Posts Tagged ‘health and fitness’

The Truth Will Set You Free – The Lies that are keeping you from your goals

Monday, September 2nd, 2013

Probably the biggest reason most people fail to achieve the results they are looking for is down to the lies they tell.

They are not conscious lies, but their words and actions simply don’t marry.

If you ask most people who start out a health and fitness plan how focused and serious they are about their desired goal, the answer is usually “completely 100% committed”. And to them that is the truth. They really do WANT to achieve these goals, but wanting something and being committed to achieving it are two separate things.

Everything in life has a cost. If you want an expensive car, you either have to work to improve your income or you have to do without other luxuries in your life. If you didn’t need to do these things, you would have the car already. You have to be committed to the changes needed.

So you might look at a Ferrari and think, I wish I could afford one of those. But how much do you wish that? If it really was the highest priority in your life, you would find cheaper accommodation, you would NEVER go to the movies, or to a night out, you would cancel any satellite subscriptions you have, in fact your TV license money could go to the car if you did away with your TV, which you could sell to add to the pot. No more eating out, no magazines, no snacks, no expensive clothing, just what is practical to allow your survival. And all that extra time you have now that you are not in front of the TV or involved in any pastimes could be used to further your career or build a new one. If this truly is your biggest life desire, you will find a way to achieve it.

It would take quite an empty life for such a thing as a car to play such a big part in anyone’s life, but it is just an example.

Switch that to health and fitness. Around 99% of the planet would like to improve something about their health, fitness or physique. Very few people would wake up, take one look in the mirror and think ‘Perfect! As always’. So everyone would WANT to make a change, but many people simply accept, rightly or wrongly, that they want a life of indulgence more. They would rather go out drinking every weekend, have a takeaway every night, or live off pizza and chocolate and simply suffer the consequences when they arrive.

But a large portion of those who start a fitness plan lie to themselves about this fact. They say they want a six pack, more energy or improved muscle tone, but then every weekend the posts go up on the social media sites about how it’s nearly pub time, or time for a bottle of red, that the fridge is stocked with booze, it’s party time etc.

Then you get the cries of regret come Sunday or Monday morning. “Never drinking again”, “Why did I eat that?”, “That’s it, no more for me, diet starts today” and so on.

In actual fact, what is really happening is, through the week, when it life is a bit more regimented and anything is better than work, getting to the gym maybe isn’t such a chore, it’s a relief. But come the weekend, being popular and accepted by your peers becomes more important than the fitness goals.

The reason being, in most cases, the goal is also about the acceptance of others. It is buried in a belief that if you look better more people will like you or compliment you and that will make you feel good and happy. But come party time, getting drunk or indulging in fast food and junk food also gets you acceptance, only the result is instant. It happens right there and then. Everyone tells you how you are a great laugh, they are having a great time in your company etc and you will do anything to conform.

Then on the Monday, you remember your goals and you announce to the world your regrets, that way they all forgive you or tell you that one little indulgence won’t hurt. And again you get your social acceptance fix.

But always there is this internal struggle. You have a goal, but you never reach it. You blame the diet. You blame your trainer. You blame your workout. You seek out a new diet approach or a new workout routine. The latest fitness classes and start drinking that detox drink everyone is raving about. You sacrifice for a few weeks, and of course you tell everyone how hard it is, but you are sticking to it (to make sure you get your social acceptance fix as they applaud your efforts, though only if it’s for a few weeks, because that party at the end of the month is HUGE and you HAVE to drink at that).

And so the cycle continues.

Until you unlock the truth, there is no chance of moving forwards. You might make some progress, but it will be short lived.

And what is the truth?

Well that will take some real honesty, not with others but with yourself.

How much do you really want to make a change? What change do you truly want to make? And what price are you willing to pay?

Only by discovering the truth can you truly accept who you are and what you are doing. And self acceptance is much more fulfilling than the acceptance of others.

Your Ferrari is yours to have, but the price must be paid.

