It's time for a change!

Muscle & Macros is branching out!

After a bit of deliberation and a lot of planning, I've decided to open Muscle and Macros up a little bit. I've got a brand new writer joining me and we'll be looking at more topics than just standard health and fitness. However, I started this blog to document my weight loss journey and to document my experiences in the world of health and fitness so that will remain as the main topic for the blog - but hey, where's the harm in shaking things up a little bit? You can still expect more of the same kind of posts as before - stay tuned for my Herbalife article (that'll be dropping very soon) and the rest in the Weight Loss Schemes series. 

The newest addition to Muscle & Macros

Readers, I'd like to introduce you to Mr Nat Corbett. I've known Nat for a couple of years now, and until recently he was a colleague of mine. Similarly to me when I started the blog, Nat is currently studying for a Bachelors degree (History). He's really passionate about health, fitness and sport in general (especially rugby, but he'll tell you all about that). Due to this, he'll be writing about all things Rugby and fitness related, and I'm grateful to him for participating in the blog. His first post is going live tonight, and I have no doubt that you'll all enjoy it! 

As I mentioned in the beginning, I'm expanding this blog and opening it up to a wider variety of topics. If you've got something health and fitness/sport related, or even a completely random topic that you'd love to write about, then get in touch with me using the social media links below or drop a comment below this post and let's get you online! 

Alex

  

Diet Schemes Series #1 - Juice Plus

Hey everyone, I posted on social media not so long ago to inform you all that I'd be doing a series of pieces to take a closer look at the diet schemes that are present in the health and fitness industry today. Tonight's post is going to get up close and personal with Juice Plus.

What is Juice Plus?

On the official Juice Plus website, it describes itself as

"whole food based nutrition, including juice powder concentrates from 30 different fruits, vegetables and grains. Juice Plus+ helps bridge the gap between what you should eat and what you do eat every day. Not a multivitamin, medicine, treatment or cure for any disease, Juice Plus+ is made from quality ingredients carefully monitored from farm to capsule to provide natural nutrients your body needs to be at its best.

So what does that tell us? 

In all honesty, not a lot. It tells us that essentially all that the products contain are naturally occurring ingredients. Luckily, they have an 'Ingredients' page, which tells us that the ingredients are:

NUTRIENTS FROM FRUITS AND VEGETABLES - Under this title they explain that the products aren't a medicine, or a substitute for fruit and veg, and that they offer a wider variety of naturally occurring vitamins along with antioxidants and phytonutrients than 'traditional' vitamin supplements.

So let's break this paragraph down a little. They explain that all of the vitamins contained inside are naturally occurring and that you can't get them in a 'traditional' vitamin supplements. Firstly, if the ingredients are naturally occurring then what are the benefits of getting them from Juice plus products? The only benefit that I can see is that they're available in 'instant' form, rather than having to go out and buy/cook/eat the foods that contain them. Personally, if I'm offered the chance to get my nutrients from real, satiating food - you can be damn sure that I will. Some people may find that they feel 'healthier' or that they're a step ahead of everyone else because they're getting it in pill or powder form. Sorry guys, I don't think that's the case. Let's also take a look at the final point - they mention 'traditional' vitamin supplements. What does this mean? Does it mean older, less varied multivits? Or just the cheap, basic multivitamins on the market? Unfortunately I couldn't seem to find a full list of the vitamins that Juice Plus provides, but I'd argue that such products as Centrum and Opti-Men probably contain the same vitamins and minerals as Juice Plus products. The difference being that you don't have to cut out a meal to get these vitamins.

POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANTS RIGHT FROM THE SOURCE - Juice Plus actually calls on an academic article to provide the definition for 'antioxidants' (because everyone loves an officially cited study to back up their products). Here's what they say - "According to the National Cancer Institute, antioxidants are “substances that may protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Examples of antioxidants include beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins C and E and other substances. Many of these antioxidant substances come from fruits and vegetables". Now, I'm pretty cynical when it comes to writing, so this sentence actually hit a nerve. Firstly they explain that their products contain powerful antioxidants. Then they back this up with a sentence saying that antioxidants MAY protect from free radicals. Free radicals have been indicated as possible contributors to cancerous cells. So by saying that Juice Plus uses antioxidants - are they indirectly stating that their products protect against cancer? That's for you to decide, like I said, I'm just cynical. FYI - Their sentence taken from the National cancer institute is also paraphrased - to read the actual statement, you can find it here - http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/diet/antioxidants-fact-sheet.

