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Oct 13
Love1

Abbey’s Before and After Transformation

By Transformations

BEFORE

AFTER

Abbey Kent – Student

Before I met Charlie I was the biggest and unhappiest I had ever been. I had no motivation or drive to do anything, the number on the scales was going up and up and my clothes were getting tighter. Then one day I decided that enough was enough. I finally plucked up the courage to email her – I really wish I had done it sooner! Charlie is the most amazing girl I have ever had the pleasure of meeting, from day 1 she was just a complete joy to be around, she knew what she wanted to do with me but also knew what my personal end goals were. She took the time to explain that being healthy isn’t just about exercise, it’s more about the right nutrition too. I can hand on heart say that if you are debating whether to train with Charlie, debate no more. She gave me back so much confidence and happiness and I now love my body!

Jun 02
Love0

Why Eat a High Protein Diet!

By Nutrition

Everyone knows they need a high protein diet to get a banging body, but no one seems to understand why?

Protein is one of the most important macro nutrient for a person trying to maintain muscle while reducing body fat, or for a person trying to gain muscle.

It is also the macro nutrient which most people don’t eat enough of!

Here are some reasons why you should eat more protein:

Reduce Body Fat

Research has proven that consuming a high protein diet will reduce body fat significantly more than when eating a high carb diet. This is because carbs cause a insulin response which puts your body in fat storage mode. Increasing protein intake will increase lean body mass which in turn increases your metabolism. This means your body will burn more calories!! Yay for protein

Better Skin, Hair and Nails

Protein responsible for growth and repair. Not only for your muscles but for all the cells in the body. Your body is constantly replacing old cells using the protein you eat as building blocks. Protein is essential for healthy hair, nails and skin. If the body doesn’t get enough protein it won’t be able to replenish the cells leaving you with flabby legs, weak hair and a wrinkly face. gross…

Better Immune System

Protein helps to create antibodies which are responsible for getting rid of bad bacteria and viruses which enter the body. Having a enough protein in your diet ensures you make plenty of antibodies to fight off disease and infection.

Solid Muscle Tone

Protein is muscle sparing meaning it will help you maintain your muscle while you try to loose weight. This will prevent you from becoming a fat/skinny… (you know when your skinny but flabby with no muscle). Having a high protein diet will ensure your muscles recover from your training sessions, building you a beautiful toned bod!

Keep You Fuller For Longer

There is nothing worse, when trying to loose weight, than being hungry ALL the time. Research has proven that eating a high protein meal will keep you fuller for longer than having a high carbohydrate or fat meal! This means less hunger pains and more weight loss!

‘How Much?’ You Say

As a general rule, a good starting point is 1g per lb of body weight. Everyone is different so it will completly change from person to person

You can get more protein in your diet from meat, fish, eggs, and diary products like cottage cheese. Nuts and nut butters have protein in them, but to get enough protein you would end up consuming way too much fat! How ever much I would like to sit and eat tubs of cashew butter, it won’t get you a lean bod 🙁

Mar 14
Love0

Cinnamon Danish Protein Thick Shake

By Nutrition

Here is one of my fave shake recipes. Great as breakfast or a post workout snack

Cinnamon Danish Protein Thick Shake

Ingredients:

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a high speed bullet blender (if you don’t have one of these you can also use a hand blender)

Blend until a smooth consistency is reached  if you want the snake to be thicker add a little more Xantha Gum. If you want the shake to be thinner. Add more milk or water

Notes:

This recipe will work using any flavour protein powder. Check out the other flavours you can get on MyProtein and get creative.

If you like this shake. Try one of my other shake recipes here>>>>Chocolate Beetroot Smoothie or Mint Chocolate Protein Smoothie

 

 

 

 

Dec 13
Love0

Gingerbread, Protein, Pumpkin Pancakes

By Nutrition

My family are all very healthy, with diet and in fitness. This makes life very easy for me being constantly surrounded by health and exercise freaks!! The house is always full of fabulous healthy food which keeps me on track. BUTTT.. Christmas.. Now thats another story. We all do relax on the diet a little over Christmas, but during the festive season, shit really hits the fan in the Francis family.. When the ‘pigs in blanket‘ duties are passed on to you, and your uncle says.. ‘Hey Charlie. You and your sister are making the sausages wrapped in bacon this year. We need 600!’ SIX HUNDRED PIGS IN MOTHER FUCKING BLANKETS. Now pork is one of my fave meats. but dammmn is it fatty.. 

