HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO! By Anthony Noud

HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT TOO!! By Anthony Noud

Over the past 12 months I have steadily been seeing more and more clients for nutrition advice, meal plans and similar, many with great success. I often note that when starting a plan everybody is very gung ho, and motivated to stick to the plan. Sadly, in some cases this initial burst of motivation comes to a grinding halt- people fall off the wagon and return to their old, unhealthy eating habits.

Today I will discuss the use of “cheat meals” in regards to dieting for weight loss, muscle gain and staying lean and strong. As well as staying sane while doing so!

So what is a cheat meal? A cheat meal is a planned meal (for me, its once a week) where you can loosen the reigns in terms of dietary restrictions, indulge a bit and perhaps eat the foods that if consumed daily, would probably leave you gaining fat and feeling/being unhealthy. Think a creamy carbonara, a 3-course restaurant meal, sweets, cakes and chocolates or similar.

These people that come to me full of enthusiasm often baulk at the idea of having a planned cheat meal. “Oh no! I don’t need one of them”, “I just wanna get this weight off as quickly as possible so I don’t think I will need it”. 9 times out of 10, these are the same people that will see great initial results (first 2-4 weeks) but then end up at there same starting point (or heavier) within a couple of months.

In my opinion cheat meals provide a much-needed psychological release from strict dieting and exercise. After some time following a fairly clean and strict diet I find my body craving certain foods, from ice cream to hot chips, and everything in between. I am a firm believer in having a “work/life balance” and similarly I also encourage my clients to have a “diet/life balance”.

Dieting and losing weight takes its toll on most people mentally and emotionally long before it does physically. When people can see no end in sight while dieting they often lose hope and give up. This is why cheat meals are so important- it acts as a mental pressure release valve, particularly when in the early stages of a weight loss/lifestyle change program.

Dieting without a planned or available cheat meal is also unrealistic for most people. We all lead busy lives, we all socialize and we all want to live a little- The inclusion of a pre planned cheat meal allows for situations like parties, birthdays, work functions etc without the guilty feelings normally associated with “breaking my diet”. I often have successful clients comment on how looking forward to their Saturday night cheat meal helps them stay strict during the week and during times of temptation.

So lets get this straight, a cheat meal DOES NOT mean that once a week you can order a 24 piece bucket from KFC, wash it down with a couple of Thickshakes and then turn all David Copperfield and make a cadbury family block disappear all the while kidding yourself into thinking “that was my cheat meal”. NO NO NO!! In order to get the psychological reprieve associated with a cheat meal while living a life free from concentration camp style dietary restrictions and still continue to lose weight or stay lean there are a few basic rules to this cheating business….

• ·      GOLDEN RULE – You DO NOT qualify for a cheat meal unless you have been eating according to your diet all week and performing all of your planned exercise. Simple as that- don’t kid yourselves here guys!
• ·      A cheat meal is exactly that- ONE meal, this does not start with Friday afternoon nibblys and drinks, into dinner, dessert, more drinks then kebabs or McRubbish on the way home in the early hours. When your bum leaves the seat you are done!
• ·      In my opinion a cheat meal constitutes a main meal with dessert, plus a maximum of 3 alcoholic drinks- many others will disagree or have fancy caloric requirements, deprivation of snacks, measuring the size of your plate etc etc…but in my opinion the whole idea is to loosen the reigns and “cheat” so just go ahead and enjoy yourself!
• ·      You return to your planned diet/meal plan/ healthy eating from the very next meal!- many people choose to have their cheat meals as their last meal of the day, avoiding the feelings of “well today is a write off so I might as well indulge a little more”
• ·      If you have been dieting strictly and have a sugar laden cheat meal you may find yourself craving sugar in coming days- be mindful of this. I find chewing gum helps aswell as herbal teas.
• ·      The leaner you are the more carbs and more often you can cheat- (this is related to leptin and reefed theory for info read my previous post here http://exquisitephysiques.blogspot.com/2011/09/busting-through-low-carb-fat-loss.html) think of this as a payoff for all of your hard work. If you are obese you may want to opt for a cheat meal every fortnight instead of every week.
• ·      If you don’t “need” a cheat meal- don’t take it, but always allow yourself the option, so as not to feel trapped or restricted by your diet

As you progress from “dieting” into long term healthy eating habits and maintenance you will get to know your body and may naturally relax your cheat meals- instead of having to plan your cheat meal each week, you will be able to eat what your body wants, when it wants it (within reason) while maintaining your goal physique. Notice I said what your “body wants” and not your mind! In my opinion, this is pretty much the ultimate goal.

