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Category: People

Rant: STAY AWAY FROM DIET PLANS

Fuming, angry, just so upset this morning.

A childhood friend told me this morning she'd bought a diet plan online from a TV PT.

This made me so sad and I just wanted to swear and be all open about why that was such a stupid idea. Need to hold it back sometimes to protect others' feelings.... I mean she'd just wasted £50 on a generic diet plan.

I've got this plan on my PC too (my naughty aunt had also bought it before [grrrrrr] and forwarded it to me for professional purposes) and it's SHIT.

The big problem is that only dieticians are qualified to prescribe precise diet plans, and this is always done on an individual basis.

Here's the rough outline of the crap plan:
1,800 kcal per day for everyone, no exceptions. MUST attend gym 4-6 times a week AND do other physical exercise outside of gym several days a week. Diet is very strict with a 'cheat day' once every 12 weeks or something - EVERY morning starts with porridge and basically you eat the SAME SHIT EVERY DAY.

And in the 'rules and guidelines' the plan tells you that you have FAILED if you get sidetracked at all.

Can you see the BIIIIIIG problem?

This is a DIET. Someone else's life (eating like this is like having an eating disorder). It doesn't encourage you to change your habits, and makes you see 'healthy eating' as strenuous and boring. So... you might lose weight while you're following the plan (d'uh, who wouldn't with that amount of calories + exercise??) BUT

AND THERE'S A BIG BUT

You'll put the weight back on as soon as you "have failed" and return to eating normally. And the lesson of the plan was?? To make losing weight a f***ing chore and to make you feel guilty if you don't follow it.

But that's not YOUR LIFE, is it?? Would you really give up all your social time to go to the gym/jogs and to prepare meals? I think (and hope) not.

I certainly wouldn't. That's pretty close to my idea of a horrible nightmare. The kind of life I wouldn't enjoy living.

The dieting mindset is 95% of the time (at least) going to results in failure.

-----

Today I've enrolled myself on a course to study weight loss via NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and hypnosis
so that I can even better help my clients lose all the weight they want

the way through which they can keep it off for good
by changing the mindset.

There's only so many private PT clients I can have onboard, so I'm determined to spend my time wisely to be able to help more people outside of the 'inner circle'. The fat loss challenges I've ran in the past have been massively successful, so I'm going to invest in coaching more people online in the future - and focus on optimised fat loss through good nutrition and the change of mindset.

Once you learn the proper way of managing your nutrition (to HAVE a good diet overall, not to "be on" a diet, EVER), you'll never need to worry about your weight again.

If you need help with your diet, just let me know and I'll do what I can to help. The methods I use work 100% of the time, you just need to realise that you have to take responsibility, learn some shit and put it into effect.... WHILST being able to eat the foods you love.

Peace out & lots of love,
Erika

 

P.S. The friend said she already thinks the plan isn't going to work. Hungry straight after the first meal... *sigh* expected.

Erika Helsinki
Health & Fitness Lifestyle Coach

erika@fitashel.com
0789 719 7818

[[this is an email I sent today to people on my email list -- subscribe here]]

DITCH YOUR SCALES

Chick full of power
Chick full of power

 

Jaime's a big and strong chick who always tries hard in our PT sessions (as all of them do).

 

Overall, she lost no weight in the past two months.

 

Still, today we took her body fat stats as planned (using calipers, i.e. skin fold test)... and the standard girth measurements.

 

Results?

+2kg muscle

-2kg fat

 

And a total of -7cm in measurements!!

 

Scales only tell you half the truth. Instead, look in the mirror and trust your clothes.

 

Faye’s emotional story: More calories = incredible fat loss boost

Progress so far on Faye's emotional journey:

Day 1: Body fat 32.5%, daily calories below 1,000.

Day 39: Body fat 28.7%, daily calories above 1,500.

 

Faye's metabolism was completely messed up when we started PT just over a month ago. She'd been consuming under 1,000 kcal per day for absolutely years, which is very unhealthy and makes the body store as much fat as it possibly can (because it thinks it's in danger of starvation).

I knew we had a big task ahead of us to completely change the way Faye eats and thinks about food - the biggest challenge for her being an emotional one, because she truly thought that anything she eats will 'make her fat'.

