Some more pictures from my shoot in November 2011.

Lovely testimonial from my wonderful client Karen. :-) "I can't recommend Mike and his team highly enough. I have been an avid gym goer all my life however, I was not really seeing the results that I was looking for despite giving it my all in the gym (or so I thought). My husband bought me a block booking with Mike for my birthday and its transformed the way I train. Mike has been a great inspiration not only because he practices what he preaches but also in his inherent ability to push you to your maximum without you even realising he's doing it. He has taught me that diet is as important as training and that I could do as many hours as I liked in the gym but if my nutrition and training plan was wrong then I would never achieve the lean look I wanted. I now do less cardio and more strength training and have really improved my diet with Mikes continued guidance, I look better for it and the added bonus is I have lost weight too. I really look forward to my sessions with Mike, the gym offers a great environment and all the staff are really friendly. This coupled with Mike's motivation and ability to push you further each time you visit really makes the difference. My only disappointment is that the 150 mile round trip to Edinburgh means that I can't attend as often as I would like."

Wonderful excerpt from my on-line client who has lost over 40 lbs

"I did discover one draw back of losing weight - the grilling that you get from other people namely other people who want to lose weight. I was out for lunch the other day and was greeted with 'There is a third of your body missing!", "You are too thin, don't lose any more weight." Then you get "Tell us what you eat in a typical day and what exercise do you do." Ok, that doesn't sound that bad but when you start trying to explain that you are not on a diet and exactly how much exercise you do, you are then hit with "Oh 40 mins exercise is really a lot". Eh no it's not. I tell them about not eating so many carbs and how I like my chicken, protein powder and protein bars and they just don't get it. One of them goes to the gym and does 15 mins on the cross trainer and seemed to look proud that she didn't do any more than that. She was stopped in her tracks when I told her that I was heavier than her ideal weight and probably slimmer. I don't think I've seen anyone that speechless. The best question was "So how exactly have you changed your lifestyle?" This was asked while they were sitting with a large glass of wine and a large plate of food. I had a bottle of water and a chicken sandwich.. This was followed by a couple of cocktails and I had a single coke. Do they really have to ask? I think from now on I will avoid any conversations about losing weight, diets and exercise unless the people are serious about it. Sadly, people who are in the quick fix or slimming club mindset do not understand that diets don't work, it's lifestyle that has to change. I have been one of those people who thought it was about eating a lettuce leaf or who wasn't serious enough about it to actually change anything. It took depressing months of hating myself to wake me up and say right this needs fixed and fixed properly. In my opinion there is a re-education involved when it comes to losing weight properly and if you don't want to invest that time in yourself then it will not work. I'm all for encouraging people but sometimes it just falls on deaf ears - they have to really want it. I can't make them want it, that has to come from them."

Photoshoot 27.11.11

New diet plan

Day 1 - 3rd October 2011.

Goal: lose 3-4% body fat, add muscle to upper/inner chest, define abs more

How to burn fat and lose weight effectively

The obesity epidemic is completely out of control, it’s staggering. The prevalence of obesity is rising to the point where the majority of adults in western society will be obese. The US has the highest obesity rates in the world and if they continue to rise as they have, then by the year 2022, 80% of American adults could be overweight or obese; and the prevalence may even reach a startling 100% by the year 2048. Wow!

Losing weight/fat is not easy, bottom line. Our environment is one that promotes weight gain and excess fat, which is why so many people are so big. If I put you, as you are right now, in an environment that promotes non-physical activity (buses, cars, dishwashers, washing machines, playstations, DVDs, internet, cable TV, lawnmowers etc.) and offers high calorie foods and beverages, then it is inevitable that you will gain weight, unless of course you make dedicated, disciplined efforts to do otherwise.

