the secrets to transforming your body shape and losing weight · whether you’ve tried to lose...

www.nicolacarless.com [email protected]

The Secrets to Transforming Your

Body Shape and Losing Weight

Discover why your hormone levels are causing you to struggle

with your weight and body shape, despite having tried many diets

and exercise programmes in the past.

http://www.nicolacarless.com/

mailto:[email protected]


Limits to Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty

The information contained in this guide is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended

to address readers’ particular circumstances and requirements. If expert guidance is required, the

services of a competent professional person should be sought.

The author hereby disclaims any personal or professional loss or liability caused, or alleged to be

caused, directly, or indirectly by the use of information presented in this guide.

Nicola Carless

[email protected]

Tel: 07890 978531

www.nicolacarless.com





Nicola Carless

Whether you’ve tried to lose weight in the past or it’s only just become a priority, one thing is for sure

choosing the right plan is crucial to your success.

However, with so many different diets and lots of conflicting information out there, it can be hard to

make the right decision. Should you eat low-fat foods or non-fat foods, is it sugar-free or is it the

latest supplement that guarantees to melt the fat? It is situations like these that have prompted me to

write this guide.

My name is Nicola Carless and I’m a qualified Fitness Professional specialising in weight loss and

body transformation results. I am passionate about helping people just like you understand how they

can get their body to work with them rather than against them.

What I believe is over the years what we’ve eaten and how we’ve lived our lives, has led to us

knocking our hormones out of balance. If you have eaten lots of carbohydrates and sugars then this is

likely to have an effect on your insulin levels (you only have to look at the increase of Diabetes in the

UK for evidence of this happening more and more).

If you’ve had a lot of stress in your life, then your stress hormone Cortisol and your Insulin levels

may well be out of balance. This is likely to cause you to struggle to lose weight or change your

shape in specific areas, especially around the abdominal region for example. What happens is our

body becomes better at storing fat rather than burning it and storing it in the areas we don’t want it to.

You see, the way you live your life is having an effect on your hormones right now, couple that with

the natural ageing process (regardless of your age right now) and you have a negative balance of

levels within the body.

Now I appreciate there are some things going on in people’s lives which cannot be changed (at least

not straight away) but what if you could control the hormone levels by the types of foods and the way

you eat them? What if you could control them so you are able to shed that stubborn weight from

around your waist, your hips or your upper back? What if you did all of this and your sleep patterns




improved and you woke up actually feeling refreshed with enough energy to get you through the day?

That has got to be a better way of living hasn’t it?

You see getting your hormones back into balance is not just about losing weight (this is guaranteed to

happen as part of the process), it’s also about getting your body back in shape and improving your

quality of life so you can deal with any challenges that come your way. Rather than having whatever

is going on in your life determine how much you weigh or how out of shape your body looks.

By ordering this guide you have already taken your first step towards getting your hormones back in

balance and transforming your body shape and weight, as well as improving your quality of sleep and

energy levels. So please take some time to read this guide all the way through as you start to uncover

the secrets to taking control of your hormones, your body shape and improving your life.

Nicola Carless




What exactly are hormones?

Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers. They relay information (such as light, stress, danger

and food) from the outside world to cells inside the body. Without these chemical messengers your

body would not know how to respond and act to these outside influences. They control everything

from the rate at which your body grows, your moods, through to controlling your blood sugar levels

and how hungry you feel.

Looking at your hormone levels rather than just focusing on the number of calories you are eating

each day is crucial when it comes to helping you change your body shape and weight loss. You see,

hormones are the messengers that control the rate at which you burn calories throughout the day. The

types of foods you eat will impact how and when hormones are released and how individual

hormones work with each other.

Your lifestyle (in particular the food you eat, stress and physical activity levels) will affect the levels

of hormones in the body and the messages they send to various parts of the body. If over a period of

time your hormone levels become unbalanced and stay unbalanced, they will lose their potency.

Basically your body stops listening to their messages even though they are still being released.

Signs of your hormones being out of balance include:

Struggling to lose weight from certain parts of the body, despite it coming off from other

areas (most commonly being from around the waistline).

Finding it harder to tone up, look leaner and gain more muscle tissue and instead your skin

feels looser and saggy.

Having difficulty with sleeping; either can’t get to sleep, wake up frequently or when you do

sleep you wake up feeling tired still.

