Weight loss "secrets"

If you're trying to kick off the new year by loosing a bit of weight, read on! If not, well... click on another post; I've got loads! 

Everyone and their dog is harping on about losing weight this time of year, and with every New Year comes a new "secret" –

"Eat these 5 things!"

"Just 10 minutes a day..."

"Don't do that; do this!"

Well, now it's my turn, and spoiler alert, it's not new. Sitting comfy? Right, here we go...

A 500-calorie deficit a day and move about a bit more than you usually do! 

*Crickets chirp as a tumbleweed gently bounces by...*

Yup...that's it. That's the "big secret". 

Ok, so I know that doesn't sound revolutionary, and that's because it isn't. It just works.

I do have more to add, though, to make the above a bit more useful. 

How do we achieve the 500-calorie deficit? Counting calories is again, probably not a shocking revelation, but guess what? It works.

I do however, have a very good "hack", and this may sound a bit over the top but bare with me. If you truly want to shave off calories without compromising too much on your favourite things, weigh them.

I'm sure that probably raised a few eyebrows, and perhaps scrunched a few others. 

I did just say, it may sound over the top, but guess what? It works.

On most packaging now it should show the nutritional information; some may only show it per 100 grams, some by portion size. 

A great example of this was just the other night when I went to add my normal squirt of BBQ sauce on my dinner. With a quick look at the label, I noticed the portion size was 15 grams and that was 84 calories! I put my plate on the scales, squeezed out 15 grams of sauce and very quickly realised where I could save probably over 100 calories, as I use waaaaaay more than a portion size!! 

See, I'm not here to tell you to stop eating your favourite things; on the contrary, I'm here to tell you to eat a controlled amount. Weigh them! 

Get to know what those calories look like and then make a choice. 

Here is where I personally (quite literally) trim the fat –

Fried eggs - measure the oil (save around 50kcal)

Butter on toast – (a smaller amount or sometimes none if I'm really trying – save around 100 kcal)

Coffee – black and maybe no sugar (if the coffee is good – save around 50 kcal)

Sauces – measure them and save around 100 kcal (in my case!).

I try and keep each meal to around 600-ish calories, then I still have a little room for snacks, but again, staying conscious of the calories.

So as you can see, I don't have to go on some crazy regime; just be mindful, and I can shave 300 kcal off without even realising it!!

This is important to note, as this is how the weight can easily pile up in the first place, with sneaky calories! 

I pair this with my normal volume of exercise and just keep at it until I reach my goal.

With the above, I would expect to see around 1-2 lbs a week progress. 

With this said, it needs to be noted that the progress will NOT be a nice simple drop every day. Mine, for example, looks more like a heartbeat going down the stairs. Sometimes I'm up a little, sometimes I'm up a lot, but over time the goal is that it's always trending down.

It's important to weigh yourself every day to understand your weight fluctuates naturally. Weighing yourself only once or twice a week can be a disaster mentally if you happen to weigh yourself on a "heavy" day.

There are many factors for these fluctuations, but the simplest one to consider is water.

Nerd time! 

Carbohydrates attract water; 1 gram of carbohydrate will grab 3-4 grams of water!

So you can see, you could have perfectly calculated meals, tick all your calories, macros, fats and STILL weigh in heavier, simply because you're carrying excess water. This in turn is not a "BAD" thing, just something to remember. 

Also, please... I'll say it again: please stop listening to people who are demonising carbs!! In fact, ANYONE who pushes restricted diets! Sidenote: unless they are for medical reasons...

Back to carbs and water...

So you don't need to cut out carbs; you probably just need to pee.

I shall end this post with perhaps the biggest industry secret I can currently think of. 

Everyone is looking for or promoting a "shortcut", and I can tell you exactly what it is.

Ready?

Stop wasting time looking for shortcuts!!

This simple honest truth has saved me so much time and energy and given me much more focus on just doing the work.

It's not a nice, glamorous, shiny answer; it's just constant, honest, relentless progress. 

Thanks for reading, and remember, just keep going; you're doing great!! 

Love and high fives,

Cardiosaurus

Baby steps, relentless baby steps

Well it's been a week and shock, horror, gasp...it's a new blog post!! 

