Simon Graham Coach & Personal Trainer

Simon Graham Coach & Personal Trainer Get fitter, stronger or lose weight. I am a specialist personal trainer & weight loss coach. Helping everyone, from beginners to athletes.

Online & Farnborough, Hampshire.

Everyone says it after a few weeks of eating well. I can't finish what I used to eat. I feel full quicker. And they assu...
07/06/2026

Everyone says it after a few weeks of eating well. I can't finish what I used to eat. I feel full quicker. And they assume their stomach has physically got smaller.

It might have got slightly smaller. But that's not the main thing going on.

What's actually happening is your appetite signals are recalibrating. Your hunger hormones are resetting. Your brain has stopped expecting the volume it was getting.

And after a big holiday or a bad week, it works the other way too. You haven't permanently stretched your stomach. Your body has just temporarily adapted to a higher intake.

Which means it can adapt back. Usually faster than people think.

Find out more in my deep dive blog. Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/can-you-stretch-or-shrink-your-stomach/

Can you really stretch or shrink your stomach? A weight loss coach explains what actually affects hunger fullness and appetite.

Training hard for HYROX but still feeling flat halfway through races? Legs disappearing on lunges? Wall balls suddenly f...
20/05/2026

Training hard for HYROX but still feeling flat halfway through races? Legs disappearing on lunges? Wall balls suddenly feeling impossible despite being fine in training?

I’ve just put together a very in-depth HYROX nutrition guide covering:

- What to eat in the week before HYROX
- Race morning nutrition
- Whether you need gels during the race
- Hydration and electrolytes
- Recovery nutrition after the event
- Fuelling HYROX training properly
- Weight loss whilst training for HYROX
- Common HYROX nutrition mistakes
- Nutrition advice for older athletes and women

The biggest issue I see is people training hard enough for HYROX, but not eating enough to support the workload.

Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/hyrox-nutrition-plan/

A complete HYROX nutrition plan guide covering what to eat before, during and after your race, plus how to fuel your training.

What is a Body Recomp?How is it different from a regular diet, and is it right for you?Check out the reel, plus there’s ...
13/05/2026

What is a Body Recomp?

How is it different from a regular diet, and is it right for you?

Check out the reel, plus there’s a deep dive blog covering:
• how to calculate a body recomp
• how to train for it
• common mistakes to avoid

Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/body-recomp/

What is a body recomp and can you lose fat and build muscle at the same time? A practical guide to diet, training and realistic results.

A lot of people struggling with weight loss are not just fighting habits, they are fighting years of messages about food...
09/05/2026

A lot of people struggling with weight loss are not just fighting habits, they are fighting years of messages about food.

The term “almond mum” describes a parent with a restrictive relationship with food who unintentionally passes those beliefs onto their children. Think guilt around eating, praise for eating less, fear of carbs, skipping meals, or believing hunger means you are “being good”.

The problem is that this mindset often creates an unhealthy relationship with food that follows people into adulthood. It can lead to cycles of restriction, overeating, shame, comfort eating, and constantly feeling like you’ve failed another diet.

Sustainable weight loss usually comes from the middle ground. Enough food to fuel your body, enough protein to stay full, flexibility around meals, and habits you can actually stick to long term without obsessing over every calorie.

If you grew up around diet culture, food guilt or constant weight comments, it’s worth recognising how much that might still affect your choices today.

To find out more, read my deep dive blog on the Almond Mum trend and what it means for weight loss and your relationship with food. Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/what-is-an-almond-mum/

Almond mum explained: where the term came from, what it means, and why it keeps showing up in conversations about weight loss and food.

Banking calories is one of the simplest ways to make weight loss feel more realistic.Instead of trying to eat perfectly ...
03/05/2026

Banking calories is one of the simplest ways to make weight loss feel more realistic.

Instead of trying to eat perfectly every day, you focus on the week as a whole.

Eat slightly less on quieter days. Build a small buffer. Then when you’ve got a meal out, drinks, or a social event, you’ve already made room for it.

Nothing is off limits. You are not “cheating”. You are just planning ahead.

The key is control.

Small adjustments during the week, not extremes. If you heavily restrict Monday to Friday and then go all in at the weekend, that is not calorie banking. That is just swinging between under-eating and overeating.