 Again, antioxidants are naturally occurring - so why not get them through food rather than buying various supplements to do so? The only place that its going to make a difference is your bank balance.

After I'd finished looking through the Juice Plus website, I decided that I needed to find some real customer reviews. Impartial and honest reviews. I managed to find a post on Facebook which detailed an actual conversation with a Juice Plus rep. The rep promises to provide Juice Plus shakes which can not only help with weight loss, but muscle building too. Now I'm no expert, but if that was possible, wouldn't the Mr Olympia contest be a hell of a lot easier to win? Anyway I digress, they state that the shakes should be taken for 16 weeks - two a day for 8 weeks, and then one a day for the last 8. This 16 week plan would be accompanied by a workout and diet plan (I'm guessing this would just be your standard cookie cutter plan) and would cost £130 in total. They then explicitly state that the products contain nutrients from fruit and veg to 'boost weight loss' and that coupling an exercise plan with their shakes will help them to build muscle. The potential client then enquires about the possibility of using the products with type-2 diabetes (for his father). To which the answer is "Definitely, the plan is perfect for type 2". The potential client then comes up with a bit of research of his own.

1. The products contain 23g of sugar from 4/5 different sources - 2 shakes would equal 46g of sugar daily. Sounds like a recipe for loss of life for a type-2 sufferer, not weight.

2. The protein inside contains a poor amino acid profile

3. It contains a variety of oils

He follows with this quote - "Fact is, people will lose weight due to a massive calorie deficit, the weight they lose will be largely water at first due to the lack of carbohydrates in the diet (carbs hold water) then a rapid catabolic state where the body will break down lean muscle tissue as it cannot produce protein. This will result in a slowing of the metabolism, a knock on effect of which will be the body releasing stress hormones to help promote fat storage (body reacts as if going into a famine). Females will reduce estrogen to promote fat stores around reproductive organs. When people go back to eating normally they will gain more weight due to metabolic damage."

Now that's someone else's words, not mine. He produces no scientific evidence to support this, although he does raise an interesting point. The Juice plus range promotes a very low calorie diet and diets with too much of a caloric deficit have been shown to have a detrimental effect on the human body. Here's an interesting article on that - http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ars.2010.3253

After seeing this frankly brutal destruction of a clearly clueless Juice Plus rep, I decided to look closer to home and had an enlightening conversation with a friend of mine who currently uses the products. We talked about which ones she uses (powders) and her thoughts on the range, plus how its working for her. She was under no illusions, she immediately stated that they're not wonder products and essentially they're meal replacement multivitamins. She had tried a variety of other ways of dieting and hadn't found them to be suited to her. She also told me that Juice Plus wasn't her idea of a long term solution, but it was working as a springboard into a healthier lifestyle. She's made some good progress, slimming down and dropping some weight, and feels great for it. However she's not really put this down to the products, its more attributed to the structure that the products bring and she's finding it easy to stick to. That's pretty hard to dispute.

The Conclusion

Juice plus ambiguously markets its products and could be seen to allude to them as a prevention tool for cancer. It markets products full of ingredients that could easily be incorporated into a well rounded diet and promotes an extremely low calorie diet (whether directly or indirectly) which has scientifically been proven to have adverse affects on human physiology and psychology (see article above). It also contains some questionable ingredients such as a high sugar content (due to fructose) and a poor source of protein (making for some protein heavy feces). There is also some concern to be raised around the credibility of some of the reps, who are clearly uneducated and freely make decisions that only a qualified professional should be able to make. However, the scheme has been shown to provide a structure to one's lifestyle - and anyone that has dieted successfully will know that the real key to achieving your goals is consistency. For this point, I can't really knock them.

My honest opinion?

Juice Plus is an extremely expensive way of getting basic nutrients (which could easily be provided by a good multivitamin). It promotes extreme calorie deficits which, when increased, will cause the user to gain weight quickly as their body tries to hang on to all of the calories that it has been missing. It could lead to yo-yo dieting and harm a person physically and psychologically in the long term. It clearly provides support for all of its users but why pay hundreds of pounds for a support structure that you could build yourself? There are hundreds of groups out there who support each other freely because that's what good natured human beings do. I'm lucky enough to be a part of Healthy Living, Heavy Lifting's free weight loss group on Facebook, and its home to some of the most supportive, well rounded and intelligent people that I've ever met. The best part about it? I receive great support, get to give great support and its all done for free. Don't waste your money on a company that gives you naturally occurring ingredients, employs reps without a clue and gives you support that you could get for free.

