Monday, February 3, 2020

SUE'S EPIC WINTER CHALLENGE - THE GRAND CANYON RIM TO RIM .... HER PERSONAL STORY.

So just over 5 years since I first ran the Grand Canyon rim to rim I returned at the age of 65 to attempt to do it in the depths of winter but this time down and up the south side as the North rim is closed due to snow. It is shorter at 26 kilometres this way but still the same descent from 7000 feet to the river. At 7am it was still dark and -5c with ice and snow on the upper reaches of the trail plus a wind chill factor that made it feel about -10c. I had not trained in this kind of weather so the
challenge in itself would be a whole new experience however there was one even bigger difference in that my wife Sue was coming with me! She only started trail running 3 months ago and now I was throwing her into one of the toughest challenges in the harshest of conditions.This all may sound a little crazy but I had trained Sue myself and we had concentrated not only on running but also on her strength and conditioning as this is what would carry her through physically when or if things got difficult.
We had decided many months ago that if she didn't feel right on the day then she wouldn't do it as it was just too risky. The plan was that I would then just go it alone and  meet her later.... well, that was the plan.
When we arrived the day before and she saw the snow and ice she immiediately said 'NO WAY!'

 At this point I thought it might be interesting to let Sue, who is a complete novice, give you her thoughts on this great challenge.

SUE'S STORY
As we were planning our trip to the States, I asked Phil if he was intending on running the
Grand Canyon again and he replied ‘no not this time.’ So I mentioned that maybe we could
walk down the trail a bit together as I’d never ventured off the rim all the times we’d been
in the past. He shrugged his shoulders and said ‘Sure, we can do that, how far down do you
want to go?’ ‘Indian Gardens looks lovely looking down from the top’ I muted not realising
that this was my first mistake. His expression changed as he told me quite seriously that 'it’s a long
way down even though it doesn’t look it'... and that I would have to get alot fitter to do it. 'In fact if you plan on going that far you may as well go down to the river and back up again but I need to start training you straight away!' I started backtracking rapidly to just maybe going down half an hour or so but I could see his brain had kicked into gear and there was no going back.

My normal weekly exercise pattern was 2 yoga stretch classes, one ball class and a 4k run plus a few walks but nothing too strenuous. Suddenly I was being dragged out in the morning for 5k runs along the canal and then later 12k runs in the Andalusian mountains (trail running being the new norm). On top of this were tempo runs (Don't ask but they are horrible) and sprints along the beach walkway followed by hill sprints, all on top of my normal routine. Protein and veg became the order of 3 meals a day plus carbs on training days plus added vitamins and green drinks. I must have been mad but this went on for the 3 months before we left for America. I was still non-committal about the challenge but Phil was taking it all very seriously.
I was adamant that if I decided not to do it or just to go down a little way he could continue on his own. He blithely ignored me and delighted in buying me new trail shoes, a water pack & poles whilst I stood there bored to death in the store just wanting to get to the perfume department.



As we boarded our flight to the States we were loaded up with enough gels, almond bars,
salt capsules you name it, to climb Everest along with antiseptic wipes and gels for the
plane. Immediately Phil got busy wiping the whole of the chairs, TV screens and tray tables
to avoid any germs (which is totally impossible on board a 737 Dreamliner). He had taken full
responsibility for this and I was just floating along beside him. Apparently you are 23 times more likely to catch a cold on a plane, 'Olympic athletes do it and so are we' he exclaimed with that serious look again. What had I let myself in for?
We arrived at the Canyon the day before we intended to attempt the impossible for me
and the first sight we saw was snow and ice! I retreated rapidly as I hate walking on ice but undeterred he dragged me along to some people who were just coming out of the trail. They were wearing these spikey things on their shoes and Phil persuaded them to let me try them.
Miraculously I could walk easily without slipping, so off we went to the Grand Canyon shop to purchase 2 pairs.
The day dawned and I still wasn’t bothered, worried or anything as he was just taking control. Firstly he vaselined my feet, (again, dont ask) and then we dressed in all the gear stuffed with protein bars, gels, water, plasters, newskin, recovery blanket, torches and whistle. I could go on but when he started counting the calories and working out my sweat rate I thought it better just to switch off until he said with a very serious look on his face:- 'People die in this place, if you don't respect it you can get into serious trouble'.....which was just what I wanted to hear as we left the hotel!
Arriving at the the rim it was freezing cold, dark and a little foreboding but at 7:40 am just as the light appeared we began. The snow lit up the Canyon in all its magnificence and the first couple of miles were suprisingly easy as the ice filled in all the holes and fallen rocks so it was quite smooth and the views were breathtaking. We reached the first rest house (2k), no problem, then took off our spikes a little while later as the snow had disappeared. This brought new problems as the ‘steps’ down were very steep with lots of rocks meaning we had to navigate around them all. We reached the second rest house (4k) and was excited to see Indian Gardens below which from the top looked like a nice calm grassy plateau. How wrong could I be? The divets were getting deeper as we went further into the Canyon, these jarred my back and put pressure on my weaker left leg from an old back injury from 12 years ago.

