My New Gym

Although I always challenge myself in the gym, sometimes I do feel that on 'down' when your head just isn't in the zone, I do tend to dial back the weight or my performance is effected.  However the great thing about training with Andy is irrespective of how shit his day is, his performance in the gym is never effected - he just takes it out on the weights or the people around him.

I have joined the same gym as Andy and our programmes are more or less running parallel.  Our Leg, back and Rest Days land on the same days, so really I will only ever be training Shoulders/ Chest & Triceps on different days.  Top Gym in Austria has a similar set up as Warehouse gym in Aberdeen (its in a warehouse)... yeh and thats pretty much the only similarity.  Thankfully this gym doesn't have signs saying the equipment is out of order.  Its also a lot different to David Lloyds in Aberdeen were I also train which is probably the most pristine clean gym in Aberdeen, with the highest number of members and one squat rack (yup I like to moan about this a lot!).  Top Gym so far I counted 6 squat racks.

I am on Micro Cycle 3 at the end of my 1st week on my new 12 week training programme.   We made afew alterations to my training programme given the fact there is more specialised equipment here compared to the gyms I was training at in Aberdeen.

Since arriving here I have also been living off the Austrian equivalent of Fage, Oats, Vegetables and Turkey, and 5 days in I am already noticing a difference in the mirror.  I feel and look leaner.  I decided I would only take a tape measure with me when I am over here, rather than stepping on the scales.  As some of you will all know for years I was so hung up on scale readings, but as I started to understand anatomy and the whole nutrition process I now understand that scales are just a number - especially when it comes to a female!  the mirror and the tape measure are what dictate the results.

This morning I did my first Morning Cardio session, although it wasn't at the pace I would normally do it (I would be slightly faster), the purpose of the session this morning was to get my bearings round the local area, so that I can do Morning Cardio when I dictate as oppose to relying on Andy.  I understand that his training is different to me and he doesn't rely on as much cardio as I do.

Catch Up Time

It's been a while since my last blog post.  As I mentioned in my last post with the down turn of the oil prices I was one of the unfortunate people who lost their jobs.  I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason though, and that you should always see the positive in a bad situation.

Last year I completed an NVQ Level 3 in Project Controls.  I have been doing Document Control for just over 13 years and I decided that I fancied trying something different.  Once I completed the course the down turn in the market happened and there was very little opportunities out there with companies not taking on any new staff.  Luckily however when I did get paid off a position through Andy at the company he works at came available, and although the position is half Document Control it is also half Project Controls which is fantastic.  The great part is its based in Vienna so again some life experience as well with living abroad.

As you know I have started cutting and I am 4 weeks into my cut.  I have not been very forthcoming in what competitions I planned to compete in this year as I decided to see what happened with my cut.  I made the decision last year that I only wanted to go on stage again this year if I could see improvements.  Being honest although I do see changes am still not convinced if I should compete this year or not.  I have decided to cut for another 4 weeks, this will allow me to get settled into my new job and of course see if I can maintain the same nutritional habits I had back home with less facilities.  I know training will not suffer at all as there is a fantastic gym across here.  I was keeping an eye on competitions in June as my main focus for training.  Last year I never got to enjoy my summer because I was training for my September comp, so this year I would like a holiday in the sun and to enjoy myself.  The only other option is to compete later on in the year, and start a cut at the end of the summer.  In the meantime I will see what the next 4 weeks bring!  

Nemesis is doing brilliantly the last few months, we are almost at full capacity as we decided to cap our clients in order to give our clients the best service possible for online coaching.  We have some amazing clients ranging from fat/weight loss, lifestyle changes, holiday transformations to marathon runners and footballers.   Great bunch of people and its a pleasure receiving their emails each week and knowing that we are helping others reach their goals.

Alcohol

The purpose of this post is not to preach how bad alcohol is for your health, but to give some understanding to those people out there who want to loose weight or reduce body fat but can't understand why they are not getting the results due to keeping alcohol in their diet.

I love alcohol.  Am I a binge drinker? - Yes I guess I am for 2 reasons.

1. I only drink on a Special Occasion
2. When I do drink, I am usually highly intoxicated

I am in with the group of people who binge drink once a week (your Saturday Night / Social Event drinkers).  When you consume multiple drinks in such a short space of time it increases the amount of alcohol circulating in the blood and the time it spends there.  It is at this point that the liver cannot keep up and you start to experience  an increase in urination frequency as the body tries to rid itself to the alcohol faster from the body.  The more alcohol you put in your body, the more of a back log takes place as the alcohol can only metabolise a certain amount of alcohol per hour approx 8-10g.

When you consume alcohol it passes to the stomach where around 20% of it is absorbed immediately by the blood stream.  If you are drinking on an empty stomach this will pass through extremely fast, where as with food absorption is delayed.  The bodies main goal is to get it to the liver and detoxify the alcohol, however it will circulate in the blood stream first where it is delivered to various tissues in the body, for example your brain.  Once the alcohol reaches your liver it is metabolised like fat.  Your liver converts the metabolic by products of alcohol into fatty acids.  These may be stored in the liver or transported for storage into other tissues.  

Which brings me to another topic 'the beer belly'.  It is a misconception that only men get a 'beer belly'.  Women who drink in this manner are also subject to the 'beer belly' - just because you don't drink beer doesn't mean the alcohol source you choose won't give you one!  

When we ask our clients which area of the body are they least happy about, almost 90% of our female clients have said 'mid section'.  When we inspect their food diaries they provide us prior to going on plan we find they ARE eating the right foods but perhaps too little, but that they are consuming alcohol and it tends to be from the weekly binge drinking sessions.  

Helpful Tips when it comes to alcohol if you are reluctant to cut it out completely.

Ensure your potassium levels are high pre and post alcohol consumption.

