Happy New Year everyone!

With the start of a new year always comes new years resolutions and new goals. Whilst I don’t personally believe in new years resolutions, as they always seem to be things that are unrealistic and don’t last, I do believe it is a great time to sit down and nut out some real goals for the year ahead.

I am only give advice about your health and fitness goals and I am going to keep this brief, as what I want to say is simple.

If you want to reach new levels of fitness, I provide all the classes you will need. You do not need to find the motivation to exercise alone. You do however need to find the motivation to turn up to class! Whether you work out in the CrossFit gym or out in the park, I am there for you atleast 5 days per week. I expect you to see me atleast 3 days. I would love to see you 5 days a week, but I know life can get in the way. But, be realistic about your goals and train in a way to achieve them.

Remember that training not only affects you physically, it also helps mentally. Think of how great you feel on days when you get a good hard session in.

One of the most important things this year is to stop avoiding the workouts you don’t like the look of, because generally they are the workouts you need as it is something you personally lack skill, strength or fitness in. Do this for me in 2012, come to class no matter what the workout.

If you want to improve your health and lose weight, you have 2 options, “paleo” or “zone”. Both of these eating plans reduce insulin which in turn reduces inflammation.

Loren Cordain – the founder of the paleo diet has just released a new book, which sounds great, so my suggestion is for you to get a copy of it and start reading now. Don’t put it off, start the year off in a way that will really kick start your health and weight loss.

Here is a link to the book, but I am sure you could pick it up in many locations as it appears to be sold out in this store http://thepaleodiet.com/store/the-paleo-answer

If you would prefer an e-book version, it is a lot cheaper and never out of stock, here it is for only $12.99 http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Answer-Weight-Great-ebook

If for some bizarre reason you don’t go and buy the book, firstly reduce your overall calorie intake. After this, reduce all breads, pastas, dairy products and all refined carbohydrates. Try to get all of your carbs from fresh fruits, salads and vegetables. Increase your intake of lean meats and good fats.

I am sure everyone needs a good detoxing, so take the month of January to be as strict as you can. Call it an unofficial Paleo detoxing challenge.

Use the next couple of days to get in all the fresh food you need and then start 30 days of clean eating. No bread, pasta, rice, cereal, grains, dairy. Your stomach (internally) and your bodyfat/weight will thank you for it. During this time, you can purchase your new Paleo book and  you can understand why you feel so much better without these foods in your body.

So there it is, if one of your goals in 2012 is to get fit and lose weight, then turn up to training and cut the grains & dairy  out of your diet. It really is simple!

Happy New Year everyone!

Now it’s time to get back into action.

I am sure most of you ate way too much of the naughty stuff over the holiday break and I totally understand, if you are going to do it at any time of year, then that is the time to do it.

So, what are we going to do now to kick the year off to a flying start.

Well, I have plenty of things in store for you this year, to help bring you to optimal health, fitness and bodyfat levels, but the first thing we are going to do it increase our fruit and veggie intake for January.

There is no warning for this one as there is no preparation needed other than a trip to the fruit and veg shop today to stock up on your favourite foods.

Starting today! I challenge you all to eat only fruit and vegetables as your carbohydrates Monday to Friday afternoon for the entire month of January. The only addition to this is if you would like to eat rolled oats. The normal ones, not the quick oats.

So from the moment you wake up monday morning until dinner time on a Friday, you will eat only fruit and vegetables as your carbohydrates.

You will still eat protein and fat at every meal and if you are already following zone principles, then please stick to your ratios of 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% fat on you plate at every meal of the day.

I am not concerned with what you do on the weekend, it is up to you for January, but I would love to hear at what point in the month you start to desire bad foods on the weekends, because it will happen.

Put your name in the comments below if you are ready to give it a go. If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments below so that I can answer them for everyone to see.

Happy weekday cleansing!

