This is a little sneak peak of a part of the carbohydrate e-book.

Effects on the body:
The only carbs you can absorb through the gut glucose, galactose and fructose. They are the only ones that hit a vein called the portal vein on the way to the liver, where those 3 are processed.
The others which are sucrose, lactose and galactose are broken down into their monosaccharides glucose and fructose, maltodextrin, starches are broken down into their single molecular glucose.
 
From the liver, glucose generally goes directly into the bloodstream as that’s the source most things use and prefer, fructose can either be converted into glucose where again it will be sent and stored as muscle glycogen, the body stores about 300-400 grams, however Carb loading and keto diets will increase or decrease this amount respectively, it could also be turned into liver glycogen (which is stored in the liver approx. 50-100 grams) or converted into lactate, please note that more than 50 grams of lactose can be converted into fatty acid however this is very unlikely unless you eat A LOT of fruit, and I don’t think anyone reading this is eating double maybe triple figures of apples and pears.
 
Basically this means that whatever carb you eat it will mostly get turned into glucose, fructose and galactose and even then it’s only glucose that makes it back out the liver and into the blood, this does not mean all your carbs can come from snickers and bounty’s - still eat a variety of fruit and veg to get more than enough vitamins and minerals, be smart with your food choices but does it mean you can be more free with your diet? bloody hell yes,  if you’re eating enough vitamins and minerals does that mean you can fit in some of the good stuff you love eating? yes, as long as you are still in a calorie deficit or at calorie maintenance you will still lose weight or stay at the same weight.
 
The only difference then between the different carbohydrate types is the speed they are digested and the added health bonuses of vitamins and minerals.
 
There are two other Digestive carbohydrates we will talk about oligosaccharides and polysaccharides, we will tackle Polysaccharides first.
 
Polysaccharides – Poly means ‘many’ and as we know saccharides means ‘sugar’ – this chain of carbohydrates is hundreds sometimes thousands of glucose molecules long, for us this almost always means starch - amylose (a straight chain of glucose) or amylopectin (a branched tree like
chain of glucose molecules).
 
Amylose starts digestion in the mouth and if you don’t believe me pop a piece of bread in your mouth and chew a tiny bit to start it breaking down just let it sit there, you will then start to taste a very sweet taste which is the Alpha-amylase breaking down the starch into free-glucose.
 
But I hear you cry, if glucose is stored in the muscle and animal meat is muscle then why doesn’t my juicy steaks have any carbs? then this is mother nature’s way of making sure the animal can decompose, so if you want glucose in your meat go and grab your sharpest knife, hunting gear and probably some Imodium, because the second you kill the animal, it's body will start to breakdown and will get rid of as much of the glucose as it can as quickly as it can.

If you want to know more then the link to sign up to get access to more ebooks, recipe packs etc then click below to find out more!

​Listening to the Joe Rogan podcast as usual, He was talking about having games on his phone and becoming ‘addicted’ to them and wasting time on them.
 
I have deleted the games on my phone.
 
The reason is because you never really realise how much time per day you waste on the games.
 
I hear it all the time! I just don’t have time to exercise, I don’t have time to meal prep, I don’t have time to go for a walk – yes you do! The only person that doesn’t have time, is single parents with kids of different age groups, if they are the same age group then you still have time because you can take them with you.
 
Stop watching crap TV like EastEnders, coronation street and the rest, people will watch terrible TV that doesn’t positively impact your life every single night, watching the odd show and having a binge is ok, but not every night and then complain you have no time.
 
I give my clients a weekly time tracker, so they can plan their weekly time, and when you plan your time weekly you realise just how much time you have to have to do everything.
 
If you want to lose weight make time to exercise, go for a walk, meal prep.
 
If you’re unhappy in your job, then do a course, do a blog, create YouTube videos about stuff you’re interested.
 
If you want the time tracker I can send it to you, just email me and I’ll be happy too.
 
Make sure you prioritise what you want, have a think and list stuff 1-5, make sure you spend at least 5 hours per week on number 1 and you will achieve it. It’s up to you, to make things happen, opportunities very rarely just happen unless you get lucky so work hard make them happen.
 
