Archive for the 'Transformation' Category

X-Treme Results Challenge

Published on March 23, 2013 in cellulite, competition, Diet, fat loss, Recipes, stubborn fat, Transformation, weight and weight loss. 0 Comments

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been dreaming about it for years and working on it for months – now it’s FINALLY official:

TheX-Treme Results Challenge is Open! <—Your HALF PRICE VIP Invitation!

What is the X-Treme Results Challenge?

I created this unique opportunity after listening to valuable feedback from my readers. Even though you exercise and eat well, many of you are STILL frustrated by lack of results.

You see, I’ve competed many times in body sculpting before,  so I definitely know what it takes to get lean. Better still, I know how to do it in the quickest, healthiest way possible.

In the X-Treme Results Challenge program I’ve taken only the BEST methods and put them together with my ‘insider fat loss secrets’ that you won’t find anywhere else. And, probably
the most valuable of all, you’ll get direct access to me.

To celebrate the launch you can join the Challenge for HALF PRICE (this week only) – PLUS you’ll get the bonus X-Treme Results Recipe book for f.ree!

Take Your Body to the NEXT Level! <—HALF PRICE this week only!

In the X-Treme Results Challenge you can expect to discover:

  • My unique carb tapering system (I used this diet to place in a National body sculpting competition)
  • The Ten Success Commandments (without these you’ll NEVER succeed!)
  • The fat loss ‘Miracle Sleep’ (when you experience this, the fat just MELTS off!)
  • Insider tips, tricks and info (some things just CANNOT  be made public!)

Finally, you can work with me DIRECTLY…

In the past many of you have asked to work with me personally but since having little Kyah I just haven’t had the time. But now she’s a little older, you CAN! I’ll be coaching all participants
via my dedicated forum and I can’t wait to help you take your body to the NEXT level!

Better yet, I’ll be doing the program right alongside you!

Here’s what you’ll get with the X-Treme Results Challenge:

*My X-Treme Results Diet Program that I used to place in a national body sculpting competition – the BEST I’ve ever felt when dieting down to low body fat levels!

*Two personally created and tested training programs to sculpt lean, lovely curves

*8 WEEKS of coaching, guidance, tips, tricks and insider info from me

*Weekly Quick Check Summaries (so you know what to do at a glance)

But wait, it gets better…

If you act fast, you’ll also have the opportunity to lay your hands on an extra bonus that I personally compiled to complement the program.

X-Treme Results Recipes

One of the most difficult things we face when dieting is the feeling of deprivation. With recipes like Coriander (Cilantro) Chicken with Tomato Salsa,  Pancakes and Chocolate Cake with
Vanilla Frosting, you don’t have to! You’ll get this recipe book f.ree when you purchase the XRC this week. All recipes include nutritional values so you can easily fit them into the XRC diet
plan.

Mark my words; the X-Treme Results Challenge is a SERIOUSLY valuable investment. You won’t regret it!

http://www.idealbodiesonline.com/xtremeresults Launch sale ends soon

Dream, Believe, Achieve!

 

5 more sleeps…

Published on January 25, 2013 in Diet, fat loss, Transformation and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Ummm. Hello? Remember me?

How are you all doing out there? Well I hope.

I have so many things to update on I’m not quite sure where to start. So I’ll start with the big move.

After having been in my hometown of Mildura all my life, my family and I are packing up and making the trek across to Adelaide. Of course the hardest thing of all is leaving family here – but Adelaide is only a 4 hour drive away so it’s easy access for visitors, and for us coming back.

Apart from being sad to leave my family, I honestly can’t wait. This move, and change, has been long overdue. The past few months has seen me selling our house, tripping back and forth to Adelaide searching for rental properties, child care and running the business which of course doesn’t stop. And of course in between all that was Christmas.

So you could say I have been under quite a bit of stress (slight understatement!). When I get to Adelaide, I’m taking a few weeks to settle in and relax. Goodness knows I need it.

Anyone who’s ever rented before will appreciate how quickly good properties are snapped up. Damien had been on realestate.com.au site every day for months and we rarely found anything that was suitable. We want a yard for Kyah – didn’t realize how difficult that would be to find. Add to that we need 4 BR’s or a study because I work from home, and the cost of renting becomes quite ridiculous. I have never rented before so it’s a new experience for me.

Well, we got a lucky break – we happened to be over there and Damien was searching the net, saw a new listing for a 4BR house plus study with a yard 150m to the beach! Within 24 hours we were signed up. I LOVE Kingston Park. It wouldn’t be the same if we were just moving to a house in the ‘burbs!

Here is the view from the front of our house:

 

Our new view

What I’m looking forward to in Adelaide…

The beach!
Stair runs at the end of my street
Walks along the esplanade
Sand sprints
Fresh food markets
Fresh seafood
Sporting events
New and interesting restaurants
Shopping!
More opportunities, things to see and do

Here’s my little beach babe:

Beach babe at Brighton

So, of course with all that I’ve had going on I’ve been *just* keeping my hand in the gym. I didn’t want to stop completely because I can’t stand going through that initial conditioning phase again. So I’m just doing 2 x week training and that’s it! No cardio. Starting to feel a little bit of fat gain creeping on, add that to the muscle loss and I’m really keen to get back into it with a vengeance when I settle in.

I’m going to do a hard core 8 week sculpting and fat loss program. Designed by moi. But my mind has been ticking over because I know how many people struggle to lose the last few kilos – or to go from looking good, to looking AMAZING. That’s what this program will be all about. It will be gym based, and involve 4 days a week lifting (plus cardio). I want to invite anyone who likes the idea to drop me a registration of interest to sue @ idealbodiesonline.com (remove spaces). I want to open this course up to my readers and clients. It will be run like a group coaching program, in a forum setting – with me as your coach. So if you’re tired of not getting results, and are ready to stop making excuses and go hard core, this 8 week program may be exactly what you need!

At present I don’t have much if any involvement with clients because I have a wonderful team of ladies who do that which allows me to work on other aspects of my business (like this one!). Those interested in this coaching program would have direct access to me in a group based online environment.

Email me at the above address with EXTREME RESULTS as the subject. This will provide me with information on whether this is something you guys would actually be interested in. I’ll be looking to kick it off around mid to late Feb.