Awfully sorry if this post has offended everyone, but its my honest opinion. I'm not trying to offend everyone, and if Juice Plus works for you then that's great - personally I'm a much bigger fan of being able to make sustainable progress whilst eating Ben & Jerrys, but that's just me. If you want to hear more about that, then feel free to hit me up on social media:

Bodybuilding V Crossfit

This is a post that I've been sat on for a long time, not knowing which side to take (if any)/worrying about anyone that I might offend with it. However I think that its time to share it - if it offends you and you don't agree with it, that's cool, not everyone will. Just my point of view on things.

I see a lot of bad-mouthing from both crossfitters and bodybuilders, proclaiming that their way of exercising is the best and sometimes the only way to exercise. There's always arguments over who is the more functional and flexible, who is the strongest, fittest, fastest etc. You can find various parody videos, and a lot of trolling between the two sides all over the internet. This post is just going to take a look at both sides, and then I'll give you my opinion on the two.

Bodybuilding

At a basic level, bodybuilding is the use of resistance exercises to develop muscle. It can be both a pastime or applied to a competitive level, both amateur and professional. Regardless of the purpose, you'll find many a serious bodybuilder in the gym 5/6 times a week. Commonly, these guys will isolate areas of muscle and work them all once a week. There will also be elements of cardio thrown in there for those dieting. A typical week for this approach could be:

• Monday - Chest
• Tuesday - Back
• Wednesday - Arms
• Thursday - Shoulders
• Friday - Legs

There will more than likely be one or two abdominal sessions thrown into the mix on certain days, or the individual could just choose to incorporate a sixth session that would incorporate abs, cardio and maybe some isolation training for minor muscles. I say that this approach is common, but there are various approaches to bodybuilding such as a push/pull split, SMOLOV, and DUP. For anyone who currently applies a 5/6 day split to their training, and is bored and interested in these approaches, they'll be explained in another post. There also seems to be a stigma attached to bodybuilding, that any bodybuilders with especially large muscle mass are on steroids. This can be attributed to the fact that many competitive bodybuilders over the years have been found to be steroid users. Unfortunately, many people stereotype bodybuilders as steroid taking idiots - which couldn't be further from the truth in my opinion. 

Crossfit

Compared to bodybuilding, Crossfit is a particularly recent phenomenon. It was developed by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai back in 2000. It combines factors found in gymnastics, weightlifting, bodybuilding, strongman, plyometrics and calisthenics to produce a very different kind of workout. The structure for a typical session is usually as follows - 

1. Strength element - This usually involves performing a major lift such as back squat, clean, snatch, press, deadlift, or variants thereof. Rep and set ranges can vary at different stages of strength cycles. 
2. WOD (Workout of the day). - This can involve anything. Usually its a high intensity series of exercises combining various elements designed to burn as many calories as possible for conditioning. 

Some crossfit workouts are relatively easy, some take 5-10 minutes and leave you lying flat on your back wondering what just happened, others are a 30-60 minute slog that take determination and willpower to complete. Unfortunately, many of the stereotypes for crossfit include the fact that many crossfitters choose reps over form. Basically it means that the exercises performed are quick and not done properly, which can cause injury. There have been a few instances in which crossfitters have sustained serious injuries from weightlifting and they have been widely publicised. 

My Opinion

Having had much experience with both bodybuilding and crossfit, I can honestly say that I don't believe that either of them are better than each other. I believe that they both have great merits and that all of the negativity that you hear from either side is to be taken with a pinch of salt. Crossfit promotes 'functional fitness' and chastises bodybuilding for not being as functional. However if you break down most of the movements used in either sport, they are largely the same. There are some differing movements but they're few and far between and I guarantee that you could find at least one bodybuilder that uses them. With regard to the functionality and mobility arguments, these can both be addressed with a good daily stretching and mobility routine - which is something that can be incorporated into either approach. 

