Stop normalising sugar!

So many people struggle with their weight, and diabetes has been on the rise for many years now with no signs of slowing down any time soon.

What do I think the main (but not only) culprit is for this?

Sugar.

The problem is, it’s become so normal to eat sugar all day long that we don’t even think about it.

If someone smoked some weed or cracked open a beer as soon as they woke up, people would think they have a problem.

But if you wake up and dose yourself with caffeine (a stimulant/drug) and stick a couple of sugars in it, no-one bats an eyelid. In fact, people think you’re strange if you don’t do this?! 

Maybe you’ll have a biscuit with it, then a bowl of cereal… 

You then continue to repeat this multiple times throughout the day. Multiple teas/coffees and usually “snacks” between meals.

At lunch time it’s normal to have a little treat and a can of soda, but again, if you had an alcoholic drink on your lunch break it’d be frowned upon.

This is killing us. And not even that slowly!

And when it comes to kids – take a look around. Obesity is becoming more and more common amongst youngsters too.

Why is it ok to give a kid a sweet when they’ve had a haircut?

Why would you offer OTHER PEOPLES’ kids sweets and soft drinks by default when they come around?! (seriously, stop doing this!)

Why do grandparents (and parents) give their kids sweets daily?

…something you KNOW is bad for them?! (Though maybe you don’t know quite how bad)

Yes, they like them, but that doesn’t mean give it to them!

You’re not being kind by giving kids sweets, no matter how much they want them. You’re actually doing them harm! 

I believe it should be limited to small treats every now and then, not a regular part of their diet (this includes ALL sweets and sugary drinks). 

And the same goes for adults (ouch!).

Stop avoiding [healthy] fats (you need them in your diet), and start avoiding sugar like the plague.

If you’re at all serious about your own health, or the health of your children, you should probably have a little review of how much sugar you’re all consuming and see what you can do to reduce that.

I’d also avoid just replacing it with artificial sweeteners (“Diet” anything). They have their own issues and you’re best off just beating the sugar addiction without them.

There are so many things that you can do to improve your health, but it’s probably best to start by plugging the holes and getting rid of the things that are doing the most harm.

Sugar is one of them.

It’ll require a bit of discipline, some planning ahead, and a learning curve to master this, but it’ll be worth it.

And as for the kids, just tell them no! You’re in charge. Whilst you can control (at least in part) what they eat, why would you feed them stuff that’s bad for them?

There’ll probably be some tantrums (especially if they’re used to eating this junk every day) but it’s your responsibility as a parent/adult not to damage their health.

I realise I may receive some blowback from this, but someone’s got to say it. Don’t shoot the messenger. 

And before you say it, yes, I have kids. They have a “sweetie day” on a Friday with the occasional treat at other times, and they drink water. It’s not cruel, it’s kind, because I know that all they’re really missing out on is a lifetime of sugar addiction.

If you’re interested in getting control of your diet and lifestyle and living a healthier life, check out www.MoveBetter.Club or get in touch.

Mark

The 2nd most common question I get asked...

Once people know what I do for a living, the immediate question I always get asked is...

"How do I lose this" (*usually pointing to a belly or bingo wings)

The standard answer that everyone believes to be true is to “eat less and move more”, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple anymore.

When we lived a natural lifestyle, and everything else was as it should be, then yes, eating less and moving more would have been all it would take to lose some excess weight and be healthy. 

A simple calorie deficit. 

That said, if we were living a natural lifestyle we wouldn’t have any excess weight to lose – there’s a lesson there!

These days there’s a LOT more that needs to be done to ensure health as well as weight loss.

For starters, focussing on “weight” isn’t the way to go. It means very little by itself.

ALWAYS measure body fat percentage alongside weight, otherwise you’ve got no idea what it is you’re weighing.

It’s body fat we want to lose, not weight.

The trick is to make sure that the “weight” you’re losing is coming from excess body fat and not muscle tissue, and for that, you need a bit more than a simple calorie deficit.

Eating junk ‘as long as you’re within your calorie target’ is not a good way to go. (So curly wurly’s and jelly aren’t good just because they’re “low points!”)

