Kate's Story

When I started training with Kim I was quite overweight, a gradual increase over the last 10 years as I had my 3 children. I was tired all the time & unhappy with the way I looked, felt & moved. 

I was hoping to lose weight, increase my energy & fitness levels and improve my health to decrease my chances of developing illnesses like diabetes.

When I met Kim she said she would normally let me settle into the new fitness regime first before making any other changes, but I was ready. 

In fact I think I had been ready for a long time but had lacked the motivation. 

The monumental task of losing weight & making those changes had seemed too great. 

There were many things I thought I wasn’t quite ready to give up & there was always an excuse as to why the timing wasn’t right. But having made that first step of contacting her and booking in to my first class, she could see I had made that commitment and I was determined to make the necessary changes. 

It was then she suggested the 6-week challenge.

It involved giving up my three favourite things, Bread, Cheese & Alcohol along with several other things that didn’t hurt so much! 

Kim’s style of fitness really suits me. It’s high intensity but low impact and small groups, which allows time for one on one coaching. 

I started exercising 3 times a week at MET Fitness Studio 1 and also doing more cycling. 

Doing the classes has certainly kept my motivation up to stay committed to the dietary changes, which has enhanced the weight loss.

The first few weeks were definitely the hardest but surprisingly, after that I started to miss my favourite things a little less. 

What was great about the eating plan was firstly, using my hand as a guide to portion size, I was never without it! 

And being able to modify my diet in the way she had suggested without having to prepare separate meals I found I could make the changes I needed fit into our regular family menu. 

I found I really had to examine the reasons why I was eating. 

As there is no snacking and I was definitely not feeling hungry between meals, if I found myself reaching for or thinking about a snack I had to mindful as to why? 

Non-hungry eating had been a big part of my problem. 

Finishing the kid’s uneaten food, using food as a reward, eating when I was bored, all this had to stop. The first few weeks were the most challenging I just had to really think about why I was considering a snack, remind myself I wasn’t hungry & move on. 

Now I don’t even think of it, I’m not hungry between meals, snacking is not an option, another habit I have broken!

It took the first 6 weeks for my body to shift into fat burning mode.

I started to notice changes in my body (an incredible 52cm off my entire body!) and I decided to continue with the eating plan. 

During the next 6-week period the weight has continued to come off and I feel fitter & stronger. 

When I started I could barely do a plank or a wall sit. I can now do them full a full minute! 

Kim is always so encouraging especially when I feel I’m doing terribly!

I am much more agile now & find it easier to keep up with my kids.

I had my first alcoholic drinks after 3 months of not drinking & whilst I enjoyed it & I had spent those months missing it terribly, I came to the realisation that I didn’t need it after all. 

It was more a habit I had developed over time & I haven’t had another drink since!

So now I am 14 weeks down the track and its not just me noticing the changes, I’m getting lots of comments about how great I am looking. 

But the most important thing is that I’m feeling great! Thanks Kim!

Ages and Stages

I wrote an article a few years back called The Five Stages of Exercise, loosely based on the five stages of grief.

It's still valid, but in the intervening years, I’ve also seen clients go through the various stages - between not liking exercise and getting it done - from a different perspective.

This path is more akin to our developmental stages growing from children to adults.

The first stage is I Don’t Want To – they have little to no interest in exercise & refuse to even entertain the notion. Like a toddler digging their heels in, very little is achieved in arguing with them at this stage.

Don’t get me wrong, if you don’t want to exercise, you are perfectly entitled to that position.

However, if you do no activity whatsoever, don’t be surprised when your body starts breaking down and you find yourself, over time, unable to move in the most basic ways, like walking without getting puffed.

The second stage I call the Trade-Off, where exercise becomes a transactional process, a way of justifying poor eating habits - “I can eat this because I did that”, type of thinking.

At this stage I’ve also seen people who seem to want to be punished by exercise in some strange kind of penance for unhealthy choices in the rest of their life.

I liken this stage to adolescence, where we felt invincible (health-wise) and often engaged in behaviours because we thought others would approve or to gain something in return.