As a side note to this I have noticed a very strong correlation between those that are eating at or above their bodies requirements for macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) all seem to crave cheat meals less often, in turn cheating and making poor food choices less frequently and when they do, make much cleaner cheat meal options. If you are unsure as to whether or not you are eating the right amount of macronutrients for your desired bodyweight or physique goal, email me here anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au and together we can put together a meal plan that will get you to your absolute best while leaving room for you to still live and enjoy life!

Busting through Low-carb fat loss plateau's By Anthony Noud

I am a physique coach, group fitness instructor and personal trainer. As such, I earn my living by helping people get maximal results from doing exercise. It is in my best interest to proclaim the benefits of regular exercise (of which there are MANY). Having said that, I am first to tell you that when it comes to weight loss and muscle gain, ie getting the body you desire, at LEAST 70% of your results will come from your diet.

When I first got serious about my nutrition I still had a lot to learn, super low carbs was the latest craze and I followed it. To say I was extremely strict with my food would be an understatement. I ate absolutely ZERO sugar, very little dairy- only no fat options, my only carbs came from limited oats at breakfast time and only lean protein sources. I cooked with no oils or fats (not even spray).  My highly scientific plan was this: Eat no sugar, as little fat as possible and NO CARBS after my carefully weighed (and limited) breakfast oats each morning.  Although somewhat unbalanced, this delivered dramatic results- I was super lean, (with friends comparing my physique with that of a long distance runner…ewwww) neverless, defined abs was the goal and I was measuring consistently under 7% bodyfat. 

Cheat meals were vary rare, perhaps once every 3 months… I could eat a steak from a restaurant and the first thing I would taste would be the oil, and feel the grease on my lips. Having something that contained sugar would have me buzzing like an ADHD kid with his own supply of red cordial concentrate, and anything with added preservatives or high fat would leave me feeling sick within minutes of eating it. I would always go nuts on the carbs, particularly refined carbs like ice cream, bread etc. So basically, I would eat my cheat meal, feel sick, regret it and decide that I would probably need to go for a run to burn off the extra calories….Funny thing was though, after these rare instances I would notice I would wake up the next few days feeling and looking noticeably leaner and more muscular (in a marathon runner/scrawny triathlete kinda way J ).

I decided it was time to do some research, was I going crazy? Did eating “BAD, NASTY, DEVIL LIKE CARBS” occasionally really help me lose fat and stay lean? What about the endless barrage of “low carb, reduced carb, no carb,  get homicidal with all carbs at all costs” talk within the industry? This is when I first heard of Leptin, and the idea of a high carb meal no longer seemed like “cheating” myself.

Introducing Leptin, a protein hormone that plays a key role in regulating energy intake and expenditure and get this, plays a big part in regulating appetite and metabolism! It is considered an anti starvation/metabolic balance hormone. Basically, it lets the brain know when there is enough fat stored in the body.

Low calorie, low carbohydrate diets will decrease leptin levels, as your leptin levels decrease, your body will go into starvation mode- this is basically your body’s way of saying “I am not sure how long I am going to have to survive on such limited food, we better hold onto as much fat as possible”. So quite literally, your fat loss will slow down immensely or even come to a screeching halt. This is particularly relevant for those with low bodyfat levels, or who have been on low carbs/ low cals for an extended period of time.

So, in this instance raising your leptin levels will give your body the kickstart it needs and get you out of starvation mode, and back to burning fat! So how do we raise leptin?

Introduce a regular refeed meal…which simply means….EAT LOTS OF CARBS!! Now before I go on, this is NOT for everybody, actually, this is definitely for the minority of dieters, if you have been following a super low carb diet for an extended period of time and your fat loss has stalled, then perhaps introducing a reefed meal is for you. If you have “been watching” what you eat or “been good” then I highly doubt you are in need of a refeed.  Basically, if you have to ask if you qualify for a refeed, then you probably don’t!

A reefed meal is not to be confused with a cheat meal, it is NOT a free for all buffet extravaganza worthy of an American eating competition.

A reefed is designed to fill your liver and muscles with glycogen (energy stored as carbohydrates) and then spill over those carbs into your fat cells, in turn signaling your body that you have enough energy to burn and raising leptin, kickstarting your metabolism into fat burning mode again. Common sense would suggest this is preposterous, but think of it as taking one step backwards, in order to take many more steps forwards.

