Fat Burning workout

Hey Guys and Dolls!

As you know I train 2 times a day (which I'm curbing to Monday to Thursday now) 6 times a week! I mainly do spin classes which is great for fat burning! In one class you can burn up to 400kcls as long as you are digging deep! I also do a lot of strength training (with weights) because believe it or not this is what will help you burn fat quicker!! 

Why Weights?

When properly performed, strength training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being, including increased bone, muscle, tendon and ligament strength and toughness, improved joint function, reduced potential for injury, increased bone density, increased metabolism, improved cardiac function (this is the control of the heartbeat and circulation in the cardiovascular system), and elevated HDL (good) cholesterol.

Strength training increases lean muscle fibre which will help you burn fat a lot faster than running on the treadmill for an hour! If you're creating a caloric deficit by eating fewer calories than you burn each day (like you should be doing), your body is in a catabolic state - meaning, it will be burning its own tissues for energy. That's great! That's what we want - if the tissue its burning is FAT. Problem is, the body doesn't discriminate - it'll burn protein (muscle) just as readily as fat, and you'll start to lose whatever muscle you already have. The only way you can avoid this process is if you strength train. By strength training, your body will avoid using protein (muscle) and rely on fat to make up its energy deficit.

Alongside good nutrition and cardio you do need to do strength training to help you reach your goals! In fact a lot of fitness experts will tell you that strength training is the most important part of your exercise program to aid you loss the excess body fat, so do not shy away from weights! Once I incorporated strength training to my program the fat melted off so much quicker!!! 

Ladies go light with the weights when strength training: incorporate it into your program at least 3-4 times a week.
Guys if your doing heavy weights 2-3 times a week shall get you there!

My Typical Strength Training Session

With all my strength training I use 3 kg dumbbells and I do 3 sets of each workout

• 25 Squats
• 25 Chest press 
• 25 biceps curls
• 24 Lunges (just to make it even on each leg)
• 20 shoulder presses
• 20 Reverse grip curls
• 15 Triceps pull downs
• 15 Lat Pull downs
• 40 Crunches with aid of a Swiss ball
• 20 Russian twists

As I said I repeat all the above 3 times during one session! Pictures below of what the workouts look like.

Russian Twist

Crunches with Swiss ball

Triceps Pull down

Lat Pull Downs

Reverse Grip Curls

Shoulder Press

Biceps Curls

Lunges

Squats

Chest Press

There you have it! I strength train in the morning and after this I will do 20 - 30 minutes moderate cardio (unless there is a spin class then it intense!) I also do boot camp and an abs blast class on Saturday which involves strength and cardio.

That's it guys and dolls! You can do all those workouts at home! Just go get yourself some dumbbells. The workout like lat and triceps pull downs and reverse grip curls can be moderated to use dumbbells instead, so no excuses! Please stay safe when strength training! I eased myself into this so if it is your first time doing anything like this make sure you try and get some expert advice from a professional.

I'm keeping this post short and sweet today!! Have a blessed weekend and don't ruin all that hard work you did during the week!!! 

P.S here is an updated picture:

You can see in my latest picture I took today the pouch on lower belly is disappearing! And get on those arms!! 

Peace and Blessings xx

What to eat??

So you have decided to say NO to fat, and said YES to a new and healthy lifestyle! But you don't know where to start, well the toughest and sometimes least obvious place to start any weight loss journey is in the kitchen!! YES if you didn't know 80% of weight loss starts in the kitchen

A lot of times people get weight loss wrong! They think by spending hours in the gym they can reach their goals, well you got one thing right being active is definitely a stepping stone to better health and weight loss. However if you want to lose weight and keep it off you need to retrain your pallet, you can not keep eating junk and think by going to the gym you will some how counteract your unhealthy eating. You are just wasting your time and your money!

So here are my useful  and simple tips:

• Caloric intake: Let me get this one out of the way first; you need to be aware of the amount of calories you are taking every day! Yes its annoying to count calories, but whether you like it or not, in order to lose weight you need to be eating at a caloric deficit (i.e eating less calories a day). I suggest download 'myfitnesspal' that will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you should eat to lose weight healthily.
• Water: You must get rid of all the sugary and fizzy drinks and make water your best friend! I carry a 1 litre bottle with me every where, even when I'm just at home. It is pointless drinking your calories...even diet soda needs to be kicked to the curb! 

