by Melissa Woodward | Nov 15, 2016 | Results, Weight Loss
In just under 12 months, Kristina gets to walk down the aisle to the man of her dreams. At the time of their proposal, she was already on a journey to get fit, healthy and thinking of a future of becoming a mum. She wanted to make sure her body was feeling great, moving well and was strong. Once she said “Yes” things got serious and it was time to Say Yes to The Dress. Kristina started as part of our Outdoor Group Training Classes. She is now one of our Personal Training Clients and added a 1 hour PT session per week to the program. She chose her wedding dress and wanted to step up her game to make sure she could fit into the dress she has purchased. It didn’t fit at the time she bought the dress but this just added to her determination. When we first commenced Personal Training with Kristina, she was working her butt off and seeing limited results. We changed her training and nothing moved. We got her to complete food diaries and reviewed everything she was sharing with us. She had a great meal plan for the week and generally stuck to it. There was no simple reason for her to have no weight loss. As a Personal Trainer, we take it personally when our clients don’t get results. I had previously written a blog, Why are you not losing weight? The blog covered some more complex reasons as to why people were not losing weight, despite all their efforts. Kristina took herself to the doctor and after some testing it was discovered she had Insulin Resistance and required medication. Once she commenced medication, her body kicked into gear and the weight started falling off. With continued healthy eating, exercise and medication, she has now lost a total of 16kgs. And most importantly her wedding dress fits wonderfully. Now we all have to wait another 11 months to see her in the dress to fully understand the impact her results have on her dream wedding. With so many months to spare, she has made it and we are very proud. If you are truly honest with yourself about your diet, exercise and are not seeing any results, please speak to your doctor about what could be happening in your body. It could be a simple fix and you too could be well on your way to reaching your goals. ![]()
by Melissa Woodward | Nov 15, 2016 | Healthy Lifestyle, Pain, Water, Weight Loss
In business we are told that we need to spend money to make money. It appears to be reverse logic and you wonder how it works. In our businesses we don’t have to needlessly spend money, but invest in the important parts to see it grow. When it comes to our health and well being it seems there are many ways reverse logic applies to ensuring that you are performing at your best. Find out ways to invest in yourself to see your health grow.
Expend Energy to Increase Energy
We have all used the excuse that we are too tired to exercise. When you participate in moderate intensity exercise, your body begins to release endorphins to overcome that tired feeling. If you are tired, I would recommend starting with a walk. Get your heart rate up but only push to an intensity where you are just struggling to keep up a conversation. Notice how good you feel after the workout and how much your energy levels improve
Drink Water to Lose Water
The body uses a complex system to regulate water levels within the body. If we consume more water than the body requires, it flushes it in the form of urine. If we do not consume enough water, our body decreases output to ensure we have enough fluid to function. Our bodies are amazing machines that will do awesome things to make sure we stay alive. So if you find you are holding onto fluid, try increasing your intake and monitoring the change.
Eat More to Lose Weight
When it comes to losing weight, the first thing we think to do is reduce the calories we consume. Many people seriously restrict calories well below what their body needs to function at rest. It’s an evolutionary trait that our bodies are designed to store food in times of famine as a survival mechanism. The body is never sure when it will get more food so it works to ration our stores. If you consume fresh, healthy foods, your body will let go of its stores. If you give the body what it needs, it won’t need to hold onto more.
Move More to Lessen Pain
When it comes to pain, our first instinct is to stop moving. We sit down and rest in hope of easing our pain. In some circumstances rest is important. Our bodies also work to protect itself from injury by causing muscles to spasm to stop any moves that may cause damage. Once treated, it is important to continue to move normally. Walking and stretching will help your muscles relax and return your function to normal.
Sleep Breeds Sleep
This rings true with my toddler. On days when he refuses to nap, he usually has a bad night too. When he’s slept throughout the day, he sleeps better at night. For adults, many of us wake up feeling tired. We are not giving ourselves enough rest and running on empty. We are then struggling to rest again the next night. To improve sleep, we can try techniques such as going to bed for 8 hours sleep, drinking herbal tea, turning off the phone,having a bath and listening to music to switch our minds off. These techniques will lead to a better quality sleep and in turn will assist with your future sleep patterns.
Investment in our bodies in the form of self care can improve our health and well being to grow our energy and productivity. In our lives we have many important roles where we need to be functioning at our best. We are parents, team mates, employers or employees, we are our most important asset and need to spend time on ourselves to ensure we are able to fulfill these roles in life.
