AmSo Fit & Healthy (Danica): Where your nutrition information comes from makes a difference

With an increasing focus of food, nutrition, health and exercise in today’s society, there runs the risk of misinformation being provided. It seems that every second person wants to get on board within the health and fitness industry, often coming in blindly, passing on second hand nutrition information with no evidence to back it. With that in mind, it becomes hard for the general public to understand who has the authority to give them quality information when it comes to food, nutrition and general well-being, let alone specific to their activity, disease or health state.

If you have a question about anything, what’s the first place you turn to? For the majority of people, it’s Google. Yes, Google will have an answer. Deep down in the ‘interwebs’, you will more than likely find an accurate, high-quality answer, but more often than not you will come across incomplete, misleading or inaccurate information. The moral of the story is that anyone can publish anything.

It’s important to ask yourself when reading or receiving nutritional information "is this person qualified to speak about nutrition?" Should you believe an article on a website that tells you to eat 10 bananas each day to lose weight, or a trainer at the gym pushing a high-protein diet, or a salesperson in a health store suggesting a supplement for a "newly discovered herb" that you’ve never heard of before? Do they have a solid education behind them to make them qualified to make such suggestions? TV reports are often no different. Have you noticed that when a nutritional message is plugged on TV, it’s often presented by celebrities, fitness experts, food editors, psychologists, chefs, pharmacists… literally anyone except an accredited Dietitian or Registered Nutritionist?

In a society where all kinds of information are readily available to everyone and some people are just looking to pass on sub-standard advice to make a quick buck, it’s hard to know who to turn to for proper nutritional guidance.

Dietitians truly are the experts when it comes to nutrition. With at least 4 years of university education behind them, including 6 months of practical hands-on experience, they have the complete knowledge and understanding of how to apply nutrition information to a wide variety of people and a range of medical conditions to improve health. In the hospital setting, the knowledge a dietitian has is second to only that of doctors when it comes to the human body. Even then, doctors aren’t considered a great source of current accurate information regarding nutrition; their medical degree only skims the top of what dietitian’s know about nutrition. As a Dietitian, you have to understand:

How the body works, including all of the organs

What happens to the body’s function when something goes wrong, including while under stress, in a disease state, with various conditions

Medications and how they interact with each other and impact food

How food is digested and metabolised within all parts of the body

How food can be used to treat or manage a wide variety of conditions, diseases and injury states

With three years of university study behind me, nearing the completion of my Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics degree with only research and practical experience to go, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve got a greater understanding and appreciation for how nutrition influences health, fitness and wellbeing than Joe Blogs down at the gym, or Jane Doe with her super smoothies blog, trying to sell you advice that they’ve read in this week’s gossip mag. There’s a reason that Ben doesn’t give much advice to clients regarding nutritional advice. Yes, as a personal and fitness trainer, he does have a basic background in nutritional knowledge. He is a competitive bugger and likes to think that he knows everything, but he knows when to wave the white flag and concede defeat. He doesn’t want to give half-arsed information that anyone could have found with a quick and easy google search. Ben left his 60-hour week job selling cars so that, together, we can focus on giving clients and people of the Sunshine Coast the best opportunity to live a healthy and happy life. With the combination of his expertise in fitness – and I must admit, even when I listen to him speak to clients, and the passion in which he does so, he is an expert - and my extensive knowledge of nutrition, you can "Get so fit and be so fit, with AmSo Fit & Healthy".

AmSo Fit & Healthy

facebook.com/amsofitandhealthy

Instagram @amsofitandhealthy

www.amsofitandhealthy.com.au

 

ben@amsofitandhealthy.com.au | 0405 268 619

danica@amsofitandhealthy.com.au | 0458 001 848

Paul's Body Engineering: Train Them or Not- The Myth Behind Abdominals

Core training or 'abs' training is a constant across many gyms on the Sunshine Coast. Many times I have been asked whether, like other muscles, abdominals "need to be trained"?

I myself recently completed a successful Bodybuilding season, during which my abdominals were on display to be judged. So id like to share from my own personal experience.

During preperation for competitive body building, I transformed from 97kg to 78kg. It took 10 months to reach 'stage condition'... Want to know a secret? I never once trained my abdominal area!