My knee started aching as we reachede Indian Gardens where there is a water tap, a few tents and the odd tree, not quite what I had imagined. didn’t stop for long and at this point Phil asked did I want to go any further as we’d been much slower than he’d anticipated due to my leg pain and fear of the divets. It was then that he told me the next part called ‘Devil’s corkscrew ‘was very steep and difficult. I looked around and thought to myself that I’d come this far and was very unlikely to do it again, so I just had to go for it or I would have been disappointed, he said 'Cool' and off we went. Devil’s corkscrew was as hard as its name, scary to look down and it went on forever. By now the pain was all the way up and down my leg but I just ignored it and carried on down to the river even though it was killing me to put my foot down on anything except flat ground, which was obviously nowhere to be found.


Finally after about 3 hours we got to the river, I know Phil would have got here in less than half the time but he stayed with me throughout the day as he'd promised to do. It was breathtaking, stunning, beautiful and worth every painful step and I was surprised at how fast it was travelling and how cold and salty it was.
  Phil gave me some ibuprofen which he said he would normally never do but it was neccessary and a godsend at that moment. Looking back up at the Canyon, it really was awe-inspiring to see the power of nature at its most beautiful but most dangerous. It made me feel so humble yet grateful to be part of it at that moment. However there was no time to dwell on that as the enormity of the ascent back out was so real and with my bad leg we had to get going.
Phil had split the ascent, (which is apparently what ultra runners do) into 6 quadrants to help with my mental endurance, so Devil’s corkscrew was the first (and the worst!).
 I used my poles to help take the pressure of my bad leg but it was less painful than coming down. I kept saying it was my knee and he seemed to get a bit worried but when he pressed and prodded it he realised it was actually my quad muscles and explained with a smile on his face 'Its only your quads, thats a relief I thought it was something serious'.
Next came the second quadrant up to Indian Gardens then another and another until the last two very steep quadrants up to the second then the first resthouse. By now I was on autopilot and following my 6-breath yoga routine to manage both the ever growing pain and the elevation gain as we ascended. Phil kept making me take all the provisions he had brought to keep up my energy levels and really monitored my movements encouraging me to move quicker where it was easier. I can’t say my responses to him were at all pleasant as I insisted I was doing my best but I knew he wanted us to get up before it went dark.

Then we hit the mud! This was awful as where the snow had melted it was just a gooey mess, slippy and very hard to manoeuvre around unless you tried to keep your feet as close to the edges as possible. By now I just wanted to get to the top and just totally focussed on my poles and feet not letting my mind wander in any way, especially to the now excruciating pain down my leg. Eventually we came back to the snow near the top which was much easier to cross with the spikes and I could finally see the summit. At this point we met a young girl, quite fit, about 27, who was really struggling and had taken 12 hours just to come up from the river which was half the distance we had already covered. We gave her some gels, electrolytes and salt capsules and she seemed to perk up as we told her she was nearly there. Later Phil started to mumble on about what happens when you don't prepare properly. The Rangers warn you not to go there and back in a day, which we were doing but she apparently had stayed the night at the camp at the bottom and was still struggling. 'Bloody stupid' said Phil (or something like that). 
On average 17 people die every year in the Canyon with over 400 recorded evacuations due to injury etc by helicopter per year, so he had a point.

