1. Drink a glass of water before every meal. It may seem like a chore, but drinking a large glass of water before eating is a great way to partially fill you up and prevent you from overeating (if that is a problem for you), and it’s a great simple way to ensure you are getting in your ‘quota’ of water every day if you find you sometimes forget.
2. Cut down on the alcohol if fat loss is a goal, apart from being high in calories, alcohol will actually be metabolised preferentially by your body before it burns off food. Your body will not want to lose body fat or burn up the food you eat if there is alcohol in your system. So the food you do eat, guess where that ends up?
3. Don’t avoid fat! (healthy fats) Most people assume that fat will make them fat, this is wrong! Your body needs fat to be healthy, it is vital in hormone production, in the absorption of vitamins and can help stabilize your blood sugar. In fact if you’re not getting any fat in your diet, your body will think it’s deprived and slow down fat loss!
4. It’s important to constantly vary your workouts so you’re not always doing the exact same thing from session to session. Your body will adapt to the exact same stimulus placed upon it every time you exercise, and will therefore have no ‘need’ to improve or change. Weight training workouts can be varied with different exercises, rep ranges, amount of weight used, rest break length, sets performed etc.
5. Your body needs a variety of nutrients to function at its peak and burn fat. Find new, healthy alternatives to your daily meals, and substitute them frequently so you are getting a whole spectrum of different nutrients on a regular basis.
6. Keep fish oil tablets and a multivitamin next to your toothbrush, then you’re guaranteed to take a few at least once or twice per day (I hope…)
7. The single most effective method for getting results is TAKING ACTION, you don’t have to wait till everything is perfect in your life, or you have the perfect diet, or perfect training program, or when you have ‘time’. TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW on everything you KNOW you can change to help your goals, you can improve and tweak the rest along the way, just get the ball rolling with whatever you can change now.
8. Cook with coconut oil, it’s the healthiest oil to cook with due to its high smoke point, it also contains a very healthy nutrient called Lauric acid which is a key ingredient in mothers milk. There is a story about a cattle farmer who fed his cows cheap coconut oil in an attempt to fatten them up – the cows instead got leaner, healthier and became more active!
9. Choose one day a week to cook a whole lot of veggies and lean meats, like Sunday for example. Place cooked meat & veg in plastic lunch bags and place them in your freezer, then every night before bed take out a couple of meals for the next day to thaw out – ready to take in the morning! Now you’re never stuck for a healthy meal option.
10. Write your fitness or weight loss goals down on a piece of paper and place it somewhere you will see it everyday. This will keep your goals fresh in your consciousness (and subconscious) so you will remember to TAKE ACTION every day to achieve them. It might sound a bit silly, but most of the top performers in the world (in any endeavour) do this, to keep their mindset and focus in check, probably not a coincidence…
11. Natural peanut butter (and other nut butters for that matter) blended with chocolate or cacao based protein shakes tastes awesome, and is a great way to add some healthy fats to your diet. Just make sure its the ‘natural’ stuff, and not the highly processed brand name ones you typically see in the supermarket.
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