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Lucy Doyle Interview

Thursday, February 14th, 2013

For our latest interview we spoke to Lucy Doyle. Lucy has not only gone through, what could be described as a very typical female journey of believing her youthful genetics would keep her trim for life, only to be crushed by the realization that life just doesn’t work like that, but her journey through added weight, self loathing and life threatening illness back to a strong, confident, enviable physique and mindset, has already inspired thousands of others to a better path.

Lucy has been kind enough to give us some insight to her change, what makes her tic and her plans for the future.

Lucy Doyle - There is no failure except in no longer trying

My name is Lucy and I am married with two children aged 7 and 8.  So I was going to start from the beginning, but hey I don’t think I’m alone in saying I don’t even know when the beginning was, how it crept up on me but it sure as hell did!!

I grew up the tall lanky one in my family, always had it “easy” in terms of weight control- could eat what I like… My life was a whirlwind, met my wonderful husband when i was just 20 and we married and had children straight away.  I was pretty cocky when I fell pregnant with my oldest, looking at other soon to be mums that were in their early 30s.. Knowing at the young age of 23 i’d just ping back into shape.  Boy was I wrong!!!  To cut a long story short, it went downhill from there, overeating during pregnancy, developing a life threatening condition, being hospitalised. Over the following 3 years I gained several stone and was stuck in the spiral of self hate.. binging… hating myself more… comfort eating even more and finally- accepting that i was a woman now and this is the size i was probably meant to be.

What do you think made you finally decide to make positive changes in regards to your health. Was it a gradual realisation or did you have a “lightning bolt” moment? 

Due to a variety of reasons- obesity, lack of exercise and a very painful family trauma I became severely depressed and began to get weaker and weaker.  I developed Chronic Fatigue and I felt like a ghost.  My initial wake up call came when I fell asleep, only briefly, but it was enough.. in the park with my two toddlers playing. I finally hit rock bottom and felt angry that my children weren’t safe with their own mummy.  The following year or so, in truth was a  blur, I began dieting.  In typical form, I wanted the weight gone immediately and i knew id stop at nothing so I began following all the fad diets.  I was around 13.5 stone at 5ft 6… I did the cabbage soup diet, the Cambridge diet, Atkins, lighter life and when I had the strength I would just starve myself. At this point I felt very alone, very little support especially from other females.  Had i of had that, I know that they would have helped me see I didn’t need to go to those extremes!  I lost several stone.. great, awesome- or so I thought! Yet my body was as weak as ever, had to sleep so much and often my husband would have to take over… it got to the point where i could no longer do up my own buttons, my body was not functioning and it had eaten up every bit of muscle I had because of the starvation!!

So enter phase ll… 2008 2 years later I had lost 3 stone and thought I was pretty fly ha ha……. Then the disaster happened.  We went clothes shopping and whilst in the Matalan changing room I caught a glimpse of myself OH MY GOD!!!!!!!  I think at this stage I was about 9.5 stone which sounds ok right?  But then why did i look so jelly like, no shape just a blob?  From that moment on I vowed to address my damaging behaviour and promised to get myself AWESOME on the inside not just on the outside…. But where to begin..

When you started, did you feel it was hard to believe you could really do it, or was being fit and toned too hard to imagine back then.

I didn’t know where to go, who to speak to.. even worse family were saying I was being ridiculous, after 9.5 stone is hardly over weight!! But yet I knew something wasn’t right but couldn’t explain it..  I saw an advert for P90x and my husband and I bought it and began following the program, boy was that hard!!  Then one day i was watching Peter Andre’s show and saw Nick Mitchell from UP Fitness- I knew instantly that i wanted to meet this man, knew he would have the answer.. and guess what he and his team did.

For the first time ever I had my body fat measured with callipers and finally, finally hard the explanation I needed as to why if my weight was low did I look and feel so god damn fat!!

I was thee “skinny fat person”.