by Melissa Woodward | Feb 22, 2016 | Healthy Lifestyle, Motivation, Nutrition, Pregnancy, Weight Loss
I often hear clients and potential clients share with me how they want to change their weight, their eating habits or their level of physical activity. They want to be fitter and eat healthier but struggle to keep motivation. They know what they should do, but fail to find a way to make it work for their busy lifestyle. They know the How but have you ever considered Why? Why do you want to change your lifestyle? One of our lovely clients who has been through our 12 Week Challenge twice before shared this story with me about why she wants to change. It really hit me how important it is to understand your reason for wanting change and when you discover this, you will maintain your focus on how you will achieve it. “On 1st February I start my third 12 Week Challenge with Evolution Health Services. I am looking forward to joining in the group of people ready to take on the challenge this time round. My journey through the first two challenges has been an interesting one.Through the first challenge I achieved so much. I was so proud of myself, and my confidence peaked. Then the second challenge started, and it was like I was just going through the motions. I was not motivated, I missed sessions, and I ate whatever I wanted. Looking back at it now, I know why this happened. I was not connected to my WHY. That’s why I love the new goal setting sheet Melissa has designed for this 12 week challenge. The first question is what is your Why. My Why is deeply personal. I have Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) – which causes my ovaries to produce more than enough testosterone in my body, and this means I often have cysts growing on my ovaries. The condition is so much more than that with a range of side effects. It causes me to have acne even in my thirties, unwanted hair, trouble losing weight, and potential infertility. Hence my WHY is to be fit, strong, and fertile so I can conceive children one day. I also hope one day I can be a role model to my children, but for the moment hope I can inspire others around me. The Outdoor Training is my favourite part of the 12 Week Challenge, and I love that the kids of others get involved. It gives me hope that I can achieve my goal of being a mother, and being a role model for them one day. The kids inspire me in more ways than one, often they are little trainers themselves, especially with JJ yelling ‘jump’ when I do squat jumps. I can’t wait to start this 12 Week Challenge. I have my goals sheet completed and pinned on my board where I can see it every day. I hope to achieve a few small goals during the challenge including running consistency for 2kms. Let’s do this!” Amy Woodley. Amy’s story really pulls at my heart strings as a mother. I know that it’s not something that comes easily for everyone and if there is a way I can make a difference to her life and help her fulfil a dream bigger than losing weight, I will do everything I can think of to help. I would ask you to dig deep and think about Why you want to make a change to your lifestyle. Think about how your current lifestyle is holding you back from what you want in life. When you hit that pain point, you discover what is important and there you have your Why. Is it for the kids? Is it so your hubby can’t keep his hands off you? Is it so you feel confident to speak to new people or make new friends. Whatever it may be, remember your Why whenever you plan to give up. Your Why becomes a greater motivator than any motivational quote we can post on Facebook. Once you have your Why, we can help you with the How. Our 12 Week Healthy Lifestyle Challenge is about educating you to make positive changes to create a healthy lifestyle that suits you and your family. It’s not a quick fix and we will not do the work for you but you have two Personal Trainers here ready to help any time you need it. Contact us Today to get started on creating your own Healthy Lifestyle.
by Melissa Woodward | Jul 5, 2015 | Nutrition, Weight Loss
Part of our jobs as Personal Trainers is to measure improvements against goals. Often losing weight is a client’s number one goal. As much as we encourage body positivity, healthy options and balance, we understand the ultimate goal and do what we can to help. It breaks my heart to see my clients so upset when the scales show a change in body weight. I see the effort they put into every workout. I see how often they are at training. Sometimes I even need to enforce a rest day. Often I am only involved in 1 hour of their day. So it gets me thinking, what else happens outside of their Group Training or Personal Training Sessions? I ask them to be completely honest with themselves. Have they put in all the effort they could? Have they eaten more than their bodies require? Have they been eating food they know they don’t need? When they answer that they have done everything they could, we have to consider other factors as to why they may not lose weight. It’s not about giving excuses but really understanding that every body is different and your way of eating or training needs to match what your body needs to function. Here are 5 Reasons You May Not Be Losing Weight:
We all know about the PMS hormones that make us want chocolate and to curl into a ball, but what about the other ones that are responsible for every function in the body? Hormonal imbalances may stop you losing weight. Some conditions require you to lose weight for that condition to resolve eg. Insulin Resistance. However, a symptom of the condition is difficulty losing weight. It becomes a tough cycle to break. Speak to your doctor if you think this might be an issue for you. If you are breastfeeding, the hormones involved may also prevent you losing weight. That is completely natural. Some women are able to lose weight while breastfeeding, where other’s struggle. It’s a difficult time for your body as it adjusts to feeding another person and keep up with their needs. Focus on providing your body with nutritious foods to nourish you both.
Have you considered you are not eating enough? Clients are often mistaken about their nutritional needs and believe that you must restrict your calories to achieve weight loss. But when trying to lose weight it’s about eating more nutritious foods that assist the body in all their functions. When you are not getting enough food or drinking enough water, your body is designed to hold on to what it has until it receives it again. It’s a primal function designed for survival. Drinking more helps to reduce fluid retention, same goes with food. Give it more and it will give up what it’s holding onto for later.
In turn, reviewing the amount of food you are having per meal can help you reassess whether you do need to cut down the amount of food you are eating. Often, it’s more about changing the types of foods. For example, cutting down grains or sugar and replacing with more fruit, vegetables and meat.
It’s important to be aware of how foods make you feel in terms of energy levels, digestive function and identifying what may trigger digestive discomfort. If you know eating pasta makes you bloat and feel like crap, cut it out and see the differences in how you feel. Same goes for dairy, wheat, gluten and other typical food intolerances.
