12-week body transformation
My 12-week body transformation can be yours too, says this fitness writer.
I’ve always considered myself ‘fit’ and ‘healthy’. I make sensible food choices and workout regularly, but I never seem to achieve the specific results I want. Deciding to up my game I’ve enlisted the help of top London personal trainer and WBFF Pro Nicole Aristides to transform my body and get me in the best shape possible – in just 12 weeks. The goal is to shred fat to create a strong and lean body.
Nicole has developed a personalised 12-week shred programme, including three weight sessions a week and macros to stick to. Following the plan, I should lose around one pound a week and drop body fat in time for my Sri Lankan beach holiday.
Macro counting
Your macros (short for macronutrients) are your three main food groups: carbohydrates, protein and fats. Many fitness professionals have been tracking their eating this way secretly for years, and getting the right balance of the three for their training.
My macros have been tailored to my bodyweight and daily output. Firstly, my calories are calculated to ensure I am in a calorie deficit, and then this is used to work out my macros. It’s important that my protein levels are kept at an amount to benefit my retaining muscle mass while in a calorie deficit. Carbohydrates and fats are then worked out based mainly on preference. These macros will add up to fit my tailored calories for the day and will be amended each week depending on progress.
Counting macros is something completely new to me, and takes complete dedication. The key to this is PLAN PLAN PLAN, so Sunday now equals food prep day – electric food scales are an absolute must.
Exercise
I will be doing a combination of weight training and cardio to make sure I burn fat for fuel and not muscle. Nicole has created a gym programme with three full-body workouts, including a combination of weight training and body weight exercises for fat burn. After foam rolling and a mobility routine, examples of exercises include dead lifts, goblet squats and TRX ab crunches. I will be training at Fitness First in Angel, which has everything I need and plenty of space (surprising in January). It is also recommended to use cardio as a tool for fat loss and, as I enjoy exploring different fitness classes, I will be doing one to two cardio sessions a week. I will be spinning once a week at high energy indoor cycling studio Boom Cycle and mixing up the rest of my training with running or classes at various studios, keeping it interesting.
Supplementing my training
Throughout the plan, I will be taking supplements to complement my training. Supplements will include branched chain amino acids (BCAA), creatine, multivitamins and vitamin D3.
BCAAs are the building blocks of protein and are used to aid muscle repair and help to avoid using muscle as fuel. Creatine is used to produce short bursts of energy when training. I’ll take 5g every day to help my performance so that I can get the most out of my training sessions. A multivitamin is taken daily to help boost micronutrients, which the average person is usually deficient in, especially when dieting. And then vitamin D3 purely because most of us don’t get enough from sunshine in the UK.
Measuring success
As well as losing weight (the goal is at least a pound a week), I am hoping to notice a change in strength. I will be logging the weights I am lifting in the gym and attempting to lift heavier as the weeks progress. Fingers crossed I’ll also feel more energetic and – who knows? – even happier!
Stay tuned for a progress report in weeks to follow and in the meantime keep up with my progress on my Instagram. Give my PT Nicole Aristides a follow or visit her website for information on her online coaching.
