Have you been inspired by all those who ran the London Marathon last week Sunday ?

How lucky were they all it wasn't yesterday with this awful weather....

Different people do it for different reasons, but some do it for weight loss. Yes, it sounds crazy, but since training for a marathon requires you to train over a fair amount of months, it's an ideal challenge to add to your weight loss journey.

If it sounds like a daunting adventure, I'm totally with you on that one.

When I go over my clients food diaries, I very often see so called healthy snacks lurking around. Changes they claim they've made a few weeks before starting to work with me. However, even though they stick to the healthy options, they still haven't seen the results on the scales.

So here are a few eye openers for you:

Vegetable Crisps:

Vegetable crisps are perceived as healthier because they are made from beetroot, carots, parsnips, and a few other vegetables.

Yesterday the newspapers came out with an article stating that chocolate may help people keep slim.

For chocoholics, this can't be better news. However, in my humble opinion this is just all one big nonesense.

The findings come from a study of nearly 1,000 US people that looked at diet, calorie intake and body mass index (BMI) - a measure of obesity.

A question I often get from new clients when I start training them, or once they have lost some considerable amount of weight, is that they would like to get a six pack. But is a six pack really achievable for everyone ?

First of all it's important to know what a six pack really is and where it comes from. The six pack you sometimes see on very ripped people are parts of the rectus abdominus muscles.

Genetics will play a big part in how well your six pack will show through.

This blog post has been written by guest blogger David Haas.
He has recently been researching and writing about how beneficial cancer support networks and also staying physically fit is to people going through treatments, in remission, and even family members of cancer patients.

Physical fitness; everyone knows it is good for them but many people still choose not to exercise.

For most people going on a cruise does not sit well with losing weight.

This morning I bumped into an article called "I went cold turkey on sugar" in the Mail Online.

The reporter had binged on sugar over Christmas and woke up on New Year's Day deciding to cut out sugar of her diet completely.

Someone mentioned the other day that they are now going every day to the gym for a few hours each time. Unless some of that time is spent in the jacuzzi at the end of an hours session, then I'm just wondering if that person is not suffering from overtraining.

What is overtraining you might ask ?

Overtraining is training beyond your body's ability to recover.

This can be used to train the same body parts so frequently that your body does not have the time to recover before the next workout.

You have been very good for 18 days, stuck to a healthy diet and have exercised regularly. Or even better, you've done it for much longer now. You have been losing weight on a weekly basis, but suddenly it all stopped.

Hitting a plateau is only normal in any weight loss and training journey, especially if you've been doing the same exercises over and over again.

Obviously initially whatever you start doing will provoke a change, be it weight loss and muscle definition.

By now, 90% of UK dieters have fallen off their New Year's Resolutions.

The big question that always comes up, is why is that ? And the answer to that is actually quite easy...

When people decide on January 1st to lose weight, get fit, and tone up, they start a diet, and start doing exercise.

Yes, it's true, it's not just us women who don't like our bodies....

According to a new survey by Dr Phillippa Diedrichs of the University of the West of England Bristol, one in three men would sacrifice a year of life for a toned body as more and more are becoming obsessed with how they look.

"Beer belly", "man boobs", and "chubby" were the 3 most commonly discussed subjects between men, together with the "six pack" and "ripped" subjects at the other end of the spectrum.

More than 80 per cent of m

It's the new year, and many of you will make a decision to join the gym and spend hours after hours on the treadmill, crosstrainer or the bike, and eventually quit after a few weeks or if lucky months because you don't see great results even though you seem to be burning loads of calories every time you go to the gym.

One thing we all have to learn is to stop focusing on how many calories you burn in the gym.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to turn a new page, which is probably why so many people create New Year's Resolutions. A new year often feels like a fresh start, a great opportunity to eliminate bad habits and establish new routines that will help you grow psychologically, emotionally, socially, physically or intellectually.

I've just read the article with headline "Tell Loved Ones They Are Overweight This Christmas" on the BBC website.

