Of our ladies only studios in Devizes and Marlborough from 12th April
And outside sessions added in from 29th March (wow I can say ‘this month’ from tomorrow )…
I’m getting REALLY excited (have I said that already)…
I can’t wait to get the 80’s bangers on (always brings the worst outfits out of me..)
The 90’s Dance hits back on (to be fair they have stayed on haha)…
We’ve also been upgrading everything that goes with our 3F Kickstart Accountability:
→ Brand NEW accountability challenge for when you start to make sure you do the things you know you need to do (even if you are doubting you can stick to it)
→ One to one Booster sessions with myself and my team to breakthrough any obstacles / sticking point
→ NEW workouts all live from home – which can be done in 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes or 30 minutes …all on catch up too so when things get busy you can still get it done..
→ Personalised Workout of the Day Sessions outside and at the studios where you work at your own pace with me and my team making sure you feel safe and effective, not just with social distancing and cleaning measures, but your technique and form
→ Some new Ninja style tricks to help you stay motivated (they go perfectly with the Accountability book we post to you when you get started)
I could go on.
And get you might be thinking ‘is it for me?’ so I thought I would share what Cathy posted yesterday who has done 90 Days (see picture)
I can’t wait.
Our next start dates for the Kickstart are 1st March and 8th March
So if you’d like more info just send me a message 🙂
Despite being a Gov recommendation for years and years…
The latest UK Chief Medical Officers Report finally emphasised the importance of building strength (doing strength based exercise at least twice a week) to help:
1 – Prevent falls – linked to bone density and lack of muscle mass, particularly if you are over 50
2 – Reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes by 40% (and improve control of blood sugar levels)
3- Reduce your risk of heart disease by 30%
4 – Reduce your risk of depression by 30%
Now, of course, any exercise is better than none…
Walking, parking your car further away, taking the stairs instead of the lift etc.
^^^ These are all very beneficial and the key is building up from this and getting 1% better each day
But
There seems to be something very protective about muscle strengthening exercise
When it comes to ageing well, quality of life and even disease..
This is something we touched on when I interviewed researcher, Richie Kirwan, who researches healthy ageing, muscle strengthening exercise, cardiovascular disease and diet
^^^ just a few of the messages I get when it comes to the scales
But I just wanted to share the results of a recent study .
Showing that those that the more often someone attempted to lose 5lbs, the less likely you are to die from all causes…
And this was also consistent even if people actually ended up heavier.
So cut yourself some slack.
I get it.
Weight loss is motivating .
But just because it hasn’t happened yet, it doesn’t mean it’s pointless..
And that’s something we are big on
Because what if you were one day away from seeing the results you wanted to but you gave up?
What if you didn’t see all of other wins you have achieved?
Like one of the ladies posted in our private group this week:
But back to the scales
why can the scales go UP and down when you’re dieting?
1) You’ve started eating more fruit and vegetables –
Fibre is hard for your body to breakdown.
^^^ It can make you gassy and bloated
This also means you hold more water.
So, consider that you’re probably going to eat different amounts of fibre everyday – which can impact your weight!
The good news?
Over time, your body will probably get better at handling your increased fibre intake, you’ll feel more full and stop craving more sugary, higher fat snacks foods which could help you lose FAT so you fit your clothes better!
2) You’ve started drinking more fluids –
Yep, another positive habit could be making you put on more weight (at least in the short term)
^^^ Be it from tea, coffee, water, squash (or even diet coke…)
I mean, you exercise one day and maybe not the next.
You may sweat a lot one day (weather / exercise) and not so much the next.
The good news?
Over time, your body will better regulate this increased fluid intake, you’ll feel more full and satisfied, and may have more energy and even better digestion
3) You eat more salt one day compared to another –
Perhaps you started preparing your meals?
Maybe you’ve started keeping higher protein snacks in the fridge, like smoked salmon, turkey ham, eggs, cheese, natural yoghurt?
