Hannah Davies – ‘adapted things to suit me’

Hannah, what were your goals when signing up with me?

I wanted to gain control over my eating habits and go onto a productive training programme.

What reservations if any did you have before we started working together?

I was worried that I may become obsessed with my eating and feel stressed by this. Furthermore, due to handing over control of my training, which I love I was worried I would enjoy it less.

How was I able to help you with your reservations?

Initially when we started I began tracking macro’s, however this brought out feelings of obsession and stressed me out. You were able to produce a system that stopped me stressing and kept my nutrition on point.

Also when developing my training programme you discussed with me your suggestions and allowed me to have my own input. I could then incorporate some of the exercises I love.

In point form, can you list your achievements training with me thus far?

• Control over my eating.
• Furthered my education in regards to nutrition.
• Faster progress in the gym, seeing positive strength increases.

I have really enjoyed working with Hannah, she presented new challenges that I had not encountered before. We got round these challenges together by developing a method of nutrition that she could understand, do easily and still be accountable towards. Furthermore, we made sure that her training was productive but also importantly something she would enjoy doing. I have seen Hannah become more and more confident in both aspects and I am very proud of what we have achieved to date.

Interested in online coaching? You can check out what I have to offer here.

Catherine Nelson – ‘I was so impressed with the realistic and sustainable approach in helping me to achieve my goals’

Committed and consistent, two words that describe Cath. Without these two traits the results we have achieved together would have been far inferior, and I commend Cath for her hard work. She came to me with the goal of fat loss, while remaining strong and fit. Initially we had a set back, due to having previously dieted quite severely we needed to bring her calories back up, before bringing them down to achieve her desired goal of fat loss. I was so glad Cath trusted me with this, as you can imagine for someone who wants to lose fat, the idea of raising calories and reducing exercise sounds scary. In two weeks Cath was back up to eating 2000 calories and doing no cardio and maintaining weight. We then had two months to drop fat before her photoshoot. Even with a diet break for Christmas Cath managed some great results and looked incredible for her photoshoot, I am sure you will agree.

I have just completed a 3 month coaching block with Stephen Hall “Revive” and I couldn’t be happier. I am finally seeing the results I have not been able to achieve previously. I am feeling great in myself and I really feel I have my eating and mindset under control. I was so impressed with Stephen’s realistic and sustainable approach in helping me to achieve my goals, that I have signed on for another 3 months of coaching. I have always found Stephen to be approachable and answered any questions promptly. My program was so well suited to me that I was able to remain committed and never missed a session. I’m really excited to see what I can achieve during my next block with Stephen.

Cath is a perfect example of what can be achieved in a short period of time. In three months Cath managed to do the following:

• Brought her metabolism up
• Strength up over 15% (bench press up almost 40%)
• Body fat down 4%
• 4cm loss from both Hips and Waist

This was while enjoying a wide and varied diet, with NO food restrictions. Plus this was over the Christmas Holidays, and Cath was able to still enjoy this time and some extra food. That is because Cath followed a sustainable diet and training programme, that she incorporated to make up her lifestyle. Cath is now moving onwards and upwards, looking to slowly lean down further, while trying to gain strength & fitness. I know Cath will achieve her goals. Interested in online coaching? you can check out what I have to offer here.

Is Losing Fat Harder for Women?

The subject of fat loss for women is a highly debated topic, people start getting deep into conversations about hormone profiles and how men and women differ physiologically. Some just think women are looking for a scape goat, and just need to get on with it. And then there are those who feel like females are at a disadvantage when it comes to weight loss.

So is it harder for women to lose fat?

I personally am not a fan of the whole discussion on hormones, how men have more testosterone and women have more oestrogen, or the argument that women store fat for childbearing reasons. That doesn’t mean either of those are not true, in part they are, I just think when it comes to fat loss the bigger picture is being missed. And that is size.

In general men are larger than women, that’s pretty much fact. As we know the larger you are the more energy you need to move around. The bigger you are the more you need to eat to maintain your weight, and therefore the more you can eat and lose weight. According to the National Center for Health Statistics the average US adult male weighs in at 195.5lbs vs. the average female at 166.2lbs, that’s almost 30lbs difference! In weight-reducing programs, men usually lose more body weight and fat then women. This is mainly down to the fact that when dieting, men and women have almost the same calorie allowances despite having very different calorie requirements. Resulting in a greater energy deficit in men.

Yes, it is harder for women to lose fat, but it’s also harder in general for smaller individuals. That means there are some small guys out there struggling on their ‘poverty macros’ too, so girls you are not alone.

It all comes down to energy balance, the bigger you are the easier it is to manipulate that balance in your favour. When we account for individual caloric needs we always see similar degrees of weight loss between genders. For example, in one study males and females were put on low calorie diets, with a calorie deficit of 300kcal, men taking in 1500kcals vs. women on 1300kcal. So the calorie allowances resulted in similar energy deficits and therefore both sexes saw similar weight and fat loss.

It comes down to the need to understand our own individual energy balance. Women in general are at a disadvantage in this sense, in most cases they have less lean tissue and therefore their metabolic burn is much less than a mans. Also, they have a lower capacity to increase their muscle mass, again putting them to a disadvantage.

So as a male, next time you hear of a female struggling to lose weight, don’t laugh and say it’s easy, try and be a bit more understanding, because they’re playing in a different league. And women, all is not lost, as shown you are very capable of losing fat, it just requires an understanding of energy balance. Your size is only one factor among many that impacts your calorie burn.

Resources

1. U.S Department of Health and Human Services. (2010) Anthropometric Reference Data for Children and Adults: United States 2007-2010. Series 11, No. 252.
2. Wirth, A. Steinmetz, B. (1998). Gender Differences in Weight Reduction. Obesity Research, Vol. 6, No. 6.
3. Mauriedge, P. et al. (2013). Regional and gender variations in adipose tissue lipolysis in response to weight loss. Journal of Lipid Research. December 2013, 54 (12).