Struggling with energy levels throughout the day, particularly during mid-afternoon and

feeling like you need something sweet or sugary to eat to give you a boost.

Finding that your moods seem to be more up and down than before and your ability to

concentrate or focus is more of a challenge.

When hormones are out of balance they affect people in different ways and that goes for men too, it’s

not just women of a certain age who struggle (although imbalances are more common). It doesn’t

matter whether you are young or old, male or female, the way you live your life will have an effect on




your hormone levels. If you are struggling with body shape, weight, muscle tone, sleep or moods then

there is a very good chance you are out of balance somewhere.

So let me explain more about some key hormones and how they affect you.

The Roles of Key Hormones and How They Affect Your Efforts to Get in Shape

Adrenaline - This hormone is released from the Adrenal Glands and controls a number of actions

within the body. Key actions of adrenaline include increasing your heart rate, increasing blood

pressure and altering the way you burn calories. When Adrenaline is released in the presence of

unbalanced ratios of other hormones it can lead to you storing more fat rather than burning it off.

Cortisol- This hormone is also released from the Adrenal Glands. The effects caused by Cortisol

include controlling your blood sugar levels and again the rate at which you burn calories. If we can

prevent Cortisol being released in the presence of other unbalanced hormones we can encourage the

body to use its fat stores. When Cortisol is released in the presence of high insulin, low testosterone

and low human growth hormone, it causes the body to hold on to fat and use protein (muscles) as its

main energy source.

Insulin - This hormone is released from the Pancreas. It’s a hormone essential for us to live and has

many effects on the whole body, mainly in controlling how the body uses carbohydrate and fat found

in food. Insulin allows cells in the muscles, liver and fat to take up glucose that has been absorbed

into the bloodstream from food.

In addition, Insulin has several other effects such as stopping the breakdown of fat. This is where

Insulin gets its name as a storing and locking hormone. Unbalanced Insulin hormones within the

body will affect how other hormones react and therefore the messages they will send. The more

starches and sugars you eat, the more this hormone is released.

Glucagon - This hormone is also released from the Pancreas. Glucagon is Insulin’s opposite, it helps

to increase glucose levels in the blood and it stimulates the breakdown of fat. It also works in the

liver to help regulate sugar and fat usage. The Insulin and Glucagon ratio is a major factor as to

whether you burn or store fat.

Ghrelin - This is released by the Stomach and is termed the ‘hunger hormone’ as it stimulates

appetite, increases food intake and promotes fat storage. As this hormone level rises, a hunger and

craving message is sent to the brain.

It is difficult to overcome this message with will power alone. You can, however, use certain types of

foods and exercise to help control the effects of this hormone and blunt its message.

Leptin - This hormone is released by fat cells and its role is to decrease our appetite and tell us when

we are full. It is also one of the hormones that controls the thyroid gland to stabilise your metabolism

and burn fat for energy.

Now in theory you would think the more fat cells someone has, the more Leptin is released which

should mean the less hungry someone becomes. Wrong, this hormone is one which is thought to lose

its potency and therefore the message you are full is ignored.




Testosterone and Human Growth Hormone - These hormones are often referred to as the building

and burning hormones. They are responsible for sending signals so the body becomes lean and

muscular by working with cortisol and adrenaline to use fat as energy rather than storing it.

Oestrogen – Raised levels of this hormone can stop or slow down the release of fat from the cells to

be used for energy. This hormone affects both men and women and when out of balance will cause

fat to be stored more around the chest area, thighs and bottom.

Ok so are you starting to get the bigger picture? Are you beginning to realise, there is a little bit more

to it than just looking at the number of calories you eat. Now let’s look at how you can find out what

is happening with you.

Hi Nicki,

“I would like to thank you for helping me with my health and fitness. I have just had my

diabetic results back from my recent blood tests and I have managed to lose 44 pounds

through diet and exercise. My doctor is pleased with the recent results and because my

blood glucose readings have dropped from a long term average of 5.3 to 4.0 mmol's I am

now not injecting myself with insulin. I enjoy your classes, variety of exercise schedules

and the friendly and fun atmosphere”.