Maybe you’ve been making some wraps with some cold meats?
So you’ve been trying to increase your protein intake (which helps you get that more leaner look and keeps you more full up)
But by doing so you may have increased your sodium intake – making you hold more water and increasing your weight!
Perhaps you got a takeaway<<< who probably don’t care about the salt intake as long as you don’t complain…😆
4) You ate higher carbs than normal today or a few days prior –
For every gram of carbs stored in your body…
You pull about 3-4 g of water into your muscles which can mean you gain water weight!
This is not fat…
5) Sleep –
Some members of our Kickstart programme will report LIGHTER body weights on the weekends.
Why?
Because they can sleep in (a bit) more
^^^ unless I’m knocking on their virtual door at 715 as the wake up call…scary thought, I know
So consider this:
If you’re in bed for a bit longer during the night. Perhaps have a lay in. You may get up a few more times in the night and actually PEE more than normal.
AKA
Get rid of more water.
So, if during the week, you say, get only 5 hours of sleep a night…
You’ll pee less during the night (and / or first thing in the morning)
And the time between your last meal on the day before and your weigh in is shorter
^^^ Meaning your body may still be digesting the food!
6) You weren’t consistent with time and day –
Did you weight yourself at the same time?
Did you go to the bathroom before weighing yourself in the morning?
Same underwear / pyjamas?
Did you weigh yourself later in the day?
7) You’ve started a new exercise programme –
This is a new stimulus on your muscle.
It ‘stresses’ your body.
But when you rest…
The magic happens.
Your body repairs the muscles (you may feel a bit achey)
Now, this process burns calories and will help you LOSE FAT!!!
YET…
This ‘magic process’ AKA muscle soreness / recovery may mean that you increase your body weight (at least in the short term)
Why?
Because you’re holding more water in the muscle to help your body REPAIR!
Which is a bit like your immune system when you’re struggling with hayfever,(which we may get around soon with the birds tweeting in the morning and the evenings getting lighter )
OR
Your skin when you’re sunburnt!!!
8) You haven’t done what you said you would do –
This one HURTS.
It makes us reflect on what WE have (or have not) actually done.
Have you done what you said you would do?
9) Menstrual cycle –
You know better than me…
That pre-menstrual phase ‘bloat’ can leave you holding more water (and craving carbs…)
To sum up:
It’s for these 9 reasons why the scale is NOT your dictator (it’s one of many) and not your boss.
And why – in my opinion – :
* Progress pictures (for your own personal reference, even if you scroll back through your Facebook photos)
* How you feel (energy, digestion, exercise habits)
* How you feel when you look in the mirror
* How you fit your clothes
Are the best tools you can possibly have…
Which is exactly what we do in the Kickstart
Because…
‘Who cares how much I weigh if I feel confident on the beach in a bikini”
^^^ As body transformation member, Lisa, told me
And as I’ve learned through coaching more and more…
If you do the work….
Make small – manageable – adjustments along the way
You’ll learn exactly what your body needs to lose FAT and inches (not just weight)
And get fitter 🔥🔥
at times…
The journey will be tough.
I’ve been there many times, too…
Where I’ve weighed myself, phoned up Specsavers and asked for a full refund …
But just consider the above …
And consider
What if you were one day away from seeing the results you wanted but you gave up?
What might be different in your life right now when it comes to your body, health and fitness ?
If you beee more accountability to do the things you know you need to do?
Just message me with “kickstart” and I’ll get you the details for the 90 Day Kickstart beginning March 1st and March 8th.
What could possibly be different right now in your life, particularly when comes to nutrition and fitness, if you did all of the things that you said ‘there’s no point’ doing?
Whether it’s that glass of water..
Walk at lunchtime
Portion of veg
Control of snacking
Showing up to do a workout..
Consider
That what you do today
Is what you’re more likely to do tomorrow
So start small.
And who knows where you might be a month or a year from now.