P.S I forgot to tell you how you are going to feel. You will feel less bloated, lighter, clearer thinking and have less bodyfat by the end of the month. Enjoy!!!

Last weekend I did the Canberra AROC adventure race which took us 4:38mins. Now that sounds very much like an endurance event, true?

So what should one eat if one wants to do an endurance event?

Well I am assuming it would be lots of pasta meals in the days leading up to the event, maybe a large baked potato the night before, maybe a couple of sandwiches everyday for the lead up week. I have heard that your diet should be 70 – 90% carbohydrates to carb load effectively.

I will now tell you what I ate in the week leading up to the event. Fruit, veg, meat, nuts, oats, eggs, oil.

I will now tell you what I didn’t eat. Pasta, bread, rice.

I did have a little bit of potato the night before the race because I felt like eating it, but at the end of the day, it is still a vegetable and it came out of the ground.

I performed really well in the race, if anything, I did better than when I have eaten more carbs in the lead up to a race.

All of my meals were in “zone” proportions with 40% of each meal being carbs, 30% being protein and 30% being fat. This helps to keep my blood sugar levels stable and gives me loads of energy all day and doesn’t make me feel sluggish.

So can I say that carb loading isn’t really necessary and we can get a lot of energy from fruit, veg and fat? I think so!

So what does this mean to everyone out there who tells me that they need bread, pasta, rice etc because if they don’t have it they feel too tired? I hear it every time I have a new client and still quite regularly from some of my old clients.

Someone actually told me once that fruit and veg is not real carbs. Really? So real carbs are only made by human hands, is that correct? mmmm, not sure that is correct.

So;

• Please try to make your diet balanced. This means that every meal should include protein, carbs and fat.
• A balanced meal is not muesli, fruit and yogurt. That is a meal of carbs!
• A balanced meal is not toast with vegemite and a coffee!
• A balanced meal is not pasta with a non creamy sauce! People always expect me to be impressed when they eat a non creamy pasta sauce, no matter how many times I tell them not to eat the pasta in the first place.
• Don’t keep eating the same thing and hope to lose weight. If it hasn’t worked for you up until now, why will it all of a sudden start working for you?
• If a food has been manufactured from man, it is probably not going to be very good for you.
• Make friends with your local fruit shop and butcher!

And last but definitely not least, please don’t try to tell me you need pasta, bread, rice, cereal etc for energy, because I will tell you the truth. Those foods will raise your blood sugar levels and make sure you stay fat.

Thanks to Jovana again, I have this great article about sugar and insulin and diabetes.

It is a few pages long, so you have to keep clicking across the page links because they only put a little bit of info on each page, but please read it, it is well worth it, with some very scary info in there.

After reading this, you may understand why you don’t have to be a weight loss candidate to limit your sugar intake and why I associate sugar with heart disease more than I associate fat with heart disease.
Read me, I’m an awesome article:)

Before I start, I must warn you guys, I am reaching breaking point!

It has been over 2 weeks now since we had our eating for fat loss seminar and almost all of you are not sticking with the plan for various reasons and this frustrates me to no end. I am here for you guys, I want you to ask me any questions you have. There is no such thing as a stupid question, so don’t keep guessing at what is right and wrong. The only thing I ask is that you write it on the forum so that when I answer, everyone can benefit from it.

Firstly I want to clarify things and tell you what I am and am not not on a few subjects;

The am not’s

• My desire to help you: I am not Bored and just write these blogs because I have nothing better to do believe me!
• My Motives: I am not making money off my blog or forum, they are simply there as tools to help you and they took me a lot of work to create.
• Protein supplements: I am not affiliated with any protein powder company. When you go online to buy the powder it has nothing to do with me, I have simply found the cheap websites to save you money.
• Junk food: I am not some sort a freak of nature who only desires to eat healthy food, I love junk food just as much as the next person, but I know it is a sometimes food.