Work hard and you can achieve your goals, just stay focused, make time for what’s important to you.

Short blog this week but hopefully you enjoy! 

Comment with any questions and I’ll answer them the best I can!

Firstly, what do I mean by liquid calories?

Any calories that’s are in fizzy drinks, coffees, any liquid drink that has calories.
 
I think they should be minimised, what’s the point in wasting your daily/weekly limit on drinks?
 
If you have 3 teas a day that’s 198 ish calories per day but then you have a coke at lunch, and you have a special Caramel latte for lunch – this could very easily get to over 600 calories, from what?
 
You would have drunk all that and not feel any more hydrated, for 400 calories, you could have 2 large cookies and still have your tea.

When your dieting, especially if your dieting on lower calories ever calorie has to be used to maximize not only satiety but also your cravings for your favourite foods, its essential to a sustained deficit that you have something that you like in your diet, and if you’re wasting calories on a caramel latte, it’s just a stupid idea.

For some people by just cutting out or minimize liquid calories you can get into quite a large deficit, take the above for example, if someone has the 3 teas, 2 special coffees, and 3 cokes throughout the day that can reach over 1000 calories,

Now you can keep the teas as that would be habitual so stacking another habit on to the tea making process would be a good idea.

But swap the cokes for coke zero, diet coke, pepsi max etc so zero calorie versions of them, and completely cut the coffees or again swap them for lower calories options.

Eventually you want to try and minimize the fizzy drinks, just think about your teeth!

So, this week take a few days to log everything you drink, workout the calories, comment below with what you drink and the calories and lets try and workout what alternatives you could have.

I will write another blog about habit stacking next week, it’s an absolutely incredible tool for weight loss, muscle gain, health and general life success to be honest!

Overcoming emotional eating and having that ‘oh shit – I need to change moment’
 
Do you eat and then think, ‘fuck it I’m fat and ugly might as well just eat another cake’.
I hope not but you might do, it’s surprisingly common which is why 55% of the UK is obese, which is a very scary stat.
 
This ‘fuck it effect’ has been studied by psychologists, it’s a powerful effect and it becomes more powerful with low self esteem, low confidence and low self-worth, it’s a vicious downward cycle.
 
The chances are you know you do this, but you feel so terrible about yourself that you think ‘stuff it’, which is obviously very dangerous, especially in terms of weight gain or negative health activities, it can quite easily be that you end up putting on 20 kgs or more and not even really noticing – side Note : You’ll be very surprised that most overweight/obese clients I have had, just didn’t realise the extent of their size, they knew were carrying a bit more fat than before but just didn’t realise they were obese, it’s like the brain switches off the power to realise, and then when you do notice, guess what happens? ‘fuck it I’m fat now anyway so what’s the point in changing?’ and the vicious cycle gets a little bit more vicious and hurtful.
 
Once you get into this vicious cycle there is very little you can do until 2 things happen; One, you have that moment where you pull out that old dress you like, the old suit you would wear, you see yourself in an old photo, a shop window that you haven’t been in a while, you read a blog like this, something happens where your brain suddenly clicks and ‘wow I need to change’ comes to mind, without that moment it’s very difficult to find the necessity to change, I know several people who are/were obese and tried to force the diet, tried to start something and have fallen off it even harder and ended more overweight than before.
Two; Someone gets you help and you ACCEPT it – people really don’t like accepting help, it hurts their pride, it makes them feel like they’re doing something wrong, EVERYONE needs help, EVERYONE needs accountability, I don’t care who you are or what you do, you need a coach/mentor, every single person on this planet needs help from someone. It isn’t a bad thing help if you accept it, believe it or not is helpful!
 
That ‘I need to change’ moment can be subtle but once you feel it once you need to pounce then! If you say it to a friend/family member then they have to take responsibility and make you realise what you just said, get you to seek help, help you as much as possible, make them or you see the potential damage you are doing to your body, so you can get the professional help, if you can’t afford it, then support you with finding a sustainable, diet that doesn’t tell you to limit your Sins or doesn’t give food points and makes you feel guilty for eating something, something you enjoy and something that makes you feel better.
 