Yup that’s right, not an ounce of muscle on me, just bone and fat.  Why? Well because of all the crash dieting, my body desperately trying to protect me!! Ohhhhhh boy…. that is the very moment that my little me climbed up and lit the match to ignite the fire to change and in 1 year and 3 months I have NEVER looked back!!!!

Do you think that having a healthy body has helped improve your healthy mind?

I suffered from depression for many years, insomnia was my enemy and I spent so much time ruminating… Wish someone had told me to get off my arse and go for a walk!!! A healthy body and healthy mind is a marriage, you cannot have one without the other.  I am grateful every day for the physical changes, but I am also so so happy that my mind is in such a healthy place and so much stronger to deal with things

You really like to encourage girls to support each other, can you tell me more about how you noticed how we treat each other, and share some of your thoughts on this?

It is something i am hugely passionate about.  I never had this support when I was overweight, depressed and especially when i was supposedly at an ideal weight, but in a bad place.   Sadly we live in a world where it becomes so easy to judge each other, sabotage each other’s attempts- not out of hate but out of our own longing to change.  The fact of the matter is.. what means more to you, a man wolf whistling you as you walk down a street or the girl that comes up to you in the supermarket and says she thinks you look amazing?  We love to have the approval of other women and we know oh so well how good it makes you feel when another girl offers you encouragement.  It works both ways though Barbara, I am not talking about just slim women being kind to overweight women… slimmer women also have their demons, troubles and doubts.

Its ok to be envious, it’s ok to feel that knot in your belly when you see an attractive woman- it doesn’t make you a bad person!!! Hell I’m always saying to my hubby “oh god look at her legs, look at her arse” lol… but do girls every consider paying that person a compliment?  Probably not because they think she doesn’t  need it… bet she does!

My main focus is creating an environment where between girls we can have a safe haven and show some honesty, get real and say the things that they really think- without fear of being judged, demeaned or shamed.  I believe that is where the core of what needs to be changed, lies.  I had so many questions I wanted to ask but was always too afraid to ask them.. I want to change that.

How do you make time to work out and make good food choices, while being a busy mum?

I’m going to be controversial and say “I got selfish”

I can hear it now, the mums going well alright for her, but i cant…..  YES you can.  At one point I was working FOUR jobs, running a home with a hubby, 2 kids and 2 crazy dogs!!  Its not easy at first but you get used to it.  I know people may think but that’s cruel putting yourself before your kids, but in fact I am giving them something priceless… I strong, healthy and happy mummy.  I cant make time for you, nor can your trainer.  Sit down and plan your week, preparation is key.  Let your kids go to an extra club once a week and use that time to train? Get up an hour earlier… Rope hubby in, let him cook twice a week while you nip off to the gym.  Sunday afternoon make it family cook up time, get everyone involved and prepare meals for the week.  The fact is, it IS possible and I am proof of that!

Have you found all your friends and family to be supportive of the new you, or have you been surprised at some of the reactions?

The straight answer is no.

This is why women need to support each other and create support networks.  I very rarely meet anyone that have had supportive extended family ie parents and siblings.  They do not tend to like change and the more you change, they feel that their failures are exposed.  I am gradually learning not to seek approval from those areas, as it will usually lead to upset on my part.  I do not however feel hateful towards those people, I try to consider the bigger picture and know that they too have their insecurities and that when they berate you, tell you you’ve gone too far, look disgusting- that really that is just a shadow of how unhappy they feel inside.

Accept it, move on and seek support networks in other women with similar goals, who won’t attempt to sabotage your efforts.

Would you ever compete?

Wow, up until now I would have said not in a million years; however I have just entered Miss Galaxy Universe.  I have entered this competition because its rather different to other competitions.  Really sense of sisterhood, everyone is appreciative and respectful of other peoples physical and emotionally journey and for me I hope it to become symbolic of how far I’ve come.  I am not in it to win it, just loving being a part of something with other girls

What is your absolute favourite exercise?

Deadlifts. Not only does it work my weakest parts, but I love the stress it releases when you concentrate and focus… feel almost cleansed of your troubles after a set..

