2010 is here, let’s get busy!
Well the new year has arrived and I am sure a lot of you made New Years resolutions that included health and fitness.
So, what to do now?
I’ll give you a few suggestions to help you on your way.
1) Get a tape measure and measure your waistline on your belly button. Make sure the tape is straight so you get an accurate measurement. Just relax and don’t hold your tummy in.
If you have got someone who could do measurements for you, measure your hips at the widest part and your arm at the mid point between your shoulder and elbow.
Write these measurements down and re-measure at the start of every month this year. I want everybody to atleast measure their wasteline, it is not hard and it is a much beter indicator of weight loss than scales, which brings me to point 2.
2) Put your scales in the bin. I am serious, dispose of them forever. They are the stupidest indicator of weight loss if you are training correctly. Meaning if you are performing resistance exercises to strengthen muscles, bones and joint as well as speeding your metabolism and creating a more toned look. A number on a small metal box means nothing. How you look in the mirror means everything. What you weighed when you were 16 and not training properly and had a great natural metabolism means nothing now. How your clothes fit means everything now. Get it? How do you look, how do you feel, are your clothes tighter or looser on you?
3) Clean up your diet today. Christmas and New Year are a notoriously bad time of year for eating and drinking, but they are over! I understand indulging during that period, but a few too many people are trying to hang on to it by carrying on the party food and drink.
Now is the time to get rid of all the junk food that is left in your cupboards and start the new year afresh. In February we will have SUGARFREEFEBRUARY but for now you should aim to give up all the sugar in your diet. This means no more alcohol, no junk food, no sweets. You get the idea. Your stomach will thank you for it!
4) Get back to training. It can be hard to get back into the swing of things after 2 weeks of leisure and bad diet, so my suggestion to you is to ignore the lazy little person who is sitting on your shoulder telling you to stay in bed every morning and drag your butt out to do some exercise.
I am going to bring it back to calories as I know you all have way too many in storage at the moment. 1 class = approximately 600 calories. Turn up to 1 class and burn 600, turn up to 3 and burn 1800 or turn up to 5 and burn 3000. 1kg of fat = 7700 calories.
It is not hard to figure out what is right and what is wrong, get back into the swing of training, clean up your diet today, measure yourself today so you can have something to work towards at the end of the month and throw your scales away so you don’t have any useless numbers messing with your head!
If 2009 was the year you thought about, 2010 is the year to do it!
January 8th, 2010 at 3:43 pm
OK count me in Sugar Free Feb – and as Peta ( my sister) is hanging out in India and she signed me up to an Adventure race in March whilst I was absent sign her up as well – ha ha ha.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
i loved this! totally agree about the scales being bullsh*t! I’m definitely ready for Nosugarfebruary and will increase my attendance to burn those calories!
January 9th, 2010 at 6:16 am
I wish I had someone here to kick my butt into gear.I gave up sugar a few months back and lost 8 kilos.But I’m so tired lately that I’ve been snacking on sweets again and the calories roared backed. PLEASE send me some magic to make me start moving again I dont know where my motivation has gone. Have you any idea how many calories I would burn if I spent 2 hours paddling on a surf ski. cheers Goldie
January 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am
You Da Man Troy! Hit the nail on the head again. Great blog. Very Motivating
January 11th, 2010 at 10:45 am
Hey Goldie,
Firsly we have to establish if you are tired due to lack of carbs? If it is, make sure you are having some whole grain bread, beans, basmati or brown rice and lots of veggies.
But, is it due to something else? Lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, too much protein, too much caffeine, lack of iron?
One thing I do know, turning to sweets is the worst thing to do!
I would imagine paddling a surf ski for 2 hours would burn around 1000 calories, depending on how intense your paddling was:)
January 13th, 2010 at 11:20 am
Hi Troy, and all others
I have started cutting sugar out as you suggested (even though we are not in Feb yet). My diet has always been reasonably ok, with “some” treats thrown in every other day. I have also taken on board your suggested diet on line. But here is the thing. I am starving…………..That is, i eat what you suggest (almost, with slight variation – still no sugar) but i am feeling hungry every other hour. Firstly, is this just sugar cravings, lack of carbs, or do i need to actually eat more often, especially with training aswell? Secondly am i still getting enough energy from the foods I eat? And finally, can i increase my intake of food at breakfast from your suggestion as i could eat a “small village” at this time (sugar free village of course), especially after training. I am sure the answer is quite simple to these questions, but guidance would be appreciated. This is one area i am a little weak on knowledge on. Thanks mate.
January 13th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Thanks Nelius, I like the questions.
First thing to remember is that this isn’t a one size fits all food plan. If I think about you, I think a fit active guy who doesn’t need to lose weight. Shred a little bit of fat to help the 6-pack come out maybe, but not a weight loss goal by any means. So my suggestion to you is to either eat more often throughout the day, or make the portion sizes a little bigger.
Now, if you were overweight and sitting in an office all day and not training hard every morning, I would probably tell you to get over it and let your body adjust to a little less food so you could lose a little weight.
But, with you, I think you should increase the size of your breakfast. On the eggs and toast day, you could add a piece of fruit and that would be a substantial breakfast. On the porridge day, I would say to add a piece of fruit again, and some almonds, about 15.
Morning tea and afternnon tea you could have rice cakes with tuna or avocado or cottage chees or a combination. This could be in addition to the morning and afternoon tea already listed if you find yourself hungry an hour or so after. There is no problem to have more smaller meals, I would rather that than less bigger meals, that way you can establish if you really are hungry for it if you wait for atleast an hour between snacks.
Lunches and dinners are fine. Try this and I think you will be satisfied. Those extra snacks will help a lot!
January 19th, 2010 at 11:35 am
Thanks Troy,
All the info you have given me has made a big difference, I do not feel as hungry now (small sugar free village is safe). Only seem to feel hungry now when it is almost time to have one of those snacks. Thanks again