Clair

A lot of you have been asking me about the physical changes I’ve made over recent months. 7 months ago I took a Body Fat measurement and was upset with the result. I decided to change things. The first thing I had to do was change my mindset. For me to make a further change to my exercise and eating habits was actually difficult, because I truly believed I was doing everything necessary to be in the best shape. (My kids will tell you “all my Mum eats is salad”! I worked out 7 days a week. Everyone was telling me I looked great. Somehow, I didn’t feel I was the “best me”. I looked back on a picture of me when I was 27 years old and at the peak of my fitness (training for Marathons) and decided that’s how I wanted to look again. I was my inspiration! After my new regime I’m pleased to have hit a personal all time best. I lost 10lbs and reduced my Body Fat by 7%. I went from a size 26 to a size 24 in jeans! I have been at the same weight and BF level for 4 months now. My new regime is totally sustainable. I have not had to cut out my favorite things. My shopping list is much simpler and food preparation is easier. I’m keeping my anti-oxidant levels up which enhances my skin. I have not taken any body building powders or pre-or-post workout powders. Now I started working with a trainer to get stronger. Working to my max in each workout. Now I take two classes of a different sort a day, or workout with a trainer and take [...]

Every January I start the year off by going on a cleanse. After all the little extra treats during December and over the holidays, my body and my mind are ready for a good cleanse! This January I'm going to be working with Lisa Cummings (Certified Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach) who I've been working with throughout 2015 on my Lean Body program. It takes a little willpower to do this but cutting out red wine and coffee are my two big sacrifices during the cleanse. My regular eating program has been very clean this year so I'm feeling good about taking it a step even further. I aim to get started on my cleanse on January 11th and I was wondering if 4 other people would like to join me? We could do this cleanse together as a group and support each other and share our challenges & our experiences. We can meet with Lisa Cummings at INTENSITY on January 11th to kick off the cleanse. We will start that day and continue for the last 3 weeks of January with a final meeting on February 1st. The cost per person for the cleanse program is $375. You will get all the food and juicing info you need for the duration of the cleanse, 3 private one-on-one sessions by phone, plus unlimited text/email support with Lisa. You will look and feel amazing and you will be given recipes and information on how to choose nutrient rich foods that will create new habits for a lifetime. Please email me with any questions or for more information. Clairmason@intensityclub.com Here's to looking fabulous!!

Lasts week's Grim Challenge was cancelled last minute. The Grim was due to be held at an Army Training ground in Aldershot, U.K. We believe the ground may have been required for some urgent Army training due to all the trouble going on in the world. Bit scary isn't it!! I did actually do some training for the Grim over the past few weeks. On the day of the Grim, instead of showing up in the wet & windy mud in Aldershot as planned, with my beautiful friend Danielle, I went for a run along the tow paths of the Thames River - my old stomping ground where I trained for many half marathons and the London marathon. On Saturday, I devised my own Grim!! I ran for 5 minutes then I stopped and did 50 push-ups, 50 triceps dips and a 2 minute plank. I repeated this 10 times in all and then I sprinted home. It was a great workout which took me about an hour and a half door to door. Not too Grim!! Anyone want to join me next time? Maybe I'll add it as a new class on the schedule?

I watched a great documentary on the plane over to London this weekend that confirmed everything to me!! Not that I needed any further confirmation. My results speak for themselves. It's incredible the amount of sugar you can consume without even realizing it!! Can you believe - The average American person consumes 42 teaspoons of sugar a day! The average American family consumes 20lbs of sugar per week. The guy in the documentary had a lean eating program very similar to mine. Lean clean and simple. He went on an experiment for two months - he consumed the same food as the Average American. Foods such as: Pasta Sauce, Fruit flavored Yoghurt, Smoothies, Bread, Bagels, Muffins and pre made Salad Dressing, Granola, Granola Bars of various kinds, Cereals, and flavored Coffees Etc,. He did not pig out at all - he really just ate what an average person eats on a typical day. In two months he gained over 20lbs and put on 7 inches around his waist. Shocker!! When I started my Lean eating program, the main foods I removed were Granola - granola and protein bars - Pasta - Cheese - all the starchy carbohydrates, Pulses and Beans and Chips. I lost 10lbs and 7% body fat in 2 months. My eating plan is quite simply, clean. There are no hidden ingredients in what I eat. More details about what I do eat in my next blog!!

When I first started out with my “Leaner Body Project” back in April, I signed up for semi private personal training sessions with Meline Bohrer, one of our head personal trainers, and with my friend Erika. I’ve lost 10lbs and Erika has lost 17lbs! We have also lost a high percentage of body fat due to leaner and more precise eating plans. Training with Meline: This has been the key for me - Meline has me working a lot on the squat rack (for my butt) and last week I was able to squat 85lbs for 45 reps. She has pushed me harder and has me lifting more weight than ever before which has made me a lot stronger in all the other group exercise classes. Every training session is challenging and different and Meline makes sure we are doing everything correctly to get the maximum results. Some sessions we do a lot of lifting, others we do a lot of plyo work, others we are working as a team against each other (this is fun!!) and in other sessions it’s pure strength training, working to fatigue, until we drop! It’s always different and always satisfying. My food intake has been the biggest game changer of all. I’ll blog more about that in the coming weeks. Want to schedule a personal training session with Meline? Find out more here!