What's so motivating about numbers anyway?

Pretend for a minute that gravity doesn’t exist. Everything is weightless- yes everything! Yet it all manages to stay on the ground. You don’t know how much you weigh because there are no such things as scales. How would you define ‘healthy?’ You wouldn’t be able to say "I need to lose 10 kilos" or "I weigh 100 kilos, so I must be overweight."

What would be your goal?

You might still not like how you look. You might be tired of just being tired all the time. You might need to take care of that blood pressure problem. You might want to avoid diabetes.

In a gravity-free world, those are all still good reasons to create healthy eating and regular exercise habits. Who knows, you might decide "Hey, I feel good, I look alright, and I’m healthy. If I can just maintain the habits I have, I should be okay."

The point is, you can decide for yourself what shape you’re in. You don’t need the scales to tell you. Unfortunately, many times we get down on ourselves simply because something as trivial as gravity tells us we’re out of shape. Some people feel and look fantastic in every respect, but if the number on the scale doesn’t match expectations, they’re miserable. This doesn’t make sense. Gravity should not be able to wield that kind of power upon us, so stop dwelling over the scales!

In this gravity-rich reality we live in, we have a fascination with the scale. While it’s good for giving you a general idea of your health, this can be the most discouraging and frustrating part of a diet. Your weight can fluctuate all the time and reasons why are never completely known. Time of day, temperature, the day’s activities, water level – all can skew the numbers one way or the other. In reality, you could be getting discouraged over something that’s not really that accurate.

To stay motivated, try finding other ways to measure your progress instead of jumping on the scales. Try some benchmarks that actually matter. Some may be tougher to measure than others, some are more subjective. But we think you’ll find that these measurements can still be a lot more meaningful and motivating.

Try this!

Body Measures – dress size, waist, hips, neck, arms, fitting into your favourite short shorts!
Performance – more endurance during exercise, doing them at a higher level, jumping higher, walking longer, keeping up in Body Step, running faster, playing a sport better
General Feeling – rate energy level, rate attitude and outlook, track how often you feel very sleepy during the day, rate your confidence level
Health – blood pressure, cholesterol level, blood sugar level
Intangibles – how you look, compliments you receive, how others respond to you

Take some of these regular measurements and stay motivated, and give yourself the credit that you deserve!

Gym Support - New Service at Contours Manukau

Do you ever get to the gym, grab your new program that your trainer has just written - you take a look at the new exercises and read through and think, yep, yep, all good...then suddenly you spot..."reverse dumbbell fly - 3 reps of 10 at 6kgs". You think... hmmm... interesting, don't seem to remember that one. You look around at everyone busily working out - at least they know what they're at - you look at the equipment, hmmm 6kg dumbbell, yep that's there ...what the hell is a "reverse fly"... sounds like some sort of weird genetic experiment gone wrong ...in a gym?!?!? 
You haven't got the foggiest what it is, let alone what it does.


You love Body Combat, it's fun, it's easy to get into, the moves are sweet and no-one cares if you stuff up. You like the look of Step, but it looks kinda complicated, all that jumping around, step boxes everywhere. You'd like to give it a go, but you're not into looking like an egg....maybe try another time.


You've seen your trainer, you've got your program, but you've got a question - you need to ask someone, but you're trainer is never free. You don't really want to book a reassessment, just just need a quick hand.


If you've experienced this then we've got the answer for you - Tania B.


Some of you may remember her - she used to be our reception manager - but now she's returned as a fully qualified trainer and wants to help you on the gym floor! Tania will be available Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5pm and she'll have a very specific job.


If you've got a question about your program - she'll be there to answer and demonstrate.
If you've never done a class - she'll be there to go with you. She'll help you get set up, get you started and then do the class with you.
If you're finding it a bit hard to "get into" your gym program she'll work out with you and motivate you.
If you need some extra support if you just need to have a chat while you're working out - Tanz'll be there.


We understand that coming to the gym can be hard work, and sometimes working out by yourself can be a bit lonely. Hopefully this new service (and Tanz's help) will help you find the motivation you need.

So give it a go - and tell us what you think.


Tania B. - Gym Support Rep.
Every Tuesday and Thursday 5:00pm- 8:00pm 
Starts today: 25/10/2011

Tanz -Gym Support

BTW: She'll be wearing a nice bright pink shirt (not black as in the picture) with "ask me a question" on the back - so you cant miss her!!

How to endure and enjoy the long weekend… without feeling guilty!

So there’s a long weekend coming up (YAY!) and we are excited, yet a little concerned about the temptations ahead. We don’t want to undo our week’s worth of healthy eating and exercise… yet we want to relax, be social and have fun.

Don’t worry- we have a plan! Follow these 3 steps, and you will be fine!

