Motivational Monday

Motivational Monday

Aahhh Monday the most hated day of the week, if only we had an extra day between Saturday & Sunday...

I think everyone hates Monday morning, having to return to work after having a wonderful weekend. The Monday blues, make us a little depressed as we trudge back into work in our drones. However, I think we should make the dreaded Monday into something more positive. People are naturally inclined to look at the negative side of life, because it's easier to pick fault with something, than looking for the positives.

I've learnt to adopt a positive way of thinking in my life, and I try & put in as much effort, strength and determination into all aspects of my life. There's no point doing something half-arsed because you'll only get half-arsed results, so you might as well put all your heart into something to make it worth while.

It's not about how far you have to go to achieve a goal, but rather how far you've come. Life is a journey, so enjoy the ride. 

I started my journey at the beginning of 2012, I'm so proud of what I have achieved & the person I have blossomed into over that time. With a little willpower, strength and determination anything can be achieved...



All About That Protein

All About That Protein

Protein, the third & most important food group. Protein contains 22 amino acids, 8 of which are essential which we can't produce ourselves, therefore they must come from food. Amino acids helps us produce hormones, with brain development, healthy bones & growth. 

Sources of protein are split into two groups animal protein & plant protein, animal protein obviously comes from animals and contains all 8 essential amino acids, whilst the plant protein are known as incomplete amino acids as they don't contain all of the essentials.

Now, I don't care whether your Vegetarian, Vegan, Pescetarian, Carnivore, or an omnomnomivore, I'm not going to judge. Myself, I'm a carnivore I like to eat meat it's tasty & I get all my essential amino acids, and my protein intake for the activities that I do. I mainly eat chicken/ turkey, & I have whey protein shakes, I'll have fish a couple of times a week & steak at least once.

So the question is, how much protein should a person be having?

The recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 0.8g of protein per Kilo (KG) of body weight, which means that I should be eating 65g of protein a day.

Now, we all know that protein is takes longer to digest & therefore keeps us fuller for longer, that's why I have more than 65g of protein a day, because otherwise I would be starving all day & I have a strenuous workout & I need to eat to refuel & repair my body. 

Protein can also be used to help achieve your fitness goals, by weightlifting & eating a high protein diet you can increase lean muscle mass & strength, and lose fat as when you eat more protein it takes twice as many calories for your body to digest it, whilst maintaining & gaining your muscle mass.

But Too Much Protein is Bad for You?

In previous years a high protein diet gets a bad press from things like the Atkins diet where you used to cut carbohydrates almost completely from your diet. To be able to eat healthily & still lose weight you should never cut a whole food group from what you eat other wise bad things will happen.

Or a high protein diet can cause health problems, which if you eat too much of one thing it can cause some fatal disease, this rule applies to all food, especially if you eat something in abundance and then don't use it as fuel for your body. 

When changing your eating habits, I think you should try a various different eating forms as everyone is different & only you will know what's right for your body.Each body will react differently to a different combination of foods, so it's all about experimenting what works for your body & gives the best nutrition for your activity levels

Personally, I've found that if I eat protein frequently throughout the day I stay nice and full & I'm less likely to snack on crap processed foods. If some people are stuck when losing weight its good to mix it up and shock the body into something new, so if you fancy it try eating 5 small meals day & have protein at all of them, whether it's a piece of chicken, a protein shake or peanut-butter on toast. 

Mmm peanut-butter...

8 Weeks Later

8 Weeks Later

So, I've been living life the Buffmaster way for the last 8 weeks, and I feel fantastic, probably the best I've felt in ages. I feel healthy, strong, happy, and it's definitely going to continue. 

So here's my measurements since last time....

At the beginning of February                        28 Days Later.                    End of March.