Neither is “Dieting” without strength training.

Those are two sure-fire ways to make sure you keep hold of body fat and lose muscle (and the strength that comes with it). Your “weight” might go down, but you’ll still look (and feel) soft with no definition. Certainly not “toned”.

On top of that, because weight loss doesn’t automatically equal health, there are other factors you need to consider to ensure better health alongside your fat loss.

Rest, recovery, sleep, hydration, daily activity levels, stress management, macro- and micro-nutrients, breathing and other lifestyle factors should all be taken into account and optimised.

Here are my top 5 tips for healthy fat loss:

1.     Strength Train – You won’t get big and bulky, but you’ll maintain muscle tissue and strength. Don’t avoid the weights in favour of cardio.

2.     Focus on Body Fat Percentage, not weight – As I mentioned above, this is what you really want to lose, not weight. So unless you’re measuring your body fat, you’ve got no idea if you’re making progress or not.

3.     Create a reasonable, but not excessive calorie deficit – A few hundred calories a day below your Total Daily Energy Expenditure [TDEE] (you can find a calculator online to find this out) is enough. Any more and you risk losing more muscle and less body fat.

4.     Sleep well – Create a sleep routine that gets you 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.

5.     Hydrate – Make sure you’re fully hydrated with water!

 

There are plenty of other things you can (and should) do, but these will get you started and it’s a lot better than just “eating less and moving more!”

Remember, if you focus on “weight” loss, your health will likely suffer, but if you focus on health, you’ll lose “weight” (bodyfat) along the way.

I cover everything you need to do in order to drop body fat whilst improving health at www.MoveBetter.Club check it out for more details.

 

 

Mark

Slow Down & Enjoy It!

I'll be honest with you here - I'm a bit of a chocoholic.

I went to a networking meeting not too long ago and after our little 60-second elevator pitch we had to tell two truths and a lie and everyone had to guess which was the lie...

People actually believed I ran 5 marathons in a year and thought me eating chocolate every day was the lie!

So, believe it or not - I LOVE chocolate.

What's this got to do with you?

Well, if you're like me, there's no way in hell you're eating one square and leaving the rest in the fridge for another day, or even a couple of hours! (Seriously - who the hell does that?!)

If it's there - I'm eating it.

And if I'm eating it - I'm eating it ALL!

It's easy to get a bit carried away and eat too much unless you only have one small bar, but it's cheaper to buy a pack or a massive bar than a regular bar isn't it?!

So here's what you should do...

Slow down and enjoy it.

Sounds simple, but actually, most people eat mindlessly and scoff down the chocolate (or biscuits, or cake, or crisps or whatever your "vice" is).

I can easily (and I do mean easily) eat a 4-pack of Wispa's in one sitting - 2 can be gone before I even make it home from the shop!

It's a bit like driving home and not remembering the journey - you were on autopilot!

So slow it down.

Sit down with it instead of eating "on the go" or while you're otherwise distracted.

Take a bite and really savour it. Enjoy the taste.

When you want the next bite, wait. Just a few seconds. Then take a bite.

Do this for every bite, and when you're finished, appreciate what you had and move on - DON'T reach for the next bar/bite/packet.

Quite often you can overeat (on anything) if you're eating mindlessly or whilst distracted.

So when you eat, make it a thing. Don't eat in front of the TV or whilst you're doing something else.

Enjoy your food, but enjoy the right amount.

Make it a rule that if you have your little treat, you make sure you enjoy it and aren't just eating it out of habit or boredom.

Set a rule that you can't eat whilst driving, walking around or working.

You could try to give it up entirely, but you shouldn't have to.

We all want treats in our life so it's about learning to control the urges and eat them in moderation.

Set yourself a few rules and stick to them, or else you're going to have to either keep struggling with it or go cold turkey - and neither of those options are good.

Also pay attention to when you reach for the goodies.

Is it when you're bored? 

Stressed? 

Tired? 

Is it just a habit (like having a biscuit with a cup of tea)? 

