Getting in shape, is after all, about making smarter, more sensible decisions about what you're putting in your body! Whilst it's 100% possible to get lean whilst enjoying social occasions and small treats, it's easy to find yourself making poor decisions (without intending to!) that will have detrimental effects on your long term results. What I'm hoping to show you in this post is that whilst many foods can seem somewhat similar - the differences between them can produce seriously different outcomes in terms of achieving your goals and dropping body fat. Lets take Starbucks as our example again (seeing as everyone is OBSESSED with their Christmas Special Drinks!) Option A: You order a large Almond and Honey Hot Chocolate with Chocolate cake. Nutritional profile: Calories: 1,314 Fats: 40.4 grams Carbs: 74 grams Sugar: 60 grams Protein: 19.2 grams Option B: You order a Short Skimmed Milk Hot Chocolate and a Dark Chocolate Bar Nutritional profile: Calories: 341 Fats: 18.5 grams Carbs: 12.9 grams Sugar: 10.8 grams Protein: 2.7 grams Both options allow you to enjoy a hot chocolate with a chocolate based snack. BUT Option A contains an EXTRA 973 EXTRA CALORIES!! Lets put this into perspective by looking firstly at the calories, followed by the sugar content. CALORIES There are 540 calories in a Big Mac Burger and 323 in regular McDonalds fries. So a Big Mac and Fries contains 863 calories in total. You would consume less calories eating Option B along with a Big Mac burger and fries than if you were to have Option A. SUGAR Option A has 49.2 more grams of sugar than Option B. To put this into perspective are is 39 grams of sugar in a can of Coke. So if you were to choose Option A, rather than Option B, in effect you would be consuming an additional Can (and a quarter!) of coke in terms of the sugar content consumed. OTHER THINGS TO BARE IN MIND... It's not just a case of looking at calories. The quality and nutritional benefits of the food should also be considered. Option B is not only the better choice in terms of fewer calories and lower sugar content but also because the dark chocolate snack is packed with antioxidants! Dark chocolate contains many key nutrients including iron, magnesium, copper, selenium, maganese, zinc and potassium! SO! The next time you're grabbing your Starbucks on the way to work or enjoying dinner out with friends - I urge you to carefully consider what you're consuming and really give some thought as to whether there is a better, healthier alternative. NEW YEAR Look, New Years is right around the corner. I know whats about the happen. Hundreds of you will flock into the cheapest gym you can find because since October this year you've told yourself that on January the 1st you're going to start taking your health and fitness SERIOUSLY. You'll join. You'll feel good. Feel committed. Feel proud of yourself for NAILING your New Years resolution the minute you signed on the dotted line of your new membership form. THEN. Usually around March. The majority of you will realise that you aren't getting anywhere. You're not seeing the results you had hoped for. So you stop going. Why bother. The shame of it is - typically, its not because you're bored or have forgotten why you started in the first place, its because you simply DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO and repeat the same workout, week after week. To avoid this happening to you. I want you to consider this... Think of a time when you have become sick. You start frantically googling the NHS website looking for any illness that describes even the tiniest of your symptoms so you can self diagnose yourself as having an incurable contagious disease. So you go to the doctor. A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL then proceeds to tell you its nothing but a cold. Why did I use this example? To show you that as much as you think you know what you're doing, as much as you think you can just make it up as you go along. You CAN'T. Qualified professionals are qualified because they have the knowledge and expertise to advise you on matters in which you have limited experience. This is no different in the fitness industry. We have the education and know how to set you up with a specific, individual plan tailored to YOU. We have systems that work. Tools to track your progress. The ability to review, advance and develop your programs until you get the results I KNOW you're after. This is a New Year. A New mind set is required to get the results you have always wanted but have never achieved. Remember. You get what you pay for.