Ok, well I’m off to the gym for a full body workout, then I better pack up the rest of my walk in robe. Our house looks like a bomb site at the moment as you can imagine. We have 5 more sleeps to go, and then we’re off!

Love, Sue x

Top 10 Tips to Get a Drop Dead Gorgeous Figure

Published on September 14, 2012 in Diet, fat loss, stubborn fat, Transformation, weight and weight loss. 1 Comment

In this day and age, if there is one thing EVERY woman wants, it’s to have a hot sexy body that is toned, shapely and drop dead gorgeous!

So how do you get a drop dead gorgeous body at any age?

It’s done via a two pronged approach – by increasing the amount of lean muscle tissue you have and burning off your excess body fat.

This process is not called ‘losing weight’ – it’s called Body Recomposition.

Whether you are a professional fitness model or a stay-at-home mum, if you want a nice firm backside, shapely arms and shoulders, a slim waist and some abdominal definition – your goal should not be just to lose weight; it should always be to improve your body composition.

So today I bring to you My Top 10 Tips for Body Recomposition.

TOP 10 TIPS FOR BODY RECOMPOSITION:

1. Train with challenging weights in the 6-12 rep range

Adding lean shapely muscle (called hypertrophy) is best achieved with challenging weights in the rep range of 6-12.

Hypertrophy is the process of increasing the size of cells within an organ or tissue (such as muscle tissue), thereby increasing its overall size.

If you train with higher reps you surpass this stage and train your muscles for endurance rather than lean muscle gain. But, DON’T be afraid of building huge many muscles – it simply can’t happen as women don’t have enough of the male hormone testosterone.

2. Train at least 3 x week with weights

You need to stress the muscles often enough to elicit the adaptation response. The muscle then gets stronger and bigger, due to the stresses placed upon it. Therefore challenging weight training 3-5 x per week is recommended.

3. Eat plenty of protein

Protein will also help keep you fuller for longer and it has a thermic effect within the body, meaning that it takes additional energy/calories in order to break down the protein to be digested and used. So it’s great for muscle building, recovery AND fat loss.

4. Reduce your intake of carbohydrates but don’t eliminate them

You can’t burn fat in the presence of insulin and every time you ingest sugars or carbohydrates, your body releases insulin.

Yet carbohydrates are beneficial for brain fuel and for muscle recovery and are your body’s preferred energy source – so don’t eliminate them completely. The best time to eat carbohydrates is around your training times – before, and especially after a challenging workout. If you do this, you can be sure your carbs won’t be stored as fat.

5. Eat more veggies

Not only are fibrous veggies low in calories and packed with nutrients but they also have a high thermic effect so use up a lot of energy just to digest. And, cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts even help to counteract estrogen dominance, an insidious hormonal condition that many ladies suffer without even knowing.

6. Eat enough food

One of the biggest mistakes women make is not eating enough to fuel their body and assist with their fat loss and lean muscle gain goals.

You need to eat regular meals packed with protein, some complex carbs, lots of veggies and some good fats. Starving yourself is only going to slow down your metabolism and see you gain
weight long term, making it harder to get it off and keep it off. Not to mention, it’s no fun being hungry all the time.

7. Get enough rest and sleep

Many overlook the importance of sleep, but if you don’t get enough sleep you can’t function properly – and this has two negative outcomes.

The first is that you are unable to work to your full potential or hard enough in your training sessions. The second is that when you are tired, it messes with your hormones making it much harder to resist cravings.

8. Don’t overdo the cardio

If you want to lower your body fat and gain lean muscle too much cardio is counter-productive – especially the popular long, slow kind such as long distance running or cycling.

Muscle wastage occurs when performing a lot of long duration cardio, so instead try 2-3 short, high intensity sessions and only add longer, more moderate sessions as a last resort. Metabolic resistance training is a great option especially if you don’t have a lot of time.

The aim should always be to do as little cardio as possible if body re-composition is your goal.

Excess cardio also makes you hungry, and you’ll start to compromise your diet by over-eating.

9. Throw away the scale

When you change your body recomposition for the better, you add lean muscle weight (while reducing fat weight) so you may not see a huge drop on the scale but you will definitely see it in the mirror and by how your clothes fit.

10. Be patient
If you’re wondering how long it takes to transform your figure, an excellent time frame to give yourself is 12 weeks. If you are looking for rapid ‘weight’ loss, you will most likely find yourself losing a lot more precious muscle tissue than fat, becoming unbearably hungry and wrecking your hormones in the process.

If you need help in the area of body recomposition and are looking for a cost effective, practical solution check out my Ideal Body Blueprint program.

For a more personalized approach to getting a drop dead gorgeous figure, with coaching accountability and support, check out our award winning Body Makeover Programs

 

8 Reasons Calorie Counting Will Make You Gain Weight

Published on July 3, 2012 in Articles, Binge eating, Diet, fat loss, food, Transformation and weight loss. 0 Comments

When you look at the numbers, calorie counting seems like it makes sense. You keep track of the amount of food you eat every day and worry about keeping the numbers low.

However, most of the time people who calorie-count to control their weight or to lose weight have more hurdles to overcome than they realize:

Hurdle #1: Calorie counting.

Calorie counting alone doesn’t take into account the types of foods you should be taking in or the timing of these nutrients. This is extremely important when it comes to changing the shape of your body.

You may be familiar with some popular diet programs that rely on just counting calories. Have you ever noticed the people who lose weight on these programs simply end up a smaller version of the shape they were in? They are not lean, toned, defined – they are simply a smaller version of their old self.

Hurdle #2: Types of calories.

The type of calories you ingest is vitally important. Eating junk food calories or calories high in sugar can make you tired, hungry and moody due to unstable blood sugar levels.

Therefore, you’ll be more inclined to overeat. Good nutritious foods such as lean proteins, some complex carbohydrates, fruit and good fats, and plenty of vegetables is what you should be focusing on. Choose unprocessed foods where possible – avoid boxes and packaged foods.

Hurdle #3: Calorie conservation.

If you are eating the same low calories day in day out, your body will become very efficient at conserving calories.

Your body reacts the same way it would if you were experiencing a real-life famine… your body reacts as if its very survival is in danger!

When your body’s metabolism slows you will then need to consume less and less calories just to maintain the same weight.

One thing that can help is incorporating a free or ‘cheat’ meal – the additional load in calories when strategically planned can actually work to your advantage.