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5.                                                              14.                                   14

Bust: 37.                                               37.5 (Hooray for boobies).                37

Chest: 32.5.                                                          32.                                    32

Waist: 32.                                                              32.                                    32

Hips: 41.5.                                                             41.                                  41.5

Bum: 44.                                                                43.                                  42.5 

Upper Thigh: 26.5.                                                26.                                   25 

Lower Thigh: 21.                                                   19.5.                                20

So in total over the last month I've only lost an inch, and since the beginning of the year I've only lost 0.1%  body fat, now that I've found some scales that can give me an half sharp reading. What I've lost maybe ONLY be something small, but it's better than nothing at all &  because I've been eating so well, my skin, hair, general health & wellbeing is great, I'm feeling very positive for what lies ahead...

Hope you all had a lovely Easter! 

Week 8 Update

Week 8 Update

Happy Monday! 

It's that time of the week again, so last week when I updated I had been rather ill, so I lost some weight, now that I'm back on track my weight has gone back up to 81.1KG. To be honest I've not been that good this week, I have been having a few too many cups of tea with sugar in 😱.

So, today I've reset myself, & I'm concentrating on sugar reduction this week in my diet, to see if it makes a difference. I may also cut my carbs slightly lower, and up my fats a little, but I haven't yet decided. 

As I've been better this week, I attended all 3 Buffmaster boot camps 💪, my kickboxing class & yoga. 

Over the last few weeks I've been sharing my weight every week and as you can see it's up & down like a yoyo, last week it was down as I had lost my appetite & hadn't done any exercise & this week I'm healthy & I've gained. 

So I think I'm going to just do a monthly report on how I've done, because the scales are useless especially when weightlifting & concentrate on my measurements, hourglass figure here I come... ⌛ 

Oh here's the link to some of my food diary, I did forget to photography most of it, I've also included my weeks total from myfitnesspal. 

http://flipagram.com/f/SpQMT6HOuP

Obesity in the News

Obesity in the News

Forgive my ignorance, but I never knew that people who are morbidly obese could recieve benefits for this so called "disability".

I understand that people can develop obesity from an underactive thyroid, or from cushing syndrome and depression. These are valid medical reasons that warrant people to have such a benefit, if they let these conditions effect their everyday lives.

However, people who carry extra weight through no fault of their own by eating too much, shouldn't have any disability benefit; they've brought the problem on themselves, they should be able to overcome it by themselves. We all know that by becoming obese & eating the wrong foods can cause health problems such as hypertension, circulatory problems, cancer, depression and diabetes, so I don't see why people should be allowed to claim for the benefit, if they brought it on themselves. They will already be in receipt of free health care to help with the medical problems brought on by becoming obese, so they shouldn't be allowed to recieve disability benefit too.

I was completely appalled one day, I came home from work and scrolled through my facebook feed, to find someone had commented on a video from that days This Morning programme. It was a story about a 15 year old girl, who weighed 17 stone who wanted a gastric band on NHS. She claimed she'd tried everything, and that the pressure of society made her believe that gastic band was the only option left. This is a 15 year old girl, she hasn't even finished developing yet, she could easily lose all that weight with the right knowledge and a positive attitude, and to ignore what 'society' says that its all about how you look, actually it's all about being confident and not to let anyone mug you off.

Watch the interview here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRcSROE0hyM

I actually felt quite sorry for her, and could relate to her situation about feeling down, inadequate in 'society's' eyes, having no self esteem or confidence. I'd actually really like to help her to let her know that actually she's not alone, and that she can do it once she puts her mind to it, and that actually she doesn't need to put her self through unnecessary surgery.

When I first started my weight loss I was half a stone (7lbs/3.1Kg) away from being categorised as morbidly obese, luckily for me I hadn't developed any physical health problems yet. I've written this blog because I believe it's important to educate people about what they're doing to their bodies. I've learnt the hard way & I also fear that if something isn't done to combat this obesity crisis that is sweeping over western civiliations we're all gonna end up like this...



Week 7 Update...