Is it just a habit whenever you walk into the kitchen? 

Do you automatically have it when someone else is (like ordering alcohol when you meet your friends at the pub or having a burger when your kids get a McDonalds)?

Once you recognise your cues for eating junk food, you're one step closer to getting control over it.

So, savour your treats and enjoy them. If you can do this, there's no need to forego them entirely or stress out about them.

Master you Nutrition with habits.

Let me know how you get on.

Or if you have any other tricks you use to control your junk food intake, I'd love to hear them, and I'll be able to share them - if it helps you, it'll almost certainly help others people too.

Mark

How Many Meals Should You Be Eating?

Some people swear by three meals a day; some people live on two. Others recommend from 5 up to 8 meals per day!

So what’s right?

Well, for starters, we’re all different, and what works for others may not work for you, and vice versa. 

What you need to pay attention to is how you feel when you follow different eating plans. If it makes you feel good, then it’s probably right for you, regardless of what the next guru says.

Before now I’ve recommended the “smaller meals every 2-3 hours” approach, and for some that’s great. Especially if your main goal is to bulk up – you need to eat more meals to get the sheer amount of food you need in. You can’t get 5,000 calories down you in 1 or 2 sittings (certainly not the right calories anyway!).

But, for fat loss and general health, as well as hormone optimisation (which is the key to weight loss, muscle gain, mood, energy levels, fat storage/burning, sleep and much more besides) I’ve come to realise that actually, despite all the reasons to do otherwise, we actually weren’t far wrong in the first place with the old “breakfast, lunch and dinner” routine.

There are a number of reasons for this, and although I HATE talking about calories (because if you’re eating the foods you’re supposed to be eating, calories really aren’t an issue), you’ll struggle to overeat on just 3 meals a day.

The key here is not to snack between meals. 3 meals means 3 meals. 

Various and numerous chemical reactions happen after we’ve eaten, and some hormones aren’t even released until 3-4+ hours after we’ve eaten, others take that long to get back to normal levels. 

The main hormones we’re concerned with here are Leptin and Insulin, which interact to determine when we feel full, and what we do with the food we’ve eaten. 

If these are out of whack, you can be sure your body fat levels will show it. The best way to address insulin resistance and leptin sensitivity is to take longer periods between eating, as well as selecting your foods carefully.

There’s a lot more to it than this, and I don’t have space here to go into detail, but you don’t need to know how or why it works to benefit from it. The most important thing you can do is to make sure when you do eat, you’re eating the right foods (see my previous articles/blog posts/website for details). 

So try it for a couple of weeks. Have a good breakfast (not toast/cereal etc. – have real food), then nothing until lunch 3-4 hours later, then nothing again, until dinner. No snacks between. No sugar-filled drinks (that includes “sugar-free” versions of things!). Just keep well hydrated.

Then when you’ve finished dinner – you’re fasting until breakfast 12+ hours later.

If you have breakfast at 9am, then lunch at 1pm, then dinner at 5pm - you're eating all of your meals within an 8-hour window (9-5), so you'll then be fasting for the reaming 16 hours each day. (See my other posts for more information on the benefits of fasting like this).

It’s important that you get all the nutrients you need at these three meals, so plenty of veg, lots of protein and fat from good sources, fruit, nuts and seeds. Don’t waste your meals with breads, pastas and other nutrient-free foods.

And always check with your GP before you make drastic changes to your diet – especially if you have any medical conditions. (Although I have to say that – it’s always a good idea!)

For more detailed guidance, check out MoveBetter.Club and get everything you need to start seeing the results you want.

Mark

What are humans supposed to eat?

Diet is a hot topic, and which "Diet" to follow is an ongoing argument.

As a Personal Trainer I've studied nutrition for nearly 20 years. 

I've completed courses and qualifications on nutrition, read multiple books, spoken to other coaches and clients, and basically absorbed as much information as I can on the subject in order to come to my own conclusions based on education and evidence, not just taking someone's word for it (no matter who they are).

And I've got to say it's a mess!

Not all people are the same, not all "Diets" are the same, and there's no one-size fits all "Diet".