Now ladies and gentlemen.. Lets not forget that a single day of eating healthy, will not make you slim and sexy. The same as one (or two) days of eating unhealthy food, will not make you an obese cow.

I do have a lot of discipline and motivation, but it takes every little bit of willpower for me to not eat like a fat moose around Christmas. The NUMBER ONE RULE is appreciate your food. There is no need to go into Christmas day like a bull in a china shop.. Smashing every inch of food which comes in your way. You must must must appreciate every damn morsel of food which enters your mouth. Don’t sit there munching down chocolate pancakes for breakfast, while thinking about the box of celebrations you are going to woff down straight after. Don’t scoff your Christmas dinner while dreaming about the dessert your going to pretty much inhale down your throat later. APPRECIATE and SLOW DOWN! Savor every meal and don’t go over the top. I always think of those gross people you see in a breakfast buffet, who take 3 full plates of food back to their table to devour. They can’t just have one little spoon of everything they like. They must squeeze as much of everything they can onto their plates because its EAT ALL YOU CAN. This is just discussing and greedy. Whats wrong with appreciating one plate of food because really thats all you need!!

Of course you must enjoy your self. You don’t want to be the sad old sod sitting in the corner eating dry turkey and steamed greens. Skipping the fabulous dessert and turning down any alcohol. Lets face it. No one likes a boring party pooper! Get the balance right. Don’t eat so much that you want to vomit and don’t deprive your self of all the goodies. Just be sensible and eat until your satisfied.

Now I sound like the fun police. Organized fun is always the worst kind of fun.. So I will shut up now….here are my top rules for not becoming a greedy fat pig over Christmas:

  1. Appreciate your food
  2. Savor every flipping mouthful
  3. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.. You are a human, not a hippo.
  4. Eat your food slowly. Its not a race
  5. Don’t let it become a cheat week. Allow a few ‘off’ meals on Christmas day and boxing day.
  6. Keep to your regular diet where possible on the days around Christmas
  7. Keep strictly on your fitness programme over the festive season
  8. Don’t attempt to be a skinny scrooge and not drink alcohol (we are all allowed a drink occasionally)
  9. Introduce your family to healthier alternatives where possible (try these pancakes for breakfast)
  10. Enjoy your self!!!!!

So these are the pancakes which I will be munching on Christmas morning. Healthy, christmassy and delicious. Who needs sugars fatty shit when you can whip these bad boys up on chrimbo morning for the fam!

Gingerbread, Protein, Pumpkin Pancakes

Ingredients

serves 2

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
  • 5 drops vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup vanilla casein
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 cup coconut flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp stevia

Topping:

  • 2 heaped tsp PB2
  • 1 heaped tsp pumpkin puree
  • 1 heaped tsp casein
  • 1 heaped tsp stevia
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 4 tbsp greek yogurt

Directions:

Whisk eggs and xanthan gum in a bowl. When the eggs and xantham gum have combined, add all other ingredients and blend until smooth consistency is reached. Use the 1/4 as a size guide for the pancake mix. Make sure the pan is real hot. Add a little coconut oil to the pan, then add pancake mix using 1/4 size cup. Keep cooked pancakes in a low oven to keep warm while you cook the rest of the mixture.

While the pancakes cook. Mix together all the topping ingredients and blend until smooth. When all pancakes are cooked, stack up and top with sauce and any nuts and seeds you like.

Notes: Try topping with granola or raisins 🙂

Aug 21
Love0

Pumpkin Protein Cake

By Nutrition

Alcohol and fitness are not really two things which go well together. Many people ask me how bad alcohol is and how much they can drink while still improving their bodies?! Alcohol consumption relating to fitness is generally not an area discussed. You will often see fitness fanatics stay home while their friends go out drinking to ‘save the gains‘… They seem to think having a few drinks will cause their muscles to fall off and give them a beer gut. This is really a load of crap..

People talk about the work/life balance and getting it right. People also should think about the fitness/life balance and getting that right. Yes drinking may not be optimal for the best physique. But when your old and frail looking back at your life. Do you want to be the person who stayed home and got an awesome body?!! Im going to explain simply how to keep a great body while being able to enjoy alcohol.

Alcohol has about 5.6 calories per gram. It is liquid form which does not fill you up meaning your left hungry. This is why you get in from a night out and eat a whole pizza and a bar of chocolate….

