Mark Slight invited Anna onto his SUPERHERO COACHING SERIES to talk about Anna’s 5R’s approach to work through improving your own gut issues
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
“If you want to see how someone’s body will look in the future, look at how their mind is thinking today.”
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure or meeting a very special lady called Becki Houlston. We went for a coffee and we couldn’t stop talking!
I said to her: “I have to interview you!”
Because she has so much amazing knowledge and incredible insight into human behaviour, specifically in this video she talks about Emotional Armour and Safety Behaviours. I shared this with my Weight Loss clients a few weeks ago and there were some serious light bulbs moments.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss
Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and
life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just
tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably
exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future
and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their
lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application
below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in
more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I recently surveyed my mailing list to get an idea of what they were struggling with and how I could direct my knowledge to solve their specific problems.
This statement stood out loud and clear: I feel like I have tried everything and nothing works!
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
This week is the last week of the stress series. We’ve looked at some science and I’ve shared with you some lifestyle solutions.
I would like to share a little bit on nutritional support.
I’ve already mentioned that I had lost my mojo a little earlier this week. This actually led me to doing an adrenal stress test (which measure stress hormones) myself.
I got the results on Saturday morning and I was quite surprise. Here they are:
I actually wasn’t expecting a high response. Typically we associate elevated cortisol with being wired. More of an energetic state of stress. I thought this result would have come back low due to the feelings of poor energy I was experiencing.
Interestingly, I have been seeing a lot of my clients coming back with a similar result.
The first step with any of this is to address lifestyle balance. If you read my previous email on mojo rehab, this is the stuff we are talking about.
There is also a lot of support that can be given by food choices, exercise choices and supplements as the cherry on top.
FOOD
It may not surprise you by now that the food choices help to balance stress are the SAME food choices, help with weight loss too.
To relieve stress induced by diet, balanced meals are a must.
It comes back to the simplicity of the food plate:
Eat 3 meals a day
Include lean protein with every meal
Slow releasing carbohydrates
Good fats (especially omega 3)
The following will NOT be supportive:
Skipping meals
Relying on coffee to fill you up
Eating meals high in sugar or low in proteins and fats
Under-eating or over-eating
All of the above have the ability to disrupt blood sugar and increase stress.
Calorie restriction can also be a stress on the body. This is why, when I work with women, I prefer to keep them in the sweet spot where their calories are as high as they can be and still lose weight. For most this is around 1700 to 2000 calories per day depending on size and exercise levels.
If you feel tired and stressed with low energy, checking your calorie intake may be a good place to start.
EXERCISE
Exercise has what we call a “hormetic effect” on the body.
Not exercising and moving your body won’t be good for health. However, too much exercise can actually be more damaging than too little.
In my coaching program I am working with women who are struggling just to get off the sofa, but also women who are chronically over-exercising in a (failed) attempt to shift excess weight.
We want a calorie “sweet spot” for weight loss and we also want an exercise “sweet spot”. Just enough to create the necessary physiological adaptations but not so much that the body is under undue stress.
If you are someone who is stressed but inactive. Adding in regular exercise should help you manage stress levels better.
If you are stress but already doing lots of exercise, stripping it back may have a beneficial effect.
Most women are afraid to drop back on exercise for fear of weight gain. I teach my clients how to balance their nutrition so that this doesn’t happen and the resultant effect is more than likely, weight loss!
SUPPLEMENTS
Before I talk about supplements I must say:
Please do not take this as medical advice, always check with your doctor or health care professional before starting a new supplement regime and supplements and medications can interact so if you are on any medications for stress and anxiety or depression, always work with someone who will check for any interactions.
When it comes to stress I am a major fan of herbal adaptogens. These are herbal products that can improve the connection between the brain and the adrenal glands or between stress hormones and the receptor.
When I work with my clients I prefer to run a test (as seen above) before making any recommendations.
If stress hormones are high, certain products may be more effective. If stress hormones are too low, often indicating burn out, other products may be beneficial.
Liquorice root and Holy Basil are my favourites for low cortisol
Ashwaganda, Rhodiola and Ginseng are my favourites for high cortisol
(please do not supplement without professional advice)
You can also up your intake of natural adaptogens by adding fresh herbs like Rosemary and Sage into your cooking.
