If you’d like to exercise and don’t have a buddy then don’t forget our excellent boot camp days held in beautiful coastal locations and our intensive one hour sessions on the beach. We’re a friendly bunch so don’t be shy!

1. Have a portion of baked beans or mushy peas instead of a portion of chips.
2. Half your portion of chips to half the fat.
3. Aim for a thicker chip as this has less fat absorbed
4. Steer clear of pies and sausages. If you ‘need’ that pie, take as much of the pastry crust away as possible.
5. Battered fish, delicious as it is and with all the health benefits of our swimming friends the deep fried batter is thick with fat. Try eating just half the batter and pick out the fish.
6. Where possible have your fish coated in breadcrumbs as it soaks less fat.
7. Say no to chip shop salt and manage your own sprinkle. This will be far less.
8. Beware of soggy fish and chips. These may not have been cooked in hot enough oil and will taste will absorb more fat.
9. Be aware of portion control – try for a “pensioner’s portion”.

Most importantly, enjoy what your eating and consider it a lovely treat that you’ve earned with combining exercise. Be sensible with portion control and honest with yourself. If your guests choose to eat a small horse in their burgers good for them. You are accountable and responsible for yourself and only you.

2. Strength training is also required
When we think about weight loss, many people think about pounding the streets with hours of running. There is another aspect to exercise that is integral in weight loss management. Strength training. Using weights and resistance to put the body under repetitive strain. Strength training should become part of your 60 minute workout. Break your session up with a selection of Strength and CV. Try a 15 minute swift run, followed by 5 minutes work with resistance bands before running at a good pace again for 15 minutes and then working on upper body and core areas with press ups, planks, triceps, bicep dips for 5 minutes. Finally finish with another run for 15 minutes and then enjoy some stretches as a good warm down. Strength training exercises can help you tone and where required, build more muscles, can boost your metabolism and can help you achieve your weight loss goals faster.

3. Food diary
Most people when asked what they eat over the period of 7 days will fail to admit the ‘naughtiest’.
By being accountable and responsible for what you eat, you and only you can manage your intake.
It is not acceptable to say ‘My partner enjoys a big meal so I have one too’ or ‘I didn’t want it to go to waste so I ate it’.
If you are truly keen on losing weight you will look into your relationship with food and decide where you are making mistakes. How many of us reward ourselves with a chocolate bar at the petrol station when we fill up the tank? Had we of not needed petrol it’s quite likely we would have missed that out.
What we eat plays a significant part in our weight loss campaign and can be the difference between losing weight fast and maintaining the loss or struggling to lose an amount each week and keeping it off.
Keep a diary and be honest with yourself.
Also, consider portion control. If you use a smaller plate for your meals or make a point of having a smaller portion on your plate you will of course be decreasing your dietary intake. For example if you have a dinner of chicken stir fry with a selection of vegetables on a bed of rice and take away 20% of your normal portion you will of course be eating 20% less calories, fat etc. If you do this to all your meals your intake will be carved dramatically. If you work in a fairly sedentary work place, instead of having a whole sandwich try having one slice of bread with your filling and if you normally have a bag of crisps, have half a bag of crisps. (I share my sandwich and crisps with my son and pop his in his school lunch box).
Check out some of our delicious healthy recipes.

4. Re–set your weight loss goals
Change this to ‘Lifestyle Change’. Make good healthy food and exercise part of your lifestyle. Find classes that you enjoy doing and attend them with friends weekly as part of your exercise regime. I love Zumba and go with girlfriends. We walk the 20 minutes to class giving us time to catch up and natter and then after class it’s great to have a giggle about some of the moves we may have adapted to suit our lack of rhythm. All the while it has become a weekly ritual which we all look forward to and is maintainable.
Set one morning a week to train with a friend if this helps you. Maybe to meet at the beach and have an hour long work out incorporating steps, zig-zags, strength training. Take it in turns to introduce a new strength exercise. Support each other in your campaign for weight loss and fitness gain.
Find a local Personal Trainer that you get on with and will not be a bind to spend an hour of your week with. If they’re good, you’ll enjoy your session and not dread it whilst burning calories and educating yourself with exercise and diet advice.

