Understanding what to do regarding fat loss nutrition is hard.

There is so much information out there.

There are so many so called ‘best’ diets – guaranteed to get results

No wonder people don’t know which way to turn…

Hence why people try something for a week or 2 before they are convinced that something else is better.

I am here to tell you that there are very few rules involved with fat loss nutrition and if you were to stick to these over a prolonged period of time, you would see amazing results for a very long time.

The best bit of it being that you could allow yourself to go off track for a short time period, KNOWING you could get back again should you wish.

And that is the key!

Basic is beautiful.

Basic allows you to follow a plan time and time again.

You know how you got your results.

You know what to do should things not go right all the time.

You know it will work.

So what are these basics?

In a nutshell it is this:

Eat real whole foods in the right quantities…..most of the time!

Sounds like a bit of a cop out, but that is it.

Obviously this can be broken down further to make it more understandable….because keeping it simple seems to confuse most people.

What is a whole food? What is the right quantities and what is MOST of the time??

I will break each one down……

Please bear in mind that I will keep this basic and simple for a reason….

It is exactly that.

People who try and over complicate things are either selling you something or trying to stop you from achieving long term and sustainable fat loss.

So here goes:

Whole foods:

Meats, eggs, fish, poultry, seafood, legumes, pulses, vegetables, fruits, fats (animal, oils,  and the list goes on.

You can also supplement this with other foods such as dairy, rice, oats, protein powder, fish oils etc for convenience.

People will argue that some of these things are technically not whole foods, which is fine. But for the average punter like me who wishes to be simply lean then this list is effective.

Right quantities

So what are the right quantities?

This will differ from person to person and the amount of activity done per person.

However, for the average gym person who has a desk job who goes to the gym 3 times a week the following is a good place to start.

• Protein (meats, eggs, dairy, etc) – palm of your hand size
• Fruits and veg – hand fist size
• Fats – thumb size
• Carbs – cupped hand size

Your typical plate may look a little something like this:

• 1 quarter protein
• 1 quarter carb and fat
• 2 quarters veg/fruit

keep most of your meals like this and you will be fine.

But this is dull I hear you say…

• Where is the booze?
• Where is the take-away?
• Where is the chocolate?

This is where the term ‘MOST of the time’ comes in.

Never try and be 100%.

Try and you will fail.

So what should you do?

MOST OF THE TIME

Ideally, you want to aim for around 80% of the time.

The remaining 20%, you can get away with the wine, Chinese and dairy milk.

So long as you don’t go mad with it.

Don’t binge and eat this stuff in moderation and you will be ok.

What most people do is that when these foods are consumed, the diet goes out of the window and a binge ensues.

The trick is to not let this happen.

If you use the following as a guide, you will have a key strategy that works a treat.

“Example”

• If you eat 3 times a day over 7 days that works out at 21 meals
• 80% of 21 is roughly 17-18 meals that should follow the rules above.
• This allows you 3 or 4 meals during the week where you can eat/drink the stuff you want ‘in moderation’ and still be happy in the knowledge that you will see progress.
• This you can do without the need to feel guilty about your fat loss.

The real key is to be honest with yourself and admit when you have strayed from the guidelines above and when you do then pull back on future meals to compensate.

It really is a balancing act.

The issue we have is that we go too far on one side or the other.

On starting a diet, we go too far into the ‘good’ food side.

When we ‘cheat’ we delve too deep into the ‘bad’ side.

It is a world of extremes and this is what sells.

Everyone wants a quick fix.

Results have to be instantaneous in this fast paced world.

The problem is that the body still works in a very similar way to what it did thousands of years ago.

And this is why basics work great!

Eat whole foods – non-processed stuff basically.

Eat them in the right portions – use your hand and your eye as a measurement.

Eat this way most of the time – around 80%.

That’s it!

There are no extremes.

Just solid basics that leave you room to manoeuvre.

This really is the basics of nutrition.

Nutrition that will work for 95% of the population.

People have been doing this well for thousands of years without the need for the internet, books and other sources of garbage information.

Why can’t you?

Speak soon, Gaz

It can come very easy at times but then never seems to stick around and at other times it just never seems to want to get going.

Most fat loss diets fail before they even begin.

Simply because the person doesn’t comprehend the fundamental principles of how to lose the fat and keep it off.  This is why I see so many Yo-Yo dieters who are frustrated and fed up with seeing progress only to slip back to their old self a few months down the line.

Once you have a set of principles you can use a whole host of methods to make something work (I should know, I have been up and down on that Yo-Yo a few times myself).

You must have heard the proverb – give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you feed him and his family for life”?

Well, it is the same thing. Give someone a diet plan, they follow it with success only to struggle when they return to their normal habits. Teach someone principles to guide their eating habits by and they can adapt their habits to ensure prolonged and sustained fat loss, health and well-being.

I could ramble on all day about things you need to know. However, all that would achieve is you getting lost in a swamp of information, you wouldn’t know where to turn and I end up pushing you further away from where you want to be.

Therefore, what I have here are 4 basic principles that can certainly set you off on the path to your goals and desires. These are the things I wish I knew when I started trying to lose fat:

#1 Forget the good food vs bad food, organic food, gluten free and sugar-free hype

You need to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat.

I am assuming you understand what calories are. We hear about them all the time. TV shows seem to go on about them almost relentlessly. But how does a calorie fit into the bigger picture? Surely you just need to eat all these healthy foods to lose weight right?

How does the amount of calories compared with eating healthy foods during the day influence if we lost fat? To understand this we need to understand energy balance:

Energy Balance (Calories in versus Calories out)

Calories = fuel.