Don’t Stress!

You have been good all week, so you can go to that social event! (GO THE ALL BLACKS!) You deserve to have some fun with your family and friends. Relaxing is part of being healthy, so actively relax! J

Plan your treat limit- and stick to it

You can have fun without eating and drinking everything! Think ahead and plan what treats you are going to allow yourself. This way you will avoid that guilty feeling before, during and after the treat! Here are some tips you may want to take on board:

1. Drink one glass of water, per glass of alcohol- this will help with the risk of a hangover!
2. Enjoy the treats you allow yourself to have- remembering this is a reward!
3. Don’t nibble, get a plate and remember your portion sizes. Seconds may result in a second class on Tuesday!
4. Dance! This is a great cardio workout. Be sure to come to Body Jam on Thursday this week if you need some new moves!
5. Sleep it off! Make sure you get your beauty sleep before the weekend is over. You don’t want to be feeling sluggish on Tuesday when you’re back to reality.

Enjoy, you can always make up for it!

If you do over indulge, (or just happen to “forget” that extra slice of cake in your food diary) you just need to work that little bit harder and longer the following week.

Watching the world cup AND your waist line

So, the World Cup is just around the corner and we all want to be cheering on our team, (Come on England!) but how can we do it without it affecting our waist lines?

The Facts

• Full of ‘empty calories’ : Alcohol supplies almost twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates

• “Make mine a large Donna and chips” : Alcohol can increase appetite, making the combination of alcohol and a fattening meal all the worse

• The morning (more like the afternoon) after the night before : alcohol has a negative impact on your body’s hydration so your body’s performance after a big night will also suffer However, alcohol is well-established as part of human culture, it plays a huge role in celebration so with the right choices; maintaining your fitness regime and enjoying a few drinks in moderation, there should be no problem in keeping your goals on track.

What are those right choices?

• Wine or treat yourself to some champagne

• Straight liquors such as scotch, vodka and gin have around 110 calories compared to 146 in a 12oz beer

• Mixers need to be sugarless; so no juice, tonic water or non-diet soda but seltzer and diet soda’s are appropriate

• If you are partial to a beer choose light beers over regular beers such as Amstel light and Beck’s Premier Light (just 64 calories) So, before you down that pint for every try New Zealand score just remember these top tips:

1. Keep healthy food on hand when drinking i.e. almonds and dried fruit so we avoid compromising those nutritional habits
2. Drink water between alcoholic drinks to increase the feeling of fullness
3. Try lower calorie alternatives to significantly lower the calorie intake

Work out a couple of hours before a heavy night on the tiles and the chances are you will still be thinking about all that effort you have just put in at the gym and it would be a shame to let that to waste now wouldn’t it?

When enough is enough!

It is easy for many of us to believe there is no such thing as too much exercise. However, ask yourselves; ‘Are you suffering from a loss of appetite; loss of motivation; fatigue; depression and increased amounts of minor injuries?’- if so, you might be in danger of ‘over-training’. With goals to get ready for our bikini’s and the 8 week Biggest Loser Challenge at its half way point, it is not surprising some signs of over-training have begun to rear their ugly head.

There are many factors that contribute to overtraining including;

• Inadequate nutrition
• Excessive training volume and frequency
• Insufficient amounts of sleep

Lack of food

I am sure some of us, myself included have begun to develop a carb phobia due to the false beliefs that carbohydrates are responsible for weight gain. However, we often underestimate the amount of calories and the food we need to eat in order to support an intense training programme. Carbohydrates in particular are the prime energy source for our body, a lack of carbs could result in a loss in physical performance. Dietary fats are equally as important in protection against free radical damage which is often caused by exercise. After a period of intense exercise the human body is in a catabolic state, proper post exercise nutrition including adequate carbohydrates and protein must take place.

What is too much?

Everyone is different and different people can cope with different amounts of stress on their bodies. The success of a life-long healthy change is ensuring programmes take into account people’s interests, needs, schedules and family, work and social commitments; there is no point going ‘hard out’ for an 8 week challenge just to put it all back on when you get back to the ‘everyday.’ Plan for light, medium and hard training days and you will get far better results than coming in every day and giving half-hearted attempts due to you lack of energy.

Get some Z’s

A big issue is that people feel they will undo all the progress they have made if they do not push through the fatigue and pain they might be in. However, the gym is not necessarily where the changes in your body take place. Rest and sleep is just as important as diet and exercise as it enables our bodies to recuperate. A good training programme should include rest days to allow for recovery and give your muscles a chance to repair enabling you to return to your training feeling stronger and mentally revitalized. Listen to your body, if it’s telling you to take a break then do just that!