The am’s

• My desire to help you: I am very busy and have a lot going on in my life, just like all of you, but I truly care about you and whether you lose weight. In fact, I think I care more than you do yourself. Just ask my wife Hannah, she is the one who has to listen to me whinge bout you all the time.
• My motives: I write these blogs and create these forums so that you can learn and be motivated and hopefully hear what other people are also experiencing which may help to motivate you on your journey.
• Protein supplements: I have tried to find you the most natural protein supplements at the cheapest prices, but If you would prefer to not use the links to the natural protein powders I have supplied, then please feel free to go to the shop, pay more and buy an inferior product. I have found a protein bar that is all natural and tastes great and I am supplying them to my clients at a price cheaper than you can get anywhere else, but once again, if you would prefer to pay more and get an inferior product, please feel free to go to the shop.
• Junk food: I am just like you, I love naughty food too, but I understand it has to be in moderation. so please don’t look at me when I tell you not to eat something like I am just talking for the sake of talking and I don’t understand how it feels to go without. Far from it.

Now that you understand I have only your best intentions at heart, please listen to me and heed my advice, you will succeed if you follow my guidance, but if you keep making it up in your own little world, according to what you think is right, then don’t expect the results you could otherwise get.

Now as the title suggests, you are all making it too hard. Keep it simple!

Don’t waste hours on planning menus, planning meals, searching the internet for more advice. It is unnecessary, time consuming and downright confusing!

This is not a diet, it is changing the way you eat for life. “If you cannot stick to a simple way of eating for life, then it is a diet and when you go off the diet, you will fail”

Think about what you want to eat for dinner. I will give you an example for an average female. I would like chicken stir fry – ok then, cut up 90g chicken, add as much good veggies as you like, add a dash of soy or oyster sauce and sesame oil. Done! Was that hard? Did I need to search the internet for that? Would you normally search the internet for what you are going to eat for dinner?

Please write to me on the forum and tell me what you want for lunch or dinner and I will simplify it for you.

How about a lunch for an average male. I think I will have ham and salad sandwich – ok then, buy 150g ham, spread avocado onto two slices of multigrain bread, throw on the ham, put in some salad from the good list and you’re done. Was that hard! Did that require hours of thinking?

Go and buy some digital kitchen scales. Please guys go and buy them, please. They cost about $30 and you leave them on your kitchen counter. Can you tell me how you know the weight of your meat if you are not weighing it? Can you please tell me how long it takes to weight a piece of meat? If it is an individual serve of meat, put a plate on the scales and before you cook it, put it on the plate on the scales to get it to the correct weight. If it is a roast or taco meat etc, as you are serving, put your plate on the scales then put the meat on the plate, get the correct amount then sit down and eat. A very easy way to do it with chicken breast etc is to cut it into the correct weighted portions then freeze it in those portions. After a while, you will be able to eye fairly well what your portion size should look like. If not, no harm in weighing when you are at home.

Don’t bash the protein supplements! I am so over hearing you all tell me what you had for morning tea or afternoon tea. Can you guess the most common thing? Nothing, yes, that’s right, nothing. No time apparently. No time to unwrap a protein bar  eat on it’s own or mix up a shake and put it with an apple and nuts. No time and then when asked why they don’t have a shake, I get 2 answers. Firstly, I don’t like the taste of them. Well, suck it up and make a sacrifice so you can lose some weight for once. Not only that, I am sure you haven’t tried either of the 2 that I have recommended. Secondly, I don’t want a processed product. Well, stop eating bread, stop eating yogurt, stop eating half the shit you eat. Whey protein is the protein removed from dairy, yogurt is also a product made from dairy, believe it or not, cows don’t squeeze out yogurt, especially strawberry yogurt. Milk itself does not come out pastuerised, homogenised and bastardized either, it too is processed. Don’t even worry about the bread, if you eat bread and not protein powder for this non-processed reason, then…

Yes, protein shake is sustainable for life, the healthy ones anyway. There is a massive market of protein shakes out there for a reason, and that is because of convenience. No-one wants to eat that much meat. Go to a gym and spend some time with some fit looking people and ask them if they use a protein supplement. Don’t ask them which one they use as I am sure it is one full of artificial everything. Please don’t come to me and tell me about the powder you got from where ever, I only know of 3 all natural powders on the market and I have told you about 2 of them.