As everybody is different, there are no concrete rules to the refeed meal, in fact some people incorporate an entire day or more to refeed, carefully consuming an extra 20%-  50% above maintenance calories for that day. Others choose to go for shorter periods 2-10 hours, where they do not count or measure the extra calories, but simply eat as much as they can within the designated time frame to ensure their cells have plenty of new fuel and can start burning that fat again! As a general rule, the shorter the refeed, the more drastic the increase in calories needs to be.

As for what to eat, in essence you are carb loading, so lots of carbs! Not necessarily low GI ones, they will leave you feeling too full and you will have to consume A LOT of them. Think things like white bread and honey, low fat ice cream, cereals, pancakes, pasta etc… sound awesome? Hang on a second, before you hit the bakery or Italian restaurant- on these designated refeed days you should definitely lower your protein intake (to as low as 1.5g per kg bodyweight) and eat as little fat as possible.

How often you refeed will depend on how lean you are and how long you have been following a strict low carb/cal diet. Again, it really is a process of personal trial and error as no two people are alike. The general rule of thumb is for those very lean and doing lots of strenuous exercise (males <8% bf women <14%bf) you could refeed anywhere up to every 2-3 days, typically though you would refeed every 4-5 days. If you find yourself constantly starving/obsessed with food and if you are losing muscle and/or strength you may need to refeed more often.

Now, whatever you do DON’T weigh yourself the day following a refeed, you WILL be heavier. The carbs will make you hold water (4g water per 1g carb approx.) so this is to be expected.  Within a couple of days of returning to your regular diet your weight will drop back down, usually to lower than it was before the refeed.

Many people (in fact most) find that low carb diets work well for rapid fat loss.  Over time though, your body seeks to find homeostasis, or balance and will begin to try and put a stop to you losing fat. Among other things, it will reduce leptin in an attempt to slow your fat loss efforts.  If you have been following low carbs and low calories diets for an extended period of time, and feel stumped because you are no longer losing weight, perhaps doing the unthinkable and introducing a high carb, refeed day is exactly what your body needs to continue burning fat. Think of it as “tricking” your body out of starvation mode, and back into fat burning mode.

On a personal note, I am not advocating a particularly low carb diet, nor am I suggesting you follow a diet that includes a refeed day. I have tried this method and have found my energy levels fluctuate drastically and find myself craving carbs after refeed days. Instead I now choose to eat lots of carbs (with every meal) on a daily basis and therefore have no need for a carb up.

This Is a photo Of one of my Physique Coaching clients- Mel, After a carb up that lasted 2 days!! 

When administered with expertise, the results really do speak for themselves!!

For more information, or a tailored Dietary Plan please contact me on anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au

SAME SAME NO DIFFERENT By Anthony Noud

SAME SAME NO DIFFERENT….Exercise progression By Anthony Noud

Has your weight loss come to a grinding halt? Still eating well and exercising but pulling your hair out because you cant seem to lose the next little bit? I am often approached by frustrated trainees complaining that they are doing “everything right” yet still not seeing results.

So you have lost a few (or perhaps many) kilos, exercise and healthy eating is now a part of your life. You never miss a session and your food is consistent.  whats going on? You saw great results initially but are now struggling to lose the last few kilos. Today I will discuss one of the possible reasons for this very frustrating yet surprisingly common occurrences… exercise progression and the results plateau.

As humans we are creatures of habit, once we start doing something, our body adapts quite quickly, making us more efficient at whatever we are doing. After some time of doing ANY program, your body will adapt to the intensity, duration, frequency and even the TYPE of exercise you are doing. In a nutshell, doing the same workout again again will only produce desirable results for a limited amount of time.

Sadly, I regularly see people walk into the gym, day after day for months and months doing the same thing over and over again, usually beginning with a 20 minute run then straight into 3 sets of 10 on the bench, a bit of lat pulldown, perhaps some dumbbell curls….might even throw in the odd class here and there…Initially this got great results and you lost X kilos and added some lean muscle….but in all honesty you look exactly the same as you did 6 months ago and your fitness/strength levels are probably fairly similar…..sound familiar?

When was the last time you felt those jelly legs when walking out of the gym? Or that cold feeling in your chest and subsequent endorphin rush to your brain after putting in 110% in your cardio session? When was the last time you did a personal best for ANY exercise?...If the answer to any of these questions isn’t “in the last fortnight” then in my opinion, you are wasting your time in the gym.  

Let me pose another question, when was the last time you dropped a dress size? Noticed a “new” muscle, or caught a glimpse of your changing body shape in the mirror? Again if your answer isn’t “in the last fortnight” perhaps its time to change up your training.