Done properly, it should feel steady. No punishment, no guilt, just consistency across the week.

It is also not the only approach.

Some people prefer the same calories every day. Others prefer small daily treats instead of saving everything for the weekend.

The best approach is the one you can stick to without it feeling like a constant battle.

For a deeper dive, visit my detailed blog:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/banking-calories-for-weight-loss/

What is banking calories for weight loss? Learn how calorie banking and flexible dieting can help you diet without feeling restricted.

What Is Fibremaxxing and Does It Actually Help with Weight Loss?Fibremaxxing is a nutrition trend that has picked up a l...
28/04/2026

What Is Fibremaxxing and Does It Actually Help with Weight Loss?

Fibremaxxing is a nutrition trend that has picked up a lot of traction online, particularly on TikTok. The basic idea is simple. You deliberately increase your fibre intake, often quite aggressively, with the goal of improving digestion, reducing hunger and helping with weight loss.

On the surface, it sounds sensible. Fibre is something most people do not eat enough of, and it is widely linked to better health. But like most trends that get popular quickly, the way it is being applied is not always quite as straightforward as it looks.

In my work as a weight loss coach, I see a lot of people latch onto one idea and try to push it as far as possible. Sometimes that works but quite often it just creates a different set of problems. Fibremaxxing sits somewhere in the middle. There is definitely something useful in it, but it needs a bit of context to actually work properly.

Check out my in-depth dive in my blog. Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/fibremaxxing





What is fibremaxxing and does it help with weight loss? A practical guide to fibre, appetite, digestion and how to avoid overdoing it.

A new report from the Health Foundation made for uncomfortable reading today. It found healthy life expectancy in the UK...
27/04/2026

A new report from the Health Foundation made for uncomfortable reading today. It found healthy life expectancy in the UK has fallen by around two years over the past decade, with men now spending around 60.7 years in good health and women 60.9 years. In more than 90 percent of local areas, healthy life expectancy is now below state pension age, and in some of the most deprived places it is below 55. In Blackpool, healthy life expectancy for men is around 51. I turned 51 last week, so that really made me pay attention!

There is also around a twenty year gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest communities. That is extraordinary, and it says this is not just a personal health story, but a conversation about inequality, prevention and ageing well.

Healthy life expectancy is not how long we live, but how long we can expect to live in reasonably good health before illness or disability starts to significantly affect daily life.

One thing it made me reflect on is how often strength training is still seen as something for younger people, when arguably it matters even more as we get older. Preserving muscle, strength and movement quality is not just about fitness, it can be about staying capable, mobile and independent for longer.

I was in a commercial gym on holiday recently and realised I was probably the oldest person there by fifteen years. That really stayed with me. If healthy ageing matters, maybe we still have some catching up to do in how we think about strength and fitness as we get older.

The report also points to obesity as part of the picture, but what interested me just as much was inequality, because environment, stress, food quality, healthcare access and opportunity all shape long term health.

For a more in-depth breakdown, visit my blog at:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/uk-healthy-life-expectancy-falls-by-two-years/

In the blog, I also touch upon where weight loss injections may fit into this conversation, and whether they risk widening inequality if access remains uneven.

New figures show UK healthy life expectancy has fallen by two years. A coach’s take on strength training, obesity, ageing and prevention.

You can lose weight and still end up with less muscle and more body fat over time.That’s where a lot of people get stuck...
15/04/2026

You can lose weight and still end up with less muscle and more body fat over time.

That’s where a lot of people get stuck. They feel like they are doing everything right, but progress slows, strength drops, and energy isn’t what it used to be.

This is often down to something called sarcopenic obesity. Low muscle mass and higher body fat existing at the same time. It’s more common than people realise and it’s not always obvious.

You can be a normal weight and still have it. Two people can weigh the same, but one has more muscle and less fat, while the other has less muscle and more fat. That difference matters for how your body looks, feels, and performs.

A big part of the issue comes from patterns over time. Repeated dieting, low protein intake, and a lack of strength training can slowly shift your body composition in the wrong direction. Ageing also plays a role, as the body becomes less efficient at maintaining muscle.

