While McDonalds isn't the only culprit, this image really says it all!

That’s right, if you’re really overweight and aren’t exercising, this video will save your life, BUT you must act upon the learning.

And if you’re none of the above, but are a converted regular exerciser, then get someone you know who’s life is at risk to sit (it’s not like they’re not used to that!!!) for 9 minutes and watch this video.

The other day I went into McDonalds to use the restroom and to buy a bottle of water.  It was a quick, flying visit but I have to admit I stopped and did a double take when a particular patron caught my eye.  I was amazed, astounded in fact, by the size of this particular man, sitting with his partner, gorging on a huge array of burgers and such.

A whole raft of thoughts raced through my head as I watched him… I felt empathy, I wanted to stop and talk to him, help him realise that he’s severely shortening his life through his unhealthy lifestyle… I really wanted to get through to him.

However, I realised that we all have different reasons for our actions and I questioned whether in approaching him I would be helping him or only adding to his story.

The thought crossed my mind that I could use my phone to take a photo of him so I could blog about the impact of an obese lifestyle… but of course, that wasn’t the right or sensitive thing to do!

Instead I started looking for a video or something which would portray the importance of moving your body.  And I found this 9 minute video, which does a great job doing just that.  Please take the time to watch it – it could change your life or the life of someone you care about.

He mainly spoke about the enormous problem facing the Western World in dealing with the health crisis resulting from lack of physical activity and poor food choices by the majority of the population.  The problem is getting worse, with 2/3 of Americans overweight or obese and Australians following hard on their heels.  In fact, it was recently reported on the news that obesity has now overtaken smoking as the number one cause of premature death in Australia!

John shared some examples of nations with excellent health statistics, such as the people of Okinawa (an island off the coast of Japan) who are predominantly vegetarian.  Yes, we all have a couple of canine front teeth capable of ripping flesh from bones but the bulk of our teeth are molars designed for chewing vegetation.

When striving for success in life, you generally mirror or copy those who are successful… I find it strange then that so few people seem to follow this approach when it comes to a healthy lifestyle!

Have a look at Healthy Theory – it covers the Blue Zones of our world, which are the healthy nations and their eating behaviours.  Or take a few moments and read over one of the Blue Zones eating and lifestyle recommendations.

For example, Okinawa, Japan is known for its low number of diseases and the longest living human.  Spare a few minutes from your day and check it out here.  If you learn just two or three new things to adapt into your eating habits then it’s time well spent.  In fact, maybe you should consider spending 10-15 minutes every month on nutrition educational reading.

Remember… we only get the one body and one chance.

Ask yourself this question, how serious are you about living your life to the fullest?  Or perhaps the better question is, are you in the driver’s seat or are you more of a victim of your life?

You may think that you eat pretty well but let me shake up your thinking a little bit.  John recognises that in the Western World we eat 50% Meat/Dairy, 30% Processed Food and 20% Vegetables/Fruit/Grains…

But we should be eating more like 5% Meat/Dairy, 10% Fish and 85% Vegetables/Fruit/Grains…

If you want to find out more about John’s research and how you can vastly improve your lifestyle by eating properly, check out his books.

All around the world rescue workers are being called in to lift obese people

I recently had a conversation with one of my former personal trainers who left us to become a fire fighter.  He popped into the Gym for a workout and was telling me about his first week as an official fire fighter after 18 weeks of training.  His crew got a call out to help the Ambulance Officers and Police lift a really large woman who had fallen down and couldn’t get back up off the floor!

Yes, you did read that correctly… the fire fighters were called, and are regularly called, to help big people up off the ground who have fallen, because fire fighters are trained to lift people.

All of us at the Gym were stunned to hear this story… what is happening to our society?  Why are there so many people in hospital because they’re severely overweight?  In fact, more than 50% of hospital stayers are obese!

Don’t let yourself get to the point where you need fire fighters to come and lift you off the floor.  Instead, get your butt into the Gym and start exercising!

• 

  Eat your way to a flatter tummy!