With regard to the argument that crossfit is dangerous and that the lifts are sloppy and out of control - this is true if the athletes are left unsupervised and aren't taught how to do them properly, it can also be down to the athlete being too lazy to complete the lift properly due to the intensity of the workout. I trained at Crossfit Aberystwyth (an official affiliate gym) for around a year and the notion of crossfit being dangerous was quashed in my time there. The coaches watched everyone closely to ensure that firstly the lifts were being performed properly, secondly that the weight was right for the individual and their rep ranges, and lastly that the repetitions weren't rushed or sloppy. Their job is to progress you and to ensure your safety at all times, in many ways it is a lot safer than bodybuilding on your own, where you don't have anyone to watch your form or call you out when you're being unsafe. Yes injuries have happened in the sport of crossfit, but bodybuilding has its fair share of injuries too - they are both dangerous if not done properly. 

As for my approach, I try to combine what I deem to be the best elements of crossfit and bodybuilding. I currently follow a DUP style approach (more on that soon), and add in isolation work as in bodybuilding, but I'll also set aside workouts for olympic lifting and high intensity varied routines. This approach works for me and I've found that it compliments my goals well - I'm getting leaner, and gaining strength and definition due to it. As for the argument that one is better than the other for making progress and getting in to a better shape - they both depend on how much you put into them and what your personal ideas of a 'better shape' are. For example - take a typical Mr Olympia physique e.g. Phil Heath's physique. The man is a mountain, his muscles are well developed and symmetrical - the key points of being a successful Olympia candidate. Then let's look at Rich Froning Jr. - This man has been at the pinnacle of Crossfit for a while, he is fit, fast, agile, strong and has unbelievable stamina. He may not be as symmetrical or have as much muscle as Phil Heath, but his physique allows him to compete at the highest level of his sport - exactly the same as Phil. In a nutshell, how do you compare two sports when they're geared towards completely differing end products? If you have no preference towards your own end product, where is the harm in combining the two, as long as its done safely? 

 

Anyway, they're just my thoughts on the two. If you liked this post please feel free to share it with people and feedback is always welcome. You can post a comment below or find me on social media -

Follow @Wrighty__

Thanks for reading!

Alex

Flexible Dieting: My Experience

Hey everyone,

First of all, I'm going to apologise again for my lack of posts - I shouldn't be letting this blog slip so much after having such great feedback. Although I don't have a great amount of time on my hands due to a busy work life and the series of books that I'm currently writing about my weight loss journey. The books will come in four parts: 

• My Journey, an overview
• Experiences with nutrition
• Training types
• Motivation 

Throughout the four books, I'll be sharing my experiences with regard to dieting. For those of you not in the know, three years ago I was over 21 stone and frankly its a wonder that it didn't really affect my health. After three years of hard training and trial and error, I have managed to reduce my weight significantly, dropping right down to 79kg before gaining more muscle and jumping to 90kg. This was by no means an easy feat and it took a lot of research. I experienced set backs along the way, but through some great sources I got the information and motivation that I needed to get myself back on track. 

Left (May 2012) - 135/140kg - Right (August 2015) - 87.5kg

What is Flexible Dieting?

Flexible dieting, or IIFYM as it is widely known, isn't a new concept. It has been present for a long time, but unfortunately in the past was discredited by most of the fitness industry; cast aside in favour of 'Bro-Science'. However, when you strip the concept down to the real definition, it isn't very different from the dieting protocols that various icons in the health and fitness industry have followed. 

On a base level, the concept of flexible dieting involves calculating an individual's daily calorie and macronutrient (protein, fat, carbohydrate) requirements through a series of calculations specific to the individual. The individual can then use a calorie counting app (MyFitnessPal seems to be the most preferred, it is definitely my app of choice) to keep track of the foods that they are consuming and the caloric properties of those foods. The individual is then free to consume any foods that they want, provided that they satisfy their calorie and macronutrient goals for the day. There are other targets that the person would be required to fulfil, but like I said - at base level this is the premise. I'll go in to these other requirements in a future post, so watch this space. 

How has Flexible Dieting helped me to get closer to my weight loss goal?

I discovered the concept of flexible dieting a while ago through various posts from Nick Cheadle Fitness, however at this point I was still of the mindset that chicken and broccoli was the best meal to 'torch fat'. Due to this, I ignored all of the great information that Nick was throwing out there and continued to eat the same boring, tasteless and frankly depressing food every day. After a while, I hit a plateau with regard to progress and gave up on 'clean eating'. After a few months of not watching my nutrition and causing detriment to my progress, I decided that it was time to seek help from someone who knew what they were doing - enter JV Fitness & Nutrition. Jason was really easy to approach and he took everything into account when designing a nutrition plan for me - the result was a detailed and well calculated approach to my nutrition. Through the plan he showed me that I didn't have to eat the same foods every day, and that there were ways to manipulate my diet such as carb cycling (stay tuned for this in a later post) to allow little treats on a weekly basis whilst still making progress. 