Your goal may not sometimes just be to weigh less. Weight loss on its own is not always the solution. The focus may need to be on improving body composition by reducing body fat while maintaining or building muscle.

That means prioritising strength training, improving protein intake, and avoiding aggressive dieting that leads to muscle loss.
�This depends where you are in your “journey” though.

For a deep dive on this, visit my blog:�https://www.simongpt.co.uk/what-is-sarcopenic-obesity/

Sarcopenic obesity is low muscle and higher body fat. Learn what it is and how dieting or weight loss injections may make it worse.

There’s a lot going on in the world right now.When it feels like that, I always come back to something simple:Focus on w...
06/04/2026

There’s a lot going on in the world right now.

When it feels like that, I always come back to something simple:

Focus on what you can control, and let go of what you can’t.

Some things are always outside your control.
- The news
- Other people
- What happens next

But some things are always within it:
- Your effort
- Your habits
- Your daily decisions

That’s where your attention needs to go.

It doesn’t mean life suddenly becomes easy. We’re not robots. You don’t just switch off worry.

But when you focus on what you can do, things start to feel more manageable.

Go for the run.
Do the workout.
Prepare a decent meal.
Stick to your plan for the day.

Those small wins don’t change the world, but they change how your day feels.

Over time, they build momentum. You feel more grounded, more capable, less overwhelmed.

That’s how progress actually happens.

For an in-depth blog on this topic and a bit more info about how I structure my day, go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/focus-on-what-you-can-control-and-let-go-of-what-you-cant/

Feeling overwhelmed? Stop worrying about what you can’t change. Learn how to focus on what you can control to build daily wins.

Carb cycling sounds more complicated than it actually is. At its core, it’s just this:- Eat more carbs when training is ...
05/04/2026

Carb cycling sounds more complicated than it actually is. At its core, it’s just this:
- Eat more carbs when training is harder
- Eat less when training is easier

That’s it.

Carbs fuel intensity. They’re what allow you to run faster, push harder on the bike, and get quality out of sessions. So when people under-fuel hard sessions, performance drops, recovery slows, and the whole week ends up feeling harder than it should.

But here’s the bit most people miss…

Carb cycling isn’t required.

If you’re training a few times a week at a steady pace, you’ll get great results just eating balanced meals. It only really becomes useful when training gets more structured or more intense.

If you do use it, keep it simple:
- Higher carb days = intervals, tempo, long runs, long rides
- Moderate days = steady sessions or strength work
- Lower carb days = rest or very easy sessions

You’re fuelling the work you’re about to do, not rewarding what you’ve already done.

Timing matters as well:
- Hard morning session = carbs the night before + breakfast
- Hard evening session = carbs across the day
- Longer sessions = consider slightly higher carbs the day before

Then carbs during longer sessions as well of course when appropriate.

And for weight loss? It’s not magic. Fat loss still comes down to your overall calorie intake across the week. Carb cycling can help by giving you a bit more structure, eating slightly less on easier days and fuelling properly on harder ones, but it doesn’t replace the basics.

Personally, I don’t follow a strict carb cycling plan. I’ve tried it in a more structured way, but I now take a more flexible approach. If I’ve got a hard session or a long ride coming up, I’ll increase carbs the evening before and include them before and during the session as needed. On easier days, I just reduce portions slightly, which naturally brings carbs down without overthinking it.

It’s the same principle, just without turning nutrition for my training into a job!

This is exactly what I help people do with their training and nutrition. Whether the goal is weight loss, getting fitter, or improving performance for running or cycling, the focus is always on simple, realistic structure that fits around your life.

If you want a deeper dive, read my full blog. Go to:
https://www.simongpt.co.uk/carb-cycling-for-runners-cyclists-weight-loss/

A simple guide to carb cycling for runners and cyclists. Learn how to fuel training, improve performance and support weight loss.

Address

Trunk Road
Farnborough
GU149SW

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 9pm
Tuesday 8am - 9pm
Wednesday 8am - 9pm
Thursday 8am - 9pm
Friday 8am - 9pm
Saturday 8am - 9pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Simon Graham Coach & Personal Trainer posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Simon Graham Coach & Personal Trainer:

Shortcuts

Share

Category