12 January 2011

Is your New Year Goal Weight loss? Handy hints for Canberrans

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As a personal trainer the number one question I get asked is ‘how can I lose weight?’

Australians are now one of the fattest counties in the world and yes Canberrens waist lines are increasing too; the latest comprehensive obesity study has shown that 25 per cent of adult Australians – almost five million – are now obese, one million more than the last calculation in 1999. So why is this? Where are we going wrong? The modern day lifestyle and diet is a contributing factor, we work longer hours, exercise less, and rely on convenience foods to fuel our bodies. I am not just talking about take away. Convenience foods also comes in the form of packets, jars, tins and containers, and you can find many of them at your local supermarket, in fact most of the aisles are dedicated to this convenient way of eating.

The diet industry is worth big dollars, and we are bombarded with conflicting information, when in reality dieting and maintaining weight does not need to be complicated. Below are my top tips for maintain your weight.

Eat breakfast!

In fact, eat 3 meals per day. When you don’t eat at regular intervals your body starts to turn on its fat storing mode. It thinks that you are in a time of famine. Your body is a high performance vehicle that can not afford to run on empty. Would you expect to your car to run without petrol?

Water is life!

And here in the ACT we have the best water in all of Australia. Increase your water intake; try drinking a glass of water before each meal then one after. Your body is made up of mainly water. Lean muscle tissue contains about 75% water. Blood contains 95% water, body fat contains 14% water and bone has 22% water. Thirst is commonly mistaken for hunger. The correct amount of water you need varies from person to person, 2 liters of water per day does not suit every one, you can workout how much water you need using this simple formula, .03x your body weight. E.g.: .03×65 = 1.95 liters of water. Water also helps digestion, transport of nutrients, elimination of waste, circulation of blood, lubrication, regulation of body temperature. Why not go and grab a glass now!

Eat real food!

I am surprised by how little fruit and vegetables get consumed in people’s diets. When I make choices with food I ask myself how different processes it took to get the food like this! Same with the ingredient list, if I don’t recognized a number or ingredient I don’t buy it. Your body needs real food, not numbers, thickeners, artificial flavors’ or sweeteners. Include in your diet; fruit (it wont make you fat) vegetables, yogurt, nuts, lean cuts of meat, chicken, seafood, legumes such as lentils, beans, chickpeas, whole grain products like, rye, buckwheat, and oats. One of the best places to shop at for fresh and mostly organic is Choku Bai Jo. The produce is local and so far has not been effect by the floods.

Keep a food diary

And make one change per week. I find this technique very helpful with my clients. Diets don’t work and weight loss takes time. You have been eating a certain way for a long time and to introduce radical change overnight puts you and your body in shock and sets you up for failure. Gradual change is easier to adjust to. I know we all want results rapidly but you need to be realistic! I find that most people who have difficultly with their weight don’t eat breakfast. That is the first change I ask them to make for that week and nothing else. Other changes might be to add in one piece of fruit 3 – 4times per week and build on that.

Pack your lunch

And empty your wallet of unnecessary money. I find this helpful myself, so when I am out and about and am tempted (yes I am not immune) I can not act on my food cravings. Besides, think of the money you will save and can put towards that new wardrobe. When grocery shopping avoid buying the foods that you are likely to blow out on. Before I do my fortnightly shop I allow myself a treat. That is what ever I feel like, cake, packet of chips, chocolate bar, anything. By doing this you are less likely to over-shop and make healthier choices. Know your weakness and strength.

Tanya Gendle

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batmantrilogy1:50 pm 27 Nov 15

who can think of eating well at this time of the season with christmas just weeks away :p

Can anyone help me with gaining and bulking up. I joined a gym 6 months back and have gained 10 KGs without any supplements .ie. from natural diet. But now having trouble gaining ?
Not even a single Kg gained since 3 months :p XD

Strive_holistic_personal_training2:43 pm 15 Jan 11

Holistic personal training is based on 6 foundations,
thoughts, breath, hydration, food, exercises, and sleep. when you are out of balance in just one of these areas in your life achieving your health goals is more of a challenge. A good holistic personal trainer will help you in these areas of your life, educate and empower you with the skills that you need to heal yourself.

farnarkler said :

Lap banding; it’s the latest craze and you can even get your superannuation out early to pay for it!!!

I had a lap band fitted about five years ago. Absolute waste of time and money. It does work for a lot of people, so I don’t pooh-pooh them, you just need to be aware that they’re not a foolproof solution.

Lap banding; it’s the latest craze and you can even get your superannuation out early to pay for it!!!

schmeah said :

Wow, I can’t believe how many people actually need to be told this! Eat real food people! Go for walks, take up a sport, get active.

For God’s sake, do people actually need to be told to – eat food and not numbers on packets.

Sadly yes ! People need to be reminded of this ALL the time.

However losing weight is roughly 80% of what goes in your mouth. For people who are severly overweight or obese, they can quite easily lose weight simply by changing their diet. Cut out all unneccessary sugars and carbs and you’ll a weight reduction.