Remember the bad carbs on those lists earned their own reputation but how they rate on the glycemic index, not because I hate them. Also remember that they are on that list and so is their proportions, so if you want to eat them, then eat them, they’re on their for a reason, just stick to the proportion.

So now I would like you all to go away and when I ask you next week about what you ate, I want to hear simple balanced meals, nothing too different from what you used to eat except that it has the correct portion size and proportions.

I would also like you to get on the forum and give feedback and ask questions. I set you all up on their to make it easy for you, not so I could waste an hour of my time.

I can’t help you unless you want to help yourself, but for everyday that you don’t kick into action, their is someone else who is losing weight and heading to their goal and it could just as easily be you!

Post all comments etc etc etc to the forum here.

Last night’s seminar “Eating for fat loss – The balancing act” was a huge success. Thank you to everyone who attended!

Although I originally capped numbers at 12, I eventually ended up having 15 clients and 2 trainers attend. My apologies to those who missed out, I will have another one in a few weeks, so please register your interest in the comments section or via email directly to me.

I know we went a little long on time, wrapping up in just under 3 hours, there is still more I could have gone through, so what I will do is go over some of the important things.

What is stopping you from reaching your goals?

When I walked in this morning, up on the whiteboard was the list of reasons everyone gave for not achieving their goals, so I want to make that list here so you can be aware of what is holding you back and focus on changing it.

I am creating the list in the order you said it and the way you said it;

• Too many carbs
• Meal sizes
• Skipping meals
• Not being organised
• Drinking alcohol
• Inconsistency
• Laziness
• Boredom
• Escapism
• Socialising

So taking a look at that list, I can see that a lot of them relate to each other.

Why are you eating too many carbs, eating meals that are too big and skipping meals? Because you are not organised, lazy and inconsistent!

Why do you drink too much alcohol? Because of escapism and socialising!

If you are eating because of boredom then get a hobby!

These are all easy things to fix, you just need to put half as much effort into your own health as what you do into making your boss rich!

Insulin and fat gain.

Remember that when you eat just carbs, you will spike your blood sugars and release insulin. While this insulin is circulating, you will not use fat as a fuel. Balance your meals with carbs, protein and fat to moderate the effects on blood sugar levels.

The Glycemic index

Carbohydrates aren’t categorised into good carbs and bad carbs because I have something against them. I am merely the messenger, they ruined their own reputation when they were tested on the glycemic index, they have no-one to blame for their poor social stigma other than themselves and what they do to your blood sugar levels.

Food charts

Use those food charts wisely. At last there is a precise way to say what a portion should really look like. No more guessing and wondering why you are not losing weight. They are really easy to use, it may just take you a week or two to get used to it, but if you want me to go back to the work example, when you first started your current job, did you know what to do and find it easy on day 1? or day 2? No, like anything in life, it takes a bit of time to adjust to it and learn how to use it properly to get the full benefit from it!

Supplements

If you are trying to get a portion of protein at every meal without using a supplement, you are setting yourself up for failure.

How often do I hear things like;

• I missed morning tea because I was in a meeting or I was too busy.
• I didn’t have any protein at breakfast because I just didn’t have time to cook eggs.
• I had to just have [insert garbage food from foodcourt here] because I was at the shopping centre.
• I don’t normally get drive through, it was just because I was on the road a lot today.
• What protein can I possibly have with fruit?
• I’m sick of eating tuna.

I think you get the message.