By now I was exhausted but 9 1/2hrs after entering the Canyon, we finally made it. Phil had gone on a few minutes before me and rounded up a load of tourists to cheer me out and of course I just burst into tears!
To this day nearly 2 weeks later, I still can’t believe I actually managed it and then recovered well. The next day I had no pain whatsoever and I slept like a baby. When I look at the pictures and videos it just feels like a blur.
Maybe it was just an incredible dream after all……
                                               ...................................
Anyway, back to me:- I have to say I was very impressed with Sue's attitude the whole day as she didn't complain or moan at all. At the beginning and in the half light she just 'lets go' and off we went. Personally I loved running in the snow and ofcourse in the winter you don't have the heat problem.
This was quite a different challenge for me as I just felt responsible for Sue the whole time whereas normally I'm just thinking about myself. (If you know what I mean).  Her recovery was excellent which was due to all her strength and conditioning training. People often forget that in challenges like this recovery has to be managed just as much as the preparation.
I think many people will be suprised about what Sue achieved and at the age of 64 and having never done anything like this before but I always felt she could do it because her attitude during training was always enthusiastic. She stuck to the schedule religiously and never once gave any excuses.
After 30 years of marriage I will admit that I was suprised at her mental endurance but she told someone later that it was much easier having a baby!.....Now as a man that sounds like a complete nightmare.

Sue has now joined a unique band of people. A Ranger told me this year that ony 1% of visitors ever leave the rim and of these only 1% get to the river, and of these very few go there and back in a day.
I think the takeaway from all this is that it is important not to limit yourself in life. If you keep yourself fit and healthy then you are capable of much more than you can possibly imagine.

















Monday, December 2, 2019

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?. ...

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?. ...:      If you have to ask the question then you aleady know the answer or you should do. I can hear the comments now;- fatist, sexist, misog...

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?. ...

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?. ...:      If you have to ask the question then you aleady know the answer or you should do. I can hear the comments now;- fatist, sexist, misog...

DOES MY BUM LOOK BIG IN THIS?. ...


     If you have to ask the question then you aleady know the answer or you should do. I can hear the comments now;- fatist, sexist, misogynist, judgemental,uncaring, unkind, unsympathetic, bully, inconsiderate, blah,blah,blah.
 When are the army of obese/overweight people finally going to wake up and smell the reality. A friend of mine called me from the UK because he had just been for lunch in a busy restaurant and virtually everyone was fat, he normally doesn't notice these things but was clearly shocked. He was left wondering how we got into this state of affairs. The current published statistics which are readily available paint an extremely worrying situation. I have referenced two reports below and the statistics are alarming and the cost to the health authorities is outrageous. 10% of the budget of the NHS in the UK is spent on treating obesity and the projections moving forward are far worse.
 Just ponder that for a moment, that means for people who are ill or infirm through no fault of their own will be denied treatment because 10% of the population ate too many pizzas.
  What clearly isn't helping is the normalising of obesity. I have been shown pictures of really fat girls on Instagram with millions of followers banging on about how they love their bodies. Good luck to you honey because a whole truckload of health problems are heading your way. Let me state for the umpteenth time that to be fat and healthy is a myth, it is simply not true so stop kidding yourself. You will be a burden to your family and the state in years to come and I suspect they will already have all sorts of health issues that they are choosing to ignore. I've heard it all, 'Its my special hormones', 'I can't eat this or that'.., 'I'm big boned'. Some of these people who are big boned are so huge they must have had dinosaurs for ancestors.
  The problem now is that obesity is being normalised and because of  all the # me too stuff you are not allowed to criticise or say anything. I look at the fat women on Facebook or Instagram and all the comments are 'You look gorgeous'... 'you are so beautifiul'...'Fabulous'....'Wow you look amazing'..etc etc and always these comments are from women not men.
  Beware of women complimenting you on how great you look when you clearly look like a giant cream cake.🍰
Irina and daughters Alex and Lara
  'Does my bum look big in this? Is this actually a serious question? I have never met a slim, healthy, fit women with a good figure ask me if her bum looks big. A friend of mine who has worked in the retail industry all her life told me that the thing she most looked forward to in retirement was not hearing every day some woman saying 'does my bum look big in this?' Instead of blaming the dress how about sorting out your figure. And what of the men? At least when a guy with a belly hanging down to his knees posts on Facebook his friends don't say he looks great, they usually crack a joke about it... however they dont say; 'time to look in the mirror pal' because now we all have to be kind,nice and touchy feely, yet meanwhile the health problems mount up and nobody says anything.
   The food companies behaviour is nothing short of criminal as they seek to hide or lie about all the bad stuff in their products and yet some things are obvious when it comes to health eating. It is really difficult to make foods such as spinach, blueberries, salmon or broccoli unhealthy whereas its very easy to make low fat yogurt sound healthy when it isn't.  Then again if you eat a donut what exactly do you think you are eating and whose fault is that? Nick Mitchell a well known trainer recently said that losing weight and being fit is nothing to do with discipline, it is to do with self respect and I agree. I train and eat a well balanced diet because I respect myself and I care about how I treat my body which carries me through life in the best way possible. I am grateful and do not take it for granted.
 