Any favourite recipes you can share with our readers?

Hmmmm well those who know me, know that im a sucker for wastage.  I have a tight budget so hate to waste anything!! My favourite recipe is making my own nut milk (soak choice of nuts over night, rinse and then refill next day, blitz in a blender and then strain through a sieve)  Rather than ditch the left over mush, I like to put it in a bowl and added blended dates and some coconut flour and then roll into balls, roll the balls in coconut and hey presto a delicious treat and more importantly no waste!

What are your personal goals for 2013?

My goals for 2013 are to follow on from my Precision Nutrition Certification.. nutrition is a never ending study. I hope to certify as a BioSignature Practitioner by the end of the year and I hope to develop my learning of the emotional and motivational side of nutrition and change.  My personal goal is to hit sub 14% body fat, to fully deadlift at least twice my bodyweight (PB 108kg) and to be able to do chin ups in double figures!!

Interview by Barbara Graham through our Facebook resource – Beginners Guide to Getting Ripped – Check it out for more tips and information

You can follow Lucy’s continued journey, fitness and inspirational tips on her Facebook Page. Be sure to like it, share it and get involved.

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The Jodie Marsh Effect

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

If you are the type to keep up to date with the gossip magazines, tabloids or daytime TV in the UK, then you have likely seen the latest photos of Jodie Marsh from her competition in the NPA.

If you haven’t been so blessed or simply stay away from such publications then you can see the photos Here.

So did you have an opinion?

Personally I knew nothing about it until I heard the cat calling and back biting comments across the social networking sites and throughout the gym.

Jodie Marsh has never been top of my radar in the celebrity world. I have generally considered her a wannabe who has made a career from looking a little bit like Jordan (Katie Price) and being a general loudmouth who gets her photo snapped at every opportunity either from falling out of a club or out of her dress.

However, this latest endeavour has given me at least some level of respect for her.

It’s all very well to have an opinion of her fame and whether she is deserving of it,  but there is no denying that to compete to the level she has takes discipline. The results may not be to your particular taste, but if you are sporting a spare tire or a quality set of love handles, are you really in a position to judge?

The fact is, she has gone from late night binging, clubbing and partying and found discipline and dedication to a focused pursuit. And so long as she is happy with the result then that is all that truly matters.

Since the photos were published I have heard so many comments (mainly from Women as it happens) on how awful she looks, how her make-up is a joke, how her fake tan is ridiculous, that she looks freakish, blah blah blah.

Yet these same comments have almost exclusively come from people who are out of shape. Even those who have commented whilst working out are in fairly poor shape, train with no intensity, focus or drive, use sloppy technique and quite frankly are just embarrassing themselves by being so critical of someone who has achieved more than they have.

As for the make-up and fake tan, that is just part of being judged under stage lighting. Personally I like that the tan covers up the body art that she has become so attracted to lately (though that’s just personal preference)

Arguments that she used steroids or, due to her fame, has no other distractions and was able to hire people to do the thinking for her, true or not, don’t mean it was easy. She still put the hours in, did the training, whilst controlling her diet and lifestyle. That’s no easy task regardless of your circumstances.

Thing is, if she was just another bodybuilder, people may have an opinion if they saw her, but there wouldn’t be nearly the same level of gossip. Perhaps she brought that on herself through her quest for self promotion, but that doesn’t alter the fact that this is an improved road for her and one that should be applauded rather than damned.

Still that is just my opinion and I’m sure there are others.

So what are your views on Jodie’s new look? Do you appreciate her efforts? Do you think she warrants the negativity she has received? Do you consider her inspirational or ‘freakish’? Or do you have another point of view entirely?

Comment below and let me know.

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A Lesson from Steve Jobs

Monday, October 17th, 2011

The morning we all woke up and heard on the news or read in the paper that Steve Jobs, creator and (former) SEO of apple had died from a  respiratory arrest resulting from the spread of his pancreatic cancer, it was a huge shock to most of us.