5. Separate eating from your other emotions
Be aware of the trigger that occurs when your reach for unhealthy food. For example, for many of us that monthly treat us women have when we cannot help but put chocolate into our mouths is one that we can control but we are programmed to give ourselves that pass as by way of reward of getting through the abdominal discomfort etc. However, if you were to discipline yourself to have a smaller treat for example a finger of fudge or a freddo 10p chocolate bar this will half your intake.
When we’ve had a bad day it’s so relaxing to reach for the wine and nibbles. If you can’t escape for a run which will release the feel good endorphins we need to make us happy then educate yourself on the best drink to have with the lowest calorie intake. I suggest Gin & Tonic and if you’re asking, mines a large thank you. Enjoy your drink and sip it, it is a treat and of course all treats have down sides. This will affect your liver and the process of excreting toxins through your liver thus making any work out within 72 hours pretty redundant. (I don’t discriminate the odd drink though to aid sanity (Mother of two!!))

6. Reach out for support
Speak to friends and family and ask them for support. Whether they time you on a run round the block or if they join you on a cycle ride or at an exercise class. Also, ask them to join you in relaxing activities. Rather than a trip to the pub on a Saturday night, a good friend will join you on an evening walk beside the sea or a trip a dance class or the cinema or something that doesn’t involve 6 hours of drinking liquid calories.

7. Start slow, plan big
The weight loss tips above are all essential for improving fitness and obliterating fatty inches. It is necessary to make changes that are maintainable. It is not realistic to commit to a training program 7 days a week when you have work and family commitments. Make a point of finding ‘you time’ when you can take yourself off to do some unchallenged exercise. Pop some of your favourite tunes in your ears and go for a swift walk. It will brighten your mood. A simple way to lose weight is to increase your exercise effort by 10% and decrease your food intake portions by 10%. It’s elementary a weight loss will occur. Make your changes gradual and don’t deny or create anxiety when invited out for the evening. Make the right decisions.

Look out for my Blog on Eating out and Take away meals, the right choices.
Mel x

I have been on my second Zumboot bootcamp day with Mel and the gang and it was just as good if not better that my first! As I have really been upping my exercise during the week I can certainly feel the difference in my fitness levels. I guess it helps that I have shed a few lbs too making me lighter on my feet too! The bootcamp days are always fun and quite light hearted really considering we all imagine them to be evil, but most of all for keeping me on track and learning new things in regards to fitness and nutrition I always leaving feeling so positive about what I want…. I could actually do with one everyday! There were some lovely new girls there too who I hope to see there again as we all gelled together really well.

I also attended the Zumba Smash at the BIC with Mel and her instructors and some of the bootcamp girls. The aim was to Zumba our way in to the Guinness Book of Records for the largest Zumba Class. So ladies (and a few brave gents) came in their hundreds to try to break a record and raise cash for two local charities. And although we didn’t manage to top the world record for the biggest Zumba class, we had a laugh and a lot of cash was raised for Lewis Manning Hospice and The Wessex Autistic Society as we clapped, bounced, waved and jumped in unison (well almost). Plus it got me out of bed and exercising on a Sunday morning which if I’m honest is very rare!

I have been mixing up my classes too just to ensure that I am getting a good all round work out and also this stops me from getting bored.

At the moment my week is something like this:
Monday: 6.30-7.30pm Zumba with South Coast Zumba
Tuesday: 7.30-8.30pm Body Pump
Wednesday: 7-8pm Body Conditioning with Mel (this is a mixture of step
aerobics and toning work)
Thursday: 6-7pm Circuits (this is a killer but I feel great after!)
Friday: 1 hr Wii at home usually JUST DANCE! or Zumba Fitness
Saturday: Night Off Sunday: Long walk or cycle ride (I want to swap this for paddle boarding or kayaking but I’m a wimp so not until the suns out!)

