THE RETARDED DIET By Anthony Noud

THE RETARDED DIET By Anthony Noud.

“I just had a piece of chocolate so today is ruined, ill just eat rubbish for the rest of today and start fresh tomorrow…and come to think of it, there is no point going to the gym today now is there?”

Does this sound familiar? Have you ever done this before? Started a day with the intention of eating well and exercising, working towards your personal goals. Then for whatever reason there is a change of plan- maybe a work morning tea or you forget to bring your lunch and you eat a biscuit, a handful of chips or a slice of pizza and all of a sudden you totally forget you had a plan to stick to and it’s a free for all binge of food, drink and missed gym sessions while you swear to yourself that tomorrow will be different.  Sounds fairly logical, I mean, you might as well eat everything…makes sense to me...doesn’t it?

One day when presenting a nutrition seminar with Marina Perry-Kuhn, I heard her describe this common practice a little bit differently, it went like this: “Imagine you are driving along in your car and you have a minor accident, smashing your front headlight. While this is unfortunate and definitely wasn’t part of your plan that day, you don’t then say to yourself- “well I just smashed up my headlight, I might as well see how many other panels I can damage on my way home, in fact I might just write this baby off!”  Would it be fair to say that displaying this type of reasoning would suggest you suffer from severe mental retardation? So why then, do so many of us display this exact behavior when it comes to food and exercise!?

This is a similar cycle to the person that eats perfectly all week long then binges on all types of unhealthy foods over weekend and struggles to lose or even maintain weight.

I am going to be subtle here….WAKE UP TO YOURSELF!! Having a muffin at your work morning tea is NOT a good reason to skip gym that afternoon and treat yourself to wine and take out Thai, leaving you feeling guilty and hopeless come bedtime. IN FACT your morning tea slip up should give you all the MORE reason to get your butt into the gym and work twice as hard!

When you have that piece of chocolate or slice of cake your body doesn’t instantly go into “diet sabotage” mode, embarking on a kamikaze mission to seek and destroy each and every high calorie item in your path and then magically reset itself at midnight, allowing you to wake up and stick to your plan again. (Your body will actually work against you here in the form of cravings and energy slumps etc.) I suppose what I am saying is that there is no justifiable physiological reason to give up your plan for that day/week/month.  A slip up in your day DOES NOT automatically qualify you to restart your diet tomorrow.

When you give in to temptation and have your favourite treat, (which we ALL do!) don’t beat yourself up about it, instead enjoy it! Then continue with your plan. Eating rubbish and putting off your “strict diet” to a tomorrow that never comes will result in weight gain and unhappiness! Whereas consistently eating the right foods more often than not will help promote healthy living and weight loss, simple as that! If you cant exercise for whatever reason, plan a catch up session or work twice as long/hard next time.

Sticking to a meal/exercise plan can be hard work, particularly initially, when your mind and body are resisting change. Your mind and body are screaming at you with symptoms ranging from DOMS (the soreness in your muscles you experience after strenuous exercise) to intense sugar cravings bringing headaches, fatigue and that unexplainable urge to hold up your nearest servo in exchange for chocolatey goodness. 

There is no doubt that these periods are difficult, but try to put them into perspective, instead of whining about sugar cravings and how hard it is to give up sugar, recognize that the craving is actually a sign that your body is having withdrawals, therefore being rid of, and cleansing itself of the nasty sugars. Similarly, sore muscles are a real physical measure of how hard you are working in the gym- if you are sore it is because you worked hard enough for your body to need to repair and rebuild itself, into a stronger more efficient version.  This is extremely positive! I often find that the clients who whinge the most about sore muscles initially, are the same clients that find themselves actually missing the soreness as their fitness levels increase.

Becoming aware of your mind playing such tricks on yourself is a really big part of fixing the problem. If you eat something that isn’t a part of your plan or have a social event that prevents you from eating clean/exercising that day, observe your thinking afterwards. “So I ate too much, I might as well make the most of it and get ice cream on the way home” really? How will you feel afterwards? Guilty I bet! Thinking these thoughts is not insane, uncommon, nor is it a lack of self control, however ACTING on such thoughts is probably a good opportunity to employ some discipline and create healthier habits.

