Whether we want to admit it or not, losing body fat is a function of calorie reduction such that we spend some time in a calorie deficit. What this means, in a nutshell, is that there will be periods of time when we have to eat fewer calories than what our bodies' have been accustomed. Below are some of the best methods to deploy when looking to drop body fat without starving yourself....

The workouts were tough, staying awake was tough! However, this diet quickly became the new norm and I started to feel massive benefits. My physical ailments weren’t as noticeable throughout the day as my digestive system was given a well-earned rest after 33 years of abuse! I’m my own harshest critic but Paul has been supportive from the get go and it’s genuine. He’s given me pep talks when necessary and compliments when deserved but he’ll keep it real. I know he knows if I’m maintaining my end of the bargain so I have hardly missed a step. This accountability has been key to me persevering.

Barriers are something I spent 30 years building around me which always stopped me from losing weight. My brain made everything seem impossible; I should start today but what’s the point? Might as well wait until Monday. If I’m waiting til Monday I’ll wait until the next month, new year etc etc etc. How about when I turn 50 because it’s a nice round number?!…..

It seemed like I was going to be preparing meals or working out for quite a lot of time every week. Did I have time? Did I have time for other things I wanted to do? Did I want to do this? Yes! Easy. I made time. I believe you can make time for anything you want to do and I really wanted to do this. 

So the point of this post is to urge you to re-assess how you view your training and nutrition. I'm urging you to stop thinking in binaries and rather start to assess everything on a continuum. Nothing is inherently good or bad. I want you to instead see things along a continuum, ranging from 'less optimal' to 'more optimal'.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, then when it comes to my fitness routine, I have lived a life of complete insanity.  I’ve even done a workout program called Insanity (shocker- it didn’t work for me!)

Partly because I lack creativity, and partly because I like routine, my typical formula was to observe the short term successes of other people and then jump on board with whatever they did.  Typically, their successes would be short lived and they would revert back to their longer term average.  

The difference for me?  My commitment was insane.  This isn’t me priming my own ego, its objectively true.  In my “Monkey see, Monkey do” attempts at fitness, I would imitate what people did- for a long time, with mixed results.  The people I was imitating would have already moved on to new programs- I would stay committed to old ones..  

Low back pain is now the leading cause of disability worldwide. 

"Low back pain is the leading worldwide cause of years lost to disability and its burden is growing alongside the increasing and ageing population" (Buchbinder, et al, 2018)

Globally, years lived with disability caused by low back pain increased by 54% between 1990 and 2015, mainly because of population increase and ageing, with the biggest increase seen in low-income and middle-income countries

Most low back pain is unrelated to specific identifiable spinal abnormalities and therefore I want to take a look at why it is affecting so many of us and what we can potentially do to combat low back pain.

Today's blog comes courtesy of client Eric. To find out more about Eric's story, see this blog post.

"I’ve started typing this at 3:20AM on my way from Sydney to Tokyo.  I’ve just woken up in the middle of the night and went for a glass of water- only there isn’t just water.  There was wine, biscuits, 3 different types of chocolates, an assortment of pastries, a basket of fruit. The flight attendant saw me pondering the snack tray, and asked if I’d prefer a cheese plate or a piece of chocolate hazelnut cake.   I say “no” because I have willpower—I’m proud. I drink my glass of water and start walking back to my seat.  I walk 4 steps before the siren song of the snack tray calls me back.  Five minutes later I look down in shame as I’ve mindlessly eaten 5 Tim Tams and a muffin- because I don’t have willpower- I’m not proud.

This more or less encapsulates what travel is for me- the relentless assault of fatty convenience.  I’ve just gotten on to this flight from an airport lounge with tons of free food.  Two days ago, I was in a hotel where there was a lounge that serves free food for 18 hours a day- the mini bar in this particular hotel was free- FREE!