You may also remember this diagram when we looked at stress, mood and comfort eating.
Other useful supplements in this case would be: (I’ve added food sources too)
omega 3, found in oily fish
vitamin D (as a side now, now is the best time of year to test your vitamin D, it should be at its highest after the summer. If it’s low or borderline low now, you definitely want to supplement over winter)
curcumin (found in turmeric)
vitamin E (found in high amounts in walnuts and walnut oil)
5HTP or Griffonia
Magnesium
Methylated B-Vitamins
More real food support can be found by eating cabbage family and onion family vegetables, green tea, chocolate (of course!) and red wine(in moderate amounts not the whole bottle!).
So in summary:
Consume a balance diet eating 3 balanced meals a day with protein and fats in each one
Eat enough calories, many women under-eat which is massively impacting health
Moderate exercise, not too much or too little
Lifestyle factors are more powerful than any pill but consider working with a practitioner that can recommend appropriate supplementation or include beneficial foods in your diet – who doesn’t love chocolate and red wine!?
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing it then this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
Every-day I am contacted by women who want to know how to lose weight quickly, effectively & keep it off!
It might be that the tricks that used to work before, just don’t work anymore. Perhaps you have done things many times before and are struggling to find something that sticks. Or, simply, you’ve lost the mojo and can’t face up to the whole process of losing weight for the millionth time!
Often women describe to me what is known as paralysis by analysis. There is so much diet information out there and it all gets so complicated and confusing.
How do you know what you should be doing, what applies to you & what doesn’t?
Then once you start down a path you start to second guessing yourself and wonder if you should be adding in more cardio, buying those special shakes that so and so is drinking, or maybe you need to give up gluten?
I’d like to let you know a little secret.
A secret that will make your life, and weight loss, so much easier.
A secret that will stop you second guess yourself and wondering if you are doing it right or why you aren’t getting results.
Tip Number 1
You may have heard some of the tips for losing weight, I’ll list some as an example: go paleo, don’t eat any carbs, no carbs after 6pm, quit sugar, give up gluten, eat some cereal I cannot mention ending in a K, Take X,Y & Z meal replacement shakes and bars sold by X, Y & Z company, do a juice fast and the list could go on.
The reason why most of this advice becomes confusing is because it problem with most of this advice is that it lacks context.
But I will tell you why ALL of this couldwork.
Adopting any of some of the above habits will most likely result in a consistent calorie deficit meaning that you are eating less than you are expending and for the most part, this results in weight loss.
Basic weight loss tip number 1: Consistent calorie deficits cause weight loss. (obvious and effective)
The good news is you don’t have to give up gluten, quit sugar, go paleo or purchase special products to eat less calories than you expend. Anyone, on any budget can do this and when it’s done with consistency, the end result is usually a positive one.
I do need to add here that there is a sweet spot. Eating a LOT less than you expend in the long term slows down metabolism.
I prefer the women that I work with to be losing weight a little slower but keeping calories higher to support healthy metabolism. This usually looks like somewhere between 1700 and 2000 calories a day if they are modestly exercising.
None of these women dropped their calories below 1700, most of them not below 1800.
Eating in such a way and applying consistency is the first step for success. I recommend my clients track there food intake using a free app called My Fitness Pal.
Tip Number 2
So that’s the first tip. Simple, free and anyone can do it. So that brings us to tip two.
Let’s talk carbs.
Carbs are a commonly demonised macronutrient (fat was the old scape goat).
I have had clients say to me they have been advised that if they want to lose weight they must not eat ANY carbs, not even fruit!
I have to tell you something to be truly honest.
I used to dish out this advice too!
From experience on myself and 100’s of clients I would say that 99% of the time this is just NOT true!
Provided you follow tip 1, keeping a moderate amount of carbohydrate in your diet will actually help you lose weight as well as…
Encourage a healthy metabolism
Help you feel full and satiated
Stave off cravings and binges
Support healthy and happy hormones
Help you sleep better
Feel less stressed
Encourage better mood
(if you like exercise) optimise performance and recovery too
What IS important is the balance within the diet when you look at your carbohydrate intake relative to proteins and fats. Aiming for about 1/3 of calories from each is a simple way to start. You can track this all in My Fitness Pal but if you are not into all of that, just focussing on 3 or 4 meals a day which have a protein portion, carb portion, some vegetables and a little fat will probably be all you have to do.