What you have to do is look at what all of the most successful "Diets" have in common.

Usually it's:

- Appropriate calorie intake for the desired outcome

and

- A focus on real food, not fake foods

Really good "Diets" will also look at:

- Hydration (and what you're drinking)

- Sleep

- Lifestyle 

and

- What training you're doing

However, the most logical approach to nutrition, in my eyes, is to simply look at what humans have been eating for thousands of years, not the last few decades.

And I've got to say, the carnivore diet makes the most sense to me.

Whilst I'm still wrestling with the idea that vegetables may actually be bad for us, which goes against literally every nutrition course I've ever done, it does make sense.

Humans are hunters.

A tribe that was unsuccessful hunting would have died out pretty quickly.

They wouldn't have survived eating just plants.

Whilst animals can run, hide and fight to protect themselves, plants are stuck in the ground. And they don't want to be eaten.

So if they can't run, hide or fight, how would they protect themselves???

With chemicals that stop them from being eaten. Toxins.

And by eating plants, we are taking in those toxins - which explains why many people can't eat certain vegetables - because they're more sensitive to those chemicals.

The rest of us may be able to 'tolerate' them better, but that doesn't mean they're not doing us harm at some level.

The most successful humans were the best hunters.

Those are the tribes that thrived.

This, to me, says it all.

We'd have hunted for our food (animals), and only supplemented that food with plants if there wasn't enough.

Plants were for survival only, not to thrive.

Yes, there's an argument for vitamins and minerals in vegetables, but we also need to consider what the most prized parts of the animals were...

The organs.

Organ meats (liver, kidneys, heart, brain, eyes, testicles etc.) contain ALL of the nutrients we need to survive and thrive.

Our ancestors knew, either intuitively or by trial and error, that the organ meats were the most important parts to eat.

So, while I'm not saying at this point that you should stop eating vegetables, I am an advocate of eating meat, and organ meats (and eggs) for the bulk of your nutrition, and maybe questioning if vegetables are actually as good for us as we've been led to believe.

Obviously the quality of your meat is important (but let's face it - with everything they spray on crops these days, if the plant toxins don't kill you, the cocktail of chemicals they've been sprayed with will certainly do some damage!), so try to get the best that you can afford - organic and grass-fed is good.

(I get most of my meat here - it actually works out cheaper than the supermarket most of the time!)

I've never been a fan of vegetarian or vegan diets, and this is yet another reason why I truly believe that meat is an essential part of the human diet, and you need it to thrive.

Yes, I know there are healthy, fit and strong vegans out there, but that's not the majority, and the ones who make it work (long-term) use everything we know about food science to ensure they're getting it right - not just foregoing meat and living on banana sandwiches! 

Sorry vegans. I'm just not convinced. There are certain nutrients that we just can't get from plants.

Diet is a HUGE topic, so this is only a small part of it.

If you want my help with it, by all means get in touch and we can talk about Coaching.

I just hope after reading this you at least start to question what the best diet for humans might be, and maybe experiment a little.

For further reading I'd highly recommend The Carnivore Code

To your health!

Are You Fasting? ...Or Are You Starving Yourself?

I've always said that fasting should NOT be done for weight loss, just that weight loss can be a welcome side effect of fasting.

But there's a big difference between starving yourself (huge calorie deficit), and fasting done properly.

You see, fasting doesn't simply mean not eating, it's not eating for a specific period of time.

It doesn't necessarily mean eating fewer calories, it just means you eat them within a specific time window.

Many people jump on the fasting bandwagon and just start skipping meals, but they still pick at things between meals (especially calorie-containing drinks).

This is not fasting. It's just calorie restriction, and it can be dangerous.

If you want to start fasting, you need to pick your time period and not consume ANY calories (food or drink) within that time window.

The caveat though, to ensure you're not just starving yourself, is that you need to consume your regular daily calories when you do eat (though usually not all in one go).

This is where many people get it wrong.

Yes, you can save yourself a few calories by fasting because usually it's quite difficult to over-eat in a short time window (*if eating the right foods). 