Week 7 Update

Hi y'all. 
Sorry I haven't posted a weekly update in a while, I've been rather ill with a cold & sinusitis, which sucked! 
Anyways, this week I weigh 80.3 Kg, my body fat has stayed the same at 38.1% (not sure whether the body fat is correct as the scales in the bathroom are dodgy, I'm gonna go use some different ones in town). Unfortunately due to my illness, I haven't been eating as much as I usually do, plus I couldn't really taste anything anyway. I also haven't really done any exercise so I've been feeling fat all week, although I felt better towards the end of the week so I went to yoga & had an abs & back PT session on Saturday.
Although I feel by having a week off I've fallen behind with my goals, I'm ready this week to crack on! As it was sunny a couple of days last week, summer is only around the corner, so salad & sunbed season has started, getting ready to look buffting this summer! 

I Wanna Do Bad Things....With Carbs

I Wanna Do Bad Things...With Carbs

I'm not gonna lie, I love all things made with white flour, pasta, bread, cake, biscuits...mmm donuts, & all things sugary & sweet, chocolate, sweets & ice cream. So, naturally all of these things should be enjoyed as a treat every so often, rather than everyday, as they're the wrong kind of carbohydrates we need. 

I know what you're thinking, how could some taste so good, be so bad for us? 

Well it's all a case of Simple vs. Complex carbs. The above mentioned yummy foods are unfortunately examples of simple carbs. This means that the smaller molecules of sugar are absorbed & digested quickly into our bodies. This energy is turned into glycogen & is stored in our cells. If it's not used it immediately turns to fat.  Simple carbs have usually been stripped of most of their nutrients & made more consumer friendly, their high glycemic index (GI) will cause our blood sugar levels to rise quickly causing a sugar rush, once this has ended it was cause our blood sugar levels to dip, & then we begin to seek out more sugar.

Complex carbs, are our friends. They may not taste as great & we may not always be in the mood for them, but they are good to us. Complex carbs can be found in a more natural state foods, this means they haven't been tampered with or processed. These foods are high in nutrients & lower in calories. They're also low GI foods which means our bodies have to work harder to break the food down, to get the glycogen which means that our blood sugar levels are more stable throughout the day. 

Before I started changing my lifestyle I used to eat mainly simple carbs in abundance & not worry about it, I'd never really thought about the nutritional value of the foods I was eating before. Now, I realise how much of the simple carbohydrates turn to sugar, & this is is probably one of the causes of my own obesity, from this I have learnt the error of my ways I now eat complex carbs & because not only are they good for you, they're more dense more so you don't need as much as they fill you up. 

From being educated on carbs, I could then implement an eating plan with my training program for results. I've previously blogged about the Team Dynamix Alkaline/Acid eating plan & about Macro counting, because I'm an endomorph & my goal is for fat loss, I limit my carbs throughout they day, I also don't have any carbs with my evening meal on non-training days. However, it is important to stress that you should never cut one food group completely from your diet, the consequences not only physically but also mentally could be detrimental to you. 

As I am determined to reach my goal, & I show great willpower to be able to say 'No' to the simple carb foods, but don't get me wrong I know my history of being an emotional eater, & if I'm having a particularly bad time I could quite happily sit with a cup of tea & smash a whole packet of chocolate hobnobs, no question. But, even then I still don't display this behaviour because I understand my triggers, & willpower is a wonderful thing...

Plus, now I'm in the habit of eating well & looking after myself, I like to save my simple carb treats for something special as I love Italian food or a G&T or wine. 

28 Days Later....

So, as everyone knows I reset myself at the beginning of Feburary on a mission to fight the fat & I've been keeping you all updated with my weekly progress. This week I've not been feeling myself & not sleeping properly which has led me to make poor choices when regarding caffeine...I chose builders tea instead of green, also aunt flow is on her way & unfortunately with this comes some water retention & bloating, plus it's end of the month & I decided that I'd been good all month I think I deserved a few G&T's. 

However, from having such a poor week, my weight is 80.8Kg which means I've gained 0.6Kg (1.3lbs) over the month which I don't think is that bad, I'm also hoping that some of this is muscle (fingers crossed). This week my body fat percentage is still 38.1% which means I've lost a total of 0.4% over the last month,which considering I'm an endomorph I'm pretty happy with that. 