Hurdle #4: Training.

Those who train regularly need enough calories to sustain those training sessions and to facilitate recovery. Many people simply try to keep calories as low as possible, usually with disastrous results.

Hurdle #5: Misleading food labels.

Lately, there’s been a lot of media coverage about how many foods are deliberately mislabeled. There are more calories in them than you think.

Why is this important?

If your calorie counting is even one or two hundred calories off because of misleading food labels then you’ll gradually gain pounds – not lose them!

Hurdle #6: Overestimating calorie burning.

Unless you’re accurately tracking how many calories you’re really burning, chances are you’re consuming at least as much, if not more, than you’re burning. The result is weight gain.

Hurdle #7: Sinful foods.

We easily forget to count foods that ultimately put us over our daily calorie limit. It’s tough to keep track of everything. Maybe a bite of a brownie here, a sip of a coke there and a lick of the peanut butter jar are all neglected to be recorded as calories, however, a bit of a sip and a lick all add up over the course of a day and these add up to pounds over time.

Hurdle #8: Personal guilt.

If we happen to go over our calorie limit that we set for ourselves, we end up feeling guilty and ashamed.

Often, this is enough for many people to start an all-out binge fest. After all, you may as well make the most of your mistake right?

This is a surefire way to start (or continue) yo-yo dieting which will ultimately damage your metabolism and make you fat and unhappy very quickly. Worse, yo-yo dieting will make it very difficult for you to maintain a healthy weight long term.

As you can see, the calorie counting approach to fat burning can be full of holes. It is vitally important to keep tabs on what you put in your body but by constantly counting calories you can actually end up hurting your results.

END ARTICLE

If you’d like a guaranteed method to lose fat and sculpt your body without the hassle of counting calories, stay tuned until next week…

I have a surprise for you

Sue

5 Principles For The FASTEST Fat Loss

Published on April 26, 2012 in Diet, fat loss, stubborn fat, Transformation, weight and weight loss. 0 Comments

By guest blogger, Joel Marion

In Tuesday’s article, 5 Things LIMITING You From The FASTEST Fat Loss, we talked about just that—the 5 biggest fat loss “killers” present in most diet and exercise programs that are holding you back from achieving the most rapid results.  If you have yet to read that article, click HERE (page opens in a new window) to check it out as today’s article won’t make much sense without first having absorbed that content.

For those of you who have already read that article, today, I’m here to talk to you about the “fixes”. Let’s get right in to it:

Principle #1 – You must keep your body and metabolism happy.

As mentioned in yesterday’s article, dieting can do a number on your metabolism by screwing with important fat burning hormones like leptin, and rather quickly at that.  The answer to overcoming these adaptations lies in strategic high-calorie Cheat Days.

As you recall, leptin is heavily mediated by your calorie intake.  Decrease calories and leptin levels fall off, increase calories and leptin levels recover.

And while it takes roughly a week of moderate dieting for leptin levels to fall off significantly, it only takes one day of cheating, or overfeeding, for leptin to recover back to baseline.

By frequently resetting your metabolism throughout the course of your diet with strategic high-calorie Cheat Days, you can essentially have your cake and eat it too while watching your waistline continually shrink week after week.

Principle #2 – You must create a massive calorie deficit to lose fat rapidly.

There’s no way around it, a pound of fat is 3500 calories.  If you’re going to lose a pound of fat, you’re going to have to create a 3500 calorie deficit (while keeping your body in “fat burning mode” at the same time).  If you want to lose 10 lbs of pure fat, that’ll require a 35,000 calorie deficit.

SIDE NOTE: Please realize that 10 lbs of pure fat loss will probably equate to somewhere between 15 and 20 lbs of actual “weight loss” due to the simultaneous water loss that occurs any time you lose fat.

After a cheat day your body is uber primed for fat loss, and it’s prime time to take advantage with a mega calorie deficit.  On this day, we do two things:

1.  Consume minimal calories along with strategic supplementation to offset muscle catabolism.

2.  Ramp up activity to burn a ton of additional calories on this day

With this type of strategic set-up, it’s actually possible to burn a pound of pure fat in one day (considering that a pound of fat loss a week is deemed a “very good” rate of fat loss by most standards, that’s pretty awesome).

Principle #3:  You must tackle your fat loss goals synergistically through diet and exercise.

When you’re talking about the most strategic set-up and the most rapid fat loss, things get a little more complex than simply “do a lot of exercise”.  In fact, the type of exercise you do is just as important to your rapid fat loss goals as the frequency, duration, and intensity are.

With the Xtreme Fat Loss diet, you’ll see that there is a specific type or style of workout that we’ve purposefully chosen for each type of day to optimize and accelerate the results of that day.

Here is just one example:

Lactic Acid Training, which are very metabolically demanding, calorie-burning workouts, are performed on Depletion Days.

Because lactic acid workouts have the potential to burn more calories than other styles of training (because…they’re hard), they are the clear choice for Depletion Days when we want to create the largest caloric deficit.  Lactic acid training also depletes the body’s “energy reserve”, making them the ideal workout style for Depletion Days.

Principle #4:  You must avoid ANY positive weight gain.

When I first started teaching Cheat Days it was understood that there may be some positive fat gain as a result of a Cheat Day in order to yield MORE fat loss the following week (leading to a great net weekly fat loss).

For example, without incorporating strategic Cheat Days, let’s say someone is able to lose a pound a week (with each week’s weight loss becoming progressively slower leading to the inevitable plateau).

With strategic cheating that same person is able to now lose 2 lbs each week (with no drop off in metabolism and no plateau).  This is a result of a half pound gain in body fat from the Cheat Day and a subsequent 2.5 pound loss (net loss = 2 lbs).

Now, the latter scenario is obviously WAY better than sticking to the same boring, strict diet every day while achieving slower results, but it still leaves a half pound of fat gain resulting from the Cheat Day, which, if eliminated = faster results.

Within muscle tissue, energy is stored in the form of glycogen (carbohydrate energy) and triglycerides (fat energy).  With strategic training (like the lactic acid training mentioned in principle #3), these energy stores can be depleted or exhausted.

Why would you want to do that?

To make “room” for an influx of calories, carbohydrate and fat (for example, a Cheat Day)!