There has to be a level of bluntness to the conversation, you can’t beat around the bush and try to make it as cuddly and warm as possible, there has to be a level of ‘you’re obese, you need help, I will help you as much as possible, you just said you want to change so let’s do this, what can I do to help?’ whether that’s you saying it, your friend, family.
 
It isn’t nice to say or hear but you or they will hear and listen to it, what won’t help is if they/you say ‘I think you're slightly overweight, I love you the way you are I just want the best for you, why don’t you do something, your still beautiful to me’ – All your brain hears is ‘you love me, I’m beautiful, okay cool so I’m obese but I’m still loved and I still ‘belong’ so no need to change’
 
If you are going through this now, continue to speak to people, have open and free conversations about your journey, if anyone is negative about it then leave them behind, unfriend them, stay in contact with as many positive and supportive people as you can, DO NOT isolate yourself, no matter how crap you feel inside you need to keep and stay around people, they will honestly be the foundations for you to grow from.
 
You need to rediscover your food, stop doing yo yo or fad diets, stop looking for quick fixes and magic pills, you need to get in the gym, change 1 thing with your diet this week, that’s all just 1 thing. Then week 2 change something and week 3 change another, and keep going until your day-to-day diet is full of fruit and veg, high protein still has some foods you like so you don’t lose your mind and you are in a calorie deficit, that’s the most important thing.
 
Then you have to set yourself weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-yearly and yearly goals, very specific with the reason why you want to achieve then, it has to the be something that means something to YOU, for example ‘I want to look good for the ‘Gram’ isn’t a goal,

‘I want to be able to walk down the beach when I go to Egypt in a year’s time in a bikini. I want to do and feel confident, sexy and strong’ - now that is a goal!
 
It is time specific, it has your emotions.
 
There will be a time when the ‘Fuck it effect’ will come and kick you in arse but you need to accept that that day was ‘bad’ the sun has got up the next day so do you, it’s a new day and that requires new effort, you make today better than yesterday, and tomorrow better than today, and you just keep going.
 
One massive thing you can do is fail at something – go and find something you are terrible at! I’ve just started to try to learn the harmonica! I sound terrible, but I keep going, I learn new lifts, I fail I keep going and learning, embrace failing, look at why you failed and go again, and again and again, just keep learning and failing and once you succeed hold on to that feeling or pride, of confidence and use it to again make tomorrow better than today!!
 
I really hope this helps you or your friend, I know this is a paid blog but please if you think this would help someone, then please just ask and I’ll be more than happy to send it to them, just ask!

Also please comment, if you like this or you want to ask something, please drop a comment!
 
Have a great today and better tomorrow!
Dan

I am lucky enough to be able to train a lot of professions and it’s also who I target to train, every one of my office based clients all suffer with the dreaded ‘fat Friday’, ‘cake Wednesday’, ‘treat Tuesday’, birthdays, post holidays, basically any day where people can bring in cakes, chocolates, biscuits and any other crap foods.

Now, there are negative consequences for your waist line but also your productivity, but you know that, and you know they are easy to snack on and quickly eat way too much without really thinking about it, you’re typing away and you don’t even notice your hand reach over, grab a little chocolate and carry on typing, absolutely no clue that you actually had 3 not one, you done this 3 times before but only noticed the last grab.

Before you know it you have eaten 500 calories of whatever food someone brought in throughout the day, when you have probably 1500-2000 calories per day to play with (for fat loss) this leaves you struggling for filling, nutritious food so you go over your calories without really knowing you have, you think you’re in a calorie deficit but the teas, the little snack chocolates you don’t realise you are massively over eating, all knocks your calories over your daily/weekly limits and thus stops you losing weight.

