The Hunger - Fullness Scale

The following came from Calorie Count - A Free Service of About.com Health. Ponder it as I hope you have a Happy Easter!

The Hunger – Fullness Scale

Hunger and fullness exist on a continuum. The scale ranges from “0” ravenous, to “10” uncomfortably overstuffed, almost sick. A “5” is neutral, neither hungry nor full.

Before, during and after you eat, or whenever you get the idea, use the scale to rate your physical hunger and fullness. Take the time to get to know the scale, and use it to navigate your eating behavior.

How to do it

- Whenever you want to eat, close your eyes, listen to your body, and rate your hunger from 0 to 10.
- Eating at a hunger level of 2 or 3 is appropriate. That’s between moderate and significant hunger, not yet famished. You’re likely to overeat when you’re ravenous, at 0 to 1.
- Slow down while eating and take a half-time break to give your body time to realize that you’ve eaten.
- Try stopping at a fullness level of 7 or 8 out of 10. That’s moderately to comfortably full, and it should keep you satisfied for several hours.

The Google 15

Sometimes we find that we weigh different at various times of the day. This can be informative and occasionally shocking, however if you weigh yourself at the same time on the same day once a week you are reportedly likely to get the most accurate picture of how successful you are with your weight loss goals.

An interesting online gadget to assist in tracking your weight is The Google 15.

Type in your weight every day and it is displayed on a graph. After 7 days, the graph will also display your weight moving average.

I have yet to fully test it out myself as it may be a bit obsessive to track your weight every day in this way. That said it certainly has my attention and may be worth a try.

Check it out at:
http://www.google.com/ig/adde?moduleurl=www.google.com/ig/modules/google15.xml

Fat Loss Tips

The following Fat Loss Tips come from Adam Stowell of my current local gym:

Ensure you look your best on the beach this summer!

For fat loss you should be careful of the simple sugars in your diet these can be found in white bread, white potato and sweets. I mention sweets because the effect that sweets have on your blood sugar levels is roughly the same as white bread – shocking I know!

Basically when we eat simple sugars such as white bread our bodies quickly release lots of insulin in a bid to convert the sugars to energy any energy that is not used by our muscles or stored in our liver will be stored as fat. A simple way of reducing fat especially abdominal fat is to follow a low Gi eating plan.

Increase metabolism, train smart! Resistance training, early morning sessions and training variety are all key to improving ones metabolism and therefore creating a fat burning machine within your body.

Protein is important in every cell of the body. Your body needs and uses protein to build and repair tissues; the body also uses proteins to make hormones, enzymes and other body chemicals. With a fat loss goal, aim for 1-1.5 grams of protein per kg of bodyweight, for example if you weigh 70kg then aim for 70-105grams of protein per day.

Combine high intensity training and longer endurance routines. Combining classes such as spinning which is high intensity with classes such as run club or body tone which are longer endurance routines will help burn off calories and blast fat stores in your body. Or why not try this routine in the gym.

Brick Training. Cycle 3 minutes intensely followed directly by rowing 3 minutes flat out, complete 2-3 sets for an intense calorie burn.

Switch

You could say "I always hope for the best but experience teaches me to expect the worst". You could also say "Experience has taught me to expect the worst but I still hope for the best". You could say "2 steps forward, 1 step back". You could also say "1 step back, 2 steps forward". All of these are a play on words. You can switch the words around any way you like depending on your outlook on life.

I believe people who place the words in the most positive light, achieve the most positive things in life. I recommend anything you see as negative, you do your utmost to change to a positive.

Make a positive switch today.

A Good Day

Today I managed to get an extra long workout done at the gym, including weight training, cardio and taking the time to experiment with some new abdominal exercises using the equipment. I also got in some additional cardio outside the gym.

In regards to my nutrition, I incorporated over 500g of lean Beef, lots of Yogurt, and plenty of fruit and vegetables. In doing so I had a good calorie deficit with food/drink intake that was high in protein and low in carbohydrates.

All in all- a good day.

Try A Triathlon

Something I have yet to try at my gym is a Triathlon. A key reason I haven't done it yet is because my current gym is fairly busy and so some equipment can be quite popular and unavailable when I wish to use it. Still, trying a Triathlon could be a great way to vary your routine.

A Triathlon involves mixing up 3 cardio exercises in an hour. One example might be the following:

- 20 minutes Rowing
- 20 minutes Running
- 20 minutes Cycling

This works out great if you only have an hour available and hope not to be bored by doing the same cardio.

Although I've yet to try a Triathlon, I do have a 3-Day Cycle of exercises so I get to vary my cardio that way. My typical 3-Day Cycle of cardio exercises currently includes the following:

Day 1- 10 minutes Running, 1 hour Cross-Trainer (Elliptical)
Day 2- 10 minutes Rowing, 10 minutes Running, 50 minutes Brisk Walking with Incline
Day 3- 10 minutes Cycling, 1 hour Cross-Trainer

My personal experience has shown that I can burn more calories using a Cross-Trainer in an hour than any other cardio I can maintain, so I incorporate this cardio into my 3-Day Cycle the most. I also get a wide body workout to my legs, arms, shoulders, chest and back.

Whether or not you choose to do a Triathlon over the period of an hour or 3 days, I'd definitely say it's worth a try.

The Mentor Message

The Mentor Message is pretty simple. You can either be a Mentor or learn from a Mentor. Either way, you'll find both rewarding. I suggest doing both. Double the reward.