One small hiccup will NOT ruin your weight loss goal. However making poor food choices for the rest of the day and the resulting guilt and shame probably will. Break the cycle!  Think back to the car crash analogy…. Don’t let a minor hiccup turn into a disaster and ruin your whole day!!

You are never going to come across the “perfect time” to start a food and exercise plan- free of stress, social functions, family commitments and daily events that give you so many seemingly great excuses to put off and avoid tackling your health and fitness goals. Make the commitment starting RIGHT NOW to see it through to the very end, regardless of what happens today! If you don’t have a tailored food and exercise plan email me now anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au and I will share with you my expertise, guidance and support so together we will create the body of your dreams!

Spot Reduction of fat - The Facts

By Anthony Noud

How many women (and men) want less stomach fat? A lean and toned tummy clearly displaying the countless years you have spent doing sit ups, crunches, oblique twists and a million other abdominal exercises… After all, that’s how you get those abs of steel don’t you?

Also on the hit list are “tuckshop lady arms”, “bingo wings” or similar affectionate nicknames for that extra bit of fat found on the upper arm- usually around the triceps – that women seem to like to point out that it wobbles when they wave goodbye. Common sense would dictate that in order to lose weight from your arms you need to exercise your arms…to get skinnier thighs one must work lots of legs….or my personal favourite, people carrying clearly visible abdominal fat dismissing my suggestions in exchange for “working my core” or suggesting “lets do abs” because “I am happy with my legs, I want a flatter tummy so I have to do abs”.

Let’s take a look at the fat itself. Women tend to carry fat on the hips, bottom, thighs and stomach as well as on the backs of the arms. This is subcutaneous fat (underneath the skin) and is initially stored as “reproductive emergency” fat or the emergency supply of fat/energy needed for a baby to grow.. This usually results in the appearance of a “pear shaped” body.

Most men on the other hand tend to build up visceral fat, first being stored around the abdominal area. This is the fat that surrounds internal organs… ever hear of central obesity? Think heart disease and diabetes. This is visually most evident in those males with a “beer gut”- a tendency to carry excess fat around the abdomen, (often A LOT) yet remain quite lean elsewhere. This can sometimes be known as an “apple shaped” body. These are only the predominant patterns, both “apple” and “pear” can be found in both genders. I personally find myself built like a “Greek grandma” (that’s my technical term) with my body preferring to store fat around my hips, bum and thighs.

As you can see, where your fat is stored is firstly determined by your sex, but it also comes down to your genetics and hormones. I have quite often heard a friend of mine say, “this is going straight to my hips” as she eats a particularly high fat/calorie food. So how do I get it OFF my hips and gone for good I hear you ask?

Generally speaking, and in an unkind, ironic twist of nature, the place where you first notice fat arriving on your body will be the last place for it to disappear from. The only way to reduce fat from one area is to reduce TOTAL body fat.  That means that to lose the fat off your stomach, you do the exact same thing you would to lose fat from your arms…. You reduce or adjust your food intake and increase your output or do MORE effective exercise. Everyone who has ever tried to lose weight wishes there was another way around it, but there isn’t. You can’t choose where you lose your fat from, your genetics and hormones have total control here. So yes, for women your breasts will probably shrink before your bum does.

For a simple and effective approach to losing significant excess fat (9kg+), look at it as if you are peeling layers from an onion, rather than reducing fat from a targeted area of the body. You are reducing fat from the entire body as a whole, bit by bit. For every cm that comes off your bust, remember that cm also represents fat coming off your back and by doing so, you are well on the way to losing that unwanted fat from the areas on your hit list. As with all weight loss you need to be patient and stick to your exercise and food plan.

For those of you with less than 5kg’s to lose this becomes a trickier, more complicated endeavor- (and something in which i specialise). It is not uncommon for slim women to carry a fat deposit around the navel, or have a washboard stomach while still carrying extra fat on the thighs and bum. Again, we are all limited by our genetics to a certain extent but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have your very own best body.