To limit this and hopefully to stop it, is actually really simple, as long as you want too stop, and this is without moving desks, if the chocolate treats happen to land on or by your desk then move them, move them to another part of the office, if anyone wants to complain you moved the chocolate away from your desk then who cares, you can explain you’re on a diet or can you can just put them somewhere else and ignore what the other person says and most probably no one will actually pay attention or care they have moved. (Side note: if someone does moan you moved the chocolate then the other person is an idiot and just ignore them, as the common phase goes ‘don’t give a fuck’)

If this isn’t possible, you can put a picture of your goal on desk, like a sunny beach if you are losing weight for a holiday, a picture of your wedding dress, a picture of your kids, whatever reason find a picture that represents that put it there and every time you think ‘oh fuck it, I’ll have one’ look at that picture, remind yourself why you’re on this journey and carry on typing and clicking away.

You can also practise mindful eating(you should anyway!), this is where you weigh up the options, you see the chocolates and think, ‘yeah go on, it’s only one’ –no think to yourself if I have one will that lead to 2,3 or 4, if I try ‘A’ what are the consequences, where will it lead to, what am I likely to do after? Etc.

And my final suggestion is a corker – when you want a chocolate, get up and walk to the floor below/above or a few below/above, use their water fountain to get a class of water drink one there fill up the glass again and walk back to your office, and plan what you will do when you get back to your desk and see the chocolates, ‘I will sit down, have a sip of water and get to work, if I get tempted by the chocolate, I will remind myself of my goal but also the reason/s why I want to achieve my goal.’

This way you increase your NEAT (extra energy used through the day not exercising) which means you should hopefully reach your goals a bit quicker and also become a bit healthier.

I hope this helps with your self control!

Be confident in yourself! You are better than you think!

Yesterday was my last day at the old gym and today is the first day at the new one.

I’m nervous about starting at a new gym, but I’m bloody excited, although I don’t like being in town, I love working in town and I like the hustle and bustle and not knowing who you could be sitting in the coffee shop with, I could be sitting sitting next to the leading Doctor for heart surgeries, the wealthiest man/woman in Birmingham, the person who invented revolutionary like the Cupboard hahaha

I wanted to celebrate 3 things that Made this possible this morning 1) Forgiving (not forgetting) it’s fair to say me I didn’t leave my new manager on good terms the last time at a different gym however when he offered me this role, I forgave him for how it ended last time, forgiveness is a massive thing, it’s not as easy as people make out, it makes you have to be able to swallow your pride and drop your ego, you aren’t better than this person, they made a mistake, people do, get over it.
Everything is forgivable, forgiveness doesn’t benefit the other person at all, it doesn’t make them feel good but it’s does you, it like opening all blinds in a room, it takes away a little bit of darkness in you and makes you feel better.

2) A lot of my old clients have come back – this is by far the thing that has made feel amazing, people don’t buy personal training if they don’t think you’re good, they don’t buy PT if they don’t like you so the fact people are coming means I’m doing something right, it’s amazing that people have faith in my ability! I’m truest grateful for that.

3) Making the step – realising that enough was enough and it was time to go – It’s called the Sunk cost fallacy, I put quite Abit of money and time into trying more make Sutton work as a business, I paid for facebook ads, I was there 10-12 hour days, doing overtime and extra classes where I could to get in front of as many people as I could, despite all I had invested ‘sunk cost’ into the business I couldn’t make it work. So I had to make the call and step away rather than investing more time more money into and then having further and further to go to make it float.

These are all related to you too – dieting or training – apart from forgiving, you can’t forgive chocolate BUT you can forgive yourself for eating too much and going beyond the point you’re happy with your body, don’t forgot how much fat you put on because without that you wouldn’t be here reading this and hopefully having fun with your diet and training, so don’t make yourself feel guilty and bad all the time forgive yourself and start to make a change to lose weight!

Going back to what you know, did you lose weight on a specific diet? Fad diet or not, what made you lose weight, what did you enjoy about it? Ask yourself these questions and do a version that you enjoy, that’s healthy, that you can sustain and take parts of 2 or 3, most of the women I have trained have been on 5 or 6 different diets, take bits and use them.

Sunk cost fallacy – have you put money and time into a trainer and aren’t seeing any results? Then fuck him/her off, leave them, it doesn’t matter that you already have put money into them, they aren’t getting you results, you don’t have to be loyal when you aren’t the results you’re paying for.

