Stop the ‘fad’ diets
There is no quick fix to lose weight and reach your target weight. The extra weight didn’t come in in 2 weeks so why do you think you can lose it in 2 weeks? There’s so much information out there it’s difficult to know where to start, but one thing I can tell you is that the quick fix ‘7 day detox’ or juicing programmes will not work in the long term. Yes they can work for the first week you may drop 4-8lbs, this WILL NOT all by body fat most will be water weight, and you're losing weight because you are in a calorie deficit and consuming far fewer calories than you body needs. However this is NOT sustainable. If you cannot see yourself doing something 3, 6 months or even a year from now then why do it? Find what is going to work best for you.
2. Back to basics
Get back to basics with your nutrition. First step get at least 2 litres of water in, 5 servings of vegetables, limit fruit to 2 servings per day and increase your protein intake.
3. Believe in yourself
Start believing in yourself and you’ll be amazed by your inner strength, power and ability. Set small goals each week and focus on how great it feels when you hit these goals. Most importantly don’t give up! Think where you’ll be 6 months - a year from now, the time is passing anyway so you may as well start now. Don’t look back in a year and think “I wish I stuck to it”.
4. Get organised!
Get organised with your food and make sure you have planned what you are going to be eating during the week. Keep healthy snacks in your bag/desk drawer at work for when you’re caught out and hungry and there’s nothing around to eat. e.g. protein bar, protein powder, small portions of nuts, piece of fruit.
If you make the bulk of your food on the weekend ready for your week ahead you won’t be caught out. Cook meat in bulk and freeze it, cut vegetables up ready to eat. It only takes an hour of your time at the weekend to do and once it’s done you’re less likely to reach for the chocolate.
5. Don’t call it a ‘diet’
When we call it a ‘diet’ subconsciously we are thinking of it as temporary when it should be a lifestyle change. You can still eat chocolate, sweets, bread, crisps but in controlled portions. Don’t think when you’ve hit your target weight the diets over and binge out, you’ll put the weight back on. Focus on making it a lifestyle change and something you can stick to.
6. Learn about flexible dieting
I will be doing a YouTube video on this and what are macros? i.e. macronutrients; protein, carbs and fats. We need all of these in our diet so please don’t cut any food group out. Once you’ve learnt flexible dieting you can fit things into your daily calorie allowance if you really want them, such as donuts and chocolate!
7. Eat regularly through the day
Breakfast, lunch and dinner with 2 small snacks in between is a good starting point. Don’t be afraid to eat, life’s more enjoyable when you can eat and enjoy your food. Eating more and smaller meals throughout the day can help keep hunger pangs at bay and keep your energy levels up throughout the day. However if you prefer 3 bigger meals per day with no snacks and feel it works better for you, you can do that too.
8. Fill up on volume food.
What I mean by this is eating food which is high volume but low calories, by eating more volume foods you are actually eating more but less calories. For example, green vegetables are low calorie such as spinach (love this for volume), broccoli, green beans and you can eat a lot of this for few calories.
9. Drinks have calories too
Sugary drinks and alcohol also have calories too so don’t forget about these. I call these ‘empty calories’ because they have no nutritional value but high sugar and calorie content. If you want to drink fizzy drinks stick to diet, I know we all like a drink or 2 now and again but if you are drinking alcohol on a regular basis you may want to cut this down; for one is prevents fat loss because your body is getting rid of the toxic alcohol from your system and not focusing on the fat loss and two because drinking a lot of alcohol during the week will start to make you feel more tired, brain fogged and start affecting your skin and immune system (I’m talking drinking 2-3 glasses of wine or beers each night). A couple of glasses on the weekend of during the week is fine if it’s part of your lifestyle and you enjoy it.
10. Move MORE
You cannot out train a bad diet but if you increase your daily energy expenditure it means you are burning more calories which is going to aid weight loss. Aim for 10,000 steps a day plus get moving in the gym or do some classes 2-3x per week. If you struggle with motivation hire a personal trainer who is going to push you to do things you never thought you could, improve your self confidence and help you on your way to reaching your goals.
Remember losing a few lbs or getting a six pack WILL NOT make you happy, you need to find happiness in yourself first. Look in the mirror and instead of picking out the bits you don't like about yourself pick out 3 things you do like and do it every day. Once you’re happier in yourself you’ll notice how much more confident you’ll be in every day life. Who cares what size we are or what the number is on the scale, as long as you’re happy being you.
This is what we promote at The Hut Gym, come and try our classes, you'll soon be addicted
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