Check out the Anna Marsh Food Plate as an example.
So if we combine tip 1 and 2 together it looks like this:
Consistently* eat between 1700 and 2000 calories per day and have a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
I know this may sound like common sense and you are wondering why you even need to read this. But this stuff works. I use it with all my clients.
Where most people go wrong with this is they are NOT consistent. Consistency produces results. End of.
Tip 3 is the final piece of the puzzle, exercise!
Exercise is a whole other minefield of confusing advice.
Should I be lifting weights? Should I be doing high intensity intervals? What about fasted cardio? I hate running, do I have to run?
One of the most important things I want to communicate to you is that basic principles work and they work well. My goal when I work with my clients is to keep things as simple as possible for as long as possible.
That said, the further along you get on your weight loss journey, you will need to change your approach. Plateaus are an inevitable part of the process and to be expected.
Your body will respond differently at 200 pounds when you aren’t exercising and you are eating badly compared to when you are 160 pounds and have developed habits of regular exercise and balanced eating.
For the most part I will say this, whatever exercise you choose to do, you will see the most bang for your buck by paying attention to the nutrition principles in 1 and 2.
The most difficult thing for most people is to be consistent.
Therefore, if you are choosing an exercise regime, choose one that you enjoy the most and is the most convenient for you. This will be your best bet to actually sticking to it!
If I could give you one additional tip it would be to be flexible with the intensities at which you move. Never exercising hard enough will let you down just as much as exercising too hard all the time!
Once a week push yourself hard, maybe twice a week do something moderate and maybe just walk and move your body a little bit every day to keep the blood flowing.
This is what I would consider to be a sensible workout schedule for someone who is starting their weight loss journey.
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily)
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily)
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
Bonus Tip (last but super important!)
I cannot leave you without saying one more thing.
Life is busy and most people live life at a fast pace.
Too fast.
The biggest road block for most people aiming to create sustainable change is time management and stress.
That is why I wanted to keep things simple.
However, do not underestimate the power of taking a step back and “decluttering” your life BEFORE you start making any drastic changes to your diet and exercise regime.
I see many of the women I work with throwing themselves into huge amounts of exercise and small amounts of food and not getting anywhere because they are so burntout with that and all their other commitments.
So take a moment to ground yourself and carve out the space in your life to commit to changing your habits. I’m not saying wait for the perfect time because you’ll be waiting a long time.
What I am saying is make the choice to make the space.
Then take one habit at a time and do it well. When it feels good to add the next thing, add it in and do it consistently.
If you want more help and more direction on your weight loss journey and would like to consider if weight loss mentoring is right for you then help and support is moments away.
I run a small Online Women’s Weight Loss Program that offer a personalised nutrition and exercise support to produce life changing and life-lasting results.
If you want to give up the guessing game and have someone just tell you what to do and hold you accountable to actually doing itthen this is probably exactly what you have been waiting for.
Life doesn’t get better by chance, it gets better by choice. Now you have a moment where you can choose to take a step towards a very different future and join the community of like minded women who are not just losing weight, but transforming their lives, filling them with happiness and health.
To find out more about how my coaching program can help you, please fill out the application below to book a complimentary breakthrough call and find out out about working with me in more detail.
I see with almost 90% of my clients that stress is a massive road block to their weight, health and fitness related goals.
Normally when my clients start to eat in a way that isn’t helpful in the context with their goals, miss workouts or disengage from what they want to achieve, 9 times out of 10, it’s down to some sort of stress.
Stress impacts our weight in many ways:
>> The physiological impact that changes our metabolism which may affect weight and hunger
>> The psychological impact that drives our behaviour and makes it harder to make the best choices
I’d like to cover these broad areas across the month to help you understand why stress is the biggest thing to get a handle on if you want a healthier life.
I’ll also be sharing with you what you can do about it.
So I will unfortunately start with some of the sciency stuff.
I’ll aim to keep it simple, although I can’t promise 😉
I’d encourage you to persevere and do you best to process the information and understand it.
