4 Biscuits, 0 Biscuits or 2 Biscuits? You Decide

This blog has been written by James St Pierre, Owner and Personal Trainer here at Unique Results.

I had a great conversation with one of our brilliant members last week around habits, lifestyle and the conflicting approaches of ‘abstinence’ vs ‘moderation’. It was really impactful for me (and hopefully them) and I wanted to share with you some of the main points of the discussion as I know it will be of help to many of you – or may at least resonate with some of your challenges.

Recipe For Success

This blog has been written by Nikki Fischr, Personal Trainer and Admin Manager at Unique Results.

I am sure that at some point in your life you’ve had to make a plan. Whether it was for a holiday, property renovation, big event or work meeting, by having a plan in place I’m sure the preparation went smoothly and the event was a huge success.

The benefits of planning

Planning allows you to be prepared, proactive and less stressed.  You will virtually always get a better final result when planning ahead.   You’ll feel more in control, no more running around not knowing where to turn to, no more split second decisions which may not turn out to be the right ones.

So how many of us use the skills we have of planning when it comes to our health and fitness?

#UR31DayChallenge

Following the success of our first 31 day nutrition challenge and an amazing upgrade to the system, we will be running another challenge during the month of October.

The UR Nutrition System is a great online tool which allows you to easily plan and monitor what you are eating via a simple points system. It allows you to create weekly meal plans which can then be converted into a shopping list making it easier and saving you time when it comes to doing the food shopping.  All of the recipes are easy to prepare, are nutritionally balanced and are super tasty.

Diabetes – Prevention, As There Is No Cure!

Today’s blog has been written by Nikki Fischr – Personal Trainer and Admin Manager here at Unique Results.

Every year in June, Diabetes UK run an awareness week to bring to everyones attention the importance of knowing the risks and symptoms of Diabetes and how to reduce the chance of getting the disease.

From figures published for 2017, 3.7 million people have diabetes in the UK.  Yes you did just read that correctly – 3.7 million!!  There is currently no cure.  Around 90% of people have Type 2 diabetes and around 10% of people have Type 1 diabetes.

More people than ever have diabetes.

More people than ever are at risk of Type 2 diabetes.

If nothing changes, more than 5 million people will have diabetes in the UK by 2025.

The Mind Is A Powerful Thing

Today’s blog has been written by Nikki Fischr  – Admin Manager and Personal Trainer here at Unique Results.

My blog is about MINDSET and ties in nicely with our January and February blogs on Goal Setting and Motivation.

So what is MINDSET?

The dictionary definition is – the established set of attitudes held by someone.

There are two main types of mindset – FIXED and GROWTH

Most people have a FIXED mindset and these people believe they are or aren’t good at something, based on their inherent nature, because it’s just who you are.

However, those people in a GROWTH mindset believe anyone can be good at anything, because your abilities are entirely due to your actions.

Exercise When You’re Not Exercising

This weeks blog is written by Mark Laybourn, UR Personal Trainer & Pilates Teacher.

Firstly, a very happy new year to you all. I’m sure, like myself and my family, christmas and new year went past in a blur with the statutory indulgences along the way.

So now it’s time to get back on track and pick up from where most of us left off pre christmas.

So, exercise when you’re not exercising seems like a good starting point. Can it be done? Is it possible? Doesn’t exercise have to be confined to the gym environment?

Well, yes it can be done. It is certainly possible and it most definately doesn’t have to be confined to the gym.

Surely any form of body movement is a form of exercise, right?! But you don’t have to be holding a dumbbell, kettlebell, resistance band or using a piece of exercise equipment to do it.

Delicious Sweet Potato Base Quiche

Over the last couple of weeks I have been sharing on social media some of the delicious (and healthy) food I have been eating – in the interest of full disclosure most of it has been prepared and cooked by my wife Steph who has herself lost 24lb in the last 12 weeks since having our daughter Bella 7 months ago.

I stepped on the scales myself for the first time since the end of October this week and was 9lbs lighter than I was then. I believe this is due to a combination of the very healthy eating and the 10,000 Kettlebell swing challenge we did in December & the 2017 swing marathon we did on New Years Day. Anyway, the truth is, I wasn’t consciously trying to lose weight it just happened as a by-product of the food I have been eating and training I’ve been doing (which is kind of how it should be).

I have been asked by a number of members to share the recipe for a certain meal that was a real hit and very delicious indeed – the Sweet Potato Based Quiche. So as requested, here is the recipe along with some step by step photos and you never know a video may follow in the near future as well!

Here is the recipe:

How to Survive Christmas With Your Waistline Intact.

Well, its ‘that’ time of year again! From mid October nowadays we are steadily subtly & not so subtly fed images, adverts and articles relating to Christmas and what has become known as the ‘festive season’.

I absolutely LOVE Christmas but can also acknowledge that it can be a minefield for those of us who are somewhat conscious of our weight, waistline and physical appearance. If we are not careful Christmas can become an orgy of eating, drinking and partying that can take until March to recover from!

Below are my 4 simple steps that will help you survive Christmas with your waistline intact and still enjoy the most magical time of the year!

Less Is Sometimes More.

One of my favourite sayings is:

“You can do anything, but you can’t do everything”

I have lived this a lot in the last year with my own training and the need to be selective and purposeful with how I choose to spend my valuable time. It would be brilliant to do a little bit of everything but in reality that leads to being not particularly good at anything.

During a team meeting last week it was raised that we feel a number of our members maybe ‘overdoing it’ with their training recently. This is in relation specifically to the number of classes members are attending per week, sometimes up to 3 or 4 in one day and I feel I have a duty of care to raise this topic to the whole community (and anyone else who happens to be reading).

Many of my posts are about encouraging people to do more, so this a first in asking people to possibly be more selective and do less.

7 Life Lessons from Mauritius (Part 2).

Following on from last weeks post (which has become our most shared and liked Blog of 2016) I am going to finish with the final 3 lessons I will be bringing back from Mauritius with me.

As said previously, things are obviously very different when we return to our ‘normal’ routine but I am going to endeavour to keep up these routines and patterns of behaviour when back at work because I see (and have felt) the huge value in them. As with the previous blog, if any of these points will help you please give them a go or share with friends/family that they may help. Nothing amazing, nothing new, nothing revolutionary just good old fashioned common sense which sometimes slips by the wayside.

Here we go……….