This biggest difference has come with my measurements.....

At the beginning of February                        28 Days Later.                    Difference 

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5.                                                              14.                                  0.5 gain

Bust: 37.                                               37.5 (Hooray for boobies).               0.5 gain

Chest: 32.5.                                                          32.                                  0.5 loss

Waist: 32.                                                              32.                                   -

Hips: 41.5.                                                             41.                                  0.5 loss

Bum: 44.                                                                43.                                   1 loss

Upper Thigh: 26.5.                                                26.                                    1 loss

Lower Thigh: 21.                                                   19.5.                                1.5 loss

So over 28 days I have lost 3.5 inches, by weight resistance training working one muscle group at a time & by eating properly, again this week I've forgotten to take pictures of my food (sorry) so there's no food diary this week. 

This week at PT I smashed my PB on the 45 degree leg press 10 sets of 10 reps at 120Kg, which is over my starting body weight back in January 2012. Over the last month I've become stronger & fitter, I can't wait to see my results at the end of March; besides summer is only round the corner & I can't wait, it's time to get buff! 

Becoming Dynamic....

Becoming Dynamic

Before I had made the decision to leave Slimming World, the gym that I go to frequently has open days so that members & non-members can come & try various classes etc. I went to an open day at my gym July 2013, to try out a course that I'd seen advertised & one of my friends told me about...I was unsure about the diet that went with this course but it wasn't that bad in the end. On the open day, we met the lovely Chris who runs the Team Dynamix course. He gave us a brief overview of the diet & sorts of food you can eat, then we did a short exercise session, so basically it was a mini class. The next course would start in 2 days time on the Monday...so naturally I signed up straight away as I felt it was time for something new. 

Team Dynamix

Is a 4 week course, 3 nights a week; it's a small class of about 16 people & it runs for about an hour, you have sometime a the beginning & end of class to discuss food etc. 

The exercises are timed, the first week I think is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds recovery, the next week will be 40/20 and so on, as your condition will improve each week.  The circuit is set so you'll have between 4-6 weight resistant stations (depending on how big the class is & what room your in) each of those stations will have a core workout attached, as usually buddy up so whilst one does the weight resistance the other will do core. Now, either before or after the circuit you also have to do your cardio round this can be either shuttle runs with body weight exercises at the cones or a combination of six cardio exercises such as high knees, squats jumps & the dreaded burpees. 

The exercise for this course is all High Intesity Interval Training (HIIT) it works by you working to your maximum throughout the class, resulting in a higher fat burn & faster metabolism. To some people reading this, this course sounds horrendous & people will probably wonder why I did it, Slimming World was a good eating plan to start me off but my weight loss was starting to plateau as after a while your body becomes used to your new lifestyle, therefore it's good to give it a shock every now & then. 

When I started Team Dynamix I was 14 stone 1lb (89.5Kgs/197.4lbs) when I had completed the course I weighed 12 stone 6 (80.5Kgs/177.4lbs) I had lost 9Kgs in four weeks it was amazing, I couldn't remember when I had weighed that amount before. From attending the classes 3 times a week, for four weeks & following the eating plan (I'll do another blog for that) I had lost a lot of weight, I wish I had started Team Dynamix sooner so that I could reach my goals sooner. 

(I'm in the middle at the back)

TD Bootcamp 

A few months after my brilliant Team Dynamix course, Chris had developed the next phase...bootcamp, like Team Dynamix only heavier weights, more stupid cardio exercises (Spartan flips) & more core workouts, same time frame as before 3 nights a week for 4 weeks, same food plan. Since doing Team Dynamix I had kept the same food plan, as I felt healthier & less bloated so sticking to it wasn't a problem, & I had only gained 0.2Kg during the gap between Dynamix & Bootcamp I had regular gym reviews with Chris to develop my gym program.  However, as much as I loved bootcamp the scales didn't really move I lost the 0.2Kg that I had gained but again my body had got used to the healthier eating, & the range of exercise I was doing. 

