Showing posts with label losing weight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label losing weight. Show all posts

Friday, 3 October 2014

Dear ladies (and gentlemen),
we all know how hard the battle of losing weight is and our attempts to shape the body to what we consider ideal. Big thighs, flappy bellies, hanging arms... all things we don't like and we wish to change by means of exercises specifically designed to destroy that garbage (and us), sometimes in concert with a well-balanced diet. 
To begin with, we claim to target a certain body shape. Bad news is that genetics will dictate the uncontrollable. Good news is that we do have the power to change a few things that might actually contribute to our overall satisfaction. 
Today I want to be more specific and show you different types of bodies that we usually have to deal with. I'm sure you already heard about hourglass shape, apple shape and so on. 


But what you want is probably some technicality. And there you are the categories (somatotypes) into which we are most likely:

Endomorphs – “fat retainers”
Mesomorphs – “athletic”
Ectomorphs – “skinny”





Actually i have some kind of bad news. One thing we cannot do is choosing where we want to loose weight. Detect and target a specific spot to be reduced. Just fiction.
Remember how the layers of an onion are? For most people, fat acts exactly like that. It doesn’t just disappear from a specific place, but rather it comes off layer by layer from the whole bodyHowever, some people have localised areas where fat loss (and of course gain) is more pronounced, and while fat is still shed from all over the body, the loss is proportionately different in different areas. 

What I experienced was a mix of both the conditions. When I am losing weight, that occurs everywhere with more emphasis on thighs and breast. Exactly! My breast!! 
A nightmare for every woman. 
Why does that happen? Well, during the initial stages of weight loss, women tend to lose fat in their breast, which is mainly fat tissue, indeed. Those with the shape of a pear tend to carry excessive body fat in their buttocks, hips and thighs as well. 
So, what can we do to prevent this terrifying situation? 
Not so many people know that the most important thing for those women to do is to keep their cardiovascular (cardio) activity to a minimum. Specifically to a level that reaps health benefits without excessive loss of fat, while emphasising resistance (weight) training in the effort to increase the size of the muscles that lie underneath the breasts.
While it is not guaranteed to keep the fat of the breast, your breast can very well be perked up by strengthening the main muscle group of the chest supporting them. Think of the pectoralis major and minor.
What I personally suggest is phrased in a kind of motto "eating clean, training dirty", especially those area's you don't really like of yourself. Then try to accept the body you have. I know it's not easy but, at the end everyone is unique and beautiful in his/her own way.
My body changed when i started to eat clean.  But let me be honest here: we live only once so have that piece of chocolate staring at you, on the desk, begging you to bite it, once in a while. 
After all, that will cost you 3-4 times/week of cardio and strengthening exercises.



Love,
Caroline






Thursday, 13 March 2014

Hello girls and boys!

I am sure that what I am writing here has happened to you at least once in your life. I mean, have you ever had the feeling of being fat and just not comfortable with yourself? 

Exactly! Awkward silence is what I was expecting. So, keep reading.

Let me go even more in depth. Imagine this scenario: your main ambition of the day is staying at home, maybe sipping a cup of tea right before eating. And that's not even dinner time. Then eating again. You feel like being doomed to eat and prisoner of your blanket, in a virtuous circle that keeps you stuck there until, my friend, it's too late for you to react.
Alright, I might sound quite fatalistic here, but you know what I mean. Moreover, winter is almost gone and there might be the need for your body to realise that. 

We all know that staying at home will not solve the problem. Diets always look like mountains that are impossible to climb. But keep in mind that your body is usually not capable of doing anything. It’s the brain that can do things, and if that box is working well enough it can do great things. If not, alas, your brain will be the worst enemy you could get. And we don't want enemies. Do we? 
So, keep yourself mentally sharp and follow these not-so-easy (I know) pieces of advice to put yourself one step forward.

The question that I have been asked a number of times goes a bit like this: "what should I do to lose weight?"
My answer, can be as articulated as an exam of nutrition at university or like the guidelines below, depending of who I am answering.

First of all, you have to set some realistic goals. Don’t try to lose 10 kg per week, nor believe those charlatans who claim that is possible. Losing a lot of weight in a short amount of time will have a side effect that we usually call the jo jo effect. What's that? The perfect machine of our body will react to the new condition and will go into a conservation state. Sooner or later, when you or your brain will relax on this drastic diet, it'll gain weight again. Therefore, take it easy and, more importantly, slow. A range from 2 to 4 kg per month is already a good achievement. Diet is like a ultra marathon with an elevation gain that you only experienced on Google maps. Slow and steady wins the race.

Start counting the calories you eat. Losing weight means eating less calories than you really burn and create that awesome deficit that will also burn your fat. Write down whatever you eat and always look at it during your day. Your brain can fool you by forgetting or underestimating the amount of calories that you are taking. 
Split the day in 4 periods: breakfast, lunch, dinner and eventually time for snacks. Because you need it.
I personally use this website to get nutritional facts of whatever I eat. 

How much should you eat? 
Well, math is nice because it's clear. The amount of calories you consume in a day depends on factors like age, physical activity intensity and height, just to name a few.
This website can help you to have an idea about your daily intake.



Another secret you should share with everyone is about what to eat. Eat a variety of foods! It is important to have balanced diet with foods that belong to the five major groups in the picture. Choosing a variety of foods within and across food groups improves dietary patterns because foods within the same group have different combinations of nutrients and other beneficial substances.
Distrust the lemon diet, the potato diet or the rice diet. Distrust all mono food diets and, again, the charlatans that sponsor their effectiveness. 

Drink plenty of water, and avoid all the chemical fuzzy drinks. Water will help you to increase energy and relieve fatigue. Water flushes out toxins, improves skin complexion, boosts your immune system and it does all of this for free. Even if you buy water, that will still be cheaper than those sweetened beverages that will just make you fat. A total of 1,5-2 litres per day should do the trick.

My last recommendation: don’t be passive and move!  Try to move as much as you can. Cycling, swimming, running, fitness, dancing are all good for your body. Physical activity, as the word says, will activate your metabolism, forcing your body to burn more calories that, in turn, will make you smaller (providing you are not eating more too). 

If one day you end up at the gym and you realise that your weight is higher than the time you were flaked out on the sofa, don't panic. Muscle is heavier than fat. But more muscles usually mean more calories to burn. 

What now? Get started and sweat all the fat out of that body!
Diet is the only game where you win when you lose.

Love,
Caroline