The 'abs' are a muscle group, and like all muscles they can be trained. Sit ups, V-ups, mountain climbers, Russian twists and planking all form the craze that is abs training. Despite the popularity of such exercises, in my experience i have found that executing major compound weight training exercises correctly is just as affective. When you are doing weight training correctly, your abdominals are always in use and therefore are always strengthening.

Compound exercises are activities such as deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench press or leg press, and utilise more than one muscle group when added into your regime. Your core is used to stabilise the movement and ensure you correctly lift the attempted weight. In saying this, there is no harm, in fact possibly a benefit, to isolating your abdominals and training them independently.

There are many ways to shape and tone your body and everybody's body is different and responds differently to exercise. At the end of the day it is the decision of the individual to train 'abs' or not, after all they are a muscle group like any other.

As many memes across social media suggest, abs are trained the kitchen. A good diet along with training will get the results you desire.
Paul
Paul's Body Engineering
Mobile: 0466 587 643
Email: paul@paulsbodyengineering.com
Website: www.paulsbodyengineering.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulsBodyEngineering/
Instagram: @paulsbodyengineering

Primal Influence: It's All A Matter of Perspective

Today’s blog is not directly fitness related but has a really important role to play in our journey to a greater sense of true health and wellness. It’s all about mindset!

To be truly fit and healthy you must achieve a certain balance between movement, mindset and nutrition. No matter how hard you try, you will find it a struggle to thrive if you are solely focused on one idea or one modality. Examples of this could be a really spiritual person who has a zen-like mindset, but has no or little ability when it comes to using their body in a physical way functionally. Or and athlete who has abs of steel and arms to be proud of, only to be let down by negative thoughts in their head.

The ultimate goal should be to work on each aspect in equal amounts and achieve balance.

One way in which I like to encourage people to work on their mindset is through examining their perspective of the world around them. Now I will ask you to do the same… Take a moment to think about the last time something "bad" happened to you and examine it (a big bill arrived, you had an accident, received an injury, had a problem at work etc). If the event is fresh in your memory it may stir certain negative emotions, but don’t dwell on them. Keep thinking about the incident that happened and examine the outcome. Did any good come of it? Perhaps it was something as simple as a friend or friends reaching out to you, or the incident may have opened up other opportunities in your life that never would have existed for you otherwise. It’s all a matter of perspective!

An extreme example of this may be someone who is facing a terminal illness. Yes the news of a terminal illness is devastating, but some positives may actually come out of it. Instead of being down in the dumps because they are ill, their perspective may change and they may focus instead on living the best life they can with the time they have remaining. It’s just another way of looking at a situation. By changing the way we look at situations we can change how we feel about them and we can change our emotions from only negative, to somewhat or even immensely positive. And don’t we all want to feel a little more positive?

Our beliefs or points of view can either hold us back from succeeding, or they can help us achieve amazing things we never thought possible. They can make the seemingly worst situation seem like the best opportunity that has come along. Again… it’s all a matter of perspective!

The health and fitness industry and what is promoted within it is full of opinions and perspectives; which by accident or design make us feel guilty or inadequate in the way we look at ourselves and others. It's time to change that!

So let's look at some common ideas, thoughts and beliefs and see how we can switch them around to greatly benefit us on our journey of lasting health and fitness.

• "I need to exercise hard to lose weight" - By focusing on my daily healthy habits I will improve my mood, ability to move and get better sleep. Weight loss and muscle tone is merely a side effect of feeling fantastic from the inside out.
• "I don’t have time to exercise and one or two days a week is not enough so I won’t bother at all" - The 1 or 2 days a week that I exercise are fantastic! That’s one or two more days than I’ve done in the past and any time spent moving my body is benefiting me greatly.
• "I can’t eat that I’m on a diet" - I can eat whatever I want whenever I want. However I’m choosing not to eat junk because I know I will feel better if I don’t.
• "No pain no gain" - My body is not something that needs to be beaten into submission. I will get fitter and stronger in due course. Right now I need to celebrate what I can do.

These are a few examples of commonly held beliefs and slogans that can be changed to provide more value and inspiration into our life.

Remember, your body is responding exactly the way it’s meant to according to what you’ve been feeding it with your nutrition, movement and mindset. So next time you get caught in a negativity spiral, take a moment to change the perspective and see what outcomes you can achieve.

