Rowing

Yesterday I showed Vicky, Fi and Penny and Lizzie a film of correct rowing technique to help them improve their rowing skills. As we all know, it is so easy to get complacent with what we are doing, think we are doing enough to get by and then sometimes wonder why we are not getting better or achieving greater results. The improvement in everybody's technique on the rower yesterday showed how, just by observing and copying someone's behaviour, comparing it to their own behaviour and then changing one little thing they were doing, had a knock on affect to how they felt. The biggest change to behaviour for everyone was tilting the hips/body earlier in the move which led to less shoulder effort and more leg effort...the muscles which should be doing most of the work! This reduced tension in the shoulders, made breathing more relaxed and encouraged postural muscles to engage more. As Vicky, Fi, Penny and Lizzie practise this new rowing behaviour their leg, back and core muscles will become stronger leading to increased distance and speed.

So sometimes we have to take a step back, look at the behaviour of someone who is successful in what they do and what we want to do, look at what we are doing and compare our behaviour to theirs, notice where we might be able to make our behaviour more like theirs and then modify our actions to be more like theirs. With a bit of focus and practise we can see how this new behaviour affects our performance and as we notice how much better we might be feeling we can then continue to implement this new way of doing something until we no longer have to think about doing it, it just happens...Hey presto! A new positive habit has been created that is going to give us better results!!

If you would like to practise your rowing technique at home try this exercise with a partner.

Sitting opposite your partner with legs straight out in front of you and the soles of your feet against your partners, take a resistance band, tie the ends together and hold it as if you are holding the handle of the rower. Your partner holds the other end in the same way. (Think of the nursery rhyme row, row, row your boat!)

Now taking it in turns, keeping you spine long,  rock your hips forwards and pull the band as if you were pulling the handle of the rower towards you on the effort part of the exercise.

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At the same time your partner, keeping their spine straight, rocks their hips backwards and lets their arms and body be pulled forward as if they were holding the handle of the rower on the recovery part of the exercise.

Reverse the movement so that you are now doing the recovery part of the exercise and your partner is doing the effort.

Keep this movement flowing backwards and forwards as if you were on the rower and notice where you feel the muscles working in your body. Notice especially the muscles working in your upper back, between the shoulder blades, in the front of your arms, in your core (your trunk - abs, lower back and spine), in your buttocks. If you feel tension in your neck or shoulders you may have to adjust your neck and shoulder position.

Sue x

"As I row.... I feel my energy flow, I feel my strength power me forward as I overcome resistance." Sue

What do you notice as you row?

How Can I Change My Eating Behaviours?

How much does what's happening in and around you dictate your actions? What if you were to change what is happening to make it easier to do something and harder not to?

Our actions have a lot to do with the influences around us.  Often the reasons we eat have little to do with hunger and a lot to do with the subtle cues (triggers) that drive us. These triggers can be found in the eating environment, in the food environment and in the emotional environment.

The eating environment triggers may be regarding the atmosphere or ambiance of the place you eat, the ease and ability to eat, the social aspect of eating,  the distractions around the eating and the time and length of time for eating

Imagine being in a busy, noisy, fast paced, “all you can eat” restaurant. Will you want to eat more because you are seeing other people eating, unaware of how much you are eating, wanting to get value for money, eating fast and distracted by the conversation around you?

The food environment triggers may be regarding the salience (prominence and visibility) of the food, the structure and variety of foods, the size of food packaging and portions, the shape and size of food plates, glasses and bowls.

Imagine being in a room with  a large bowl of brightly coloured, assorted chocolates in the centre of the coffee table, will you want to eat more because of they way they look, because there are lots of different tastes and textures and because they are constantly in your view?

The emotional environment triggers may be regarding your internal feelings, the need for reward or punishment, the need for fulfilment and satiation, the need for energy or relaxation, the need for stimulation and variety…

Imagine being in a place where you feeling tired and bored and you think food will provide the energy and stimulation you need. Will you eat more because the food won’t be satisfying your real needs?