Obviously the world has lost a major visionary who seemed to have an incredible talent for ‘getting it right’. (Remember, not only did he found Apple and shape the dominant future that it ended up having, but he also had the foresight to see the potential in a little known company called Pixar). But what does he have to do with a site dedicated to health, fitness and physique training?

Quite simply, his death has re-enforced a point I’ve been trying to enforce for some time now. That you cannot buy your health back once it has gone.

If you have already read the article I wrote on [intlink id=”901″ type=”post”]Work Getting in the way of Training & Results[/intlink], you will remember that I made the point that we work to live not the other way around.

That said, Steve Jobs demonstrated a counter to that, in that he found a career that was more of a passion than a job and that is something we should all really be striving for. I know that by switching to the career I have now I am much happier for it, as it is more of a passion than a job. But regardless, if you don’t have balance in your life you don’t have anything.

If your job is just a job (you work for someone else) then there is absolutely no excuse for sacrificing your health, fitness and wellbeing in order to make someone else richer. However, even if you do have a career path that you are passionate about, without your health you will never be able to achieve the targets you have set yourself and your career will come to a very abrupt halt.

Just remember, without your health you have nothing and you can achieve nothing. So whilst it may feel like other things are more important, nothing comes close to the importance of your health.

You may well think that skipping a meal or chowing down on a candy bar ‘just this once’ isn’t going to hurt. Or that you can skip the gym today and you will catch up tomorrow. But these things very quickly become habit forming and ‘just this once’ becomes a regular occurrence. “How you do anything is how you do Everything!”

Just to be clear, Steve Jobs did not die due to a lack of exercise or nutrition (that I know of) but I only sight him as an example as he was worth, at the time of his death, around $7 Billion, yet no amount of money could change the course of his health.

The point being, there are things that could affect your health regardless, but rather than creating them yourself through poor diet, over stress, lack of exercise and poor sleep patterns, isn’t it about time to take a step back and realize that the most important commodity you have is your health and start making the most of it?

As the man said himself:

“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me…” – Steve Jobs 1993

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High Intensity Ideas & Theories

Friday, October 14th, 2011

Over the past few years this section of the site has been dedicated to, what we hope have been, informative and generally heavily researched articles.

Our intention is to continue with these as usual, with our Newsletter subscribers being the first to be informed of these updates (along with occasional updates, information and advice not available to non subscribers). But quite often things come up that I feel is worth getting out there for all to see, without the requirement for lots of research, references or shiny images to get the point across.

Not only that, but there are so many things that come up time and again that are, quite frankly, irritating. Whether it be poor training form, out-dated information or things that are just plain wrong, I’d appreciate the chance to get them off my chest.

So I have added a new category to the list (to the left of this page) called H.I.I.T.

You may then expect a discussion on High Intensity Interval Training and if that is what you came here for, alas, it is just my warped mind finding a way of describing shorter posts and associating them with a training method (Thus – High Intensity Ideas & Theories). Though, if you did come here with a question about High Intensity Interval Training in mind, feel free to get the discussion going and I’ll be happy to comment. Either post below or shoot me an email and ask your question.

What I hope to achieve with this section, though, is to give bite size posts that you don’t need so much time to read. I’m hoping you will also have your own opinions, comments or questions and will contribute, through the comments box below, and expand on the topic. That way I get alternative views, I may also feel more justified in my ‘rants’ or indeed corrected in some instances, but the more we all add, the more everyone benefits.

However, as I’m hoping these posts will be more regular than the main articles, I don’t want to feel like I am bombarding your Inbox with Newsletter issues. I never want to be seen as spamming. So updates to this section will be predominantly notified through our Twitter feed @DCSfit.

Therefore, if you want to be part of this, get involved and show your enthusiasm for improvement, and if you haven’t already, be sure to get on Twitter and follow @DCSfit.

If relevant, I may post to our Facebook Page, so please head there and hit ‘like’. And if I feel particularly strongly about the subject or I think it has higher than usual importance I may still send out a Newsletter.