I would love to hear from you some of your commonly held beliefs and how you can change them for a more positive outcome.

Clint and Aimee

Primal Influence

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/primalinfluence/

Instagram: @primalinfluence

AWA Sunshine Coast: The 2nd AWA 13 Week Challenge is coming!

At Athletes with Attitude, we pride ourselves on educating the community about the importance of physical activity. Our mission is to reach out to the local community and teach people why physical activity is really worth the time and effort.

Increasing your physical activity is a great way to have fun, and an awesome way to make like minded friends. Not to mention the positive effects on your body and mind. Physical activity affects your mood and how good you feel.

The benefits of regular exercise include:

Reducing stress

Improving sleep

Boosting your energy

Reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression

Increasing your self-esteem

Not to mention it is great for your muscles, heart and lungs. Builds strong bones , prevent high blood pressure. Just a few of the benefits from a long long list.

Last year, we decided to run a 13 week challenge, free of charge. This was designed to give the community a taste of what we are trying to achieve, and the outcome was extremely successful. Athletes with Attitude is about to hold our 2nd challenge starting 10th February 2016. The Challenge runs for 13 weeks, and you have access to many boot camps, one on one’s with the Personal Trainers, events held throughout the challenge and lots more.

During the AWA 13 Week Challenge we promote a friendly atmosphere and provide an opportunity for the group to all 'get sweaty' together, making it easier to stay motivated. We create a warm family feel, where people can (and do) make new lasting friendships. As always, you can pop into the shop for the warm and fuzzy or the hard love (as required), these are the things that make the AWA Family unique. Our boot camp workouts are all about group camaraderie, not being shy about shouting encouragement and of course, having fun!

These group sessions focus on functional movements like push-ups, squats, sprints, and sit ups, providing killer workouts outside of the gym environment. Boot Camps provide a whole-body workout that builds strength, endurance and creates a sense of camaraderie among the participants. These high intensity workouts deliver results in a total body approach combining sprint intervals, bodyweight exercises, and high- intensity moves like kicking and punching. The key is limiting rest time in between each move to get the heart rate up and burning calories fast. A typical class last one hour and can burn around 600 calories, building strength and aerobic capacity all at the same time.

Athletes With Attitude’s aim is to have people from our community learning to love physical fitness and actively changing your lifestyle. We will support you all the way to achieve what goals you set yourselves.

You have everything to Gain and Nothing to lose (EXCEPT unwanted Kilos!)

Metafit Sunshine Coast: Christmas With Metafit

Christmas is getting closer and the weather is warming up, we can't hep but get excited! Bikini weather, laying by the pool or heading to the beach. That also means its the season of fruit, salads, cold drinks... All the good stuff. So how can we possibly manage to keep ourselves on track with christmas treats and parties left, right and centre? It's not easy, but it is absolutely do-able. We've come up with a list of 'to-do's' to keep you on track during the festive season.

Fresh Produce: There is an abundance of fresh, delicious produce in stores at this time of year. That means there is no excuses for not capitalising on a huge range of fresh 'wholefoods'. If you arent familiar with the term, 'wholefoods' are meals and snacks that arent processed and pre-packed.

Fun: Dont forget that the silly season is all about having FUN! Make the most of the beautiful weather here on the coast and workout outdoors. Soak up some Vitamin D. Take a hike up Mt Coolum. Go for a walk along the beach. Enjoy spending time with your friends and family in the fantastic environment around us.

Alcohol: it can be hard to say no to alcohol at this time of year, especially because its such a social activity to 'wine and dine'. If you feel compelled to enjoy a few drinks. Mix your spirits with soda water or still water with some fresh lemon or lime rather than soft drink. Or squeeze your own fresh juice, rather than buying concentrate juice.

Salads: Instead of having bread or rice with your protein (be it steak, chicken, prawns, tofu or whatever else floats your boat), opt for a generous serving of salad. By mixing through something like cooked quinoa, you can add texutre and make your salad much more filling.

Exercise: Just because its the holidays, doesnt mean you take a break from exercise too. When you chose to make daily exercise a part of your lifestyle, taking time off shouldnt be an option. Neglecting exercise for a long period over the holidays can set you back and make it difficult to get back on track. Exercise is great for physical and mental health all year round and really shouldnt fall by the wayside just becuase its Christmas.