Like Natasha said yesterday (see image)
Anyway,
If you’d like to join us on our BRAND NEW 90 Day Kickstart
Message me with ‘Kickstart’ and I’ll take care of the rest.
We can open our private ladies only studios in Marlborough and Devizes back up from
April 12th and start our outside ladies only sessions back from March 29th….
To go alongside our coaching sessions from home (which will be here to stay)..
I’ll admit..
I have never been more excited..
Well, it kind of takes me back to when we first started…
Feels a bit like the start again…
I was just personal training at the time in a gym..
Mainly working with women (and the occasional other half too)
When something became REALLY apparent…
Basically, I’d train them..
They’d feel super motivated
And then they would do nothing else in the gym
Mainly because they were too intimidated..
Or did not have the plan or support or the community of like minded ladies around them ..
One of the ladies actually had a panic attack in the gym I was at once…
And she asked if I could train her at her house.
Then her friend wanted to join in..
And the rest was history..
We started renting some space to do our ladies only Kickstart..
And here we are now….
No more worrying about needing loads of equipment in an intimidating gym…
When you feel everyone is look at you…
Where you worry ‘I will be the most unfit’
‘I will look silly’
‘I’ll be too big’…
‘Am I doing it right?”
I remember one of the ladies telling me that she would just do the same thing over and over at the gym.
On the cross trainer as it was hidden away and she could just keep herself to herself..
And she just found it soooo boring.
It’s why I had to do something a bit different..
I decided to launch a programme specifically for ladies over 40…
So the intensity,
Nutrition
Environment
Support
Can all be bespoke for you..
I count myself as very fortunate to be able to still
Deliver our live sessions for our members.
And now reach even more ladies..
From Ireland to Scotland to Devizes to Australia to Calne to Swindon to Pewsey to Yorkshire to Marlborough to Westbury to Chippenham to Trowbridge to Tidworth to Hungerford to Warminster
But it just feels a bit weird.
I remember back in 2014 when we first started our programme our ladies only programmes…
No kids at the time..
Had just got married…
And I just had this vision to create the best ladies only programme in Wiltshire [specifically for ladies over 40]..
I wanted to make it non-intimidating
Somewhere that people who never thought they could find somewhere comfortable to get fit and heathy could go.
And find themselves surprising themselves by actually sticking to it.
For ladies to make friends, not be judged, speak to expert trainers, coaches, nutritionists, dietitians, yoga teachers, pilates teaches,
And get amazing results.
To become stronger – physically and mentally
More confident.
To overcome adversity..
And for the past 7 years or so ..
^^ even after many times of self doubt…
It’s surpassed what I could ever have imagined…
I absolutely love my work
And I still love delivering our live home workouts to all of our members
[some of them are now able to exercise every day which is amazing…and we will be keeping live workouts from home going, too]
BUT
I am really looking forward to when those doors open up again
And we can see everyone in person too.
And holding our famous live events in person 🙂
Just can’t wait..
Whether you want to make it convenient by doing the sessions from home
Or more personal by coming with us in person
There has never been a better time to start with our brand new 90 Day Kickstart Challenge for ladies 40+..
Beginning with small habits that you can fit into your lifestyle even on your worst days..
Which may just surprise you
Like Nicola said yesterday
If you’d like to find our more, just send over a message and I will get you the details.
Whether fitness and health facilities should be “essential” given the impact on physical, mental and metabolic health
And the the higher risk factors associated with poor health and Covid.
But it got me thinking….
You see, the kids (2 and 4 years old)
Will use the language “I can’t” quite a lot…
I get it.
It’s frustrating being a toddler where you want to put your trousers on
But can get your foot in…YET
You want to scooter really fast up a hill, but you can’t do it…YET
You want to drive the car but you can’t…YET 😆
I could go on…
And what I keep doing is add..
“yet” to the end of the “I can’t” …
Ask them:
“what do you say if you can’t do it?”