The plan that Jason detailed for me was only designed to last for around 4-6 weeks, however I was determined to diet for 12 weeks for the run-up to Christmas 2014 so I stretched that time limit to the maximum. In that 12 weeks I managed to get down to 79kg and retained the majority of my muscle mass. However after being in a calorie deficit for so long, I over-indulged at Christmas and set myself back a little. Once upon a time, this would have killed me - however at that point I was already in the mindset that setbacks don't matter in the big picture, as long as you keep pushing forward. After binging for so long and struggling to get back on to the diet that Jason gave me due to motivation and the chaotic nature of my life thanks to work and training; I decided to give flexible dieting a try, At that point I had nothing to lose and possibly everything to gain. I went about this by throwing myself into the mindset that flexible dieting was all about eating what I wanted and that |I could miss things out here and there on MyFitnessPal and that it was a rough guide. As a result, I put on weight and became demotivated. This made me to go back and try 'clean eating' again - which unsurprisingly made me miserable and made me binge after restricting myself so much. It was around this point that I'd seen a collaboration article between Nick Cheadle and Mike Samuels of Healthy Living, Heavy Lifting. Mike was another advocate of flexible dieting and after being recommended by Nick, I had to check his website out. After delving further into Nick and Mike's sites, I realised that the reason that flexible dieting hadn't worked for me previously was because I'd completely misunderstood the concept. Luckily there were masses of articles and resources available on their websites and social media channels for me to re-educate myself with. I also bought a copy of Mike's e-book series - The Foolproof No-fail Guide to Flexible Fat loss. Its no exaggeration when I say that these books completely changed my outlook and my approach to nutrition and I eagerly applied this new approach to my lifestyle. 

To cut an already long story a little shorter - Flexible dieting has allowed me to eat the foods that I love whilst still making progress, I never feel the need to binge as I'm always eating the foods that I want to eat (in moderation), I even manage to fit such things as an entire tub of ice cream, or even a large bar of chocolate into my weekly intake (Stay tuned for my next blog post to learn about how I do that). For these reasons alone, I'd argue that flexible dieting is the most sustainable approach that you can take to your nutrition. It caters for all goals and personally I would be very happy with using the protocols that I have learned from Nick and Mike for the rest of my life, could you say the same about your diet? If not, why not drop a comment at the bottom of this article and we can chat. 

That's all for now, I hope you've enjoyed reading this. Watch this space for more new content! If you want to check out any of the sources that I've named in this article then I've put a few links in there for you. Or you can check the guys out on social media - 

Nick Cheadle Fitness

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/nickcheadlefitness

Instagram - @NickCheadleFitness

Healthy Living, Heavy Lifting

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/HealthyLivingHeavyLifting

Instagram - @MikeHealthyLiving

JV Fitness & Nutrition

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/JV-Fitness-Nutrition

Instagram - JV_Fitnutrition

Thanks for reading! 

Alex

Follow me on social media - 

Instagram - @Wrighty__

Twitter - @Wrighty__

Back in Business

Nutrition - What I've learned

Hey guys,

For those of you that are familiar with this blog and my previous posts: Welcome back. To those who are visiting this place for the first time: Hello! Its been a long time since I've posted anything and I've decided to change things up a little, some of you may notice that even the name has changed. If you read back on some of my earlier posts, you'll see that I zoned in on certain subjects and offered my opinion on them. Things are going to operate a little differently now, I'm just going to use this as a platform to share my experiences and hopefully the tips and tricks that I share will be useful to you guys in some way. So without further ado, lets get in to the post.

So since the last time I posted, I've been putting in the work and trying to get the best results from my regime with regards to both nutrition and training. I'm going to go through both of these areas in separate posts, and hopefully there's some information that you guys can take away with you.