  Eat Dark Chocolate – we all know we need to eat less rubbish and more good foods, but let’s face it, sometimes you just need a treat!  So instead of the usual block of milk chocolate, chips or ice cream, have a little dark chocolate instead… because it’s actually good for you.  Dark chocolate boosts good HDL cholesterol levels, plus it contains natural substances that help control insulin levels and relax blood vessels, lowering blood pressure, and it provides important minerals including copper, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron.  What’s not to love – it tastes good and it’s not on the taboo list!

• Add Apples to your shopping list – fresh fruit is a must and apples come high up on the list as they’re packed full of antioxidants, such as quercetin, catechins, phlorizin and chlorogenic acid—powerful antioxidants.  Chop them up with some blueberries and yogurt and you have a delicious summer dessert minus all the calories.  There are also plenty of great varieties in the supermarket at the moment, so go nuts!
• Speaking of Nuts – instead of snacking on biscuits and chips, have a container of nuts and seeds handy for when the munchies hit.  They’re a great source of many key nutrients, including protein, fibre, iron, zinc, magnesium, copper, B vitamins and vitamin E.
• Eat more green vegies - I know, I know, this isn’t news to you!  But if you’re really wanting to trim that stomach down, you need to eat less carbs at night and more vegies, especially broccoli which is high in fibre, aids in digestion, prevents constipation, maintains low blood sugar and, best of all, curbs overeating.
• Lean meat is your friend – we all need protein but that’s not an excuse to whack the barbie on and load it full of sausages and burgers.  Instead, go for skinless chicken, which is a great source of protein and low in fat.

But most of all, if you really want to get rid of that tummy fat you need to get moving!  That’s right, exercise is the key to really shifting the fat and getting a fabulous flat and toned stomach.

Oh No... how did the number get that high?!!!

How do you cope with that moment when you realise you’ve gained more kilos than you ever thought you would?

Do you take one of the following approaches?

1. You can ignore it – The I Couldn’t Care Less Approach.
2. You can hide it – The Cover Up Approach.
3. You can blame others – The Deflection Approach.
4. You can blame circumstances – The Excuse Approach.

Or, you can admit to it, fix it and learn from it – accepting any appropriate consequences like an adult.

What is this called?  The Responsible Approach!!!

Which approach do you take?  Sometimes it can be hard to take that first step towards addressing the problem… but at Geelong’s Gym we’re here to support, encourage and guide you on your weight loss journey.  So don’t waste any more time – take that step now!

Do you get caught up in talking about what you want to do, how you’re going to achieve it?

There are just so many excuses we can find not to exercise...

Do you write those words down, look at them several times, promise to action them but never quite get started?  Maybe you lose the paper they’re written on.

Here’s your training tip for today… Fill in the gap.

“I want to ………………………”

Now count how many letters are in that statement.  Go on… start counting.

How many letters did you come up with? 

Write ‘minutes’ after the number.

Now get up and start moving for that number of minutes.  Go walking, lawn mowing, to the gym… just be active for the minutes in your statement.

See, you’ve started on your way to your goal.  Great work!

We can help you on your weight loss journey!

Forget fat zapping, lipo-sucking treatments.

Geelong’s Gym is home to the Obesity Clinic. 

All results are clinically and scientifically backed by years of medical research.

We have the answer you have been looking for…

The MOVEMENT CURE!

Pop into Geelong’s Gym for your very own action plan and start tackling your weight problem today.  Our friendly staff are here to help you with every step of your journey.

Starting points or bench marks are vital and beneficial to everyone, whether they’re starting out or already on an exercise regime.  Why?  Because we all have goals and aspirations to lose weight, get fitter, build muscle etc.  But those goals and aspirations don’t mean much unless you  know who you are today and have that starting point to reference your increments of change from.

Bio Age testing shows how your body really looks on the inside!

On last night’s Biggest Loser they used Paul Taylor’s Bio Age Testing, a phenomenal product which gives you that bench mark or starting point.