Christmas may be a time of indulging for many, but health experts believe it is the perfect time to tell a loved one they are overweight.

But a poll by the groups suggests too many people shy away from the issue.

It's that time of the year again. We're early December, office parties, friends parties, and family lunches and dinners.

I'm sure you read it all before and know exactly what to do so as not to put weight on. To make it happen you have to make a decision that this year will be different. Set yourself a goal to maintain your weight, not lose weight, as that's just impossible!

A few tips:

1.

So you've decided that even with the festive period coming up, you will try and make better choices when buying food, so as not to mess up your diet and weight loss journey totally. But how do you do that ?

One way is to read food labels. Food labels, or nutrition lables can help you choose between products, and keep a check on the amount of foods high in fat, sald and added sugars that you are eating.

These labels usually include information on energy (calories), protein, carbohydrate and fat.

A new report by Cancer Research UK says that 40% of the cancers are caused by unhealthy lifestyle.

Nearly half of cancers diagnosed in the UK each year - over 130,000 in total - are caused by avoidable life choices including smoking, drinking and eating the wrong things, a review reveals.

A big chunk of that comes from smoking, next comes a lack of fresh fruit and vegetables in men's diets, while for women it is being overweight.

Lead author Prof Max Parkin said: "Many people believe cancer is

You've decided to eat better, even before 2012 starts, but are scared to fail again ?

Here are my top 5 tips to make it a success once and for all:
1. Pick 1 or 2 things you want to change:

Many of us see "going on a diet" as an all or nothing adventure. However, as you might know by now, my moto is that a diet is not a punishment, but it's a lifestyle. And to make changes to your lifestyle, you have to take it one step at a time.

How many times have you been to the supermarket with good intentions, and then walked out with chocolates, biscuits, sweets, and other stuff you weren't intending to buy ?

Well, you're not alone.

Have you seen this title in the news on Friday ? Not that long ago, there was another article about Britain being Europe's fattest nation.

With 23.9% of women and 22% of men being considered obese, this is not good news !

The article ends by saying:

"Last month, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley launched a bid to reduce obesity levels in England by 2020.

The minister said people need to be honest with themselves about how much they eat and drink.

He said that, overall, Britons should

How many times have you started an exercise routine, and after a few weeks stopped with it ? Or missed a few workouts and then couldn't really get back to it ? I'm sure we have all done that at some point in our lives.

Making exercise a habit is key to reaching your goals.

Here are a few tips to make exercise a habit:

1. Build Up Gradually: a gradual build up is key to long term success. If you start too hard too soon, you won't be able to sustain it.

Have you ever taken a long flight and when you arrived at your destination felt weak, confused, nauseated, tired and awful in general?

Jet lag originates in nerve cells of the hypothalamic region of our brain which regulate temperature, sleep, and timing such as circadian rhythms. This internal brain system does not react rapidly to changes such as skipping ahead several time zones.

One of the biggest challenge I hear from lots of people is that reach for the vending machine at work, because they have cravings throughout the day.

Generally this happens when you don’t plan your meal in advance.

Weather can be the difference between doing your workout or piling up on the couch for your favorite TV show. If it's rainy, snowy or just plain cold outside, most of us avoid exercise like the plague. While it's normal for activity to slow down in the winter, cold weather isn't a license to give up exercise completely.

But why would you want to workout outside in the middle of the winter months ? Well, there are quite a few reasons, and here are some of them:

1.

When I train people, or go to the gym, or just talk to friends or people around, I hear them saying, "I had a bad eating day yesterday, so I have to train very hard today to make up for it".

Do you do that sometimes ? Do you eat a lot or eat badly, and then decide to hit the gym or go for a run to make up for it ?

Exercise should not be seen as a punishment for a bad eating day. Exercise should be part of your lifestyle, daily or weekly routine in the first place.

BBC and other newspapers report today that gastric band weight loss operations for weight loss in the under 25 year olds is on the rise.

The number of under-25s being given weight-loss surgery on the NHS in England has quadrupled over the last three years !