There are a lot of products out there and most of them are so full of chemicals, you would be better off eating the box they come in, but I have combed the internet and health food shops and here are my pick of products;

Optimum Nutrition 100% why protein Natural, order at www.vitaminking.com.au/100-natural-whey-protein-by-optimum

Phyto Protein 100% Pea protein isolate, order at www.vitaminking.com.au/phyto-protein-pea-protein-isolate-by-logical-nutrition-pty-ltd-vital-greens

PureFit all natural protein bars, check them out at www.purefitaus.com/about-purefit-bars and order them with me directly and you won’t have to pay the $10 postage. Clients only.

Forum

The best way to move forward with the information that you have is to talk to others when you have a question. This is why I have set up this forum, so that any questions you have I can answer and at the same time, I am probably answering for 10 other people who also had the same question. So please post any comments about last night or any questions you have about your eating to the forum.

So The Biggest Loser is back. I know this because so many people tell me what a fantastic show it is. I respond by telling them what a terrible show it is and then I have to go on to explain my comment, so here it is again for everyone.

Why I have issues with The Biggest Loser;

Take a group of morbidly obese individuals who clearly have emotional issues and throw them into a reality TV show that is sure to get everyone bitching and fighting and hating each other. Now that’s real healthy for their self esteem!

Take a group of morbidly obese individuals who clearly have not exercised for many years and smash them for hours on end day in day out and starve them. Now that’s real healthy for their long term health.

Make sure they all lose ridiculous amounts of weight, far more than any person in the real world could lose and broadcast it on TV every night of the week. Think about the message that is sending out to the person who is struggling to lose a few kilos because they don’t have 5 hours a day to train and have all their food prepared for them. All of a sudden, people all over the world are losing faith in their exercise and eating plans because of these hopped up over inflated results.

What about when they talk about how they can’t lose weight. They have tried everything in the past. Everything? Exercise and eat less? I’m sorry, but what is it that they do on this show other than exercise and eat less? It must be the magic of television that makes them lose the weight, because they’ve already tried exercising and eating less, just not on television and not for a huge amount of prize money.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife was unfortunately watching it when I got home and it was the section where they offer them immunity to eat a ridiculous amount of food. Now this is by far the biggest issue I have with the show. The girl on there had just eaten over 4000 calories of sweets simply so she was guaranteed to be on television for another 7 days. Clearly she didn’t do it because she wanted another week of expert coaching, because she was going to spend the next couple of days just burning off the junk that she ate. Nope, she just wanted to have her face on TV for 7 more days.

What sort education is that giving these people? Eat all this junk and you can stay on the show. I know the following point would not make for good TV, but shouldn’t the ones who don’t lose enough weight stay so they can be helped by the experts for longer? No, because they don’t care about health, they only care about ratings.

If you are truly inspired by this show and you think it is so good because it helps people and shows what we are all capable of if we put our minds to it, then please do not watch this show because that is not what it does, instead please tune into either “You are what you eat” or “Diet doctors”. These shows take obese unhealthy individuals and give them a whole body assessment, inside and out and they make changes in their diet and lifestyle to improve every aspect of their body and health, not just drop unrealistic amounts of weight. It is almost always quality advice that you could follow at home.

Please feel free to leave me your comments, I would love to hear what you have to say on this issue.

Yesterday whilst litening to the radio in the car, a woman rang in to make a complaint about KFC. Now she opened by stating that she is 8 1/2 months pregnant, so she is eating whatever she wants.

Now this says to me she is fully aware of how bad KFC is for you and the social stigma associated with eating such crap, so she justified herself by stating that she is growing a foetus inside of her and that she has the right to feed that foetus whatever garbage she decides, simply because she is fat anyway.

Now this is not uncommon. I remember when my wife was pregnant and because she continued to eat healthily as she always did, the women in the office would gather around her and say – “You know you can eat whatever you want now, you’re going to get fat anyway”.

