Monday   7-10.30am and 4.30-8pm

Tuesday  7-10.30am and 4-7pm

Weds       7-10.30am and 4.30-8pm

Thursday 7-10.30am and 4-7pm

Friday     7-10.30am and 4-7pm

Health Camp is Periodical and runs from 0645-0730 in the morning and 1900-1945 in the evening. PLease consult the website here for more details as to dates when it is running.

Where do you begin and more importantly what are you aiming for or looking to achieve?

Like training and any fat loss goal, it pays to have the end result in mind.

Nutrition is goal dependent and habit based. Fat loss nutritional strategies will differ to health specific strategies. Sports nutrition will differ to aiding ladies through the menopause.

There are, however, common threads that can be applied in any strategies.

Habits underpin good nutrition. How many of us undergo a diet programme and attempt to change everything over-night? We hope to mystically transform our entire approach to nutrition over-night and follow a ‘eat this don’t eat this’ approach.

Here’s the thing – It doesn’t work.

Instead of ‘going on a diet’ think of ‘building your health’.

Why would you do this?

Well a) immediately you have taken the pressure of yourself to always be ‘losing weight’ and therefore creating unnecessary pressures and stress b) you get hooked on the feeling rather than inches, pounds and stones and c) the stick rate is much higher whilst delivering the same result.

Here’s how it works in the real world. Firstly you have to throw away the scales. These are for the pros. They are about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. Secondly, you have to use the mirror, clothes and your energy levels as a guide.

The first week you may set yourself the goal of 1. Drinking a glass of lemon water 15 minutes before each meal alongside 2.Taking time out 10 minutes every day to reflect and relax. Now do it. Each day write it down that you achieved these actions.

Here are a few more habits that should be deployed with most nutritional programmes. In an ideal world, you should consult a professional to find a nutritional programme tailored to your needs.

1. Eating vegetable and oil based breakfast with a small amount of protein on some mornings.

2. Following a Caveman approach to nutrition. Keep your foods as close to nature as possible. The further you move away the closer you move to disease.

3. Keep a journal. We all tell a few white lies to ourselves you know the ones that start with the words ‘This wont hurt’. Well it does. It all adds up particularly if you are looking to get healthy. Keep a food journal and you are 80% more likely to hit your targets. Not a bad little habit to keep.

4. Preparing your food in advance. Develop a little ritual the night before where you bring some foods with you to work or in the car. Trying to eat healthy snacks in this country is like asking finding a needle in a haystack.

5. Drinking water as your source of fluids. Consider that most of your body is made up of water and you can see how important it is to stay hydrated. Coffee, Tea and other hot drinks tend to be water-robbers. Water – pure and filtered is the best. There really is no comparism. As a guideline, consume your bodyweight in kg x 0.033 to find your ideal amount in litres. The only real exception is green tea. Shoot for 3 cups a day of this mighty beverage. As a personal trainer this is the biggest mistake I see people make.

7. Consuming veggies with each meal. Everytime you feed there should be a source of vegetables. Spinach in omelettes, salads, chopped veggies, grilled (a really great way to sweeten veggies) and stir-fry and ‘Greens Drinks’ are all great ways of getting more veggies in to your nutrition.

8. Get the skinny on fat – fat can make you thin. Fact. Did you know that supplementing your diet with fish oil is a sure fire way to get those fat furnaces burning fast. Coconut oil, rich in SATURATED FAT, can also help you get leaner. Fats are your friends. Now I am not talking about those artery-clogging fat found in fried foods, cakes, biscuits and take-aways. You would be best to avoid anything on the packet that has ‘hydrogenated’ on it like the plague.
Instead shoot for fats that are rich in Omega-3. These include fish oil (pharmaceutical grade only), flax seeds, hemp oil, nuts

and olive oil. Cook with coconut oil.
9. Take your energy from vegetables and dietary fats rather than bread, pastas and starches. Have them as a treat. However, if they are appearing in every meal you may be setting yourself up for ill-health.

John Lark is a Fat Loss Specialist providing tools to help you get healthier and leaner – faster. He can be contacted at 01-5052131. Download your free fat loss report at www.spherefitnessstudio.com
**

Is there more to the old adage that to lose weight you must simply eat more and do less writes Dublin Personal Trainer, John Lark. In this article we explain how a simple strategy could literally knock pounds off you without doing anything dramatic to your current nutritional habits

Well, yes and no.

Consume fewer calories than you expend by performing activities and exercise is a great place to start.

In fact if you are embarking on any fat loss project, I strongly recommend that you verify your calorific intake for 4-5 days.

The best way to do this is to grab a pen and paper and write down everything that you drink and eat (and I mean everything) for 4-5 days.