So what can you do to change your environment so that it supports the eating behaviour that you want to see in yourself?...........

Move!!!!

What can you move away from or move away from you?

What can you move nearer to or near to you?

Who can you move away from?

Who can you move nearer to?

Where can you move away from?

Where can you move nearer to?

Move away from the things that trigger unwanted eating behaviours

·  Move away from self destructive feelings about yourself and move nearer to positive feeling about yourself.

·  Move away from worrying about things you can not control and move nearer towards things that you can influence.

·  Move away from the things you are fearful about and move nearer to the things that you have courage about.

·  Move away from the lack of satisfaction and enjoyment around food and move nearer to feeling satisfied and pleasured around food.

·  Move away from feeling guilty about what and how you eat and move nearer to feeling happy about what and how you eat.

·  Move away from the larger portions/packages and move towards the smaller sizes.

·  Move away from irregularity and being unorganised and move towards structure and planning.

Move away from the person/people who trigger unwanted eating behaviours

·  Move away from seeing yourself being this person with this eating behaviour and move nearer to seeing yourself being a person with a different eating behaviour.

·  Move away from the person/people who encourage your unwanted eating behaviours and move nearer to the person/people who encourage your desired eating behaviours.

·  Move away from the person who tells you, you must, you should, you ought, you will…. and move nearer to the person who asks if you can.

·  Move away from the person/people who disrespects you and move nearer to the person/people who respects you.

Move away from the places that trigger unwanted eating behaviours

·  Move away from sitting near the vending machine at work and move nearer to a place that provides you with stimulation and energy at work.

·  Move away from having coffee where there are cakes and biscuits on view and move nearer to a place that allows you to enjoy your coffee on its own.

·  Move away from going to the same garage/service station where you always buy fuel for you as well as your car and move nearer to a different garage where you will only buy fuel for your car and have your own fuel elsewhere.

  ·  Move away from the unhealthy food isle in the supermarket and move nearer to the healthy food isle in    the supermarket.

 ·  Move away from socialising around places you eat and move nearer to socialising around other places.

Of course, if you don't feel able to change the environments, or think it's important to change them, or don't really see yourself making the changes, or don't think there is any point in changing these environments that are influencing your behaviour, then that's another story.....!

Embracing Change And Uncertainty

Why do we often fear change? Probably because it creates uncertainty and uncertainty can feel uncomfortable.

How much more comfortable it feels when we know we are doing the right thing, when we are certain that the change we are making is the right change to make. It explains why we are always looking to “Experts” to tell us how to lose weight, what the right diet is etc. “Experts” seem so certain about what they are talking about which, in turn,  installs the confidence that we are looking for. We no longer have to worry, we have something to believe in, and we think we have the magic answer! We put our trust and faith in the “Expert” and can then blame them when we don’t get the results we expected but as we cling to an idea of perfection we are still clinging to a fear of change.

Uncertainty is a good thing. By 'not knowing' we have to learn to trust, find faith, be humble and be patient. When we fear uncertainty we resist, we tighten up, we become stressed and stop the natural flow of our metabolisms. Change is inevitable and necessary. Without change we would stagnate. Change creates difference and when things are different there is transformation and variation. And we all know that “Change is as good as a rest!”

How would it be if next time you are faced with change and uncertainty you trusted your intuition, you had faith in yourself, you respected your needs as well as the needs other’s, and took one step at a time…? Can you imagine how you might feel? By embracing uncertainty we can breathe, be open, relaxed and welcoming and let the mystery flow and unfold. We can learn what works and what doesn’t work for us. We can search and find our own answers and make change easier.

FatScrap Chat Room September/October

Hi and welcome back

Somebody asked me the other day “Why can’t I ‘Just Do It!’? I know I need to eat healthily, I know I need to exercise, I know what to do and how to do it but I just don’t seem to be able to apply myself!