So many people remain stuck in this stage.

Let me be clear: exercise is a celebration of what your body CAN DO, not a punishment for what you ate.

The myriad benefits of regular exercise are not wiped out by poor eating or not enough sleep but your body works as a whole; you can’t compartmentalise healthy behaviours into a narrow band and expect the system to function well.

The third stage, Just Do It is the most rewarding; it’s where we finally understand why our health & fitness is so important, that it is a goodness in its own right.

This is where we become adults, doing what needs to be done because it matters to us & our future.

Some people move to this stage after illness or injury, with a deep understanding of what it is NOT to be able to move well & pain-free.

Some gradually grow into this stage, noticing how great they feel after exercise, having more energy, feeling less sluggish.

MET Fitness takes a sustainable approach to health & fitness, start where you’re at and keep going, giving you more energy to live a great life.

We bring you along through each stage (yes, especially the I Don’t Want To) with support, encouragement & motivation.

Until one day, it’s your new healthy habit.

Get in touch and Get. It. Done.

Motivation In Two Forms

You've heard me say many times that motivation is a myth, that nobody is motivated all the time and that we just have to make the decision to make the change that makes the difference.

Well, that is true... to an extent.

We've all felt that exhilarating burst of energy that motivates and inspires us into action.

Whether it's making a call we know we need to get over & done with, or the call we've been looking forward to.

We're either scared or excited, and those two feelings share a lot in common, physiologically. Our interpretation is key. 

Sometimes it's just a matter of reframing to use our energy states to achieve the results we want.

Which brings me to how motivation works, in its two forms - Away From and Towards.

We are either motivated to move away from a troubling or painful situation or towards a sought-after or rewarding situation. They both serve a purpose and have their benefits.
Once you get clear on your "why", you can nail your "what".

Weight loss is one I hear a lot from clients; they were significantly overweight and they took steps to lose weight but as they got closer to their goal, they just didn't seem to have the motivation they started with.

Other clients started with a heath & fitness, rather than a weight loss, goal and they seemed to power on through from one goal to the next.

This is how Away From and Towards motivation works: when you're moving AWAY from pain & whatever it is you DON'T want, the further you get from it, the more comfortable you feel.

Almost like you're feet are far enough from the fire that you can relax, you don't have to do the work any more.

Away From motivation is a great way to START whatever changes you're looking to make.

You are really clear about what you don't want, but it's ultimately a negative motivation and lasting change takes more than that.

Towards motivation is the goal you have in your mind, your heart & your soul.

It drives you onwards even when you've made good progress because it's a shining, positive motivator even on days when you don't feel like it.
It literally pulls you towards your goal!

You may start out wanting to change your current health situation but what will keep you going once you've made those changes, is the thought of feeling even better, moving well when you're older & avoiding some of the common pitfalls of aging, like falls & immobility.

The other major benefit of Towards motivation is that it encourages you rather than criticises you, it brings you along rather than punishes you, it helps you rather than hurts you.

It really is the only way to maintain a kind, self-caring & consistent approach to your goals.

Being kind to yourself is about doing the good stuff, even when you don't feel like it.

Because you are so very worth it.

Being Kind to Ourselves

I use this phrase a lot when I work with people who want to make long-term, sustainable changes in their life, the kind of changes that will dramatically alter their health and their future.

They often interpret this to mean they don’t have to live up to their health commitments, that they can go off-track and sabotage their food & exercise prescription simply because they “ didn't feel like it” or were “having a bad day”.

This is entirely opposite of what I mean.

Being kind to yourself, really taking good care of yourself, starts with a decision that is not negotiable and a willingness to be realistic about what is good for you.

Imagine: you've had a really stressful day at work, your boss is cranky at you, co-workers are being more difficult than usual and you have a splitting headache on the way home from work. 

Dinner consisting entirely of chocolate and cheese, possibly wine, and staying up late to zone out in front of the television may seem like an easy option. “ I've had an awful day,” you tell yourself, “I deserve some pleasure, I can’t be bothered doing anything else.”