We burn Calories to fuel our daily activities and this includes eating, sleeping and loafing around on the sofa watching TV. Everything we do in life burns calories. It gets more complicated than this but for this article, I am just going to say that if you use more calories than you consume then you will lose weight (ideally fat).

Put another way, this means if you eat less than your body requires then it will use its own fuel reserves to provide energy.

A topic for another time, but participation in a well-structured strength training program will go a long way to raising the level of calories burned during a day/week/month/year.

Eating healthily just doesn’t cut it

When a lot of people go on a diet they try to eat healthily. What this means is that they drink coconut water and almond milk, swap butter for coconut oil and eat things like nuts, dried fruit and lots of cracker breads. These all still contain calories and some of which are extremely dense and can be over consumed.

What this results in is you actually consuming more calories than your body needs. You believe you are eating healthily but in fact you are just staying where you are or worse, you are gaining weight.

Has that ever happened to you?

#2 Fat loss is never linear

So many people start a diet and plan to lose ‘X’ amount of weight each week.

Unfortunately, fat loss doesn’t work like this for a whole host of reasons. What most people experience is a sudden drop in weight over the first few weeks followed by a few weeks steady weight loss and then a stall on the scales 6-8 weeks into a diet and maybe even a rise in weight.

The immediate success followed by periods where nothing happens or there is an increase in weight often leads to frustration and succumbing to temptation. Here is an explanation of why this happens:

Don’t be fooled – Initial weight loss is almost always water

When people go on a diet, they go ultra strict with their eating and they tend to cut out the junk food, bread, pasta, rice etc. These foods all contain carbohydrates, commonly known as carbs. Carbs require water to break them down to be used by the body (approximately 4 grams of water for 1 gram of carbs).

Therefore the body can use 300 – 500 grams of water to break down the average bowl of pasta consumed. That’s a quarter to half a kilo of retained weight to break down that Spaghetti Bolognese you had the other night. And that’s not including the garlic bread!

Because we routinely eat carb rich meals, the body will keep hold of the water to break the meals down (it is clever like that). When we start a diet we predominately get rid of these food types so after a week or so the body will also get rid of the excess water it uses to break down (I did say it was clever like that). The result is rapid weight loss in a short space of time.

A lighter body requires less energy

When you lose weight, the body then requires less energy to maintain itself. If you keep eating the same amount of food the chances are the body will adapt and you will end up eating at your energy maintenance, resulting in no weight loss.

Therefore, the amount you eat should be staggered so it can be reduced over time. Liken it to walking down a flight of stairs. The decrease should be one step at a time.

There are also unexplainable factors that we need to consider. Having spent countless months in the trenches with fat loss myself I have been frustrated on many occasions by things that science has no explanation for. For example, I went 5 weeks without a budge in scale weight, which frustrated the hell out of me.

Trusting the system I was using, I was patient. My strength numbers were fine, I had good energy and I was not being tempted by sweet treats so all was good.

On the 6th week I stepped on the scale to find I had lost almost 1.5 kilos overnight! I cannot explain how or why this happened. All I know is that the body acts in strange ways sometimes and we need to show patience and trust in what we are doing.

You need to be patient. You need to accept the bad with the good. You need to trust the system you are on and give it time.

#3 It is normal to be hungry when on a diet

You will see adverts these days informing you that you can stuff yourself silly whilst losing weight. These people are either trying to sell you something or they are idiots…usually both! To lose fat you need to be in a calorie deficit, period. This often means eating less overall, resulting in feelings of hunger. However, there are ways to combat this:

Use strategies to take your mind off being hungry at that moment in time

Hunger as we know it is not true hunger. To be truly hungry we would have to go a long time without food. Ask some of the people in 3rd world countries about real hunger. Our hunger is more to do with routine and hormones.

The brain expects food at midday because that is what you have done most of your life, therefore come midday your brain signals the stomach to get into gear and expect food. That is the hunger we feel and this is easily suppressed through simple tactics. Now, the purpose of this email is not to provide you with a boat load of tactics.

This article is about bigger picture principles and strategies. That way you can implement some of your own tactics that work for you. Not wanting to be a cop-out however so here are a few I have found to work for me:

• Drink a glass of water – feelings of hunger are sometimes a sign of dehydration
• Get stuck into some work – your mind will often tell you the body is hungry simply because it is bored. Occupy your time and you will likely find the hunger disappears. Have you ever lost track of time and not even realise you have missed a meal?
• Go and train – when training your body will stop thinking about ingesting food.
• Have a low-calorie snack that you can use as a last resort – if you cannot stand to stay away from the fridge or cupboard any longer, you must have strategies that minimise the damage of snacking and allow you to stay on the right side of your energy balance.

Look at low-calorie food types that will fill that gap if you can’t wait any longer

The video below shows the difference between 200 calories in a few different food types and the difference in volume. Just look at all those strawberries. Who is telling me they won’t be even slightly satisfied eating all of those. There are other food types, which are amazing too. Vegetables of any description are usually a great choice. You can add herbs and spices to them to really make them taste amazing.

If you think veg is bland and boring, go and get yourself a meat-free cookbook. These people are masters of making veg sexy.

#4 You will stall from time to time so be patient

This one kind of speaks for itself but is worth a mention as this is the reason why so many people give up on their fat loss goals. Basically, they stop seeing results after only a few short weeks and no longer trust the system without giving it sufficient time.

Fat loss should be a slow burner but modern society means we are no longer willing to wait for anything these days. We want it all and we want it now (I am definitely guilty of this by the way)!

A stall in weight during a diet is a very normal thing and no movement in fat loss during a diet over a period of time usually indicates that the body has adapted to your current situation. This is what the body does and after millions of years of evolution, it has got very good at it. What you need to do then is change things around a little and keep the body guessing.