Well the reason why it’s not that easy to ‘Just Do It!’ is because we  hold onto limiting beliefs and unconscious negative behaviours about ‘Doing It’.

For example, you might think you will go out for a run but somehow it never happens. Perhaps you have a deep down belief that you are not a good runner, or perhaps one time you ran and felt sick, well these are the sort of sabotaging thoughts and memories that can stop you in your tracks!

To be able to ‘Just Do It!’ you need to explore and uncover your limiting beliefs and unconscious behaviours around the It and start to focus on the beliefs and behaviours that support you in being able to ‘Just Do It!

Here are some questions that may help you begin this process..

Do you have any fears about It?

Do you have any joys about It?

What is important about It?

Do you have any painful memories about It?

Do you have any happy memories about It?

Can you see yourself doing It?

What have you learnt about It?

What is your relationship with It?

Sue x

10 Flat-Belly Tricks

10 Flat-Belly Tricks

Zero sugar, more protein, exercise....mmmm where have I heard this before?!!!

Goals vs. Attachment (and Doing vs. Being) | Wanto Blog

Goals vs. Attachment (and Doing vs. Being) Wanto Blog

FatScrap Chat Room July/ August

Hi all

Well, last months attempts at chatting here didn't quite work out due to technical difficulties so we continued to correspond by email. This proved to be beneficial in some ways as some of you found it was easier to communicate this way, and thank you for all your food diaries, thoughts and comments.

I have decided to go back to using this space for our communications because it is a permanently open space and anyone can come here for help and inspiration at anytime. I hope that you can all appreciate the value of using this tool and I look forward to hearing from you.

Now, this week a challenge was set and I will hand you over to Hayley to tell you about it...

Dear Fat Scrapers

Just when I thought it was safe to go back into the gym, Sue comes up with a little gem!
She has challenged Vicky and I to lose 4lb’s in 3 weeks!!. Now having never really spoken to Vicky I was unsure how this would go down, however I have just trained for an hour with Sue and Vicky, and to be honest, she is very determined, you should’ve seen the look in her eyes!!........think I have my work cut out for me!

So, I am using an advantage(even if it’s unfair!!). I need your help, please join us in this challenge and we can all achieve it together. My thoughts are that if some of you join in then we can push each other at training even more than usual.

COME ON GUYS, I need your help!!!

...so there you are, the challenge is set 4lb of fat loss (not weight loss)  in 3 weeks. Let us know if you are going to join in and we'll keep a record of it all here...and your food and exercise diaries of course as we will want to know how you did it!!

Sue x

Investing in yourself - A message from Hayley

I'd like to share with you something that Hayley came up with this week. She said that when you are investing in something you would check your investment account to see what was happening so why, when you are investing in your health and fitness would you not check your measurements to see what was happening? Your body composition is just one of the things that changes when you are investing in your health and fitness and there are lots of other things too that you can check to see if your investment is paying off..other physical changes like your strength and fitness levels, your energy levels; nutritional changes like your cravings and enjoyment and your emotional changes like your happiness levels.

Also, Hayley made a very good point that when you are investing in something, for example, saving up for a holiday, you would ask yourself the question "Can I afford that?" when something comes along that might take your investment (focus) elsewhere. How would it be if you asked yourself "Can I afford this?" when you are drawn towards the chocolate bar with your cup of coffee, the glass of wine with dinner, the pudding that everyone else is having.....?

A while ago a past FatScrapper said to me that when she ate out with friends she felt she had to have everything they were having as they would split the bill and she would not be getting the value out of her share of the bill. Another FatScrapper asked her "What about the value you are getting out of your investment in FatScrap?

We always have a choice, and it's how we value our choices that leads to action. When you invest in your health and fitness, and FatScrap, you are investing in yourself, you are valuing you, you are acknowleding your self worth and increasing your self esteem. Love you, you are amazing!!!

And thank you, beautiful Hayley, for sharing your love with us!