Not a lovely topic but honestly your poo says a lot about your diet. There is a way to measure how your body is functioning, it’s called the Bristol Stool Form Chart. Yep it has all types of poo and what it means for your body. Making sure you go regularly will help with weight loss and reduce all that bloating you feel. If you are not going at least daily, you need to consider how much fibre is in your diet and increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Stress, grief, depression, anger, every emotion impacts on how our body functions. There are studies that show the impact of these emotions on weight loss. You may not be shovelling extra food in your mouth but stress, for example, can change the way your body absorbs food. Make sure you find ways to deal with your emotions. Whether it is seeing a Psychologist, having a relaxation massage, have a cry or enjoying a wine and chat with your best friend.
Consider all of these factors if you are not seeing results. If you need help, Contact Us as we offer nutritional coaching to help you identify areas to improve. If it is more complex, consult with your GP and get the right treatment.
Remember Every BODY is different. Love yours, care for it and remember how awesome it is.
by Melissa Woodward | May 13, 2015 | 12 week challenge, Evolution Health Services, Exercise, Fitness, Personal TrainingCampbelltown, SMART Goals, Weight Loss
We are getting Married! In less than 13 weeks our wedding day will be here and we have decided we want to get in shape for the big day. As your trainers we are always active but we are also parents, business owners and real people so we want to create a 12 week plan to a better you and show you how it’s done. So keep reading to find out 12 reasons you should join us in our 12 week challenge. 1. It’s SMART Well not only is it a smart choice to join us but we will help you set SMART goals. It is great to have an idea of what you want but to make a goal SMART it needs to be:
- Specific – meaning there is something in particular you want to achieve ie. Weight loss, fit into a dress size, run 1km without stopping… whatever it may be.
- Measurable – weight loss is measurable with scales, setting a distance is measurable.
- Attainable – Taking into consideration your current fitness level we can determine if your goal is achievable.
- Realistic – Considering safety and your lifestyle, we will determine a goal that suits.
- Time-bound – it’s a 12 week program so we have time-based covered!
2. We have a plan“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” I’m sure you have heard that saying before and it is very true, especially when it comes to exercise and eating. Sometimes you don’t know where to start and it all seems overwhelming. We have designed a plan to make small changes over time instead of creating a big change to implement at once. 3. It’s more than scales and measuring tapesWhile weight loss may be one of your goals, we always ask for a fitness goal to show you what else you can achieve. You may want to run or learn to do push ups. These are great motivators and you can really surprise yourself on what is possible when you put your mind to it. 4. We are real people tooMany people have this idea that Personal Trainers are super human or only eat brown rice & chicken. Well we are only human with real life to deal with too. Tristan works a full time job and trains you all at night, plus Coaches kids on the weekend at Little Kickers. Melissa runs a Remedial Massage clinic, holds nutrition coaching sessions, has a 1 year old son and a 1 year old nephew she cares for 2 days per week. We juggle a lot with the support of our family but we want to show that despite all that, we can achieve our goals too. 5. We want to be role modelsBeing a role model foryour children is a powerful motivator especially when you first see them copy the exercises you do without any instruction. Check out this video of our son Blake as he quietly did some burpees while we were training. Not only do we want to be a role model for Blake but we want to be role models you all too. We want to show you it can be done and that we follow our own advice. 6. It’s realisticWe are all very busy in our lives, we are realistic and understand what it will take to reach your goal so we will fit the goal to what you are able to commit to. If you can’t make a session, we will post up workouts you can do at home, in the office or hotel room. 7. It’s your dream with a deadlineSetting a deadline creates urgency and marks importance to the goal you would like to achieve. Goals really are just dreams with a deadline so join us in making your dreams come true. 8. We are here for youOver the next 12 weeks we are here to answer your questions and if you need someone to speak to when you are having a tough day. You can call, email, Facebook message… whatever way you want to get in touch with us. 9. We are dedicated to get you resultsAs we meet you all and welcome you into the group, we are finding out what you need to know and what you need to get results. We will be providing nutrition advice, motivation and inspiration throughout the 12 weeks challenge to keep you going. 10. There’s new friends waiting for youWe have created a dedicated Facebook group where you can share your story, vent on a bad day, share recipes and seek support from likeminded people who are on the same journey as you. They may even become your new best friends as you will be spending plenty of time together. Get involved in the conversation. 11. It’s about finding a better version of youWe think you are pretty great already for wanting to make positive change in your life but with the right direction we are here to help you find that better version of you. Whether it’s the awesome parent who can chase after their kids; or the self-confident woman who walks into a room and commands attention; or that person who inspires others to be better too, we are here to help. 12. Celebration At the end of the program there is a special event to celebrate your achievements and ours. It is important to recognise how hard you have worked and we are here to celebrate with you. One member has already booked her hair appointment and is scheduling in a shopping trip before we have even started. She is in the right mindset to succeed. So if you are ready to join in and succeed too, contact us to find out how to join our 12 week challenge.