When glycogen and triglyceride stores are full, a Cheat Day is like pouring more liquid into an already full glass.  Some of that liquid is inevitably going to spill over and lead to a bit of a mess (in this case, fat storage).  But, if you dump out the glass and then refill it, there’s no “overflow”.

This is exactly what we do by performing glycogen and triglyceride depleting lactic acid training (while limiting carbohydrate intake) on the day prior to a Cheat Day.  We empty the cup making room for the following day’s influx of cals, carbs, and fat.

The result?  You get the same hormone-boosting, metabolism stimulating effect from the Cheat Day without the fat gain.  Instead, the excess calories and carbs simply go to refilling your body’s empty energy stores.  That, my friends, is what I call strategy.

And by eliminating any Cheat Day fat gain, you can easily increase your rate of fat loss by 25%!

Principle #5—You must maintain muscle mass to maintain metabolism.

This ties back in to some of the information I shared in Principle #3, the strategic combination of diet & exercise for optimal results, along with something else I haven’t fully touched on yet.

When faced with long-term calorie restriction, the body will choose to utilize muscle tissue for energy over body fat, leading to significant muscle loss and decreased metabolism for most dieters. Simply put, fat is more valuable to your body than “extra muscle” when it comes to survival, and it prioritizes accordingly in the face of long-term calorie restriction.

But, when you understand how to combine strategic cheat days along with high volume training to spark muscle growth even while you’re dieting, then you’ll easily be able to maintain (if not gain a couple pounds) of lean muscle throughout the course of only a few weeks.

Muscle = metabolism.  The more lean muscle you have on your frame, the higher your metabolism is going to be.  Muscle burns calories just sitting there.  Maintaining it as you lose fat is fundamentally important to continuing to lose fat at an optimal rate.

Another way this program helps you maintain muscle is via Principle #1 – keeping your body happy.  When your body remains in a “normal” state (instead of a “red alert” state like with long-term calorie restriction) over the course of a diet, there is no reason for it to resort to muscle tissue for energy.  By keeping leptin levels high week after week, you maintain your metabolism and program your body to continue to burn fat, not muscle.

Wrap Up

You now KNOW what’s limiting your fat loss along with my 5 top principles to overcome those limitations.  As you can see, it’s ALL strategy and every single piece of the puzzle makes a huge difference.

Thanks for the great info Joel!

Doesn’t reading that article make you excited about the fat loss possibilities that you are capable of? If you are ready to experience just how FAST fat loss can be when you unlock the power of strategic, synergistic program design, then next week we have a nice surprise for you! On Tuesday, May 1st, the discounted pre-sale will open and you’ll have the chance to get your own copy of the fastest fat loss diet in history. I’m even considering following this one myself.

Have an awesome weekend!

Sue

5 Things Limiting You from the FASTEST Fat Loss

Published on April 24, 2012 in Diet, fat loss, stubborn fat, Transformation, weight and weight loss. 0 Comments

By Joel Marion

Have you ever wondered what may be holding you back from the FASTEST fat loss?

Why you’ve only been able to lose fat at an “average” speed, if at all?

Well, the fact of the matter is this: there’s probably certain things built in to the very diet and exercise program that YOU are doing, things that you don’t even realize are inhibiting you from achieving the most rapid results.

Fortunately, you’re in luck, because that’s exactly what this article is all about—uncovering what I consider to be the top 5 fat loss “killers” plaguing diets and training programs alike, ultimately slowing down your results despite your most intense efforts.

Limiting Factor #1: Your Metabolism

In reality, it’s not really your metabolism that’s the problem, but rather the effect that most fat loss programs, particularly diets, have on your metabolism.

In order to understand this, we need to go back in time a bit to the day in which our “hunter and gather” ancestors roamed the Earth. For those individuals, survival was king, and in order to survive, they had to do the whole “eating” thing just like we do.


Unfortunately, things weren’t quite as easy for this group as they are today. No supermarkets. No drive-through meal deals. Instead, when our primitive ancestors wanted a nice steak, they had to go find it.

This inevitably meant that there were plenty of instances in which our yester-year counterparts went without food for days at a time. And at other times, namely during the winter months, their bodies were forced to get by on very little food and calories each day.

And the reason why they didn’t die? There’s only one—the body’s natural defence against starvation.

Don’t get enough calories for an extended period of time? No problem, the body simply causes ”bad” hormones, fat storage enzymes, and hunger to all increase while “good” hormones, metabolism, and fat burning enzymes all take a dive.

Enter “starvation mode.”

Friend to our ancestors; anything but to the dieter.

You see, dieting, although planned, is nothing more than a lesser degree of premeditated starvation.

Go on a diet—any diet—and it won’t be long until the body begins fighting for every ounce of your body fat. You want to lose it; your body wants to keep it. And guess what? Your body wins every time.

Sad scenario, I know.

Limiting Factor #2: Inadequate Negative Calorie Balance

There’s no getting around the fact that if you want to lose fat as fast as humanly possible you have to create the greatest negative calorie balance possible.

But, at the same time you’ll need to do it WITHOUT pissing off your body to the point in which it shuts down and begins to fight against your fat loss efforts (i.e. the “starvation mode” that we just talked about).

Indeed, it is a thin, fine line in which, unfortunately, almost all diets fall somewhere to the left or the right.

You have those diets that create a moderate calorie deficit, leading to moderate results (at least for short while). That’s OK, but if we’re talking about the FASTEST fat loss, the deficit simply isn’t great enough.

And on the opposite end of the spectrum we have “crash” diets and other severe diets which fail to take in to account ANY knowledge of the body and the regulation of human bodyweight and metabolism. A week or two on any of these approaches and you’ll likely:

1. Lose muscle
2. Lose a bunch of water
3. Lose a bit of fat
4. Destroy your metabolism
5. Set yourself up to quickly rebound back beyond your original bodyweight
6. Achieve a “skinny fat” physique in which you’re still carrying substantial body fat, only now with no muscle.

Awesomen’t. (And by that, I mean, not awesome.)

Limiting Factor #3: Zero Synergy Between Your Diet And Exercise Programming

I honestly think this is the most overlooked area of fat loss. Most people simply pick a diet and then pick a training program, or vice versa, without ever really thinking how those two programs work hand in hand, or if they DON’T provide any additional benefit to one another.

Allow me to illustrate my point with a few mathematical equations:

1 + 1 = 0
1 + 1 = 2
1 + 1 = 3

And believe it or not, I actually did graduate first grade.

