Body4Me

Something non-BodyPump related for a change….

I had an interesting chat with a young lady (early 20’s) the other day. Now, this young lady is a bit of a gym nut like me and looks very much the part. Fit, healthy and quite trim.

We were talking about the previous weekend and she mentioned to me how it was her birthday and about the resulting birthday party. She was very proud of the fact that she resisted the temptation to get stuck into the chocolate birthday cake, resorting to only the tiniest of slivers because of all the fat, carbohydrates and of course associated calories.

This is, of course, while they were out partying, drinking many a cocktail and glasses of wine. She even went so far as to comment that she orders her vodka with diet mixers :)

I couldn’t help but think that this young lady, and many other people just like her, have totally forgotten the fact that calories are in pretty much everything we consume, especially alcohol. Now, don’t get me wrong… I’m not about to preach to you that alcohol is bad (sure, technically it is, but who cares). After all, i’m an Aussie bloke, and we’re all required to drink a certain amount of beer as part of our national constitution.

What I do want to mention though, is just how many calories we can consume very quickly from a night on the town.

Ok, check this out: There are 7 calories in a gram of alcohol. There are 9 calories in a gram of pure fat! When you take the percentage and typical volume into consideration, you’re looking at roughly 190 calories for a glass of white wine and about 135 calories for a can of normal beer. (BTW, low carb beer only has about 20 less calories….it’s all marketing)

If you work that out, on a reasonable night on the town, a few glasses of wine, a cocktail, maybe a couple of mixers with diet soda, you’re easily talking about a thousand calories here! That’s about half the total daily calorie requirements of a normal female.
That’s probably a lot more than the whole dinner you had before you went out for the night.

So, if you’re struggling to lose weight but still head down to the pub/bar after work for a ‘few quiet ones with the lads’, you may want to reconsider.

Like they always say, everything in moderation. I wouldn’t be too worried about having a slice or two of birthday cake. Just don’t do it every night. Same with the beer or wine or whatever you prefer. The liquids we consume are just as much a part of our diets as the food.

Now, enough preaching from me. Get back to the gym! There’s a Pump class on somewhere…. Get to it :)

Hiya! Your blog is awesome. I am just snooping through the posts now. I have been a BodyPump & Spin addict for at least two years, but where I live now there are no classes (in Saudi Arabia!). I am really keen to learn how to become an instructor in the near future, and found your blog by research I was doing online…will read your page on So you want to be a BodyPump instructor? Any other suggestions?

Hi.

Glad you like the blog. Always nice to get feedback :)

Hmm.. no BodPump classes in Saudi Arabia… That doesn’t come as much fo a surprise I guess. I suspect the Middle Eastern every day diet is a lot better than what we have here so maybe obesity isn’t such a problem.

Hey, great idea becoming an instructor. I don’t know what you do for a living, but it’s certainly a very easily marketable skill to have in most countries (except Sudi arabia apparently :)

Check out the Instructor page and let me know if you have any more questions. I think I pretty much covered averything I could, but there’s always something else i’m sure.

Bets of luck with everything, especially the travels.
Pat

Well there is alot of obesity in Saudi to be honest, but there are many cultural differences that I guess change that plus the heat makes it very difficult to exercise outdoors, and gyms if there are any are mainly for the men (I am lucky I live on a compound however there are separate gyms for women and men). The diet is not really that healthy, but very different. Fresh produce is lacking due to climate conditions.

At this stage I am a Flight Attendant but I have always wanted to do something in the Fitness Industry (an enforced reason to be at the gym and you get paid to get in shape).

Just reading up on the rest of your blog, and I will be sure to ask any more questions if you don’t mind.

Cool blog btw

Hi Again.

That’s surprising that obesity would be a big problem in SA. I would have thought the diet of normal (non-oil rich) people would be a bit mroe traditional, not relying on pre-processed foods.
Good point about the cultural differences though. I guess it makes it a bit harder for girls if you have to find seperate gyms.

The fitness industry can be quite a lot of fun, especially once you’re certified. With tthe Les Mills programs, once you have the cert done, you can instruct anywhere in the world. Given the popularity of the programs, you can find work, even fill-ins, pretty much everywhere (except SA :)

Happy to answer any questions you have. You can also send me an email: patrick@ if you don’t want to share it with the whole world :)

Cool blog you have too.. makes me want to travel again. Only 2 months to go and i’ll be in Europe for 3 weeks.. yay!
Wonder if i can get a Pump fill-in class in Germany or Italy :)

Pat