1. Measure up – take your waist, chest and thigh measurements a month before you go on holiday. Remeasure again every week
2. Eat according to your metabolic type and gnaw on those raw veggies which work well for your type
3. Replace sugary drinks with water
4. Follow an effective strength training programme preferably devised by a CHEK qualified exercise professional  
5. Get to sleep by 10.30pm

Don’ts

1. Be vague about what you want – be specific on the body shape you want
2. Slump – do not underestimate the importance of posture in creating a beautiful body
3. Reach for ready-made meals
4. Be fooled by fads and latest crash diet fads

Peter Lemon

To your weight loss

Peter Lemon

12/04/11

Many are still in the dark about the profound implications of sleep, or lack thereof.

But the biological rhythm of sleeping and waking (circadian rhythm) is linked to your metabolism and cannot be overlooked. The 24-hour circadian rhythms govern fundamental physiological functions in all humans. These circadian clocks are the essential “time-tracking systems” in your body, and when they’re disrupted, poor health through a variety of mechanisms can ensue.

In terms of your metabolism, evidence suggests that an enzyme protein—which is an essential molecular gear of the circadian machinery—interacts with a protein that senses cell energy levels and modulates metabolism and aging. So there’s a tightly regulated codependency between your circadian clock and your metabolism and cellular performance.

This also suggests that proper sleep and diet may help maintain or rebuild the balance between your circadian clock and your metabolism, and could also help explain why lack of rest or disruption of normal sleep patterns can increase hunger, leading to obesity-related illnesses and accelerated aging.

It’s important to realize that your circadian rhythm evolved over hundreds of generations to align your physiology with your environment, which involves sleeping at night and staying awake during daylight hours. If you deprive yourself of sleep, you’re effectively disrupting your biological processes, including those regulating your metabolism.

In addition, lack of sleep has been shown to affect levels of leptin and ghrelin, two hormones linked with appetite and eating behavior. When you are sleep deprived, your body decreases production of leptin, the hormone that tells your brain there is no need for more food. At the same time it increases levels of ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger.

The end result is decreased satiety, hunger pangs, and a sluggish metabolism…

Key recommendations to improve your sleep are :-

Go to sleep by 10.30pm and wake between 6 ands 7.30am

Avoid all caffeine after 1pm

Sleep in a completely dark room

Good night

Peter Lemon

5/4/11

Peter Lemon

29/03/11

1. Avoid consuming all artificial sweeteners including diet drinks       
2. Avoid eating ‘convenience’ and processed  snacks and meals such as crisps/chocolate, pizzas, pies etc
3. Eat plenty of vegetables with at least two of your daily meals especially those grown above ground
4. Make EFFECTIVE strength training a regular feature in your diary – 3/4 times per week would be great
5. Walk briskly for a minimum of 12 minutes per day
6. Eliminate foods that contain processed and refined sugars including ingredients that end in OSE like fructose, maltose etc
7. Drink plenty of water – ideally Evian, Volvic or Vittel – as a minimum the water should be filtered
8. Always eat breakfast
9. Eat quality fats and protein 
10. Avoid alcohol
11. Eat every 4 hours and according to your Metabolic Type (MT) What’s MT? See http://nutrifitclinic.net/what-is-metabolic-typing
12. Avoid wheat and wheat based products
13. DO NOT diet

To your better body shape!

Peter Lemon

3/6/11

A Recent study from the U.S ( The Journal of Applied Physiology February 17, 2011) has suggested that excessive aerobic training by older marathon runners can actually scar heart muscle tissue.

I have long questioned the need for excessive time spent doing cardio training for my clients to achieve vitality, a better body shape, lowering body fat levels, boosting energy and building a healthier heart.  My recommendation for time spent performing aerobic exercise like walking, jogging, running and cycling is only 30 minutes 3 times per week.

Although my best recommendation is to use intensity as the key to achieving great results.  Some of my clients regularly engage in a 20 minute program of work and rest intervals by using the following strategy:-

1. Warm up for three minutes
2. Then, go all out, as hard as you can for 20-30 seconds
3. Recover for 90 seconds
4. Repeat up to 7 more times, for a total of up to 8 repetitions
5. Cool down for a few minutes afterwards by cutting down your intensity by 50-80%.

If you have a history of heart disease or any concern please get clearance from your health care professional to start this. Most people of average fitness will be able to do this, it is only a matter of how much time it will take you to build up to the full 8 reps.

The beautiful thing about this approach is that if you are out of shape you simply will be unable to train very hard as the lactic acid will build up in your muscles quickly and prevent you from stressing your heart very much.

The benefits to this type of training are:-

Once you regularly participate in these 20 minute exercises twice a week, most clients report it:

• Lowers body fat
• Dramatically improves muscle tone
• Firms skin and reduces wrinkles
• Boosts energy
• Improves athletic speed and performance
• Achieves fitness goals much faster

Have you got 20 minutes today to start?

Have fun

Peter Lemon

A realistic plan of action

Structured exercise programme

Key initial recommendations for the client to follow. 

Clients we work with are assessed through in-depth questionnaires that glean information regarding their health,  eating habits, stress levels, sleep patterns and digestion.  In addition physical assessments are also carried out where it is appropriate for the client.   Yet time after time I hear of so many examples where the personal trainer undertakes zero assessment.  Zero assessment equals zero client results!!

When selecting your trainer you MUST ask to see originals of the following:-

All relevant qualifications

A current personal liability insurance certificate

Certificate of membership to a register of personal trainers e.g NRPT

Any testimonials from existing or previous clients

Over the past few months I have been interviewed by prospective clients who are seeking a reputable trainer which makes me feel that at last the general public are becoming more savvy when sourcing a trainer.  For a productive working relationship this makes great sense.  After all the relationship you have with your trainer needs to be positive from the outset for you to reach the objectives you are looking to achieve – if you don’t get this vibe when you first meet your trainer – my advice would be look for another trainer!!

Trust this is helpful and good luck with sourcing a trainer.

Be well

Peter Lemon

October 26th 2010

 Reduce sugar or better still eliminate it altogether. Note that all ingredients ending in ‘ose’ (such as glucose, sucrose, maltose etc) are all sugars in disguise. Eating processed sugar triggers an insulin release. Insulin is a fat stroring hormone.

 Avoid wheat consumption.

 Drink more water and reduce caffeine intake.

 Get to sleep by 10.30pm.

Keep me posted on your success

Peter Lemon
14th October 2010

But which exercises are best to bring about quicker results?

Without any doubt one of the very best exercise selections is to use circuit training using a variety of different exercises that work on multiple muscle groups. Circuit training is where a number of different exercises are grouped together with the willing participant (!!) performing a number of exercises back to back with no recovery until the circuit has been completed.

For example one of my favourite circuits is

1) Front Lunge
2) Cable Pull
3) Front Squat
4) Cable Push
5) Cable Wood Chop

There would be 8-12 repetitions per set and a 60 second recovery at exercise #5 before completing the circuit 3-6 times.

The benefits of this type of training to weight loss are also well documented.

Suffice it to say that the above circuit would require huge muscle involvement meaning a significant drain on the energy supply (fat supplies) to fuel those active muscles not just during the session but post workout as well. In other words this type of training speeds up the metabolic rate where fat is used to fuel the muscles during the session and anywhere up to four hours post training fat stores are also being nibbled away during rest!!!

Circuit training also provides a solution to one of the most common reasons why people avoid exercise – that being boredom. First of all the pace of the session will mean there is little time to feel bored and secondly by cycling in and out different exercises will mean plenty of variety and enjoyment!!!

Be well

Peter Lemon

13/10/10