FYI – we live in a world where information comes at us instantly and we seldom actually have to use our brains. Believe it or not, this is something that is influencing your weight!
Did you know that professional chess players burn up to 6000 calories (the equivalent of running 3 marathons) per day, due to the amount of glucose used by the brain.
When we direct energy towards the brain by actually trying to use it, we pull it away from the immune system and this actually something that can help with weight loss, because weight gain is actually immunological!
So you are losing weight just by reading this email
Let the science begin!
This is an adrenal stress test (a saliva test that tests stress hormone output)
The adrenal glands are the glands in the body that produce your stress hormone, cortisol.
Cortisol is an essential hormone that we release every day. It should be highest in the morning because it is associated with being alert and mobilising energy. It is lowest in the evening because you don’t want to be alert when you are trying to sleep.
The ideal rhythm of the cortisol is shown by the green in the graph.
You can see in this case, the person who took this test (me!) was not producing enough cortisol during the day.
More on that later.
What I want you to know about cortisol for today is that it is responsible for mobilising fat stores.
So healthy cortisol function is essential for weight loss!
So what would make cortisol function unhealthy of imbalanced?
Long term stress.
Short term stress may induce a peak in cortisol (as seen below)
This is normal and healthy physiology.
In previous times short term stress would have been…
>> Hunger
>> Cold
>> Heat
>> Thirst
>> Attack from a wild animal
>> Conflict with another tribe
>> Infection
The cortisol response would initiate the energy to overcome the stress – search for food, find water, fight and infection, deal with a threat.
Then physiology would return to normal.
The problem we have in modern times is that traditional stressors are no longer relevant…
>> we have an abundance of food available all the time
>> we drink continuously throughout the day
>> we control our temperature with heating or air conditioning
>> we have no threat from wild animals
>> we have medications to deal with infections
The stressors of modern day live are continuous and unresolved…
>> we continuously worry about things that haven’t happened yet
>> we have financial stress
>> we have the stress of over-feeding
>> we have the stress of over-drinking
>> we have stress of modern day toxins
>> we have work/relationship stress which mostly exists inbetween our own ears
The continuous nature of modern day stress results in a continuous activation of what is known as the HPA-axis.
The Hypothalamic-Pituitary (parts of the brain) – Adrenal (gland releasing cortisol) – Axis
This is the connection between the brain and the adrenal glands which then cause the release of stress hormones.
What is also important to note is that a stressed state is a state where we predominantly burn sugars AND NOT FATS.
This means that if you are carrying extra weight, you won’t be able to burn it in a state of stress.
You will burn sugars that are available and once you’ve got through those, you’ll start to break down proteins.
This means muscles and organs (like the gut lining – causing digestive problems).
The loss of lean tissues, slows metabolism and creates this…
This is actually a diagram of someone with Cushings Syndrome. An autoimmune condition resulting in a hyper-reactivity of the HPA-axis resulting in a large amount of stress hormones being produced.
I love this picture because it is a fantastic graphic presentation of what chronic stress does to the body.
Thinning limbs with fat accumulating around the belly, not to mention hair loss, disrupted hormones, problems with bones, problems with energy, muscle aches and pains, inflammatory conditions and the list goes on and on…
So that is all I want you to get from today.
Modern life = chronic activation of the stress pathways = loss of ability to burn fat and disruption of many metabolic pathways.More to follow in the post…
PS. If you want help losing weight, but most importantly rebalancing your lifestyle to find results that actually last (like these women did below), then feel free to apply for a Complimentary Breakthrough Call to discover if Weight Loss Mentoring is the right approach for you.
A while ago I wrote this blog about exercising for weight loss. It’s still great and I would recommend that you read it. I just have some more things that I want to add and some more information to share with you.
I would like you to understand a little bit about why regular physical activity is important if you want to drop pounds and lose inches. However, before I explain, let’s look at the dietary strategy for weight loss because, everyone knows you cannot out exercise a bad diet.
DIETARY CHANGES
Dietary changes for weight loss can be simple and complex at the same time. The basics work and they work well. When they stop working we can use some more advanced strategies to help get past plateaus but I want this information to stay appropriate for people who don’t need those advanced strategies just yet.