To which I encourage
“can you help me please?”
And for me, this is huge..
Because they can either practice getting frustrated about not being able to do something and learn how to behave when things don’t go their way
Or
Remember they can’t do it YET
And
That they can ask for help to ensure they CAN learn or still do it…
But why is it
We accept that
Babies will walk at their own pace
Kids will be good at different things at school
Learn at different rates…
But then when it comes to weight loss, we have this specific number like:
“If I haven’t lost 1 stone by next month then…”
^^^ Which we have ZERO control over because you cannot control exactly what the scale does
That if we don’t hit, we might as well give up altogether?
May as well have not even started?
Can you imagine If I just said to my daughter who was a late crawler:
“You know what, you should have been walking by now, so just don’t bother at all. You can crawl for the rest of your life”?
Because here’s the thing:
By setting goals like this, which are PURELY specific and NOT focussed on the process? you are essentially powerLESS…
You have basically given up ‘control’ of the situation <<< which us humans love / hate because it gives us this excuse / a story about how we tried and still failed (which makes us feel better now but $#*! tomorrow)..
My advice to you:
1* set a specific goal (like a weight loss goal / dress size goal) << this is absolutely fine. BUT, don’t attach life and death feelings to it. If you didn’t quite hit your goal? You STILL have an outcome. You know what worked, right? You know maybe what you can improve, right?
2* Focus on the things you CAN control. In our Kickstart we set 3 simple habits in the areas Food, Fitness, and Focus / self care .
^^^ 3 things that if you control? Will help you lose fat, have more energy, get fit and make 2021 a healthier
My points here?
Control what you can today..
There’s things you might not be able to do…YET.
But there lots of things you can do…
(See the picture of this post)
And my second point?
If you want to achieve something, you can do it.
If you want to get fit, you can do it.
If you want to get healthy, you ca do it
Ask for help if you’re struggling to do it..
Whether that’s a friend, family member or someone like us (coach, personal training or nutritionist)
As the only other option
Is to carry on doing what you are doing…
And if you’re happy with that?
Great.
If not,
What’s going to happen 5 years from now if nothing changes?
Matt
Ps. Send over a message if want more information about our March Kickstart programme for ladies 40+
But I’m still debating whether I’ve got more room for more curry, steak, and duck at the all you can eat buffet.
Wow do I miss eating out ..
Probably be one of the things I do first after lockdown ..
^^ need my haircut first ha ha
Anyway, ever heard the term “meat sweats”?
Well, this may surprise you, but you actually burn calories through digesting food.
It’s actually 5-10% of your overall calories that you burn every, single day!
So, here are some waysyou could burn more calories by…eating:
* You’ll burn more calories (20-30% of the calories in the food) by digesting and absorbing protein-rich foods (meats, fish, eggs, dairy etc.)
* Digesting and absorbing carbs burns 5-6% of the energy in the food you’re eating, whereas digesting and absorbing fat burns just 3% of the energy from the food.
So, I guess you could say that the old wives tale of the ‘meat sweats’ is pretty real?
What does this mean for you? Well, if your diet is lacking in protein-rich foods, making some simple swaps slowly but surely could help.
And – of course- you don’t need to get to the ‘meat sweat’ threshold to know you are burning more calories (unfortunately) 😉
But making these simple swaps could help you:
* Feel full up for longer so you’re not constantly thinking about food and can be more productive with your day (Which could you take back control of your ‘hunger’ <<< which I’ll come on to another day)
* Help with your skin, hair and split nails(as one of the ladies said the other day)
* Promote more muscle tone so you fit your clothes better (especially when coupled with exercise to improve your fitness, recovery and make everyday tasks easier )
But the problem with all this above
Is that it’s pointless unless you do something with it..
That’s the main problem with the health and fitness industry
Loads of information, but in my opinion, a lack of accountability
To do the things you actually already know you need to do
That’s why a big focus of what we do is making sure you do the things you know you need to do..