*Pause for dramatic effect*

January can be a tough one from a fitness point of view. Some find it easy to ditch the chocolates, mince pies and alcohol, others not so much. The approach which is absolutely awful for progress in my opinion is the "I'll just finish this..." angle...ooof.

I definitely fall into this group if I'm not 100% mindful. I HATE waste so at the time of the decision, the logic is sound.

"I'll just finish this packet of mince pies and then they're gone and I can get back on track!" 

"I'll finish those beers then that's it...done!" 

January becomes February becomes...you get the idea.

I definitely have to make conscious decisions and relentlessly stick to it till it becomes habit. This generally takes around 2-3 weeks and then it's just automatic, part of the new software in my brain.

An approach that many people take at this time of year is just "All in, balls to the wall, restriction!" Now while this can have fantastic results, it comes with it a very high risk of burnout.

We all joke about the gyms being empty come the 1st February but it's a real thing. Heading into a fitness journey, all guns blazing can be disastrous if you haven't done the work in your head and you're relying on motivation alone. 

What I mean by this is setting a goal. A real one. Don't set out to lose 100kg in a month and be disappointed when it didn't happen. Baby steps, tiny, relentless, baby steps. 

Things are going to get hard, that's the point! THAT'S where you make progress, when you feel like you're done, you've had enough and want to tuck into the biscuits. Go AGAIN!

I heard the following on a podcast recently. It was regarding addiction but I think it very much applies to fitness as well. I'll take a bit of artistic license here but it was along the lines of... "If you walked into a forrest for 10 years and then turned around, would you expect to be home in 10 minutes?"

Powerful thought right? I really think this way of thinking can be used in a very positive way when the going gets tough.

When those results you were hoping for are taking a while, think "how long did it take me to get here?" and then get back to it with a smile that you're making progress by simply keeping going! Baby steps...

It must be said that the journey back doesn't take as long as the journey out, so don't panic! I'm not saying that because you have never run a step in your life, that it's going to take 30 years to run a 5km! 

A better example would be something like a goal weight. Let's say in this scenario you would like to lose 14lbs/1 stone/63.5KG (delete as appropriate). Now before you go steaming into it, take a moment and check the reality of the timeline. This with help you to not get disheartened or surprised when that doesn't happen in the first week.

Ok buckle up we are going to get a little nerdy but it's worth it!

Ever wondered why the advice is a 500 calorie a day deficit? Where did this number come from?

Well 500 calories a day over 7 days, yup no cheat days here, adds up to 3500 calories.

Would you like to guess how many calories are in 1lb of fat? I'll wait...

Congratulations! Yes it's 3500 calories! 

I know I have presented this in a very simple way but this is powerful stuff. 

Armed with this knowledge you now know that your body is likely to shed 1-2lbs a week on 500 calorie deficit a day.

Let's go back to the goal - 14lbs.

At weight loss rate of 1-2lbs a week - you should achieve that in approximately 7-14 weeks.

I say approximately because everyone is different. Some will lose more, some less, it all depends on where you started and how realistic your goal was. 

There are many other factors for weird weight results and fluctuations but I think I'll leave that for another post. 

The main points of todays ramblings? Stay strong, keep your eyes on the goal, keep it real and most importantly... Baby steps, relentless baby steps. 

As always, thank you so much for reading and I'll try and keep to another goal I set myself, posting (at least) once a week!

Love and high fives,

Cardiosaurus

New Year, Old Me!

 2026...where did you come from?!

Happy New Year everyone!

The PC has been dug out from where a mound of dust used to sit so I guess you could say I am quite literally dusting off the old blog!

You will have to forgive the jump in time here, its been a bit of a rollercoaster. On one side, another successful and very fulfilling year as a personal trainer, the other, an injury that`s taken over a year to heal and is still not 100% there yet!

As most people do this time of year, I have been thinking about the new year, goals, fitness and all that jazz.

From a fitness point of view last year (still sounds weird to say) was a very frustrating one. The year before (2024...also weird to say) I was in great shape and running very well. 