• Fruit and Vegetables: This is fairly obvious to everyone, we have been constantly reminded of this by doctors and nutritionists. I can't stress how much this will help you during your journey! Just check out the Vegan community, I don't think I have seen one overweight Vegan yet! Fruits and Veg are low in calories and full of fibre which will keep you full and they are healthy! I always say you cant go wrong with lots of it on your plate! (I will post a meal idea at the end of the post so you have an idea)
• Meat: Try and cut out red meat, it is very fatty! If its a must then opt for the lean option such as the extra lean mince stocked in Tesco or Shoprite for my readers in Nigeria. You should stick to white meat as the fat content is much less in comparison to red meat. Chicken or turkey breast (boneless and skinless- healthiest part of the meat) fish is also a great source of Omega 3 and Salmon has GOOD fat which we need in our diet! 
• Sweet Tooth: Yes how do you cure a sweet tooth whilst on a new lifestyle? There are lots of things you can replace those cravings with, the most simple and most natural is FRUIT it is healthy, low in calories and won't expand your waist line. If you do like your chocolate, why not opt for 70% dark chocolate? One square and your craving is gone! It is much healthier than the sugar filled chocolate we are all used to! Read more about the health benefits here: http://www.naturalnews.com/035035_dark_chocolate_health_benefits_cacao.html    there are also some natural sweeteners out there like  'stevia' that you can add to your tea, instead of granulated sugar. I don't use either in my tea! I stick to herbal teas and of course water. 

• Alcohol: I have cut this out completely, although on some occasions where I have had reason to go out, I would stick to 2 glasses of red wine. You can also opt for straight Vodka with water and lime as this is low in calories. HOWEVER don't make it a regular thing, think of it as a treat or make it part of your 'cheat day' (I'll discuss cheat days in a later post!), but don't go over board!!! DON'T drink your calories!! One glass of red wine is 150kclas

The 6 tips above are the main things that you need to revise in your current diet, once you start that you will see the weight fall off! Stay active too even if you start by walking for just 10 minutes a day it makes a lot of difference especially now that you have thrown away all the junk food in your cupboard! 

Carbohydrates

Now a lot of people are scared of carbs, we all believe if we get rid of it, we will lose weight, and yes you do I have been on a diet where I cut out all carbs however the point is I was unable to sustain this lifestyle! Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function as well as being part of a healthy diet! So please throw away all those fad diets that tell you they are not good for you! 

The key to carbohydrates is to choose the ones that are good for you. The best source of carbohydrates come from whole grain, fruits, vegetables, and beans. These promote good health by delivering vitamins, minerals, fibre to your body. So throw away all those simple fast digesting refined carbohydrates like: white rice, white bread, pastries and soda which are all highly processed and aid you to not only gain weight but put you at risk of heart disease!

There is brown rice, whole wheat pasta/rice, bulgur wheat, sweet potato, steel cut oats and as I said beans! 

Don't deprive yourself of carbohydrates just be smart about it! As I said you need them to fuel them intense workouts that will help to sculpt your body ;-) 

I will be posting more nutritional tips and I will actually provide you with suggested healthier options for your favourite foods! Below is a healthy burger recipe which is about 415kcls!! 

Burger Recipe

You can make meal times fun! I love burgers so what do I do when I feel like one? I grab the following:

200g Lean Turkey Burger (226 kcls)

1 small egg (70 kcls)

Whole wheat Burger bread  (Optional) (110 kcl)

and Herbs your like (I like garlic, chilli powder and Italian seasoning) 

Sauce:

dash Worcester sauce,

Tea spoon Dijon Mustard

half teaspoon: Low salt Low sugar ketchup

How to make:

Mix all ingredients together (Bar bun), shape the mince like a burger and place in the oven until cooked. 

Mix your source together and spread on bun. Once turkey cooked place in bun and your ready!! You can add a side of vegetables to this which at most will add another 100kcls to the meal!! 

On low carb days remove the bun from the recipe and just fill with more veg! Or you could wrap the turkey with lettuce.

Below is a picture of a meal I ate during one of my eating windows

turkey burger, prawn cooked with coconut oil and chilli, mixed vegitables, blueberries, pineapple, and an apple
this meal was about 550kcls. I also had a protein shake and I had some beans and a healthy snack to get up to  1200kcl

I will post more meal ideas as well as snacks which are nutrient and calorie dense especially for those of you that are thinking of starting Intermittent Fasting.