However, what we actually do is we lose patience. The cast iron plan that we have followed for a few weeks now has suddenly stopped working, therefore we deem the plan is rubbish! Clearly the plan can’t be that bad as it has got you some results. It is simply a case of the body understanding the rules of the game. This means you change the game slightly. Keep progressing and be patient and results will come. Those that lose patience are likely to give up and therefore not gain the results they desire.

Well, that’s about all for now.

Keep things simple and concentrate on nailing these principles. If you do then all the smaller things will all fall into place.

You won’t need the next best instant results FAD diet.

You won’t need all those ultra-expensive supplements.

We all have a habit of concentrating on the smaller things in life, which hardly make a difference when our strategy is not in place.

Remember:

1. You have to eat/consume less than you burn….period.

1. You will not lose weight/fat every week…accept it. It is the long term progress that counts.

1. Expect to be hungry at times and know how to deal with it. When you succumb to the snacking bug, have low calorie go to foods you can have without ruining your calorie intake.

1. Be patient! Accept stalling is part of the process and look to make subtle changes over time.

Get these 4 things dialled in and I guarantee you will see results you can maintain.

If you are struggling with your fat loss and have become frustrated with your continued lack of results then get in touch for a clarity call and we can chat and see what is going wrong and what you can do to make it right.

What are you waiting for? Get to it!

Speak soon,

Gaz

But conversely, we have never been as unhealthy, or unfit.

We long for the look of a cover model but don’t really do much about it or we try and try but to no avail.

We buy into the latest fat burning supplement or fitness FAD that is going to TRANSFORM us in just 28 days…without us having to put much effort in.

These companies are making so much money from us with this.

They have us hooked on HOPIUM!

Reliant on the drug of OPPORTUNITY. Hooked on their products with the expectation that the NEXT ONE will deliver on it’s promise.

Have you fallen for this? I know I have.

By 2022 the global dietary supplement market is estimated to be worth over 250 billion dollars. It’s no wonder we can barely walk, drive or even sit down for a brew without some kind of dietary supplement, exercise craze or new magic herb being crammed down our throat.

But what if I was to tell you there was a way…

But it required a bit of effort, some focus, commitment and some consistency?

If you want to improve your health, don’t buy into these new schemes and trends that are nothing short of scams.

Here are five habits to improve your health and fitness.

1. Drink More Water

The human body is made up of about 60 percent of water!

You need  WATER!

We use it for digestion, nutrient absorption, circulation and much much more. It not only helps muscles and organs but it also makes your skin look younger and clearer! I don’t know any supplement that can promise AND actually deliver all that!!

Another bonus is when you’re hydrated with water you suppress hunger and it can also prevent the temptation of drinking the wrong fluids like fizzy drinks, cordials and juices.

These are more than often riddled with sugar, high in calories and have very little nutritional value.

Things are improving out there with zero sugar this and zero sugar that but be careful as even with flavoured waters and juices, a lot of them can have as much sugar as ordinary coca cola.

2. Go For a FAT Option

One of the oldest mistakes in the book is avoiding fats! Yeah yeah, I get it…saturated fats, especially in abundance aren’t particularly good for you. However, there are also other natural healthy fats to be taken in and the benefits are quite surprising to most!

As well as other factors like protecting and functioning your organs, muscle growth, nutrient absorption, lowering your cholesterol and reducing the of the risk of heart disease…. it also burns FAT!! And stubborn fat too! It has twice the amount of energy as a carb and should not be over indulged but most certainly needs to be implemented into your diet.

Get some FAT  down you!

3. Sleep More!

Who doesn’t want to sleep more?

The benefits of sleep are unimaginable! Especially considering you literally just lie there and close your eyes!

There have been multiple studies that show people who got more sleep had improved lifestyles, more energy and overall better health.

Also, you are likely to burn more fat with a decent amount of sleep in comparison to the lack of sleep which has been proven to burn more muscle than fat.

Performance and fat loss are all well and good but there are other reasons why it’s absolutely crucial you get your hours in.

It prevents stress, depression and reduces inflammation – this isn’t just about recovering from being sore from the gym.People who get less sleep have higher inflammatory proteins which can cause heart disease, strokes, diabetes and a lot more.

4. Eat More Fruit & Veg

Sounds obvious right!?  Well, you will be surprised!!

Even with the NHS’s 5 a day in everyone’s face, the past few years people aren’t having enough fruit and veg.

Vegetables really are a miracle food. They cure disease, reduce the risk of hundreds of health conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease as well as so much more. They even reduce the risk of cancer. They’re also nutrient-rich and low in calories. The ideal food right?

A big problem is a lot of non-veg lovers have a lack of imagination. People tend to find veg boring and often relate it to rabbit food etc.

Just because you add veg it doesn’t mean you sacrifice the meals you love and have a plate of dry raw carrots.

Vegetarian/plant-based food diets have an amazing result with fat loss and increased health. However,  I don’t  believe it’s the lack of meat getting these results, it’s the increased amount of fruit and vegetables.

You don’t have to become a rabbit or a vegetarian, just add some blooming veg into your meals! Dress them up and add some flavour!

5. Exercise

An obvious one! But most of us don’t do it.

Why is that??

The issue we see is that people don’t know what they are doing and are intimidated in big gyms when alone, therefore they don’t enjoy exercise and end up giving up before results start to take effect.

It’s not all about getting to the gym and using a treadmill three times a week either. You need to train your body in different ways with variety in order to keep your brain engaged.