I urge you to get involved, post below, send your feedback and get everything you want out of this resource. 

If you’d rather these updates were part of the Newsletter updates, let us know. If you miss the images, tell us. But most importantly, if you have something to say on the subjects covered or you would like a specific subject brought up, don’t keep it to yourself, let us know.

Oh, and one last thing, one of the comments on a previous post was to do with the text colour, specifically the red, so I thought I’d try a variation for these posts. What do you think? Do you care? Is it easier to read? Is it worse?

Let me know – comment below.

Until next time (when the real ranting begins) – Have an awesome day!

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Why are we here?

Monday, June 29th, 2009

I was 11 years old, but even then I had an ego. I wanted to do things bigger and better than anyone else. I wanted to be known for something. I wanted to make an impact. What did I enjoy the most? I really liked drawing. I liked creating. But, I also enjoyed puzzles and I was good at them. Perhaps I could be an artist and have my artwork hanging in the most famous galleries around the world? People would come and look at my work and it would have an influence (hopefully a positive one) on how they were feeling. Yes, I’ll be an artist!

But wait! That’s not big enough!

I can vaguely remember thinking this as I walked up a busy high street with my parents. It was a bright summers day and as I looked up at the historic buildings around me I thought, “Wow! Some of these buildings really are amazing.” A few minutes later, we walked passed a small art gallery and I thought about one of my pieces hanging on the wall. That’s when it struck me. Why not create the wall and the room and the building the pieces are laid out in? Why not create the galleries and the museums and homes that the pieces were to be displayed in? That would be big! That would make an impact! How do I do that?

It was from that point on my future was set. I’d be an Architect!

It was a job I’d love. I’d be drawing, designing, creating and I’d be influencing the world. I would have a chance to have a positive impact on every person who either used the buildings I designed or even entered their vicinity.

For the next six years I pushed my studies in exactly that direction. I played a lot of sports, football, ice hockey, golf etc. and I loved it. Occasionally I dreamed of being a professional footballer or hockey player. But it always came back to Architecture. At the age of 17 I enrolled at University and signed away the next 7 years of my life. I was designing potentially iconic buildings. One of my earliest designs at university was for a Sculpture studio and gallery. It was only a project, but in a few years, this would be real!

After 7 years of study I was set upon the real world. I had no illusions. I wouldn’t be going out to immediately design galleries and museums. I’d have to start small. And so, with my first full scale project I set about designing a scheme for a housing association. I worked with the community council and really felt that I was helping improve the lives of the local residents. When it completed, they all seemed extremely happy with the results and so I felt happy. But, it hadn’t been exactly as I’d thought. Part of the process was design, but much was a balance of politics and finance. How to control costs as the contractor sought to increase their profits. And everyone had to have their input, whether it made sense or not

But, it was a start. I had made a mark.

Over the following 6 years I worked on more housing schemes, designer flats, special needs units, a golf course clubhouse, hotels, a £14,000,000 community school complete with sports complex, gymnastics club, a library, high level outdoor all weather sports facilities and public art, as well as small and large scale office blocks. I hadn’t been anywhere near a gallery or a museum, but I had been making an impact. Hadn’t I?

Well the thing is that over all of those projects the same issues had occurred each time. Number one was always money. Now companies have to survive and profits are necessary, therefore budgets have to be adhered to. But these budgets are set at the start and there is a design team in place with experts in each field of the design to ensure that budget is achieved. But in every case the contractor then looked to use cheaper alternatives to those designed in order to increase their profits, the developer will look for savings on the design to maximise their returns, the Structural Engineer will over specify to protect his insurance as with the Mechanical and Electrical Engineers and everyone will be looking to push the blame or workload elsewhere even before it happens.

As lead designer, it would therefore be my job to juggle these issues, deal with the faxes and emails trying to resolve them. Go to meetings where everyone would argue their case and little would be resolved as no one was there to change their mind. All of which cost time and therefore money, which lead to more costs to the contract and more savings required.