Stay blessed!! 

B xxx 

Intermittent Fasting (IF)

So what is Intermittent Fasting you all ask?

Intermittent fasting (IF) is a pattern of eating that alternates between periods of fasting (usually meaning consumption of water and sometimes low calorie drinks such as black coffee) and non-fasting.

The fasting period on specific plans can range from 16 hours all the way to 36 hours, :O I see your jaws have dropped!!! How can anyone go that long without eating? Well if you think about it, you have probably once in your life time at least gone for a long period without food, maybe you had a deadline at school or work and food is the last thing on your mind! People think they can't do this because when you actually have to think about not eating it does seem like hard work! 

The First 3 days were tough only because my body was readjusting to the new lifestyle, after this I had bags of energy YES and I was able to do all those Insane workouts and now I go to the gym twice a day 6 times a week no sweat! 

BREAKFAST

People have said to me, 'but isn't breakfast the most important meal of the day?' my answer to this is that's what the nutrition industry have sold us all for years!! 

Think about it 'Break-Fast that translates to breaking a fast. For those that want to try it just look at it as you are skipping a morning meal and having an early lunch (break your fast at say 12 noon and close your feeding window 7pm or 8pm). There is NO connection with eating breakfast and losing weight!! 90% of Americans eat breakfast yet 75% of them are obese! 

We have been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day simply because of our body's sensitivity to insulin. The more sensitive our body is to insulin, the more likely you are to lose fat and gain muscle. It is argued that insulin sensitivity is higher in the morning. Well this is not very accurate; it is higher after the 8 to 10 hour fasting period that was experienced during sleep. Insulin sensitivity is higher when glycogen levels are depleted, and liver glycogen is somewhat depleted during sleeping fast. What is glycogen? - Most carbohydrates are broken down in the body to a type of sugar called glucose, which is the main source of fuel for our cells. When the body has extra glucose, it stores it in the liver and muscles. This stored form of glucose is called glycogen. Glycogen is like your backup fuel. It releases glucose into the bloodstream when the body needs a quick energy boost or when a person's blood glucose level drops.

Intermittent fasting will further help to deplete the glycogen levels in your body, therefore increasing insulin sensitivity further and therefore you burn more fat! Eating constantly (i.e. 5 small meals a day) you are constantly replenishing the glycogen in your body therefore making it harder for your body to use stored fat as fuel and to aid weight loss.

As you can see there is nothing special about breakfast and you do not have to eat first thing in the morning to lose weight!! In fact the longer you wait to break your 'sleeping fast' the more depleted your glycogen levels, increased insulin sensitivity and therefore increased fat loss! 

I won't bash the 5 small meals a day as it does work for some people, but for an average Shelia like me that my life involves other things than constantly thinking about food IF has been a real treat!! 

So what are the benefits of IF???

Well I eat less frequently and feel hungry less, it is also more practical and logistic! Imagine having to eat 6 small meals in a day, all you are thinking about is food!!! And where do you have the time to think about these meals? Especially if you are working etc. I'm glad I have found an alternative!!! 

I have read that doing alternate day fasting where you are required to fast for 24 hours twice a week reduces your food intake by 30%!!! So of course you will get into that size 10 quicker and more likely to keep it off!!! 

Caloric restriction has been linked with increased longevity, to decreased risk of disease, to heart health! A study done by University of Utah concluded that someone who fasts just once a month were 40% less likely to suffer from clogged arteries. 

There are also hormonal benefits that lead to better body composition. From my research and reading IF helps to increase the level of Growth Hormones (GH); the more GH you produce the faster you lose body fat and gain muscle! So say bye to the stubborn fat!

Finally intermittent fasting is NOT A DIET it is a way of life or nutritional lifestyle. It will allow you to reach your goal in an efficient and convenient manner and aid to keep your physic once you have reached your goals!!

As I have mentioned IF is not for everyone, but it is a great way to lose weight, as long as you eat 'clean' during your window! I don't have a specific diet that I follow, I just eat good and I do 'carb cycle' meaning I eat starchy carbs such as whole wheat bread on really active days, less carbs (swap whole wheat bread for beans) on days I'm active (but not vigorous workout) and no carbs on my rest day (the only form of carbs that stay constant during these periods of carbs to no carbs is fruit and veg!). More on Carb cycling in a later post.

I hope this has enlightened you all!! I will post meal ideas etc later

Stay blessed

Where it all began

Hello everyone and welcome to my new blog!!