Sue x

Strengthen your metabolism by choosing with your heart

I have just been doing some further research on weight loss, especially after last night's "weigh in and measurements. Fiona pointed out that she was confused as to why she had lost 12 cm on her tummy and yet gained 1 cm on her calf and lost 8lb of body fat and because of this she was unable to feel good about the positive changes and was feeling bad about the gained centimeter and her perceived "small" weight loss. Well, there is no easy answer as to why the measurements show these changes in body composition and of course we "expect" that if we have lost centimetres we should have lost weight because that is what we are told to expect. (mmm and if we don't do as we are told then we are told we are in the wrong - would this explain your confusion and lack of feeling good Fiona? When you ask a doctor about losing weight they will usually tell you it's about eating less and exercising more, and yes, this is the theory and it makes sense but the research I have found today suggests that it's about eating less of the foods that make you "hungry" and more of the foods that satiate you. Now, I'm not saying that this is the answer but again, it makes sense and is worth taking into consideration. This is slightly different to the eating less and doing more theory which I have always struggled with as if you keep on eating less and less and doing more and more, somewhere along the line you will get to the point of eating nothing and having no energy to do anything!

Last night I was talking to Mandy and Fiona about the fact that they are struggling with "weight loss" because they have a very low metabolic rate. Today I read that a persons metabolic rate could be low due to the quality of the foods we eat rather than the quantity. It was suggested that if the food is lacking in the nutrients our body needs then the metabolic rate will be lowered to meet the nutritional values that are being consumed..for example if the body is not getting enough protein then it will not have enough fuel to power the muscles so perhaps muscle size is reduced to meet the level of incoming protein. And perhaps, if this is the case, it is the same for every nutrient we consume, if the level of the nutrient required by our body is not high enough then our body will not be able to operate at maximum efficiency. I believe that it is  not just the amount  (energy value) of food we are putting into our body that determines how well our body functions but the amount of quality (nutritional value) food and the amount of enjoyable (emotional value) food we are putting in our body. When our body is not having its energy needs, nutritional needs or emotional needs met it is going to send out signals that it is "hungry" (lacking in these needs)  and if these needs are not met, then more signals will be sent out. We might become aware of these signals by feeling hunger pangs, craving certain foods, feeling empty, feeling tired, feeling unloved etc and  it is when we misinterpret these signals or do not acknowledge them that we remain "hungry".

Last night I related the story of my restaurant lunch (Butternut squash salad - just salad leaves and squash and a few seeds) and how I did not feel satisfied from it (it was low in protein and fat and did not have enough variety of textures, colours and taste to satiate my senses!). I also made the choice to eat the bread roll that came with it as I thought this would help to "fill me up" but after  my lunch I was still craving something. (protein and fat I guessed) Because I was aware of this I was able to make up for the lack of protein as soon as I could and when I got home I ate some homemade sausage roll!! Now, you may be thinking..what Sue ate sausage roll!!! And I say yes, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I felt it was what I wanted and I felt satisfied from eating it. Of course I could have made a "low fat, high protein" choice like a piece of chicken, and actually I did have that choice available to me but that wasn't what I fancied, perhaps it was the fat I was needing as well as the protein (Yes, we do need fat!!!!!)  and perhaps I also was guided to it because it gave me a combination of different textures and taste which had been lacking in my meal! Anyway, the point is, I ate a small amount of what I fancied, enjoyed it and felt good from it!!! I listened to "my hunger", and I believe that I gave my body what it was asking for. I also believe that I gave it something that it did not need, perhaps too much wheat from the bread and the pastry, as I was up in the night with inflammation in certain areas of my body that I have not had since I have eaten less grain so I will listen to those signals and heed them.