Paul Ainge – REVIVE Fitcamp client and Member at The Studio




How to find out which hormones could be out of balance for you

Firstly, we need to explore what might be going on for you in terms of how and why your body is

storing fat rather than burning fat. Please note the following is just general guidance and as you and I

have yet to speak, at this stage it is in no way conclusive. In order for me to give you specific

guidance I would need to take you through a hormone screening process and ask you some specific

questions (more about this later).

So, have a read of the following three scenarios, then choose the one which is the best fit for you. It

may not be 100% match to what’s going on for you right now, just go with the nearest description.

Scenario 1 – is this what’s going on for you right now?

You become tired and sluggish soon after eating starchy carbohydrates such as bread, rice or

pasta.

Eating protein such as chicken, fish, steak or eggs gives you lots of energy and you could

happily go for most of the day without eating again.

You may have difficulty falling asleep at night and once asleep you sleep well, yet still find it

hard to wake up in the morning.

You carry weight all over your body rather than it being in once place.


You tend to hold weight around your middle rather than it being held all over your body and

your skin tends to feel loose and saggy in places.

You find it hard to sit still and are always on the move running on ‘nervous energy’.

Carbohydrates, such as bread, potatoes or pasta give you lots of energy and you could happily

go for the rest of the day without eating anything else.

Eating protein such as chicken, fish, steak or eggs makes you feel full and sluggish.

You have difficulty staying asleep and you wake up a few times during the night or you may

sleep very lightly.


Eating carbohydrates (bread, rice, potatoes or pasta) or protein (chicken, fish, steak or eggs)

leaves you feeling the same regardless of whether that’s full of energy, tired and lethargic or

feeling somewhere in the middle. You feel the same no matter what food you eat.

You sleep soundly at night and more often than not you wake up feeling refreshed and full of

energy.




However, previous weight loss attempts, (for example following a calorie counting diet) have

worked well but once you stop following the diet the weight you lost (plus extra pounds) very

quickly come back on.

Scenario 1 - what this could mean for you

Your answers have suggested the hormones which have become unbalanced within your body are

causing you to use sugar which is stored in your body for energy instead of your fat stores.



causing you to use protein which is stored in your body for energy instead of your fat stores.



causing you to use both sugar and protein that is stored in your body for energy instead of your fat

stores.

So what now?

In order for you to start changing your body shape and losing weight, you need to correct the

imbalance of these hormones and create a fat burning environment within the body. To do this we

need to look at certain foods and the effect they have on your body.

The first thing to do (regardless of which scenario is the best match) is to avoid all ‘white’ starchy

carbohydrates such as white bread, white rice, white pasta etc. These types of foods are linked with

weight gain and higher levels of body fat and hence why I’m advising you to avoid them altogether.

Then, when you do eat other types of starchy carbohydrates (e.g. wholemeal bread, wholemeal rice or

pasta etc.) you will need to limit the amount you eat per meal. The actual amount varies from

Scenario to Scenario.

For example, if Scenario 1 is your match, then you will need to limit starchy carbohydrates to

approximately 5 bite equivalents per meal, Scenario 2 to 10 bite equivalents and Scenario 3 to 8 bite

equivalents. One bite is the same as one spoonful or forkful of each food (this is about controlling the

amount of foods you eat rather than just looking at the calorie content).

There will be certain fruits which you can eat in unlimited amounts but others such as Bananas that

will need to be counted as Starchy Carbohydrates and therefore will need to be counted within your

bite equivalents.

This may seem a little strange as fruits are healthy food choices, but they do contain sugar albeit

natural sources of sugar. The amount that is released will affect the way your hormones respond and

for now we are trying to get these back in balance.

Avoid all fizzy drinks, even the diet options (1-2 small glasses of cordial drinks can be consumed per

day instead). Aim to drink 6-8 medium size glass or 1 - 1.5 litres of water per day. Limit tea and




coffee to 2 cups per day and if you usually have sugars reduce this over time but do not add

sweeteners in their place. If sweetness is required try adding some honey or cinnamon instead.

Remember this way of eating and drinking is not about calorie intake, it is about changing the types of

food/drink to affect the way in which hormones are released. So you cannot compare this to any

calorie controlled diet you may have tried in the past; that would be like comparing apples to pears.

