Dude on holiday – why don’t you train more
By · CommentsDear Matt,
Thanks for all your e-mails. I have read some and it all seems very interesting. However I haven’t yet purchased the copy of the 4 Wks fat loss, purely because first I haven’t really started yet, secondly because I have so many books at home incl. the 6 weeks abs diet, but never really do or follow any of it.
I do sports and I do go the gym, but I also love food, I love cooking it and eating it and I just convinced myself that life’s too short for not to be doing or eating what one likes.
However even though I’m not really over weight and in good shape and health I do have roughly 3% more cholesterol than I should have. I know that I will come back from my vacation with an extra couple of KG’s, this is inevitable as the Family chains me to the table when I go back home to Sicily, 
and that’s really why I had signed up to the 4 weeks fat loss after reading about it on Men’s Health.
Perhaps from reading this e-mail you could give me some advice on how to keep up and to stick with a program?! My aim is to get proper ripped come December.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks and kind regards
Pepe
Matt's reply to above email
Hi Pepe,A lot of what you’ve talked about – is about basic goal setting and what you REALLY WANT. A lot of people say they want something – but in reality they don’t really want to make the changes necessary to get to their goal.
e.g. You say life is 'too short not to do what you want' and then you say later you want to be 'Proper ripped in December'. You can't have both
I find that people who are lean / ripped maintain their regime despite of who is around them. We’ll do a bigger piece on getting your mind right for change and sticking to goals but briefly I’d suggest you do the following;
Establish your goals – using the SMART (Specific principles – they are simple and perhaps often over looked as being a little old fashioned – but they work!
Make sure you are firmly committed to your goal – ask yourself why, why, why until you get to the real reason you really want to get there.
e.g.I want to be ripped because;
I’ll look better, why – because I’ll be less fat,
why is ebning less fat important
because I’ll have more confidence,
why will that help, because I lack confidence etc.
You get the picture – you’ll get to the bottom of why you really need that goal – it might be as simple as I’ll be more attractive and get more action in the bedroom! – doesn’t matter and does not need to be politically correct – just your own pure motivation.
Next you need to get to the stuff which will get you there – and little daily things which need to be in place – this I call ‘skill power’ it’ll beat will power any day of the week – and you need to have it in place to succeed,
It’s in short called preparation.
Where will I train each day – where will I eat, when will I make my meals to take to work – is there any where near work which will do in case I get caught short. What equipment will I have at home to do my pm training.
Who could I team up with – ?
Tell your friends, tell your work mates – let everyone know what you are doing and why you are doing it. Surround yourself with people who will help you succeed – if your mates are fat ditch them! Lol.
But seriously you want terrorists out of the picture when you are trying to build a new body and new set of habits – they lurk everywhere.
Dude on holiday – why don't you train more? – get some running shoes, a body weight circuits – get the book convict conditioning. Get fit on holiday.
Ok enough of a rant now.
Hope this helps
Matt
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Goal Setting for fat loss
By · CommentsOften when it comes to fat loss we usually have an event that we want to lose weight for, it might be a milestone, birthday, wedding, holiday or something else that we want to get in shape for.
It's really good to have a focus for why you are wanting to lose weight, it helps concentrate your mind and you have an in built tracking mechanism.
The BIG PROBLEM with this approach is how far out in advance your target date is. A friend I was talking to recently wants to lose weight and get in shape for her 30th Birthday.
She was telling me that
'I've got 18 months to go and need to lose 2 and a half stone thats 31 pounds, it's only 1.7 pounds a MONTH. That's going to be easy to do'
Yes it's easy to lose that amount of weight a month in theory.
In practice it could prove to be difficult for her.
Here's why…
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH HER GOAL?
The target date is too far in the distance.
When it comes to losing weight essentially we have to change some of our behaviours and how we relate to food, these are different for everybody it might be
- eating more regularly to regulate your blood sugar
- having a breakfast to kick start your metabolism
- not eating crisps, biscuits, ice cream etc
- stop late night snacking
- drinking less alcohol
- eating when bored, tired or depressed
- starting to exercise a bit more
- sleeping better
So how does that relate to your target date?
The problem I have when a target date is too far in the distance is that it does not force you to start taking consistent action now, when it comes to making a choice about how you are going to behave you think to yourself 'it's Ok I've got plenty of time, I can make it up later'
With this approach you end up bumbling along and creating more of the fat loss emotional rollercoasters than are necessary.
What I predict will happen with my friend is that
she will bumble along riding the emotional roller coaster for the next 15 months and maybe lose 5-10lbs and then she'll create a flurry of activity and discipline in the last 3 months to as she tries to reach her target or maybe she will read this article and change her thinking.
Lets start off with what is a realistic amount of weight to lose each week, a lot of this depends on how overweight you are to begin with, the more you have to lose the easier it is to lose more fat. Most people will lose 3-5 lbs a week on the intense phase of my fat loss plan. But a more realistic target over a continued period of time is closer to 1-2 lbs a week, choosing an amount like that you should be able to maintain continued progress.
