With a MILLION-AND-ONE different dietary protocols to follow, how the hell are you supposed to know what will work for fat loss?

​The beauty of it all is that they ALL work..just not for everyone

So I'm going to give you a very simple strategy to use that requires NO calorie counting, No weighing food and NO cutting out entire food groups.

Important: Please consult your GP or physician before making dietary changes

Below is a chart depicting 2 different scenarios

If you like to train in the morning like me, that's predominantly where we'll incorporate all the carbs that we plan on eating for the day. 

Carb sources that I include are: sweet potato, rice (any type), fruits and oats.

Portion them by using a handful.

The same is also true if you prefer to train in the evening. 

The importance of having carbs is before or after exercise is to support recovery & performance. They're not just for athletes. They are also vital for brain function. (Ever get brain fog on a low-carb diet?)

In a study done by the Maastricht University, it confirmed that carbs that are stored as glycogen within the body ARE NOT sufficient enough to fuel your High intensity, fat burning workouts. 

Therefore eating some carbs before or after your training session will allow you to perform at a high intensity for longer as well as decrease any irritability that some people get from following a "low-carb diet."

Using this simple method will naturally place you in a calorie deficit, which will help you lose weight in the form of body fat. This assumes there are no other factors contributing to weight gain eg. hormonal imbalance etc

Take your weight & measurements, try this for a minimum of 14 days, then remeasure to gauge your progress!

​My 14 Day Flat Belly Formula starts next Monday!
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I’m going to dive deeper into what I’ve learned having coached literally over 100 people in the past 12 months both online and in person.

Adherence is paramount. I used to think consistency was key, but consistency comes from a person when they are assisted in finding the process that simply works for their lifestyle. Given a few lifestyle factors may have to change in order to live healthier of course.
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But think about it this way, our biggest problem is DOING and TAKING ACTION. We as humans are conditioned to shy away from hard work sometimes as we associate it with pain/suffering as opposed to happiness/pleasure. And so that spills over into all facets of our lives..

Our work..
Our relationships..
And in this particular blog, our health & fitness.
 
So there in lies the secret to long-lasting health and fitness – adherence. Or perhaps better explained as, how long can you stick with this plan for and ultimately yield the result you seek?
 
One particular point that I encountered on multiple occasions was people who put themselves into huge calorie deficits (basically ate way too little) with the understanding that this was necessary to achieve fast weight loss results.

While results are indeed fast, the repercussions of being in a big calorie deficit for so long results in a dramatic drop in metabolism (your body won’t burn as many calories as it once did), huge drops in energy levels, loss of muscle (resulting in less calories burned daily), all of which point toward one single outcome – a plateau, with no further weight loss and a very damaged and unhappy body.

But I don’t blame you for thinking that eating dramatically less seems like the right thing to do. It’s drilled into us from external sources that portray wonderful transformations over short periods of time. If only we could see the transformations a few months or even a year from now – that’s where the REAL results would reveal themselves.

More than anything, educate yourself and ask questions. Look for proof that what you’re about embark on regarding training or nutrition actually works.
 
Accept Failure, Learn From It & Move On

This is quite possibly the biggest point of learning that both myself and my fitfam have had over the past year.
Every failure that you have is an opportunity.
It’s an opportunity to learn, so that you don’t make the same mistake.
And it’s a cue..
It’s a cue to make you more productive and mentally resilient than ever before..
Because once you have absorbed the lesson, you need not dwell on that ‘failure’ any longer, you must move on.
Every second longer you spend dwelling on it, is a second wasted – remember that.
The power you gain over negative situations by implementing this lesson is literally life changing.
IT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
 
And so as we dive head first into our BIG goals for 2018, I wish you nothing but success with every venture you choose to pursue and I whole-heartedly believe in YOUR ability to push your limits and achieve ANYTHING.
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Get Uncomfortable

We have all heard of the saying ‘mind over matter’, but until this saying slaps you in the face on your fitness journey, they are just words.

You can have the best personal trainer (Rev), and a very knowledgeable nutritionist on your side, but if your mind is not on the right page, you will not see the progress you desire!

It’s one thing knowing that you’re not meant to eat a block of chocolate in one sitting, it’s another thing to use your willpower to prevent it from happening.