I do work full time so for me evenings are my best time to get on with some exercise, as I own a busy shop I am on my feet all day pretty much grabbing something here and there to eat… it’s pretty hectic. Another good thing about the boot camp is that it has taught me to be prepared! I try and make my food the night before as I have found that the days it all goes wrong is when I haven’t made my lunch so I grab a fat filled sarnie and crisps or chocolate bar because it’s easier… now this is not an option! The trouble with that is that I am a sugar junkie and that sends me in to a spiral of self destruction so I am best off with all I can eat in my lunch bag and nothing more! I am AMAZED (this needed capitals as it’s a big deal for me) how much I have enjoyed swapping my normal cup of tea (loaded with milk and sugar) for a cup of green tea… I can hear you groaning because I did that too thinking I could never leave the house, get out of bed, get in to bed or generally live without my massive cup of tea but I have and I do and I don’t even miss it!Tthe one thing I would say is go to a healthy food shop (like Holland & Barrett) and get yourself a good quality organic one they are so much nicer and worth a few extra pennies.

So since my last blog I have had a few events like my boyfriends birthday and Valentines (oh and that time of the month when everything I see turns to chocolate). On those occasions I did slip off the wagon eating lots of things I shouldn’t and having a few too many margaritas… Oops!

Sometimes I just find it hard to make sensible eating decisions although I would say it was on my mind more this time so may be I have changed more than I give myself credit for? My weight has stayed the same and I have kept off the 7lbs which i am so pleased for, I think i was just lucky due to the exercise I have been doing. I am trying to keep in my mind that things are ok if they are in moderation. Now this is something new to me as I have spent my life either on a diet starving myself or being a total pig and thinking “oh well I’ve already messed up today so I’ll cram as much in as possible and start again tomorrow!”. What I do miss from my weeks of healthy eating is my flat tummy! I feel bloated again which sucks so I am back on the wagon and hanging on for dear life!

I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
Lulu x

With cutting edge advice from our Nutritionist Jango you can re-train and re-educate your mind and body on good nutritious diet to achieve your desired weight loss results.

Jango will also work with our chefs to ensure your meals are well balanced and tasty with a great variety to suit all requirements.

Here is one of his delicious recipes for omelette with a twist.

Ingredients 
1 chopped banana
3 whole eggs
2 tbsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan on a medium heat and then add the chopped banana.
Heat until they soften. 
While the banana is warming, beat the eggs in a bowl. 
Pour the eggs over the banana. 
When the omelette is almost cooked sprinkle the cinnamon over the top

Yummy!

I met Mel at a Zumba class in New Milton and we hit it off immediately. She told me of Zumboot and loved the concept of doing different exercise disciplines in one day. I was a little dubious as my fitness is not superb and I have a hip complaint which renders me unable to carry out high impact exercise. Mel assured me this wouldn’t be a problem and that I would benefit from the day.

So I set my alarm nice and early for the Zumboot start and met with Mel, Kerry, Jango and 20 other equally determined ladies ready for the off!

I liked the start to the day, building up mentally with a couple of short movies before starting with an hours Zumba. The class was lively, fun, energetic and uplifting. This I knew I could maintain in my day to day lifestyle. To get our breaths back we had a break with herbal hot drinks and delicious protein bars.

Next class was Team Activities taken by Mel. We did a speed march which was fine for my hip to a lovely open grassed area where we carried out stretches and a few light exercises. I say light, it was as much as you wanted to put in. I made sure I gave it my all with exercises where possible. We then got split into teams and had team activities. These were well structured working our bodies but not concentrating on just one area for the whole time. I particularly liked the tug of war and ball games. We then went back to the Suite where we had taken our Zumba class and enjoyed a wonderfully nutritious hot vegetable rice dish.

Next up was Jango’s Nutritional diet discussion. This uncovered a lot of information that was surprisingly new to me. It was light but informative thus making it easy to digest (Pardon the pun!) Jango then took us for a half an hour Pilates class which I’ve not done before but thoroughly enjoyed and it’s thanks to this education I feel my posture has benefited.

We then went outside for out Boot Camp session. I was by my own admission a bit nervous about this but it was excellent. I discreetly mentioned to Jango I had a hip complaint and he reassured me and asked that I did what I could when I could. Great! It wasn’t all about running though, it covered all other exercises and disciplines and even though I was sometimes speed marching at the back I was still able to keep up as we would stop to do various training during our trip down to the beach. Which incidentally was beautiful, the only thing missing was a 99 with a flake!