And you can deliberately eat fewer calories (if hoping to achieve weight loss) whilst practicing fasting, but that's not the goal of fasting.

What you need to focus on when you do eat, is quality of food and nutritional content.

If you're eating fewer calories, you need to make sure you're getting all the nutrition you need from those calories.

Traditional "Diets" (and many of the "Diet" based clubs) have focused purely on calories, which will work to an extent, for a while... until it doesn't any more; but they don't focus on health.

During your non-fasting periods, you should:

1. Ensure you're getting adequate calories (set your calorie target based on your goals)

2. Prioritise healthy, nutritious foods over junk foods

3. Make sure you're hitting your Protein target - protein literally means "first place" or "primary" (derived from the Greek word Proteios)

4. Split the remaining calories (after protein) between carbohydrates and fats - again, your personal nutritional requirements will determine the ratio for this.

Whilst fasting, you should:

1. Not consume ANY calories, or "calorie-free" drinks (like "Diet" sodas etc.)

2. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated and help with hunger

3. Keep yourself busy - often it's boredom that gets us, not actual hunger

I see too many people starving themselves all day only to come home and gorge themselves with junk food, because we tend to make poor food choices when we're hungry; certainly opting for quicker, easier, more convenient options, which are rarely the most nutritious.

So, if you're planning on using one of the the many fasting options out there (for most it will generally boil down to intermittent fasting of varying time windows), ensure that when you do eat, you're eating good, healthy foods, and not stuffing yourself with whatever you fancy "because you haven't eaten all day".

I talk about my preferred method of fasting in the trainings in MoveBetter.Club, so if you want more help with nutrition, training and lifestyle to improve health and get you moving better, check it out.

MoveBetter.Club

Mark

How to calculate your Body Fat Percentage

I’ve mentioned before how tracking weight can be misleading, given that you’re weighing not only fat, but also muscle, bone, organs, fluids and more.

Another metric people use to track progress is body fat percentage. 

This is more useful since it’s, in theory, only measuring your body fat, so any changes do mean that you’ve changed the amount of body fat you have (as a percentage of your total bodyweight).

Whilst it’s a bit backward that we measure weight in kilos/pounds etc and bodyfat as a percentage, it is still a great way to track progress.

There are a number of ways to measure body fat percentage and you have to be very careful about which you use and how seriously you take it.

Bioelectrical Impedance (handheld monitors, scales that measure body fat, and similar devices that you simply hold, stand on, or attach to your body in some way) are incredibly inaccurate and can be affected by many factors – hydration levels, if you have any creams/lotions on your hands/feet, even how you are standing when testing. If you use these, don’t take the reading as being completely accurate, and at the very least, use the exact same equipment every time, and make sure the conditions are the same.

Skinfold/Caliper Testing. This is where someone (hopefully trained in the use of skinfold calipers) takes a number of measurements at certain points around your body and uses a calculation to determine your body fat percentage. This can be more accurate than the handheld devices, but depends completely on the competence and skill of the person taking the measurements. It’s also quite intrusive, having someone pinch your fat rolls and measure them! Again, be sure that your practitioner is well accustomed to taking these measurements to reduce the margin of error.

DEXA Scan is considered the gold standard and most accurate way of measuring body fat, but this is an expensive option, and will likely require some travelling to somewhere that offers it. By all means use this method if it is within your means.

The last method I’m going to talk about here is called the Navy Method, and I’ve found it to be a reasonably accurate method of measuring body fat percentage when a DEXA scan or skilled skinfold testing is not available or appropriate, and all you need to do it is a tape measure (and a helper).

To do this, you simply need to measure your navel, neck and height (for men), or your natural waist, hips, neck and height (for women).

Once you have these measurements you can enter them into a calculator that will give you a reasonably accurate estimate of your body fat percentage. A simple google search for “navy method body fat calculator” will give you plenty of options.

I find this to be a good way of measuring body fat without needless expense or intrusion.

Take all measurements 3 times to ensure better accuracy, and you can use the results to track progress and help you decide if you need to make any adjustments to your diet or training plan.


