I felt like grabbing my copy of Fit Yummy Mummy and giving it to them to read, seeing they could have done that quite easily while they walked!!  If only they knew that if they just made a few small changes to what they were doing, the the pounds would start to fall off so much quicker.

ARGH!  I feel so frustrated!  They would not need to walk on a treadmill for hours on end.  They’d be in and out of the gym within half an hour and they’d only have to go three times a week! 

I’m nearing week 4 of the Fit Yummy Mummy 12 Week Transformation Challenge right now and I have definitely noticed a huge improvement to how I feel.  I’ve been sick, but have almost completely recovered.  I am definitely stronger, I am fitter and I think I’m even looking better!

I’m not a salesy type of person but in a few weeks if people ask me how I got to look so good, I’ll tell them it was the Fit Yummy Mummy that did it and send them to this website to read my story!

Needless to say, the scales are working in my favour, telling me I’ve lost more weight.  How, I am not sure because I haven’t done a lot more than usual, although I have found time to do a little exercise, and my eating habits for the most part have been pretty good.

So now I enter Week 3, with only 9 to go before I can show off my new body!  Woo hoo!  It doesn’t seem like a lot of time, so I suppose only time will tell…

A quality goal must meet the following criteria:

1.  It must be Specific – You know you need to lose weight, but just saying “I really need to lose weight…”, is not enough.  Your goal must be well-defined.  Be as specific as possible.  

2.  It must be Measurable – Be clear how you will recognize when you have achieved your goal weight.  What exactly do you want to weigh?  What will your future dress size be?  Are you starting to get excited?  Think about how achieving this goal is going to make you feel! 

3.  It must be Attainable –  Setting yourself goals that you cannot possibly achieve will only end in disappointment.  Make your goal challenging but realistic.  Are you able to do what needs to be done?  Does your timeframe give you enough time to achieve your goal?  Set yourself up for success!

4.  It must be Relevant – Step back and get an overview of all the different areas of your life.  Consider how relevant your goal is to the overall picture. 

5.  Time – Set a time scale for completion of your goal.  Does this allow enough time to safely achieve your goal?  For those doing the Fit Yummy Mummy Summer Transformation Challenge, you can set yourself a date in 12 weeks from the day you started because that’s when the challenge will end!

I did my three x 30 minutes of exercise and maintained a reasonably good diet too.  I’m feeling energised and ready to face week 2!

I increased my dumbell weights from 6kg to 8kg so am really happy with my progress.  Oh and I’m now doing 3 supersets of exercises instead of 2 like I was doing before!  I am definitely getting fitter, and soon I’ll start to look better, now that I’m well and able to exercise again.

So why is it so hard? It’s hard because we’ve all been lied to for years and years, and now it’s time to learn the truth.

Did you know that exercising too much will not help you to lose weight? You will very likely lose some initially, but soon you will plateau. Not good if you have a bit of weight to lose.

Instead you should be doing this (this is an example of what you can do):

Exercise for 30 minutes, three times a week. The first 15 minutes will be spent doing resistance training (lunges, pushups, chin ups, weights, squats, and many more). The second 15 minutes will be spent doing intervals. Intervals mean you’re going hard for a minute or so (these timings will vary as you get fitter) then slow your pace for a minute or so (enough to get your breath back), alternating for 15 minutes.

As for nutrition, please forget diet pills! They don’t work and they never have. If they were so great, then why are there so many overweight people around these days? Don’t waste your money!

Also, you should never, ever skip breakfast, no matter how much you detest eating breakfast. This is by far the most important part of your weight loss program. If you don’t eat breakfast, then you’re not getting your metabolism to work for you by giving it a daily kick start. Instead you are teaching your body to become more efficient at storing fat. If you want to lose weight and not gain it, then eat breakfast. Also, never, ever skip meals for the same reason.

Ideally, you should eat every 3 hours or so. This equates to around 5 to 6 meals per day.

Sign up for the Truth About Abs newsletter on my website and you will get a free Basal Metabolic Rate calculator. This will help you to determine how many calories you need to be consuming each day. Spread these out over your 5 to 6 meals and you will be on your way to a fit, sexy body!

If you want o know what the best way is to lose weight quick, then read on:

1. Eat 5 to 6 meals a day - this helps to build your metabolism which is essential to weight loss.

2. Make sure you eat plenty of protein, fruit, vegetables and complex carbs at each meal - healthy food like this is harder for your body to digest, therefore requiring more energy. This is good for weight loss.

