2017 has snuck up quicker than it took us to smash a whole pavlova on Christmas day. With it comes the standard wave of ‘New year, new you’ advice from every single fitness fiend in the land. So let’s take a minute to sort the wheat from the chaff.

In my experience, what works for one person may be a complete nuisance for another. Think intermittent fasting for a stay at home parent; try telling your kids that they can’t eat until midday..no chance. How about counting calories as busy city executive; requesting the calorie content at a restaurant in front clients/colleagues is just not practicle. Both techniques can work very well for fat loss but are hardly suitable to those lifestyles.

With that in mind, it’s pretty important to keep and open mind when reading the latest fitness advice in newspapers, magazines, or even watching really handsome gym owners on Sky news 😉

Instead, use your new found motivation to experiment with a few techniques to see which ones best fit your lifestyle. To get you on the right track, i’ve asked some of my team mates to give you their best fat loss tips to help give you some New Year inspiration!

  1. Practice portion control. George Cooper

If you think you’re eating healthily or “clean” but you still can’t lose weight then it could be down to portion control.

Without knowing roughly how many calories you eat it’s very difficult to blame anything else.

Too much of anything will make you put on weight, or at least hinder your weight loss. Oranges can make you fat as much as sausage rolls can. It just depends how many you eat (although you would have to buy a lot of oranges).

My tip would be to track your intake for a couple of “typical” days using a calorie counter app. This will give you an idea as to how much you are REALLY consuming. If it’s too much (which is very likely) then you know what to do. Put the sausage rolls down.

 

  1. Cook from scratch, and cut back on Sugar. Lucy Curtis

With our busy lives, it’s so easy to grab a takeaway, packaged food or a can of something naughty. Next time you do that, have a look at the ingredients; I bet you’ve never heard of half of them.

What’s more worrying is the amount of sugar that is added to all these ‘convenient’ foods to keep them on the shelves longer.

Eating too much sugar can lead to weight gain, lethargy, bad skin, diabetes and even heart disease. It is also a pretty difficult cycle to break as you will constantly be reaching for the biscuits when your energy levels plummet.

Make 4 simple changes

-Make the bulk of your meals up from fresh vegetables and salads, with lean proteins, nuts and fruit

-Pre plan your weekly meals. It may take a little extra time on a Sunday but will save hours throughout the week

– Invest in a slow cooker, this will save loads of cooking time

-Start supporting your local butchers (you will get better quality meat)

Not only could you lose a few pounds you’ll have tons more time and energy on your hands!

  1. Start with exercise, then stagger your Carb intake. Elly Rees

Kick off the metabolism first thing in the morning with a hard, fast run for about 15-20 minutes before eating or drinking anything. Once finished have a small quantity of equal carbohydrates and protein within 30 minutes of completing the exercise. Slowly decrease carbohydrates and portion sizes through out the day with the final meal becoming the smallest. Try not to overeat fruit as a go to snack throughout the day and use “water foods” such as cucumber, watermelon and celery as alternatives.

  1. Be Cautious of ‘Rewarding’ yourself. Carla Joseph

Do not follow the unwritten rule of rewarding yourself for exercising ‘I can have that chocolate now because I worked hard in the gym’.Yes you can have the occasional treat, but not on the constant as it’s an easy habit to fall into – This is a common reason we see people maintain or even gain weight rather than losing it.

  1. Increase your NEAT. James Allen

Increase your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) – basically move more sit less. NEAT I.e. Movements like walking throughout the day actually account to a higher proportion of your daily calorie expenditure then other factors so get up and move.

  1. Learn to love yourself. Tilly Kyle

Comparisons are harmful and damaging for self esteem and confidence. Each person has a different body shape, so make the most of the shape you have by listening to your trainer and finding a routine (both diet and exercise) that suits your lifestyle and helps you achieve your goals. These goals must be realistic and balance is key. Listen to your body, You shouldn’t have to sacrifice everything you love to maintain a body that you are happy with.