Health and fitness is about sustainability, this is a concept that Rev lives by.

Telling yourself that you are ‘not allowed’ something, will result in your mind going into overdrive telling you that you ‘need’ that piece of food.

I, personally, have always been an all or nothing type person. However, it is so important that my mind is in the game before I take any of these routes.

Here’s an example, in 2015 I watched the movie That Sugar Film (highly recommended). It shocked me and made me extremely curious.

I knew I could quit sugar, my mind knew I could quit sugar, so what did I do?

I quit sugar for 8 solid months.

Quitting sugar was easy, why? Because my mind was in the game.

Fast forward two years.

We had to make ourselves a 14 day food task, mine was to only have chocolate on Sunday (cutting it out completely is not sustainable for me).

The task began on Monday, and on Monday night I went on a chocolate binge. My mind was not in it and I was restricting myself which made me want it even more.

I felt horrible the next day, my body felt horrible and I was suffering with regret. Mind to the rescue.
I did not like that feeling, my mind knew that, so I didn’t even bat an eyelid at chocolate for the rest of the week.

In February this year, after 6 months of not running, I tried to go for a run. I got to about 3km and ‘had’ to stop because I was so unfit.

Was I really that unfit? No. I simply did not want to run so my mind told my body that it was sore and tired and that I needed to stop.

I joined Rev’s fitness in March and got my confidence and hunger for fitness back.

3 weeks after that struggling 3km run, I ran 9km easy.

Why? Mind over matter.

I am human, I often question my ability to do things outside my comfort zone, but with a bit of confidence and having your mind on your side, anything is possible.

When I say anything, I mean a realistic anything! Not the ability to fly or to squat a truck!

Your mind is your most powerful possession. Not just in health and fitness, but in life.

If you are going to invest time on yourself, spend it on opening and training your mind to think positively.

One thing that helped me through times when my mind was in the negative zone, was reading.

I went from reading fiction books to reading positive self-help books and I have never looked back.

Do yourself a favour and read Jen Sincero’s ‘You are a Badass. How to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life’. This book literally changed my life.

If you are a Kardashian fan, and even if you’re not, read Khloe Kardashian’s ‘Strong Looks Better Naked’.

I am human, I am real, I eat blocks of chocolate in one sitting, I have lazy days/weeks, I tell myself I can’t lift heavy weights and I can’t run a certain distance.

But what I have learned through reading, is that these are just bumps in the road, slip ups happen.
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Turn the page, move on and be stronger. Mind, body and soul.
 

Ever since I first started training and coaching clients several years ago, I always believed that if I could somehow impress upon them the same mindset that I use to stay ‘on the bandwagon’ then ultimately the eating, the training and everything else in between would naturally fall into place and they would see sustainable and long-lasting results.

What I have found to this day is that everyone generates momentum and therefore consistency with their health and fitness goals in slightly different ways.

So I’ve decided to share with you my thought processes and to a degree the ‘techniques’ that I use on a daily basis to remain consistent with the lifestyle that I have chosen.

1. I plan the things that are important to me – Just as you might plan and holiday in advance because you don’t want to get stuck somewhere without an airplane ticket, I plan ahead so that I know exactly when I’m training, what I’m training and how long that should take me. With regards to nutrition and eating, I identify at the start of the week which meals are going to be difficult for me to either make or sit down to eat and I MAKE time to do what needs to happen. Quite often lunch is a tricky one for me so it’s one of the main meals that I prepare on a Sunday.

2. I fucking crush negative thoughts – No one is free from negative, self-destructive thoughts. But everyone has the choice to either overcome them or let them overcome you. I always refer to a very simple and logical truth and that is I probably have less than 60 years left on the Earth to do what means most to me, so do I really have time to let negative thoughts and obstacles slow that down? Obviously the answer is hell…fucking…no. Negative thoughts often manifest themselves when we react to some sort of stimulus or cue. Often times it can be fearful anticipation of something to come i.e starting back at exercise after some time off and thinking you’re going to die in the first session, or simply a fear of the amount of effort required on your part to prep a few healthy meals when you are tired and get back from work. Either way, what is most ridiculous about fearful anticipation is that it hasn’t even happened yet and you have already made a choice to let it cripple you.