I had a lady recently who went back to a trainer she had no results from recently because she felt like she had to be loyal and she had already put so much into another trainer, NO! Stop!
If you’re paying for anything now that doesn’t serve a day-to-day purpose, then stop sinking more and more into and find something or someone else that will actually help.

Just so we are 100% clear I’m not a psychologist, I haven’t done any research into the area – I’m a personal training not a therapist, I want to make sure I stay in my lane.
 
This is completely anecdotal, this is my experience with it, I couldn’t go in a gym for 2 years because of my anxiety.
 
With all that said I felt like I needed to write something about it, I have/had clients suffer from anxiety in the gym.
 
So I’ll give you the reason why I couldn’t go in a gym for 2 – after I done my level 2 Gym instructor I was given the opportunity to work for a very well known personal trainer studio in Birmingham, I worked there for free part time for about 3-4 months, the reason was they were going to pay for 1 of 3 peoples Level 3 Personal trainer course, 1 left and that left the 2 of us, my coaching skills were miles better, I had/have an amazing coach and friend who has been in the industry over 10 years now and I learnt a massive amount from him, so I used his style and changed it to fit my personality.
 
Any way I was brought in for my ‘final interview’ where I was told my coaching was amazing, they really like my personality etc etc etc and then they asked me to stand up and take my top off – me being 20 I thought this is weird but I’m guessing this is what they do in PT interviews… ITS NOT!
 
They said my shoulders were too far forward, my back was too arched, my hips were tilted forward, I was carrying too much body weight (at the time I had a clear 2 pack with the 4 showing and 6 kind of if I tensed, so by no means fat) any way they went to completely destroy my physique, and then tried to sell me a 12 week transformation package, I walked out of the room like ‘yeah that didn’t bother me, it’s all points I’m not happy with, and things I know I need to work on’ but holy shit it bother me! I cried! I went to the gym for about 3-4 months after that and then just couldn’t face it any more.
 
I didn’t exercise at all for about a year and then I decided that enough was enough, I would pay for my level 3, get back in shape and that will force me to start training again, it didn’t.
 
The thought of going in a gym terrified me, what if everyone looked at me at laughed at my physique, what if I end up on Facebook like those ‘gym fail’ videos,
 
I came up with a plan, I would pay for a day pass at different gym, I would train there for a session if I didn’t feel judged then sound but even walking to and in the gym I felt like everyone was watching, waiting for me to do something stupid, and the more I would look around to see who was watching the more people would watch because it’s like ‘why is he so jittery, is he on drugs?’
It wasn’t until I almost knocked my self out when I realised no one gave a shit about me or what I was doing in the gym, I stupidly unloaded all the weights off one side of the bar in a rack, the bar flung up just missed me made a huge crash bang wallop and people looked and then looked away straight away, no one was looking to see if I was alive, hurt, standing they heard the bang quickly turned their heads and then just as quickly turned back, that was it.
 
It made me feel shit at the time because it was like ‘what the fuck does no one care?’ But it hit me ‘Holy shit, No one cares!’ I left that gym anyway and started at another one, I the. Stepped up my level 3 game and tried to train regularly some days though the thought of going to a gym would make me feel sick,
 
I qualified as a PT and now had to work in a place I was scared of, I very quickly realised again no one really cares, everyone is to busy watching the massive dude in the corner curling 120kg or the woman with the Kim Kardashian bum squatting, while she’s looking around to make sure she’s being watched, that’s all, people are too busy watching unicorns to care about what you’re doing.
 
Here’s the things that have helped and/or clients;
 
Before you go in the gym when you are in your car or when you’re in the changing rooms, go in the toilet cubical as long as it’s clean and doesn’t smell and have just 30 seconds, just clear your mind and take some breathes, then when that’s done, get your game face on and go for it!
 
HAVE A PLAN! Don’t just turn up and do whatever you want, plan a session with alternative exercises if you can’t get on a machine, this way you don’t feel like you’re just wondering around looking like an idiot with everyone knowing you don’t have a clue, (they aren’t, they probably haven’t noticed you, and you aren’t an idiot for not knowing every alternative to an exercise, no one knows every alternative!)
 
