The "D word" & On Attaining My Dream Body

                                         

Diets. Atkins, Master Cleanse, Dukan, Lemon Detox. The list goes on and on. Any “diet” that has a set structure and name, or comes in a powder form – DO NOT GO NEAR. When you refer to a “diet” what you are really referring to is your daily eating habits. What can I tell you about habits:

1.      You can CHOOSE your habits for life – good or bad.

2.      New & positive habits are best introduced gradually, and bad ones let go of gradually

3.      Recognising your current habits is the first step to changing the bad and moving in the new

4.      To achieve a desired goal, we must recognize the habits that will help us to get there and continue to stand by them day in and day out until our goal is reached.

5.      Habits only take about 3 weeks before they become part of our normal routine. You can do it J

Unfortunately our society has this obsession with being SKINNY, which has led to doctors absolutely cashing in on desperation by promising rapid weight loss with fad diets. In the meantime, girls from all over the world are making themselves sick! Eating only protein only for 5 days straight! Yuck! (I regrettably tried this one, never again).

I ask myself what brings this desperation on, or desperation in any form within someone’s life, and I find that it starts in the mind. Mind: “I do not accept myself as I am, therefore I NEED (insert supermodel of choice)’s body”. Mind: “I do not accept myself as I am, therefore I NEED that flashy car so that girls will like me”. The deal is, you don’t NEED anything. The things you NEED you already have. You have a heart that beats, a soul that sings, a personality that is yours to keep, and a body that is your vessel. There are other needs that come secondary as per Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Wikipedia: Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

It is your mission to ensure that you look after the gifts of your mind, body and soul to the best of your ability, by nourishing, giving thanks, appreciating and doing what is best for each 3 areas for the rest of your life. By doing so you will be graced with richer fruits of life. Each are interconnected, so how about let’s start with the easily identifiable one: THE BODY

WHAT DOES MY BODY WANT!?

1.   Your body wants to be “heard” - Your body just bloody wants you to listen to it, and if you don’t you’ll get a nice form of illness so that you actually do start listening. We can go our whole lives ignoring signals because we can’t be bothered dealing with it, but we miss out on so much when we do. So be proactive with health, and look out for any signals.

2.   Your body wants to be nourished – With the gifts from the earth mainly: lots of raw fruit, vegetables, legumes, grains, meat, fish etc - anything with as little processing/chemicals to the foods as possible.

3.   Your body needs to move and be challenged – Your body is crying out to have every single cell and muscle activated DAILY! Let yourself know you’re alive by pushing its limits and moving. You’re body is capable of a lot, the more you move, the more you challenge, the further you go J.

4.   Your body needs rest & relaxation – Balance is the key, as much as you’re moving, you’re body needs to balance it out. In those moments of relaxation, your body heals and takes in the benefits of all the work you put into it.

THE DREAM BODY CHALLENGE

If you read my first post about why this Blog exists, you'll know that I originally didn't look after my body in desperation to lose weight. Gone are the days of eating random food in random order (no breakfast, processed chicken with chillis for lunch, cheese and biscuits snack pack, a protein bar, some fruit ...then a lean cuisine for dinner.. and not much else). Since then I've culminated ALOT of info for you to get you started on the RIGHT TRACK. Don't ever starve yourself - it's not worth it. There is no easy way out, the only option you have is to look after yourself. Also remember there is no set plan you can follow for life, we are constantly changing, it's just a priority that we make good choices. Knowledge is power, research is a key. Let me show you my findings.

So what habits will incorporate you looking after your mind, body & soul AND get you the body you desire? My personal goal, had always been to have a toned, happy & healthy body with minimal body fat. After a years research plus trialling and testing different ways to get my “dream body” (mistakes and wins), here are the basics of getting there:

1.      Define the goal you want to achieve – cut out pictures, write the goal down, look at your body in the mirror and imagine it looking and feeling as you want it to. It’s not always about the “kg” reading, especially when you’re not overweight to begin with. I personally love Eva Mendes’ body – she is fit but beautiful and curvy at the same time. BUT I ALSO KNOW - that if I am doing everything right and I still dont end up looking like her - THATS OK! Some people just need a kick of motivation and a visual helps you do that. But always remember that this is for you and there is nothing better than having YOUR VERY OWN UNIQUE, BEAUTIFUL, HAPPY AND HEALTHY BODY. When you accept your body, is when the real beauty shines. Be confident, go forth and conquer.

2.      Use a calorie and fitness tracking counter ie. http://www.calorieking.com.au/ I use this site to ensure I’m keeping on track. You can enter your goal weight and it will give your estimated daily kilojoule intake to achieve it. Do not go under the number they give you.