3. I welcome change and unavoidable routine-breakers – Inevitably, as much as stick to tip #1, things just don’t go to plan and because my goals are very important to me I make a conscious decision to overcome change and either move with it fluidly or I choose a more productive and efficient path that aligns with my goals. People naturally reject change and it’s because it upsets their routine (whether it be healthy or unhealthy). That’s why starting to eat healthy feels a bit uncomfortable for some people because you are literally attempting to break apart old habits, things that your brain has done automatically for so long that even it probably *sighs* when it has to develop new ones. But ultimately I believe in going into a problem solving ‘mode’. I immediately try to identify what the obstacle is, how to overcome it and most importantly, I take ACTION on it.
 
 
It’s these very simple and very basic tips that has gotten me to where I am today. I wasn’t born with this engrained within me, on the contrary I was quite the procrastinator. I always used to put the hard stuff last and hope they would somehow miraculously disappear or sort themselves out. If there is one thing I’ve learned about consistency with anything of importance, it’s that you can’t be afraid to ‘bite the bullet’ and do what you KNOW you need to do.

How long do you think you have left here? Stop wasting your time. Get it done!

In my experience, when I sit down with a new client for the first time to do a bit of problem solving, I usually come across the same few obstacles that has stopped people from progressing and seeing the results they desire. 

Here is what I usually address with my weight loss and toning clients:

1. You See Exercise As A Way Of 'Working Off' Those Extra Calories 

How many times have you decided that you needed to exercise or go to the gym after a big night of eating and drinking? A few perhaps? While I promote being sustainable with your fitness goal your body simply doesn't operate on a 'trade-off' basis. If you are constantly eating with the thought of working it off tomorrow you'll never get ahead. It's also very unlikely that you've done the homework and definitively KNOW that you can work those calories off (unless using a HR monitor) and how much you need to burn while being at a level that will still see you trimming and toning up.

The fix: Flip that ideology on it's head. Think of food as a way to recover more efficiently from exercise. The faster you recover, the more frequently you can train, the faster the results come. Very simple process right?

2.  You've Set Your Goal Too Low

One thing that I make a habit of, for myself and my clients, is setting HUGE goals. Put simply, if you operate at a level that is TEN times your 'realistic' goal you will always be ahead. In contrast, if you fell short on your huge goal, you'd still be ahead of your realistic goal because you were operating at a higher level -meaning- you were eating more nutritious and healthy food, training a little bit more and upping the intensity with every session, where as with your 'realistic' goal you simply wouldn't try as hard.

The fix: Figure out what you want to achieve, then times that by ten, reverse engineer what you need to do weekly to see that goal become a reality then IMPLEMENT and DO IT

3. You Hoard Information Without Ever Implementing it

Often times I'll send out a free training program to my subscribers and I'll wait a week or two to let them fall into a routine with it. However when I check up with them, nearly 40% of them haven't even started!! But this is a fairly common practice for us as human beings as we all love having all the 'tools' but we rarely ever use them. Think about this, how many times have you searched for the right training and nutrition program for yourself, only to have it sit in your downloads folder after having looked at it once? Don't worry everybody does it!

If we were all ACTION TAKERS, there would be no such word as 'lazy' in the dictionary and everyone would be on track to achieve the healthy lifestyle they often dream of.

The fix: Set either a reward or a penalty for implementing your training strategy. We operate via the 'carrot and stick' mentality. We like to be rewarded when we do things right - such as exercising a few times a week. In comparison, we also learn faster if there is a penalty for NOT completing something and there is a sense of urgency behind us as well. So reward yourself for the things you do right and penalize yourself for the things you do wrong - maybe a few burpees?

4. You Never Stick To A Process Long Enough

There is and always will be conflicting information on how to achieve different fitness goals, it comes with different people having different opinions - that part is normal. What I see a lot of people doing is trying a lot of different methods over a short period of time without any real commitment to a specific one. A classic example is all the different diets that are available to us these days. One week you could be carb-free, another you could be paleo, another you could be vegan, another you could be gluten-free - the list goes on forever. I will always be a big advocate for this particular saying, "The best eating style is the one you stick to." It translates to understanding that there will never be a one-size-fits-all in terms of eating styles but the best one for you is the one that works for you, is sustainable and that doesn't feel like a burden or a chore - you ultimately WANT to do it.