This first post is going to focus on nutrition, because in my opinion it is the first factor that you need to consider if you're looking to alter your body composition; whether that be gaining weight or losing weight. I want to be clear with this, a lot of the knowledge and views that I have regarding nutrition come from a variety of sources. I'm going to make these guys clear before I continue, because they definitely deserve a lot of credit and I everyone can benefit from what they have to say on a day to day basis. So, in no particular order, here's the list -

• Nick Cheadle (Of Nick Cheadle fitness) - Here's his site - Nick Cheadle Fitness
• Jason Vaughan (Of JV Fitness) - Here's his site - JV Fitness
• Mike Samuels (Of Healthy Living, Healthy Lifting) - Healthy Living, Healthy Lifting
• Bec Chambers  - Here's her Instagram account

Now that the right people have been included, let's get stuck in to the details. Anyone that knows me will know that for the last 3 years, I've been trying to lose fat and to build a body that I'm more comfortable with. To do this I've had to completely change my approach to nutrition, and its been a long and difficult road to get to where I am today. 

I started out in my efforts by believing that Carbohydrates and fat were the enemy, and that it was important to eat mostly protein each day. I found myself living off chicken and broccoli, and then binging regularly because my diet sucked. After this I moved on to a stage where I started to eat anything that I considered healthy (chicken, tuna, oats, rice, pasta, fruit etc.) and in theory I was on the right track. However, I had no comprehension of how to measure these foods, and convinced myself that it was good practice to just eat these foods in whatever quantities that I pleased and that the result would be fat loss. This continued for a long time, although after a while I decided to significantly reduce the amount that I was eating/increase my training and it began to work. I'd eat the exact same meals every day of the week, and a lot of the time I'd be going hungry. I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing because I was starting to see changes in my body. 

This continued for a while, until my weight stopped decreasing and I hit a plateau. So it was of course time for me to explore the world of 'wonder supplements' 'super foods and smoothies' and general quick fixes. First of all I went for what I now see as the lazy option and tried fat burning tablets, its important for me at this point to tell you all that I also began to eat less whilst taking this supplement. Due to my extra caloric deficit I began to lose weight; but due to the fat burners I had less of an appetite, and extra energy due to the high caffeine content that usually comes with those kinds of supplements. Basically, over the course of two years, my diet had no structure and I relied on fat burners and cutting out carbohydrates. So I'd like to move on to how I tackled this.

I started out by getting in touch with Jason Vaughan (see the link to his site above), and he tailored a nutrition plan for me that completely revolutionised the way I approached eating. I ditched the fat burners and the fads, and set out on the nutrition plan that he created. I can't emphasise enough how much this plan helped me, and how much it helped me to change my body composition. I combined it with a good training plan (which I'll go in to in my next post) and the weight just dropped off me. I later found out that I was eating between 2500 and 3000 calories a day, and the best part was that Jason made sure that I had different choices of meals every day. So if you're interested in hiring a coach, then I'd fully recommend Jason.

This continued until one day I had the fortune to stumble upon Nick Cheadle's Instagram page (which you should all definitely check out). Nick's approach to nutrition centres around IIFYM (If it fits your macros), also known as flexible dieting. The basic premise behind this approach is that as long as the food that you consume in a day fits inside your daily allowance of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates (I'll refer to them from now on as macros/macronutrients), you will progress towards your goal. It goes without saying that everyone's intake levels will differ due to a multitude of factors, including their goals (weight loss/gain etc). So in essence, you can eat whatever foods you want (in moderation) as long as it fits inside your daily macros then you'll progress. 

However, you can't just rely on a generic set of numbers for your Macronutrients, your numbers will depend on a variety of factors, which brings me on to my next point. There are many sources out there that will help you to work out your macros, but I've found that the most effective are Nick Cheadle, and Mike Samuels (see link to his site above). Nick operates a free blog on his website which contains a multitude of posts about training and nutrition, including a post about how to work out your macros. Mike has a very reasonably priced (and great value for money) ebook  - Flexible Fat Loss - In this book he shows you exactly how to work out your macros and explains a lot about nutrition and the things to remember when dieting. Both Nick and Mike also outline the general rules for flexible dieting such as sufficient water and fibre intakes to suit your goals. 

I've been properly flexible dieting for around a month now, and I'm noticing some real changes in my body. Basically I'm losing weight and retaining muscle, whilst still enjoying my favourite foods in moderation (like Ben and Jerrys ice cream). The key driving force behind flexible dieting is sustainability, which is a message that you'll see consistently from Nick Cheadle, Mike Samuels and Bec Chambers. Ladies, If you're looking for motivation I'd definitely recommend Bec, her philosophy towards training and nutrition is an extremely positive and intelligent one, and I guarantee that you will all be able to relate to the issues that she discusses on her page. 