 I have written previously on the importance of training intensity here http://exquisitephysiques.blogspot.com/2011/03/intensity-counts.html and am a firm believer that without real intensity the best program, performed with the best trainer on the planet will only deliver average results at best. Once you are sure that you are bringing the desired level of intensity to your workouts, lets look at how we can progress your exercise and bust through plateaus!

• INCREASE YOUR WEIGHTS!! I am forever saddened by the number of ladies in the gym or in a weights class literally throwing around 2-4kg dumbells for countless reps! This is NOT EFFECTIVE! Ladies up your weights! Lifting weights should be challenging- the last few reps of EACH set should be difficult to complete. When performing compound exercises (barbell squats, deadlifts etc) you should be gasping for air and need a good minute or so rest at the end of each set, if you are not reaching this point increase your weight and/or reps until you do!  If you are stuck in the stone age and subscribe to the “heavy weights will make me bulky” myth, read this now! http://exquisitephysiques.blogspot.com/2011/03/weight-training-for-women.html

• My soul dies a little inside every time I see someone plodding along on a treadmill/bike reading a magazine or watching television! Do you honestly believe that is going to get you the body of your dreams? I’m telling you it WILL NOT! In fact I am willing to bet that these people will look NO DIFFERENT in 12months time, instead they will probably have gained fat, and be ready to give up because “going to the gym doesn’t work”. Instead of doing a mind numbing 20mins on your favourite cardio machine, up the intensity, add incline, do intervals, walk with dumbells and make it a grueling 20mins! Your body will thank you for it!

• Crank up your cardio! Do you have a favourite run loop or treadmill pace you do religiously? Change it up! Lengthen your run, add interval sprints, hit the stairs, stop and do pushups/dips/squats or similar.

• Measure and track your progress. Use a training diary, and record all weights and reps. Use your previous performance as a guide and set a target to beat or better your previous best each and every workout! Even if only by one rep, one kilo or shaving one second off your personal best time. In order to keep progressing you must continually better yourself, leaving you fitter, stronger and more motivated.

• There are literally hundreds of apps available to track and record your results. For cardio try something like runkeeper (free app), which uses             GPS to track, time and even notify you of pace for everything from      walking to cross country skiing! For lifting weights a simple notepad will suffice, or a printed program with all exercises listed would be ideal! (I specialize in creating tailored weights programs from beginner to advanced level)

• Change up your program: This can be as simple as changing the order that you perform your exercises, to varying rep ranges, rep tempo or volume of exercises. Plan to change your program about every 8 weeks. This will give your body enough time to progress and make gains from the exercise being performed, while still being short enough to avoid a plateau. 

• Using squats as an example, the changes you make can range from a major overhaul such as alternating squats with lunges or leg press to relatively minor adjustments like squatting deeper or to a box, changing your squat stance, doing speed sets, significantly altering rep ranges or rep tempo.

• Group class fiend? That’s fine! Try a new class or rearrange your current schedule, add in back to back classes, increase your weights and/or try the level 2 and 3 (more advanced) options given by your instructor! Your instructor doesn’t offer levels? Come to PURE health clubs- we do!

• On the group class note, I often see people “pacing themselves” for a class- making sure you don’t go too hard just in case the next bit is super tough.  GET OUT OF THIS MINDSET!! I can think of nothing worse than leaving a class thinking, “I could have worked a little harder”.  Once again- put in 110%! If you need to rest halfway through that is FINE! Nobody is going to judge you! In fact your instructor will be impressed, as will the other participants.

• REST! If you have been training intensely for several months without a rest day or rest week, perhaps it is time to give your body a short break. While it may go against common sense, I have personally found that some of my best results have been achieved after a planned rest period.

Recently I found myself hitting a wall with my results, I was training regularly with all the intensity I could muster and eating perfectly, but noticed that my strength gains and changes to my physique had seemed to stall. I had been chasing a specific strength goal for 8 months, only to fail on every attempt.

My initial conclusion was that “I mustn’t be training hard enough” or “I will increase my calories” or “learn a new technique”. I had become very comfortable with my training program and diet and only after a friend pointed out to me did I realize I had been completing the same program (a great program at that) for several months with no rest did I realize I needed to make a change.

I decided (reluctantly) to take a week off training altogether, and then on my return, implemented a few of the strategies I have outlined above like switching my training days and exercises with altering rep ranges. Essentially I started a new program… the results were surprising to no end! My Personal best lift I had been chasing for 8 months came only 6 days into my new program! I have since been setting new pb’s on almost every exercise for the last fortnight! I can personally assure you that constant progression and adjustment can make a BIG difference to your results!

