Fitness by Clarissa

Haven’t revisited these old pictures in a while 🙈

Most of my life I’ve been overweight and it wasn’t until I started my fitness journey four years ago that my relationship with my body started to improve.

Suddenly I started having more energy, I felt more comfortable in my skin and my eating habits improved drastically as eating healthy & non-processed foods stopped feeling like a chore and became instead a non-negociable as the pros far outweighed the cons.

I wouldn’t consider myself a particularly competitive person but I have gotten hooked on the notion of self-improvement- mental and physical: growing into the best of my abilities and potentially beyond. This means that I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best possible version that I sometimes lose sight of how far I’ve already come. I still have a long way to go to reach my goals but that doesn’t mean I can’t celebrate the wins along the way.

So just a little reminder that your goals are achievable but depending on your genetics (this also goes for your mental mindset), they could take a potentially incredible amount of persistence, patience, discipline and willpower. Learning to foster these skills will pay off for your entire life and aren’t simply confined to your physical growth.

time for a change 💫

I’ve always enjoyed the benefits of pushing myself past my mental comfort zone. I owe a lot of who I am today because of that. But now, I’m very interested in focusing on the physical aspect of that.

Lately I’ve been concentrating on slowly pushing the boundaries of my body’s durability and tolerability to stress-related exercise. Working out smarter and harder daily/weekly, gradually increasing what my body is capable of. This includes but not is not solely limited to weightlifting. I’m including different types of cardio training but also NEAT exercise. This means that in the years to come, hopefully I will be able to take on challenges I would never have otherwise considered doing (not even including the health benefits this will have on my body as I age).

A leaner physique is also a pretty good motivator ngl but the overall concept of getting physically stronger is what’s really motivating me 💪🏻

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As someone who has struggled with sleep most of my life, I understand very well how it can be a detriment to your life when you’re not getting enough.

When you don’t sleep, you’re going to feel lethargic, hungry, brain fog, mood swings, cranky…

When sleep deprivation continues long term, it can lead to mood changes, weakened immunity, weight gain, memory issues, accidents & risk of getting diabetes and heart disease.

My sleep got so bad at the end of 2020 that I ended up going to the doctor for help. To no surprise, they told me there was physically nothing wrong with me and it was all in my head. Sleeping pills are not a long term solution and so it forced me to my mental health back in check. I was going through a dark spell and my sleep was the first thing to suffer. That’s when I decided that enough was enough and something needed to give.

If you struggle with sleep. The first thing to do is understand why. Are you stressed? Anxious? Overwhelmed? Find the problem so you can fix it from the roots.

Next thing to do is understand the possible solutions and finding the one that best suits you. I used to always fall asleep with the tv on because I wanted that background noise. I switched this to a guided meditation instead. This helped me turn my brain off and reset.

Other things you can try:
•read a book
•drink tea
•lower the room temperature
•turn off all screens
•have a bath/shower
•don’t eat before bed
•listen to an audiobook
•write

Having trouble sleeping is your body sending you a message. Don’t ignore it and get to to the bottom of it.

"All growth depends upon activity. There is no development physically or intellectually without effort, and effort means work."

Ever feel like you’re moving through life in autopilot mode? Maybe you’ve had the same routine for years. Doing the same activities, same people, same place, same job, same restaurants, same holidays. Maybe you feel content with your life. Not happy, not sad but a nice neutral feeling. Then you’re most likely comfortable. And that comfort is holding you back.

Let’s take that scene from Fight Club (I’m a movie geek): Tyler is holding a gun to your ahead, finger on the trigger. « What do you want to do? » or « what did you want to do? » if you feel like the present tense doesn’t apply to you. You have the choice to go and make that happen now or take a bullet to the head. Which one would you choose? We’re all gonna die in the end so why are you even here if it’s just to waste your time not truly living?

Change is scary. Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is terrifying but where do you think resilience comes from? Very few are born powerful, strong, confident… those are skills that need to be built and maintained and they’re not gonna come about if you’re feeling the same way you’ve felt for years.