Exercise is great for mental health and a huge stress reliever. Gym memberships are even prescribed by GPs to people who suffer from depression.

So if you are going to train, pick something you’re going to enjoy. Something that will last.

A great way to enjoy exercise is to do it in a group format where you have challenge yourself against others, whilst having a laugh at the same time. Very similar to what we do here at Forever Strong.

Aim for around 3 session per week which challenges your body with resistance added.

And we have believed these stories to our peril. Instead, we have started to consume much more sugar than we used to and the obesity rate increased roughly at the same time as this advice (far be it for me to say these instances are related). Spooky eh!

The list of things we should and shouldn’t eat can be endless…

Confusing…

And just far too time-consuming to actually do.

One thing I work on and focus on is to get enough Omega 3 in my diet.

Have you heard of it? I hope so. It plays such an important role in how your body functions and your battle against fat loss.

Here are 5 reasons why you should focus attention on including Omega 3’s into your diet.

#1 IT WILL HELP YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

Your immune system is vitally important. Have you ever had a period where you seemed to pick up every cold and disease that was around? Especially if you have kids or work with kids.

This stops you from training properly, it affects your mood and even the decisions you make with your food choices. This can spiral if continued over a prolonged period of time.

Ever felt like this?

Omega 3 fatty acids help to build your immune system and combat such circumstances.

Omega 3’s have also been suggested to fight certain autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Crohn’s, Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Sick of getting the colds from the kids or want to look for an effective method of combating your autoimmune disease? Then try adding Omega 3 into your diet and see what happens.

#2 YOU WILL SLEEP BETTER AND LOOK BETTER

Sleep is the most underrated method of recovery and beauty treatment out there. Your body recuperates, regenerates cells and repairs damaged muscle tissue whilst you dream sweet things during the silent hours.

A great night’s sleep will, therefore, make you look better, feel better, will aid in fat loss and performance. Your skin and hair will look and feel better and it will improve focus, energy and therefore your moods.

Omega 3 naturally helps to boost your natural levels of melatonin and sleep apnea.

This is a fancy way of saying you will have a better night’s sleep, have better looking and feeling skin and hair. Just think how much you spend on skin and hair care products when your body can do it all for you…if you feed it the right data.

People say that you need 7-9 hours of sleep but there is little point trying for this much if it is broken and poor sleep.

If you are struggling to sleep properly then Omega 3 may just help to naturally boost the quality of your sleep.

And you can be well on your way to amazing nights of cozy, deep sleep.

#3 OMEGA 3 FATS CAN HELP TO BURN FAT

This is the important one right!

Omega 3 has been suggested to raise the levels of HDL Cholesterol (the healthy type – yes there is a good type of Cholesterol). This then helps the body to function in the process of burning fatty acids as fuel more effectively.

Of course, this has to be combined as part of a well-balanced diet. This goes without saying, but ensuring you get in Omega 3’s will aid this process and make the journey that much more fluid.

#4 LOWER THE RISK OF HEART-RELATED DISEASES

I have previously mentioned that Omega 3’s help to boost your levels of HDL (good cholesterol). This helps to reduce high blood pressure, prevents blood clots and reduces the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

Omega 3’s reduces inflammation too, but this is a separate topic altogether.

It is well-known that heart disease and stroke are common incidents within the western world and combined they account for the most deaths for both men and women.

Links have been associated with our typical western diet…which happens to be getting worse by the way.

An interesting find is that fish eating diets, high in Omega 3 have been found to show lower levels of heart-related diseases…and the evidence is mounting year after year.

Fish oils seem to be the key factor in this…so start eating your fatty fish.

#5 HELPS FIGHT ANXIETY, DEPRESSION AND MOOD DISORDERS

So many people today suffer from some form of mood disorder. Those that have will understand how this can severely impact on your energy and lust for life. This can affect your job, your relationships amongst many other things.

Tests including Omega 3 fish oils have shown to suggest a 40% decrease in symptoms amongst both men and women. This is to do with the nutrient content of the brain. One study suggested that Omega 3 was as effective as Prozac.

So there we have it. 5 good reasons why you should get Omega 3 fatty acids into your diet.

So where do they come from?

Naturally, omega 3 can be found in various food types but the highest quality is contained in fatty fish such as Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines etc. You can also find them in Flaxseed, Walnuts etc but the quality is nowhere near as good in these food types.

The issue with fatty fish is their calorie content if trying to maintain a calorie deficit. Not to mention the smell and the messy preparation.

So what if you don’t like fish or don’t have time to prepare this stuff?

Well, you can always aim to take fish oil capsules. These are small, convenient capsules that you can supplement your first meal of the day. Be wary however as not all fish oil capsules were created equally.

Many supplement companies out there work on maximum profit and will put substandard ingredients in their products in order to get as much return as possible.

SO WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?

When looking at Omega 3 supplements, you are checking out their EPA and DHA quantities. You are looking at 500mg EPA and 250mg DHA per capsule.

HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU TAKE?

Substandard fish oil companies will recommend you take 10-15 capsules a day. This is due to their lower quality and that they want you to buy more from them.
Ideally, you want to aim for between 1500-2000mg of EPA and 750-1000mg of DHA per day.
That’s around 2-3 portions of Salmon per week or 3-4 quality capsules per day.

Personally, my wife hates the smell of fish so it’s a no go in our house. I get round it by supplementing with a product called GOOD FATS FORMULA from LEANGREENS.

This caters for my Omega 3 needs.

You now know 5 good reasons why you should be including Omega 3 fatty acids into your diet.

The question now is…

What are you doing about it?

This is a real problem that is plaguing men and women all over the country who TRY and diet to lose weight in order to look good and is a major roadblock on their journey to success.

