Blinco Built personal training

Category: fat loss

  • Do you need the perfect meal plan?

    Do you need the perfect meal plan?

    Imagine two footy teams

    One has the best game plan ever. The coach gives his players the game plan and tells them to go home and study it

    Look at it. Then on the weekend come and implement it

    The second team has an okay game plan, it’s not bad, but it’s not perfect

    Instead the coach focuses on the skills they’ll need to play the game

    Their coach tells them to show up to practice and work on those skills consistently

    If both teams meet that week, you’d probably expect the team with the perfect game plan to win

    But what about in 2 weeks

    Or in 2 months

    How about in 2 years?

    Which team has made greater progress over that time 

    That’s obvious right, the team that has taken part in consistent practice

    They’re developed skills and habits that will make them more skillful, but also more experienced

    The practice will have changed over time to become more challenging

    To solve better and more interesting problems

    If this makes sense to you, then why are you still looking for the perfect meal plan? 

    It doesn’t exist. 

    You need to daily practices that will help you solve the problems you have with your nutrition 

    Things to do consistently that will develop the skills and habits that you can take with you always

    It doesn’t have to be complicated, it should start simple and get more complex over time, as you become more skilled

    What’s your biggest problem right now and what are you doing to practice the skills you’ll need to solve it? 

    Need help? Reach out

  • Pick a challenge that moves you towards your goals

    Pick a challenge that moves you towards your goals

    Are you picking a challenge that moves you towards your goals or away from them?

     

    There are many options to take for moving towards your goals

     

    Figuring out portion sizes is hard.

     

    Cutting out carbs is hard. 

     

    Both will work. At least in the short term

     

    Project out to 12 weeks ahead, which one is still really hard and which one has gotten easier with time? 

     

    Cutting carbs works, for a very short time

     

    Then you fall off the wagon (and into a huge pile of cinnamon scrolls, who the hell put them next to the wagon?)

     

    You learn that cutting carbs is incredibly hard and not sustainable

     

    12 months later, you’ve forgotten enough about how hard it was, and your memory has put the rose coloured glasses on, and you’re ready to get hurt again

     

    Back on the wagon. You’ve put on 10 kgs since you last did you carb cut, you need to lose that just to get back to your old weight


    What about controlling portion sizes?

     

    Well, in 12 months you’ve probably gained some skills and tactics to keep your portions sizes under control

     

    At the least, you will have learned how to recognise when you’re going off track and need a little kick up the bum to get going again

     

    You’ve slowly lost 10kgs, had a couple of plateaus, life got hard at some stages, some snacks creeped in

     

    Got back on, still ahead of where you started

     

    The peaks and troughs of weight loss are smaller, more consistent

     

    You realise you’re able to live a lifestyle you love AND have the body you want

     

    Maybe it’s not portion control, maybe it’s planning out your dinners and lunches each week, it could be walking into a gym for the first time, or going for a walk everyday 

     

    Instead of picking hard things that will take you AWAY from your goals, swap them for hard things that will take you TOWARDS your goals 

     

    Three good questions to ask yourself when deciding:

     

    1. How long will this goal take to achieve?
    2. Will this action plan be sustainable for that long? 
    3. What is my plan once I’ve achieved my goal? 

     

    Answer those and you’ll be in a much better place in 12 weeks and 12 months 

     

    For more posts on improving your life outside of the gym follow our instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blinco_built/

    If you’re ready to take the first step in your fitness and health journey then contact us at:  http://blincobuilt.com.au/

  • Your fitness transformation needs chaos

    Transformation requires a certain amount of chaos

     

    Even a good fitness transformation requires chaos and uncertainty

     

    By its nature it must contain some chaos, some unknown 

     

    That’s where the growth lies

     

    It’s also the thing that holds you back the most

     

    Will this work? 

     

    Is this the right place for me? 

     

    What if it happens again? What if I fail? 

     

    There is no definitive answer to these questions, no matter what you do

     

    The best you can hope for is a process that makes it clear there will be chaos and allows for that

     

    A process that builds in the chaos, changing work schedules, illness, family life, social functions

     

    That sees those things are a critical part of the plan

     

    If the plan includes as much of your chaotic life as possible, and still has actions to be taken in spite of all that, then your success is much more likely

     

    It’s when you plan for perfection that you most often fail 

     

    You know this, you’ve been there before

     

    “I’m going to follow this perfect meal plan for the next 8 weeks, this time I’m really going to do it”

    Kids get sick

     

    Partner gets sick

     

    You get sick. All in the same week. There goes that plan

     

    If you’re planning a transformation at the moment, make sure you ask yourself a simple question:

     

    “Will this work when everything goes wrong?” 