Take a look below for some general guidance for you to consider in terms of food choices and what to

avoid, limit and eat plenty of:

Examples of foods to stay away from:

Biscuits

Crisps

Chocolate

Readymade meals

Fizzy drinks including ‘diet’ fizzy drinks

Cordial drinks (1-2 max per day)

White bread/pasta/rice/potatoes

Jams and chocolate spreads

Adding extra sugar to drinks or food

Examples of foods to be limited (as per your bite/spoonful/forkful equivalents):

Wholemeal bread/pasta/rice

Sweet potatoes

Dairy - milk/yogurt/cheese

Peanut butter

Butternut squash

75% or more cocoa chocolate

Honey to sweeten drinks or food

Alcohol (limit to 2 glasses a week)

Examples of foods to ensure you eat:

Vegetables (unlimited amounts)

Fruits*

Protein (Lean meats & fish)

Nuts/seeds

Seafood

Eggs

Quinoa

Water

* Depending on which hormones are affected, some fruits will need to be limited and counted within

your bite allowance, Bananas being one of them.

Hi Nicki,

“After class on Thursday, when you and Alison both said I was looking slimmer, I

realised I should have said thank you to you because it was the Revive programme that

put me on the right road. It really helped me to change the way I eat and although I

occasionally fall off the wagon I know what to do to keep the pounds off.

You have helped so many ladies in Bromsgrove to feel better about themselves I think

you should get an OBE!

So a big thank you from me! See you at class”.

Di Pye– Revive 21 Day Detox Client and Member at The Studio




Here are a couple of examples of the meal and snack choices I give to those whom I work with.

Scenario 1 Meal Planner

Breakfast Scrambled egg with tomatoes, mushroom, spinach, onion (choose any veg

you like)

Snack 1

Handful of nuts and piece of fruit

Lunch

Chicken, turkey or tuna salad (lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber etc.)

with vinegar based

Snack 2

2 squares of dark chocolate or wholemeal rice cake with peanut butter

Dinner

Roasted sweet potato with the skin on (remember your bites) with chicken or

salmon and vegetables


Breakfast Wholemeal toast with peanut butter (remember your bites)

Snack 1

Handful of nuts and piece of fruit

Lunch

Homemade vegetable and chicken soup

Snack 2

2 squares of dark chocolate

Dinner

Chicken stir fry with bean shoots and wholegrain rice (remember your bites)


Breakfast Porridge oats with milk and mixed fruit (remember your bites)

Snack 1

Wholemeal rice cake and peanut butter

Lunch

Baked sweet potato (remember your bites) with 2 tablespoons of grated

cheese and baked beans

Snack 2

2 squares of dark chocolate and/or fruit

Dinner

Chicken fajita and vegetables with wholemeal wraps (remember your bites)




In Summary…..

I hope this guide gives you food for thought (pardon the pun) and explains why it may be more

helpful for you to take a look at what is happening on the inside (in terms of hormone levels).

If you’ve tried diets before or counting calories and still you’re not happy with the results then maybe

it’s time for something a little different. In order to get different results, you have to do things

differently, right?

At the very least you are now better informed about how the balance of hormones could be affecting

your shape and weight.

Simply look at the three different scenarios and choose the one which best describes you right now.

Then look at the tips I have given you on the foods to avoid and your bite (spoonful/forkful)

allowance per meal. It’s got to be worth a try don’t you think?

How I can help you take control of your hormones and transform your body

shape…

Now you’re armed with an understanding of how and why hormones play such an important role,

there is only one thing standing between you and achieving outstanding results – putting it into action.

I have developed ‘REVIVE Ultimate Weight Loss Programme’ which are focused on helping you

breakthrough your body transformation and weight loss challenges.

They all start by asking you a series of questions to find out which hormones are out of balance for

you. From here I will send you your unique eating plan to follow and depending upon which level of

programme you choose you will also receive a personalised workout plan as well as regular contact

with me to keep you on track and getting results.

Want to know more? Why not book your own FREE Hormone Screening Call

with me, here’s how it works:

Firstly, I will ask you some questions about how you feel after eating certain foods, your sleep

patterns and where you tend to hold your weight more.

Secondly, I will tell you what your answers mean in terms of what could be out of balance for you

right now and why you are struggling to get the results you want.

Then, if it’s appropriate I will share with you the different ways I help people to get results so you can

explore whether any of them could work for you too.

To book your FREE Hormone Screening Call email [email protected] and I will get back to

you with available days/times for you to choose from.

Here’s to you taking control of your hormones and achieving great results!

Nicola Carless

Tel: 07890978531




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