I don't need my bikini body anymore? ............or do I?

Well everyone, I don't know about you but now it's September I don't need my bikini body anymore, or do I?

The picture below was taken in June this year on my 50th birthday - and yes I am enjoying a rum and diet coke on the beach and basically this is what this post is about.

I think my pet hate in the media and the fitness industry is the misconception that we need to prepare for a particular occasion with a particular 'bodyshape'. At the beginning of the year we need to get ready for summer with our bikini body and get rid of all the pounds we may have gained over Xmas. In Autumn we then knuckle down and work hard at losing the weight we may have gained on our summer holiday; so that when we get to the festive season we have 'room' to be able to put the pounds back on again! This kind of mindset just leads to yo-yo dieting which we all know definitely does not work in the long run. In fact it can actually lead to weight gain when it is repeated year in year out....................

Consistency is the key!

In my experience it is much better to be consistent all the year round. It really is that simple. Calculate your calories and macros (you can see how to do this in my earlier blog posts) and stay within these figures as close as you are able to all the time. If you have a holiday or special occasion be mindful of what you eat e.g. if you go to a restaurant try and avoid creamy dressings and sauces, but if you really want one, don't deprive yourself, just ask to have it on the side which will enable you to be in control of the amount you choose to add. If you want a dessert have one, it really isn't the end of the world. However, if you do go out for a meal or attend a special occasion, make an effort to eat within your numbers the day after. You don't need to keep your food diary in MFP every day. In fact the longer you complete them the more aware you will be of amounts etc. Just enjoy the moment and be aware of the consequences of over-eating. I remember from a long time ago, overeating on Xmas day but not even enjoying it! Picking at sweets etc for most of the day just because they were there................ absolutely ridiculous. Of course there are times of  the year when everyone gains a little weight, but this can be minimised by following these guidelines.

I have definitely reached a time in my life when I am very aware of how much to eat. I love my food and nothing is ever going to stop me having a dessert if I want one. But I also do not pile my plate up with so much food that I can't finish it, eat for the sake of it or think 'oh well I've had two biscuits I just as well eat the whole packet'.

I give you my word that this approach works. My clients and I are living proof that being consistent is the only way to be, so don't forget 'be mindful and consistent' and you are on your way to a much healthier attitude to eating.

Until next time everyone..............................................

Let's Get Started!

We have now arrived at the moment when we can put all the previous information together and begin calculating our macros to achieve either:

a) fat loss or
b) muscle building

We will start on the ever popular fat loss. FFor most of us this will be our ‘go to’ option. It won’t be about achieving that ‘summer body’ or that ‘bikini body’ – let’s concentrate on a body that suits us for the whole year and can be maintained long term.  Of course we want to feel confident in a bikini but we also want to slip on a pair of skinny jeans in winter and feel comfortable too.

See below:

Determine body weight on scales that you normally use. Even though they may not be very accurate, they will be good enough to determine weight loss or weight gain. We will use a 65kg female for this example.

2   Find a BMR calculator online. I tend to use http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  I entered 156cm tall, 65kg, 30 years old female (this is just hypothetical, I wish I was 30!) and I got a BMR of 1419 kcals which I rounded down to 1400 kcals. This figure determines a baseline calorie amount that you should not go under.

3   We then need to multiply our weight in lbs by 12 which will give us a calorie total to begin with. So 65kg in lbs is 143lb x 12 = 1716 calories. (This clears the 1400 cals BMR). We now have a baseline of 1716 which we will round down to 1700 calories. Again be aware that the fitness industry has many different equations to make these calculations but I have used the one that I feel has turned out the best for myself and my clients.

     Our 30 year old female now has 1700 calories to begin her fat loss journey with. The next step is working out her macros.

     Protein (1g per lb bw) = 143g (remember protein has 4kcal/g) = 572kcals

This leaves 1,128 kcals to split between carbs and fats, 564 each.

Carbs are 4g per calorie so 564 divided by 4 = 141g

Fats are 9g per calorie so 564 divided by 9 = 62g

6   To conclude:

141g Carbs

143g Protein

62g Fat

All this information now needs to be monitored on a daily basis. I would thoroughly recommend ‘Myfitnesspal'  which can be downloaded onto your smartphone aswell as your ipad and/or desktop. It will be necessary to add your statistics and adjust the goals to match your figures.

There will be a lot of weighing to be done so grab yourself some digital kitchen scales.

Stick with the your initial figures for a few weeks and monitor your weight. If everything is going well and you are steadily losing then keep it up until you reach your goal. Take a ‘before’ and ‘after’ photo and re-take weekly so you can see results!

If you find that nothing is happening and you are maintaining or even gaining, then your figures need to be re-evaluated. If you find you are craving more carbs you can sacrifice some fat for example. The only macro that you should try and stick with is your protein as this is the macro most people tend to neglect.

I think that is plenty of info to be getting on with! As far as muscle building is concerned, well I think I will leave that for the next blog.

I have written a ‘myfitnesspal’ user guide so if anyone wants a copy just message me your email address and I will send one over FOC!

Until next time fat loss bloggers......................