Be prepared to sacrifice your music, if you are like me when you’re struggling to breathe the feeling of earphones or head phones will make you feel claustrophobic so be prepared to have to take them off and carry on.
 
Reward yourself for training! But not with food, reward yourself with something special to you, I reward myself with a good bottle whiskey, you can do it with new clothing, a massage, even a holiday, if you reach your weight loss goal book a beach holiday, doesn’t have to be long 3 nights, but you need to set goals and reward yourself!
 
Get a trainer, either an online one or in person, someone that will be there and give you advice, someone that will listen to you and suggest things and hold you accountable, to make sure you turn up either at home or the gym.
 
Have fun with training, slam things, throw things, push things, pull things – Do stuff that excites you and makes YOU feel strong and powerful,
Put simply do what makes you feel great and don’t give a shit what you look like doing it!
 
Remember, always turn up and do something, set goals, reward yourself, have fun and don’t give a F*%K!!

​Welcome to another instalment of our weekly hints and tips to help you on your way to meeting your fitness goals.
 
Are you up to the challenge?
 
Step 1 - Warm-Up
Every successful workout starts with a good warm up, so take the time to complete 3 minutes cardio, either a light jog or cycle will do, followed by 5 minutes dynamic stretching and 2 minutes of body weight circuit.
 
Step 2 – The Workout 

​Bonus Circuit
Squat Thrusts - 20 reps - 30 secs rest 4x Rounds
 
If you need a demonstration of any of the exercises or for any additional guidance, just let me know!
 
Step 3 – Cool Down
The cool down process is important, so be sure to complete a thorough post-workout stretch, Static stretches mixed with foam rolling is good to do now!
 
WEEKLY DIET HINTS & TIPS
If for some reason you have to keep buying sweets, chocolate and other confectionery then put them on the top self and at the back of the cupboard, by moving the food out of sight but out of quick and easy reach makes it less likely that you will eat it, this has been scientifically proven, so this slight adjustment might just save you a few extra calories!
 
Quote of the week
“Knowing Is Not Enough; We Must Apply. Wishing Is Not Enough; We Must Do.” – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
 
For any more information just let me know, good luck, and please let me know how you get on.
 
If you find you need extra help achieving your goals and are local to sutton coldfield and birmingham then sign up here to have some personal training sessions, so you can put into practise what your learning and to make sure you technique is good – Sign Up!

Dan

Welcome to another instalment of our weekly hints and tips to help you on your way to meeting your fitness goals.
 
Are you up to the challenge?
 
Step 1 - Warm-Up
Every successful workout starts with a good warm up, so take the time to complete 3 minutes cardio, either a light jog or cycle will do, followed by 5 minutes dynamic stretching and 2 minutes of body weight circuit.
 
Step 2 – The Workout 
Gut Buster 1000

Bonus Circuit
Med ball slams - 45 secs on - 15 secs off 5x rounds
 
If you need a demonstration of any of the exercises or for any additional guidance, just let me know!
 
Step 3 – Cool Down
The cool down process is important, so be sure to complete a thorough post-workout stretch, Static stretches mixed with foam rolling is good to do now!
 
WEEKLY DIET HINTS & TIPS
Q. I'm not eating much but the scales won't move?
A. The scales alone are a terrible measure of your weight loss journey, everything can effect them, that poo you haven't had yet, the amount of water you retain, had a bad night sleep last night? Did you have a high salt meal last night? Did you have a lot of carbs yesterday? Are you stressed at the moment? 
All those things can affect it but only short term - if you are truly in a calorie deficit, the scales will get to a tipping point where the amount of fat you are losing is outweighing the amount of water you can retain. if you haven't seen the scales move at all in 2 weeks then you are still eating to much. so cut your calories down again and get the scales moving. 
 
Quote Of The Week
"Failure Will Never Overtake Me If My Determination To Succeed Is Strong Enough.” – Og Mandino
For any more information just let me know, good luck, and please let me know how you get on.
 
If you find you need extra help achieving your goals and are local to sutton coldfield and birmingham then sign up here to have some personal training sessions, so you can put into practise what your learning and to make sure you technique is good – Sign Up!
 
Dan