 

To give you a little inspiration in the kitchen, check out this recipe below:

Salmon with Avocado, Lime and Mango Salsa
 4 (3 oz) Salmon Fillets

2 tablespoons fresh Corriander, chopped

Sprinkle of sea salt

1 teaspoon Chilli Powder

Sea salt

Squeeze of fresh Lime


Salsa:
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced

2 mango, pitted, peeled and diced

1 jalapeño, seeds and membranes removed, diced finely

2 teaspoons honey...

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice


To Make The Salsa:
In a medium bowl, mix together diced mango, avocado, and jalapeño. Drizzle honey and lime juice over the mixture and toss in fresh corriander. Season with salt according to taste. Set aside until salmon is ready.

In a large pan, melt butter 1 tbsp over medium high heat. Sprinkle chili powder and sea salt on both sides of the salmon filets. Place filets in the pan, and cook for about 4 minutes per side, or until the salmon has a slightly flaky texture (exact time will depend on the thickness). Plate the salmon and squeeze lime juice over each fillet, and then top with the mango salsa.

　

Don't forget we will be still running classes of the Holidays. We are totally kid friendly so bring them along. Check us out on our Facebook page for loads of information on what we offer. Classes are run from Creekwood and Mudjimba Monday to Friday.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Metafit-Sunshine-Coast-IndoorOutdoor-Fitness-734733013242034/?fref=ts
Instagram: @metafitsunshinecoast

JaycasFit Activewear: New Years Resolution – How long does yours last?

The New Year is rapidly approaching and its time to dust off the old New Years Resolutions.

You know, the ones that are usually made on the night, after several too many glasses of wine, as you countdown to midnight. You know the kind, give up something or start something new.   This year, why not try something new?

Rather than one giant plan, that we often don’t stick with... Why not try something new and plan to make a small change in your life every month? (Yes I can hear you groaning now, every month!).

Just make one small change every month, do something that is challenging to you and that you can see yourself wanting to complete. Be it at home, in business, fitness or whatever you strive towards.  

The change could be something simple, like changing your morning routine. Doing it for one month, after that time it has become a habit and it soon feels like a normal part of your life. The next month, pick something else. By the end of the year you will have made 12 changes to your life and will have had some wonderful experiences.  

I once read how a guy did this for a year and was amazed how much he had seen, done and experienced in that year. One of the things he did in the month was to take a photo of something in his area everyday, when he looked back at all those photos from the year he was able to bring back every feeling and experience he had when taking each photo. He had recorded his life and enjoyed the process on the way.  

We took this idea and tried it with our family. One of the great things we have done is starting a 'year jar' where we put experiences, wins, places we went, anything that we feel like putting in the jar (kids included) and at the end of the year we go for a picnic somewhere and open the jar and read all the notes in there for the year. We have found that this can also show us some of the great things we have achieved in the year.  

Another idea we love is our 'grateful for' at the end of the day. Before we go to bed we all take it in turns to say what we are grateful for, learnt for the day, what made us smile and what we are most proud of ourselves for. As parents we found this was a great way of catching up with some of the things our boys are feeling and doing during their day, but also allowing us to see the greatness we have in our lives.  

So don’t just make a New Years Resolution, just make a commitment to change one simple thing in your life each day for a month, learn how to experience and appreciate more of the your own lives every day.   

Remember it is your Fun Active Life.

Ben & Kathryn

Jaycasfit Activewear

www.JaycasFit.com.au

Accelerate Health and Performance: Re-Evaluating The Cost of a Personal Trainer

I've been a Personal Trainer for six years now and there is one thing that definitely hasn't changed in that time. "I can't afford it" is still by far the most common reason people give as to why they cannot have a PT. Sometimes this is absolutely the case. Sometimes this is just an excuse or a misunderstanding of the truth. I don't mean that as a sarcastic way of saying it's a lie. I mean it is a misunderstanding of the truth. Keep reading...you'll see!

Personal Trainer's can be expensive, especially if you only look at the cost. But if you look at everything you stand to gain it starts to become quite cheap and extremely good value! It's almost like shares....but better! Keep reading....you'll see!

A couple of months ago I posted a question on my Facebook page just to gauge the thoughts and feelings of people about what is holding them back from their health and fitness goals...the response was FAR more than I expected. I learned HEAPS and it has given me a multitude of ideas that I hope to put into action soon.