Alcohol effects testosterone levels very slightly after binge drinking, although not enough to take any negative effect on the body. Studies show that even drinking alcohol post workout won’t reduce muscle strength and gains. Alcohol will not increase muscle protein synthesis (using muscle as energy).. Which means your muscle will stay totally intact while doing a bar crawl.

Alcohol its self is not fattening. It cannot be stored as fat in the body. However. When consumed, it takes priority so fat oxidization from the body cells (using fat as energy) will not happen. It is the sugary crap in alcoholic drinks along with the consumption of drunk eating which will cause fat gain.

So.. How do you drink while preventing fat gains…

  • For that day, reduce fat and carb intake to allow for extra calories from the alcohol which will be consumed
  • Keep protein levels high to prevent muscle protein synthesis
  • Have sensible beverages.. a beer will have 12g of carbs in it, while cocktails will range between 10-20g of carbs. Stick to dry white wines which contain <1g of carbs and spirits (mixed with soda or diet drinks) contain almost no carbs.
  • Limit big nights out to once a week due to the increased risk of disease caused by alcohol…. We want to be happy and healthy. Not diseased alcoholics!
  • Finally.. Don’t come home and eat the whole fridge. This will cause fat gain!

Now.. Don’t use this an excuse to go out and get shit faced every weekend because thats not healthy.I strongly believe in everything in moderation. So what if you get absolutely smashed every once in a while. So what if you eat a pizza to your self occasionally… Having one healthy day will not make you slim and healthy. One day of drinking or one day of eating crap (make sure they are on separate days) 😀 will not make you fat and unhealthy. Don’t be a square meat head with no social life because thats not something to be proud of!

Following up from my last high carb post for re-feed days. This is a delicious, high protein, low fat (almost no fat) recipe using my faveeee veggie. PUMPKIN:)

Pumpkin Protein Cake

Ingredients:

Makes 16

  • 75g protein powder (I used vanilla flavor)
  • 4 egg whites (for lower fat) OR 2 whole eggs
  • 300g pumpkin puree OR roasted/microwaved pumpkin
  • 1tsp baking powder
  • 150g oat bran OR oat flour
  • 100ml unsweetened almond milk

Directions:

Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cake tin with a little coconut oil. Put all ingredients in a mixer/blender and mix until a smooth consistence is reached. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out the cake clean. (everyones oven seems to cook faster than my shitty oven)

Tip:

For extra texture, try adding nuts, seeds of cacao nibs to the mix after blending 🙂

Aug 08
Love1

Low Fat, Pumpkin Risotto

By Nutrition

Do you ever hit major plateaus in fat loss? Keep eating a low calorie diet yet can’t seem to loose any fat, how ever much you bust your ass in the gym? You may be suffering from low levels of Leptin in your body and need a re-feed… Re-feed? To most fitness junkies this is a familiar word although most people don’t even have a general understanding of Leptin levels and shy away from re-feeds in the fear of putting on weight…. There are hundreds of amazing explanations online but most of them go all scientific and confusing on us… No body got time for that shit.. So i’m going to tryyyyyy to explain this as simply as possible so you can have worry free re-feeds and burn that fat away.. YIPPEE

So Leptin is a metabolic, anti starvation hormone found in the body. Leptin levels are reduced by a calorie defect of a reduce of body fat. When Leptin levels decrease, a message is send to the brain to pretty much say..don’t burn any body fat and eat more food.. This is why you can be dieting super strictly, training like mad and still loose no weight. Sucks right? On top of this you find your self super hungry all the time where the brain is telling you to eat more food. This makes dieting super hard! You may also find your workouts are slacking from a lack of muscle glycogen stores for energy…. Sound familiar?

So how do we increase leptin levels? We eat a shit ton of carbs?!?! CARBS CARBS CARBS. Yes thats right. And not just the slow GI ones either. You can go to town on carbs. This is what we call a re-feed. It is a process of eating over your daily calorie allowance with a high percentage of carbs to bounce your body back out of starvation mode by raising the leptin levels. Don’t get too excited. This is not just a blow out cheat meal. You can kind of look at is as a controlled cheat meal...

To carry out a perfect re-feed you must increase your daily calorie consumption with carbs. You will eat 50%-100% more carbs than on a normal day from any carb sources containing no sucrose or fructose. Sucrose and fructose have no effects on leptin levels so we dont need these. While doing this you will reduce your fat intake to a minimum. This means eating no fatty foods and grams of fat you do consume will be a miniscule amount from the other foods you are eating. Protein intake must be taken to 1g per lbs of body weight.