While not true in the absolute mathematical sense, all three of the above equations are representative of the results people achieve from their diet and exercise programs.

In each equation, think of the first number as diet, the second as exercise, and the third as the result achieved by the combination.

Or simply, Diet + Exercise = Result

So, in the first equation, Diet + Exercise = Zero Result. Unfortunately many people are stuck in this boat because of damaged metabolisms and some of the reasons we’ve shared previously.

In the second equation, we have Diet + Exercise = The expected result (and additive effect of the two).

But in the third equation, this is where the magic happens—when diet and exercise team up to achieve a greater result than the additive effect of either of them alone. That’s synergy—when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Unfortunately, most diet and exercise programs are represented by one of the first two equations, because they simply aren’t designed to work together in every aspect.

Limiting Factor #4: Positive Energy Balance

Positive Energy Balance simply is any point in your diet in which you consume more calories than you burn, ultimately resulting in those surplus level of calories being stored as fat.

This could be the result of a dietary “screw up” in which you fall off your diet completely or a “planned” cheat day which results in positive calorie balance.

Naturally, any time you are gaining fat on a fat loss program you are moving in the opposite direction of your results and in some way, shape or form, slowing your progress.

Limiting Factor #5: Muscle Loss

The unfortunate reality is that 99% of diets result in a significant amount of muscle loss. This has several big time consequences:

1. You’re not going to achieve the LOOK you want by losing muscle. Most men would agree with that statement right out, but for women, allow me to demonstrate its truth:

Those are both size 2 bodies (size 6 in Australian sizes). The difference? The one on the left looks OK while the one on the right is smokin’ hot. The REAL difference? Muscle.

While the exact same size, the physique on the right is comprised mostly of dense, shapely, tone muscle, while the image on the left…isn’t.

If you just want to be “thin” while still hiding behind your clothes because you’re not 100% proud of your body, then losing muscle is a great way to get you there. But if you want to look great naked, believe me, you want to hold on to every ounce you have as you lose fat.

2. Losing muscle = decreased metabolism. Muscle burns calories at rest; essentially, it’s the fuel that keeps your metabolism operating at full blast. When you lose muscle as you diet, not only does it slow your week to week progress by decreasing overall metabolism, but it also sets you up to easily and quickly gain back lost weight as a result of the cumulative decrease in metabolism over time.

A “smaller” version of the same body, decreased week to week progress, and long-term metabolism issues?

Count. Me. Out.

Do you want to overcome these 5 limiting factors and begin achieving the FASTEST fat loss?

Joel will be back in a couple of days with advice on how to overcome the above 5 factors. Stay tuned!

Body Redesign – and my competition diet

Published on June 21, 2011 in competition, Diet, fat loss, interviews, Transformation and weight loss. 0 Comments

Today is the big launch day for the brand new Shape-shifter Body Redesign Program designed by super bodyweight coaches Adam Steer and Ryan Murdock.

For the next 3 days, as my valued subscriber you have the opportunity to grab the Shapeshifter Program at 51% off, but also you can pick up my very own winning competition diet, Figure Ready – the exact diet I used to win!

I’ve never released a competition diet before, and certainly not a personal one but I thought I’d do something extra special for my readers as I know there are multitudes of women out there curious about competition dieting and what we do to get ultra-lean. I’ll give you the tip – my own personal comp diet is not something I find overly difficult – I worked it around my own personal likes and dislikes so I could sustain it for the 12-16 weeks required.

*Figure Ready is a diet only, there is no workout to go with it, but that’s what the Shapeshifter Program will offer you! So, read on – you only have 3 days to pick up this offer. You need to purchase through a link in one of my emails, otherwise you won’t be eligible for the Figure Ready diet.

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign <—exclusive 51% off invitation

Let me chat a little bit about the Shapeshfter Body Redesign Program and then I will give you full instructions on how to grab your 2 for 1 programs, and, share a great interview I did with one of the creator’s of Shapeshifter.

With Shapeshifter, we’re talking innovative bodyweight training programs fully integrated with no-nonsense diet and lifestyle lessons. One of their beta testers lost 8.5 inches off her body in only 6 weeks—without setting foot in a gym! And every inch she shed was fat! So, if you think bodyweight training is for pussies, read on.

The program is arranged in a day-by-day format that removes fat on the hurry-up while maintaining or even adding muscle in EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACES for the most impressive visual impact.

You know I’m all for CHANGING your shape, not just becoming a smaller version of the current you. That’s what Shapeshifter Body ReDesign is all about.

Not only is this the best bodyweight training program I’ve ever seen, it’s also one of the highest quality and most innovative programs going around.

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign  <— 51% off (exclusive invite)

3 easy steps to grab your copy of Shapeshifter AND my competition winning diet (free):

1. Purchase the Shapeshifter Body Redesign program at 51% off through one of the links in this email

2. Wait for your Clickbank Receipt

3. Email your Clickbank receipt to sue @ idealbodiesonline.com (remove spaces) with the subject line Figure Ready Please!

THE INTERVIEW AND YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Recently I had the chance to interview the charming Adam Steer, and asked him some questions about the program which I know would be relevant to my readers.

 
SH: Hi Adam, congratulations on your new Shapeshifter program – it looks fantastic and a program I feel would benefit many of my readers. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions about the program for us. In a nutshell, what is Shapeshifter and why did you create it?

 AS: Shapeshifter was born from our frustration with what we saw as one-dimensional “transformation” programs. There’s no shortage of diet and exercise plans out there that’ll help you lose “weight”. But they all just leave you with a smaller version of the same flabby body! 

After weeks or months of disciplined eating or rigorous workouts, we just don’t think that’s a great payoff! And that’s why we set out to design a program that changes the SHAPE of your body, not just your weight.

Adding or toning muscle in just the right places while you chisel the fat away and improve your posture yields almost unbelievable visual results in as little as 6 weeks. But you can’t get those kinds of results unless you address ALL three factors of body redesign: workouts, diet and lifestyle. 

Most workout programs only pay lip service to nutrition. Diet books might include a token workout. Both the exercise and nutrition programs tend to ignore all-important lifestyle factors. But it’s only when you dial all three of these elements together that you can make big changes to the way you look in a small timeframe. 