The last few kilos (no matter on which area of the body they may reside) require a new level of expertise with regard to training intensity, diet and then a commitment to consistency in sticking to all of the above. This is where the real fun begins because once you have shed most of your unwanted fat, you now DO have some control over the shape and proportion of your body.  You can concentrate on and target specific muscle groups for a leaner and more toned look, think a firm bum that sits higher on your frame, taut and shapely arms and shoulders connected to a Décolletage fit to suit the lowest of necklines, all supported by sweeping lats (outer back muscles) creating symmetry with your hips and thighs while narrowing your waist. For men, think super ripped abs, massive boulder shoulders and chest, with equally impressive biceps and calves. All of this can be achieved through weight and resistance training. Add in a tailor made, clean diet, coupled with regular cardio to burn excess fat and you will be well on your way to having the best body you can achieve!

Although it is unfortunate that there is no secret herb or magical exercise program that will help target stubborn fat in specific unwanted, areas, all hope is not lost, continue on or begin to partake in a regular and effective exercise program, prepared and executed in conjunction with a clean, nutrient rich diet on a consistent and regular basis and you will be well on your way to your fat loss/body shape goals.

If you have found you are experiencing a plateau, a lack of motivation or are simply overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, contact me via email anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au or come see me at PURE health clubs http://www.purehealthclubs.com.au and lets get started creating your best body ever…a truly exquisite physique!

 

 

NO QUICK FIXES by Anthony Noud

It never ceases to amaze me just how often we, as humans, are looking for the quick fix, the latest and greatest form of exercise, diet, super food or supplement to help us achieve our weight loss, health and/or fitness goals overnight.  Don’t get me wrong I totally relate to this. I was once overweight and when I was first introduced to fitness, gyms and diet I was bombarded with literally hundreds of different books, ads, people, products, tips, tricks and hot topics, all of which claimed to be the holy grail in fat loss, muscle gain and shortcuts to the body of my dreams.

Only yesterday I discovered the latest in a revolutionary weight loss system. No this one didn’t have you standing on a vibrating platform whilst eating a kebab, or attaching electronic pads to your abs, nor did you have to twist on a cheap, space aged looking piece of plastic that folds up and fits under your bed. In fact you don’t even have to exercise on this one!! It’s  called the negative calorie diet and it works just like this:

Negative calorie diet (yes people are actually trying to SELL this) Directions:                                       
step1 - forget the myth of needing nutrients,  it’s all lies

-       step 2 - eat celery and cabbage - AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE (how generous)

-       step 3 - don’t eat anything else EVER

-       step 4 - PAY ME for this scientific weight loss breakthrough

-       step 5 - die from malnutrition- just give us your credit card details first

Sound too good to be true? This breakthrough might just put me out of business.

I really hope I don’t have to clarify just how ridiculous these scams (that’s what they are) and many others like them actually are. Rub your thumbs together for 2 minutes thrice a day (personal favourite).  Then some are even dangerous - think Ephedra - a weight loss supplement which also happened to be the main ingredient for the illegal street drug “speed”, now banned due to reported deaths, heart attacks and many cases of heart palpitations.  Or the vibrating chair which claimed to cleanse the intestines, cure headaches and back problems, even increase muscle tone. But, in reality did none of the above and was painful to use.

A more recent and VERY popular exercise trend would be Zumba, promising Zumba abs. Now before you Zumba fans weigh me down with dumbbells and toss me into the river, lets get this straight, Zumba is a great, fun class and is not a gimmick or scam. You are actually moving within your body for an extended period of time, with many twist, turns and reaches recruiting core muscles (abs and obliques) also incorporating lots of quick footwork and high arms also aiding in raising your heart rate, in effect burning calories and possibly losing some weight. However, I can guarantee you WILL NOT achieve the chiseled, defined abs like the lady on the video and I can also guarantee that if your Zumba instructor wanted to drop a few kilos, or improve his/her abdominal definition, they would be doing a little more than Zumba alone. 

So, resistance bands, bosu balls or funky suspension systems aside, there is a reason every single gym from Brisbane to Egypt and everywhere in between all stock the same equipment of barbells, dumbells and treadmills…BECAUSE THEY WORK!!