The obesity epidemic has exploded over the past 15 years and this normalisation is just plain crazy. I honestly dont know where it will end but it won't be pretty. I have spent the summer training and advising on diet and with great success but the people I see have decided to do something about their health issues and I am there to help, advise and encourage. It's very rewarding because at least I'm doing something, however small, to stem this tide of poor health. Of course some clients have particular injuries or serious health issues but even they have improved immeasurably over the past few months. I have also trained clients who are already fit and healthy but again they don't take it for granted, they are consistent in their lifestyle choices, they train a minimum of 3 times a week, eat well balanced nutritional food, drink lots of water, sleep 6/8 hours and so on.
Sisters, Saskia and Patricia

As I have said a hundred times it's not rocket science, if people would just start to introduce a few healthy choices then they would see a difference and this will then motivate them to go further as they begin to look and feel better about themselves.
 No doubt I will be accused again of being unkind when I criticise but I believe that pussy footing around the issue is madness. Last week PHE published a report that 40% of school leavers will be obese by 2025 and 20% of 4-5 year olds are already obese.  Does this not alarm the parents? They are commiting their children to a lifetime of poor health, don't they care? I just dont get it. Surely parents should be setting the example by feeding their children a healthy diet and demonstrating to them the benefits of exercise from an early age, not slobbing about on the sofa drinking coke and munching a burger and fries.
Jane,Gerry and daughters
   I'm afraid today has been a rant but that's because I'm angry.  A succesful gym owner told me last week that we are in the business of primary health care. I never thought about it that way before but it's true as the next step is doctors, medicines and hospital. One should be trying to prevent that by taking charge of your own health today and not leaving it up to the medical proffession tomorrow.
 Please stay healthy, you owe it to yourself and to your children.... don't just buy a bigger pair of pants.

References.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6257099/

https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03336/SN03336.pdf#targetText=The%20National%20Child%20Measurement%20Programme,being%20obese%20and%2014.2%25%20overweight.

























Tuesday, June 4, 2019

MY MOST POPULAR VIDEO!!


  Filmed this video and it has now been viewed over 8000 times on FB and Instagram!
It was just for fun, hope you like it, please share if you do....

                             SEX BOMB AT 61...

https://www.facebook.com/phil.jeremy.5/videos/2628793277148209/UzpfSTgzMDkzMjU4MDMxMjUxMDoyNjg4MDMyNjQxMjY5MTUy/


FB page - Phil Jeremy Personal Training.
Instagram -   #fitphiltraining

Thursday, May 2, 2019

VIRGIN TERRITORY.....TIME TO STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

Firstly I must point out that today's blog has nothing to do with the vestal virgins of ancient Rome, fascinating though that maybe, no, today I am concerned  about how so many people stick to their tried and tested routines be it yoga, tennis, running, swimming, cycling or gym workouts and never change what they do. They do the same thing nearly every time and though the consistency of any fitness routine is paramount it is the variety of effort within the routine that will give you the most benefits. I have talked before of 'bang for your buck' or more eloquently, 'minimum effective dose' exercise routines, yet for many people who are trying to get fit or lose weight they sadly assume that what they do a few times a week will be enough.... and then are surprised to learn that it doesn't work. They will then go on to make sweeping assumptions that the reason is due to hormonal imbalances or the wrong kind of genes... or it's not in their DNA make up.... whatever that means.