So I would suggest that if you are not feeling good or happy about what is happening to your body, whether it is around your lack of weight loss, your lack of health or your lack of well being it might be due to your lack of nutritional requirements, your lack of physical requirements or your lack of emotional requirements. When you become more aware of the signals your body is sending you through how you are feeling, what you are thinking, what you are noticing, what you are hearing and what your intuition is telling you, you can respond to these signals and feel different. When you are feeling hungry for example and tune into your senses, you can eat the quantity of food that satisfies your physical hunger signals; you can eat the quality foods that satisfies your nutritional hunger signals and you can eat the pleasurable foods that satisfy your emotional hunger signals. Perhaps finding the right balance of quantity, quality and pleasurable foods that satiate you in every way is the magic formula for you to gain a stronger metabolism?

We are all different and we all have different needs, including different nutritional requirements, as the metaphor says " One man's meat is another man's poison",  there is no magic formula of how much nutrition we all need, it is very much down to us listening to our own individual signals and learning to eat intuitively. How can you do this? Well, I believe that by noticing how you feel when you eat and after you have eaten is a good signal of whether the foods you have given you your correct nutritional requirements. When you accept that you are different to everyone else, and that your friend may be able to enjoy eating different amounts of different quality foods to you because they have different physical, nutritional and emotional requirements you will find that it is easy to accept the choices that you need to make to get the best from your body.

I am often told that I must have strong will power to make the food choices I make and yes, I think that is true. When you say you will do something, you commit to it and the stronger you are committed to something the more you will stick with it. Strong commitment comes from strong belief, the stronger the belief you have in something the more passionate you are about it.  My willpower comes from my strong belief that the quantity, quality and enjoyment of the foods I eat will have an effect on the way I feel physically, nutritionally and emotionally so I am passionate about food, committed to eating what I am going to feel good from eating. My strong willpower means it's easy to say yes to my "medicines"  and no to my "poisons".

Choose with your heart and your heart will feel good.

Sue x

FatScrap Chat Room May/June 2011

Hi and welcome to the latest FatScrap Chat Room!

I have been looking into the benefits of eating a Grain Free diet and I am interested in trying this out to see how my body responds to it. I would welcome any feedback of your experiences if you decide to try this with me.

I suggest you try it for a week and if you feel fine with it, continue for longer as sometimes it can take a while for any health benefits to kick in.

If you would like any further info on why and how to eat Grain Free, I have included some links.

I will be blogging my food diaries and experiences below so I hope that you will find this useful.

I am avoiding wheat, rice, oats, wheat, spelt, barley, amaranth, millet, rye and corn for now and substituting with lots of vegetables and pulses for fibre. I also use quinoa as it is not a grain and include nuts and seeds for added nutrients, variety and to fill me up!

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Sue x


http://www.nograindiet.com/index.htm

http://www.grainfreeliving.com/home

http://www.livestrong.com/article/418637-grain-free-diet-for-pcos/

FatScrap Chat Room April 2011

 Hi FatScrappers

Sorry I am a bit late with publishing this month's chat room; I have been spending my "me time" in other ways! Now you may be surprised that I consider creating this space for you as time for me and this brings me very nicely to the subject of this months Chat Room thought..how do you define "Me Time"?

I was at a workshop last week and the subject of "Me time" came up. Several people described how they liked to spend their "Me time" and I was interested to hear their very different ideas so I asked the question  "How do you define 'Me time?" After several different answers we came up with what I believe defines it brilliantly - Freedom of Choice! So as I create this space for you, not because I have to but because I choose to, I know that I am having some time for me and feeling happy as I do it.

So FatScrappers, your mission, should you be prepared to accept it,  is to think about the choices you have and value the "Me time" in them.

Of course, if you would like to share any of your "me time" experiences or thoughts on how you would define "Me time" we would love to hear them.

Sue x

FatScrap Chat Room March 2011

Hi and welcome!

Goodness, where did February go? I think we were all so busy FatScrapping!And, it looks like you lovely committed people are still on track and feeling the benefits of this wonderfully healthy lifestyle!