If you are more computer savvy then use a free online resource such as www.fitday.com where you can gain more information and see exactly how many calories you are consuming.

To lose weight effectively and find your ball park figure reduce your daily average that you have found by 10-20 per cent.

Then do the following – nip and tuck. Take your food and apply the nip and tuck. Don’t eat the whole meal. Eat one slice of bread with your sandwich rather than two. Eat half a chicken breast rather than the whole thing.

To begin with this is an excellent place to start if you are looking at making a change as painless as possible. Notice there is no counting calories.

Why I am so against counting calories, points, records and stars? Because a calorie is not just a calorie.
There is so much more to take into account once we eat the foods that we do or drink the drink that we do.

Hormonally, some foods will have a vastly different effect on the body than other foods.

Take for instance an orange and a Jaffa cake. Both are low in calories and fat and rich in energy or ‘carbohydrate’. However, one is full of fibre, vitamins and will not spike your insulin levels the other is full of nothing but air, zero fibre and will send your insulin levels through the roof.

For an individual who does not tolerate carbohydrate or sugars very well ( witnessed by the spilling over of fat from our jeans) then they would be best to avoid certain foods that have a negative effect on our sugar hormone – insulin. These include bread, pasta, rice, spuds and cereals.

And what about the thermic effect of foods? Simply put this is what is takes in energy to digest, absorb and assimilate your food.

It explains why those individuals despite consuming the same amount of calories lose more fat on a high protein, high fat diet than those on a carbohydrate diet.

Think about it – how easily do you think that your stomach reacts to digesting a bowl of cereal compared to an eight-ounce rib-eye steak?

One will require much more energy than the other.

Then we take into consideration the whole acid-alkaline load that foods placed on our bodies. Many people in the health and well-being profession are now pointing to the fact that health can be maintained IF we maintain an optimum ‘pH’ within our bodies.

Simply put ‘pH’ is a measure of how acid vs. our alkaline we are. Acidosis prompts a cascade of ailments because our body’s cells are designed to operate within a nice and cosy pH of 7.3. When this drops – trouble occurs.

So what drives us into a state of acidosis? Well aside from the obvious culprits such as stress, lack of sleep, alcohol and smoking, scientists have identified certain foods that create an acid load on our bodies.

These include amongst many grains, diary, sugar and meat. Meanwhile fruits and vegetables are great for driving us into the vibrant and healthy alkaline state.

So think twice before consuming that low-fat ham and cheese sandwich and look for the veggies to balance your intake out.

It is not anyone fault that our attention is on the calorie.

For years the food pyramid has dominated our thinking in terms of weight loss alongside making sure we don’t eat over our calorie budget.

But there is far more to this than meets the eye. Besides if you want to count your calories and turn into a neurotic lunatic with a eye for crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘I’ then fine.

Instead I urge you to focus on forging good habits one at a time.  Get in the habit of hitting the gym three times a week or shopping twice a week instead of once.

What about upping your intake of lean protein and making sure you balance your dietary acids with some alkaline forming vegetables and fruits?

There is far more to the fat loss conundrum than just ‘stepping away from the table’.

For your Free Personal Trainer’s Guide to Fat Loss then visit

www.spherefitnessstudio.com

How about the spare tyre that is just bugging the life out of you? So much so that wearing an overcoat in 30 degrees of heat becomes an attractive proposition.

Taking the first step is crucial.

What is it?

Quite simple really – the first step is up to you. But only you can do it. Decide what that is and just do it.

Don’t wait for the perfect moment. Just do it.
Don’t wait for the rain to stop. Just do it.
Don’t wait for the right workout outfit to suddenly appear miracoulsy from the press. Just do it.
Don’t wait for the perfect time. It won’t come.

SO what can you do to kick things off?

I am a huge believer in mini-steps. The Japanese have a word for this – ‘Kaizen’ or in short continuous and never-ending improvement.  Each day take a step. Big or small. Yet over time these steps all add up.

Think of it this way. You commit to making sure you have your gym gear in the bag every evening allowing you to hit the gym before you head home. You do this for a week. BY the end of the week you feel good. Why?

Well simply put you have achieved a mini goal.  One that will serve you well and inspires you to build upon in the next week. Over the course of 12 weeks you introduce 10 new mini agreements that you manage to keep to.

See how this can build into something significant.

So what first steps can you do now to begin this journey and make significant inroads?

Set your vision by writing it down. Did you know you are 80% more likely to achieve this target if you simply write it down?  A two-minute exercise could be the difference between success or failure.

Write down what you want to achieve in specific terms with a time stamp on it. ‘Getting Fit’ is about as effective as a knitted balloon. ‘I want to lose 12 lbs of fat by September 10th -  I am going to achieve this by etc etc’.