So throughout the discussions we were having a girl said the following...
"Every gym is intimidating, no trainer wants to help if you aren't paying them to specifically train you, it's awful, I thought men and women worked at gyms to help people like us who don't know what to do, instead we have to pay even more money to get that.. It's kind of ironic."

In part this pissed me off and in part this just made me sad and frustrated with the Fitness Industry. Gyms can be intimidating. I completely admit that. I don't always feel comfortable in gyms myself. Even the one I work in. To say that absolutely all gyms are intimidating and that gyms are intimidating at all times is just not the case. Not only is it subjective but to a certain extent you've got to cop it on the chin a bit and accept that the gym isn't always going to be your favourite place to be but it's where you want to be or may need to be. I'm not the biggest or the strongest but I have shit I want to do...complaining isn't going to get it done. I suck it up, work hard and move forward. For me, it's worth it.

That comment was posted at about 3:00pm...at 3:30pm I was helping a gym member through a leg session. He is an apprentice electrician. He can't afford Personal Training but he is in the gym most days working hard and trying to reach his goals. He is a good guy who wants to work hard. I offered to help him. He didn't ask. At the end of the session he shook my hand and said thanks and that was it. Three months later we still train legs together every Wednesday...

"no trainer wants to help if you aren't paying them to specifically train you, it's awful, I thought men and woman worked at gyms to help people like us who don't know what to do" - BULLSHIT. This bit just pissed me off. I am not the exception to the rule. I am one of many. Yes there are arseholes in the industry. There are arseholes in every industry. No, we aren't all arseholes. Please don't paint us all with one brush.
"instead we have to pay even more money to get that.. It's kind of ironic." ...This bit pissed me off too.
Gyms actually don't make a huge amount of money once all the overheads are covered. How much do you think a gym membership would cost if gyms started paying their PT's a wage? Some gym do run this way. Those gyms are small and few and far between and for good reason.

Do snacks come complimentary with your movie ticket? Didn't think so. Yes, you do have to pay extra for a Personal Trainer. I've known this girl for a while and I trained two of her Aunties and her cousin for years. She's a very nice girl and I have a lot of time for her. Her opinion is valid, as everyone's is, but I think it's a little misguided. Like I said...it kind of pissed me off at first...but then it got me thinking further which was the whole point of the exercise in the first place...

Why do people think that Personal Training is just a cost and not an investment?

Most PT marketing and sales articles will tell you that Personal Training is a "numbers game" and that you have to talk to everyone and try to sell to everyone...I HATE THAT SHIT and I hate that people have the perception that all Personal Trainers are like that. Some are...I can't deny that...but I am not.

Money is without a doubt the number one reason people give when asked why they would not be able to engage in Personal Training. And it is often a valid reason. Money doesn't grow on trees...trust me...I've tried!

But is it really not worth the sacrifices? If there was some way that you could make it work wouldn't you want to give it a red hot go?

* Only old people will get this Phil Collins/Sacrifice reference. #sacarafice

Standard dialogue with a Personal Training enquiry...
Enquirer: "I really want to lose some weight because I'm not happy with my body and I want to get a bit fitter and healthier because I'm always really tired and I get sick all the time and I'd like to get a bit stronger because I'd like to be able to do a push up and one day a chin up. Do you think that's possible?"
Personal Trainer: "Absolutely. They're really good goals. If you train hard and smart you will be able to get there. I'd be happy to help you!"
E: "Ok, cool! I was thinking of doing two sessions per week to start and then maybe adding a third session when I'm fitter. How much would that cost?"
PT: "Two sessions per week will cost you 'x' dollars."
E: "Oh...I can only afford 'y' dollars. I'll have to think about it and get back to you."

They don't get back to you unless you follow it up. I've had that conversation 4,000,000 times.
Let's break it down...Let's jam!

* Having a jam with my sister circa 1989 - Rain hat & truck PJ's #fashionable *

The client wants to lose weight, be healthier, be fitter and be stronger...
Short list, right? Not quite...
What comes with achieving all those goals listed?