And, of course, we have a few new FatScrappers on board - A big welcome from us all to you all! We hope you enjoy being a member of this growing Community and join us here in supporting each other, as well as recording your daily food diaries.

One of the first FatScrapping tools we use is the planning tool. Planning is such an important part of FatScrap and will help you find it easier to make healthy eating and regular exercise part of your routine. Eventually, this new lifestyle will become so much a part of you that you will not have to plan to achieve - you will already there, but at this stage, even planning your shopping is important so that you have all the best choices available. The question you might like to ask yourself is "How am I going to do this?" You might find that the more confident you are with the "how?", the less you need to plan and that's fine. But it's when you are not confident, not sure if you can do something, that planning can help. Planning is rehearsing success. The more you rehearse your actions, the more likely you will perform them. The more you rehearse your actions with a positive outcome, the more likely you will perform them with a positive outcome!

So whether you are planning your food choices and how you are going to feel when you are eating them, or planning to come to your training session and how you are going to feel when you are training, Plan to feel great and hopefully you will!!

Sue x

FatScrap Chat Room February 2011

Hi FatScrappers


Thank you so much for all your January chatting and for sharing your FatScrap experiences and tips. I’m really looking forward to another busy Chat Room this month! The Chat Room is just one of the tools that your FatScrap Toolbox provides for you and I hope you have found it a valuable tool in your progress so far.

I think by now you will appreciate that good quality eating goes hand in hand with good quality exercising, and by good quality I mean a good quality of fun, pleasure and enjoyment! I am thrilled when I receive the feedback that you are really enjoying the training sessions and also thrilled when you are enjoying buying, cooking and eating healthier foods. This is the difference that I hope to make. Yes, I do hope that your body fat levels reduce, that your lean tissue increases and that you become stronger and fitter as a result of your lifestyle changes but it is the lifestyle changes that I am here to help you with. The reason you are gaining so much from the Programme is because you WANT to make the changes. So many people think that they want to be slimmer, fitter or healthier and wonder why they can’t do it. It’s simple really, they want something else more; they want to eat so called “treats” everyday, they want to regularly drink alcohol, they want to sit in front of the TV to relax when they come in from work, they want to keep doing the things that stop them becoming what they think they want.

The difference with all of you , my dear FatScrappers, is that YOU WANT to do something different, you want to make the changes that you know will get you where you want to be and you now know how to do this. So keep strong, keep believing, keep committed and keep wanting to be the person that you are today because you are slimmer, fitter and healthier, you are “going for gold”, you are “A star”, you are “a reflection of your true self”

And I am so happy for you!!

Sue x

FatScrap Chat Room January 2011

Hi FatScrappers and Happy New Year!!

I am so happy to welcome in this New Year with so many new FatScrap friends! This time last year FatScrap was an idea I was playing with and a year on I can definately say that FatScrap is now an idea that I am working with!! It has given me so much pleasure helping you to make big and small changes to the way you think and feel about food and exercise and I very much appreciate your willingness and to give FatScrap a go..thank you! x

So here I am, once again, launching a new page for all your food diaries, chat and questions and hoping that you will find this tool invaluable to help you to achieve your health and fitness goals.
                                       
                                       
Apple got us thinking about the New Year on one of the previous pages and suggested we might like to write about our goals for 2011 beginning with..

"2011 is the year I am going to..."

This is Apple's goal..
2011 is the year I am going to... build on what I have achieved in 2010 and follow my dreams. I will continue to spend time with people and places I love and enjoy discovering what truely inspires me. Also I will reach the stage on my yoga course where I can begin to share with others what I have learnt and hopefully this can add enrichment and joy to their lives as it does mine

And here is mine...

2011 is the year I am going to... PLAN! Plan to be oganised, plan to be on time and plan to achieve my best.  This will allow me to be calm and relaxed which will benefit my health, my family, my freinds and my work!

It would be lovely to hear your 2011 goals too!!

Health and happiness

Sue x