Reshape Your Shape. Ask Me How.

Ever heard that one before? It’s one of the most common pieces of advice you will hear. One of the most common misconceptions people have is that if they work out they can eat whatever they want. This is simply not true.I'm guessing you'll have to run 17 straight hours to burn this offThe most strenuous forms of exercise (i.e. running, rock climbing) will burn up to 700 calories per hour, depending on how heavy you are, and your muscle composition. A double-fudge covered cookie contains about 200 calories…eat four of those and you’ve lost the benefits of that one hour of strenuous running. Aside from the fact that most people can’t sprint for an hour straight, you get the point of how 60 seconds of bad eating negates the effect of 60 minutes of hard exercise.

The way your body looks depends 90% on your diet. Aside from your body fat %, your skin texture, hair, nails and mood are also affected by what you eat. Don’t get me wrong…exercise is very important in order to maintain a good body composition (fat vs. muscle), aerobic capacity and uplifted spirit, but don’t think you can just go ahead and eat whatever you want just because you went to the gym today.

I'm guessing you'll have to run 17 straight hours to burn this off

Aside from the above, having a healthy eating plan has many other benefits, among them being:

1. Blood sugar regulation

When you properly plan your meals and the times you will be eating you assist your metabolism in establishing a proper rhythm, avoiding the energy highs and lows associated with an erratic eating schedule.

2. Portion control becomes an easy task

When you pre-determine what you’ll be eating, you automatically regulate your portions which can be virtually impossible when you try to do so on autopilot. You can eat 100% healthy foods and still gain weight if you eat them in excess quantities. Also remember the 80% rule…eat until you’re 80% full and still able to move around comfortably.

3. You’ll get all your nutritional requirements

A proper nutritional plan contains all the elements needed to maintain a healthy physique, and that includes all your vegetables, fruits and proteins. By keeping track of what you’re eating, you’ll be sure that you’re eating adequately from all these groups.

4. Saving money on food

If you know what meals you’ll be eating throughout the week, you can make a comprehensive grocery list provided you stick to buying ONLY what is on that list!

5. You can cheat, and enjoy doing so

Yes, you read correctly. I absolutely insist that most of my clients have one cheat meal per week that includes a plate of whatever food they want, including soda pop or an alcoholic beverage PLUS a dessert. By including a cheat meal, you may better be able to stick to your weekly plan and be able to enjoy your favourite foods, minus the guilt.

So as you can see from all of the above, nutrition is very important. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to hear people complaining that they put in a lot of effort to exercise without seeing results. Maybe they’re getting bad advice, or thinking that because Michael Phelps eats 10,000 calories a day they can too. Michael Phelps probably swims 10 hours a day, and has a super-fast metabolism because he’s been doing so for years. Since neither of us is Michael Phelps, I recommend a moderate eating plan and exercise schedule of at least 3 times per week. Good luck!

It has been a while since research has proven that person's waistline is the most important measure of person's health. Bathroom scales no longer give the whole picture of one's health. At the same time, Body Max Index can be quite a meaningless measure and, as tens of thousands of people a year die from obesity related diseases, it seems important to look into the health risk factors...



Doctors have long known that the more weight a person gains, the higher their risk of a heart attack. The first large-scale international study of abdominal obesity has found that a tape measure indeed is a better guide to the risk of heart disease. The risks associated with increasing waists held across all populations, despite the widely varying waist sizes among the 168,000 people who took part. The study was conducted by 6000 family doctors across the globe. Although people in Far Eastern populations have smaller waists on average than those in the West, their risk of heart disease increased at the same rate as they put extra inches.

Body Mass Index, which is a ratio of person's height and weight, does not take into account the wide variations in person's shape. American footballers weighing upwards of 300lbs may cross the boundary for obesity as measured by their BMI, but be healthy because they carry most of their weight as muscle rather than fat.

The type of fat and where it accumulates is more important than the amount. Excess weight around the stomach is more harmful then when deposited in other parts of the body, such as legs and hips. Fat deposits deep inside the abdomen, which is seen in an expanding waist, secrets toxins into the blood stream, raises cholesterol and increases the body's resistance to insulin, essential for controlling blood sugar. A rise in insulin resistance means the pancreas has to produce extra insulin, which can damage other organs, such as the kidneys. Also, fat around waist secretes messenger molecules, compounds and hormones that contribute to heart disease and cancer.




Latest research has found that for every two inches you add to your waistline, you increase your chances of dying early. For every 2 inches (5 centimetres) increase in waist size, the risk of premature death rises by 17% in men and 13% in women, even if you are not classed as overweight.

Two people can both weigh 70 kilos and have the same height, but larger waist circumference in one of them will point to a larger ratio of body fat to body's muscle mass and, therefore, a larger health risk, despite Body Mass Index being the same for both of them and perhaps even showing a normal weight according to BMI scores. Actually, the study of 350,000 people with normal BMIs of 18 to 25 shows waist size is just as important. Also, people who have slim waists in relation to their hips - lived longer.

Men whose bellies measure more than 47.2 inches double their chances of early death compared to those with less than 31.5 inches round the middle.

Women with waist larger than 39.4 inches are the highest risk compared to those of less than 25.6 inches.

To measure your Waist, you need to follow these instructions:

Press your fingers into your torso near the right side of your waist. Push your fingers into your skin to find the bony pelvis. Keep pushing and moving your fingers along the edge of the hip bone until you find the top curve of the bone. The highest point will be located on the side of your torso, just underneath the lower portion of your ribcage. Generally, this spot will be at around the same level as your bellybutton, and near, or at, the narrowest part of your torso. Position the tape measure horizontally at this spot at the top of your hip bone. Then circle it around your abdomen and entire torso. Make sure that the tape lies horizontal on all sides of your torso. Breathe out when you take measurement, i.e., do not tuck in your tummy...

Now that you have measured it, here is where you can use this measurement to get your Free Instant Body Fat Analysis and see how you can lose those inches.