Everyone needs a friend!

Every person’s body is different; you may start quickly and settle down or start slowly and speed up! I know every individual is unique and that is why, as a Personal Wellness Coach, I work on giving my clients personal and private advice.

Group support can also be important as you can give and receive encouragement from others, as in our weekly Weight Loss Challenge groups or other slimming classes you may attend. Another option is to have a “Diet Buddy” who you share your goals, tips and experiences with.

As they say on the TV quiz show “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” – phone a friend when you’re stuck and don’t know the answer!

As with any change of diet, the first few days will be the hardest, so a friendly, encouraging support will help you through it! After this time your appetite will decrease and it will get much easier plus you will start to feel all the benefits of good nutrition. If you chose your programme well and you stick to it, you should expect to lose weight safely and gain health, vitality and energy.

Beware the green-eyed monster!

I’ve had a few clients now who’ve experienced a problem with their friends as they’ve lost weight and started to feel good about themselves.

This ‘friendly’ sabotage can take many different forms from a genuine kind of concern “you’re starting to look a bit gaunt, don’t you think you should stop now?”(although you are still 2 stones/28lbs overweight!) to thin friends becoming jealous because you now wear the same or smaller clothes size as them and are no longer their “fat friend”!

As hurtful as this can be, just stick to your guns and keep going as only you know how much better you feel!

"Phone a friend" when you need support!

To summarise:

• Use a support system. Make sure you attend your weekly meeting, call your Personal Wellness Coach for advice or a friend, partner or relative who will listen positively to you and remind you of your reason why you want to lose weight.
• Become someone else’s support system.  Find a weight loss “buddy” – a friend or relative you can talk to who is also trying to lose weight. Providing support for them will also help keep you on track as you’ll want to set a good example!

Weight loss or changing shape? You decide!

Just a quick poll to see what you all think which is the most important to you!

Hooray! Back on track

Very pleased to report that my weight is going down again! I lost 0.9kg/2lbs last week so definitely back in the game again.

Not succumbing to the temptation of sweet desserts and chocolate has help me refocus and so has making sure I’m eating enough and am recording what I eat – so easy to forget those extra calories!!  More about this in a blog later this week.

The other factor that has made a real difference is making sure that I’m drinking enough water – always more of a challenge in the very cold weather and snow we’ve had this week.

I’m off the gym as I was very lucky to win a year’s gym membership in a competition right at the end of last year.  Have just got going as I am a very definite gym novice but starting to enjoy it now I’ve got the hang of how the machines work. I will need to be aware that as I build muscle it will weigh more than the fat it is replacing but I know the change in shape will help me look much better in my clothes.

What do you think?  Is it about weight loss for you or changing shape?  Think I’ll run a poll to find out!

I did watch UK “The Biggest Loser” last night when they were in Florida and am constantly amazed at how little some of the contestants are losing when they work out 4 times a day and, according to the introduction, are “on a strict calorie controlled diet”.  I do think they need more help and support with their eating habits.

Muscle versus Fat!

I watched the UK Biggest Loser this week and found the weigh-in concerning as it isn’t very clearly explained why the contestants who appear to have worked so hard  lose very little weight.

My own theory, based on both my own experience and coaching my clients through their weight loss journey, is that it’s the muscle versus fat conundrum.

The Skinny on Fat & Our Body

Basically, fat is lighter than muscle but takes up more volume.  A poor “diet” leads to depletion of Lean Body Mass and increase in body fat so you have to reverse cycle by losing fat and maintaining and increasing lean muscle mass.

MRI of fat stored around the body

Why increase lean body mass (LBM)?

• Every 1lb/0.9kg of LBM burns 14 calories per day
• Every 1lb/0.9kg of fat burns only 2 calories per day
• Muscle occupies less space (smaller trouser or dress size)
• More muscle = more calorie burn
• Fat is unhealthy and undesirable, studies now show fat releases health damaging hormones into your body

Our bodies use the food we store in the following order:

1^st            Sugar

2^nd           Protein

Finally      Fat

So we need to keep our lean muscle mass healthy and growing – every 1lb/0.9kg  of muscle burning 14 calories – sounds like a great reason to ensure that we have the right amount of lean muscle mass to me!! By increasing our daily intake of good nutrition we get our bodies out of starvation/survival mode.

Help your body become a “lean mean fat burning machine”

In order to effectively burn fat, we must use it as a source of fuel. To do this in a healthy way, we need to decrease quick sugars and increase protein and good nutrients. This will keep the body working at optimum and help steady and increase metabolism.

So there are three quick ways to make your body a fat burner:

1. Eat enough of the right calories (good nutrition)

2. Eat enough protein

3. Starve your body of the ‘quick sugars’ found in starches and processed foods

TIP:  Don’t obsess with the scale. Instead, look at/focus on your inch/cm loss and how your clothes fit as what matters. What your measurements will tell you is how your resting metabolic rate and fat percentage are responding to your changing habits. You WILL ‘eventually’ lose ‘weight’ if you are burning body fat.