Remember though, if you aren't getting the results you want, be honest with yourself and ensure that you are sticking to your plan before you change it!

Most people, if they're being honest, probably aren't sticking to the plan, yet wonder why it isn't working. If you're (honestly) sticking to your plan at least 80% of the time and still aren't getting results, then adjust the plan; but if you're simply not sticking to it, work harder at that before you change anything.

The only caveat to this is if you're trying to follow a plan that's too strict and you can't follow it. Then you'll need to adjust it to something that is achievable for you.

Bodyweight: Should you be tracking it?

Whilst it is the most common metric to track (because it’s the easiest to measure and has been the main measurement people have always tracked historically), tracking body weight can be a double-edged sword.

Most people associate weight with fat, but in reality, fat is only a small part of what you’re weighing on the scales - muscle, fluids, bone, organs, even your dinner are also going to affect your “weight”.

What most people who want to lose weight actually want is fat loss, not weight loss (the two don’t necessarily have to come together).

The confusion around bodyweight can cause as much of a hinderance as a help.

Would I recommend tracking weight if your goal is fat loss?

It depends...

If you’re fully aware of what weight really means, and can check it, then forget it, then yes, it would be helpful to track it and keep an eye on your progress to see if what you’re doing is working or not.

But if you’re the type of person to get hung up on it, and stress about it if it’s not doing what you want (even through that my not mean what you think it means), then definitely no.

Also, daily weight changes can be huge (a couple of kilos up or down are quite normal), and you need to be aware that you simply can’t gain or lose weight from fat or muscle that quickly! Use some common sense.

Unless you’re swimming the channel or doing something of equal challenge, you’re unlikely to lose a measurable amount of weight from either fat or muscle in a day. Likewise, unless you gorge on 20,000 calories, you’re unlikely to gain much either. So, your pound or two weight fluctuation from one day to the next is almost certainly going to be down to, predominantly, hydration levels.

If you are tracking your weight, my advice would be to measure it daily, at the same time, under the same conditions (upon waking, after using the toilet will be the most consistent).

[If you don’t believe how important this simple tip is, weigh yourself first thing in the morning, as soon as you get up, then weigh yourself again that same evening and see how different the measurement is!]

Then take an average at the end of each week (add up all the weights then divide by 7). This will be a far more accurate way to track your weight that will even out the ups and downs from hydration levels etc. You can then compare your weight week to week to see if you’re making progress or not.

Women should also be aware (and I know you all are) that weight can vary dramatically over the course of the month. This is again due to hormones and fluids, NOT a sudden 5lb fat gain overnight!

You’ll have to compare each week/phase with the same week/phase next month to get a more accurate measure of progress. This may seem like too much, but your goal should be long-term, so you have the time to do this, and if you’ve chosen to use bodyweight as your main measurement, this is worth doing to get a real idea of your progress.

Week to week would not be a fair comparison for these reasons.

So, whilst it can be useful, it’s up to you whether you choose to use weight as a measure of progress. Just remember, if you LOOK better, FEEL better, and are STRONGER and FITTER - does weight really matter?

Obviously, the more metrics you can use to monitor your progress, the better idea you’ll have of whether what you’re doing is working or not. Personally (and with my clients), I track bodyweight (as described here), measurements (neck, chest, waist, hips, thighs as standard, possibly also shoulders, arms and calves), bodyfat % (as accurately as possible, usually using the naval method as well as bioelectrical impedance readings), and progress photos.

These, along with training records (have weights increased? Fitness levels increased? Recovery times improved?) give me a very clear understanding of how the program is working.

Track as many variables as you reasonably can and use these to monitor your progress, and don’t panic over a pound or two here and there unless it’s consistently going in the wrong direction!

Get in touch if you need more help :)

www.MarkOneFitness.co.uk

Tackling Problem Areas

We all have certain areas on our bodies where we seem to store more bodyfat and find it harder to shift the weight; for women this is often around the hips and thighs, and for men this is usually around the stomach. Whilst this isn’t a rule, and you may be different, this is generally what we tend to see and it’s dictated, at least in part, by your hormones (hence why it’s slightly different for men and women).

