heavier (yes fluid weighs a lot) – you know what I mean girls, it happens, then the following week you weigh less, predictably every month so why make a big deal out of it, just like there will be a sunset today you will be less bloated and lighter next week. Get over it and focus on something else.
  3. Break the habit of getting on the scales – reduce the frequency that you weigh yourself. Eg. instead of doing it daily, do it every 2-3 days, then eventually every week. Then eventually every month. Try to do it at the same time of the day if you insist on doing it.

Eventually the goal should be to not own a set of scales, that’s right throw them out! You are worth so much more than the little number staring back at you and you have bigger things to worry about. Get on with getting lean by lifting your weights, regardless of what the scales say.

Other ways to measure if you are getting results:

And no your own opinion is not objective enough. 95% Of the time I can guarantee when I re-measure a client, they pre-warn me with the words ‘Oh don’t bother measuring me, I haven’t changed’ and they are wrong 95% of the time. They usually do change, for the better. My point here is your opinion about whether or not you are thinner is completely distorted, so get measured by someone other than yourself. I do.

Want to be obsessed with your body fat composition?

One incredibly accurate way to get your body fat measured is a dexa body scan, watch video.

 

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5 Fabulous excuses for NOT exercising… read on and add your own in the comments

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113237309I’m the best at making them, or at least I’m up there with the top… So clients and everyone else who’s making excuses as to why you can’t exercise please don’t think you are being original with your excuses, I’ve spent years making excuses myself and listening to all kinds of excuses from clients… below are some of my favourites, and also some of the favourites to overcome them because really everyones got excuses and who needs to hear them… no one! Just get on with it and have fun, you’ll feel better afterwards.

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Good Excuse?
No it ain’t!
1. I have a sore back, neck, legs muscles.. whatever 1. If people who are in wheelchairs or with one missing limb can exercise, so can you, train what is not sore.
2. I’m tired 2. You’ll sleep better if you do exercise, keep the session short and productive. Go to bed earlier.
3. I can’t be bothered to get out of bed when its cold / raining / dark outside in the morning 3. So you’d prefer to stay fat? Dont think about it when the alarm goes off, wait until you get into the gym before you think about if you can be bothered.
4. I’m too busy / stressed with work / life commitments 4. When is your life outside of exercise going to stop – ITS NOT! Exercise anyway, it will help you manage your stress better
5. I’m not seeing results, so what’s the point 5. Get assessed and get results

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175004655Tips to override any excuse:
  1. Don’t think about whether you ‘feel like doing it’ as the answer from your own mind will most often be ‘no’ – as will most peoples answer, instead get into the session and think about it later. Especially when getting out of bed first thing in the morning, and getting to the gym after work.
  2. Know that you are not original in any excuse, many people feel the same…. who are you going to be in life, someone who does things or someone who talks about ‘going to do’ them? Get some goals to work towards and get someone to help you be accountable to achieving them. This is how I lost weight after having my baby!

Please feel free to add your own excuses in the comments below 🙂 happy training

 

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