So you eat some non-nutritional food and flake out on the couch. Your headache feels worse, you feel sluggish and tired but instead of going to bed, you stay up too late watching television, exacerbating your tiredness.

Imagine that this is your child, or your best friend.

Would you deliberately ignore their needs, or make excuses for why you wouldn't help them feel as good as possible, especially under difficult circumstances?

I bet you wouldn't.

Imagine: you've had a really stressful day at work, your boss is cranky at you, co-workers are being more difficult than usual and you have a splitting headache on the way home from work.

“ I've had an awful day,” you tell yourself, “so I’m going to make sure I drink plenty of water when I get home. I’ll make myself a quick vegetable omelette and I’ll make sure I get an early night.”

The first scenario may seem like the easiest option, and by certain criteria it may be, but since when has easy meant better. 

The second option means you actually change your situation for the better. 

You contribute to your health rather than detracting from it. 

You actually meet your real needs, rather than giving in to what it is you think you want.

Making your life a little easier the next day and helping yourself to feel better - THAT is being kind. 

Body Composition and Fat Loss

 

Most people who start personal training list one of their goals as "weight loss"; this can be achieved in several ways, not all of them healthy.

You can lose lean muscle, fluid or even lop off a limb to "lose weight", but what you really want to do is lose body fat; this is where body composotion is important.

Body composition refers to the amount of body fat you carry versus everything else that isn't fat, like lean muscle, organs & body fluids.

A healthy body fat percentage for women is between 18% and 28%, for men it is 10% - 18% and knowing your body composition allows you eat well to maintain your lean body weight and improve your body's fat burning potential.

The data below explains the difference between two people who 'weigh' the same, but with different body composition and activity levels:

Person A 
Body weight 60kg
Body fat 10%
Fat weight 6kg
Lean weight 54kg
BMR* 1500cal
Activity 1000cal
Total 2500cal

Person B
Body weight 60kg
Body fat% 30%
Fat weight 18kg 
Lean weight 42kg
BMR* 1000cal
Activity 200cal
Total 1200cal

*Basal Metabolic Rate (how many calories you burn just keeping your body going) + Activity = Total calories needed to maintain your current weight.

So you can see that despite weighing the same number, the body composition (lean weight vs fat) of Person A allows them to consume more than twice the number of calories as Person B, and given their body fat %, it's a safe bet that more of their intake is nutrient rich food.

I advise all of my clients with fat-loss goals to get their body burning body fat reserves as fuel while building and maintaining lean muscle; the same amount of muscle weighs more than fat, so they may not initially see a drastic reduction on the scales, but you will see and feel your clothes getting larger without feeling deprived of tasty & nutritious foods.

Eating lean protein and as many vegetables as you can with every meal, avoiding processed foods and getting in 30 minutes of cardiovascular work each day, as well as 3 - 4weekly weight sessions will see you gradually and safely reaching your goal.

The Five Stages of Exercise

It's always interesting to me how people go through various mental gymnastics, justifications and rationalisations to avoid doing what they know to be necessary to maintain or improve their health and reminds me of the five stages of grief, described by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross.

I understand that not everyone wants to exercise or eat healthy foods, I too used to be one of those people who thought the words 'fun' and 'run' had no business ever being put together.

Then when I was a teenager, my mum was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at almost the age I am now. I saw how ill she was leading up to the diagnosis, while also dealing with other health issues, namely rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.

It was also around this time we started learning about genetics at high school and the confluence of events made me take stock of my own attitude to my health for the future.

Now don't get me wrong, I did not suddenly start exercising and eating right, I was a teenager after all, I was invincible, right? 

What was happening to my mum wasn't going to happen to me, it just wasn't; I decided that without even realising it WAS a decision and without necessarily having a plan in mind.

I had just hit the first stage - Denial.

In the proceeding years, as I moved from the corporate world into the field of health & wellness, as I started a family and wanted to be a good example for my child, I began choosing healthy foods and actually enjoying them. My studies into health and nutrition led me to regard junk food as not actually real food at all, making it easier not to eat it. 

