Our digital editor is on a mission to lose 8 per cent body fat this month. Here’s how…
We’ve unanimously decided here at the office that the Dubai stone is oh-so-real. The pounds you inevitably collect from enjoying Dubai’s myriad takeaways, Deliveroo services and get-a-car-everywhere lifestyle quickly pile on.
But this month I’m on a mission to shift mine. And while dropping a whole stone in April might not be feasible, I’ve signed up for a body transformation challenge at Raise, Jumeirah Islands Clubhouse, with an end goal of dropping 6kg and 8 per cent body fat by April 30.
So for the next few weeks, I’m being put through my fitness and nutritional paces by nutrition coach and personal trainer, Ivana Pesic, who has devised a custom training and eating plan to help me hit my goal.
Keen to shape up too? Here’s how I’m doing it.
The gym
A community-focused gym and wellness space, Raise has already secured a loyal fanbase of those that live in the areas surrounding Jumeirah Islands. It’s sleek and modern, with dedicated training zones such as The Studio, HIIT, X-Trim as well as Cardio and Weight, and offers a roster of classes from spin and bodypump, to yoga by the poolside. One of its best bits is the outdoor gym, which overlooks the serene water and must be one of the prettiest and most peaceful work-out spots in the city.
The training
Each week, I’ve got to complete six workouts. Three of these are personal training sessions with Ivana, three are self-led workouts she puts together and shares via TrueCoach. Each one-hour workout is either about strength and conditioning or a sweat-inducing cardio session, and some are a mix of both. Ivana’s sessions are sweat-inducing right from the warm up, whether it’s an outdoor jog or a circuit of stretching, planks and mountain climbers, and are well thought out to work every muscle in my body.
The meal plan
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Each week a new meal plan is provided via Nutrito, which also comes with a handy shopping list of all the ingredients needed for meals for the week. My meal plan is based around 1,300 calories per day, and shows exactly how much protein, fat and carbohydrates are in each meal. There have been lots of tasty salads packed surprisingly full of flavour, and nothing takes longer than 45 minutes to make, so it doesn’t feel like you’re spending all evening cooking. Plans can be tweaked based on what you like and don’t like too, and as someone who always skips breakfast, I’ve surprised myself by enjoying pretty much all of them, from omelettes to oats and Greek yoghurt.
Progress
Week 1
There’s nothing quite like going from hardly workout out to six sessions a week to make you realise you’re seriously unfit. While training has left me very sore some morning, I’ve also got bags more energy by the time I make it to the office. I’m far better at weight training than cardio, but with every session I find I’m able to run a little further, or lift a little heavier, which is motivating me to keep pushing.
The nutrition side is more of a challenge to get used to, although the meal plan has introduced me to recipes I will continue to make after the challenge is over. My vice has always been sugary drinks, and cutting these out has been a real challenge. To date, I’ve dropped 1.5% body fat, so there’s 6.5% to go over the next three weeks.
Find out more at raisefitwellness.com and about Ivana’s meal plans and training at myfitpath.net