Men and women all around (and maybe you are one of them) will practically eat like a Buddhist monk during the week and long for the weekend when they can have what they want ‘because they have been good’ all week!

How often have you heard or said that:

“I’m fine during the week……it’s the weekends when I come unstuck”?

I always used to have a real tendency to binge eat.

I think this came from when I was a child and my mum always used to tell me to clear up all the food on my plate as it would otherwise go to waste. This put me in the mindset that food shouldn’t go to waste and got me into the habit of eating more than I should.

I don’t want to sound like I am blaming my mum here because I’m not. It was me who put the food in my mouth so it’s ultimately my fault, but we all have influences in life and this was mine.

When I got older and I got into health and fitness and wanting to look good, I fell into the trap of eating well all week and then I would have a ‘cheat meal’ at the weekend. The problem was that my ‘cheat meal’ quickly turned into a ‘cheat day’ and then my tendency to binge eat turned the day into a weekend.

The result was that I never lost any weight and ended up getting really frustrated at my lack of results from the amount of effort I was putting in.

When I found the path to success, overcoming this obstacle was one of the major things I had to address and I would say was certainly up there as one of the main contributing factors to getting great results.

Today, it is one of the most common things people say to me when we are talking about their diet and how they need my help to lose weight.

And it is certainly one of the things I spend a lot of time covering during my time working with people.

When you think about it though, it’s kinda crazy and arse about face.

Most people are off work at the weekends.

Therefore you theoretically have more time to

• Shop for your food
• Prepare your food
• Enjoy eating your food

To that end, we should be able to be more on point’ during the weekend.

Time cannot be our excuse…

Too busy is not it either…

So why do we?

(And I include myself in this category)

Tend to fall down when it comes to the weekend?

I have come to the conclusion that there are 3 main reasons:

#1 Lack of structure or a routine at the weekend

Weekdays are more likely to have a routine.

You arrive at work at a regular time, you eat your lunch at a regular time, you get home at a regular time and so on.

At the weekend, there is less routine, less structure and more potential to go off track.

Therefore it is important to have some sort of plan when it comes to the weekend.

I am not talking about a rigid routine that doesn’t allow you to go off and have fun.

What is a weekend if we can’t relax and have some fun?

But how often has one bad meal or a night out on a Friday night turned into a whole weekend of eating and drinking things you shouldn’t have?

#2 – You feel guilty when you have indulged

I think we have all been here with this one.

During a diet, you break from what we should be eating and indulge in something that you ‘believe’ to be ‘bad’ for you.

This makes you feel guilty for what you have done.

You believe you have betrayed yourself and this leads to feelings of guilt.

Whilst in this negative state, temptation creeps up and hits when you are most vulnerable.

This lead to the further indulgence of something on our ‘taboo’ list.

We then just crumble, say “sod it, I will start again on Monday”!

And thus we travel in this vicious circle of dieting stalemate.

What I get my guys and girls to understand is that it is what is achieved over the long term that matters.

Therefore, eating something ‘bad’ every so often (once ever 3 or 4 days) will not have any negative return if they control the portion size they care consuming.

Another thing we discuss is that they shouldn’t just live for the weekend…

#3 – You have a mindset issue

The weekend has become synonymous with relaxing, partying, unwinding and generally letting go of the weekday shackles.

Therefore we already have it in our minds that the week is there to be good and strict, and we can be liberal at the weekend.

This is the major stumbling block I face with people.

“You have to work hard at it so you can let go at the weekend” was a response I got from one of my athletes.

And this is repeated by most if not all of the people that come to see me.

This in itself is a massive mindset issue.

You see, to be successful long term, you need to shift your mindset to thinking over the period of a month, rather than a week and then over a year, rather than a month.

Your body doesn’t reset itself at the end of each day, week, month…..the calories we consume carry over to the next day and so on. Therefore if we over indulge excessively at the weekend, we are very likely to undo all the good work during the week.

You are even likely to go over you weekly intake, meaning you put on weight!

What I work on with my guys and girls is to learn to fall off the wagon. Whenever this may be (Tuesday morning, Wednesday lunchtime, Thursday evening and maybe even at the weekends), but also how to get straight back on the wagon and remain focused for another 3-5 days before they feel the need to fall off again.

This way they control it and don’t feel as though they have to battle to the weekend.

But how can YOU solve/minimise this problem so it has an instant effect on YOUR situation?

Here are my top tips to avoid weekend bingeing or to at least minimise the damage:

1 – Exercise at the weekend

I don’t like to give this one as advice normally as you can never ‘out exercise’ a poor diet and this is very much in the damage mitigation category.

Earn your indulgence with an intense workout. At least this way, your body will be primed to handle the extra calories more effectively.

2 – Eat regularly

This will programme your stomach to accept that food will be coming at regular intervals and thus it will not release signals to the stomach that it is hungry all the time.

It will also add routine into your weekend and will stop you from eating big as you can tell yourself that the next meal is not too far away.

3 – If you are going out, adjust your food intake to accommodate the indulgence

If you are going out for a meal, then adjust what you eat during that day BEFORE the meal. Stick to a few portions of protein and lots of vegetables. Stay clear of sugary foods and starchy products. Basically, we are leaving room beforehand for the extra grub that is coming your way.

4 – Initially say no

I know, easier said than done at the weekend, but if you are meeting a group of friends, why not try saying no if you are offered a drink or a slice of cake.

Instantly say no!

Then come back to it 15 minutes later. Did you really want/need it? If so then have it.

You will probably find that you never really wanted it anyway and it was just the fact it was offered to you that made you desire it.

This all being said, I am not asking you to be a saint.