When I eventually began a fitness program with a personal trainer, I realised that I did not enjoy exercise at all and discovered the second stage of Anger.

During our training sessions, I would feel quite angry towards my trainer for 'making me' do whatever set of exercises she had planned for that session and luckily she was tolerant of my sweariness (yes, it's a word) on those occasions I verbalised my feelings, without directing them towards her.

Eventually I worked out that I had a choice to train or not, I had a choice to feel better or not and the anger subsided. 

Then I moved smoothly into stage three - Bargaining. 
This was possibly harder on my trainer than my swearing because I would be constantly negotiating and re-negotiating the program. 
"Can I do this instead of that?"
"Can I just do 20?"
"Do I really have to do that again???" 

I didn't really move through stage four, Depression, but I have seen it play out for many of my own clients, particularly if they have unrealistic expectations of themselves and the amount of time it will take to feel and see a real difference.

Their enthusiasm is sky-high when they come for their fitness assessment. 
They are so keen at their first session, I actually have to hold them back from overdoing it. 
The first few weeks are "amazing!" and they feel so good but often they will give up, saying life has become too busy, one thing or another is getting in the way of training and for a little while, they stop.

During this time, they go back to feeling tired, having no energy and feeling badly about themselves that they tried and failed. 

It's at this stage that I gently remind them why they started exercising in the first place, how great they felt when they made it important to fit it in and that the only failure is giving up.

Some get it some don't, but the transformation in the people who move to Acceptance, who acknowledge how great it feels to move their body, to give their best to their family and to have more energy to live a great life, is just joyful to witness.
 
The single most important factor I see in whether people get to the final stage of Acceptance is that they made a decision. It's not a question of "will I exercise tomorrow?", it's a just a decision that they no longer question. 

They know why they do it and they know they are worth the effort.



If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired, contact me at MET Fitness or on Facebook and take the first step to a healthier you.

It Starts With A Decision

I work with many clients who come to me when they are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

They come expecting me to 'fix them' or to give them the 'magical secret' of weight loss.
 First we take a comprehensive medical and lifestyle history and I explain the benefits of being fitter, how great it feels living a more vibrant life and why Body Composition matters more than 'weight loss'. 

I also emphasise that it is far easier to set up your environment to support your health and fitness goals, rather than to rely on will-power alone.

The truth is, no one is motivated all the time.
 
And you can't out-train a bad diet.

Then we get to work.

The MET Fitness 6 Week Challenge gets you thinking about how you nourish your body and you learn how much you are able to influence your body toward a healthier state.

Managing blood sugar levels, the amount of sleep you get and how much exercise you do all impact the way your body uses and stores energy.

Most people want to see results in a week and I remind them that it's a 6 Week Challenge for a reason. You WILL notice significant and predictable results, and changes to your body, based on your commitment to the program.

This program teaches you HOW to structure three healthy meals each day and gives you the skills to make healthy decisions at parties, dining out, other situations that life inevitably brings.

If you have been overweight for a long time, you may have tried loads of diets, programs, pills, shakes and found that none of it worked.

This is NOT a diet.

Dieting is unsustainable and leads to even greater weight gains once you 'go off' the diet, as you have trained your metabolism to store fat rather than burn fat.


Remember that Magical Secret I was talking about?
 
Well here it is - you are the product of your habits and behaviours.

What you do every day leads to results over time.

Eating for reasons other than hunger creates results that show up in your body. Driving to work to sit at a desk, driving home to sit on the couch will also lead to predictable results.

Including fresh vegetables and adequate protein in every meal, going for a walk every day, doing some basic strength exercises a few times a week will also produce predictable physical, mental and emotional results.

Let's be clear, if you are unhappy with yourself, losing weight will not make you happy.

Be happy now - and from there take the necessary steps towards your health and fitness goal.
 
Set up your life to meet your goals, surround yourself with people who value their health and fitness and start to think of your health as a precious gift you give yourself.

It starts with a decision. It starts with you.

And when you need to check in, be accountable or simply outsource your motivation, I'm here to help.