So to wrap up, after trying a multitude of different fad diets, supplements, and low calorie diets; I found flexible dieting. It has allowed me to completely take control of my nutrition and enjoy the foods that I love whilst working towards my goals (though I do still hold some hope to be part of Team NCF one day). I'd recommend visiting the sites that I've mentioned to all of you, even if you're not currently interested in being able to eat ice cream and donuts and still lose weight because you've adopted a sustainable and happy relationship with food. After all, knowledge is power.

If you've made it to this point in the blog without me boring you, then thank you very much for reading this and for visiting the page. Please feel free to explore some of the older posts, I'm sure some will generate some laughs, and I apologise for any bro science that has slipped in there. You can also keep up with me in the following places - 

Instagram 

Twitter

Email

Failing that, leave a comment in the box below and I'll get back to you. Any feedback is always appreciated. 

Make sure you catch my next post on my experiences with training routines and how to build your own effective workouts.

Until next time,

Alex

Update!

It's been a long time since I posted anything substantial on this blog, but I'm hoping that some people might still read this, so this one is for you guys. The last few months have been one crazy whirlwind of training, and for me it's been going from strength to strength and I'm seeing some real results. For anyone that's just starting out or maybe just lacking in motivation, I can honestly tell you that seeing those results is pretty much the greatest feeling in the world. Stick at it and those results will come; trust me when I say that when they do, you'll just want to push yourself even harder and even further.

With regard to my own training, I started experimenting with some pretty intense stuff in the form of Muscle and Fitness' 'Rock Hard' workout. In all honesty when I first looked at it, I doubted that I could even attempt to complete such a high level of workout, and worried that I wouldn't have enough energy to complete a full week. The first month consisted of a four day split of Legs, Chest, Back, and Shoulders. Two of those days also included an abs circuit at the end, with legs day also consisting of 30 minutes of steady state cardio post workout. I should also mention that I was averaging around 40 sets with reps 12+ in each of these workouts. At this point my diet wasn't quite on point, although I was eating healthily. So with such an intense plan I saw a considerable difference in my body, and my fitness skyrocketed thanks to the intense volume and the inclusion of cardio (I've never been a big cardio person, struggled to run for ten minutes straight around 18 months ago.

After the first month of this workout, I was pumped and ready for a new challenge; so I decided to progress to the more intense second month of the plan. This was structured with a five day split consisting of Quads and Hamstrings, Chest, Arms, Back, and Shoulders, Calves and Forearms. I suddenly found myself completing less sets overall each workout, but an element of German volume training had been dropped into the workouts, though the Muscle and Fitness variant was to perform 10 sets of 10 reps in 10 minutes, so each set and its rest time would be encapsulated in the same minute. Abs were also included three times a week, with three sessions of HIIT and two sessions of steady state cardio being split between the routines and performed post workout. As with the month before, I was eating healthily but my diet still could have done with a lot of tweaking.

Its safe to say that after completing that level of training over the course of the two months, I became much fitter, faster and stronger than ever before and I noticed a drastic change in my body. This continued up until Christmas last year, but in the New Year I was searching for a new challenge; I decided that I was ready to take my diet to the next level and to freshen up my workout formats. I'd noticed Icon Nutrition were advertising a 90 day challenge. All you had to do was purchase a pack which included a tailored nutrition and training plan, 2.2kg of whey protein, a large tub of their pre workout 'Ignite' (Which still remains my favourite pre workout), a t shirt and a bottle. They offered 10% off on this plan and I snapped it up straight away. Needless to say the training plan is an intense one, including three weights sessions all followed by an intense ab circuit, and three cardio sessions per week. They're all detailed and perfectly explained, there's also a home workout that you can complete which is pretty damn intense too. As for the nutrition plan, I'm finding it to be completely spot on, I've seen a huge change in my body and I'm really starting to shred fat. Plus, its a pretty cheap plan to follow and you can always chop and change some things to your liking, although the plan is varied with multiple options already. It's safe to say that since I've been on this 90 day challenge, I've been getting the perfect amount of nutrients and this is the best that I've ever felt. So anyone that's really interested in toning up and getting really healthy, the stack is definitely worth buying. I'd better also mention that they do other plans for specific goals too. I'll drop links at the end of this post for everything that I've mentioned so far.