Shapeshifter provides you with daily coaching on all three elements. Each day is broken down into your training, nutrition and lifestyle tasks for the day. It’s easy to follow and ensures amazing results! 

SH: Is it true my readers will turn into a sexy superhero type when they buy your program? No, let’s get serious, tell us why my readers need this program – who’s it for and how will they benefit? 

Well, our image of a superhero is someone who is poised, confident, powerful and attractive. So to be honest, Shapeshifter WILL help your readers get a lot closer to that ideal… :-)  

And really, anyone who wants to look and feel better, more confident, leaner and sexier can benefit from this program. It’s really the ultimate “get back in shape” program. Because getting back in shape is all about regaining that “shape” you had in your glory years.

Pretty much everyone will benefit from Shapeshifter, but because of the way the material is presented, I think the biggest winners are going to be busy people who don’t have time to spend on figuring out their diet, workouts and lifestyle approach. 

Shapeshifter lays all that out in a day-by-day and easy to follow format that frees you up from the guesswork involved in most programs. When you’re chasing the kids, swamped at work or busy with travel or commuting, that done-for-you format is real bonus. 

SH: You talk about ‘body redesign’ – can you explain that phrase?

As I already mentioned briefly, getting in shape is really all about changing your “shape”. Unfortunately, most programs just focus on losing “weight”, so you end up with a smaller version of the same flabby body.

What we want are physical changes that start turning heads. And we want them as quickly and safely as possible. To get the kinds of results that make friends and family ask you what you’re doing to looks so great, you have to “redesign” your body, not just lose some weight.

The key to body redesign is the ratio of one body part to another. If we can tone or add muscle to all the right places while simultaneously chiseling fat from the body, the visual result will be striking. Added to that, the Shapeshifter Regen exercises help build great posture, which adds to the overall visual effect.

And because body redesign is so targeted, it only takes a matter of weeks to start seeing the changes in your shape. That’s when everyone starts to sit up and take notice… :-)

SH: Talk to me about the “P6 Elements” – the ‘guts’ of the Shapeshifter program.

We already talked about the three spheres of body redesign: workouts, diet and lifestyle. But each of these can also be broken down into 6 essential elements. We call them the P6 factors, because we’re getting results to the “power of six”.

We realized that our frustration with our results in the past, and those of our clients, were often due to the one or two dimensional approach of most diet and exercise philosophies. Most training programs focus on ONLY cardio or weight training or yoga, etc. Most diets have a singular focus on “low carb” or “low fat” or whatever the trend du jour is. 

It’s only when we started taking the BEST elements from each philosophy that we started really getting the accelerated body redesign results we needed. 

SH: And it’s all bodyweight exercises, right – you don’t need to have any equipment whatsoever?

That’s right. You can really do the Shapeshifter workouts anywhere and anytime! Sometimes we suggest the use of very simple props to modify the difficulty of an exercise. But generally they are things you can find around your house or workplace like the bottom step of a set of stairs or a solid coffee table. But it’s all bodyweight exercises. No equipment required. 

SH: So these exercise routines would be excellent for those who travel often, can’t get to a gym or don’t have any equipment? And also for those who do go to the gym but are looking for a change of pace – I mean, some of those exercises look very challenging! 

This program is for ANYONE who wants to quickly and safely change the way their body looks. It definitely provides variety for people who have been doing equipment based workouts at the gym. But the program stands on its own no matter your level of experience. 

But yes, because it’s equipment free, Shapeshifter is also an excellent alternative for people who travel a lot. All you need is a corner of your hotel room floor to be able to do most of the exercises. 

One of our clients spends 3 days at home and 4 days in a hotel room every week as part of his job. He loves the fact that he never has to break the rhythm of his workouts because it doesn’t matter where he is, he can always do them.

SH: Can the program be adapted to an individual’s fitness level? Ie Is it for beginners as well as advanced trainees?

Absolutely! In fact, we ran an extensive “beta test” of the program last year and the participants ranged across the board with regards to background and fitness level. Not only did this prove to us that the program was adaptable to all levels from beginner to advanced, but it allowed us to add even more tips and tricks to adapt the workouts to your own level. 

Also, in the video instructions for each exercise, whenever possible we give several options for modifying the exercise to make it easier or more difficult. 

SH: Now, this is interesting, because I know a lot of people who would consider bodyweight exercise to be not as challenging or beneficial as a program that includes equipment. I know this is not necessarily true, but as the expert, could you explain the benefits of bodyweight training to my readers?

Most people who already work out a lot are totally surprised by the power of bodyweight when used to it’s potential.

First off, because you can move the body quite freely in every plane, you have the potential to recruit a LOT of muscle through full body exercises. And because these movements are more complex than what you can create with the 2 dimensional path of most weighted training tools, you need a lot more coordination to do them. That means more neural activation and again more muscle recruited and more calories burned. Pretty cool…

Another great benefit of bodyweight is how quickly you can move from one movement to another. It allows you to set up powerful fat loss circuits because you can move from one movement pattern to another with rapid transitions and little rest. And you can keep working hard for an extended period of time because you keep switching movement patterns.

And finally, some people think you can’t build strength with bodyweight. But how many people can drum off 10 pistol squats or one-arm push ups? Single limb work, isometric holds, explosive exercises and a host of other training methods are super effective using bodyweight and most people haven’t come anywhere close to their potential when it comes to using them to build impressive new levels of strength.

But I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. My goal isn’t to make people suffer. All the bodyweight progressions I use are scalable. So I can be training a total beginner and a hardened veteran in the same session, and they’ll both be getting exactly what they need. That’s another great thing about bodyweight.

SH: Awesome. What about diet and lifestyle – what sort of things do you cover on these crucial subjects?

Body redesign will never work with training alone. You need to support the training with a complete diet and lifestyle program.

We were very thorough in designing both the diet and lifestyle components. Using P6 Nutrition and P6 Lifestyle allowed us to really hit all the factors necessary to change your shape as quickly and permanently as possible. 

The Shapeshifter Nutrition Manual is packed with over 41 pages of information on the P6 elements: appetite control, hormone optimization, food choice spectrum, strategic supplements, workout nutrition and digestive system health. 

But don’t worry, if you don’t care about the theory, all you have to do is follow the day-by-day diet instructions and you’re good to go. We only included the geeky stuff because a lot of people like to have that background information. 