I have written on this topic before and I say to my clients all the time that there is no such thing as good food and no such thing as bad food….just how much we eat of it!

One burger never got someone fat. The Pringles, occasional sweets, chips and several pints of booze on a regular occurrence did!

What I am saying though is that you need to learn to control when you say….’sod it’ and you have strategies to:

1) minimise the damage and
2) learn how to get immediately back on the waggon and continue with your eating plan.

This is something I work closely with my clients and it is having a great response.

If you have any cool strategies you wish to share with people then post them below and help others out.

Speak soon, Gaz

If so you’re doing it wrong.

I don’t think I have ever talked to someone over the age of 20 that hasn’t tried and failed a diet at some point.

Maybe I’m hanging around with the wrong crowd, I don’t know. But it is a cycle so well known that only a few of you will have scoffed at that first comment.

The way it normally goes is:

1) We decide we want to make a change
2) We start a new diet
3) We maybe see some success to start off with
4) But then the cons start to outweigh the pros, you get hungry, or sick of boring food, or simply forget why you started
5) You give up
6) The weight starts to creep back to the point it was before or worse

Before you know it, you’re back at 1 ready to start all over again.

Now before we get started, a couple of things need to be clarified:

First up, when I say diet I’m referring to any change to what you are normally eating. It doesn’t have to be named after someone or some cool place for it to be a diet.

The second thing is that, sadly, you are going to have to be a little uncomfortable and hungry during a diet.

Forget these FAD diets that tell you that you can literally eat everything you want and expect to lose weight. It just doesn’t work like that.

Losing body fat is a tough road but there are ways we can make it easier.

This blog post is to lay a few of these out to help you along.

This framework was introduced by Alan Aragon this year. He is one of the top nutritionists in the world and he recognises the need for you to have a life, even though you are on a mission to lose body fat.

It works like this:

• Set up a very basic structure and work the rest out from there.
• You only need to get this right MOST of the time to see results.
• The main issue I see is that people try to be too strict and end up crashing with their diet after a few weeks.
• So lesson number one is to get it right 80% of the time. You can be more strict and succeed for sure but why would you want to?
• This means that you can be lax 20% of the time and get away with it.
• This structure should serve as a backbone for what you do for the long term
• The actual specifics of your fat loss plan will change over time, such as when you lose a significant amount of weight and if your daily routine changes etc!

We can cover the structure in 2 simple steps:

Step 1 – Lifestyle

You should make time for exercise – at least 3 times a week for 40-60 mins

You should go out and play whenever possible (time with family, walks in the park with the dog etc)

You need to plan and prepare your food and drink. This means:

• Taking time out to prepare healthy snacks to have to hand.
• Batch cook food that you can freeze and refrigerate.
• Have go-to meals that you can rely upon in periods when you are short of time.
• Invest in a company that prepares and delivers meals that meet your requirements.

Doing things like this will ensure you can have a life whilst still maintaining healthy eating.

If you allow the fat loss eating to take over your life, you will eventually find it miserable as it takes you away from what you enjoy doing the most.

Too many people overlook this part and concentrate on their diet, or increasing the amount of exercise they do, but if you hate what you’re doing, the motivation will leave you and the diet WILL fail.

Step 2 – Diet

So, you’re living your life, having fun, time to start shedding some weight. There are so many different approaches you can take to losing weight, but if you stick to this basic framework then you know you will always be heading in the right direction:

• 80% of the time you should aim to eat minimally processed food
• 10% of the time you can eat semi junk food like chicken nuggets, diet coke etc.
• 10% of the time just eat what you want

Again, a completely restrictive diet will make you resent it first, and then give up completely.

No food is inherently bad, and you can eat your junk food and treats, just try to make them that: treats.

Look to eat minimally processed foods for the majority of your meals and allow yourself a treat here and there.

No feeling guilty for eating, no avoiding meals out with your friends.

Just recognise that it is going to be a 10% moment, and you can rectify it at the very next meal….just don’t leave it until MONDAY.

Speak soon,

Gaz

p.s. don’t feel guilty when you have something you feel you shouldn’t have. Just enjoy it, get over it and move on with the minimally processed foods.

The issue comes when you make it more complicated than that. But that is the topic of a future article.

How did all your previous attempts go?

Maybe some of them were good and you had success..

Others maybe bombed altogether?

I have seen many people come to our gym feeling stuck with their health and fitness and not knowing which way to turn.

Stuck at the same place with regards to their weight and fitness for years and every attempt at the next, latest craze usually ends in further failure.

One of the main reasons for this is that they don’t have a plan beyond the first few weeks….and everything works for a few weeks.

They don’t know how to effectively approach things to make it work for sustainable success.

What we like to do is strip the plan back (if they even have one) and get them to follow a set simple rules.

Here are a few of the rules we cover with our gym members:

Don’t just rely on exercise to help you fight the fat

So many people come to me and explain that they need exercise to lose the fat they are carrying.

Although exercise is an important part of the process, it is not the main contributing factor.

Have you ever heard ‘abs are made in the kitchen’?

Maybe you are not after ‘abs’ but the term implies that nutrition plays a MASSIVE role in fat loss.

For example, you can burn anything up to 400 calories in a typical 60 minute gym session.

It takes around 3500 calories to burn a pound of fat.

That would mean that you would have to do 9 hours in the gym to shift a pound of fat.

A Starbucks loaded latte with a few trimmings will be around 500 calories.

A chocolate brownie will be around 400 calories.

Therefore the most effective way to lose body fat is to eat in a calorie deficit (less calories than your body needs) by planning out your meals and then supplement it with quality resistance training.