   If you make any positive change to your routine be it in
what you eat or in how much or in the type or intensity of your exercise routine then you will see a difference. You have to step outside your comfort zone, you have to extend your horizons...

                       A man's reach must always extend beyond his grasp.

I remember about 25 years ago running virtually the same route month after month, I was fit but I never lost weight or got quicker or increased my muscle mass. I assumed, as many people did at the time, that this was the way to train, much like years ago the standard nutrition for football players and marathon runners was pasta. I too went along with this believing that by stuffing my face with pasta the night before a big run would do the trick, I'am afraid its not quite that simple.
 Often I see overweight people jogging along the road and its great that they are trying to do
something about their health however after a few months their weight loss will decrease and sadly they may become demotivated and give up. This is a normal pattern and is often associated with poor diet, which is always the real culprit of their obesity. The point though is that they have been brainwashed into believing that jogging will cure their obesity. It won't and never does.

Remember exercise will keep you fit and healthy but it is only a small part of the weight/fat loss equation. It is your diet that is the key....always.

It all depends on your goal. If you wish to run a marathon then its common sense to train for it by running frequently. If you want lose weight or cut fat then you must train and eat accordingly. Likewise if your goal is to improve your figure or acquire a lean muscular physique then eating and exercising has to be even more targeted and specific.There are many varied factors and all will require a different training and nutrition protocol. One size does not fit all.
Very often people are slightly motivated to do one of the above or would like to lose weight but I find that often they are not prepared to make the changes necessary. The older I get the more I notice that very few people are prepared to make the sacrifices that are needed. They just can't be bothered. Its far easier to sit in front of the TV and have a glass of wine and a bag of crisps! These days I refuse to train anyone who has not already made a decision to step up and sort themselves out. Its no point me pushing and motivating them if they do not have the will to carry it through.                             
The reason is simple because if it is not a 'must' for them and its just a vague hope or a nice idea then they will not succeed and no amount of motivation from me will alter this. I would not waste money on a personal trainer if you have not made a decision to follow through with your health goal until you succeed.

Any change you wish to make in your health and fitness will involve stepping outside your daily routine and current comfort zone. I believe in making dynamic positive changes, some people such as Precision Nutrition (PN) preach small steps and though I understand this method I rarely use it. They are a great organisation and have excellent results and although I agree with many of many of their nutritional guidelines I tend to go for big lifestyle changes and total immersion in your new health goal. You see much faster results and psychologically that motivates them and me into pursuing the person they want to become.You could be someone new to training or an experienced athlete, either way you have to shake outthose bad habits, we all have them. I prefer to recognise them and deal with it on a multilevel approach. Specific nutrition and targeted training methods are what a Personal Trainer should be giving you otherwise its just maintenance. Now there is nothing wrong with maintenance if you are already at a high level of fitness and health but to be truthful we all can improve and do better.

 Consistency is the first step but after that I prefer to break new ground and
move into more virgin territory. Its remarkable what changes the body and mind will make when you test yourself in a new area. People love feeling healthy when before they were not. Personally I like to change things all the time. One day I'll do a 10 k trail run and another day a hard 50 minute strength session. The variety is hugely stimulating.
For example:-
The other week I did  20 minute high intensity session of 500 varied body weight reps and the next day an easy jog along the river. Then I did nothing for 2 days and then my son, Alexander, suggested a routine of just press ups and flys. Very simple but tough. We did 9 press ups rested for 20 seconds then 1, then 8, then 2, then 7, then 3, then 6 etc and continued all the way down to zero and then reversed back up to 10.
Basically 200 press ups followed by 5 sets of 10 flys. We were just hitting the chest and back..... I had DOMS for about 5 days but I still did a 5k tempo run on the 7th day.

