.Quick story.

The scenario: I went to my hometown of Port Glasgow in Scotland for a month. Within a throwing distance was a fish & chip shop, pubs, cake and pastry shops, butchers that sold meat pies containing more fat than a ducks bum and dessert shops that sold double thick cream. I was buying so much Double Thick Cream I started to ask for it by DTC. DTC would go perfectly with meringues,  ice cream topped with chocolate + caramel sauce, even my morning cereal. Oh yeah, on top of that there was the weekly scotch festivities and nightly drinks with the happy word of slainte being toasted every evening.

Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said “I can resist everything except temptation.” Decadent was in full force for that month and I did not hold back one bit when tempted.

When I came back, admittedly I was very happy, but in the process of all this happiness gained a lardy one pack and even a simple venture like going upstairs involved puffing.

This was not good: I was a trainer and needed to get back into shape more pronto than fast. A plan that made sense without sending my body and brain into shock had to implemented.

So the plan went something like this.

The first two weeks/

I would workout 1x per week and exercise 5x per week w/ one day of basically living like a sloth. Please note, and the point of this whole post is there is a difference between working out and exercising. Working out is like the first slider in our web page or image below. Working out changes your body composition literally as you are doing. In other words it creates a stress response that needs recovering from. Working out is tough, has potential to make your muscles shake and when the trainer says the magic words “session done” you utter in response “thank god for that.” Exercising on the other hand is not that hard and actually quite kind to the body. Exercise might be a simple bike ride to work, a long walk, a mini circuit involving bodyweight exercises, even a swim. In other words things you feel you can do every day as they add only limited stress to the body while establishing new good habits.

I also cut alcoholic intake to every other day instead of my Scottish habit which was every day starting at lunch time. Actually that’s a wee fib: several of the five dram tastings we went to in Islay started at 1030 am. The friendly Ileach’s know how to pour them.

Week 3

Added another workout day, cut an exercise day and removed alcohol to weekends only. Next step, started to dial in  breakfasts(making them healthier, instead of square sliced sausages and bacon rolls it was poached eggs or oatmeal)while increasing protein intake: which of course is an easy method to stay full longer. Potatoes at dinner were added as a staple to each evening meal to give that lovely feeling of satiety. With HP sauce/ Wow! Potatoes I will have you know is also a fabulous healthy carb.

Week 4

During this week added a third workout day and removed another exercise day.  I cut alcohol exclusively to scotch as my beverage of choice (tough life, eh) and sipped only on days I was not working. Also – even though it felt like I was back at school – created a routine where every day would make my own lunch. My newest snack, instead of chocolate wafers, was now apples.

By the end of the month

I was exercising 3x per week + working out out 3x per week, enjoying a great breakfast, making lunch 5 x per week, and eating a decent dinner. As a result, feeling smashing and well on the way to athleticism TLA style. The entire process was the opposite of a crash diet. Instead progress was gradual, sustainable and except for daily lunch making, didn’t feel too much of a struggle.

Remember, we are all athletes. When you have been out the exercise game and want to get back (regardless of your level) it just takes a plan of action to get there that does not involve a mentality of sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice and pain, pain, more pain. Instead coaching is key, so is a plan of gradual stress.

Mind you, after saying that I do miss all of the decadent treats sampled in the photographs above. Now, I am on the road to feeling fit I don’t want to be a total health nut square (as wisdom proves will only lead to a road of unhappiness) so will be on the hunt for DTC/ If you know of any place that sells it…

Fancying becoming a TLA client. Let me know.

Slainte Mhath! (cheers and to good health)