I know so many people who use their weight as an excuse to not exercise. That they are too big too exercise… I try to get them to change what they eat.. by cutting out bad foods, and eating normal sized proportions… after they drop 10-15kgs.. usually they find themselves being able to exercise and drop more weight

cleo said :

If you are at your desired weight, as long as you are active, you can eat what you want, just gets a bit harder with middle age.

For you, maybe! I know *loads* of people who’ve gained fat while training for marathons. I ran 25k the other day. I gotta tell you, running 25k makes you hungry. Really, really hungry! Even doing the rather large amounts of exercise required for marathon training I have to watch every goddamn bite I eat, otherwise I gain fat. And, I’d like to add, I don’t eat junk. Hell yeah, I can easily gain fat while engaging in 9 workouts per week and eating no junk food. I hate to think what would happen if I ate Maccas or some other crap! Oh, and I’m not middle-aged yet. Not by a long shot.

It might be worthwhile to remember that everyone is different, and it’s not that easy for some.

Lazy I said :

I was happy to see free advice posted here until I saw the infomercial styled user name.

Hey but they poster was not asking us to sign up for his or her services!! (were you?)

The advice provided was factual and worthwhile. No, it isnt rocket science, we all should know that we we need to east less and exercise more for weight loss but we don’t.

If you are at your desired weight, as long as you are active, you can eat what you want, just gets a bit harder with middle age.

People over eat for all sorts of reasons, eg: comfort food for anxiety or boredom.

Yes we all know what to do to lose weight, it’s just getting your head in the right head space.

Postalgeek said :

Today I watched a Gen Y girl jump in her car and drive 100 meters to the shops. Walking past 10 mins later the car was back and she was sitting outside munching a fag.

I will nod understandingly when Gens Z and later abandon Medicare and implement involuntary euthanasia to deal with patients suffering adverse health issues due to poor living habits.

Generalisations, generalisations everywhere.

bitterness said :

I’d expect that a commercial operator so keen to ‘educate’ us would actually get some of their science right. The myth about breakfast altering your metabolism is complete and utter nonsense. While it might feel like it’s intuitive, it’s complete bunkum – and has been known as such since at least 1990. See James et al, Am J Clin Nutri 1990;51:264-9.

That’s funny… I can find about 10 sources that contradicts your claim for every source that supports it.

I’d expect that a commercial operator so keen to ‘educate’ us would actually get some of their science right. The myth about breakfast altering your metabolism is complete and utter nonsense. While it might feel like it’s intuitive, it’s complete bunkum – and has been known as such since at least 1990. See James et al, Am J Clin Nutri 1990;51:264-9.

Today I watched a Gen Y girl jump in her car and drive 100 meters to the shops. Walking past 10 mins later the car was back and she was sitting outside munching a fag.

I will nod understandingly when Gens Z and later abandon Medicare and implement involuntary euthanasia to deal with patients suffering adverse health issues due to poor living habits.

Bane said :

Just wondering, what makes you a “holistic” personal trainer instead of a regular one?

It sucks in the new agers better than magnets and crystals. If you add “lifestyle” it doubles your turnover. If you can throw “leverage” (as a verb) in somewhere you can retire in a week.

Just wondering, what makes you a “holistic” personal trainer instead of a regular one?

Lazy I said :

I was happy to see free advice posted here until I saw the infomercial styled user name.

The one that constantly bothers me is fruit juice. Fruit juice _is not_ fruit, and most of the time is not healthy. Eating fruit is about getting the fibre and nutrients not just extracting the liquid into a high (natural) sugar drink.

The closer you can get to a caveman diet (unprocessed everything), the better.

Who cares about the user name? The advice is pertinent and factual. That’s what matters.

Like the OP, I’m always surprised at the myths and misinformation that many people cling to when it comes to proper nutrition and exercise. Most people wouldn’t know the difference between protein, carbohydrates, fat, and energy. A little bit of knowledge about basic nutrition goes a long way and we’d see a lot more healthy people walking our streets if they took the time to educate themselves.

Thanks, Strive_holistic_personal_training, for taking the time to post this.

georgesgenitals2:25 pm 12 Jan 11

Weight loss is easy. Consume about 85% of the kilojoules you burn each day. There are online calculators to help you work this out, and they are accurate enough. In order to eat plenty so as not to be hungry, but not consume too many kilojoules you need to eat (shock horror!) plenty of vegetables and fruit.

I was happy to see free advice posted here until I saw the infomercial styled user name.

The one that constantly bothers me is fruit juice. Fruit juice _is not_ fruit, and most of the time is not healthy. Eating fruit is about getting the fibre and nutrients not just extracting the liquid into a high (natural) sugar drink.

The closer you can get to a caveman diet (unprocessed everything), the better.

Wow, I can’t believe how many people actually need to be told this! Eat real food people! Go for walks, take up a sport, get active.

For God’s sake, do people actually need to be told to – eat food and not numbers on packets.

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