This might seem excessive but the total time training for that week was around 2.5 hours which is less than 2% of the hours in a week, hardly excessive but as you can see it's extremely varied and the body is constantly shocked into having to make adaptations. This will keep you fit lean and well conditioned which is my personal goal however this is still only a small part of the equation because it is my diet that will have the greatest effect. If I go eat a pizza after each session or have half a bottle of wine then I might as well not bother. You need to vary your nutrition with a variety of healthy foods, this takes a little planning so you must shop with the next 3 days in mind as you want fresh vegetables/salad with every meal with good sources of protein and some nuts, seeds and slow release carbs. If you don't eat this way then your health goal is going to be far more difficult to achieve and take an awful lot longer.

Virgin territory in Andalucia.
If you wake up every day with the same body composition and fitness despite doing 'regular exercise' its because you are not doing what I have just outlined, it has nothing to do with your genes or whether you are big boned ..... or even if you're descended from a line of hippo's!
Its time me to step up and break out of your ineffective routine and get serious.

Speaking of virgin territory and comfort zones, a few weeks ago I took off into the Andalusian hills in southern Spain, it was a tough rocky trail in the middle of nowhere and after running into a family of wild boar, a bit nerve racking but a few a few hours later I felt tired but exhilarated.
 If you can become passionate about health and fitness then the rewards are never ending.




Phil Jeremy Personal Training: VIRGIN TERRITORY.....TIME TO STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COM...

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: VIRGIN TERRITORY.....TIME TO STEP OUTSIDE YOUR COM...: Firstly I must point out that today's blog has nothing to do with the vestal virgins of ancient Rome, fascinating though that maybe, no...

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: FAT OR FIT ... IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

Phil Jeremy Personal Training: FAT OR FIT ... IT'S YOUR CHOICE.: Yes you do have a choice and it's your decision. A fellow health professional was telling me a story the other day of a 43 year old wom...

Friday, January 25, 2019

FAT OR FIT ... IT'S YOUR CHOICE.

Yes you do have a choice and it's your decision. A fellow health professional was telling me a story the other day of a 43 year old woman whose Doctor had recommended  a very expensive diet expert who had given her a specialized nutrition plan, all very complicated and involved, so much so that she didn't even look at it.
   When asked by my friend what her normal day was, it consisted of fruit, yogurt, cereal/ bread/croissant or waffle and juice for breakfast. She would go out to a café for soup and some salad at lunchtime plus 1 small glass of wine, a mid afternoon snack, then a late evening dinner of protein /veg with potatoes/rice/pasta ... and maybe 2 or 3 glasses of wine plus a naughty desert a few times a week. I'm sure she was probably having a few more 'naughty things' that she didn't tell us about as well. She did no exercise save for the occasional 15 minute walk now and again. She was 38% Body Fat but felt she was about 25% and didn't consider herself to be much overweight and in fact she thought she ate quite well. (Everybody says that). The idea that you can be fat and healthy is a clinically proven myth, so get over it.
This is a classic case, so let's break it down.


Firstly this woman is clinically obese and is ripe for some serious health issues in the years to come.
Secondly for someone this fat her diet is very poor, actually to be honest its atrocious.

BREAKFAST
You may think her breakfast is okay but as ever the devil is in the detail. She is consuming mostly sugar and bad fats. All fruit is sugar, her yogurt was the usual fruit flavoured sugar loaded supposedly healthy type.
It should have been full fat Greek yogurt and half a small pot at that with perhaps few blueberries, 1/3 banana and then protein powder. No croissants bread waffles or juice. (Its all sugar, sugar, sugar!)
And no special high fibre Alpen/granola/ healthy cereal either, its all crap.
 What she actually needs to do is switch to protein and vegetables and no juice and a very small amount of fruit, if any. She should always have a Green drink, fish oil, probiotics and vitamins and a small handful of nuts and seeds. It amazes me why hardly anyone has green drinks for breakfast, I just can't fathom it. All fit, healthy and lean people consume some form of Green drink with ingredients such as wheatgrass/ barley grass/ spirulina/ chlorophyll/ seaweed/ kelp/ enzymes/ bacterial cultures/ spinach/ ginger/ turmeric. You can buy it or make your own. I do both, it takes seconds and you are flooding your body with healthy nutrients the moment you wake up. The difference between this and a waffle/croissant is so obvious it beggars belief.




