Why I Don’t Follow the Conventional Rules of Nutrition

By Kat | October 27, 2011

Do you ever get sick of the struggle to take control of your body and your health? Do you follow all the rules but it never quite seems to work? Are you struggling to have stable energy despite exercising regularly and eating well?

If you answered yes to any (or all!) of those questions, I can definitely relate. People often see the way I look and act and often assume that it’s always been easy for me to stay in shape; that I must be genetically lucky or perhaps I simply never indulge in so-called naughty foods!

The truth, of course, is that it’s not that simple. Firstly, I do indulge (how could a girl live without chocolate, cheese or wine I ask you?!), and secondly – I haven’t always looked this way. And I certainly haven’t always felt the way I do now, which is mostly very energised and passionate about life.

Following the Rules of Conventional Nutrition

I learned the hard way that following conventional nutritional and health advice doesn’t work, and it was a lesson that affected me both personally and professionally. In 2005 I’d been a personal trainer for 5 years, and I was overweight and miserable. I wasn’t huge by any stretch of the imagination, but I certainly didn’t look the part. More importantly, I felt awful. I was eating really well as well! Or so I thought. Read More »

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged burn fat, diet myths, fat loss, get lean, goals, success | 12 Comments

Supercharge Your Daily Diet with Superfoods

By Kat | October 17, 2011

Today’s post is a guest post by Holly Miller, a Vegetarian and healthy-eating enthusiast who writes for Coupon Croc. Holly shares her views on eating well and incorporating superfoods into your daily diet.

Healthy eating can be a challenge for many, with most people are discouraged from taking on a healthy diet because of the costs associated with healthy foods. Organic fresh produce can be prohibitive to the budget-conscious, and few discounts are available for these types of products. If you’re looking to save money on health food purchases, be sure to spend your money wisely by investing in fruits, vegetables and grains that will give you the biggest bang for your buck. According to the Mayo Clinic, superfoods are the key. Superfoods are nutrient-rich foods that are powerful enough to help lower cholesterol, regulate weight and significantly reduce your risk for certain diseases and cancers. If you’re looking to purchase healthier items for you and your family, stock your trolley with superfoods during your next visit to the grocery store.

Posted in uncategorized | Tagged grains, health, Lose Weight, omega 3, organic, superfoods | Leave a comment

What The Magazines Don’t Tell You About Fat Loss

By Kat | October 11, 2011

So you want dramatic and lasting fat loss, huh? Lean legs, perhaps? Or perhaps it’s the belly that’s bothering you? Heck, it could even be something as supposedly innocuous as that little flap of skin/fat between your chest and your armpits, but whatever it is you’re going to have to face facts.

Fat loss?

It ain’t as simple as calories and exercise. If only.

what the magazines won’t tell you about fat loss …

In the past few weeks I’ve blogged about pretty much every detail of and ‘blocking factor’ to fat loss that the mainstream health-world talks about. But I think we both know that there’s always more to the story, isn’t there?

So. Today, I want to talk specifically about 2 of the areas I perceive as being HUGE when it comes to annoying ‘just won’t budge no matter what you do’ folds of fat.

The first is pretty ‘facts and figures’ based, and the second is kinda, well, could be seen as hokey. It’s not though. Let me explain … Read More »

Posted in fat loss, healthy lifestyle tips | Tagged fat loss, louise hay, mark shauss, mindset, power of thoughts, toxicity, why you can't lose weight | 14 Comments

Why You Can’t Lose Weight – The Rest Of It!

By Kat | October 5, 2011

can’t lose weight? I’ve been there!

Trust me, I know what it’s like to feel like you’re banging your head against the wall when it comes to losing in shape. There have been 2 key times in my life when I’ve seriously been following the rules and yet still haven’t been able to shed the extra layers, and I tell you – it made me want to SCREAM!

The first was when I was in my mid-twenties and gained about 8kg over 2-3 years while working in Personal Training management.

The second time was after giving birth … I’m talking 6 months after and still no change.

In both cases I was frantically, desperately and consistently following the rules, and yet still nothing budged. If anything, I was slowly getting bigger!

i was having a weight loss meltdown!

Here’s the thing. If you’re following the rules and still nothing is changing, then you’re simply not following the right rules for your body. There’s always a reason.

In my case it came down to a combination of things:

I thought I knew the rules (in my mid-twenties), but I didn’t
The rules had changed (after pregnancy)
I was so determinedly focused that all I thought about was why couldn’t get lean, both the mindset and the stress of which were definitely stopping me from doing so (in both cases!)

when it comes to why you can’t lose weight, do you know the rules?

Last week we spoke about 3 of the key reasons for not losing weight, despite doing ‘everything right’. They were:

Your food quality

Your food quantity

A possible gluten intolerance

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s definitely several other ‘blocking factors’ that could be sabotaging your best efforts, and following are some of the likelier offenders:

Read More »

Posted in fat loss, healthy lifestyle tips | Tagged can't lose weight, dairy, digestion, fat burning, food intolerance, lactose, weight loss | 5 Comments

Why You Can’t Lose Weight

By Kat | September 28, 2011

Blocking factors are things you probably don’t often think about which nonetheless can dramatically impact your ability to lose weight.