If any of my lovely readers feel like they want to give Team Dynamix a go, please follow the links for my gyms webpage & the Team Dynamix Facebook page for more information. 

http://www.balancehealthclubs.co.uk & https://www.facebook.com/teamdynamixweightloss?ref=ts&fref=ts

Chris is a fantastic instructor,  I can't recommend him enough; he really gets you motivated in class (He also laughs at you when your in agony) & he's really helped me over the last 18 months with teaching me new techniques & training programmes in the gym, giving me new

food ideas & making me do cardio (which I hate with a passion) & convincing me to try new classes at the gym such as Functional Training (like bootcamp) and Strength & Conditioning (which was good apart from the bloody cardio). 

I've completed Team Dynamix & completed bootcamp twice & completed a 6 week course of PT, along with various gym programmes & classes in between, you can probably tell I'm not a cardio fan, my lungs aren't that stong because I'm an ex-smoker but I make myself do it because I know I have too! Again it's another situation where I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't of started with Team Dynamix.

Eeeek! My First Blog

In the Beginning...

...well January 2012 to be exact.

There I was one cold January evening in a community hall, with other women like myself, waiting to have my turn on those scales, which would reveal years of abuse & self loathing that I had put myself through subconsciously. I had agreed to go to this first meeting with, my mother; who is as cunning as fox had used reverse psychology in tricking me to go with her for support, when in fact it was the other way round. 

Then it was my turn, I placed my feet on the scales & watched the number rocket up to 17 stone & half a pound (238lbs - 108Kgs) it was then I realised that I was officially heavier than my parents and anyone I'd ever known.

From that moment, I hadn't realised how heavy and big I was, or how I looked (when I graduated I was a size UK18-20). I've never been one for actually looking at myself in the mirror, or weighing myself. I just didn't care about me, I had low self esteem & low confidence and had inhibited a downward spiral of uncontrolled eating & making poor choices for myself; being surrounded by people that also inhibited this lifestyle making me think it was ok or being surrounded by people who made me seem worthless so that I didn't care anymore. I just used to drink most weekends, smoke & eat what I wanted when I wanted regardless of the consequences on my health & well being. 

Time is a Great Healer...

Over the last 3 years, I have completely changed my lifestyle, I've tried & tested various "diets" & fitness routines. My confidence & self esteem has sky rocketed (I even had the balls to go around India travelling on my own) & I'm generally a happier, healthier person. On the return from travels last year I weighed my lowest a week after I returned home, which was also my birthday so I was super chuffed, I was 12 stone 1lb (169.5lbs - 76.9Kgs), however, with the lack of training & proper nutrition whilst I was away meant I had lost definition & strength, which I have built back up. 

My Aims...

I want to use this blog to inspire others who are on the verge of taking the plunge to change  their lifestyle & those who have just started. To those already on their journey that they are not alone when times get hard, and for me, to help me stay motivated whilst I continue my journey as I'll be sharing my progress with you.

From Christmas & throughout January I have felt a little lost, and not sure about the next step to take regarding my own fitness, but today I feel more positive and refocused, and ready to take the next step which will be to develop my body to be stronger, leaner & fitter by using weight resistant workouts only which is something new to me as I've never done this before...a bit like this blogging malarky.

Current Stats

Dress Size:UK 12-14

Weight: 12 Stone 12lbs - 180lbs - 81.9Kgs

Body Fat: 36.7%

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5

Bust: 37

Chest: 32.5

Waist: 32

Hips: 41.5

Bum: 44

Upper Thigh: 26.5

Lower Thigh: 21

Thank You's
Thanks to my Mum, for taking me to my first diet group & starting me on this journey, as I never would of done it without your support. 

To all my friends & family that have supported me during this time, it means so much!

Thanks to my lovely beautician Kolaine for telling me I should start a blog and tell my story (you can visit her blog here http://kolaine.blogspot.co.uk/ ).