Don’t rely on exercise whilst still eating a poor diet.

You may as well give up now if you do.

Get some quality sleep

Sleep is massively underrated.

Your body recovers and repairs itself when you sleep.

This means that the better quality sleep you get and in the right amounts, the more focused, the better prepared and the more motivated you will be to tackle the struggles in your life…which includes getting in shape.

If your body is well rested then it will be more effective in losing body fat as well as making you more focused and determined to carry on.  It will also allow you to train harder and make better decisions (meaning you eat less junk).

Pick up, push and pull heavy objects

I don’t really want to get into the science of all this stuff.

It can get complicated enough as it is, without adding further complexity.

Lifting weights essentially damages the muscles (in a good way). The body then repairs the muscles to withstand the stress applied to it next time.

This improves your lean muscle, which in turn burns more calories and increases your metabolism.

Hence, you burn more calories at rest and following the weightlifting period for anything up to 72 hours.

There are other advantages to lifting weights too:

• Your core strength will improve greatly, improving any old back injuries and limiting the chance of further injuries.
• You will find everyday activities easier such as lifting the shopping around, playing around with the kids
• I have even been told by some gym members that their golf has improved due to the increased power and core strength.
• It also helps improve bone density, especially good for ladies who are over 35…

This is to name just a few benefits to your everyday life.

Lifting weights will also go a long way to help give you that lean physique with all the curves and bumps in the right places.

It will definitely get rid of the saggy bits!

Consistency is Key

Everyone is after the quick fix these days.

That magic pill that will take them from zero to hero in just a few short weeks.

Let me tell you from years of failing with this mindset that it simply doesn’t exist … unless you take drugs to help you of course.

What I am going to say next isn’t sexy and it sure as hell won’t sell many programmes….but it will get you long-term results.

You need to stick at the workable plan.

Base it on the points above and stick at it for at least 80% of the time for 6-12 months.

A few small steps may not seem like much progress, but those same few steps taken again and again and again over the space of a year will get you much further down the road than you have been before.

Progress of 1 lb of fat loss per week is considered good progress, however, I see so many people disappointed with this.

My question to them is ‘what if you lost 1 lb per week for 52 weeks straight’?

That’s around 4 stone in weight.

If someone offered to guarantee that you could be 4 stone lighter a year from now I am sure you would take this.

These are just 4 of the simple but effective rules we follow at Forever-Strong.

Our approach is all about helping people to get leaner, fitter, healthier, more confident and comfortable in their own skin….Forever!

Although we get results fast, we focus on the long term and want you to be in the best shape of your life for the rest of your life.

If you eat a balanced, healthy diet then you will feel better, have more energy and likely to lose weight (fat) in line with a smart and progressive training programme.

We all know this.

If I gave a list of foods to 100 people and asked them to categorise the foods into healthy and unhealthy, I would gauge most of the 100 would make similar choices.

So why are we getting it so wrong when we try?????

There are a number of reasons for this, but my opinion is that the main culprit is how so called ‘healthy’ products are marketed and thus sold to us.

Companies may not be lying to us…

But they are certainly confusing us and making it difficult to know which way to turn.

They design and name products to make us think it is made of natural ingredients and good for you and key to help you to lose weight.

This is why we are all so confused…

Admit it, you are confused about all this stuff right?

So how are they doing it?

Wheat free, gluten free, high in fibre, have ‘super seeds’ in them and are high in protein…they must be good for us right?

On looking at the ingredients you notice that it is flour after flour after flour, with yeast extract…wait a minute…this is still bread.

Now, bread isn’t necessarily bad for you, but it shouldn’t be deemed as healthy so we can eat lots of it, thinking we will lose weight.

It still needs to be factored into your daily intake and accounted for. If you consume too much of it, then you will not lose weight.

How about these then??

I am NOT saying that these products are unhealthy by any means but let’s look more closely at them.

In my opinion, they are certainly promoted and advertised as ‘good for you’.

Regardless of natural ingredients, gluten free, organic etc etc….chocolate is chocolate and sugar is sugar.

The trouble is that when we think something is healthy, we automatically think we can eat more of it (i know i am guilty of this).

But calories are calories and this is what is important when losing weight/fat.

Let’s look at the popcorn:

A tiny serving size of popcorn is 140 calories and there are 5 servings in the bag.

I know for a fact that I would probably smash the whole bag (it isn’t that big at 140 grams).

Thats a whopping 700 calories!!!

And that is from a snack…

Add that to everything else you are eating and drinking that day and you likely have the reason why you are not losing any weight.

So how do you get round this?

Here are a few tips:

• The majority of your food should come from what we now call ‘REAL’ food.  Stuff your ancestors would recognise and stuff that doesn’t come in brightly coloured packets that are designed to attract children’s attention.
• Rather than buzz words like Organic, try locally produced. Locally produced means it has travelled less and should have retained more goodness. Frozen stuff (such as veg) is also good as it was frozen at source and still full of goodness.
• Snack on fruit and veg or make a smoothie (homemade rather than shop bought) to take with you.
• Monitor HOW MUCH you are eating! The number one factor in weight control or losing body fat is the number of calories consumed against the number of calories expended – Consume just less than your body needs and you will lose weight.
• Make your own snack treats.

This is just one example of homemade alternatives.

You control the size of portions and can partition them off accordingly.

If you want a snack treat then have it and don’t ever eliminate things from your diet. Just do it in moderation.

And this appears to be another major issue without eating habits and one I will talk about at another time.

What is moderation and what is a serving size??

Until then, take on board the points above and open your eyes to the tricks you are being played at.

Speak soon,

Gaz

Before I knew any better, I focused almost entirely on the scales and that I had to lose a few stone.

