Don't go hungry!

"I have been on a diet since the age of 19, which basically means that I have been hungry for the last 15 years..."  Julia Roberts (Notting Hill).

I am sure that many of you harbour a similar resentment, always conscious of what food is entering your mouth, avoiding snacking like the plague, sweating when presented with oversized meals, counting points like coins in your wallet or purse, or cutting out fats and carbs like a deceitful friend.

But how can you avoid the consistent feeling of hunger in your ongoing weight loss quest?  A few words of advice ... don't let yourself go hungry!

1.  Eat regularly.  It is extremely difficult to maintain a dietary regime whereby you are starving yourself, or constantly cutting out certain food groups.  More than that, it can be downright unhealthy and even dangerous to your mental and physical health.  It is more important, and more likely to help you lose weight, if you eat regularly to quell those feelings of hunger.  Your normal 2-3 large meals per day should be replaced with 5-6 smaller meals, as this will assist in maintaining your basal metabolic rate a higher level ... and in turn burn more calories throughout the day.
2.  Eat sensibly.  Easier said than done, which is why it becomes equally important to plan your meals and snacks in advance.  Do not go shopping when you are hungry, or decide as you go what is good for you as this will lead to binging on certain foods that should probably only be a rarity as a reward.  Eating sensibly, what does that mean?  Not eating when you are already full, not eating a heavy meal just before bed, having a substantial breakfast to get your body going in the morning and provide energy for the day, cutting excess fat off meat, not using oils, cutting back on margarines, cheeses, chocolates and the like.  Avoiding fast food on most occasions, or going for health fast food options, and limiting alcohol intake as hung over days lead to excessive binging!  These are all examples of sensible eating strategies to avoid weight gain and assist in weight loss.  For further ideas on how to analyse areas to improve your weight loss complete the free weight screening process at WeightCoach
3. Exercise.  It has been said before and will be said again.  Exercise combined with sensible eating is the BEST way to lose weight and lone up your body.  It also allows you to eat more of the foods that you enjoy.  Not only will you feel more refreshed, rejuvenated and healthy during the day, you will be burning additional calories all day.  Remember, exercise, when done correctly has been proven to work.  With many types of diets the evidence is conflicting to say the least.  You are far more likely to stick to a weight loss programme that includes exercise as opposed to starving yourself consistently.  Yes, exercise is difficult, particularly for the first 6 weeks, but if you can stick to 3-4 30 minute sessions for that period you will notice great improvements and it just keeps getting easier.
4.  Carbs are NOT your enemy.  Many diets these days treat carbs as your mortal enemy.  Reduce them or in some extreme cases avoid them at all costs.  Do not believe the Hollywood hype.  Carbohydrates are very important, they supply the fuel for your muscles and brain, decreasing the intake of carbs is compromising your ability to exercise, and think!  The key is taking the right type of carbohydrates.  Yes, excessive carbohydrates not 'burned off' during exercise and daily activity can eventually turn into fat.  However, so can excessive Protein and excessive Fat intake!  If you take on more energy (via food) than you expend (via exercise and daily activity) you will gain weight ... no matter whether you avoid carbs!

As summer is here and it is almost time to hit the beaches again, plan your weight loss regime with the above tips in mind, and good luck with achieving your goals.  Click here if you wish to search for a gym to train at to achieve your weight loss targets.  Click here to visit one of our profiled gyms.

Train to Perform

Why do we go to the gym every week?  Sometimes it is difficult to remember why we drag our ageing body out of bed early every morning and traipse to the gym to hang out with other sweaty ageing bodies! 

Yes, we do it to stay in shape, lose the beer belly, to keep fit.  But is that enough?  It can be easy to forget these reasons at 6:30am on a Monday morning as this is just a contributing factor to our current lifestyle.

Q.  How do we stay inspired and enthusiastic about our training week in and week out.
A.  Enter and train for an event.

Whether it is a half marathon, triathlon, bike the bays, or even just a walking event, this gives you a great focus with your training... a goal... something that you aim to achieve.  It will assist you in your motivation and adherence to exercise no end.  Perhaps you may even convince a few friends to join you in your quest and gather a training group together to extend each other into reaching your full potential.

How do you go about entering an event?
1.  Decide the type of event that you may wish to attend.
2.  Search online, in sports magazines or in sports shops for details on the appropriate events that are available to you.  Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to prepare for the event. 
3.  Enter the event!
4.  Modify your training as required to achieve your competition goal.  A good idea is to talk to a personal trainer regarding reorganising your schedule to enable you to complete your chosen event.  Click here to search for a personal trainer in your area.
5.  Get training and good luck.