The real question though is, can we target those areas for fat loss (also known as “spot reduction”)?

Unfortunately, the answer is complicated, and whilst we can’t, technically, spot reduce (i.e. do some stomach exercises to lose fat from your stomach), we can improve our chances of burning fat from those areas.

Naturally you’ll tend to store fat in those areas as it’s a protective mechanism built-in for our survival – protect the reproductive system/internal organs. What this means for you is that hormonally, you’re set up to store more fat in those areas, and they’ll be the most difficult areas to lose it from (because your body wants it there).

Now, you’ll always gain fat all over, and lose fat all over – it might just get stored slightly quicker in those areas and take a bit longer to shift. So it’s not that it moves from their last, just that it may take a bit longer, especially if the other factors we’re about to talk about aren’t addressed.

So, what can you do about it?

The first thing is to plug the leak. Stop fat being stored. This is simply a case of getting control over your diet and exercise regime so that you’re not consuming more calories than you’re burning. Find the balance between what you eat and drink, and how active you are (this does not just mean cut calories! Read my other articles for a better understanding of how to go about doing this).

Once you have your routine in place and are burning more calories than you’re consuming (hopefully from healthy, nutritious foods), your hormonal profile should start to optimise itself and you’ll start to burn some bodyfat, but this will be from all over your body, not from any areas in particular.

However, there are a couple of things that may prevent you from burning fat from those problem areas (other than hormones) and the types of exercise you choose will play a role in whether or not the bodyfat from those areas gets mobilised and used for fuel or not.

Circulation plays a big part in this. If you mobilise fats (release them to be burned for fuel) from a problem area (your hips and thighs for example), these fats then need to make it into circulation to be burned. If they don’t get circulated, they’ll stay put and get laid back down as fat stores.

To do this you’ll need to make sure you’re not blocking circulation, sitting down for example will not encourage blood flow to your backside, hips and thighs – so sitting on a bike, rower or other machine isn’t likely to be beneficial if these are your problem areas.

Whilst exercising the area you’re trying to focus on doesn’t burn fat from that area, it does increase circulation in that area, which will help to make sure that fat from that area is being burned along with from the rest of your body.

It’s quite common for people to have under-active muscles – the muscles of the backside (glutes) and lower abs being some of the most common since most of us sit down for a large portion of the day – reducing blood flow and in effect “turning off” or de-activating those muscles. Other postural muscles tend to get weak too as a result of prolonged sitting positions and lack of use.

Ask a knowledgeable trainer for some activation exercises for these muscle groups and do these to “activate” the muscles before you start your exercises.

Then choose exercises that will work those areas whilst encouraging circulation. Large, full body exercises are better than waving your legs around Jane Fonda style (though these could be useful as the activation exercises if they hit the target muscles…).

Avoid anything sitting down and don’t use a bodybuilding type routine i.e. working one area/body part per workout.

Aim to work your upper body (to get blood flow there), then your lower body (to shift the blood flow to your legs), then upper body, then lower body… keep pushing the blood to different areas to encourage circulation (sometimes referred to as PHA – Peripheral Heart Action training). This will also improve your fitness levels as your heart is constantly having to work to pump blood to different body parts to feed the working muscles.

If you’ve ever gone dizzy after a spin class, this is because you’ve pushed all of the blood to your legs and it stays there, so when you stand up/get off the bike, you go dizzy, the same as if you’ve been sitting down for a long time and stand up too quickly. So, while spin may be fun and have its place in some training protocols, it might not be the most effective use of your time if you’re trying to lose weight and have stubborn areas.

Review your workouts and see if you can tweak the exercise order and change the exercises to ones that will encourage circulation to problem areas. Upper body/Lower body supersets will be better than 3 sets of chest, then 3 sets of legs… etc.

If you have problem areas that aren’t shifting and think your workouts need adjusting, show this article to your trainer and ask them to rewrite your workouts accordingly, or find someone who can help.

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