So in my friends case I would say to her lets set a target of just losing 1.5 lbs a week, it's easily doable and she may even get well ahead of the target,
Her new target time is now 20 weeks instead of 78 weeks, I would also suggest she give herself some rewards as she moves along, knowing her and what she likes doing I'd suggest she build in some rewards along the way.
e.g.
5 lbs Manicure
10 lbs Pedicure and foot massage
15 lbs Tickets to theatre or other event
20 lbs Full body massage
25 lbs Night away in a hotel
30 lbs Weekend city break
So even though she has got the big picture in mind she can shift her daily focus onto getting a manicure and losing the first 5 lbs.
When our clients do a 2 week intensive phase on 4 week fat loss they lose anything between 6-12 lbs on average depending on how much exercise you do, just eating the diet we propose will help most people drop 2-3 lbs in a week without doing much exercise.
Look out for another goal setting tip that I'll share with you next time.
Let me know if you've got any goal setting tips that have worked or are working for you.
Matt
Can a pencil and spoon really be all that you need
By · CommentsJust been reading an interesting little book 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot from a well known British Psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman.
As you all know there is a lot of fluff out there when it comes to personal development especially when it comes to diet and fatloss. What the Prof has done in this book is to look at scientific studies that have actually been proved to work and explain the reasoning in Under a Minute .
It’s well worth reading.
There are a few tips that are directly related to weightloss. Here’s what he recommends:
1. Keep a food Diary
Write down everything you eat during the day. No surprise that this works the sheer fact of knowing that you are going to have to write it down in your diary can be enough of an incentive not to eat that chocolate bar. It’s what we’ve always recommended in Four Week FatLoss but from the other direction we recommend that you plan what you are going to eat for the week ahead of time and stick to that.
2. Beware of Large Crockery
When you use bigger plates and serving spoons you end up eating a lot more. A study showed that using a bigger serving spoon resulted in 13% more ice cream being taken and a bigger bowl a whopping 31% more. If you use big spoons and big bowls and plates at home – you’re in BIG trouble.
You might not want to get a new set of crockery, however if you seriously want to change your life then it’s a relatively easy change to make.
There are a few more tips from the book that I’ll tell you about in my next post.
Let me know if either of these make sense to you and if you need to or are going to make any of these changes.
Matt Lovell
Fatloss exercises – This is an awesome book
By · Comments
I was e-mailing one of my clients the other day who was going away on holiday and wanted some exercises he could do in his hotel bedroom.
This is the book I told him to get Convict Conditioning.
You can't get much better than Convict Conditioning, it's a CLASSIC. As you know I like to keep my finger on the cutting edge however sometimes OLD SCHOOL works the best.
These are great fatloss exercises.
If you are anything like me just reading the information on the sales page gives me goose bumps.
Check it out and read the sales page and let me know what you think
Matt
Bryn Weekly Fat Loss Plan Review
By · CommentsCan 51 Year old Dave inspire you to fat loss success?
By · CommentsEmail received form Dave
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Subject: RE: Is this what's stopping you?
Hi Matt
Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you.
My aim originally was to become more healthy and lose a bit of weight. As I have a good sporting background I felt that I could achieve my modest outcomes without your help hence I did not subscribe to your program.
Last October I was
- 14st 8lbs
- with 26% body fat.
- BP 146 /91.
- Waist 38 inches.
On April 1st this year
- 11st 10lbs
- with 10% bodyfat.
- BP 131/81.
- Waist 31inches.
As you can see great results.
I feel that the results were primarily due to eating lots more protein (150g a day), reducing carbs to a bowl of porridge a day, nothing sugary and regular exercise (alternating between weights and cardio over 6 days a week)
I am now attempting to maintain my achievements and have reduced my training to 3 days per week. Food intake is pretty similar though. My new target is to stay the same for 6 months with the emphasis on body fat levels / energy levels.
I have been amazed at the results that I have got just from the information gleaned from your e-mails and Q & A s sessions. I do also read your articles in the health Mags on offer.
All of this has been witnessed by my work colleagues and relatives and they too have accessed your web site. Some have told me that they have actually subscribed to your program as they feel they need the motivation to succeed.
You have been a great help and I see people getting results doing similar things to what I was doing (perhaps not as committed as I was).
If I "come off the rails" I may well subscribe to the program myself but as yet I am feeling quite comfortable with myself and the input that you have provided. Thanks for you knowledge and experience and can I wish you all the success in the future. Maybe you can change the shapes and mentality of society as we know it before its too late.
Dave (age 51)
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I'm thrilled when I get messages like that and Dave has not even purchased anything from me, just being a part in helping him change his health and well being is reward in itself.
If you're as disciplined as Dave is then act on the tips that I send out to you, if you need a bit more motivation and support then sign up and we'll help get you moving in the right direction.
Matt
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