So the summer is kicking in and the sun is coming out in force (well sort of!) 
And whenever the sun comes out I get to thinking ha. When we rock towards summer people want to look and feel their best. However it is often during this summery – lets’ get into shorts, skirts and skorts (don’t know what a skort is then google it my fashionista friend 
) time many people actually let their training goals and fitness habits slide.
I have spoken about this issue before in length, but rest assured if you have stepped on the scales this summer and watched them slowly increase over the last few weeks – you are not alone. But there are things you can do to avoid the summer bulge and keep that body you worked so hard for during those dark winter mornings and spooky dark wintery nights in check 
In a similar vein the summer also brings its fair share of new gym goers which got me to thinking (told you I like to think when its sunny-ful :-D) Well yesterday I met with a new client for an initial assessment and consultation, and she showed me her entire week of a food diary, This woman was on the ball. And I mean on the ball! She recorded what she was eating – right down to counting out the exact amount of calories she was consuming per meal. She detailed WHEN she was eating and WHY she was eating (when she was trying a little self-justification – ha) so I knew she was serious about getting stuck in and giving it 110% this summer.
So the good part was that she was very honest in fact brutally honest and wrote EVERYTHING down she had eaten over the past week. The bad part was that there was nothing healthy on there. Loaded with sugars and crap- all the nonsense food I get my clients to avoid. So I showed her what to do to get on track, keeping it nice and simple and non-scary so that it was easy for her to take the next step. I tell any potential client looking to invest in personal training that this (and by this I mean training, nutrition, the works) has got to be a lifestyle change – so it is vital that all personal trainers no matter how much experience they have – make that transition step for their clients as simple as possible. Plain english so they understand.
If your client doesn’t understand WHAT they are doing – they will never stick to it. Makes sense right? And not that I’m boasting but my stick-dudes and stick-ladydudes I draw in my consultations are legendary. Awwww yeah 
So when I was finished explaining some of the simple changes I wanted her to implement (stick-ladydude drawn to perfection as always) I asked her if she had any questions. To my surprise she started asking me really advanced stuff.
“Should I go for grass-fed beef instead of regular beef?”
“Should I buy organic vegetables instead of regular?”
“Should I buy Krill Oil instead of Fish Oil?”
“Whats the best fat-burner I can buy?”
As well as a whole heap of other questions like that. I was like whaaaaaaa? Because none of this made any sense to me. Well not at that precise moment anyway 
You see if you don’t even have the basics right, how can you step to the next level? One step at a time people!
^^^Look how well Olfa did by just getting the basics right ^^^
So what I told her was simple. You HAVE to know where you currently are in order to know what to do next. What I mean is if right now you are not eating green vegetables a couple of times a week then my advice is simple – Start eating green vegetables. Pretty easy right? 
I don’t CARE if they’re organic or not, whether they were grown in the back of some granny’s garden. The most important thing you can do is actually eat them.
Just like when you start a new training program. The most important thing is to start – no matter what you do, the universe will reward your DECISION to take action. Or at least I will high 5 you anyway 
Clean up your diet first. Make it a habit. Make it a lifestyle. THEN we can start talking about the ‘next level’ more advanced stuff.
Same goes for the calorie counting stuff. Now don’t get me wrong – calorie counting has its place in certain conditions, for certain clients, with certain training goals. Some may have a certain level of previous training history. Certain clients may not. Not the amount of ‘CERTAINS’ in there . . . . . good they were intentional!!! 
What I am trying to say is – while certain (there we go again!!!) conditions or situations call for us to track and record the amount (and type of calories) we are consuming all calorie counts, calculations, tables, charts, funky graphy numbery charts . . . . are estimates. So unless you want to carry a weighing scales, measuring tape and abacus in the side pocket of your gym bag all day, your overall kcal counts will by and large be estimates. Ball park figures. It is very difficult to get it 100% perfect – and let’s face it will drive anybody (bar an accountant or statistician perhaps) demented. Pure head melted, want to punch myself and my weighing scales in the face demented.
Solution?
Get down to the basics first. Focus on what you are eating first instead of calculating how much you are eating to the decimal point slash fraction (not really sure how they work but whatever). But just don’t overdo it 
Make sense?
Take it one step at a time. Skip the ‘shiny fancy objects’ that you see online and in the media and just keep it simple 
And leave the fractions and decimal points aside . . . . for the time being anyway 
The ABS Gym
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