Gastric bands work by reducing the size of a patient's stomach, therefore limiting the amount of food they can eat.

However, you need to be properly prepared for it in advance, but also have good support after the operation.

Everyone has times throughout their day or week where they have a sudden urge for a particular food, and it is normally not a healthy food. It doesn’t matter how many fruits or vegetables you have eaten, or how physically active you have been throughout the week, once in a while our bodies and our minds crave certain foods.
Occasional cravings for a particular food are nothing to worry about.

Do you brush your teeth daily to maintain the healthy teeth ?

If you answered yes to that, well then fitness is the same but for the heart. So how come most of us don't exercise daily to maintain a healthy heart ?

From a very young age, we've been told to brush our teeth. Actually from the moment we get teeth, we're being shown how to brush them. It's all done initially as a game, but it's done morning and evening generally.

True, as babies, we're generally quite active.

How many times have you heard someone saying that they don't eat anything, and still don't lose weight. Maybe that might even be you ?

People seem very surprise that they don't lose weight when they stop eating. Eventually they become so frustrated, that they just start binging on things, because weight loss doesn't work anyway. And with that, they put on more weight than their starting point.

How is this possible ?

Your body is an intelligent machine.

When I talk to my clients or potential clients, one of the first things they generally tell me is that they have tried to cut out carbs, but it's quite hard to do.

I then tend to smile, and ask them if they really think they can cut out carbs for the rest of their lives. The answer is generally no.

Remember, carbs don't make you fat. And, more importantly, your body needs carbs. What you have to remember is that there are 2 types of carbs:

1.

The key to losing weight is wanting to do it badly enough and finding the motivation to carry it through.

To start with, you need to ask yourself who you are losing weight for and how it will change your life if you did.

If the answer is "me" that's the first step. I once had a client who told me she needed to lose weight because her boyfriend wanted her to.

I've been quiet lately, mainly because I was preparing for the MoonWalk.

For those who are not aware of what it is, the MoonWalk is a walk organised by Walk The Walk, which is a charity focusing on breast cancer. Walk the Walk raises money to help other breast cancer charities focus on specific projects.

Once a year, they organise in London the MoonWalk, which is a 26.2 miles (42km) walk. You can also do half the distance.

Do you look in the mirror and say to yourself: "I look fat" or " my arms as so flabby", or "look at my stomach" ?

If the answer is yes, the first issue you have to deal with is a self esteem issue.

Many people -- especially women -- tend to see themselves as being larger than they actually are.

The good news is that with some mental exercises, you can change your attitude and self beliefs and start leading a healthier life, eating healthy food, and exercising more.

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To succeed in your weight loss journey, you first need to be aware of your unhealthy habits.

As such, sit down for a moment, and prepare a list of those habits you believe and know are unhealthy.

It can range from anything such as not drinking enough water, your morning cappuccino, you daily chocolate bar, pack of crisp, too many take-aways, not eating enough vegetables, eating too much refined carbohydrates, not eating breakfast, not exercising at all or not regularly, and many more.

Have you been inspired by all those who ran the London Marathon last week Sunday ?

How lucky were they all it wasn't yesterday with this awful weather....

Different people do it for different reasons, but some do it for weight loss. Yes, it sounds crazy, but since training for a marathon requires you to train over a fair amount of months, it's an ideal challenge to add to your weight loss journey.

If it sounds like a daunting adventure, I'm totally with you on that one.

Want to look great for your summer holidays ?

Register NOW for 10 weeks of Circuit Training classes in Mill Hill  and enjoy a special offer of 10 weeks for the price of 9 !!!

The Mill Hill, London NW7, classes will start on Wednesday May 11th 2011.

Never been to a Circuit Training class and don't know what to expect ?

A typical class will start with a warmup, after which you will be working out for a specific set time at different workst

There's no doubt we feel more comfortable, when we're happy with our weight and
none of us can pretend we don't know the huge health benefits, even a small amount of exercise gives us.

However, it's also a fact that most of us hate diets and don't always eat and exercise the way we could.

So, what to do?