P6 Lifestyle includes things that are absolutely vital to body redesign like sleep, stress relief, goal setting, personal development, healthy relationships and engaging in active lifestyle activities. 

As you can see, our coverage of diet and lifestyle is pretty broad. That’s why we brought in a number of experts to contribute to the program. For example, things like sleep, stress relief and digestive system health were covered by specialists in those fields. You’re really getting a high-quality guide to eating and living better when you start working with the Shapeshifter program. 

SH: It’s my experience both as a coach and as a mum to a 6 month old baby with my own company to run, a lot of us don’t have time to put nutrition plans and menus together – do you provide this ‘done for you’ option for time poor clients? 

The second part of the Shapeshifter manual gives you a day-by-day breakdown of what you need to do on each day. So when you turn to day one, you’ll have instructions for that day’s workout, diet, and lifestyle task. Each and every day of the program is laid out like that. 

We also offer an additional level of commitment that provides recipes (designed by professional healthy-cooking chef Nick Lorenz), meal plans for the entire 6 weeks, follow-along workout videos for each and every day, and much more. This option really is about as close as we can get to actually doing the work for you… :-)  

SH: Sounds like people should have no excuses then! Can you explain to my readers what they will get in the basic Shapeshifter program package?

Yeah, sure. Basically, they’ll get everything they need to get full benefit from the program. The basic framework starts with your main manual, which lays the entire program out in a day-by-format that’s easy to follow. And along with the Nutrition Manual and the Exercise manual, it gives you all the background information you want for how and why the program works.

But the coolest thing about the basic package is the library of professionally filmed exercise instructional videos. This is really about as close as you can get to having us coaching you in person. It takes all the guesswork out and makes it easy for you to understand exactly how to do each exercise.

In addition to that you’ll also get a pre-program checklist, printable charts and a timetable for the entire 6 week program, a printable journal to log your progress, a guide to which supplements actually work (and why), and a collection of “extra-curricular” lifestyle activities that you can adopt. 

Shapeshifter is so much more that a workout program. It’s really a complete roadmap to everything you need for a lifelong body redesign. And it’s so easy to follow. We’re really proud of Shapeshifter and can’t wait to welcome your readers into the community!

SH: Thanks Adam for taking the time to talk to us about Shapeshifter! I know you and Ryan are going to be busy boys over the next few weeks!

www.idealbodiesonline.com/bodyredesign <— Check it out!

My interview with fitness model, Belinda Benn

Published on August 27, 2010 in inspiration, motivation, Nutrition Articles, Transformation and weight loss. 0 Comments

It seems fitness model Belinda Benn and I have a few things
in common. We’re both in our 40′s, both Aussie, and we
both love helping others achieve their fitness and fat loss
goals.  Being 32 weeks pregnant, one thing I definitely don’t
have right now is Belinda’s abs! But they’ll come back…
 
In light of the upcoming launch of her Get Lean Program,
today I have something quite special for you. 47yo fitness
model Belinda Benn provides us with a sneak peak into her
fat loss secrets as well as some great tips on skin care.
 

 
Sue: Belinda, I’ve read your story and seen you in the magazines – how did you transform your body so dramatically later in life.  I read you never exercised before the age of 37 – is that true?!

Belinda:  Sue, yes it’s true!  I was a coffee drinking, sugar addicted executive.  I was so busy trying to be a “super women” with my career, husband and all my other responsibilities that I had stopped caring for myself – doing things “just for me”.   One day while trying bathers on in a department store dressing room I was shocked to see cellulite and saddle bags (amongst other things) and I realized the body I had in my 20’s had disappeared without me even realizing.  Soon after I set myself the goal of learning to surf and before I knew it I was eating healthily, losing weight and feeling in the best shape of my life.

Sue: I think we can all relate to the dressing room story at some stage or another – probably unbeknown to them retail stores do an amazing job drumming up business for weight loss companies!

What was the hardest aspect of your transformation?

Belinda:  The hardest part was not knowing how to eat right – for energy, longevity and fat burning.  I knew nothing about nutrition.  I started getting fitter but the big change didn’t come until I got my diet straightened out.  It took a while but once I got on track I couldn’t believe how much food I could eat and not put on weight.  I had been eating the wrong foods, at the wrong times in the wrong combination!  When I think back to what I ate in my 30’s it’s shocking – I lived on coffee, milk, sugar, Arnott’s biscuits and fatty foods!  

Sue: I know you get asked this all the time, but how on earth do you look so young? 

Belinda:  Early in my career I worked with Shiseido, the Japanese skincare company and they taught me about holistic wellness.  Which simply means, looking after the total person – inside and out.  We all know things like stress, toxins, over eating, too much alcohol, not enough sleep or a lot of sun, ages us prematurely.  I neglected myself and over indulged like a lot of people do but once I realized, I made some radical life changes – and thankfully it paid off in a big way.   I believe that doing the right things, consistently, adds up to big results over time.

Sue:  Since I am talking with an expert then, a lot of people find that their skin becomes slack after weight loss and they suffer stretch marks.  Did you have those problems? 

Belinda:  Yes I did!  When I started losing weight I began exfoliating every day.  The Japanese had taught me about this and it really works.  I also made sure I included foods in my diet that improved the elasticity of the skin.  In fact, that’s one of the reasons I wrote my Fitness Model Skincare Secrets so I could help people with concerns like that and prove that getting older doesn’t mean we have to age prematurely. 

Sue: What makes your Get Lean Program different from everything else out there?

Belinda: Sue, as you know, many diets start out super strict.  Then as our motivation wanes we go back to our old habits and the weight comes back on.  I have discovered that the easiest and most effective way to achieve a lean physique is to work with the natural harmony of our body’s physiology. From my experience, it takes roughly four weeks before our metabolism jumps to the next fat burning level.  So, the process of obtaining our ideal lean physique should be viewed as fat burning “phases” that we control through establishing new eating habits, rather than a “diet”.  For this reason the Get Lean Program is divided into three, monthly phases: Momentum, Acceleration and Peak.

The Momentum Phase begins the process of increasing your fat burning metabolism. Your body will adjust to new eating habits and these changes will enable you to maintain your diet while gradually reducing your caloric and carbohydrate intake.

The Acceleration Phase will help reduce your body fat % while maintaining the energy levels necessary to work and train hard.  Your body will adjust to producing efficient energy from fewer calories and you will see acceleration in your fat loss.