Of course, you have to meet us half way.
And yes, you might be skeptical
That it won’t work for you.
Many of the ladies are…
Like Emma said:
“ It’s all going really well! I feel like a bit of a switch has flipped since you’ve been nagging and my son is been encouraging me and I’ve lost 4 lb since I spoke to you on Saturday. 💪💪”
I’ll admit, drinking water wasn’t something that I always found easy…
Which is probably why the ladies love the reminders I send over all day haha
Because I get it’s an easy thing to forget…
Or even overlook.
Until, Of course, we have a headache and feel tired and then wonder why?
But how much should you drink?
They say 2 litres of water, right?
which as a guide is OK. If you hit that? You’re probably good.
But it depends on activity levels, weather and how much food you eat (as food contains water)…
As well as how many hot drinks you have, be it teas, herbal teas, coffees etc. (as they do all hydrate you)
But if you’re peeing clear by noon or have 3 clear wees a day, you’re probably OK
^^^ which rhymes so you can remember it 😉
What helps me is to
have a glass of water when I wake up plus 1 before each meal (this way even if I have a busy day where I forget to drink water / I’m out and about? I’d still have drank – at the very least – some first thing in the morning.
I’ll usually have it as I make my morning coffee.
Grouping new habits with something you already do might help you actually do it
Anyway, here’s 6 reasons why you SHOULD drink more water:
✅ It’s a “natural” cure for hangovers (research shows it works better than having ‘another’ to “bring you around” )
^^^ Yep, despite being call dihydrogen monoxide and sounding like a scary chemical…
Water might help you rehydrate after a night out (goes well with some eggs and bacon for some electrolytes)
✅ It might help you concentrate (so you get more done)
✅ It might help get things moving
✅ It might help with headaches
✅It might help the jeans of truth fit a bit better (if you swap liquid calories for water…or even sugar free drinks)
PLUS…
Latest Dutch research shows that…
✅100% of people who are successful have been exposed to water in their lifetime
What more proof do you need? Haha
So simple…
But by not doing these small, simple things?
Life is A LOT harder..
In terms of your energy, mood, digestion…
I could go on…
because – essentially – consider what you’re saying
“YES” to by skipping your water today?
Poor digestion?
Reduced concentration?
And as I always say (repetition is the mother of all so I will keep repeating myself)
Small habits, compound effect…
You might now see or feel ANY benefit today..
But just like the ladies inside our Kickstart Programme say when people ask them what was critical for them to be doing to lose the weight, get fit, feel more confident in their favourite clothes…
It’s never ONE thing…
It’s the compound effect of stacking small, daily wins…
Like Emma said yesterday:
“I just want to say thank you for your guidance I don’t do as much as I should because of health problems but I have lost a stone since joining last month 😍😍😍”
How easily my concentration was broken by silence…
And this brings me to
Confront eating ..
And when you say things like
“I just do it, I don’t even know why”
And there are many reasons but here’s
Some of the reasons which not only the research points to
But also my experience working with thousands of ladies:
1- you may not be eating enough in the day —> leading us to feeling hungry / deprived and couple that with stress and tiredness and tasty food available on an evening…and it’s going to be tough
Solution —> get protein at each meal
2- Journal – grab a pen (most won’t do this)…
what are you craving?
is it worth it?
what is the smallest amount you would need to be happily satisfied ?
most people don’t know…
And if you don’t know what’s going to satisfy you…
Then consider what feeling you’re actually trying to create when you do it ..
Because if you don’t know
You’re always going to be disappointed…
3- I just eat at the thought of having to diet – are you trying to diet too aggressively?
Which is meaning you don’t actually start?
And actually means your fast quick fix diet is actually slower
Than something that may be more doable and sustainable ..
But also consider this
You say you’re depriving yourself
But don’t forget to also consider what you may be depriving yourself of