Joy’s Top Tips

1. Try and get a solid 8 hours of sleep every night
2. Allow rest days to enable your body to recuperate
3. Keep a track of your food with a food diary; if you record accurately and truthfully you become aware of habits that may be hindering your efforts
4. Set small goals and set new ones once you achieve these to stay focused and motivated as having a ‘mountain’ to climb can be disheartening
5. Mix it up – keep your body guessing and your results will be a lot quicker than sticking to the same routine week after week

To stretch, or not to stretch? That is the question!

If you are anything like me I often see stretching as an annoying chore and a lot of the times skip it completely. I would happily spend another 5 minutes on the treadmill rather than lying on my back doing ‘nothing’.

However, thanks to Sheree and my seemingly tight hamstrings it is some-what glaringly obvious that we have to look after our muscles and in not doing so could not only be counter-productive but could also leave us in pain for a number of days to follow and hamper performance.

Body Balance

I remember the first ever time I tried body balance; being young and naive I assumed that if my heart rate wasn’t beating at 160 a minute and I wasn’t swimming in my own sweat I couldn’t possibly be working out. However, a number of years later with my growing wisdom I decided to give it another go in an attempt to increase my flexibility. We all lead such speedy frantic lives now and we want to do everything in a hurry. However, if possible I suggest trying to fit a session of body balance into your fitness regime. The 10 minute relaxation section at the end when the lights go off and you can even bring along your own pillow and blankey makes all the ‘down-ward dogs’ and ‘tree poses’ all worth while. Relaxation allows the nervous system to catch up and an ability to relax makes you both mentally and emotionally stronger, both equally as important as physical strength.

When to stretch?

There is no excuse really, myself included; in not stretching as there is no need to stretch every single body part just the particular body part you may have trained. Spending 10-15 minutes at the end of a one hour workout can actually help speed up muscle growth and will reduce the chances of DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness- all you need to know about this is it hurts and can last anything up to 72 hours!)

The debate still continues over the effectiveness and need for stretching before a work-out but more and more evidence seems to suggest that in doing so will not actually reduce the risk of injury nor will it help with flexibility. So, there we have it, no excuses really as we only need to be doing it post work-out on the body part we’ve worked out!

How to stretch?

Flexibility is essential for ‘normal’ joint health and can improve posture and quality of life by enabling the range of motion is at its greatest possible. There are several ways to performing stretches including

• Static
• Ballistic (not recommended so I’m not even going to tell you how it’s done)
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) –(don’t worry, all will be revealed)

Static Stretching

This is probably the most common form of stretching and the one most associate with the term flexibility- can I touch my toes? Static stretching is slow and constant and should be held for up to 30 seconds, in addition static stretching should be done to the point of mild discomfort but not to the point of pain.

Joy’s Top Tips

1. Never bounce whilst holding a stretch as this will increase the risk of injury
2. Hold stretches for a minimum of 10 seconds but the longer the better

Up and GO!

No, I’m not talking about the very sugary drink in a carton I’m talking about literally getting up in the morning and leaving the house without anything to line our tummies!
We’ve heard it a million times, our Grandma’s went on about it when we were 6 years old, our teachers went on about it in Food Tech and now us trainers are constantly banging our heads against a brick wall about it on a daily basis trying to make people understand and see that; “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”
For me I find it hard to comprehend functioning throughout the day without my breakfast particularly as it is actually my favorite meal of the day! Meal Number 1 is my opportunity to eat my carbohydrates and not feel guilty about it as the right breakfast ensures I have lots of energy for my training sessions later on in the day and sets me up for the rest of the day.
Not hungry?

Whilst you may not be hungry first thing in the morning forcing yourself to eat something, (we’ll discuss what that something should be in a moment), is one of the most beneficial things you can do. Another favorite you’ll hear from us trainers is the term ‘little and often’ (this is referring to how we would like you to eat during the day, 5-6 small meals and snacks as opposed to the traditional 3 square meals), so after hopefully 8 hours of solid sleep our bodies are in a fasting state and we need to jump start our metabolism with breakfast in order to get our bodies process’s moving.

Breakfast with Joy

Now, for all of those whose excuse is that you don’t have time in the morning to eat breakfast I start work every morning at 6am and still manage breakfast so you’ll have to come up with another reason!-set that alarm earlier to get up and get well fed to start your day, your body will soon become used to that early alarm call and it also means there is less of a chance of over-eating at lunch time.

When you get to the point where your belly is rumbling then we tend to make bad decisions and are more likely to reach for whatever is available to satisfy that hunger regardless of whether that is a McDonald’s or a pie. In addition, we are more inclined to over-eat as we will try to cram as much as possible in to our mouths in a short period of time in order to attain instant satisfaction.