The Peak Phase will help you reach your optimum lean physique at the end of Month 3.

Many physique competitors use a similar system to prepare for competitions.  But this program takes that science and makes it doable for anyone who wants to lose weight!

Sue: I noticed that you focus a lot on the mental and emotional aspects of losing weight – why is that?

Belinda:  Often it’s not eating healthy or working out that’s our biggest challenge – is our own self-image and self-esteem.  If we allow negative thoughts from the past to contaminate our thinking then that will continually undermine our efforts for success.   Personally I have done a lot of work to change my thinking, from feeling like I am over the hill, old, not sexy anymore, it’s too late or I’ve failed in the past (add in a few of your personal favorites here) and replaced those with new thought patterns of self-confidence and a can do attitude.  We all have moments of weakness and self-doubts, that’s normal.  But there is a lot we can do to get our thinking straightened out!  For that reason I will be giving away my “Think Lean – Get Lean” audio recording with every purchase of the Get Lean Program next week.  

Sue:  Belinda, once last piece of advice for all my readers please!

Belinda:  Transforming your body can seem like an insurmountable task.  But if you take one new positive step forward every day (no matter how small) and tomorrow do it over again – your habits, body and life will progressively change.  Positive change will become a way of life and one day you will catch your reflection in the mirror and realize – there’s a new you! 

 
F.REE FAT LOSS REPORT

If you haven’t get grabbed your copy of Belinda’s free report
Eat to Get Lean – here’s the link. It’s only available until Sunday
so be quick: 

www.idealbodiesonline.com/getleanprogram

 
P.S. Next week be on the lookout for my Get Lean
Program launch emails. If you purchase the program
through one of the links in my emails I’m going to provide
you with an awesome 50% discount on our instant
training programs along with an additional 15%
off everything in our Products Store (excluding
ebooks), in conjunction with Belinda’s
launch. So don’t purchase from any other link if you want
to pick up these discounts! I’ll remind you next week.
 

What is wrong with this picture?

Published on December 5, 2009 in inspiration, motivation, photos and Transformation. 5 Comments

Welcome party Sapphire Princess

Not this one, the one below. There is NOTHING wrong with this picture!

It’s been a little while since I wrote, AGAIN! Thanks lovely people for the comments on my off season pics. Maybe I will consider pre comping soon for an early show again – it was around this time last year – well, after Christmas, that I began my last one. After our Mexico trip my state was a little worse for wear than it is currently. So, yes, this time last year Damien and I were onboard the Sapphire Princess, celebrating his birthday (pic attached for reminiscing purposes).

I’m left without a car this weekend, so was dropped at the gym this morning and walked home afterwards – which was pretty tough after a hard deadlifting session. I sumo deadlifted 75gk for sets of 5 which I thought was pretty good. Slowly building up. Deadlifting is king, I wish everyone knew how to deadlift.

I received this in my inbox the other day and just shook my head. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture??

thirddayfitness_02

The Club 100 winners were announced recently, and, very proud to say that the female winner was one of ours. Nicole Yardley lost 15kg in 100 days and totally transformed her body. Lucky Nicole has won a great cash prize, just for losing some extra baggage and getting healthy. Club 100 will will going again I imagine, so keep in touch about that.

Nicole Yardley - before front

Nicole Yardley - after front outdoors

Congratulations Nicole, you look amazing! Congratulations too, to all the others who entered and managed to finish the 100 day challenge – while you may not have won the competition, I’m sure you got some great results.

I’m off to enjoy some sun. Sorry about the lack of resizing of photos, I don’t have time for that :)

An eye popping transformation…

Published on May 13, 2007 in inspiration and Transformation. 2 Comments

Well if I don’t write now, I never will. There’s just always something to do! I had to write my Q&A article tonight, for Women’s Health & Fitness titled – How Can I Make My Cardio More Interesting? I was going to just write “you tell me and we’ll both know” but I figure that probably wouldn’t work :) Ahh, there are lots of ways, I just am not that fond of the old cardio these days. Amazing, I used to be the typical cardio bunny back in the 80′s and early 90′s. Showing my age a bit there. Yeah I used to wear leg warmers too! Well they were the IN thing back then ;)
Happy Mother’s Day to all the mum’s out there – still waiting for my prezzie from darling little Rexy, starting to think he hasn’t bought me anything…
We went for lunch with my mum today, and about another 15 mothers, all family of some description. Lovely time.
I have now officially caught up on all my work from holidays, and it’s back to normal. I am in the midst of making some changes to our feedback system, and will need to work on this tomorrow to have it all in place by 21st May. By the way, I don’t believe I have even ‘introduced’ our latest addition to the IBO Team. Please welcome our newest Feedback Coach, Rachel Pyle, pictured above with one of our other amazing IBO women, Program Co-ordinator Dianna Broeren. Picture courtesy of Di’s blog. Rach has achieved some great things, and is one of the most inspiring women I have the privilege of knowing. You can read more about her and our other staff members here:
I will take a moment now to also introduce Carolyn Gerdtz – our latest addition to our team of Personal Success Mentors. We haven’t put Carolyn’s details up on the site yet but if you don’t know of Carolyn – get ready to be AMAZED. The before and after pictures above will give you an indication of this lady’s discipline and courage, and, just what CAN be achieved if you really want it. We are SO proud of you Carolyn!
I plan to add Carolyn’s remarkable professional photos and Success Story to our site soon! You can read Carolyn’s blog here…
Ideal Bodies Online has it’s first competitor on stage in a couple of weeks time! Good luck to Christy, she is competing in the Novic Figure at the Sydney ANB comp on May 27 and is going to look sensational given her latest pictures Di just sent through! A great effort for a first time competitor! Well done Christy – I can’t wait to see the final product!

On a personal note, my training is going along fine – I’m training 4 x week, and just doing cardio when I feel like it :) Still maintaining my pre holiday weight which is nice.

A belated shout to Tracey D, thank you for the lovely words, it’s nice to know I have played some small part in your fitness journey! And thank you for the recent referral :)
Thanks for the comments on my recent vomit :) I know everyone can relate at some point in time!

Happy Birthday to Kerry for Tuesday – I hope you have a fab day and you never know, perhaps you WILL drink that much :)

Ok, time to check out of blogland and read a few pages of my latest James Patterson novel…