Over the next few months I became obsessed with the scales. That little digital display with a number that doesn’t actually mean that much at the end of the day, suddenly became my world.

I had specific weigh in days but found myself jumping on the scales almost daily; sometimes a few times a day!

Even though I would do this, I would dread the moment as the numbers flashed on the scales and gauged the rest of my day on those little numbers.

If the numbers went down, my day was amazing. If the numbers stayed the same or went up then my day was ruined.

I would always question the reading when it wasn’t in my favour too:

‘I’ve been good lately so my weight should be down…’

This was a bad place to be.

Over time and with lots of study, I have realized how to over come this obsessiveness.

The biggest factor of this has been with my mindset and how I approached the whole fat loss / weight loss plan.

Although I have learned to curb my ‘eagerness to weigh myself, there are others out there where stepping on the scales can still be a traumatic event, so I want to show you how to use the scale to your advantage.

What I have here then are 4 things you have to know about the relationship between your body and the scales

#1 Fat loss will not always go down….be prepared for this

Here is the bottom line that I feel most people don’t understand fully.

You will not lose weight steadily every single week!

The body is complex and just doesn’t work like that.

Be prepared for some weeks to see the number stay the same ….or even go up a little.

This is where most people fail. They are unprepared for this and give up as a result.

What you should look to do it track your net loss over time.

For example:

If you lose 1 lb per week for 5 weeks and then in the 6th week you put on a pound then you are still down 5 lbs from the start.

Play the long game and you’ll win.

Stop thinking quick fix and short term.

After all, you want the weight off for a long time yeah??

#2 There are more ways to track fat loss than just with the scales

All too often we get fixated on the numbers of the scale that we forget the bigger picture.

There is often a reason WHY we want to lose 2 stone and it isn’t because we simply want to lose 2 stone.

It is often something along the likes of wanting to feel better, or look better in clothes or have more energy.

Because of this, we should look at all levels of progress to measure success.

Here are a few others I suggest you use.

Mirrors : How do you look in the mirror compared to before..pretty simple

Pictures : Take progress pictures as you go in the same room, clothes, stance, lighting etc (front, side and back). This will give you a great visual of how it is going.

Tape Measures : The tape doesn’t lie. I have seen a few of my own gym members lose only a few pounds but several inches around the waist and hips. This has meant they fit better into clothes and feel great.

Clothes : I have just touched on it. I often get messages saying how gym members are now into their old jeans or in a dress that fit maybe 2 years ago. This is much more important to the person than a few pounds on the scale.

Feeling/Energy : How are you moving around each day? Are you able to focus more at work? Are you seeing mid afternoon crashes anymore? How are you sleeping?

These are all great indicators of progress and whether you are seeing success.

Again, this can be difficult to measure, but you can certainly feel it within yourself.

#3 Progress is progress….1 lb per week is great for sustainable fat loss

So many people see the adverts on the TV or magazines and think they have to lose 5 lbs per week EVERY WEEK or else they are a failure.

This is simply not the case and I advocate that 1 lb per week is great progress.

Disagree?

Look at it this way.

If you lost 1 lb per week for 28 weeks that would be 2 stone.

6 months may seem like a long time away but if I was to say that in 6 months you could easily get 2 stone off and keep it off, I think you would take it.

Also, what people do not take into account is that when resistance training, it is likely that muscle will be gained.

Muscle is more dense than fat (it is not heavier). This means that you can fit more muscle than fat into a certain volume.

In real terms this means that you can gain muscle AND lose fat without realizing it as the fat may be masking the muscle.

This muscle growth plays havoc with the scales, resulting in no move at all or MAY even go up.

Play the long game… the tape measure and pictures will solve this puzzle better than the scales by the way.

#4 Your body changes daily….understand this

The body is extremely complex. I have said this before.

It changes on a daily basis and will not weight the same each day. After all, you do different things everyday.

You drink different things, you eat different things, you conduct different activities…why should it stay the same?

To that end, don’t expect to see the same numbers.

What I advise is that you weigh yourself in the same condition each time. i.e. first thing in the morning, naked after going to the loo).

• Same time period. Whether this is weekly or bi-weekly. Keep it to the same day each week and the same time of day. You will weigh different at different times of the day so factor that in.
• Weigh yourself in the same clothes….quite simple really.

An example being:

• I weigh myself on a Thursday first thing in the morning at home on my own scales after going to the toilet.
• I then have a hectic morning, have a big lunch and then pop into town.
• It is winter so I have a few layers on.
• I pop into Boots and they have a set of scales there. I decide to jump on.
• I have broken all of the rules above and guess what………I WEIGH MORE!!!
• As a result I give up my healthy eating and go and pig out……my progress is ruin anyway right???

This happens to so many people.

Oh, and just to finish…if you have had a bad day or a bad weekend then the absolutely last thing you need to do is step on the scales.What else do you think it is going to read other than what you don’t want to see.

Remember that bad days will usually lead to an increase in water retention and therefore some excess weight.

Don’t worry though as this weight will shift in a couple of days and you will be back to where you were before.

What I have resorted to with some of our members is to ban the use of scales altogether. Changing mindsets on how to approach fat loss and measure it with things that actually matter, rather than concentrating on the digital scale that actually matters little in the grand context of things.

Think about it for a little while….what do the scales matter to you?

What does fat loss matter to you?

What will it do for you in the long run?

What will it enable you to do?

How will it make you feel to fit into your old clothes?

Or have more energy than before?

Or being able to focus more at work and crush the day?

If these things are improving then what does a digital reading that doesn’t actually give you a true reflection of fat loss actually mean?

Think on it….