Losing weight will breed self-confidence which will flow through the rest of your world and lead to huge gains in the work place, in your home life and even in your love life. More confidence means you're more outgoing at work and more likely to gain more shifts or even gain promotion. All of a sudden you could be financially better off quite directly from engaging in Personal Training!
Being happier in your work life will make you happier at home...more money, less stress will always make for a better home and social life. That needs no explanation. And as for romance...bom chicka wow wow! If you're looking better and feeling better about yourself and how you look you're more likely to attract a lady/man friend. Again...I don't need to explain how that works out well for you...bom chicka wow wow!

So all of a sudden you're making more money, having more fun and getting more sex?

 

But what about the health benefits?
This one is EASY...
Being healthier means less days off work, less days wasted in bed, less trips to the doctor, less trips to the chemist.
"But Mitch...being healthier is only giving me less of stuff!?"
With all of the above comes more time at work which means making more money which means more money to do fun stuff and because you're less sick you can indeed do more fun stuff!
#signmeup
"But Mitch...will I be fitter and stronger?"
BLOODY OATH!...AND that will make all the cool stuff above even more fun because you will be able to do funner stuff and more of it!

Rather than looking at how much a trainer will cost you, look at what you can get out of it. Look at the things that you will cut out of your life in order to maximise the positive effect of your training. Look at how happy and satisfied you will be when you reach your goals. Look at how much that will improve your life. Now put a price tag on how good all that good stuff will feel...How much is it worth now???

And that's just one simple example off the top of my head...give me any scenario and I am confident that I can explain how and why investing in your health with a good Personal Trainer can help. Not just me either...if you're anywhere in Australia I can refer to someone I would trust to train you in about ten minutes flat.

Yes, Personal Training can be (I prefer "seem to be") expensive. It can be a luxury that you simply can't afford. I can't deny that. Personal Training can also be PRICELESS. With a good trainer Personal Training can be far more than just coughing up dough at the end of a session and sore legs the next day. It can be a new lease of life, new friendships and new perspectives on the world that you simply cannot buy.

Talk to a trainer and talk about their product and how it can help you. You might find it's far less costly than you think...you might also find that it's the other stuff in your life that you can no longer afford.

Leave a comment...share it...like it...whatever you need to do. As always please refer all complaints and hate mail to the admin of this page.

Mitch
Accelerate Health and Performance
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acceleratehealthandperformance/
Instagram: @mitchellknightpt

Meet The SCH&F Team: Amso Fit & Healthy

 

Name: Ben Amson & Danica Warren
Business: AmSo Fit & Healthy
Ages: 26 and 22
Experience: 8 years

Qualifications:
Certificates 3 and 4 in Fitness, Level 1 Boxing for Fitness Instructor, Advanced Kick Boxing for Fitness, Strength and Conditioning, Child Trainer, Older Adult Trainer, Postural Analysis, Functional Anatomy, Fascia and Foam Roller Certificate, Program Periodisation Certificate, Strength Training Certificate, Performance Circuits Certificate, First Aid & CPR, FFA Senior Coaching License
Current Study:
4^th Year Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics
FFA Senior C License
Advanced Strength Training & Explosive Lifting

AmSo Fit & Healthy is the dream Husband and Wife team. Ben is a Fitness Coach and has been in the industry since 2007, and Danica is a studying 4th year Dietitian in a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Ben:
 "Having been in the industry since I was 18 years old I have learnt and tailored my training techniques to work with my clients to achieve their goals. I understand that no two people are the same, therefore no two people will ever be treated the same. I work with you to determine YOUR goals and together we set a goal date to be achieved by. We will then plan every step of your journey.
By having myself to focus on your fitness, and Danica to focus on your nutrition, dietary assessment and requirements, you are giving yourself the best chance at success. There will never be a generic diet plan or exercise program! Your whole journey is tailored to YOUR GOALS!"

Danica:
 "Our food philosophy is all about enjoying a healthy balanced diet, without jumping on the "Fad Diet" bandwagon.
We educate our clients on making healthy choices and not falling into the trap of being afraid to eat real food.
"Quick fix" powders and shakes will give you nothing more than expensive wee. Food is the key for all your nutrient needs."
 
