Not sure how or when but I must have entered a competition and I won one months worth of personal training and fitness classes at Hematime Fitness! So I had my first session with Sosaia Hema Director of Hematime Fitness on 5th November which was great. We did no physical activity but spoke for an hour about my goals (drop body fat from 19% to 15%), lifestyle, training and nutrition as well as changes I could make to help me achieve (or get close to achieving) my goals during the 8 week challenge.
It was awesome - interestingly I discovered I was not getting enough (GOOD) fats in my nutrition, and probably too many carbs. His philosophy is aligned to mine around fitting my life into my health lifestyle - birthdays and other personal events are a part of life. Classic line he quoted was about how absurd it would be to turn up at a party with a protein shaker. So my Bathurst V8 weekend, golfing weekend, gala work event and daughters 18th birthday are events I enjoyed - drank beer but still made best choices on food intake (no potato chips etc.)
Sos recommended a 25% carbs, 40% fat & 35% protein macronutrient ratio. We worked out that my average calorie input was around 2,000 per day. So Sos suggested I drop to 1,500 calories per day as a start with a view to getting best bang for buck out of the 8 week challenge and then consider a further drop. I was very careful to frame the conversation around goals of body fat reductions and increased lean muscle mass.
He gave me a lot of great tips around introducing good fats, omega 3 enriched foods (and some desserts into my food). So I now have some yoghurt, blueberries, honey and cinnamon desserts (223 calories, 8g fat) after dinner, satisfying my sweet cravings. Eating more avocado (yum), substituting baby spinach and wild rocket for lettuce (not because of calorie count but nutrient 'bang for buck'), a whole egg with my egg white omelette.
So I started at 1,500 calories but after a few days, after consulting Sos, dropped to 1,300 calories per day. Not feeling hungry with energy levels good. Snack suggestions such as hommus, tzatziki with carrot have been excellent in hunger management. Using 'myfitnesspal' app, we keep in contact on nutritional and cardio activity (the latter via connection to MapMyRun app).
Today, I am catching up with school/footy team players for our annual Xmas get-together - which has been going since 1981! So again, probably too many beers BUT try to be mindful of food intake. Next week, have a 2 day conference in Melbourne so another challenge to get a workout in but one I have overcome before.
I will post final results as soon as known (I think I get weighed and have body fat measurements taken on Monday 1st December).