The re-feed will usually be done over a 24 hour window every 4-7 days. The lower the body fat levels are.. the lower the calorie consumption.. the more often you will need to re-feed. You will generally find each re-feed can be slightly higher in carbs every time as well. I have been known to have re-feed days rocketing up to 700g of carbs!!! Your muscle glycogen stores will also be replenished which will give you amazing energy levels and strength in your workouts :).. Your shouldn’t worry too much about veggies on re-feeds as they contain a high level of fiber which will make you feel super duper full and may prevent you from eating enough carbs.

Best Carb Sources:

  • Bread
  • Pancakes
  • Waffels
  • Fat free Icecream
  • Fat free Frozen yogurt
  • Oats
  • Rice
  • Pasta
  • Fat free Chips
  • Cereal (frosties are the bombbbb)

Bellow is one of my favorite hearty re-feed meals. I will usually have a portion of this, followed by a huge tub of frozen yogurt and maybe a stack of pancakes with frosties on! Doesn’t get much better than that!!!!

 

 

Low Fat, Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients:

Serves 2

  • 1 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 6 mushrooms
  • 2 handfuls of chopped green beans
  • 300g roast pumpkin
  • 200g arborio rice
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1tsp paprika
  • 1tsp cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 cups of vegetable stock
  • 400g cooked chicken breast
  • 400g low fat cottage cheese

Directions:

Chop the onion, mushroom and garlic and combine in a pan on low heat with the turmeric, cumin, paprika, salt pepper and a splash of vegetable stock. Fry for around 3 minutes until the onion is browned. Add the rice and stir allowing it to absorb the flavor. Add the first cup of stock and stir regularly until all the liquid has absorbed. Once all the stock has been absorbed add the second cup of stock and continue to stir on a low heat. When all the liquid has been absorbed, check the rice has been cooked all the way through then chop and add the roast pumpkin and the green beans along with the cottage cheese. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Serve and top with sliced chicken breast. ENJOY

 

p.s don’t weight your self after re-feed day. You will be heavier!

 

Jun 23
Love0

Why Dieting Can Make You Fatter!

By Nutrition

Call me crazy and obsessed but here I am.. at 6am, on a Sunday, writing a blog post because this subject is playing on my mind. Not sure If its because summer is coming about, but I am seeing a lot of people begin dieting right now. A lot of those people are going about it the wrong way. This is the reason I am up writing this right now. I don’t want to see friends, family.. anyone putting them self through a crap fad diet and actually getting fatter in the long run!

So I went to watch Wolf of Wall Street with my boyfriend last week.. What a film! If you don’t like lots of sex, drugs and over the top nudity in a film. Don’t go to watch it! Now this is not a film review.. So for anyone who has seen the film… ‘Sell me this pen‘. Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) is not only fricking hot in this film! He is an awesome sales man. He teaches his employees to be amazing sales people by giving the buyers urgency to have it.. They do not want it.. They need it. Now what ever ‘it’ may be, companies use this strategy to sell their products. Diet companies being one. They target the over weight, vulnerable, self conscious audiences with their fad diets claiming extreme weight loss. ‘Lose 1 stone in 1 week‘ Seriously… If you lose 1 stone in one week your body is going to need help.

So before all you dieters get up in my face and tell me your diet worked. I’m not claiming diets don’t work. A lot of diets work.. In the short term. Do you want short term fat loss? I didn’t think so. This is why a lifestyle change is needed. This is a long term change which results in long term fat loss with out using these crazy diets.

Lets look at how a diet works.. Diets are a reduce in calorie intake which means your energy expenditure is higher than your intake. This causes the body to use the fat stores as a fuel resulting in fat loss. Sounds good right? Well not exactly. By reducing your calorie intake, your slowly reducing your metabolism. This means your body is becoming more efficient, getting use to running off less and less calories. ‘I want to have an efficient metabolism though right’? No. Having an efficient metabolism is bad for fat loss. We want to be able to put more in (more calories) and use less. Pretty much eat more and stay slim.