3.      Choose your daily food and meals:

a.      Balance your complex and fibrous carbs, lean proteins and healthy fats (40%,40%,20%) Girls tend to get better results with less carbs and higher protein. If you logon with CalorieKing.com.au they will measure out your ratios for you.

b.      I recommend clean eating, a full list of recommended foods are here: Jamie Eason LiveFit Trainer Approved Foods my only issue with BodyBuilding.com is they tend to glorify processed protein powders, processed supplements and sugar free anything – I recommend staying away from these. Your body will run at its optimum by going natural. Try keep your fruit and veg, grains etc as RAW AS POSSIBLE – this ensures you are getting all your nutrients, heat tends to kill them J & for any cooking you must do, I cannot celebrate and recommend Coconut oil enough! Coconut oil is the only oil that can withstand high temperatures and not go carcinogenic! Don’t go over a tablespoon a day. See here for a recent article posted on the Kora Organics website regarding the beauty benefits of coconut oil: Coconut Oil: Eat Your Beauty Treatment

c.      Remember that your body needs healthy fats to metabolise fat – don’t cut them out. Try an Omega 3 supplement, salmon, avocado, walnuts, coconut oil, the list goes on (see above link)

4.      Choose your exercise:

a.      Balance your resistance training, cardio and stretching.

b.      If you are looking to blast fat, a moderate 30 minute cardio session before breakfast works well as your body hasn’t eaten and will turn to your fat stores. HIIT is a great one to do before breakfast. My fave is to walk down to the local park/footy field, alternate sprinting and walking between the field posts 5 times, it’s great HIIT session which activates your fast twitch muscle fibres.

c.      Do high intensity cardio if you are looking to up your fitness, do note however, that anything too high intensity will turn you catabolic (meaning eating into your muscles). Less muscle = lower metabolism! You will also look more like a skinny/fat person without the tone. Doing moderate intensity cardio combined with HIIT training you will save your muscle & lose fat. It all depends on what your goals are.

d.      Don’t be afraid to lift moderately heavy weights and build a little muscle – Be inspired by Oxygen magazine & JNL workouts: JNL Swimsuit Workout I also really love high reps with light weights which you can do through Body Pump classes.

e.      STRETCH after your workouts, protect your body from injuries and keep it lean and supple. Throw in a Yoga class at least once a week. I am currently signed up for a month of Bikram and am endeavouring to complete it every day. The results are incredible after just one week, look out for my next post on Bikram and the benefits J

f.       Do what you enjoy! It’s meant to be challenging but FUN! There are so many options for exercise. Start at your own pace, crank up the music and have a blast. Change it up every few weeks so your body doesnt get bored and stagnate

g.      Listen to your body! Ensure you rest up after all this hard work, take days off and if you’re tired let yourself lay about. You’ve worked hard, you deserve it J

5.      Plan ahead

a.      Make a weekly meal plan, this will help with the shopping list

b.      Make an exercise plan – go for 1 hour of exercise at least 4 times a week

6.      Boost metabolism

a.      Eat 5-7 meals per day to keep your metabolism going

b.      Lift weights and build muscle – your body has to work harder when maintaining muscle so even while your resting your metabolism is still going! Meaning less work on the treadmill for you ;) As a girl you won’t get bulky, you don’t have the testosterone for it.

c.      Certain supplements can assist with boosting metabolism – namely Cayenne Pepper and Apple Cider vinegar. When I’m serious about getting in shape, before I eat anything in the morning I’ll make a drink with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, a sprinkling of cayenne pepper and squeeze of lemon. Spicy!!!

d.      Look after your digestive system – probiotics and lots of fibre please!

7.      Get inspired

a.      Just Do It

b.      Look at your inspirations body every day and know that IT IS ATTAINABLE – AND IN A HEALTHY WAY

c.      Be accountable for your habits – write them down, use calorieking.com.au and make the changes

d.   Dont give up - if you dont see changes right away - it takes a good 12 weeks to where you want to be if stuck to daily

PHEW!! I know this is A LOT of information to remember and consider, especially if it is all new to you.  When performing your new habits, perhaps try slowly implementing a new one each week – Ie you might like to start with always eating a healthy breakfast.

To make things a little easier, I’ll show you examples of my meal & exercise planner in another blog post. I’ll include the recipes too, so that you can try them at home (with pics, of course you want to see what you’re eating in advance!)


LASTLY - This is just practical advice I'e gathered from research - pick and choose the info you want that suits YOU. If you are making any changes to your diet or exercise - I recommend seeing your Dr first. Be kind to yourself.

Feel free to ask questions or leave comments.