     

    If not, then you might need to go back to the drawing board and figure out a plan that you can still execute on

     

    You can always fine tune it and improve it later on

     

    But it must at first conquer the chaos that will arise from the changes you’re about to make 

     

    For more posts on improving your life outside of the gym follow our instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blinco_built/

    If you’re ready to take the first step in your fitness and health journey then contact us at:  http://blincobuilt.com.au/

  • A better way to start losing weight

    You just need to get better at preparing your week of lunches for work on a Sunday

     

    No, you do not

     

    How has that worked for in the past? 

     

    Well, I hear you say

     

    Good. Why aren’t you doing it now? 

     

    What makes a nutrition solution sustainable isn’t what type of foods you eat, it’s whether it works with your lifestyle

     

    If you don’t often have 3 hours on a Sunday to devote to meal prep, then stop making that an important part of your nutrition

    Do this instead:

    Make it easier

     

    What about spending 5 minutes writing out the meals you’ll have, do you have 5 minutes on a Sunday? 

     

    Or, creating a traffic light system for take away options close to work

     

    Green options like salads with the dressing on the side, orange options like a chicken wrap with sauce on the side, or red options like a burger, chips and pint

     

    Stick with mostly green lights and you’ll be better than not having a plan at all

     

    You could order a dozen freezer meals, like MyMuscleChef and keep them in the freezer

     

    None of these options are perfect

     

    They also don’t take much time and are WAY easier than meal prepping

     

    And can enable some pretty incredible results

     

    It doesn’t have to be hard work

     

    There are many ways to lose weight and keep it off without making things harder

     

    Honestly, when has the solution to a problem in your life been to make it harder for yourself? 

     

    Don’t want to have to get up to change tv channels? Someone created a remote so you don’t have to, easier

     

    Don’t want to saddle your horse to head into town, great, here’s a car. Easier

     

    Solutions that last, always make it easier

     

    How can you make it easier, that’s the answer

     

    Looking to get started on sustainable weight loss? Read this for more help: http://blincobuilt.com/looking-to-clean-up-your-nutrition-start-here/

    If you need help coming up with solutions to make it easier, reach out

    If there’s someone you care about, you think this could help, share it 

    How we can help:

    For more posts on improving your life outside of the gym follow our instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blinco_built/

    If you’re ready to take the first step in your fitness and health journey then contact us at:  http://blincobuilt.com.au/

  • Why carbs AREN’T the devil

    Why carbs AREN’T the devil

    CARBS ARE THE DEVIL

    How often have we read this in the last 10-15 years? I’m pretty sure we’ve all genuinely believed this in the past

    After all, carb intake has dramatically increased over the past 40 years in line with obesity so how could you not?

    Then again, so has fat and protein intake, so where does that leave us?

    In CALORIC SURPLUS

    Thermodynamics can’t be ignored, calories in vs. calories out rule weight loss or gain

    When looking at the dramatic increase in carb intake it’s also worth noting that a lot of processed

    So called high carb foods actually also contain a lot of fat as well

    take Doritos for example, of course everyone knows corn chips are a high carb food, right?

    Actually, over 50% of the calories in Doritos come from fat – mind blown!

    Low protein + low fibre = eating heaps without getting full! Absolute dream for food manufacturers 💸

    So why do low carb diets work so well when it comes to weight loss?

    Firstly, you take out an entire macronutrient without any plan to replace it

    Meaning you drop your caloric intake

    Secondly, your body converts carbs to glycogen which also takes water in order to store it in the muscle

    Meaning when you deplete glycogen you will also drop a heap of water weight in the short term

    Does this mean you should avoid low carb diets?

    Well, no, I still use them with my clients, they can be great for a kick start

    Early results are a significant determinant of whether you will continue with a program or not and the biggest thing with any long term health plan is consistency!

    If it’s going to help you stay on track then use it!

