From the category archives:

fitness weight loss

Disarm the trigger before stepping inside….Get rid of the things that make you eat a lot and finally lose the weight!

Alright, as a personal trainer I have seen many things. People have so many reasons to eat it is amazing. Here some things that you can do to start modifying your eating habits!

  1. What are your food triggers?
    1. If fights makes you eat, try to clarify the situation as soon as you can. It is not worth sulking if it makes you eat 500 kcal of junk.
    2. If you are stressed at work and would go for the candy drawer (I know a person or two who do that J ) get up and get some water.
    3. Boredom eater. Instead of sitting in front of the TV flipping channels, go and organize your closet, you do something productive and you don’t eat.
    4. Don’t shop for groceries if you are hungry!
    5. If you have the tendency to pile food on your plate until it is overflowing, grab a smaller plate or grab food that is low in calories.
  2. Goals
    1. I have said it many times: make sure you set reasonable goals. Don’t go all out and try to lose 10 lbs in a week. Yes, you might have heard people do that but that is never just fat unless they were exercising all day long. A reasonable goal is 1-2 lbs a week. Initially, it might be a little bit more but then it is water as well. Remember one pound of fat is 3500 kcal that need to be burnt/consumed less. Try to get a steady 30-45 min workout/walk in almost every day and you are making headway.
    2. Setting unreasonable goals that we don’t achieve often trigger our desire to eat. So you are better off, setting goals that are achievable and don’t tempt you to eat your frustrations.
  3. Do it like the Tour de France
    1. Like I said before, work in stages, set yourself short, middle and long term goals. Big goals will also trigger big hunger. Working in stages definitely helps, call it chunking.
  4. Leave Track marks… on a piece of paper!
    1. Write down “before” and “after” measurements. Don’t measure every day, once a week is sufficient
    2. Make sure you know your height, body fat, BMI,
    3. Log your food. This is the single BIGGEST MISTAKE people trying to lose weight make. Knowing what you are eating and how much will get you to your goal faster and you can calculate in some of the “naughty” stuff you like to eat here and there.
  5. Be nice to yourself
    1. Treat yourself with a present for achieving your goal but please, don’t let it be food. A massage is great, or some new clothes.
  6. Don’t be hasty. I know it is easy to eat fast nowadays, but make sure you drink a sip of water between every bite and you will see the weight comes down faster.

 

These are just a couple of tips that are really helpful for losing weight. I know it is not easy. Come to my personal training studio or give me a call and we can see how we can help you get to the new you! Check our website for Boot Camps and Personal Training options!

How to figure out if your weight loss is fat or if you lost precious muscle mass as well

I know you guys/gals are all focused on looking leaner, losing weight and getting toned, but do you really achieve what you want to achieve?Looking great after losing weight

I have seen plenty of women run on the treadmill for hours, or guys dripping with sweat as they’re lifting weights and yet, a lot of them fail to achieve some or all of their goals because they don’t know quite how to get the muscle and lose the fat at the same time. The first step to accomplish your goals is an accurate baseline of all your measurements.  Here’s what you do:

  1. Height: and I am not talking about the one that you put on your driver licence but the real one. Heels together, no shoes and measure after a deep inhalation, head is level.
  2. Weight: use a balance beam scale. You should be nude or at least minimize clothes.
  3. Body Fat Measurement: The best one, that is still practical is the caliper (pinch skinfolds) and use several sites, not just 3. Another one you can use is BIA, the electrical version that is provided by scales or handheld. Make sure you always measure at the same time of the day, preferably in the morning
  4. Circumferences:
    1. Shoulders (widest point of the deltoid)
    2. Chest (nipple height)
    3. Waist (thinnest point in your torso, you can feel it sliding up and down with your hand alongside your body)
    4. Hip (Where butt sticks out the furthest :) )
    5. Thigh (halfway between the sitting fold and your patella, standing on both legs evenly)

It is always better to have a trained professional, like a personal trainer or coach take the measurements. It will be more accurate. Due to interpersonal discreprancies in methods make sure to always have the same person measure.

If you would like help with your weight loss our personal training can help you achieve your fitness goals fast and safely.

Charlotte Personal Trainer explains important differences in varies forms of fitness

May 16, 2010

Alright everyone, I was asked numerous time to explain some differences in varies forms of exercises. Not all forms of training are equal  in helping you achieve your goals. Most of the time a healthy mix of various training methods produces the best results. Some of the most efficient  forms are boot camps and personal [...]

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Kick Butt Boot Camp Workout for Indoors

February 2, 2010

Alright everyone here is the second Boot Camp workout in our series. This as well is not made for beginners. You have to finish each block before you get a 1-2 min break, so have a lot of fun with it. Boot Camps are an awesome way of having a high intensity workout combined strength [...]

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So, you are really heavy and don’t know what to do? Let me help you!

November 2, 2009

You might not believe it, but you are not the only person to be really heavy. If you way 200 lbs or 400 lbs, or somewhere in between. It does not matter.If you want to look the way you should like, you deserve to look like you need to get it started NOW! What to [...]

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