      IT'S YOUR CHOICE FOR BREAKFAST ... but remember there are consequences.












If you want to try intermittent fasting and skip breakfast there can be benefits but you need to know how to do this the right way but at this stage she needs to keep it simple. If you consume protein/vegetables you will feel fuller and avoid the mid morning crash from all that sugar you had for breakfast. I have found that for most people changing there current breakfast routine is the fastest way to healthy fat loss.

LUNCH
Get rid of the soup for lunch and instead have chicken/fish/meat with a lot, and I mean a lot, of salad or vegetables, no sauces. I am always amazed how many restaurants provide you with so little salad or vegetables. I was in a fairly decent café the other day and the waiter said they had no vegetables when I asked for them, as in NONE. Utterly bizarre and in the UK and the USA they smother the salad with some type of crap dressing. I always have to ask to have it separate. In other words the simple healthy ways of preparing and presenting food are being avoided, I just don't get it.

The amount of people who have soup for lunch and are overweight is incredible, you would have thought by now that they had figured out that there must be a problem.

Let me be clear, there are ways of preparing nutritious soup properly but most people don't know how to do it and besides it's much better to consume healthy protein and crunchy fibrous vegetables.
As for one glass of wine please don't get me started. By the time she tots up that plus the evening glass or 2 or 3 she's probably consuming at least 25 glasses of wine a week! That's ALOT of sugar which is going to turn to fat. She needs to start drinking 2+ litres of water a day.
Stop drinking alcohol for a month and see how you feel. I promise you will notice a difference.

DINNER
The first issue is she eats it late but at least she had protein for dinner but then spoilt it with a ton of carbs. Before someone jumps in here, I know carbs are not all bad but at 40% body fat they are! She has to cut her body fat first and then she can reintroduce some 'good' carbs (e.g. Quinoa, Sweet potatoes, Brown rice, Oats), perhaps in a few weeks time.
 I suspect the naughty desert was more than once a week and was probably not just a little naughty but positively pornographic.
 I ran the Grand Canyon from rim to rim for over 8 hours and consumed very few carbs before, during or after the run, I didn't need them because I have enough stored fat for energy; and I was 9% Body fat ... and so if I don't need them to do a run like that then why does she need them sitting around doing nothing? I eat quality carbs about 3-4 times per week for dinner or lunch and that's it.


If you eat carbs for breakfast, lunch and dinner then you are on massive overload, the fact you see everyone else doing it doesn't make it right, they are probably enormous too.
She needs to start exercising for  a minimum of 3/4 hours a week, say 30 mins per day, starting with walking and then moving on to a planned exercise regime that will metabolically disturb her body into losing fat, 20 minutes of high intensity a day 2/3 times per week plus a strength and conditioning routine twice a week would be a sensible goal to aim for.
 If she did this then within a week she would start losing fat and in a healthy nutritionally balanced way ... and she can eat more than she is doing now so will not feel hungry at all because she will be eating the right food.
If she ate like this and had decent training advice she'd look like a million dollars in a few months. How do I know? because I've done this with client after client and it always works, every time.
It really isn't complicated, you don't need a specialist dietician you just need to change the basics of your routine to the correct way to eat and exercise. I've also found that when someone starts to live a healthier lifestyle and they see the positive results then they want to keep it going and improve on it even more, so it has a processional positive effect. There mood and sense of well being is enhanced, they have more energy and want this new lifestyle to be permanent.
Remember every person I see thinks that their health problems are unique and  therefore more complicated but I'm afraid in most cases that's a load of garbage plain and simple.

Get off your 'special diet', throw away all your useless pills and overprescribed medicines and get your body back into a state of harmonious natural balance by eating properly and exercising effectively.
Its your choice, just decide and do it.

           If you have any questions or seek further advice then please email me at phil@modelplan.co.uk