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses. Behind the lines, in the gym and our there on the road, long before i dance under those lights" - Muhammed Ali
Our passion for you and your goals comes from our competitiveness! We both Hate to Lose! Set the date to "Dance under those lights" and together we will give you the tools to win your fight!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/amsofitandhealthy
Instagram: @amsofitandhealthy
Email: info@amsofitandhealthy.com.au



Kylie (TEAM SCH&F Admin): How To Get Motivated and Stay Motivated.

 

Weight gain can be attributed to a bunch of factors; genetics, hormones, behavioural tendencies, disorders or lifestyle choices. A tonne of research has been conducted looking at the difference between individuals who are successful and unsuccessful in weight loss attempts. The most common trait between those individuals who lose weight and sustain the weight loss over time, is commitment. Making a mental commitment to genuine lifestyle change is the single most effective way to produce sustainable results. Attitude is everything!

Take a classic new years resolution. We all start off excited. Stoked because we've made the leap to join the gym (No joining fee in January... Tis the season). Stock up on active wear with inspirational quotes using those Christmas gift vouchers and a shiny new pair of kicks. I'm ready to become the next Wonder Woman (cue theme song)! For the first six weeks, the shine slowly wears off. Gym visits are less frequent. The active wear gets shoved up the back of the drawer. Those new runners still have all their tread in tact... By Valentines Day its all but over... Oh well. Try again next year. Right?

In the world of psychology, we view motivation as a process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviour. Im particularly interested in the reasoning behind initiating lifestyle change and appropriate goal setting. In developing my business, I have been talking to heaps of people about their health. Are you happy with your body? What would you change? What have you tried? What are you willing to do? What are your main barriers?

The resounding feedback was that most just lacked motivation. Anyone can join a gym or go to a trainer. But the reasons WHY you choose to change your lifestyle is just as important of a variable in developing strong, sustainable motivation over time. Let me explain. There are two kinds of motivation, extrinsic and intrinsic. In a nutshell, extrinsic motivation is produced by an external source, like buying smaller clothes or people noticing you've lost weight. These are great initially, but doing things for recognition or for external validation is only satisfying for a finite period of time. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand is more about personal reward and gratification from an activity, such as exercise. By aiming to improve fitness and starting to see yourself achieve those goals you are rewarding yourself, creating a cycle of positive reinforcement and more importantly a desire to continue to grow and improve.

Setting practical and realistic goals is also a huge factor in keeping us motivated. I may want to be a bikini model, with super low body fat and great muscle tone after doing a six week weight loss program, but it just isn't going to happen like that. What's worse, if i don't achieve that goal, im likely to feel guilty, discouraged and am significantly more likely to give up. By setting healthy, realistic and attainable goals I can work hard, achieve some results and start a cycle of internally rewarding behaviour, in which my efforts are rewarded by increased strength, loss of body fat or whatever the goal may be . This doesn't mean I shouldn't push myself to get faster or stronger. But having realistic short and medium term goals allows room for developing competency, forming habits and learning to accept that exercise and good nutrition are not only important, but essential in both physical and mental health.

So, if you are struggling to get motivated here's a couple of things to consider:

• Make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. External motivation only works short-term. Remember the benefits of living a healthier lifestyle, how good you feel from all the pleasure chemicals post exercise and the impact it has on your physical and mental health.
• Aim to find ways of keeping active that you enjoy and that have some way of measuring your competency. If you feel like you are getting better, you increase motivation levels even more!
• Set realistic, attainable short and medium term goals (The long term goals can be as big as you want!). If you happen to reach them, set new ones. But dont let the goal be so huge that you end up discouraged.

Kylie (SCH&F Admin)
Follow my personal and professional development of this community on @alifestyleproject

AnnaG Lifestyle: They Are Your Reason... Not Your Excuse.

When you become a parent, everyone lines up to give you advice. It is thrown at you from every direction... Your mum, aunt, in-laws, friends, the neighbour, even complete strangers! Although it can be frustrating at times, this is a way for your loved ones to show they care about you, and your success as a parent. I am no different. As a mum to three young boys, i find myself in the 'well intentioned mum, trying to share from personal experience' category. Now you may wonder if I am about you give you a pregnancy workout, or maybe some fun things to do to keep your kids active, but ill save that for another day. I’m here to talk to the mums out there about your happiness, wellbeing and making time to look after number one... (That’s you lady!)