  1. Change one thing. Bex Francis

Change 1 thing at a time in your lifestyle, carry this out until it is habit and then change another. Do not try and change too much at once otherwise it will not be sustainable. You may get fast results but you will also get mood swings and cravings, and likely slip back into bad habits! For example; If you don’t use the stairs at work try using them once a day, when this becomes habit use them twice per day etc. Making a small change can yield significant results.

  1. Maintain muscle mass. Jas Sandhu

When we say ‘lose weight’ we usually mean ‘lose bodyfat’. If u lose too much muscle you will create a situation were your basal metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories at rest) will lower, making it hard to keep the weight off when u go back to eating in a more relaxed manner. To stop muscle loss, do some resistance training (lift heavy stuff) and eat enough protein. Maintaining muscle weight may slow overall ‘weight loss’, consider actually using measurements of problem areas over solely weight loss to measure your progress.

  1. Take accountability out of the equation. Graham Ferris

Avoid the stress of having to come up with a diet plan and exercise regime. Invest in your health and reap the rewards.

A trainer can do a lot of the hard work for you. Tailoring it to the individual and making it varied and exciting. You just have to turn up and “do”.

Alternatively, ask a friend for help. Have “confession time” when you’ve eaten something terrible. Train with them on a regular basis and start to enjoy exercise for all it’s worth. If you don’t turn up to a session, your friend will be let down. If you slip up on your diet…. your friend will be winning the race!!

  1. Set yourself realistic goals. Becca Collingwood

It’s no good telling yourself that in six months time you need to drop at least six dress sizes ready for your summer holiday. It won’t seem achievable, and it is so de-motivating. It’s ok to have a ‘long term’ goal but if you’re only focusing on the finish line it’s going to feel like an uphill battle trying to get there. It’s important to set realistic short term goals for around six weeks at a time, and at the end of the six weeks review it and set yourself a new target. You may smash those goals, it’ll keep you motivated, raise your self esteem and keep you on track. This way you may just find yourself reaching that long term goal quicker than you originally anticipated.

  1. Start the day with some activity. Jimmy Sykes

The the most effective option would be to try some HIIT/Tabata first thing to kick start your metabolism. Pick 4 exercises (squats, lunges, press ups, hill climbers). Exercise for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds then move on the the next. Repeat this 2-3 times. It will only take 4-6 minutes, the same amount of time you may snooze for between alarms. This will also lead to what’s know as ‘calorie afterburn’ – burning calories at a higher rate post-workout.

Alternatively if your not feeling too energetic, try 15-20 minutes of Yoga, or if it’s a nice morning, get your trainers on and go for a brisk walk before breakfast to get that machine of yours working, get some fresh air, and feel like your getting a head start on the world

  1. Make space for your favorite food/drink in your diet. Sam Austin

The best diet is one that you can adhere to. If it’s not sustainable and you can’t stick to it, it’s pointless. Make room in your daily caloric intake for your favorite foods so that you don’t feel too restricted, and keep those cravings at bay. Going cold turkey on all your favorite food straight away is a sure fire way to fail in your endeavors to maintain a healthy weight loss.

  1. Enjoy the journey. Dan Phoenix

Make sure your doing it for the right reasons, in the end your trying to better YOURSELF, not to please others. You will have hard times, but surround yourself with positive and supportive people who will get you through.

I guarantee you will plateau along the way, don’t take it as a step back, talk to the trainers and other clients and I’m sure you will get back up and running in no time.

Remember no one is perfect- if you have a few drinks/ meals out here and there don’t punish yourself, more than likely your body needs it as well as your mind

  1. Avoid Yo-Yo dieting. Jack Wellard

People who regularly go on diets tend to lose weight initially, but gain weight as soon as they stop dieting. This is called yo-yo dieting. Yo-yo dieting is associated with rapid changes in your metabolism and its one of the primary reasons why fad diets don’t work. The best approach if you really want to lose weight long term is to avoid crash diets that you have come across on the internet. Take look at your lifestyle and see where you could be going wrong;

  1. Are you grabbing meal deals or snacks from your local shop? If so, prepare your lunches and dinners the night before.
  2. Are you exercising enough or at all? If you can manage to do 30 minutes of exercise 3 days a week it’s a start will significantly aid your fat loss.
  3. Is your protein intake high enough? Having protein with every meal will keep you feeling fuller for a longer period of time which will lead to you not snacking.
  4. Do you count your calories? Counting calories can be a chore but it will help you with fat loss, if you don’t have time to count calories each day try completing a 7 day food journal, this will allow you to get a better understanding of your eat habits.