Did you know that we have the Bio Age Test at Geelong’s Gym? People are being tested all the time to find out the current condition of their body and then seeing great change in that condition three or four months down the track – because it gives them the motivation to change when they realise how poor the condition of their body actually is.

Many of us just stand on the sidelines, merely dabbling in exercise.  Don’t be that kind of person… have a Bio Age Test and get serious about your health.

On last night’s Biggest Loser, there was a young lady who is 29 years old, but whose Bio Age is 52!!!  Her mum had just turned 50 and she could not believe that her Bio Age was older than her mother!  And another 49 year old lady whose Bio Age is 63 - I believe she lost both of her parents at the age of 65 due to ill health, so in her current condition her outlook is not looking good!

Do you know what your Bio Age is? Have a look at the information on our website about the Bio Age Test, so you can find out more about the benefits of taking this amazing test.  As an added incentive, we’re going to reduce the price by 50% for the month of February!

So, don’t let your body remain in poor condition.  Take action today and enjoy a long and healthy life!

Today, I’m going to share an example of this.  One of our members, Nicole Hadskis Gordon, used the information and experience she’s gained over the course of her time at the gym to help her Mum shed a significant amount of weight.  This is Nicole’s story…

“I’m a member of Geelong’s Gym and I workout regularly.  My Mum, on the other hand, isn’t a member of any gym, hadn’t worked out for a while and had put on quite a bit of weight.  Instead of letting her go it alone, I was, and still am, there for her during her weight loss journey.

To begin with, I started her on some basic cardio every day of the week for an hour or more, depending on her level of motivation.  Sometimes this would be the treadmill, bike or simply a brisk walk outside – but whatever it was, she couldn’t stop unless she was sweating!

Testing Mum’s strength was the next step, so I could put together a weights program to help target the smaller muscle groups.  We started small, with one kilo dumbbells and did tricep kickbacks, overhead extensions and bicep curls.  We then followed with crunches and oblique twists to target her abs.

Motivation is a huge factor in any physical activity, so supporting her during the tough times and encouraging her that she looks slimmer, healthier and happier was an important part of my role.  The fact that she can now buy new, smaller sized clothes is a massive reward!

To date Mum has lost 17 kilos and she’s still going!”

Great job Nicole and good luck to your Mum for the rest of her health, fitness and weight loss journey!

Did you know that there are actually certain times in our lives when our weight is most likely to spike?

• First Semester of University – yep, the all night drinking and constant fast food stacks on the kilos super fast.
• Falling in Love – many women start matching their men bite for bite when they live with, or marry, them, despite the fact that men need more kilojoules than women do.
• When you hit your 30s – women in particular start to lose muscle mass in their 30s, resulting in a slow down of their metabolism.

It's so frustrating when your weight keeps going up and down constantly!

But it’s not all bad news.  There are ways to beat the weight gain.  For a start, pack a healthy lunch, eat smaller portions and add some strength training into your exercise regime for the week to keep your metabolism fired up.

And to make sure you don’t get into the habit of yo-yoing weight:

• Be Realistic – throw out all the crash diets and fads; instead adopt a healthy eating lifestyle which allows the odd treat every now and then.
• Be Patient – don’t expect the weight to come off instantly!  Healthy weight loss is to reduce your weight by approximately 10% over six months.
• Be Supported – research shows spending time with others who have successfully lost weight will help you maintain your own weight loss.
• Be Analytical – take note of any mood changes that make you want to eat more, so you can identify when you’re emotionally eating.
• Be Active – no surprise here… make sure you keep up a regular exercise routine, ideally with a mix of cardio and strength training at least three times a week.
• Be Flexible – don’t feel like you have to stick to salad every day of the week; if you get bored, try something different (but still healthy).
• Be Optimistic – forget about times in the past where you’ve failed to lose weight successfully and instead keep a positive attitude and focus on how good you feel when you eat well and exercise regularly.

And if you need any help, any one of our Personal Trainers would be more than happy to put together a healthy eating plan and exercise program for you.

Information in this post sourced from Women’s Health magazine.