Start your day in a positive way.

• Affirm who you are and where you’re headed (read your goals regularly)
• Eat Breakfast
• Drink water

Kick start and stay smart

• Be active every day
• Work hard and smart – High intensity intervals are ideal!
• Stretch and relax. Allow your body mind to wind down

Replenish energy spent

• Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day
• Two fruit and five serving on vegetables is your foundation
• Protein sustains  – include it in every meal

The investment you put into your health has guaranteed returns. Many happy returns to you!

This begs the question, what is the best solution for weight loss? Is it the no carbohydrates diet, a lemon detox program or running a thousand kilometres every week?

The answer is a combination of regular exercise and a balanced diet. Certain dietary supplement companies and large gym chains would say otherwise. However, the proof is in the results.

I know I may have destroyed your dreams of achieving great weight loss through the consumption of a magic pill or 5 minutes with the ABTASTIC 3000. The good news is that no extreme measures need be taken. Weight loss will be achieved through a consistent and sustainable exercise program and balanced diet.

Most people want results yesterday. We are impatient when it comes to our health and want to undo years of unhealthy habits in days. This is why quick result diets are a multi-billion dollar business. The bad news is that this weight loss is primarily water. When you crash diet you significantly slow your resting metabolism. As well as this, you are also at a higher risk of suffering a heart attack. In fact, initial success in weight loss relates poorly to long-term success.

You can lose weight through exercise or diet alone. However, your results will be enhanced when you combine both. The combination of exercise and diet will specifically produce:

• Less intense feelings of hunger and psychologic stress than with following a diet alone.
• An increase in the overall size of your energy deficit
• Greater body fat loss as you will preserve lean muscle mass
• A blunt in the drop in resting metabolism that is associated with weight loss
• Improvements in mood
• Increased insulin sensitivity
• Greater flexibility

Now we have established that this is the best solution for weight loss we have another pertinent question. What does a sustainable exercise program and balanced diet look like? Thousands of books have been written on these subjects but here is the succinct answer; the best type of exercise for fat burning is a combination of resistance and cardiovascular training that includes high intensity intervals. High intensity workouts increase your oxygen consumption for a longer period of time after exercise and this increases the total amount of calories expended.

When it comes to diet remember this simple little saying; eat like a queen for breakfast, a princess for lunch and a pauper for dinner. This will keep you in good stead. Your metabolism is at its best in the morning so it makes sense to consume a large majority of your daily calories by 1 pm. Stick to low glycemic index (GI) foods and avoid refined sugars wherever possible! Have fruit and nuts as snacks, include plenty of vegetables and salad with your meals and choose wholesome carbohydrates such as multigrain bread and brown rice. It is also important to eat plenty of protein; red meat, chicken, fish and eggs and are just a few great options.

This is a very short overview of how best to lose weight. If you would like a more comprehensive review of your dietary and exercise needs then contact us on 1300 177 119.

Cholesterol – the ESSENTIAL fatty substance in our body that’s vital in forming cell membranes and producing hormones in the body. So let’s not get annoyed with it, rather let’s maximise it’s benefits by doing all we can to keep it at a healthy level in our body. Our bodies make Cholesterol and we consume it in our diet…Cholesterol may be high because of our genetics, nutrition or lack of exercise.The good news is that although we don’t have control over our genetics we do have control over our lifestyle! The two lifestyle factors that contribute most to cholesterol are diet and exercise!

How does exercise lower cholesterol?

1. Increases the ‘good’ cholesterol in your body and lowers the ‘bad’ cholesterol.

 2. Essential to maintaining a healthy weight

3. Keeps the heart strong and the vascular system toned.

What can you add to your diet to lower cholesterol?

 a. Oatmeal and Oat Bran. Eating soluble fibre helps your intestine digest the ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL). Kidney beans, pears, prunes and apples are also classified as soluble fibre.

b. Walnuts and Almonds. These nuts are rich in polyunsaturated fats keeping the blood vessels healthy and flexible. Be aware that nuts are also high in energy so eat about a handful.

c. Fish Oils and Omega 3’s. Fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, sardines, salmon and tuna contains high levels of omega 3’s that help lower cholesterol. It is recommended that you eat Fish at least twice a week. You can also get Omega 3’s using supplements. Try some from Coastal Bodies.

If you’re anything like the rest of us, New Year’s resolutions seem so reasonable and practical on New Years Eve, during the first weeks of the year the even seem to grow closer; but at some stage during January or February they have disappeared out of our sights. They’re probably stacked up on the shelf next to those half-achieved resolutions from 2009 and 2008 because year in, year out; we keep on insisting that we will get them done- once and for all this year. To me, this screams a sense of urgency- screams that we need to get onto it this year, or it will start to get the better of us!

So, how are we going to make sure 2010 is any different? Those resolutions need to jump back off the shelf and stay where you can keep a close eye on them for the rest of the year!

Firstly, grab a pen and write down your main goals for this year. If they have anything to do with your health and wellbeing, make your goals SMART- Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and within a Timeframe. For example, a client with some extra weight around her waist in 2009 was advised she had 10kg to lose for the benefit of her health and wellbeing. Together we sat down, and set her a specific exercise and eating plan for her overall goal of 5kg weight loss by June 30^th, and a further 5kg lost by December 31^st. To say that she was over the moon when she arrived at this very specific and realistic goal by New Years Eve would be an understatement! She looked and felt like a million dollars!

Once those goals are written down, tell someone about them. Tell your partner, your personal trainer, your boss or tell me. Whoever it is, make sure they hear you loud and clear because once you mutter those words aloud, they can hold you accountable to those goals.