Since the day camp I have followed Jango’s nutritional advice. I have adapted it in places to suit my lifestyle but have been able to phone Mel for dietary advice such as my recent birthday trip to an Indian restaurant. I had a lovely evening with none of the usual anxiety and guilt that would be brought on through other diets.

16 days on I have lost 7lb’s but more importantly I have found this to be far and away the most maintainable diet for me. I eat well, sleep better and have lost that nasty bloated feeling. Most importantly I’m happy. I don’t have the bad relationship with food that I’ve been battling for years and feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I go to Zumboot Day Camps once a month. I have personal training sessions with Mel once a week and appreciate the open emailing facility. ie: I can email for advice whenever and someone will always come back to me with advice that once again I can maintain.

See you all in March!!

Lu x

Meeting: Southbourne roundabout on the overcliff with the oversized deckchair.
Time: 8:30am – 12pm.
What to bring: Come in sportswear, Bicycle, drink, swimming costume (that’s right!) towel, shower items (should you choose to afterwards.)

The Challenge….
We will meet at Southbourne roundabout and cycle along the promenade to Sandbanks.
Along the way we take on 3 zigzags – walking or running it’s all good and great for working the bottom. We then park our bikes up at Boscombe pier and take on the ‘Spartan’ challenge!! (I am waiting for confirmation regarding Spartan challenge but it basically involves stripping off to your swim wear, no wetsuits here! And taking the plunge into the sea for up to 5 minutes. The advantages to your circulation are huge and the achievement even greater. Not to mention it allegedly speeds up your metabolism….

Cost: £5.00. Talks of a cup of tea at the cafe afterwards so bring some pocket money.

Please let me know asap as numbers are limited.
Either comment below and we will email you or email Mel@Zumba-bootcamp.co.uk If you will struggle to get your bike to the beach email me and I can collect your bike and return afterwards but will not be able to commute you as only 3 seats in my van. A minimal charge will be made to cover fuel and subject to bikes location too.

A special congratulations to Sharon and Sue for making this their second Zumboot and credit to Sue for signing up for this Sunday 5th Feb. Sue’s obliterated 12 pounds since her first camp at the start of January and her fitness has improved greatly – Well done Sue, keep it up x

Further dates available:

Sunday 5th Feb – 8am-5pm
Sunday 11th March – 8:30am-5pm
Saturday 24th March – 8:30am – 5pm

Venue: Shorefields, Milford on Sea.
Please note, finishing times may alter.

Also, to remind you of your Loyalty discount – £5.00 off. If you sign up with friends, you’ll receive a further £5.00 discount on your ticket per guest. ie: if you bring 4 friends you will only pay £19.00. (Please note guests are full paying at £39.)

Keep an eye on our website as we have some exciting new information coming on this weekend. Also recipes, blogs, case studies (featuring Lulu) and events too.

All too often we make the mistake of weighing ourselves when we start our fitness campaign and keep on weigh, weigh, weighing ourselves daily.
Tell you what to do…. Stoppit!
Get off the merry go round! Weight loss is fiction. Amongst many other physical attributes your weight is relative to your muscle content. Ie; if you are training hard and lifting huge weights you are going to gain muscle mass. This weighs more than fat and in turn shapes your body differently to weight loss through cardio vascular exercise. Don’t get me wrong, both are great and compliment each other well. How about you take your scales and pop them out of the window and never use them again.

Let me give you another example…. Your overweight, you want to lose weight but have done the diets, exercise etc, etc and still nothing. You’ve finally resigned yourself to the fact you need to make a lifestyle change. If you start eating smaller portions, exercising with a balanced, diverse regime that suits you whilst keeping it simple – ie; you can maintain it then bang, you’ve cracked it!

At Zumboot you get to try out 4 different classes and you are educated in nutrition and diet to make subtle changes that won’t affect your lifestyle. You can still go for meals, you can still enjoy a tipple but you have to face the responsibility of what you are putting into your mouth is going to affect your weight.

Our instructors here at Zumboot will teach you to reach for the healthy option. We’ll also teach you how easy it is to exercise a little more each day with the littlest of effort following our points system. What you need to do right now is call 0843 289 8759 and ask for Mel and we’ll get you booked in for a day camp.

Come and see for yourself what we’re all about.