Travel is difficult when it comes to staying in shape.  I was away from home 110 days last year. With Paul’s help, I got into the best shape of my life. Here’s a few things I’ve learned:

The term 'vegetarian' is not clearly defined, and whilst all vegetarians base their diets on foods of plant origin, there are different levels of vegetarianism according to how much food derived from animals is also eaten. In Australia there are five major types of vegetarian:

• A 'semi vegetarian' eats poultry and/or fish, dairy foods and eggs, but no red meat;
• A 'lacto vegetarian' consumes dairy foods but no meat, poultry, fish or eggs;
• A 'lacto-ovo vegetarian' includes dairy foods and eggs, but no meat, poultry or fish;
• A 'pescetarian' includes fish and other seafood, but no meat or poultry (while eggs and/or dairy foods may or may not be eaten); and
• A 'vegan' eats only foods of plant origin.

It is widely considered that a vegetarian diet is extremely beneficial to health. Vegetarians live longer and are less susceptible to chronic disease. Orlich et al (2013) found that vegetarians were less likely to suffer from hypertension, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.

The reasons for becoming vegetarian are many and varied, including: -

• Religious beliefs
• Health
• Moral
• Environmental
• Weight loss

The quality of a vegetarian diet very much depends on the individual and the food choices they make. However, common deficiencies that are seen with vegetarian diets include: -

Want to maximise muscle mass and strength? You'll want to pay attention to testosterone...

There is a dose-response effect of testosterone on muscle strength and size. The more testosterone you produce, the bigger and stronger you get (Bhasin, et al, 2001) - “an increase in circulating testosterone concentrations results in dose-dependent increases in fat-free mass, muscle size, strength, and power.” (Bhasin, et al, 2001)

Testosterone is also an important determinant of energy partitioning and body recomposition during overfeeding (Bouchard et al, 2013). Basically, when you consume food, specifically a surplus of calories, you are much more likely to build muscle with higher testosterone levels, whereas you are far more likely to gain fat with lower levels of testosterone.

For years I hit a plateau with my training, never progressing or getting the results I wanted. Listening to the advise and guidance of Paul he has taken me to the next level with my training, and I now look and feel better than I ever have before.

The scale is perhaps the most feared piece of equipment in the gym (with the possible exception of the the Assault Bike!!). Everybody dreads stepping on the scale, as if they are about to drop into the abyss.

So here's my take on scale weight, why it can be a useful measurement tool, and why you have to exercise some caution when using it.

"A frequent pattern is that if weight goes down, that means it's time for celebration. Bring on the cake. But if weight goes up, it's time to reduce food intake even more and add an extra hour of exercise to the gym. As you'll see below, these types of short- term changes are relatively meaningless overall" (McDonald, 2018)

I have posted far less about myself over recent months. The reason being, well why would anyone want to read about my training? I mean, that's your job right?

But I thought a little harder and on closer inspection, I'm not any different from any of my clients. For example, I have long working hours. I have the same time pressures to try and fit in my training, prepare my food, and get adequate sleep. I have social occasions to attend, and temptations to try and resist! I have family and friends that I have to balance.

So, I guess my point is, rather than seeing myself as somehow different or separate from my clients, we are all in the same boat. 

Getting enough sleep is absolutely critical, not just for health and well being, but also to ensure optimal results from a body composition perspective.

"Although correlation research is not conclusive, there appears to be a persistent relationship between less sleep time and greater fat mass. This association persists after controlling for the most predictable potential confounding agents"

So how can you go about optimising your sleep? Here is my guide to sleep....

So, we understand that energy balance is the key to weight loss. If that last sentence makes no sense then please read the THIS article first.

With that understood, it is easy to understand why the number of calories we consume on both a short- and long-term basis is absolutely crucial to losing weight.

By far the easiest way to ensure you are consuming the right number of calories is to track your calorie intake (at least for a period of time). However, many people struggle to do this. So, what can you do if you struggle to track your calorie intake but you want to ensure you don't over-consume on calories? Read on to find out....