Kick Start the New Year with Fat Loss

Hi all, well as of tomorrow (Mon) I am back up and running with a full class schedule and I am really looking forward to it. I have fab new music and a whole range of new routines with new equipment that is going to ensure you get an amazing workout. If you are struggling to lose weight or have been doing okay but seem to have reached a plateau then these new workouts are ideal. The body gets used to doing something regularly relatively quickly and although you only have to make minor changes too many of us don't.

If you regualrly come to my classes you may have noticed that I will add in new moves or mix the routines around every so often. As well as stopping you from getting bored (!) it is also to fool your body that you are doing something completely different so that it still works as hard. Remember that if the body can find an easier way of doing something then it will unless your make it do otherwise!

If you come to step then your arms are going to get a big shock as we introduce hand weights that you hold throughout the step workout. These can be as light as 0.5kg to 1.5kg and then you choose how much you use your arms!!! Remember that we still have the band work afterwards. In all my classes I will gradually be introducing gliding as this is an amazing lower body and core workout.

Okay, enough about my classes. The number one New Year Resolution that I hear is I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT. How badly do you want it? If you really want to then you will be prepared to make the necessary changes to your lifestyle to enable this change. The following may help.

That means at this time of year you’ve probably had numerous requests off friends about how they can lose weight. When you ask them about their eating habits they probably say everything’s ok and they eat perfectly. One of the biggest questions I hear is ‘what is the best fat burning supplement’, when the answer is ‘exercise’ they switch off. Unfortunately the media doesn’t help our cause. Most magazines portray fat as the enemy and carbs as the devil and you definitely must not eat after 6pm as this will just be stored as fat!

1 – Eat breakfast every day. You’ve heard this before, nothing new. Either a bowl of porridge or omelette and fresh fruit juice. This takes no time at all, get up 15 minutes earlier if need be. Breakfast will also reduce cortisol production, which has been shown to increase fat storage.

2 – Eat every 2-3 hours. Again nothing new, you should eat not because your hungry, but to prevent hunger. By skipping meals to save calories your more likely to over eat later. Having a bag of mixed nuts with you often works as a little snack, cottage cheese, vegetable etc

3 – Try to eat some lean protein with every meal. The body will burn more calories digesting protein than other nutrients. It will also supply the body with the amino acids necessary to build lean tissue. As protein takes longer to digest, you will also feel fuller for longer.

4 – Reduce high calorie drinks. Try to limit any drinks that contain calories, alcohol, coke, cherryade etc, all contain high calories. By replacing these with water you can substantially reduce the calorie intake for the day.

5 – Try to eat fruit or vegetables every time you eat. These will provide you with essential vitamins/ minerals and antioxidants.

6 – Eat Fat. You need to be eating a range of good fats each day. These should be from nuts and seeds, olive oil, flax seeds/oil, fish and peanut oils. To lose fat you must be eating some!

8 – Cheat – You are allowed to eat what you want every now and then. Weekends are the usual time you eat what you want. Don’t let it worry you, just get back to normal Monday morning. On the whole do not get hung up on %’s and food weights, the main thing is you enjoy your food……… and exercise!

Good luck and I look forward to seeing lots of you next week. Have a great week and next week I will show you how easy it can be to incorporate exercsie into your lifestyle.