It's all too easy as a parent to get swept up in day to day life, you find yourself getting put behind kids, partners, friends and a to-do list 4 miles long (If you have any time left at all that is). We don’t seem to get much advice about how to prepare our bodies or minds for the transition into parenthood, and sometimes along the way we get a little lost. We might eat junk while we are on the go, or forget to eat at all, we can’t seem to make time to go to the gym and our stress levels seem to be always higher than normal. Let’s face it; it seems easy to make parenthood your excuse, instead of making it your reason.

When life seems so hectic that we can’t find time to look after ourselves, that is when we need to STOP! Take a moment and realise that no one is more important than you. Think about it, as a parent, how will your children function and grow into wonderful humans when you are running on empty? What child wants to have an unhappy parent? One that seems tired, frustrated or even uncomfortable in their own skin? Someone who never has time? I don’t think any wish for those things.

Taking care of yourself should be your number one priority. When children see a happy healthy parent... Magic happens! You model habits to your child, whether it’s food or exercise related, even the way you talk to people. Children see everything. We all know the age-old saying that they are sponges. So make the time to exercise, to feel good, to prepare healthy meals, to smile and laugh with your children or even just with yourself. If you happen to get a smoking hot body along the way, well done! But more importantly, if you get some extra energy, a big tick of health and a whole lot of fun play with your children, then making yourself your number one priority really was worth it. Don’t you think?

Here are a few tips from AnnaG:

Just breathe –I’m talking about taking 5 minutes a day to just be with yourself! A moment of relaxation, of freedom from the world. So, I challenge you to find a space where you can be left alone and close your eyes and just breath – deep, calming breaths. Try this every day and see how refreshed you feel.

Stay active. Keep your body moving – not just for the physical benefits but for the mental ones too! There are so many things you can do at home if you think outside the box. Pick up a ball and have a kick with your little ones. Lunge down the hallway. Buy a skipping rope. Do step-ups when you are watching the kids or even talking on the phone. Get moving, you will be surprised at how good you feel with as little as 20 minutes a day exercise.

Fuel your body with nutrient dense food. Value yourself enough to take care of your body, it is the only one you have after all. Eat good food, make healthy choices, treat yourself once in a while– we all have to live and lets be honest, food should be enjoyed! With moderation of course ☺

For more wellbeing tips, motivation and even some inspiration follow me:

Instagram: @annag_lifestyle

Facebook: AnnaG Lifestyle.

Lift Academy: Kickstart Your Metabolism

I'm often shocked at the amount of people i meet who are on a real mission to lose weight... And by 'weight' i mean the number on the scale, not actual body fat! Weighing yourself on a daily basis is only going to sabotage your long term goals. Despite this, time after time i still hear people (women in particular), say the DONT EAT or eat very little in order to achieve 'scale weight' loss.

Skipping meals or only eating a very small amount will give you results initially, however your body is a well oiled machine, it wont take long to realise what you are up to and begin to adapt. Your body assumes you have gone into starvation, so in response it begins to store fat cells to ensure survival. To lose fat efficiently, we need to speed up your metabolism (your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories), which requires you to eat!

Now you are probably starting to wonder how eating speeds up your metabolism and allows you to lose weight when we are taught eating is what makes us gain weight. The simple explanation is, your body gets used to burning food quickly, hence this style of eating speeds up your metabolic rate as your body adjusts. Your body will adapt to changes like these very quickly (I seriously cant stress this enough!)

The trick is you need to eat the right amounts of the right food, that will be digested quickly. For example, eating two huge meals of 800 calories each is NOT a good idea. This will take your body a long time to digest. Even if your calorie consumption for the day is LESS than your BMR (basal metabolic rate) it is not optimal for your metabolism.

A good diet that will boost your metabolism would be one where you would eat approximately every 3 hours & you SHOULD be getting hungry after that amount of time anyway! (Breakfast,morning tea,lunch,afternoon tea, dinner). Those who can go "all day" without eating or only have one or two meals per day is a sure sign of a slow metabolism. When waking in the morning you should feel hungry within 30mins! This is a good sign of a healthy metabolism.

Us ladies can be the worst offenders for thinking that if you don't eat = you will lose weight. I'm not too sure why us girls are happy to accept that? Cause let's be real..... How GOOD IS FOOD!!


Nicole from Lift Academy
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lift-Academy-603371516365914/
Instagram: @liftacademy_