For example, you no doubt already know that getting in great shape is not simply about calories in and calories out, but have you really thought about what it does take? I don’t just mean the obvious stuff either. I’m talking about factors you’ve probably heard of but yet don’t attribute massive importance to.

Factors such as:

Your food quality
Your food quantity
A possible gluten intolerance
A possible lactose intolerance
Other food intolerances
Your digestive health
Underlying levels of toxicity
Your mindset

Time and again I’ve worked with people who really do seem to be doing ‘everything right’. They’re choosing great paleo-style foods, they’re hitting the gym properly, they have no particular issues with stress or sleep, and they really just seem to be ‘poster’ health freaks on the surface of it all!
But still they don’t achieve their goals.

If you’ve ever been in this position, or perhaps currently are, I don’t have to tell you that it’s incredibly frustrating.

So let’s agree NOT to remain in blissful ignorance (especially as it’s not that blissful anyway!), and talk about what you can do to smash through your blocking factors.

3 key reasons you can’t lose weight

Let’s look at the first 3 of those blocking factors for today.

Posted in fat loss, healthy lifestyle tips, nutrition | Tagged fat loss, food intolerance, gluten, Lose Weight, metabolism, organic food | 7 Comments

How NOT To Get Abs!

By Kat | September 22, 2011

You may remember that a week or two back I introduced Lana and Larissa from Assassin PT. Today the girls are back to bust some serious myths on getting your abs ready for summer – and with a very VERY amazing freebie for you to kick off your beach-body plan this year …

Today’s post is all about what NOT to do if you want to finally get those abs on show – I know you’re going to want to read this

what you need to know if you want to get abs!

1. DON’T REFUEL ON CRAP

After a big workout session are you quenching your thirst and hunger with a sports drink and a protein bar or cookie?

These are packed full of artificial sweeteners, sugar and soy – the last thing you want for the six pack you just smashed yourself for! In fact soy can even promote fat stores in the belly!

Have a chunk of good quality MEAT or a good clean protein shake to get some protein into your system stat!

2. DON’T DO A ‘ROUTINE’

Running on the treadmill for way too long and getting stuck in a rut with the same routine will have benefit for only a short amount of time.

Turn up the intensity with some intervals and mix things up a bit! Changing rep range, weight and TIME YOUR REST. You will be surprised how quick 45 sec zooms past!. It will do wonders for your results. Remember to tense your abdominal muscles with each rep – you don’t always need to do specific ab exercise like crunches to train your abs! The human body is amazing at how fast it adapts to routine. Keep it guessing!

3. DON’T OVERTRAIN

Are you smashing your muscles with intense sessions 7 days a week and still no results?

Sounds like you need to help your body recover with supplementation and throw in a rest day or two.

If you want to lose weight, training 7 days a week will hinder the speed of your results – more is not better in this circumstance. Even if you’re not over-training, just by working hard you will deplete certain ‘flat abs nutrients’.

Refuel with good foods and supplements to help the recovery process and to finally lose weight around your belly. Our favourites are BCAA’s, Glutamine, good quality protein powder (grab it on sale till Oct 2!) and Fish Oils. Your body will love you for it.

4. DON’T FORGET FAT

Scared of fats? You don’t need to eliminate all fats to get the ABS you want, you just need to know the right types.

Fish, avocado, nuts (just not peanuts), eggs, coconut cream/milk, extra virgin olive oil and all good sources of fats that aid in fat loss.

We need fats for healthy cell formation, so eat it!

5. DON’T VALIDATE EATING CRAP

Kill yourself in the gym and that validates having a snickers as you wait for the tram home, right? Wrong. The reality is that even hours in the gym can’t counteract a days worth of the wrong food.

Try having some nuts on your way home and fuel up on a piece of fish with veggies. This will help recovery and get you a step closer to a toned body and a ripped mid-section.

Remember, you are trying to CHANGE THE BALANCE, not keep the balance between exercise to food!

free ‘get abs’ workouts for a month? what the?!

So. With all of that in mind let’s go smash an AWESOME intense and varied workout then back it up with the RIGHT food and supplements for fast results. After all, summer is almost here!

What’s your take on all if this? If you are one of the first 10 people to comment on this post we’ll do your workouts for you with a month FREE of unlimited access to our Bootcamp (valued at $205).

You get 7 sessions to choose from each week and you will also receive a welcome pack which includes:

Assassin PT Log Book to record goals, food and successes
Our Healthy Lifestyle Starter e-Guide
Be part of our amazing Assassin Community!

Pretty good huh?

Life is Now. Press Play.

Kat

PS: Don’t forget to comment below NOW with what you currently do or do NOT do to get abs, and be in the running to kick-start your summer with a bang this year!