Let’s keep this simple, in order to lose weight you must create a negative caloric deficit. This means you need to expend (burn) more calories than you consume (eats).  This can be done in 2 ways; a) eat fewer calories than you burn or b) burn more calories than you eat. The healthiest and most effective approach would be to combine the two and eat a target number of calories in accordance with your goals whilst partaking in exercise to burn excess calories and experience positive health benefits.

Basically, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! If you can do it in your lounge room in 10mins a day don’t expect to look like the woman on the ad (or remotely close for that matter). Losing weight and changing your body shape REQUIRES HARD WORK AND DEDICATION. If drinking shakes from the chemist actually helped even 10% of the people that try them to achieve long term weight loss I would no doubt be out of a job and Tony Ferguson would be TIMES magazine’s person of the year.

When it comes to weight loss, maintenance and particularly elite level conditioning (the last few kilos), there ARE NO quick fixes. No slick marketing campaign or fancy piece of equipment can compare to hard work alongside dedication to food and exercise. There is no doubt both diet and exercise go hand in hand, and without a solid plan for both, you will only ever get part of the way to your goal or fall off the wagon and have to begin your journey all over again.

Don’t be fooled by the latest and greatest “scientifically proven” super exercise method or super food, particularly if it comes in 3 easy payments and has a million buff bodies with cheesy grins on the ad.

But, when it comes to weight loss, what is better? I was told I must do cardio in the morning before I eat? Or that walking burns more calories than running? Or that drinking green tea and half a grapefruit every morning will make me a fat burning machine (my sister’s aunty’s step-cousin Doris does this and she is really skinny). Don’t eat after 5:46pm… no, no sorry, I meant no CARBS after 5:46pm – so kfc chicken legs don’t count right? The list is endless and depending on which study you read from which journal, some, all or none of these methods may be proven effective. This is all well and good but at BEST they are simply what I like to call “one percenter’s” – they may make a very slight difference (if at all) to your results - but only when a solid food and exercise program is in place.

Stick to the absolute bare basics, eat less rubbish, more nutritious foods and partake in a vigorous exercise program. If you are doing a cardio session you want to be huffing and puffing from the word go, sweating, going red and feeling short of breath. If you are performing strength work at any sort of level to induce positive results, it would be expected that you will experience fatigue and burning in your muscles during, and also after (up to several days) you perform said exercise. It is really THAT simple and doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that for the average gym goer looking to lose a few kilos and tone up.

At the end of the day guys, we all know what we should be doing. If I asked anyone of you what you would change in order to lose weight and tone up you could all tell me what changes you would make to your diet and possibly even exercise and if performed 95% of you would experience great results.

You are not alone here. When I first embarked on my own weight loss journey I fell victim to many “latest and greatest” type products (particularly food supplements or latest craze exercises), with no real evidence as to whether or not they actually worked.

After a long period of trial and error, testing these endless theories and ideas on myself, I became frustrated at how few of them were true, and when they actually were true, how marginal the results actually were. That is why I no longer choose to run with that particular crowd. I will not prescribe a new “diet trick” or “revolutionary exercise method” to any of my clients no matter how popular it may be unless I have experienced it for myself first. If you have hit a plateau in your weight loss program and are struggling to lose the next bit, I can help you because I myself have busted through the exact same plateau. I know this is also the case for several of my colleagues and fellow trainers at PURE health clubs http://www.purehealthclubs.com.au.

I am not saying that to reach your goals exercise must become a mind numbing, boring “task” or simply a means to an end, far from it. Exercise should be challenging and FUN. If you enjoy a dance class or similar exercise DO IT! Make it a part of your weekly plan. However in order to achieve the body and fitness goals you desire, there are certain exercises and programs that will actually get you there and and they don't come in 10mins a day or three easy payments. Amazing results requires amazing effort. 

Don’t be fooled by slick marketing or false claims. If you want real guidance from someone who has been there, done that and is still doing it - trainers that WALK the TALK themselves - contact me today: anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au

I still see trainers outside of PURE and industry professionals swearing by products or techniques that prove to be of little to no help when it comes to helping you achieve YOUR results. That’s why I myself and my peers at PURE health clubs http://www.purehealthclubs.com.au like to practice what we preach.