Quote of the day 26/01/2011

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly."

- Stephen R. Covey

Fitness food doesn't have to be boring

There is a widespread mistaken belief that in order to attain or maintain a lean toned physique year round that your food has to consist of the same bland, tasteless food.

This could not be further from the truth as it’s the number of nutrients contained in the food and what it adds up to which is most important, not the type of food per say. This is why you often see these crazy McDonalds, maple syrup, cabbage soup diets etc actually work for people. Yes they are certainly not optimal in regards to the nutrients you are getting and you would certainly loose muscle using one of these but they are have a common trend in that the people doing them are ingesting less calories than they are burning.

So called ‘healthy eating’ doesn’t have to be limited to chicken, rice and broccoli people!

Now for someone who is uneducated on food and its nutritional content, sticking to bland foods which can be more easily tracked might be a good idea as it will make it easier for them to hit their target intake for the day. But this is certainly not the only way.

I also believe that sticking to bland foods is only a short term strategy is not sustainable. You often see people come off diets and then indulge in all the things that they have denied themselves for so long only to put back on all the weight they lost.

The long term benefits of educating yourself on nutrient content of food groups will in the long term help you make better food choices. If the food can fit into the overall target intake for the day then there’s nothing wrong with a bit of indulgence. Consistently hitting your target nutrient intake for the day is more important.

Here is an example-

Say you fancy a bit of chocolate cake. An average slice of chocolate cake contains between 300-400 calories. If you can account for this into you overall calorie intake for the day and the rest of the days food consists of an appropriate division of protein, carbohydrate and fat then I there is nothing wrong with having the piece of cake. Err on the side of caution and estimate high when in doubt. Most nutrition information is readily available at the click of a Google search, ignorance is not an excuse.

Now obviously the flexibility will be reduced when on a calorie restriction as you have less calories to play with but there are few foods that have to be totally eliminated. Nutrition and ‘healthy eating’ like so many things in life is about balance. It’s not about living like a monk and restricting your self from all pleasures in life.

There is also having flexibility when cooking. Again use of herbs, spices and condiments shouldn’t be restricted provided they are accounted for in the overall nutrient intake for the day.

Here are some examples of the food I cook, food porn for the foodies-



Chicken liver casserole with potatoes, green beans and saukraut.



Baked coley fillets





Pepper steak with potatoes and mushrooms

Mixed berries with sweetner



Baked whole gammon joint




Homemade chocolate cake

Would you like to learn how to track your food so that you can maintain a lean, toned physique year round without having to restrict yourself from food?

I will post more examples of my cooking in future. Please email me if you have any questions

Quote of the day 19/1/2011

"A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences. You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make."

-Denis Waitley

Womens Training: Getting stronger doesn't mean getting bulkier

There is a misconception that if a women lifts heavy weights it will make her muscular and bulky. This is false as one of the main regulators of if you can build lots of muscle is your testosterone level. That is why drug using bodybuilders male and female will inject testosterone it in order to assist them in building muscle size. Women have 20 times less testosterone which makes building lots of muscle naturally extremely difficult.

What people refer to as muscle 'tone' is lean muscle that doesn't have a layer of fat covering it. If you want to improve muscle tone then focus on getting stronger along with adjustments to you nutrition. Performing hours of cardio combined with a few high rep free weight exercises with light dumbbells doesn't work!

Check out Teddy, does she look bulky at 53kilos bodyweight?

Why Protein is number one

Protein is a word of Greek origin meaning ‘of first importance’ for a good reason. Proteins are fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies that are necessary for the proper functioning of the human body. They are essential in the diet of all animals for the growth and repair of tissue and have be obtained from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes.

Protein is also extremely important in regards to body composition. The human body has a daily requirement of protein whether you get enough of it in your diet or not. The human body unfortunately unalike fat and carbohydrate doesn’t have much of a store for excess protein, it has to either used or burned off as energy. A diet deficient in protein will lead to your body breaking down its own body source of protein which is muscle.

Protein requirements go up when exercising or on a calorie restricted diet as your body struggles to repair tissue you damage during exercise with less resources. It will also to an extent use protein as an energy source which if not provided from the diet will come from muscle tissue. The reason we want to avoid muscle from being broken does is that muscle tissue has a strong factor on your metabolism. Basically the more of it you have, the higher your calorie requirements are.

Protein is superior to carbohydrate and fat in providing a feeling of fullness in both short and long term hunger suppression. Protein also has a high ‘thermic effect of feeing’ (TEF) which is the increment in energy expenditure above resting metabolic rate due to the cost of processing food for storage and use.

So when planning meals, especially when trying to loose weight always consider your protein source first. If the goal is weight loss then lean sources of protein such as chicken, turkey and white fish are preferential to use. Make sure to get between 30-60 grams of protein per meal (depending on your weight). A piece of meat approximately 100 grams or 3 oz will provide you with around 25g’s of protein. If you are eye balling your portion size then this is about the size of a deck of cards. The protein requirements for someone on a calorie restricted diet can vary from 1.5g-3.3g per lb bodyweight per day depending on activity level.

Aim to eat around 3 times per day, always thinking about your protein source first. This is especially crucial during your first meal of the day which commonly consists of either cereal or toast. These breakfast selections are woefully deficient in adequate protein so accompany them with meat, eggs, quark, cottage cheese or a protein shake if you are rushed for time. Yogurt although containing a bit of protein will generally not give you enough unless you eat of a lot of it. Yogurt mixed with one to two scoops of protein and a few berries however is an excellent choice!

I know it will take some getting used to eating meat at breakfast but suck it up and stop procrastinating! Doing something different from the rest of society is what’s needed when most of society is becoming overweight!

Quote of the day 11/01/2011

In reference to my recent time management article I discovered an appropriate quote-

“What comes first, the compass or the clock? Before one can truly manage time (the clock), it is important to know where you are going, what your priorities and goals are, in which direction you are headed (the compass). Where you are headed is more important than how fast you are going. Rather than always focusing on what’s urgent, learn to focus on what is really important.“ - Unknown source

Making Time Gets Results

A common complaint I hear from people is that they don’t have time to cook or that they can’t find the time to attend the gym. It takes action by MAKING the time to fit it in. A good meal and coincidently a good workout at the gym should very seldom take more than 30-45 minutes to complete.
Time management is becoming increasingly common and crucial in business as companies strive to optimise their return from employees. These same time management strategies can be employed in your personal life to find time to attend the gym and to also eat well.

A book I would highly recommend if you would like to improve time management is ‘Eat That Frog’ by Brian Tracy. You can get it at Amazon.com in either paper or audio book format. Use of audio books is another fantastic time management trick and can be used during your commute to work or while you do the housework. It’s a great way to learn and while at the same time fight the stress of the often crowded commute. Paperback Audio Book

Once you have found the time to attend the gym and prepare food, it takes ACTION and DICIPLINE to make it work for you. Like any new discipline it takes time for the habit to form. A habit is commonly associated with negatives things such as smoking or picking your nose. But a habit can also be a very positive thing such as attending the gym three times per week and planning ahead with your eating and cooking.

So replace that habit of melting your brain watching East Enders while eating nutritionally empty micro waved food and replace it with putting aside thirty minutes to making a nutritious meal or attend the gym.
Are you ready to learn the strategies of maximising your time in the gym and the kitchen? training@trainwithsklayne.co.uk