How to lead a healthy lifestyle and feel fitter, healthier and happier
Many people find it difficult to know what to eat with all the conflicting information out there today. Many of the clients I train are trying to lose weight and nutrition plays a huge role - 'Abs are made in the kitchen' is a great saying! There is no point working hard in the gym if you aren't eating correctly.
I feel it is all about changing bad habits and replacing them with good habits. I set weekly goals for my clients which gives them something to focus on each week. We work on that goal until it is a habit. I teach them to eat healthily when they are in control so that they feel they can enjoy the odd treat when they are socialising.
I feel the 3 most important things are...
- Being planned
- Being perpared
- Thinking in advance
If you are being planned, prepared and thinking in advance then you will never have to grab food on the go (which is never healthy) and you wont need to get a takeaway or ready meal as you will have already planned what to cook or have a pre prepared meal ready.
I recommend batch cooking to my clients. If you make a large meal and divide it into containers, then you don't need to cook every evening. After a hard tiring day at work, you will have a home cooked meal already prepared. It is important to take lunch with you to work - otherwise you have to go to a cafe / shop where there is unlikely to be anything healthy. I teach my clients to prepare two or three lunches at once - this doesn't take much more time than preparing one meal but it means you have your lunch ready and you don't need to prepare it every evening.
Here are my 5 top tips for you...
- Don't go on a crash diet (cereal diet / shake diet) - you will lose weight but it isn't sustainable and you will only put it (plus more) back on. You just need to eat healthy the majority of the time and treat yourself occasionally. Avoid chocolate, biscuits, crisps, pizza and fizzy drinks!
- Limit the amount of alcohol you drink! Alcohol has so many calories, and it also affects your fat metabolism as it stops producing vital hormones for fat burning. Take away the habit of having it every evening and just have it for special occasions
- Always eat breakfast - it is important to eat a good quality breakfast and it will stop you snacking on other things throughout the morning
- Limit the white starchy carbohydrates and replace them with a better option... white pasta - wholemeal pasta / potatoes - sweet potato / chips - roasted parsnips or sweet potato chips / white rice - brown rice or quinoa / white bread - wholemeal bread
- Drink lots of water, it is so important to drink regularly and stay hydrated. It also helps with weight loss and removing toxins from the body.