3. Avoid trans fats, sodas and any other sugary or processed foods. These are not helping you (although refer to point number 10 for a bit of relief!).

4. Exercise for 90 minutes a week - MAX!

5. Include 15 minutes of resistance training, 3 times a week in your exercise routine. The more muscle you build, the higher your metabolism will be (don’t worry girls - we don’t get bulky like guys do!).

6. Include 15 minutes of intervals training, 3 times a week in your exercise routine. Combine this with your resistance training and your metabolism will remain higher for over 24 hours. This is really good for weight loss!

7. If you don’t really know what you should eat or what exercises you should do, then find yourself a weight loss program that doesn’t promise miracles but does promise results. The programs reviewed on the website below are the best I have ever come across - and they work!

8. Believe you can do it.

9. Stick to it.

10. Allow yourself to have a “cheat” meal once a week. This “cheat” meal is fine, as long as you watch your portion sizes, and you will find that you can still lose weight even with a bad treat every now and then.

As for whether you will lose weight quickly or not by following a great program like The Truth About Abs or Fit Yummy Mummy programs promoted on this website, really depends on how well you stick to the plan. It will also to some extent depend on your genetics, but this is by far the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

It depends on how much you weigh now, how tall you are, whether you are a boy or a girl , how old you are, and how active you are.

To determine how many calories you need to consume each day, you need to work out your Basal Metabolic Rate (or BMR). This is the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day, which is something you hopefully don’t do!

You can follow the formulas below to work it out yourself or you can sign up for the free Fat Loss Report to get access to a free downloadable BMR calculator:

English BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years)
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

Metric BMR Formula
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) - ( 6.8 x age in years )

Now, to take into consideration what level (if any) of exercise you do, to determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

If you do little or no exercise : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you do light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you do moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you do hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you do very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Ok, so that’s to work out how to maintain your current weight. There are apparently 3500 calories to a pound, so over the course of a week you might need to reduce your calorie intake by around 500 calories a day if you want to lose weight but there is a limit to how low you should go before you become counterproductive, and therefore lowering your metabolism (which you don’t want to do if you want to lose weight!).

There are also of course “safe” and “unsafe” ways to do this, so please seek the advice of an expert first. Starving yourself is NOT going to help you lose weight and keep it off, so it’s important your intake is appropriate for your body type and your goals!

I did around 15 minutes of my resistance training, with intervals (running/walking to the end of the street and back). 

Now I’ve got to go and work out what I’m doing about lunch tomorrow - the key to succeeding in any weight loss program is to plan ahead, and today I’ve been extremely slack and haven’t arranged anything for the week, so I’d better go and do that now!

Unfortunately it’s not that easy, and many are sucked in by the “fad” and “miracle” diets out there. Problem with these is that they provide no long-term benefits, and many people put on weight and end up heavier than they were before they started! What a waste of time and money!

Don’t let this put you off though because there is a way to lose weight that’s easy and effective as I have found and as I have featured on my website.

If you are desperate to lose weight quickly, consider the following tips:

- You need to commit to your decision to lose weight.

- You must find yourself a decent weight loss program to follow. Remember that “fad” and “miracle” diets are nothing but a waste of your time, money and effort. The links below will take you to the site that reviews the best programs I have come across EVER!

- Know that you are going to have to make some changes to your diet, whether you like it or not (sorry!).

- You WILL have to exercise! But don’t worry - the programs I talk about on my website only require that you do a maximum of 90 minutes a week. That’s only 30 minutes a day, 3 times a week!

- Never, EVER starve yourself!! Doing so will only lower your metabolism. Low metabolism = no weight loss! Remember that!

- If you’re not sure about whether to run on a treadmill for half an hour, or do intervals for 15 minutes, take the intervals - you will lose a LOT more weight in the long run.

- If you can’t afford to pay for a good weight loss program (as featured at the sites mentioned below), do yourself a favour and subscribe to the free newsletters offered, and be sure to download any free items you receive in return for your subscription. The good thing about these is that you can unsubscribe at any time.

You have probably realized by now that losing weight is going to take some effort, but if you find the right weight loss program, and you’re desperate to lose weight quickly, then you will do just that!

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup oats
4-5 egg whites
1 banana/some pumpkin/any fruit
Sweetner if you need it (I use Stevia)

Blend all ingredients until they form a batter.
Bake in small loaf pan or muffin tins at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.