    But you can still eat carbs and lose fat and keep it off, if you stick to some guidelines:

    1) Choose predominantly whole food options like fruit, vegetables (yes potatoes are okay, just not always fried 😉

    2) Treat processed options as a sometimes (less than 1-2 times a week)

    3) Consider what you eat with it, eat whole carbohydrate sources with a source of protein and good fats

    Personally I don’t eat carbs with my first meal

    Not for a fat loss goal but because I find my energy is better throughout the day

    Go and experiment and see what works best for you!

    For more posts on improving your life outside of the gym follow our instagram at https://www.instagram.com/blinco_built/

    If you’re ready to take the first step in your fitness and health journey send us your details on the contact us page http://blincobuilt.com.au/

  • What to do when weight loss plateaus

    What to do when weight loss plateaus

    You’ve been losing weight consistently for weeks, feeling great about your progress, then BAM! 

     

    There’s a week where you do EXACTLY the same thing you’ve been doing that’s been working for, or maybe it’s even been a better week than usual and…. 

     

    Nothing, or worse, you’ve put on a little weight

     

    It’s really hard not to be disappointed, so don’t fight it, actually allow yourself to be a little disappointed

     

    And move on quickly, because it’s not the end of the world, if you look at the whole picture you’ve still made progress and nothing works forever

     

    Before you go changing everything though, make sure you read these 3 tips for when the inevitable plateau happens:

     

    1. Has your weight actually plateaued? 

    One week of no loss or slight gain is not a plateau, wait for at least 2 weeks of no change before changing what you’re doing

     

    One week could be your cycle, or it could be a salty meal, an extra glass of wine the night before

     

    There are so many reasons you could have an off measurement that one time

     

    I actually recommend at least 3 weeks of same weight, or slight increase before adjusting anything

     

    1. Add calories

    What?? 

     

    Yup, have you lost a significant amount of weight (more than 10kgs), or you’ve been restricting calories for longer than 8 weeks?

     

    It might be time to give it a rest for a week and add a few extra calories, nothing crazy, but a couple hundred extra calories will tell the body you aren’t starving and give it a bit of a reset

     

    You might actually find you lose weight again due to your body up-regulating your unconscious movements like fidgeting and walking a little faster than usual, due to the “excess” of calories after a long time in restriction

     

    1. Is there anything you could easily change? Or have you gone away from what was working?

    The way we approach weight loss is to make the smallest changes possible first, so that you’re expending as little effort as possible

     

    Get great results doing that, then when things plateau you’ve got HEAPS of options to continue with

     

    Hopefully you’ve followed a similar approach so you’ve got easy options to move onto to

     

    It’s also a good time to assess yourself and see if you’ve let old habits creep back in, it happens to all of us from time to time

     

    Maybe this was a good kick in the bum to get back on track

     

    Hopefully that’s helped, whatever the reason don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, even though you feel disappointed

     

    This is one of the major benefits of having people in your corner to keep you on track

     

    Not only can they be the shoulder to lean on and sit with you in your disappointment but also get you back on track and back in the game when the time is right

  • Why Less is More

    This is a conversation I have a lot with new clients

    “I want to lose weight, I’ve put on a lot of weight in the last year”

    “I need to train 6 times, that’s when I was at my leanest”

    “So, what happened, why aren’t you still there?”

    “Oh I got too busy/I have kids now/work got crazy but it’s okay now etc”

    This is what I like to call Yo-Yo exercising, and it’s a common form of All or Nothing thinking

    People build their lives around what they can do at the best of times when stress is low, work is easy, kids are just thing you might have in the future..

    We are all guilty of this at some stage or another, we focus on what we can do when everything is going our way and forget that it’s actually what we can do consistently that we need to focus on

    You don’t need to train everyday, in fact, it’s counter productive, we only have a limited amount of calories we can physically burn in a day

    So adding more and more activity on top actually doesn’t add to our overall calories burned because the body just takes that energy from somewhere else

    You end up in recovery debt, where you are adding stress on top of stress and your body simply can’t repair your muscles

    Your results plateau, everything ends up hurting, it gets too hard to do anything else in life so you give up training to get more time back you

    Before you know it you’ve put on 10kgs

    A better way, train 3-4 times a week, with a mix of strength and conditioning

    Create awareness around your eating habits/behaviours and make adjustments that you can sustain even on your worst days

    Lastly, find someone that cares whether you show up, that cares whether you are getting what you want and need from your training

    Keep it simple and sustainable, even on your worst week

  • Have your wine and drink it too!