The fix: If you are chopping and changing between diets and different training programs, pick one eating style and one training program to use for a minimum of 8 weeks. Take your starting measurements and before photos and compare them with your results at the end. If you are happy with your progress and it has become an easy routine - stick with it! If not, try something else and give it time to work.

5. Place Value On What You Want To Achieve

How much would you be prepared to pay for the results you want? It will always be cheaper to drop into the maccas drive-thru for a cheeseburger than it will be to buy a chicken and make a salad, that part is certain. But that cheese burger isn't going to get you where you want to be is it? No..

So place value on your fitness goal.

Why do you want to achieve it?
To keep up with the kids?
Because the GP has told you to?
Because it's time to focus on you? 

Whatever that reason is, it will cost you a few things. Primarily time, money and your work ethic. 

The fix: Sacrifice a few luxuries such as daily take away coffees and eating out so that you can afford the proper plan that you need. Pencil in a time ON PAPER to exercise and prep some meals to ultimately fall into some better time management habits. Always finish a workout satisfied that you gave it 100%, the feeling being productive with your workout carries over to your entire day! Productive training = productive life!


If you can tackle these 5 points and overcome them in your day to day life, you will certainly start to see the results you seek. Just remember that you may have to be a little uncomfortable first before you start to settle into a healthy routine as change has never been easy.

Did you know that less than 50% of people who put health and fitness on their resolution list actually see it through to the end?

Why is it that people struggle to stick to a fitness goal that they've set?

As a health coach that's a bit of an upsetting statistic to hear, but hey, rather than dwell on it I'd rather try and fix the problem.

​Watch the video below..

'Just about everyone that I have come into contact with when starting a fitness journey for the first time has sat down with the notion that they are going to end up on a strict diet with a rigorous training routine and a personal trainer that yells and cusses at them and won’t take NO for an answer, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Think about this for a second, what does the word ‘diet’ mean to you? Low carb? No junk? Perhaps eating a lot of salad?.. Whatever it is, the word diet is closely followed by a feeling MASSIVE change, a change that very few can actually maintain for longer than a few weeks.

Picture this. You’ve decided you want to lose some weight and tone up, you get a brand new diet and a training program to follow but before long you have friend's birthdays, engagement parties, weddings and every celebration under the sun popping up and you’re left with one choice – scrap the diet OR restrict yourself to your strict diet.

Sounds absolutely horrid right?

A good friend of mine Stephen Foster (PRO Trainer canfitpro) has posted on his instagram account a few times, “The best diet is the one you stick to.” And I couldn’t agree with him more if I tried.

I believe everything that encompasses a health and fitness goal should be sustainable.

Sustainable to a point where if you have to eat healthy to reach your goals, your eating habits should be ‘compatible with your family, your social gatherings and even when eating out.

I often say to new clients if you can’t maintain this style of eating and training after we’re finished what’s the point in even starting? And that a question you should ask yourself before committing to a new plan “Is this sustainable for me?”

 It is entirely possible to lose a bit of weight and tone up whilst enjoying life.

Here are a few simple tips:
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1.Eat Healthy Monday to Friday – Eat What You Want On The Weekends
Sure, if you pig out on the weekends it will slow your progress, but you’ll still be moving forward as 5 days of hard work is not undone by 2 days of crap eating. Just be sure when you go out and indulge that you make it a habit of getting straight back on track the following Monday.
 
2.Train 3 to 5 times per week for 30mins
Read this article here for how I train my clients. It’s important to keep yourself accountable when training, it’s very rare that I come across people who are able to train without having someone there expecting them to turn up whether that be a personal trainer or training buddy. 30mins is all it takes if you are training smart then you can enjoy time out with the family and/or friends.
 
3.Take Your Starting Measurements and Before Photos
This is more so for staying on track comfortably. A huge motivating factor for people is being able to see results. Who doesn’t get pumped up when a shirt is fitting a bit better? So it makes sense to set yourself up to see as much progress as possible by taking A LOT of different ‘starting measurements.’ Check out this article here on some different ways to measure progress
 
4.Look For Protein When Eating Out
A dish higher in protein is going to be more beneficial than a plate of fries. It will also assist in helping your body recover from exercise. Look for dishes with chicken, pork, beef and even legumes. These will also keep you fuller for longer and you’ll actually feel better about eating it.