Don’t become a victim of the “same same no different” exercise mentality, stand out from the majority of gym goers that look (and perform) the same year in and year out despite their best efforts. Make regular changes to your program and continue training harder, running faster, lifting heavier and pushing further than you did yesterday!

What The Func? By Anthony Noud

WHAT THE FUNC??  By Anthony Noud

It seems to me the word of the year in the fitness industry seems to be “functional exercise” and how if an exercise, program or activity isn’t “functional” then it’s labeled as rubbish and rendered obsolete. Before following lead and jumping on the “functional fitness” bandwagon by purchasing a weird retractable rope looking thing and training all of my clients on unstable objects I decided to ask a few questions of my own…

 What exactly IS functional exercise?

If you follow the latest trends, functional exercise could be described as multi-planar, multi-joint movements which place demand on the core muscles, often performed on or using unstable equipment. The disciples of functional training suggest that single joint and isolation exercises are useless, implying that unless you are recruiting all of your stabilizer and core muscles, the exercise is not functional.

However, functional exercise is actually a term coined by physiotherapists,  exercise physiologists/ scientists and other sports medicine professionals when dealing with rehab cases. Retraining their clients to be able to function again normally by helping them complete meaningful tasks, specific to each individual.

For the average gym-goer, functional training could be defined as training our bodies to better perform the types of movement we use everyday. Becoming more efficient at doing real- life activities in real-life positions. Whether it be for work, sport or everyday life, we all do a few basic things every single day.

Compare jenny a and jenny b, both are the same age, height, weight and have had the exact same skill levels and experience at living life, they are identical in every way except that Jenny b can deadlift 30kg more than Jenny A.  (Jenny A also happens to be a redhead, but we wont judge her for it J )When it comes to picking up her child or the washing basket off the floor which of the two is better equipped? Simple, JENNY B!! – because she is stronger in the muscles of the most functional of ALL exercises (in my opinion) -the deadlift. This is functional fitness! No fancy equipment or stability test involved!

In my opinion, functional exercise is quite personal and goal specific. While having strength and power in her core, back and shoulders is extremely functional for Sally the shot-put champion, it is of little relevance for Jemima who is training to look good at the beach this summer. Similarly functional fitness for a theatre ward nurse who needs to help move patients daily is not the same as functional fitness for the triage nurse who does no heavy lifting but is training for a half marathon.

Exercise is only functional if it helps the individual achieve their individual goals!

So if Jemima’s primary goal is to tone and shape her arms, balancing on a bosu while maneuvering a medicine ball may just work, but the most functional exercise to perform would be weighted bicep curls - the most hated exercise of the functionality disciples.

I am often saddened by trainers and trainees opting for new “flavor of the month” type exercise aids without evaluating its ability to actually produce results. Just because it is a top seller and the coach of a famous sporting team endorses it doesn’t mean it is better than traditional methods of exercise, in fact it doesn’t mean that it is any good at all. There is a reason every gym worldwide is stocked with basics like Barbells, dumbells and squat/power racks- that’s because they have worked for centuries, and continue to do so!!

But what about core strength? Isn’t that what functional exercise is all about?

Recently my core strength and recruitment was tested by a group of physiotherapists using an ultrasound machine. The results showed that my core was strong, It showed onscreen that I  had clearly defined and great recruitment of my Transverse Abdominus (my deep “CORE” muscles) my rectus abdominis (6 pack muscle) and obliques. Aesthetically I also have a 6 pack, yet I haven’t trained my abs or core specifically in well over a year and I definitely haven’t used any new breed fancy suspension systems, bosu or swiss balls or ANY other fandangled accessory marketed as being the only way to functionally train for core strength.

In fact ALL of the exercise I do is completed using a barbell, dumbells or weights machines. I even wear a weights belt, the kind that many experts suggest inhibits a strong core. And apparently my core is functioning just fine.  Therefore I have functional strength because it serves its purpose for me and my individual goals!!

For an exercise to be functional it doesn’t have to be performed on a fancy suspension or stability aid, nor does it have to exclude isolation, machine or single joint movements. Any exercise is valuable if it contributes to the overall attainment of the desired goal. Don’t dismiss or discount the value of ANY exercise simply because someone suggested it isn’t functional. If exercise helps you to complete tasks meaningful to you whether that be lose weight, be fitter, faster, stronger or simply look better then it is functional!

For tailored progams, diets and sessions that don’t follow the latest trends but get you GUARANTEED RESULTS contact me on anthony@purehealthclubs.com.au