The last thing that I want to focus on is the importance of choosing your environment very carefully. By this I mean that one of the most important things is to surround yourself with likeminded and/or wholly supportive people. Even if it's just through social networking sites like Twitter, find people that inspire you and let them continue to do so. Personally I've had endless support from my family and friends and I couldn't ask for any more from them, they're pretty damn amazing. However, there are so many people that I follow on Twitter that continue to inspire me and the fitness community is full of people that love to support eachother and you'll find that a lot of people will pass on their advice free of charge and with a hell of a lot of enthusiasm. For example, I've found that big communities and companies like BodyActive, Icon Nutrition and Machine Fitness are absolutely amazing for encouraging and recognising the people around them and they're in my opinion both at the pinnacle of the fitness community with regard to the effort that they show. You can find all of them on Twitter if you're interested in seeing what they have to say.

Here is the link to the Rock Hard workouts -
http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/rock-hard-training-plans-build-serious-muscle

and of course the Icon Nutrition 90 day challenge -
http://www.iconnutrition.co.uk/ICON90

Hope you all found the stuff I had to say interesting, and I hope that I can at least help one person with the resources from this post.

Alex.

Motivation

Motivation, its a powerful thing. It keeps you chasing your goals and encourages you to work harder and harder to bring those goals closer. Motivation can come in a variety of forms from direct or indirect influences. Since I've started to really train (16 months ago) people have commented on my commitment and asked me where my motivation and drive comes from. It got me questioning myself and at first I struggled to see what set me apart from a lot of others. I don't see training/dieting as a means to an end, and I absolutely love everything about them. My motivation boils down to the fact that I see this as a lifestyle and not just a chore. That's not just a self centred and narcissistic claim, take a moment to think about some big fitness icons. They love to train in the same way that any sports people love to train. They do this because they want to and not because they have to.

A phrase that always rang true for me was 'A Product of My Environment' I first heard this from Fitness Made EZ (Paul Corkery) and its a term that needs little analysis but has rather a strong meaning. Everyone is a product of their environment in some way or another. What if you constructed your own environment? By this I mean that you could surround yourself with people and communities that support and reinforce your own goals. Find those positive influences that encourage you to make that change for the better and connect with them. The fitness community is vast and usually extremely welcoming (in my experience). If you put in the work to surround yourself with these influences then you will definitely reap the rewards.

One thing that I've always been guilty of is beating myself up about my appearance and if it weren't for the people around me I'd still see myself in the same way. Its hard to see your own progress when you're so used to looking at yourself in a mirror on a daily basis. Pictures can help, but I prefer to rely on the input of friends and family. I've become so frustrated at points after months of clean eating and hard training and not seeing a difference, it took an outsider's view to make me realise that I'd made a lot more progress than I'd first thought.

So, the bottom line? Motivation can come from anywhere, but it doesn't just appear out of nowhere. You have to put in the effort to find your positive influences and to adapt your mindset. At first it all might seem like a chore, but give it a chance - you might learn to love it.

This is the part that I love the most, the name dropping. Like I said, you have to find your own inspiration; but maybe you could start by looking at who inspired me. In the beginning I had one single inspiration in the form of Fitness Made EZ - Paul Corkery (@Fitnessmadeez on Twitter and Facebook). I've learned a lot from him thanks to his non-bullshit, tenacious and active approach. As both a fitness source and a fighter, his input and support have been a huge help to me and he continues to be one of the big influences on my lifestyle. Next are the guys over at BodyActive. They included me in their community and offered me so much support and even gave me the opportunity to blog on their website (which I'd love to do on a regular basis), frankly I'm humbled to be a part of that community. Icon Nutrition have also been a huge influence, especially lately. They're amazing to interact with, always there to offer their input and they have a great team of athletes to help with that. Also they happen to make some of the most amazing supplements that I've ever tried. Kavan Byrne also provided some specific input, I had trouble training certain areas and he pointed me in the right direction and had me making gains again. I also recently discovered Emmy Glover's blog (lovelaughandlift.blogspot.co.uk) which is actually a really refreshing and balanced view on training and a healthy lifestyle, and I look forward to reading more of her posts.

That's all from me for now! Hopefully I'll be able to get some more posts up soon. Make sure to check out everyone that I've mentioned and see for yourself why I rate them so highly. As always, if you've got any questions then you can catch me on Twitter (@Wrighty__).