The one thing you need to do if you want to lose weight in January

New Year's resolutions... are you thinking of making some?

Many many people (like you?) are promising to lose weight next year.... I mean it only makes sense since most of us (including me) tend to over-indulge in the Christmas season. I like to call it my 'bulking season' so it's fine :D since I know I can shift all the extra weight easily by the end of January.

Did you know
that if you're stressed out about buying Christmas presents (I am, I hate shopping...)
that'll easily make you put on weight

This is because your cortisol levels will be raised, and it makes you eat more calories if you're not mindful. AND raised cortisol also makes the weight pile on around your mid section which is not ideal (belly fat is more harmful to your health)

But don't worry. As long as you decide you're going to lose weight in January YOU WILL. You need to believe in yourself and surround yourself with supportive people ONLY (many will try to sabotage your success [because deep down they're jealous ]). You need to eat less than what your body needs to lose weight. And it's always a good idea to exercise (anything helps; walking, swimming, gym, climbing...).

You know what you need to do to lose weight, right? But how to get it done is another story.

The one thing you can do to maximise your success is to join my brand new 10 Day Challenge

It starts Mon 2nd Jan 2017! And for a limited time you can guarantee you won't lose anything (but weight) as long as you complete the 10 days, since I'm giving it out for FREE for the first people who sign up!

With the challenge you get all your nutrition covered (you can also download a free Nutrition Bible on this page right now), super effective 10 minute (or under) workouts, a gym program and all sorts.

Check out the sign up page HERE and join today! That's your January weight loss sorted :-)

Let me know if you've got any questions,

Erika

Why diets don’t work: The truth

Simply….. The secret behind every successful diet out there is the fact that you’re eating fewer calories than what your body burns. This is a fact, and now you know it. No more lies, no more bullshit.

Now the reason why your regular diets don’t work is because when you’re on them you’re losing weight too fast. This in turn reduces your BMR (because you’re not just burning fat, you’re also burning muscle [and fluids]).

So what then is BMR? BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate, which is the amount of calories your body burns in a day at complete rest. Like if you were to be in a state of coma. As long as your heart is beating your body keeps burning calories to keep you breathing and your blood pumping through your veins.

What this means is that IF (and most often when…), after your diet, you return to eating EXACTLY the same foods as you had prior to the diet, you will put all the weight back on AND SOME more. It is the reason behind the fact that diets rarely work. This is why dieters, over the years, get gradually bigger, and bigger, and bigger…. Sound familiar?

Why does dieting reduce your BMR then? Because when you diet too fast, you will lose muscle tissue (as well as water and some fat). And muscle burns calories like hell, whereas fat doesn’t. So after your diet you’ll end up having less muscle mass, which means your body won’t be able to burn as many calories throughout the day as it did before.

Which leads us to ONE CONCLUSION: You must find ways to enjoy healthy food, and realise that if you want to be a smaller person forever, you have to eat the calories a smaller person would eat for the rest of your life.

Then for some amazingly exciting facts…… Flexible dieting allows you to enjoy all the foods you like - including chocolate, cake, alcohol, crisps, burgers, you name it. These kinds of foods don’t keep hunger at bay for long, and include a ton of calories. This is why you can’t have a shitload of them all the time. If you have a bad day today (ie you eat too much), then just balance it out over the next week and eat slightly less than you would on a normal day - it’ll balance your calories out and no damage will have been done. No worries!

Flexible dieting is also amazing because you’ll LEARN how much energy is in your foods (and drinks), so you’ll automatically be educating yourself on the ways you can eat the food you love and still lose weight. You can now get a fantastic kickstart with my 10 day challenge you can start by clicking —> right here <—. It’s free for a limited time only, and includes everything you need from training to personalised calories.

Good luck!

Drop me a message if there’s anything else I can do to help you :-)

/Erika

#100daysfitashel challenge – JOIN IN!

You know all about the #100happydays challenge, right? Now it's time to spread the word for the fitter lifestyle!

Join us in this picture challenge any time you want - and post a picture in social media that contributes to better wellbeing every day for the next 100 days. Everyone can make a healthy choice every day - this can be to do with your nutrition, activity, training or even rest. Show us what you're made of -- let's spread the Fit as Hel lifestyle -- it's all the little things that contribute to the biggest success!

The #100daysfitashel challenge can be a great motivational tool both to you and your friends :-)

 

Your posts should include

a photograph with any caption and hashtags #100daysfitashel and #day[number]

 

Nominate any friends to take part as well!

 

To healthier living,

Your fitness coach Erika Helsinki

Fruit challenge

We like to run mini challenges in our Fit as Hel community.

This week we've challenged ourselves to eat 3 pieces of fruit a day. The members have had plenty of apples and bananas, but also nectarines, pomegranates, grapefruit, yellow plums, pineapple, papaya, watermelon and plenty of berries over the week.

Now it's your turn - challenge yourself and go through the next 7 days religiously consuming 3 pieces of fruit a day. Simple (but perhaps not quite as easy as you might expect)!

Good luck!

To your health,
Erika Helsinki

Got a sweet tooth? Join our challenge!

Got a sweet tooth? I'm starting with a new PT client Mel today and will give her an important task to kick start her new, healthier lifestyle: No unhealthy treats for seven days. This is a great way for her to also start thinking about how to replace chocolate, cakes etc. with other, naturally sweet food items like fruits.

Join us on the challenge (starting NOW) and let us know how you're getting on in our online community here. Please also share your ideas for healthy treats :-).

To happy healthy living,
Erika Helsinki

LIMITED SPACES: BLOGfIT project – registration now LIVE!!

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Go Leeanne!! So happy to be part of your success story.

BLOGfIT includes:
- nutrition plan
- training plan
- support

--- in exchange you'll blog about your experience 6th Jan - 2nd Feb 2014.

Are you in?

Sign up now to avoid disappointment at erikahelsinki.com/blogfit

!!!LIMITED SPACES AVAILABLE!!!

Fit as Hel DETOX: How-to

turkey sandwich

I've been on a detox for nearly 6 weeks now. I'll post about my results in another post.

Here are the guidelines for a Fit as Hel detox:

Duration: 1-6 weeks
Nutrition: Follow your own Fit as Hel nutritional guidelines = never overeat and make sure to hit your protein goals.
Hydration: 2.5 litres of a water per day (3 litres for men). No alcohol during the detox.
Exercise: Four 10-15 minute workouts per week (on top of what you'd normally do).

AND THAT'S IT!

I'm going to run Fit as Hel member challenges every now and again. You guys can then post about your experiences (and success) in our closed Facebook group.

All the (home/gym) workouts are naturally provided in "the zone", as I like to call the restricted content members' area. If you want your personal nutritional guidelines updated just re-fill in the form in the nutrition bit.

The next detox challenge will run 9th - 13th December (so that you can then eat what you want over Christmas, ha)! Get your friends to take part as well!! (Just click on online membership at the top)

/Erika

P.s. As always, no forbidden foods!!