So if you are going to do one thing today do this, make your approach to your fitness goal as convenient as possible and work it around your other commitments. If you can't you may have to read this article.

 

Listening to my 23 year old daughter discussing her experiences with her PT which I was paying for, as well as my longing to keep up with my hubby when we went to Italy recently made me realize that there is no bad time to start –Just start.

I do not recommend anyone waiting until 53 to begin an active exercise routine, but if you are in this age range and want to finally begin, it is possible to succeed. I was raised during a time when most women were not encouraged to be athletic. We really did gather in gym class at school and chant:

We must, we must, increase our bust!

Over the years I have tried doing different things and I guess from being in the army in my younger days, it actually took the fun out of fitness. This was traumatizing enough for me to stay away from any serious activity. My doctor always sang the same song... eat less sugars and fats, and you MUST exercise... at least if you desire to live longer and be productive.

I drove often to the gym, would watch the fit and gorgeous go inside, I would actually go in sometimes and do an hour on the treadmill but I would eventually drive away comparing my efforts to others. When I finally decided to do something you guessed it, I got a PT.

He has survived the first day with me when I proudly told him, “I don’t do sit-ups, push-ups, or pull-ups and I never run.” To his credit, I now do most of these... not well... but nevertheless, I do them.

That first day ended with me face down on the grass, telling him there was no way I could do a push
up... it wasn’t going to happen. Rev, slapped the grass by my head and said, “What are you going to do, Michelle? What are you going to do if you fall and can’t get up? You need to be able to push up on your own.” His patience, gentle prodding, have kept me doing what I have avoided for years... plus the revelation that some day, I may need to be able to get up... falling is always a reality.
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A sense of humor is necessary to face the challenges of working out with me and I know I must be willing to push harder... it never gets easy. But, I am amazed at the difference in how I now feel, after 50 with some exercise in my life; you can do it as well. For anyone like me, who made the bad decision to wait well into life, do not waste another day. –Just start.

Written By Michelle Greenwell. 

Michelle is a published writer and author of several books.

​Check out some of her work HERE

​I’ve been a trainer for some time now and I have been blessed to work at a few different gyms and parks as you do when you’re finding what works for you and your clients.

What has always stood out for me in Rockingham is the foreshore and how beautiful the place is during a sunrise/sunset. I’m consistently being told by new clients that they take the place for granted after having completed a fitness session down there and taking in the surrounds.

Having come over from the Gold Coast QLD a little while ago, one thing that blew me away is a lot of people were talking Rockingham down as a bit of a ‘tough’ area but after spending my first few days around Rockingham Foreshore I instantly felt at home here and thought “Hey why the hell aren’t I training here?”

When I moved over I was training the majority of my clients in Perth for no other reason other than I get a lot of enquiries from weight loss clients who reside there. To be fair there are some really awesome places to train outside up in Perth but the little spot that we train at just opposite Rusticos on Rockingham Foreshore to me is one of the most beautiful spots I have ever been lucky enough to train at.

On top of being blessed to be a trainer at Gold’s Gym Rockingham which is literally a 5 minute walk away, I have the best of both worlds in being able to provide my wonderful clients with so many different variations of exercise in different environments. I mean who wouldn’t want to train here?

I did a post on my Revs Fitness instagram account this morning about how I’m noticing that we’re on our way out of winter and into spring as the sun is starting to pop up earlier and earlier. This morning it set the sky on fire at 6:30am! Compared to a few weeks ago it was only up at around 7:00am.
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I have to give enormous amounts of credit to my awesome clients who turn up literally rain, hail or shine to train at Rockingham Bootcamp. I wouldn’t consider myself a typical ‘hardcore’ personal trainer who shouts and carries on to keep his clients accountable so I think it’s safe to assume that they all love where we train and appreciate the atmosphere that is created.
 
 
Whether you get the feeling from your personal trainer, the people you are training with, where you are training and even the style of training you are doing, I believe you should always look forward to training and working towards your fitness goal.
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So make sure where ever you are training that you thoroughly enjoy being there in that atmosphere!