So you finish your crazy fad diet plan.. Your eating 1000 calories a day, but thats okay because you have lost 2 stone and you can go back to eating normally now… Think again!!! This is where diets suck. You go back to your normal diet of 2000 calories a day and the weight begins to pile back on. This is because your body has become efficient at using the little amount of calories you are giving it. So to maintain your weight you would have to stay eating 1000 calories a day because this is all your body needs. Now eating more than 1000 calories a day means your energy intake would be more than your expenditure causing fat storage. And because you have been depriving your body it is now a fat storing machine. A hungry monster in starvation mode ready to store every extra calorie you give it! Also being restricted from so much food on your diet, your going to go off the rails binging on donuts, chocolate and cake! This is going to cause even more fat gain.

1 month on and you have put on 2.5 stone. Your metabolism is still slow (efficient) which has caused ‘fat over shooting’. Fat over shooting is where your fat levels go passed what they were before you started your diet. This happens because you go back to eating normally and your metabolism doesn’t increase. Your unhappy and ready to start dieting again. So down the calories go… You have that goal weight in mind but this time your going to have to take the calories even lower because your metabolism is slower (more efficient). You reach your goal weight at 800 calories this time. Your body is super efficient at using the fuel your giving it with a really low metabolism. You finish the diet and boom. Hello weight gain … For most people this cycle will continue for most of their lives and they will actually get fatter and fatter over time. This is why a life style change is needed. A long term solution!

Before you break down crying saying your going to be fat forever, I am going to explain to you what you need to do. Now this is just what I have found to work and what has also worked with my clients. Here are some pointers on how to make a lifestyle change with your nutrition and how to get long term results!

  1. Make changes which are realistic and sustainable! Its all well and good going on a juicing diet for a month but your going to have to eat normally again at some point. Guess what happens when you eat normal food again.. Fat gain!!!
  2. Learn how to read nutrition labels. There are many foods out there claiming to be healthy. Low fat vanilla yogurt… Check the label and you will see the fat has been removed and replaced with a ton of sugar. Not cool!
  3. Don’t cut out whole food groups. Its all well and good saying..‘I’m never eating sugar, dairy or wheat again’. Well realistically you will so allow your self everything in moderation.
  4. Don’t think of foods as good and bad. Moving on from point number 3.. If you make these associations with certain foods as bad it can cause a unhealthy relationship with this food. This means when you do allow your self a small amount of ‘bad’ food it will often lead to a binge as you feel your cheating!
  5. Eat good fats! Fat does not make you fat so don’t cut out fats. Make sure you get unsaturated fats from sources such as salmon, avocado and nuts. These fats keep your skin hair and nails beautiful while keeping your brain functioning.
  6. Reduce sugar intake. Sugar spikes blood insulin levels which can cause fat gain. Get carbohydrates from complex carbs e.g. sweet potato, brown rice and oats.
  7. Get your protein. Protein plays a vital role in muscle growth and recovery so after you have worked your ass off in the gym your body needs protein to recover! Great sources of protein are lean meats, cottage cheese, eggs and protein powders.
  8. Minerals and vitamins. When people diet they often get deprived from certain minerals and vitamins. Because many people will cut out dairy they end up having low calcium levels. Calcium plays a vital role in bone and muscle health. You may need to supplement with a multivitamin to maintain levels in the body. Keeping your veggie and fruit intake up will also help with this.
  9. Make sure your diet is balanced. Its all well and good eating healthy foods but make sure your eating enough of each food type. Macros calculators such as IIFYM can be used to find out how much of everything you need to be eating.. Everyone is different though so be careful of these generic calculators. They are good to use as a rough guide.
  10. Enjoy your food! Finally make sure you enjoy your food. You will not stick to anything if your food tastes like crap. Its not all about eating plain chicken, rice and broccoli every meal. Do your research for healthy new recipe ideas. Keep mixing it up and try new foods. For this to work it is essential what you are eating tastes good.

If you want to know more about the science behind all this. Watch Lane Nortons video on ‘Is Your Weight Loss Diet Making You Fatter?‘. He is an extremely intelligent guy from the USA and who is fricking awesome! He knows his stuff and you should defiantly make time to watch some of his videos. He has taught me most of what I know about nutrition and dieting!

Please use my tips and advice to help you make your first step to a lifestyle change. Its not easy which is why people like my self are there to offer nutrition plans.

Everyone is different so a nutrition plan made specifically for an individual can work very well for long term fat loss. A nutrition plan would involve sustainable changes in the individuals diet with controlled calorie restriction followed by a reverse diet to increase metabolic capacity. This should be done with the help of a nutritional advisor or personal trainer like my self to ensure the correct method is used for you to maintain optimal health and maximal fat loss!

Be Healthy and Be Happy 😀

 

 

 

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