• Consume food sources high in potassium post alcohol consumption, when you drink alcohol your body becomes depleted of potassium this is a contributing factor to a hangover.  
• Banana's will assist in ridding your hang over headaches and nausea.

Ensure you are well hydrated

• This is water not via alcohol) pre, intra and post alcohol consumption
• One Glass of wine for example causes the body to expel 800 to 1000ml of water!  This is 4 times as much liquid lost as gained.
• Do you really need that drink every time its someones round?  
• Is there any issue in having a pint of water along side that glass of wine?

Ensure you have hit your protein and fat macro targets as a minimum throughout the day 

• Ideally hit 3 macro nutrient targets
• Ensure you are not consuming alcohol on an empty stomach

Do NOT reach for that end of the night fast food take away

• Will only hinder your results even more by adding weight
• If you are hungry and must go for fast food at least opt for a Chicken Kebab - NO Sauce or Chips and even better if you choose to throw away the pitta!  Sticking to the chicken and salad.

The next morning DO NOT reach for your 'fry up'.

• Everyone continues their bad eating the next day by opting for a fry up or sweet and sugary things, get yourself back on track!  Which will reduce your hang over and fatigue.
• Bowl of Oats and Protein shake are a great way to re balance your insulin levels and prevent cravings.

As I state time and time again with my clients, I can give you the tools and advice to smash your goals, but its up to you to put them in practice.  If you choose alcohol when your on a deadline to achieve goals then your not necessarily going to achieve the results you could have if you had removed this completely.  

Although I am in the group of people mentioned above when I choose to drink, to clarify I do not drink when I am on plan for a competition or a personal goal.  I also never let anyone bully me into drinking to make them feel better because THEY feel awkward about someone being in THEIR company who is not drinking.  For me I can be at a social event and consume zero alcohol and have just as much of a good time as someone drinking!  

THE CHOICE IS YOURS.

My Photoshoot

A few people have now asked me why I have not posted about my photoshoot on Saturday.  The truth is I haven't been feeling to great this week.  Last week I like many others were paid off due to the price of the barrel (I work in the Oil and Gas Industry).  There has been quite a lot of pay off's and pay cuts and unfortunately it hit me.   Finishing up at a place where I enjoyed working and had some brilliant work colleagues was extremely hard as its down to a situation that is beyond my control and not leaving because I want to.

It certainly put a damper on the photoshoot which was the next day!  To top it off, after the photoshoot I carried weights we used as props out to the car and twisted funny and did my back in.  I am slowly recovering and the pain is easing, but its been a really tough week for me.

Anyway before the violins get louder here is a few snaps!

Improving your Macro Tracking

The great thing about personal training and developing client relationships is that it has given me a number of nutrition based topics which I can blog about.

This weeks topic as per the subject title is 'Improving your Macro Tracking'.

Macro Tracking, is the term given to tracking your Protein, Carbs and Fat intake.  This is a different approach to a calorie controlled diet, where you will be given a calorie allowance to hit each day, and you can hit this calorie allowance selecting any food source you wish.  

I find on average it takes a new client around a fortnight to start hitting their macro's within the 5g targets I set them.  This is mainly down to the adjustment of using this method to track their foods, and then as their memory adapts and then understanding how much carbs, fat or protein is in a certain food source, or being able to differentiate between a protein, carb  and fat source.

Tips when it comes to Macro Tracking

1. Don't just input a food source into your 'My Fitness Pal' and the quantity you are about to consume or have consumed.  Instead look at the macro break down first, by doing this you will become more knowledgeable of how much macronutrients is in a particular food source.  For example 100g of chicken has for example around 25g of protein, 3g of fat and Zero carbs.  So in future if your low in hitting your protein and fat target but have already hit your carb target you know that by consuming chicken it has no carbs in it therefore it will not effect your carb limit.
2. Read food labels carefully, as per the picture below, this product was in an end of isle display next to the health isle in a well known Supermarket.  For a consumer who does not track macro's as part of their diet but 'thinks' they follow a low carb, high protein diet would naturally think this product is perfect!  On a further inspection this product is actually mainly a carb source - not the protein source that it states on the front of the packaging.  So why has the manufacturer written protein on the front of the package?  because unlike your standard granola it contains more protein - that's all! therefore they can market it with the word 'Protein'.
3. Low Fat options - again read the food labels!  Opting for the low fat alternative in most cases means their is added sugars or sweeteners and the full fat option is actually the better choice.  Did you know that legally a company can market any product of theres as a 'diet' or 'low calorie' alternative providing its less than the standard option?  This means your 'healthy' alternative bread may infact only be 1g less in fat! - the total of 9 calories (if your following a calorie controlled diet).
4. If your trying to make clean and healthy choices then look at the product and ask yourself is it in its natural state or as near to?  Do you know what's in it?
5. If you are making your own recipe, use the recipe maker in My Fitness Pal, enter the weights and all ingredients that you are using and then enter the portions  - Hey presto the app can give you your full macro break down per serving!
6. If using my fitness pal be aware of 'cooked' and 'raw' weights.  If I use carrots I always enter 'raw carrots' then weigh and enter. 
7. Be mindful people can enter a food source and all the macro info into My Fitness Pal (I personally only rely on 'raw' or bar code scanning, I never search for a product).  If you do search for a product, again study the macro break down of the product - does it match the food label of the product you have in front of you?  Also supermarkets change their barcodes - I once froze some meat I bought from Asda to use at a later date.  A month later I scanned it, then noticed that bar code now belongs to Asda's Unsmoked Bacon! If I never noticed I would have been completely out on my macro targets that day.

I always say to my clients that you know more about good nutrition than you think you do, you just haven't really thought about it in this way until now.  We all know how to eat right and what foods are good and bad for us, but some of us ignore this.