    Have your wine and drink it too!

    Losing weight WITHOUT giving up alcohol

    You would lose weight but you like red wine too much

    What if I told you it was possible to have both?

    A glass of red win a night is not going to stop you from creating a body that you love, one that gives you the energy to do the 150 things on your to-do list each day, that makes you feel confident in your own skin

    In fact, any health change that tells makes you give up all the things you love won’t last, fad diets, meal plans, they don’t work because they suck the fun out of life

    There is better ways to start feeling amazing in your own skin

     

    Make sure any nutritional change you make includes the things you love, like red wine and meals out with friends!

     

    If you have to cut out all enjoyment from the plan, no matter how well it works, you won’t stick with it, because it won’t be worth it!

     

    If you need help creating a plan that allows you to live the lifestyle you love while also having the self confidence you crave, get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to help!

  • How to eat during the holidays

    Just relax, eat whatever you like, drink, be merry 

     

    Look, it’s not bad advice 

     

    It’s the holidays after all, you should be relaxing

     

    The key though, is whether you actually find that relaxing, you might not 

     

    It might be that eating enough to make you feel like you’ll burst isn’t your idea of a relaxing afternoon

     

    Eating so much that you can’t jump in the pool with the kids or play beach cricket might not be your idea of a day well spent

     

    Don’t feel bad for that, you aren’t neurotic, and it’s not like we live in a society where it’s hard to eat in excess 

     

    Modern culture isn’t exactly lacking for opportunities to eat cake and drink heaps

     

    You haven’t been waiting 12 months to do those things

     

    If you don’t want to go nuts, don’t 

     

    And if you do, awesome

     

    A better bit of advice might be that you should make a conscious decision to either eat in moderation or to go nuts BEFORE you do it

     

    If you’ve made a conscious choice you are much less likely to feel guilt come January 3rd
    Sitting there wondering why you’ve done this to yourself again

     

    Make it conscious, make it a meaningful choice, be clear on your own reasons why you are or aren’t

     

    It’ll make your holidays that much more relaxing and you’ll have a much smaller hangover
  • Looking to clean up your nutrition? Start here

    Looking to clean up your nutrition? Start here

    Just started planning our first nutrition challenge in the new gym and I thought it would be a good time to share the nutrition philosophy we follow here at Blinco Built

    It’s simple, but crazy effective

    1) Eat whole foods
    2) Prioritise protein
    3) Veggies with every meal
    4) Slow down
    5) Fats are not the enemy
    6) Eat with intention, not emotion

    Breaking that down a little

    1) Make sure 80% of your calorie intake is from unprocessed foods

    That ensures you are eating nutrient dense foods that will be more filling and have less calories than processed varieties and it also gives you enough to leeway to enjoy a meal out with friends, or the odd bit of toast, pasta etc

    2) Protein is important!

    It helps maintain muscle mass, which keeps metabolism up while losing weight and is also really filling, think eating a steak vs eating a bowl of pasta, one is easy to overeat, one is not

    3) Food quality!

    This one’s simple, at least 1 fist of veggies with breakfast lunch and dinner, 2 fists for professionals 👊

    4) Eat slowly!

    It takes around 15 minutes for the signals to go from your stomach to brain to tell you that you’re full, if you finish your meal in 5, go back for seconds and finish that…

    You can see why that’s a problem, you want to stop at satisfied, 80% full and not 100% full for most meals

    5) Fats don’t make you fat!

    They are essential for a huge list of functions, prioritise less processed fats such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and coconut oil

    6) Foods aren’t good or bad

    They either move you towards, or away from your goals, it’s that simple

    Using foods to make yourself feel better is a slippery slope, it’s better not to start doing that

    However, if you have a poor relationship with food already it’s definitely advisable to seek help with that

    It doesn’t have to be anything major, but changing the conversation from how food makes you feel emotionally to how it makes you feel physically can be really helpful

    Eating with the intention of fuelling the body I.e “will this give me energy and vitality or make me sluggish” rather than eating to feel less sad

     

    Book your free initial phone consult to see if you qualify for our 28 Day Kickstarter!

    https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=17216574&appointmentType=13896304