What no one seemed overly concerned about was that these buildings had a purpose. Their very presence would have an impact on everyone and everything in the area. Shouldn’t we be creating the best environment we possibly could? Shouldn’t we be maximising the experience for the end user? Wasn’t there more to this than cost per square meter rates? It didn’t seem so.

I came into this to make a difference. To enhance the world and lives of those around me and to an extent I was. I was enhancing the bank balance of already wealthy companies whose number one concern was the size of their profits.

There were degrees of this and some were better than others, but it was always a factor somewhere along the lines. And every morning I would have to get out of bed and go to work knowing this was my lot in life. This was the path I had chosen and morally it felt extremely uncomfortable.

Over my time studying at university and the early years of working, sport had become much less a part of my existence and junk food a greater one. As I spent my nights fighting the fatigue in order to work through the night, fizzy drinks, pizza and sweets became my allies.

Then in January of 2004, my then girlfriend decided she wanted to join a gym. I had started to feel I was getting a bit too much out of shape and had taken to wearing black at all times and sizes that were just that little bit too big so my shape wasn’t clearly visible. So I signed up too and booked in for an evaluation. When I got the results I couldn’t believe it. My body fat percentage was 27% (for my age anything above 22% was dangerously obese!). So I got handed my programme and I stuck to it. After a few weeks I realized it wasn’t getting me anywhere. I asked someone else to review it and was told what I had been given was awful and wasn’t nearly hard enough (I had been given a leg press weight of 40kg for example – My review put me on 90kg which was still comfortably manageable) so I got a new programme and I stuck to that.

To me, this was a new puzzle. If I didn’t know any better I would trust the experts to guide me and do exactly what they told me. But, I don’t like doing things blindly. I wanted to know why I was doing what I was doing and I began to study. I researched everything; took nothing at face value; I listened openly to every theory and opinion and weighed up its merits. If it didn’t make any sense, I discarded it. If it had any merit, I would research it some more or try it out on myself to see the results.

Over the past 3 or 4 years I have absorbed as much information as I could, spending several hours every day reading, researching or querying anything health and fitness related. Anything I didn’t understand I’d delve deeper. It was fascinating. The rules were generally simple, but the intricacies so very complex and debatable.

Over my first 6 weeks training my body fat fell to 21.5% after 6 months I was down to 12% (considered very lean) and by the end of the year I was down to 10%. This was all while still working full time as an Architectect.

After a while I started training with others, answering queries on training and diet, helping out friends and family and through a bit of an accident I started doing a bit of online life coaching and social coaching. I had started out trying to sort myself out and improve my self image, but I had ended up helping others.

This is what I’d been looking for all along. An improved self image helped me feel happier and being in the company of others who were feeling good about themselves was a much nicer place to be. So the more people I could help, the happier the world around me and that happiness would be infectious spreading further and further. This is how I could make an impact. This could be my reason for being and the more people I could help the better.

I had already started courses in fitness and nutrition for my own benefit & knowledge, so why not use that as a vehicle to start me off?

So for the past 4 years I have been coaching people part time. I have worked with people all over the world, from America, Africa, Europe and around the UK. This is where my passion now lies and if I am to help as many people as possible I had to spend more time doing it. So towards the end of 2008 I made a decision to save for a few months and then dive into full time coaching and training and so, with much trepidation, I did.

My goal is to reach as many people as possible and to help everyone I can whenever I can. I’ve spent the past 5 years researching and will continue to do so, in order that you don’t have to. If I can help everyone reading this improve even one small part of their lives in a way that makes them feel better about themselves, then this will have been worthwhile.

Everyone is unique. Everyone’s targets, goals & dreams are a puzzle and as I said, I’m good at puzzles. I’ve been studying the research and solutions, the marketing and the lies behind them for 5 years now and I have seen with my own eyes what works and what doesn’t. What is true for some, what is true for all and what is merely marketing hype to increase sales and make rich companies richer. I am a designer, a problem solver, a coach and a student. I am here to help you realize your full potential in any way possible. I am looking to help you design and shape your future the way you want it. Your health and wellbeing is something you must hold on to. Medical science is improving all the time, but the analogy that “if you don’t lose it, you lose it” is so very true and one that can never be overcome.