These are the same women who will complain about their weight day in and day out, will go on and off diets for the rest of their lives and will bitch about someone who has a better body than them to make themselves feel better.

One of the girls in my wife’s mothers group has an overweight friend who said – ” I can’t wait to get pregnant again so I can justify being fat”. No joke, she actually said that. Her friend thought as she was hearing it – “Why don’t you just lose weight”. But, she couldn’t say that, she could only think it, because you’re not allowed to tell people they are fat, you can only tell people they are too skinny or they should eat more junk food.

Just the same as you can’t make someone feel bad for stuffing a large piece of chocolate cake in their mouth, but you can make them feel bad for not stuffing that same piece of chocolate cake in their mouth and choosing an apple instead.

What you will find is that people will be constantly encouraging you to eat crap, so that they can feel beter about eating it themselves.

Be strong willed, don’t let them get to you, be healthy and if you are pregnant or trying to get pregnant, please feed your foetus healthy nutritious food!

As a little related side note, last night I was watching “The Office”. One of the averweight guys has a heart attack as a result of one of his fellow employees playing a practical joke. The boss says – “You gave Stanley a heart attack”. His response was – “Yes, I shoved butter and sugar in his mouth and forced him not to exercise for the last 50 years”.

Only in a TV show could we get away with that honesty.

I am just going to tell you guys what I take and why I take it.

I feel great all the time and I rarely get sick. I am a normal weight and I don’t do anything extreme. I exercise most days at a high intensity. I eat healthy and try to minimise sugar and I take these 4 supplements regularly.

1) Juice Plus: Fruit and vegetable capsules. I don’t care how much fruit and veg you or I eat, you need more. We get all of our vitamins and minerals from fruit and veg and this is how we build strong immune systems to fight against disease and illness.

Multivitamins are a waste of money, they are manufactued in a factory and you pee them out. You shouldn’t be trying to isolate any particular vitamins and feed them to your body. Juice plus is a whole food supplement, meaning it is 16 fruits and vegetables dehydrated and stuck into a gelatine capsule without the sugar.

Where to get it – Contact me and I will get it from my nutritionist for you. It’s not cheap, but it’s cheaper than a coffee a day and so worth every cent.

When to take it – Daily

2) Protein powder: Optimum nutrition – Natural 100% whey protein, strawberry or vanilla flavour. The chocolate is gross.

Many of us don’t get enough protein in our diets, so a protein power can be a great option. It also makes for a low calorie, low carbohydrate snack. It is quick and easy to prepare if you don;t have time to prepare a snack at work.

Most protein powders are full of so many chemicals and weird ingredients, this is the most natural one I have found on the market. In fact it’s all natural.

Where to get it – I buy it from a website called vitaminking.com. It is a lot cheaper than the shops and they send it to your door for $5 http://www.vitaminking.com.au/100-natural-whey-protein-by-optimum.html

When to take it – Up to your indiviual needs.

3) Fish oil capsules: Any reputable brand should be ok. Fish oil is great for brain function, joint function and maintaining healthy cholesterol levels and fighting against coronary heart disease.

Where to get it – Your local supermarket or health food store. You can get bulk containers which makes it fairly cheap.

When to take it - Daily

4) Psylium husk: This is just fibre. Your body won’t digest it, it will absorb water and pass through your colon and pick up lots of crap on it’s way out the other end. Great for cleaning out your colon and fighting against bowel cancer. 

Where to get it – Your local supermarket or health food store. Buy a large bag for about $6 which will last for ages.

When to take it – 1 teaspoon mixed in a glass of water daily for the first couple of weeks. By then you should be somewhat cleaned out, so 2 – 3 times a week should be fine from then on. If you aren’t noticing much difference when you go to the toilet, try a tablespoon instead.

There you have it, other than that, eat plenty of veggies and salad and lean protein, some fruit, nuts and grains. Drink plenty of filtered water, move daily and sleep well.