In summary, this stuff works and it is a basic version of what I ask all my clients to do:
Consume less calories than you expend. Because this is a blog on exercise we will assume you are going to be exercising so that might roughly look like 1700-1800 calories per day if you are anything like one of my average clients – maybe a little less if you are a naturally small person.
Don’t’ eat rubbish consume single ingredient foods which are minimally processed.
Eat protein with every meal – a palm size portion of fish or poultry works a treat
Fill half your plate with vegetables with many different colours
Moderate your carbohydrate intake but you shouldn’t need to avoid carbs completely
Don’t drink your calories unless you are making a superfood breakfast smoothie
BONUS TIPS THAT I LOVE: Consume one to two servings of fermented foods per day and get enough sleep.
NOW BACK TO EXERCISE…
To lose weight you want the body to be able to burn fat – most likely to fat on your belly, your hips and your thighs.
I’m sure you have heard the saying – if you don’t use it you lose it?
Well this applies to your ability to burn body fat.
If you have been overeating calories, sugar and carbohydrate you have been training your body to burn sugars (not fat) for as long as you have been maintaining these habits.
So weight loss is about retraining your body to use fat as a fuel.
We burn fat in mitochondria. Think of them as fat burning factories in the cell.
Weight loss is about fitness training for the mitochondria. Blowing off the cobwebs and whipping them into shape so they can become efficient well-oiled (fat) machines – you get the idea?
So if you make the dietary changes described above, you drop your calories and your carbohydrate BUT you don’t exercise, your metabolism will very quickly adapt to the lower carbohydrates and calories.
You will lose some weight because you will deplete stored glycogen (carbohydrates) and with it you will lose some water.
Have you ever started a diet and lost a few pounds and then hit a plateau where the scales wouldn’t budge?
Well this is because you have made the dietary changes but not fixed the machinery in the mitochondria factory. The staff are showing up for work but the machines are broken.
So how do we fix this?
Simple
Exercise! Exercise is about breaking down tissues and then allowing for recovery and rebuilding (which requires rest and the right tools – nutrients from our diet).
As you start an exercise regime, starting at a low intensity will start to challenge the mitochondria. It’s likely if you haven’t moved in a while that you’ll have a lot of old and unused mitochondria and the physical activity will probably break them down.
This is a good thing.
We get bits of broken down mitochondria which then end up in the nucleus of the cell which tells the cell – “our fat burning factories have been destroyed – we better make some new ones!”
It’s kind of like when you see shops that have closed down and you see the empty buildings just sitting there empty and dysfunctional versus if someone knocks the building down and so that space can be used to build something new and productive.
The exercise is the signal that there is a better use for that space.
But it has to be the right intensity.
When we move we either burn up sugar or we burn up fat.
When we have a lot of sugar in our blood stream, because we eat a lot of carbs, it’s very easy for the body to use this as a fuel.
When we exercise at high intensities, our body also prefers sugar as fuel.
At lower intensities – provided there isn’t a lot of sugar already hanging around – we tend to burn more fat (see diagram above)
Therefore, to rebuild our mitochondria it makes sense for beginner exercisers to exercise in an “aerobic” way.
I could go into all the fancy definitions of what % of your maximum heart rate or VO2max you would need to train at but the best way for you to recognise what this could look like is for me to describe it as follows:
Exercise at an intensity where you can talk comfortably.
If you are out of breathe or unable to hold a conversation, you are in your sugar burning zone and you won’t be improving the functionality of your fat burning factories.
BUT
This does not mean that you only do this for exercise.
There are also benefits to anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic means without oxygen. This is the exercise where you cannot talk. It is when you burn a higher proportion of sugars relative to fat.
Weight training is anaerobic. It stimulates muscle fibres to grow muscle tissue. This in itself improves the muscle structure and metabolism and has a beneficial effect on weight loss.
[Not to mention posture, body shape & bones]
Being strong is also quite useful when it comes to activities of daily living and, provided you learn the right movements and activation techniques, it can help to prevent injury.
So what would a weekly schedule for a beginner look like?
Moving every day is ideal for health, but to commit to a structured exercise program on a daily basis can be a bit much in the beginning so you could start with something like this.