All those hours overtime you are putting in to save for a better future. What use are they if you don’t have the energy or vitality to enjoy it? I do understand the pressures – trust me, I’ve been there! But it is possible to deal with both and I’m here to help whenever possible.

Health and fitness is the key to a happy, prosperous life and is something genuinely worth investing in.

If you have any questions or queries about anything I post here or indeed anything health and fitness related, or if you are interested in arranging a consultation regarding one to one coaching (Currently in Glasgow – this is also free or charge) please get in touch by emailing:

info@designsonyourself.com

or calling 0141 41 60 348

Or if there are any topics you would like to see covered in future articles, please put them on an email and I’ll try to include them in future posts.

Also, if you know of anyone who might benefit from these articles, please let them know where to come.

I’m going to kick off with a very simple little debate, but one it took me a while to get to grips with. The benefits/ evils of Butter and Margarine. I think you might be surprised by what you read. I hope it is of interest.

In the meantime, be strong, stay healthy and be your very best self.

Mark.

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Thanks for dropping in

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

This part of the site is an area where I intend to add pieces of diet, exercise, health & fitness information on a regular basis that I hope you will find useful in your journey of self improvement.

My goal when I started out in the fitness & coaching field was to help as many people as possible achieve the life & self image they desired. That is as true today as it has always been and as such, I don’t feel that anyone should be deprived of good information and the tools to move forward just because they can’t afford to pay for them.

The media is constantly bombarding us with the information they want us to have rather than the truth. Fortunately, with the rise of the internet, it is now easier than ever to get the right information. However, that is in itself a double edged sword, as there is now so much information that it is easy to get lost in the sheer volume of information being thrown at you.

When I first started out researching for myself I quickly began to realise that there are many quality sources of information already available and I would hear the same good information quoted again and again. Therefore, I started to assume that it was commonplace and most people would now be aware of the truth behind the propeganda of the advertising world. Yet, even now, I am constantly shocked by just how wrong that assumption was. Every day (several time per day usually) I hear the same false comments and claims being made. The same reasoning of how this exercise reigime or that diet is the right way to go. You can’t eat this or that is healthy and will help you lose weight. And every time I hear these ‘facts’ I still cringe inside at how mislead we as a nation have been.

It is no wonder heart disease and obesity are at an all time high.

So it is my hope, through these articles and updates, to try and add to that change. To add information on diet, exercise & lifestyle choices that I hope you will be able to take away and use to improve your awareness and make more informed, unbiased choices. Rather than relying on what someone wants you to believe in order to sell you their product.

I’ve been in the same position as most of the population, where I believed things to be true because the argument was so compelling and no one was there to tell me any different. I’ve had to seek out the truth through a great deal of study and research, which I now hope can be of benefit to you.

I will also be using this area for general thoughts and ideas that I may just throw out and from time to time I will let you know what I’m up to and of any events or products I’m working on. I may even suggest other products or resources that I feel are worth looking at.

That said, I can assure you that this will never become a sales pitch. I hate reading adverts or being sold to as much as anyone and I will never inflict that on the people who have taken time out of their day to come here and put their trust in what I have to say. When I add information or advice, it is simply that. I will never promote a product I haven’t tried and noticed good results with, I will never mention anything I don’t think is worthy of your interest. Take this information and use it as you see fit. I will endevour to remain balanced in my views and present both sides of the argument to allow you to make informed choices.

I hope this page is of use to you in your quest for self improvement and that you come back often.

If you’d like to keep up to date with what is going on here then either register on this blog (you don’t HAVE to leave a comment) or sign up for the free download in the box on at the side of each page.

Again, thank you for taking the time to come to my site and thank you for taking enough interest in yourself, your health & fitness and your self image to want to make a difference. I hope you achieve the life you are looking for.

Mark.

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