What do you do? Well firstly you have to eat right. Our problem is not fat. Our problem is the over-consumption of carbohydrates that does two things: 1. Over-consumption of carbohydrates leads to excess glycogen being stored as fat, a process known as lipogenesis 2. more importantly, fat is not being burned for energy. When you lower your carbohydrate intake, you reduce your calorie intake, but you also promote fat burning. Fat is used for energy in the absence of carbohydrate. Does this mean you can’t have pasta, potatoes, bread etc. well not quite. But if you wish to lose weight/fat, you will need to reduce these food groups.

I do not eat a lot of carbohydrates. I have cereal, and maybe new potatoes, but unless I’m eating out I don’t eat much carbohydrate. I never have no-carb days though as you do need them for energy and training, your brain for instance runs solely on carbohydrate. My diet typically looks like this:

7am Cereal (weetabix) & protein shake (with a raw egg)
11am Three egg omelette with ham, cheese, peppers, onions
2am Train
4pm Full cup of Blueberries with organic natural yoghurt and a scoop of protein powder
7pm Two chicken breasts or steak, brussell sprouts, turnip, mushrooms & onions.

I may add another snack in there if I feel too hungry but that’s pretty much my diet. I drink nearly a gallon of water a day. My only other drink is tea, never drink sodas, or fruit juices. I do treat myself when I’m dining out but that’s not too often. Most fitness people eat the same foods with a slight bit of variety, but their diets don’t change much, just like athletes.

Exercise is very important for promoting fat loss as long as it is done correctly, and unfortunately the way that most people train, it isn’t. I could give you a program written by the alien from the film Super 8 and it would still be effective as long as you were training at the correct intensity. Even if you had the world’s best program with incredible exercise selection, it would be useless if you didn’t train with the proper intensity.

Have you ever seen a car break down and two people then help to push it? Do they just put their hand on the car and give it a nudge? No they don’t. They’ve got both hands on, they bend their knees and push like hell! In order to move the car it needs the appropriate force. If you want your body to change, lose weight/fat, then the appropriate amount of physical stress must be placed upon it.

A great way to do this is by using weights with no rest between exercises and I’m not talking about using machines, although some machines are effective. Try doing a circuit of five exercises four times. Something like:

1. Dumbbell squats
2. Standing shoulder presses
3. Barbell curls
4. Lunges
5. Assisted pull-ups

The key is not the exercises as such although exercise selection is important, but it’s the intensity that will crank up your metabolic and hormonal system and start burning fat effectively. The reduced rest period is designed to promote the build-up of lactic acid (cruelly and unjustifiably labelled a waste product when it actually provides us with energy!) which then promotes the release of growth hormone which is a major fat-burner.

One point I have to make here, exercise is not great for weight loss, dieting is. A good workout may burn 10kcals/min, so if it’s an hour that’s 600 kcals. The equivalent in food? Maybe two slices of pizza, a quarter pounder with cheese or a Chicken Sandwich from MacDonalds, 6” (not 12”) Meatball Sub from Subway, three lattes from Starbucks, one Lasagne, three packets of Doritos or Walkers crisps. It’s easy to see that it’s far better to diet for weight loss than to exercise for weight loss.

This combination of exercise and diet will GUARNTEE wonderful results. At my Personal Training Studio in Edinburgh we’re seeing incredible results with our clients. A young lad who came to us weighing 24 stone (336 lbs) has now lost over 7 stone (98 lbs). One lady has lost over 60 lbs, another recently passed the 45 lb mark. Personal Training does help as the trainer is able to push you further than you can do by yourself and that’s very important as many people just go through the motions with exercise, especially those who read books and watch TV, a lack of focus.

Make sure you have a goal and work hard consistently every day towards it. We all enjoy our treats, that’s the way it should be. Just make sure you’re doing more things each day that contribute to your weight loss than to hinder it.

Mike Heatlie MSc CSCS

Christmas Gift Vouchers available!

At the Mike Heatlie Personal Training Studio we have Christmas gift vouchers available for Personal Training for your loved one! These vouchers are available from £30.00 - £395.00. For all enquiries email me or call us on 0131-661-8357. For the best Personal Training in Edinburgh, there is only one place to be! :-)