It's not uncommon in the world these days to have twisted views on food and alongside a twisted body image.

Faye is now on her strong road to recovery (i.e. a healthy attitude towards food). So far she's only a month into her journey, she's eating nearly double the amount of calories from what she used to, and she's lost 1,2 kg during her first month despite the increase in her calorie intake. These results are astonishing, and I've told her from the beginning that first we'll need focus on fixing her metabolism up and only after we've managed that we should start worrying about fat loss. Getting on the scales in general is forbidden.

I wasn't expecting such dramatic results - but it just goes to show that sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. We've gradually increased her calorie intake which has at times brought her to tears ("I feel like I have to force the food down when I'm not hungry").

Faye's diet now consists of healthy real foods such as lean proteins (e.g. chicken, turkey), good fats (e.g. half an avocado a day) and different sources of fibrous carbohydrates (great for energy, e.g. wholewheat pasta). Now it's time to start looking at having treats as part of her new healthier lifestyle, which I'm sure will be another emotional struggle (how could it possibly be good for you to have things you truly enjoy every now and again and not feel guilty about it?). I've told her to stop wasting hours at the gym, and instead focus on quick, effective resistance based workouts. During our PT sessions we lift weights. Because only that will result in a beautiful, shapely body and help burn fat while she's not training.

Faye's feeling very shy about her body image still, so I'll not publish any pictures of her just yet as she doesn't feel comfortable with the idea.

If you (or any of your close ones) suffer from lack of energy, being obsessed about your body image, not knowing what to do at the gym to make workouts effective or worst of all, are used to constant dieting without lasting results, maybe it's time to do something about it.... Once and for all.

I'm over the moon for Faye for taking a positive step in her life and being on her road to recovery, a fit body and mind. Girl, you rock xxx

 

/Erika Helsinki

 

Emma S. testimonial (personal training with Erika Helsinki)

Name: 

Emma S.

 

Your specific weight/fitness/lifestyle related goals when you started: 

When I started PT with Erika last year I was pretty sick of going to the gym 4 or 5 times a week and getting no results. All I did was cardio with very little resistance training, and although my diet was pretty clean I was eating a bit too much and getting nowhere (if anything I was putting weight on). I really wanted to tone up and improve my fitness but also improve the relationship with myself. I was bulimic when I was younger and so loving my body is something that I have never been particularly good at, I felt that I was at a time in my life that I needed to move past this and make some positive changes, both physically and mentally.

 

What have you achieved since starting your sessions with Erika? 

Since I started with Erika I have seen a lot of physical changes, I've lost just over a stone, I'm stronger than I've ever been and I feel a lot more toned. But better than any physical change are the mental ones, I'm more positive about life in general, have a better relationship with food and am even learning to love my body, slowly but surely.  The strength I have gained from Erika's training has also allowed me to progress in yoga, something which I love but have never had the strength, or confidence to improve in.

 

Your PT session experiences summarised: 

Over the time I've been training with Erika I've learned so much!! Sessions are always varied and fun, pushing you beyond limits that you didn't even know you had! Erika's enthusiasm is also unreal, I feel completely supported and motivated not only during the sessions but also in-between times. Her advice goes beyond exercise and nutrition, even giving me fantastic advice on how to deal the writers block I had during my masters dissertation!!

 

Are you happy with your results? 

YES!!

 

How has Erika helped achieve your goals?

Through constant encouragement, motivation, and support. Varying classes, and keeping exercise fun at all times. Her love of fitness and life is contagious, I'm pretty sure that with Erika as your PT it would be pretty impossible not to reach your goals!

 

What do you still want to achieve regarding your weight/fitness/lifestyle?

I still want to tone up and gain strength- right now, more than anything else I'd love to be able to just one pull up! (That and hold a headstand for more than two seconds in yoga!).

 

Would you recommend Erika Helsinki as a PT to others? Why?

No doubt about it, she is the best PT I could have hoped for!!!

 

Any other comments?

Erika would do anything for her clients, a truly amazing PT. I could stop there but its more than that, she is also a wonderful person who genuinely cares about each and every one of her clients. There is no way I would ever have reached my goals without her and there are no words which express how grateful I am for her help and support!