Menu Option 1

(This is my particular fav and what I start my day with 5 out of 6 days)

Oatmeal with a cup of berries or a sprinkle of cinnamon (I also add a scoop of protein powder to increase the protein quantity) The complex carbs in this option will provide you with plenty of fiber and keep that hunger at bay for longer, don’t over do it though a cup of cooked oats is all you need

Menu Option 2

Cereal such as Special K and All Bran are awesome choices but in general stick to cereals that have at least 5 grams of fiber and have the minimum amount of added sugar. As women we need calcium so the milk we use over our cereal is a good opportunity to get this in

Menu Option 3

Poached eggs on vogels are a good option if you do have a bit more time on your hands. Eggs in general are full of protein, low in calories and low in fat so mix it up with either scrambled (with your low-fat milk and no added salt) or boiled eggs and soldiers. Surely it goes without saying though that we want to be avoiding fried eggs!

Menu Option 4

Yogurt and Fruit is another good food combo. You will once again be getting some of your much needed calcium and will also satisfy that sweet tooth with some nice juicy apple segments

Menu Option 5

Toast; if you are someone that jumps up in the morning and automatically pops two slices of bread in the toaster it’ about choosing the ‘better, healthier’ options. Go for your more sustainable brown breads like vogels rather than white bread and choose a spread like peanut butter which is packed with healthy fats rather than sugary spreads like jam

If you find you cannot stomach food then a liquid option such as a smoothie or a protein shake may be a good option for you and works just as well. However, you want to be avoiding ‘to-go’ breakfasts like pop-tarts and ‘up-and-go’s’ which are all really high in sugar.

Top Tips

1. Breakfast tastes great-give one or all of the options above a go, variety is the key so you don’t get bored with the same thing day after day
2. If you want to continue to see progress in your fitness and diet goals, never leave this meal out again
3. Eating the right breakfast will pay off in terms of faster muscle gains and LOADS of energy throughout the day
4. Get up early and make the time for ‘the most important meal of the day!

Our wonderful Member of the Month- Karen Bakalich

Feeling fat and unfit in January I chanced upon an email from Contours offering non members the chance to join in on a mini biggest losers challenge. Just what I needed. Not really a gym girl I was a little nervous about joining in but thought, what have I got to lose. FAT .

The challenge was fantastic even though I spent the first couple of weeks unable to move without pain. Nicki, our trainer, was brilliant pushing us all to our limit. That and a whole new way of eating has changed my lifestyle. My fitness improved dramatically and I lost over 7 kg and lots of centimeters.

Still not certain if the gym was for me Nicki encouraged me to join one of her fitness groups once a week. Well I loved it and once a week soon turn into twice a week and along with classes and gym workouts have lost another 7 kgs.

Now I really look forward to my training. Nicki has the balance of nice and nasty just right, she truly is fantastic. Nicki and the girls I train with, along with the rest of Contours staff, give me the support I need to keep going!

"Good" carbs vs "Bad" Carbs - Whats the diff???

It is the type, rather than the amount, of carbohydrates in your diet that helps determine your body weight, according to scientific studies. Nutrition researchers studied the height and weight of 572 healthy people in Massachusetts and asked them to report their weekly intake of carbohydrates during a one-year period. They found that overweight people ate more refined ("bad") carbohydrates than those who weigh less.


Refined carbohydrates are, for example, those found in sugar, white breads, pasta, crackers, and cereals. Refined carbohydrates are "bad" because they have what is called a high glycemic index, meaning that these foods cause a sudden and sharp increase in blood sugar. If this blood sugar is not used by the body, it is stored as fat.


Processed foods, by definition, contain high amounts of refined carbohydrates. During processing, nutrients and fiber are often removed from these foods. Since fiber helps slow the release of sugar into the blood, the loss of fiber is one reason that processed foods have a high glycemic index.


Whole grains, vegetables, and fruits also contain carbohydrates, but these carbohydrates are "good" ones because they have a lower glycemic index.


In the Massachusetts study, neither the total amount of carbohydrates nor the proportion of calories derived from carbohydrates correlated with the body mass index (BMI), a key measure of weight that takes height into account. But people with a high BMI ate more of the refined, high-glycemic-index carbohydrates than their slimmer peers.


This report, along with other evidence, suggests that carbohydrates can be part of a successful weight-loss program, provided that carbohydrate consumption is limited to "good" carbs -- the carbs found in breads, crackers, pastas, and cereals made with whole wheat, along with fruits and vegetables. 



Reference: Ma Y, Olendzki B, Chiriboga D, Hebert JR, Li Y, Li W, Campbell M, Gendreau K, Ockene IS. Association Between Dietary Carbohydrates and Body Weight. Am J Epidemiol. 2005 Feb 15;161(4):359-67.