So start with something small. Try something you don’t feel entirely comfortable doing. Maybe it’s going to the gym by yourself once, smile to a stranger on the street, take a different route to work, go to dinner alone, decide you’re going to get into shape.

Getting used to being uncomfortable is one of the best investments a person can make to themselves. This will open up the doors to a future full of possibilities that you may not even be able to dream of right now.

So take that first step 💪🏻

RAPID or GRADUAL weight loss? 🗯

Weight loss is hard but weight loss maintenance can be even harder. When embarking on a weight loss journey, one of the most important factors is finding the strategy that will be most adhering to you.

Rapid Weight Loss:
🟩 it can boost motivation as you reach your goals faster
🟩 quicker to hit your target weight
🟩 improved health if have medical issues related to excess fat (under medical supervision)
🟥 a very low diet could result in loss of nutrition necessary for your body resulting in a number of side effects including a weakened immune system
🟥 lack of learning how to install proper lifestyle changes that will be necessary for the weight loss maintenance after the target weight has been set
🟥 mentally & physically exhausting from being so hungry all the time

Gradual Weight Loss:
🟩 better body composition as you’re not going to lose as much muscle mass as you would if going down the rapid route.
🟩 learn the importance of healthy eating habits
🟩 easier to be flexible with your diet & be proper nourished
🟥 can take a lot longer to reach your goals
🟥 motivation might falter as change is slow and isn’t always noticeable/takes longer to be visible

Personally, when I first started my weight loss journey I went down the rapid road (although I wasn’t actually trying). Although I now go by the slower approach, if it wasn’t for that sudden change and push that I got from the rapid weight loss initially, I may have taken a lot longer to start. So it’s really up to individual preference whatever path you decide to take.

🫐 WEIGHT LOSS EDITION: SNACKS 🥒

Being on a calorie deficit doesn’t have to be a massive sacrifice.

You’re going to be hungry but some foods can alleviate this hunger by focusing on consuming low calorie foods such as:

🍚 RICE CAKES (35-50kcal per cake) -> the lower calorie ones will be the ones with less flavourings so opting for let’s say a caramel seasoning rice cake is going to be higher in calories

🫑 GREEN VEGGIES (4-50kcal per cup) -> no question here, filling yourself on most vegetables will fill you up fast! This is due to the amount of water & fibre these veggies hold

🍓BERRIES (50-60kcal) -> the trick is to focus on blueberries, rasberries, strawberries & blackberries

🍲 SOUP (50-200kcal) -> soups mostly containing broth or vegetables are going to be your go-to here. Although soup is one of the best liquid calories to fill yourself up on, not all soups are equal in terms of calories (for example: anything containing heavy cream or full of noodles…)

🍿 POPCORN (120-150kcal) -> believe it or not popcorn can be a great go to snack. Obviously the more processed it is, the less healthy and more calories it will have but if you have the means to make your own, then you’re looking at a delicious healthy snack

🍳 OMELETTE (120-180kcal) -> packed with protein, you can design these however you want, add in veggies or seasoning to make them to your taste

Another little tip: after eating one of these as a snack, gulp down some water, your stomach will fill up fast and I can guarantee you won’t be filling as hungry 😊

Welcome to my page! 😄👋

My name's Clarissa, a French/Irish level 4 certified Personal Trainer, Gym Instructor, Nutrition Coach and Weight Loss Specialist based in Glasgow, Scotland 🙌

I'm here to help those who are struggling to get/stay healthy and fit. Whether that's through losing weight, gaining weight, changing your body composition, building strength, muscle or simply feeling more fit for your day to day life, I've got you covered 💪

Having been through a pretty big body and lifestyle transformation myself in the past few years in which I lost 50lbs+ in 6 months, I have acquired the experience and knowledge to help others also reach their goals ⚡️

Stay tuned for posts related to fitness, nutrition and overall health tips to guide you towards being the best version of yourself you can be 😝

🔥 If you have any inquiries about personal training, online or off, send me a message now and we can discuss how I can help!