5 Super-Annoying Things About The Gym

(with thanks to our Guest Writer, Clara Richman for a-musing on her gym-experience :)

 

 

Ever since I was in high school and enrolled in a three-month sports training program at my local gym, I've been hooked on working out. For many, like myself, the gym is a personal safe-haven; a place where I can eliminate stress and a day's (sometimes weeks) worth of frustrations in a single lifting/cardio session. As an avid user of numerous gyms all over the world, there is a number of things that myself and many others find extremely annoying. Not all gyms are alike; but there are definitely some common problems that often prevent less-enthusiastic individuals than myself from going all together.

Here are a few things to avoid when shopping for a gym membership

that you will enjoy using in the long or short term.

1. Membership Hassles

Before signing up for a new gym, I like to shop around and compare prices

between my local gyms, and weigh the costs and benefits of each of their different membership plans. Unfortunately, this is usually never a straight-forward task. Gyms love to include things like enrollment fees, membership cancellation fees, first and last month's membership fees, “fees for being alive” fees—fees, fees, fees.

2. Pushy Sales Rep

What's worse, is that when you're signing up for a new gym, you have to go through a pushy sales rep who's always urging you on for a higher membership class, personal training sessions, performance products, or some other purchase that you weren't interested in to begin with. Many times, I've gone to a new gym that offered a free 3-day pass, or two-week membership—but in order to use it, you have to give this ungodly windshield-repair-guy-at-a-car wash salesman the time of day in order to use it. And if you show even a hint of interest while meeting with him, but don't yet sign up for the membership? He'll call and e-mail you three times per week for the rest of your life. Seriously, I'm still getting voicemails from Ross, the 'Member Specialist' from gyms like Lifetime Fitness

from over two years ago. It never ends.

3. The People

If you spend enough time anywhere, such as your work, school, or other hang-out, you'll begin to make certain observations of the people you like, and don't like. The gym is no exception. The Grunter, the Weight-Dropper, the Space Invader, the Show-Off, the Cell Phone Fiend, the Sweaty Non-Wiper, the Treadmill Stomper, the Lovey-Dovey Couple, the Chick Wearing Too Much Makeup, the Equipment Hog, the Smelly Guy, the Casanova, the Run-In Acquaintance Who Wants To Talk, the Unwanted Advice Giver, and The Guy Who's Just Sitting There Watching TV are all examples of the most horrible people at the gym.
 

4. Overcrowding

If you've been to a gym during “Happy Hour,” you know exactly what I'm talking about. The treadmills are all taken, and there's eight guys on one bench press. Fitness classes, too, can overflow in a heartbeat, with numerous middle-aged women who recently canceled their membership showing up 30 minutes early to place their yoga mats on the cardio room floor in order to claim their spot. Your 45-minute power workout turns into an hour and fifteen minutes of waiting for open equipment and waiting in line at the drinking fountain.
 

5. Inconvenient Bathroom Locations

Seriously- where is the bathrooms?! At almost every gym I've been to, bathrooms are always located about 5 miles away from the weight room. Many times while working out, I've decided to 'hold it' just to avoid the long trek down the stairs, around the hall, passed the 'kidz zone' daycare, and through the sauna doors. Gym owners- consider your patrons, and please install more bathrooms.

No matter what your qualms are with the gyms in your area, there are many positive points that can be found as well. When shopping for a gym, it's important to compare prices and offerings from each gym to see which one is the right fit for you in meeting your own fitness goals.


 Clara is from Minneapolis, MN, raised by parents at the opposite end of the education spectrum: her father, an elementary school principal; and her mother, a middle school substitute teacher. Now living in San Diego, Clara draws on that dichotomy when writing about education.
 

Merry Christmas from MET Fitness

With 2011 coming to a close, I want to congratulate You, my wonderful clients for making your health and fitness a priority this year.

Some of you are new to any kind of regular physical activity and have taken on your new habits with enthusiasm and commitment - you understand that your commitment gets it done when your enthusiasm is low.

