O'Coach Fitness

14/07/2023

https://youtu.be/1_mbVQnpC0E

Щоб відповісти на питання "як позбутись" треба спочатку вияснити, зідки він береться і які чинники впливають на розподілення жиру в тілі. Чи існує спеціальна...

03/08/2022

Shame, guilt, depression - many dieters feel this when eating 'bad' foods. Then they try to avoid such foods completely. And fail. This further fuels overeating and creates an obsession with certain food groups.

In our podcast (find ‘Our bodies Our business’ on Spotify, episode 5), we answer many questions about good/bad food dichotomy and its influence on our weight loss efforts and mental health.

Why dichotomous thinking about food - 'good' and 'bad' - is poisonous?

Can we class burgers as 'good' food?

Is a vegan burger healthier than a normal one?

Should we be alarmed if we hear word combos 'cheat meals' and 'cheat days'?

Does eating bad food make you a bad person?

Can we eat 'bad' food every day and lose weight?

And most important, what bad foods Oksana and Olga (me!) eat regularly? :)

PS. I am not in Kyiv atm but the photo was done there last year by

13/07/2022

Heads up if you are looking for the course in nutrition or are already a practitioner and want to become a better one or if you have a nutrition degree and want to be able to actually work with people.

Mac Uni opens enrolments today.

Before starting MAC Uni I was on the fence: ‘will I learn anything new?’

One of the reasons for this question was starting Precision Nutrition (a famous American online course for nutrition practitioners) and then asking them to cancel my account 1 day later … because it appeared to be so primitive!!!

I did deepen and widen my knowledge at MNU. It showed me better angles to look from. I am fully intellectually satisfied. The material is put together so intelligently. I can confidently say that I am up to date with the cutting edge research.

Did it significantly change my technical understanding? Say, do I now calculate individual protein requirements differently? No. Most qualified nutritionists can put together a very well balanced personalised nutrition plan.
Many personal trainers may offer you a reasonable macros breakdown.

However, this will work for 10% of clients. Those types who stick to the instructions no matter what. Robots (in a good sense).

The remaining 90% need more sophisticated and personalised approach to be able to get into calorie deficit and lose weight (or whatever the goal is). And this is what MNU covers: how to work with complex cases, those 90% (!) of clients.

Being an eating disorder survivor, I used to put a big emphasis on education, compassion and sustainability of my programs. I thought I nailed it. But there are people smarter than me😅

Just imagine, in the lecture on behaviour change talks about Self Determination Theory🥹🥹 and its practical application.
I was stunned to notice the parallel to humanist psychology I am currently a big fan of.

More of my fav take homes:

- being in calorie deficit (weight loss) is very different to being at maintenance (maintaining results).
Not everything one does during weight loss phase must become a long term habit.
(cntd in comments)

08/06/2022

In December 2021 I went to London and did a mind-blowing training on biomechanics by Integra Education. I was so inspired that I started craving more exploration, more excellence, more Integra learning. Because phenomenal things attract.

A couple months after… I quit my 8-year-long PT business! I passed my clients on to quality PTs and group fitness classes that will suit their goals.

Why?

My passion is helping people lose weight. Mindset, nutrition and the right type of physical activity are the key here. And not hyper-personalised PT sessions. Don’t get me wrong. A truly PERSONAL personal training is so worth it. Do invest into the best PT in the area. The one with

excellent anatomy knowledge,
profound understanding of biomechanics
and… sufficient IQ to be able to apply the knowledge

and design the exercises specifically for your ‘architecture’
and build programs specifically for your goals and limitations

and NOT the one with the same approach to everyone. Well, we all have certain ‘style’, but there are so many PTs that run the same types of sessions for everyone and then clients rate the experience on how exhausted/sweaty/smashed/shattered/sore next day/calorie-burnt they are. This can be easily substituted by apps, Peloton, in-person group classes.

I am a researcher by background and by nature. I love solving intellectual problems. I love learning new stuff about the subject, connecting the dots, digging in-depth and also seeing a bigger picture.

How can I help someone with years of yo-yo dieting? Demanding career? Family commitments? Limited budget? Deadline? Stubborn fat? Cravings? Diet fatigue? Without tracking macros?

Sometimes I can’t. But the more I learn and the more people I work with, the more various cases I can sort out and do it better, faster, more accurately and carefully.

Photo by ❤️

26/05/2022

07/04/2022

Fantastic work of my client O. over summer.

For many years she struggled with weight loss trying all possible fad diets. She would lose weight but then would put it back on. Why? Because fad diets do not teach you to LIVE with a new weight.

We went for a classic scheme: slow sustainable weight loss.

Because of seasonally high activity level (high intensity interval gardening - HIIG😄) we could afford both aggressive diet and slow sustainable weight loss.

Adequate protein intake allowed better satiety and, in combination with muscle stimulation, increase in muscle tissue. High activity + small calorie deficit = high flexibility (she ate small cakes and many fruits regularly), low hunger, high enjoyment.

I used calorie tracking method with O. because if one is able to track, they should better track. There is no better method - it would not suit EVERYONE but it is scientifically proven. This also allows her to understand energy balance better, make informed food choices and maintain weight during lower activity season. Could we not track? Yes.
At the cost of precision and flexibility, but yes.

NB. Aggressive calorie deficit and faster rate of weight loss would be physiologically appropriate in O’s case. However for psychological reasons we chose slower and more enjoyable process.