I have been meaning to blog my journey for a while however I have been busy losing the weight and keeping it off!!!

So where did it all start? I have been battling being overweight for a long time I'd probably say most of my life! But I finally got serious on the 27th June 2012 when I looked myself in the mirror and hated what I saw:

I was 81kgs here (178 llbs or 12 Stn 10llbs)  

For my 5'4 frame I was well over weight and I knew something had to be done sooner rather than later because it just wasn't healthy! As an African we are more prone to Diabetes and heart related diseases (which I believe is due to the fact we eat so much carbohydrates and fatty foods and tend to be less active) this is not an option for me so I decided to take control!

I had lost weight before and gone down to 75kgs, but I wasn't ready for a new lifestyle, so I put it all back on! That is key people....you need to be ready for CHANGE! A change in your overall lifestyle because fad diets do not work! We do not gain weight over night and you certainly won't lose it overnight unless you go for surgery and I don't believe that is needed!

So I decided to research on google and youtube which have been amazing tools through out my journey! I got a lot of nutrition advice and also stumbled across the Shaun T Insanity Program!  This is an AMAZING program and from the picture above to 19 days later this is what I looked like:

Day 19 of Insanity and improved  eating

I can't remember how much I weighed in this picture but you can all tell the difference! During this period I followed the Insanity nutrition guide which was 5 small meals a day, I was eating a total of 1400 calories a day. I still wasn't satisfied and kept on researching about nutrition mainly on youtube, then I came across a video in which this guy explained that having 5 or 6 small meals didn't actually do much for the metabolism and eating constantly actually prevents the body from going into 'fat burning mode' (think about it, if you are constantly eating every 2-3 hours all you burn is food you just ate!) So I went back to eating 'normally' 3 meals a day with a 5 hour rest period. 

I was losing weight but still wanting the pounds to drop off quicker; then BOOM! I heard the HodgeTwins on youtube discussing their experience with a new lifestyle called 'Intermittent Fasting' (IF) they went into depth about how they lost so much fat and they were finally down to 9% body fat. I was on this like a rash! I purchased Brad Pilons 'Eat Stop Eat' In which he went into great details of the health benefits of IF and how it is a sustainable lifestyle and not just another fad diet, there was also some science and research to back up this new lifestyle. I also looked at the Lean Gains website (http://www.leangains.com/) by Martin Berkhan a nutritionist and personal trainer.

Brad Pilons 'Eat Stop Eat' is based on fasting for 24 hours on alternate days: i.e fast from 6pm Monday, to 6pm Tuesday, then you eat normally 6pm Tuesday to 6pm Wednesday and you then start the cycle again.

Martin Berkhan takes a different approach in which you fast every day for a set amount of time and you have a specific 'eating window' people usually start with 16 hours fasted and have a feeding window of 8 hours. You can decide what ever times suits you to fast and when to break your fast, you can also choose whatever diet  suits you! Whether its Low Carb/High protein/Low fat you choose whatever you want, as long as you are eating clean 80% of the time you will see great results. This is the lifestyle I follow and I have always had a 20 hour fasting period and my 4 hour eating window is between 1pm and 5pm; during this window I eat 1200 calories. Your thinking how is this possible? I have been able to adapt and it is also key that you drink a lot of water whilst in your fasted state! I will go into more depth about IF in my next post I just wanted to give you an overview of how I started my journey! 

I am not a nutritionist! Everyone is different so you really need to research what nutrition plan works for you! What works for me may not work for you and vis versa. But IF has been a wonderful lifestyle and I will continue eat this way. Please pregnant women/feeding mothers do not follow IF!

With regards to work out I started off with insanity only! I am embarrassed to say I only got to day 40, but that's because I got bored * embarrassed smiley* So I started going back to the gym, initially 6 times a week. In the past 8 weeks I have incorporated spin classes (mon - wed twice a day) and boot camp on Saturdays. I also do resistance training and a lot of abs work! 

I now weigh 62kgs (136 llbs, 9 stones 10llbs) this has been through 80% clean eating and also hard work at the gym but most of all will power! 

I'll leave you with a few pictures I took recently

I am now within my healthy BMI however I do want to lose about 3kgs (mainly fat) so those abs can become more defined.

Leave your comments or questions below! I will be posting regularly and will provide a separate section about my nutrition for those interested about IF.

Have a blessed weekend!