You've realised trying to change too much at once can be overwhelming and you created a plan that works for you - an exercise schedule that you can stick with.

You've educated yourself on how your body works and made the small, sustainable modifications to your diet, that make a big difference to how you feel.

You've noticed how much more energy you have to enjoy life, when you exercise regularly and nourish your body with fresh food.

You feel stronger, happier, more relaxed, move better, feel better and look better than you did a year ago.

You may have sat back and thought about making some changes - I encourage you to make 2012 YOUR YEAR for ACTION!

Time passes, it's what you do with that time that matters.

Thank you all for another wonderful year of training. 

Enjoy the break, eat, drink and be merry with family and friends and I'll see you in 2012 for more fitness and fun!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love Kim xx

The Curves Study

Regular exercise is important but will not result in body fat reduction if what you are eating has more energy than you can use - and we ALL overestimate how much we move and underestimate how much we eat.

In other words, you can't out-train a bad diet.


A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine measured 50 participants hormone levels before, during and after a 10 week diet.


This was a diet in the conventional sense, where the calorie intake was severely restricted well below sustainable levels so it is unsurprising participants could not maintain this when the study finished.
 
Aside from the control group, there was an 'exercise only' group and four dietary groups, each with different variations of energy carbohydrate and protein.


Participants did a 30 minute resistance circuit program three times a week at a Curves gym (sponsors of this study) and all groups except the control experienced significant reductions in waist circumference.


The conclusion: "Exercise alone has minimal impact on measured outcomes with positive outcomes apparent when exercise is combines with a hypo-energetic (low calorie) diet. 

Greater improvements in waist circumference and body composition occurred when carbohydrate is replaced in the diet with protein. 

Weight loss in all groups was primarily fat and stimulated improvements in markers of cardiovascular disease risk, body composition, energy expenditure and psychosocial parameters."

What this means is that eating more protein than carbohydrate, in smaller portions, they lost body fat, reduced their waistbands and felt better.


If you are participating in the MET Fitness 6 Week Challenge, you will feel the benefits of eating enough  protein at each meal, including feeling satisfied until your next meal as well as having more energy.

Core Strength Matters

A recent New York Times article, Are Crunches Worth The Effort, cites a study published by Indiana State University this year, that found little correlation between robust core muscles and athleticism in healthy, young adults. 

I looked at the research and came up with some different questions and conclusions.

The “healthy, young adults” group was asked to squat, lunge, twist, crunch and hold a plank position, leap off the ground while tossing a medicine ball backwards over their head and sprint through a short obstacle course.

For those of us who wouldn’t necessarily be classified as 'young, healthy adults', who sit most of the day in the car on the way to our desk jobs and on the couch watch TV in the evenings, my questions are:


How many of us would have trouble completing the tasks set for these participants? 


And would there be a correlation between our (lack of) core strength and incidence of back pain?

But I haven’t done that study. Yet.

The article goes on to mention more studies, one of collegiate rowers, athletes who train and compete in their chosen sport at college level, and novice adult runner displaying weak core-strength; there is no definition of ‘novice runners’ here, they could be people who run occasionally without necessarily doing any other form of training; again this is my supposition.

The rowers added eight weeks of core training to their normal workout routines and the novice runners completed six weeks of core drills.

Result: the rowers had great looking abs (unsurprising for athletes with lower body fat than the rest of us) while the runners lowered their 5km run times significantly.

For me, there is no question of whether crunches are worth the effort however doing abdominal exercises correctly depends on how you move. Your core is a complex area and it is the muscle group responsible for keeping you upright, strong and stable as you move throughout your life. 

At MET Fitness you are taught to activate your core correctly and use specific movements to avoid neck recruitment, spinal bending & injury. 

If, like Thomas Nesser, associate professor of exercise science at Indiana State and senior author of this study, you’d prefer to forgo crunches altogether, do remember to heed his advice’ that, in most instances, “train for your sport, core strength will develop”. 

So pick a sport and get training!

Spring Fitness - FAST!

It is wonderful to see so many more people out walking, running, riding and playing in the sunshine this week!