Come along to one of our unique Ditch the Diet Sessions.

Well, what better reward can a personal trainer get than hearing their clients register for some active challenges such as a run, a walk, a half marathon, and others.

One of my clients, Diane Corriette, who you might remember from the Flabby to Fit in 12 Weeks videos, announced very publicly this week that she registered to walk a half marathon end of July this year.

Last year about this time of the year, she was breathless walking even a few minutes.

You've been following this blog for quite a while and still hesitant ? Or have you just stumbled upon my blog for the first time ?

Whatever your situation is, I've just made my Flabby To Fit In 12 Weeks programme even better.

If you want to make your weight loss journey a success, prepare a weekly plan on Sunday evening.

Have a look at your diary for the week, and write down your plans for the week.

Are you going out for a meal with friends or on business ? And if so, what is your strategy to not over eat or drink too much ? Set down clear goals. For instance, I will only have a main course, and 1 glass of wine as well as 2 glasses of water.

Have you decided it's time to embark on your weight loss journey and need to lose quite a lot of weight ?

Breakdown your weight loss goal into smaller goals. Start by aiming to lose 10% of your current body weight.

This quick and easy to make snack is perfect to expand energy and vitality for all.
We love using polenta, as it is really fast to cook and a great alternative to having wheat and gluten.

Pesto Polenta Cake

4 cups water

1 cup Polenta

Dash of sesame oil

1-2 cloves garlic

1 carrot grated

2 spring onions finely cut

Pinch sea salt

1 tbsp bouillon

2 tbsp vegan pesto

Most get-thin-fast plans revolve around the idea that restricting your intake of one particular nutrient, usually carbs, is the best way to lose weight. Initially it's true, if you cut out carbs, you will lose quite a bit of weight rapidly.

Carbs do come in different variations. There are "healthy carbs" and "unhealthy carbs". Healthy carbs are generally low GI carbs, such as wholegrains, oats, fruit, vegetables, etc.

When I look at people who exercise, I see lots of people stretching before exercise, or straight after their warmup, before starting the real part of the exercise. I especially do see that with runners.

Body builders and people trying to develop muscle mass, already know that stretching before the main exercise part is detrimental to their goals.

During my studies to become a Personal Trainer some years ago, we also had a session on stretching after the warmup.

There is an ancient Japanese wisdom called Macrobiotics, meaning the “big life” due to its truly holistic approach.
The concept embraces all areas of life and is about enjoying whole, natural foods and nurturing balance in the body.

Macrobiotics supports a real balanced diet, generally comprising of wholegrains, beans, seasonal vegetables and sea vegetables, cooked for a perfect medley of flavour, texture and colour.

The days are getting longer, and it gets light earlier. Now is the time to make use of your local park.

I have more and more clients who want to workout in their local park. Being based in Barnet, there are lots around.

During my consultation with new clients I hear a lot of them quoting that they work in their fat burning zone when they do their cardio workout.

The fat burning zone is generally recognized as being 60-70% of your MHR (220-your age). So when working out with a heart rate monitor, you generally can programme some target zones, and make it beeps when you're going over it.

Low- to moderate-intensity exercise is fuelled predominantly by fat.

Have you heard about "full range of motion" or even ROM ? If you have, but don't know what it means, then here you go:

ROM (range of motion) is how far the weight can be moved in each direction to complete a full contraction or expansion, or in the fitness lingo, the eccentric part or concentric part of the movement, with proper form.

You should perform exercises through the full range of motion if you want to get the most benefits of weight training.

Full range of motion equ

Researchers from several separate studies have found a link between sleep and the hormones that influence our eating behavior. Two specific hormones are involved.

Ghrelin is responsible for feelings of hunger. Leptin tells the brain when it's time to stop.

When you're sleep deprived, your ghrelin levels increase at the same time that your leptin levels decrease.

Enjoy feeding your loved ones with our Jam Hearts.  This delicious treat is perfect to expand energy and nurture nourishment for all.

The recipe is beautifully sweet and yet free from any sugar or dairy.