I really geared myself up for St Albans Stampede, a wonderful 4 mile loop around Heartwood Forest. The format being as many laps as you can/want (delete as appropriate) in 12 hours. This can be done in teams or solo...obviously solo was my choice of punishment.  

The weather this particular September was great and I was over the moon to finish 13 laps with 52 miles in 10:40:44 and a new personal best for the stampede!!

A month later, after a week of feeling pretty under the weather, I ran the "Top Run" event with the ever friendly Phoenix Running on a section of the river Thames. Walton on Thames to be more precise.

I took it kind of reserved as I wasn't feeling my best and was very happy to finish a marathon in 4:10:06! This also marked Marathon/Ultra number 33...brilliant.

I hobbled off to get some lunch with Mummysaurus. While I stuffed my face, we chatted about future plans and how I was closing in on 50 marathons/ultras, a goal I had set myself a while back, to complete 50 marathons/ultras before I turn 50. 

Lunch done I stand up and my left foot is pretty tender. Not really new news for me so I just begin hobbling out of the pub. The stairs is where the real "fun" starts and I very nearly fall down them. On flat ground now and we have about a half a mile walk to the car park. After only a couple of steps I feel like something is a little different. My heel hurts, like...a LOT! I grit my teeth and shuffle my way to the car.

Around an hour later I step, ever so stiffly, out of the car. My foot touches the ground and I want to scream. I settle on a small whimper, hug Mummysaurus and head inside for a nice hot shower and some painkillers.

I limp around for the rest of the evening and head off to bed.

I roll out of bed, put my foot on the ground and instantly feel like its been hit by a truck! Now I`m not new to foot pain but this feels new...different...in a BAD way. 

I spend the next couple of months not being able to run at all, even walking around is extremely uncomfortable. I`ll spare you the boring build up back to 10km, I wish I could have missed it too. Even now, a year later, I have to take things a little gently. 

I`m not really sure why I waited so long to see a professional, I guess I just thought it would take time and get better...with hindsight I should've just seen someone right away but well...here we are!

I went to a muscular skeletal specialist who promptly told me off for not seeing someone earlier. Yup...totally agree! At least there is nothing wrong with my hindsight, that's 20/20!! (insert comical "BA DUM TSS!)

They prodded and poked and then referred me for an x-ray to make sure I didn't have, possibly now a badly repaired heel fracture.

4-6 weeks later, x-ray done and results finally back I head back to the muscular skeletal specialist for the verdict. 

"Well the good news is its not a heel fracture" 

"ok" I reply slightly nervously as I await the bad news portion... 

"You have Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy"

"ah....so what now?"

"Well....try some heel lifts in your shoes and halve the amount of running you did when you injured it"

At this I had a slight smile on my face and said "oh...I probably did it during the 50 miler...does that mean I can run a marathon?!" assuming the obvious answer, somewhere along the lines of "no you absolute moron!" what I got was unexpected.

She leant back on her chair a bit with a small smile, gave a little shrug and said the following glorious word;

"sure".

She went on to explain that I've got to build up and listen to my body along the way, all the normal advice really. 

I walked out with mixed emotions. I had prepared myself for potentional disastrous news and instead was left with something along the lines of "its just going to take longer".

Before I go much further lets backtrack a little to the diagnosis - "Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy"

For those of you that want a proper breakdown, please Google that now, its really quite fascinating!

For those that don't, I`ll do my best to give you a quick breakdown. 

Basically it means the area where the Achilles tendon attaches to your heel bone has been damaged.

I've added a picture here for reference...

The pain can present itself much like Achilles Tendinopathy and Plantar Fasciitis. In my case I get pain just in front of where that arrow is that shows the Heel Bone.

So in summary - Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy - Not fun, would not recommend 3/10.

Obviously there are much worse injuries out there and overall I'm thankful that this wasn't one of those. The road to a full recovery may still be some time away but most important of all, I can still run!

This I think is a nice positive way to end this post and start the New Year!

I don't really do New Years resolutions, more of an ongoing thought.

Its time to start the journey back to that crazy fitness level that makes me feel like a superhero!

So here it is, my thought for the New Year;

New Year, Old Me!

Thanks for reading and a very Happy New Year to you all!

Love as always,

Cardiosaurus