A little taste of spring goes a long way towards getting you thinking about getting into shorts & skirts for summer.


If you're uncomfortable at the mere thought, give yourself the gift of 15 minutes every morning before your shower, to do this total body workout.


10 Pushups
20 second Plank
30 Squats
10 Lunges (each leg)
20 Crunches


Start with one round, vary the repetitions as your skill level increases and before you know it you'll be doing 2 - 3 rounds, knowing that you're getting a workout done before you start your day.


As I tell all of my clients, you can't out-train a bad diet so you also need to think about what you're putting into your body and in what quantities.


Fresh food, real food, is the best fuel you can give your body and doesn't have a nutritional panel to decipher.

Eat lots of leafy greens, crunchy colorful veggies and good quality lean protein and enjoy how much more energy you have as you shape up for summer.


If you have questions about any of the exercises listed here or would like some technique tips, find me on Facebook and message me.

The Second Half of the Year

Welcome to the second half of the year.

It's a good time to pause and think about what you want to

Do

Be

Have

in 2011.

Make a plan, write a list or set a goal for yourself and take the small steps that lead you there.

Learn a new skill or study something that has always interested you, be more physically active to give yourself more energy and live your great life - start today.

It doesn't have to be a huge life-changing event.

When we work towards & acheive a goal, we get the confidence to know that we CAN do what we say we will, that we CAN do something we previously though impossible.

Expand the possibilities in YOUR life.

Chocolate Habits

Much of how we live our lives is the result of our habits and part of my job as a fitness trainer is to encourage people to swap habits that damage their bodies with new habits that support their health and fitness.

So it was a surprise to me that after three weeks away, I had changed some long-standing habits and have actually brought the changes home with me.

The biggest one has been getting up early, not really much of an achievement unless you're me.

Oh sure, I would get up early if I had to be somewhere, catch a plane or train a client, but I have never been a 'morning person' just for the sake of it.

Until now.

The other habit, that I may need to change back, is my new-found affection for confection; specifically chocolate.

I could take or leave chocolate before but since my intense schedule in New York, and needing to up my food intake, I had gotten used to pretty much eating what I wanted and even indulging in treats I normally wouldn't eat.

Someone I met in New York had asked, when hearing about my reason for being there, if I ate 900 calories a day, to which my friend who had seen me stuff my face all over town replied, "are you kidding? she eats about 900 calories an hour!"

Hilarious!

Seriously though, I do need to remember I am not working out two hours a day and that chocolate is not an everyday food.

What habits have you changed or would like to?

What's Your Plan for 2011?

It's the start of another year of training and after the indulgence of the Christmas and New Year break, time to get your fitness back on track for 2011.

Take some time out to reflect on all of your achievements in the past 12 months and congratulate yourself on meeting the targets you set for yourself in 2010.

If you still have goals that have not yet been met, ask yourself why this is the case:

• did they really match up to what you value and want for your life?
• did you have a clear, specific plan of action to achieve your goal?
• did you take the action necessary to reach your goal?
• were you committed to doing what was necessary even when you didn't feel like it?

Once you work out why your goal wasn't achieved you can reset this goal for 2011 with a clear understanding of what you can do to make it real this year.

We will talk about goals in the first few training sessions of the year and work together to define the actions and steps you can take to get there.

"The real reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it takes to achieve them" - Jim Rohn

Lighten Up

Summer is almost here and the lighter evenings & warmer weather makes this a good time for you to jump start your fitness for 2011.

Make some time for yourself to lighten up in December.

MIND: turn off the chatter in your head by focusing on breathing deeply into your belly Feel what's happening inside your body and notice how as you focus on a particular area of your body, you are able to release any tension with your breath.

BODY: go for a brisk walk in the park, down the street, at the beach, anywhere in nature where you can feel the sun on your skin.

SPIRIT: visit with friends, share laughter &good times with people you care about.
Decide to bring a lighter spirit to your next encounter with a 'difficult person', not for them but for yourself.

Most of all, love & care for yourself as if you were your best friend.