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN
40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily)
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
40-60 minutes
Whole Body Resistance Workout
30-40 minutes
Steady State Cardio (where you can talk easily)
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
Active rest day including walking, gardening, playing with the kids
What you need to know is that as the weeks go by your body will adapt. You will have to change something. This might be the frequency, duration and intensity of your workouts.
For intensity: Increase your weights lifted, add extra sets or reduce rest breaks in the resistance workouts (increase weights within your capabilities or decrease rest between sets from 60 seconds to 45 seconds)
For Duration: Go for longer on your cardio days (start at 30 mins, 45 minutes, 1 hour)
Frequency: Introduce a 5th or 6th session per week
Progression
Every week do a little more than you did the week before. In your 3rd week you should really push yourself quite hard and on your 4th week take a step back.
In your 5th week you should meet the intensity you did in week 3 and then continue in this way with a “deload” in week 8 again and so on…
Example:
Week 1: Starting Point
Week 2: Increase
Week 3: Hardest Week
Week 4: Deload
Week 5: Repeat using week 3 as a starting point
Aim to continue with this for 12 weeks until you have established a good baseline of cardiovascular fitness and good amount of strength. You may like a different resistance program after 4 or 6 weeks to increase variety.
You may then be ready to make changes in terms of how you structure your workouts across a week and within sessions.
Example Resistance Workout
Warm Up: 10 minutes moderate intensity on cardio equipment of your choice (Cross Trainer/ Treadmill/Exercise Bike).
Exercise
Reps
Sets
Rest
Tempo
Notes
Front Foot Elevated Split Squats
12-15
2-3
60 -75 secs
3101
Use dumbbells to increase intensity, keep chest upright, core engaged and move through full range (back knee to floor)
Press Ups
12-15
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Keep the stomach and glutes tight, tuck the elbows back. Work off knees as necessary.
Seated Row Machine
12-15
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Lift chest and keep back muscles engaged even when arms fully extended
Leg Press
12-15
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Weight through the heels, chest up, keep spine neutral, core engaged, knees pressing outwards, working towards better depth.
Close Grip DB Bench Press
12-15
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Mostly idiot proof, make sure the DB’s are squeezed together at all times. As you press them away finish with arms directly over shoulders
Lat Pull Down Machine
12-15
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Forearm Plank
–
2-3
60-75 secs
3101
Max Effort and aim to beat your times next week
*For novice exercisers even 2 sets can be quite tiring. Start with 2 sets and build up to 3 to increase intensity over the week (prepare to be quite sore after your first session)
Most of these exercises are on my YouTube Channel if you want to look them up – if not google works well too
So that’s it really.
A lot of people complain that they have to pay for my advice and get to work with me. So what you have here is something that is simple, straight forward and free. I am sure if you follow it, it will work a treat and you should get some great results if you are new to this whole exercise and nutrition thing.
If you want more help, support and accountability which you are happy to pay for, then I would love to work with you.
This is what I do…
I will teach you how to find balance.
To cultivate a positive relationship with food & your body (the side effect of which is usually more positive personal relationships too).
To help you feel empowered in all aspects of their life by increasing your confidence and self belief.
And yes, to get that toned physique that they have been chasing their whole life AND maintain it.
I Offer…
Sustainable weight loss solutions for high quality women looking for high quality results (no matter what your level of experience)
6, 12 and 18 month coaching programs which combine group and 1-2-1 coaching
Personalised nutrition plans that are realistic
LOTS of other stuff (including tailored training and mindset work) but more about that later…
I don’t do…
Cookie cutter plans, shakes, pills, extreme restrictions that rely on will power
Mass market low end delivery – if you get to work with me you are one of a select group of quality women not a number in a crowd
Spoon-feeding or molly-coddling – if you get to work with me you will receive top quality information and support but you have to take the responsibility to actually do it or ask for help when you need it
Quick fixes or yo-yo diets. If you are looking for fast results go elsewhere. If you are looking for sustainable long lasting changes you are on the right page!
How does it work?
The first step is to complete an application for what we call a “Breakthrough Call”. This is an opportunity to explore what is stopping you from achieving the body of your dreams and understand a little more about who we are, what we do and how we do it.
If you are a women with pounds to lose, a desire for more than what life is giving your right now and a will to change it then please apply. We want to speak with you and more importantly, we genuinely want to help you! x