How about just making a call? Call your friends, family or a professional. Tell them what you want to achieve and get them ‘onboard’. Can you imagine Kerry turning up to the All-Ireland Final with no Manager, Kit Man, Coach, Physical Trainer or Personal Stylist (!). My point is we all need help.

I really enjoy food but what if you are unsure about what to eat to help you towards your goals and end up popping to the Supermarket with the kids and leaving with half the contents of the biscuit aisle and all their ‘2 for 1s’.

By making a list you are likely to a) save money and b) stick to an eating plan for the week. Buy your meat and fish in bulk from a butcher who can tailor your needs.

Coupled with this, a food diary is a crucial first step. The activity of recording what you eat and putting it down on paper will highlight to you good and bad habits that you may have developed.

My first step to the day is meat and nuts for breakfast. Why? Meat or more importantly protein raises the production of the neurotransmitter dopamine; a hormone that gives stimulates energy, drive, motivation and mood. Nuts keep your blood sugars stable and maintain your energy levels throughout the day.
First steps are crucial. Choose a step that you know you will succeed in and build on this.

John Lark is a Fat Loss Specialist using Personalised Exercise, Nutrition and Supplement techniques. Go to www.spherefitnessstudio.com to download your complimentary report on Modern Fat Loss Techniques or call 01-5052131.

Is it possible to enjoy one or two pints or glasses of wine within a health and fitness lifestyle? I believe you can. The problem comes when you are looking to lose fat.

You see alcohol is empty or dead calories. And no matter what you say when you are looking to lose fat then totalling up the number of glasses of wine you knocked back at the office night out or your nephew’s christening can seriously damage your daily calorific intake.

Imagine having a daily budget of 1500 calories and consuming 750 of those on wine or beer? That doesn’t leave much to take in fresh veggies, meats and fruits.

It comes back to the central principle of good eating – choose foods dense in nutrients over just the plain old fashioned ‘calories’. Choose an orange over a jaffa cake, a carrot over carrot cake, a cup of herbal tea over a latte or a huge bowl of freshly prepared salad over a plate of pasta.

So yes, in this respect alcohol will seriously frustrate your fat loss efforts. It is devoid of any nutrients and becomes empty calories.

I don’t know what it is with Irish and alcohol. There are several theories floating around from being the most Omega-3 deficient country in the world leading to heightened levels of stress and depression to the ingrained culture that surrounds the Irish and ‘craic’.

When some people are under stress, they resort to alcohol but it is not a solution — it can plunge them into further depths of despair.  Irish people consume more than 37 gallons or 296 pints of alcoholic drinks per person each year. In other words, the average Irish person drinks about 11.4 cups of an alcoholic drink each week.

At a deeper level try and shed those Man-boobs or ‘moobs’ as they are affection ally known with a diet rich in beer. It just won’t happen. The reason being is due to the lowering of male testosterone by alcohol leading to an increase in organ fat accumulation alongside an increase in our bodies’ stress hormones.

Ever seen the alcoholic’s Weight lifting team? No – neither have I.  In fact studies have shown that alcohol abuse will shrink your testosterone levels to that of a castrated rabbit leading to the obvious side effects. Ladies take note.

What’s more – have you ever noticed the munchies? These are direct result of your alcohol consumption and can add an additional 750 calories (Burger and Chips) to your daily intake. Again, a disaster if you are looking to burn fat.

So here are a few tips and tricks with regards to alcohol and burning fat:

1)    Alcohol has no place on a fat loss programme. Put a deadline on your fat loss programme and get ready to pop the cork on a bottle of Moet when you reach your goals. Leave the alcohol during your programme.

2)    Binge drinking has no place anywhere really, not if you want to maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle. The two just don’t sit well together.

3)    Try and avoid the munchies if you do head out at night – this can wreak havoc with your waistline. Fatty foods in particular will cause excessive fat gain.

4)    One or two glasses of red wine can actually be beneficial and included on a healthy maintenance programme once or twice a week. This is due to the high levels of Resveratol – a powerful antioxidant  and anti-cancer substance found in red wine. It goes without saying that under no circumstances should pregnant women drink alcohol. There is plenty of resveratol in dark grapes and boiled peanuts.

If you are able to handle it and are consuming, in particular red wine, in moderation then alcohol can be part of a healthy lifestyle. However, the trick is to know when enough is enough. If you are looking to burn fat then stay away all together.

Alcohol truly is a substance where the God is in the details and the dosage makes the poison.

John Lark is a fat loss specialist combining exercise, nutrition and lifestyle strategies. He is based at The Sphere Fitness Studio , Leinster Clinic, Maynooth.  Download your ‘5 Top Fat Loss Methods’ report at www.spherefitnesstudio.com ]]> http://spherefitnessstudio.com/fat-loss-and-alcohol/feed 0