The next step; what steps do you need to take to achieve these goals? If they are related to your health, you will likely need an eating plan; an exercise plan and you will definitely need to tell someone in the gym about your goals. Finally, set yourself a reward for reaching that goal. Reward your hard work with anything from that new pair of skinny jeans you’ve had your eye on to a relaxing bubble bath.

This year at Coastal Bodies, the trainers and I will combine exercise and dietary plans to enable you to achieve your goals! With that, I look forward to seeing you in the gym!

Weights seem to be the man’s domain… not anymore! Women get just as much health benefit from strength training as men; without bulking up, in fact strength training as an essential component of everyone’s exercise routine?

Let’s consider why by busting some common misconceptions:

#1 Women doing weights get bulky muscles

Ever been afraid of bulking up? Or thought weights are only for men? Most women don’t have the genetic potential to build massive muscles because they have 10 – 13 times less of the muscle building hormone, testosterone that men have. Rather weight training gives you toned muscle and reduced fat mass – and isn’t that what we all want – Less fat more tone!

#2 You can’t burn fat in your sleep

Everyone uses energy every minute of the day; those with more muscle mass will burn more calories than those with less muscle mass because they have a higher metabolism. By doing weights you can increase your muscle mass and resting metabolism to burn more calories even while you’re sleeping.

Strength training improves many areas of health including:

-           Joint and muscles function and consequently balance, flexibility, stamina and reduced risk of injury.

-          Increase in bone density and strength; this slows down the detrimental processes that come with age such as muscle loss and osteoporosis.

-          Decreases your risk of developing diabetes

-          Increases your blood level of HDL (good cholesterol)

-          Improves posture

-          Decreases resting blood pressure

-          Energizes and improves your mood

Tips to make your workout effective

-          Increase the weight not the number. That is:  do fewer repetitions with higher weights, gradually overloading the muscle. This will increase strength.

Muscles strengthen when they are overloaded and have to work at a higher intensity; there are 3 ways you can overload:

1. Resistance

2. Repetition

3. Sets

These will vary depending on what type of muscle strength you want. If you want:

• Strength endurance: requires continued contractions over a longer period of time. Therefore use Lower weights and do higher repetitions
• Power: Aim is to achieve fast powerful movements. Doing medium repetitions (6-10) and medium resistance
• Maximum Strength: Aim is to lift maximum loads. Therefore low repetitions (1-5) and maximal weight is required
• Size and Strength: This requires medium to high repetitions with medium to high weights

So that you use the right energy stores rest for 48 hours between weight sessions.

Did you know having a waist line >80cm in women and > 94cm in men will increase your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and high blood pressure … we could go on!

Carrying extra weight around the mid section isn’t just extra fat below your skin; it’s also extra fat surrounding your organs. Fat stored in this area presents greater risk than fat stored around the bottom and thighs.

Regardless of fitness levels, people with a larger waist circumference are more likely to develop diseases than those with a smaller waist circumference.

So how do we lose weight around the stomach – should we do lots of sit ups?

The best type of exercise for fat burning is a combination of resistance training (using weights to increase muscle mass – see our previous blogs for more information) and cardiovascular training that includes high intensity intervals (this means that your heart rate will increase, you will breath more heavily and sweat!). High intensity workouts increase your oxygen consumption for a longer period of time after exercise; this increases the amount of calories and therefore stored fat the body will use for energy. However your body will always choose to use the most readily available energy first so if you are over eating or eating foods high in sugar your body will choose to use the blood sugar as opposed to fat stores, and it will store the extra energy! So whilst exercise is vital, your diet is too!

The most effective way to lose weight around the abdominal region is to eat well and exercise hard. Eating well will include beginning the day with breakfast. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism for the day so eat something wholesome with a low glycemic index (GI); for example muesli with nuts and yoghurt. Have fruit and nuts as a snack, include plenty of vegetables and salad with your meals and choose wholesome carbohydrates such as multigrain bread or brown rice. It is also important to eat protein; meat, eggs and tofu are just a few great options.

Need Motivation and live in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney?

At Coastal bodies you recieve both guidelines for Exercise and Diet! We can suit your needs – there’s one on one, pairs personal training sessions, there are group exercise sessions including FUNctional Boxing and Flat out Mums and we also have an accredited dietician to give you professional dietary plans. To find out more email info@coastalbodies.com.au

Jess Lewis

As the newest employee Coastal Bodies, I am so excited to jump on board with a team of inspired and energetic exercise scientists and use my up to date and relevant skills to assist Coastal Bodies clients in achieving their goals.

The best part about being a Dietician is the human element. Someone once told me that everything you need to know to be a Dietician is found on the back of the packet. To that comment I laughed (first and foremost), but then I challenged him by asking what kind of a packet prints things like personalized dietary plans, constant dietary monitoring or changes to one’s circumstances which need careful dietary consideration or even things like coping strategies. He then admitted to me that he actually really struggled to make any sense of the nutrition panels on packets!

I feel that the most important tool I can possibly impart is knowledge, as I believe that is the best key to success- no matter what your goals may be.

I often get asked “why is it so important to combine diet and exercise?”  To best describe it, picture that your body is a truck and you have to drive it from Sydney to Melbourne. The amount of time it will take you to do the trip is dependent on how heavy the load in the truck is and how fast you can accelerate. This is similar to your body, in such that a heavy load will take a lot longer to pull along, and use more energy to get going. If you are careful about the number and types of calories you eat, you will have a lighter load to pull along through your training sessions; making it easier to get up your speed and efficiency. Naturally, this is the best way to arrive at your goal with a clear head and enough time to pick out a dress.