 

  1. Figure out how much  you want it? Chris Wharton

We all go through stages in our lives where we are unhappy with our figure. In order to make a really significant change you have to REALLY want it, otherwise it’s all to easy to find dog shit excuses like; I haven’t got time, i’m too old, it’s too expensive.

The science of fat loss is actually relatively simple (aside from some gut health and metabolism variations),for most it’s just a case of burning more calories than you consume. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. In fact, it can be pretty damn hard for some. A lack of time, sedentary job, slow metabolism, complex relationship with food, past injuries or illness can all turn this ‘realtively simple’ task into a mammoth one. YOU HAVE TO REALLY WANT IT.

Focus on taking each day at a time. Ask yourself ‘what can I do today to make sure I finish with a calorie deficit’. Each week you complete successfully, reward yourself with a cheat meal or glass of wine. Compound a string of successful weeks together and you will be shocked at how much you can achieve.

Oh and drink more water. It helps with nearly every process in your body- 99% of you probably don’t drink enough.

  1. Find a nutrition plan that fits your lifestyle. Chris Watkinson

There is no magic diet for fat loss, the only diet that is ever going to work is the one where you are in a calorie deficit and one that you can maintain over a set period of time. This is why it’s so important to find something you can stick to. The optimal diet for you is one that fits your lifestyle.

  1. Avoid ‘abnormal’ nutrition plans. Joe Birch

Don’t choose a nutrition plan that feels “abnormal”. Fad diets tend not to work because after a period of initial weight loss people go back to eating how they would “normally”.

However, that normal eating is what caused them to gain weight in the first place.

Instead monitor your calories and weigh in regularly to ensure you’re in a moderate calorie deficit without going hungry, but still seeing gradual weight loss. Keep in normal meals and treat foods occasionally but fit them into a calorie target.

Simply taking out whole food groups or having days when you don’t eat at all like fad diets often recommend won’t result in sustainable weight loss for most people.

  1. Pre-Plan everything. Jason Crow

A little bit of pre planning goes a long way.  Work out what you are going to eat in advance, buy the food in and pre-prepare as much of it as possible.  Decide how long you going to train for before assessing your progress and get your workouts pre booked in your diary for the whole period of your training.  Now tell as many people as possible what you are looking to achieve or to be even more accountable book your sessions in with your trainer or a reliable training partner.

Rely on habits NOT willpower. James Kenny

Lets take the average client who’s goal it is to lose fat. Typically, they tend to have the desire to lose anywhere between 7-28lbs of body fat. To achieve this, according to the laws of physics, this person will HAVE TO be eating less calories than they are burning consistently, for a prolonged period of time; 4-16 weeks depending on the severeness of the diet.

With that said, willpower and motivation ARE finite. Yes some people have more at certain periods in their lives than others, but everyone is mortal and everyone’s will power will dwindle and fade at various points during the 4-16 weeks described above. It can be during these moments that some of the valiant efforts people go to when they are super-motivated are damaged.

Thus, its essential not to rely on being able to cold turkey a 16 week diet. Instead creating good, sustainable HABITS that people can persist with at times when motivation is just not there is essential (think brushing your teeth; you don’t have to be motivated and it doesn’t require will power to do – you do it regardless = a healthy habit). The fat-loss tips in this blog are all examples of fat-loss oriented habits, and its habits not willpower, that will see you through to your fat-loss finish line.

  1. Always looks to make sensible food swaps. Darren Holness

One easy yet very effective weight loss tip is to make good food swaps. I’m not talking chips for parsnips, I mean be aware of low fat / low calorie alternatives to your favourite foods. Here are 3 of my favorite swaps;

  1. 20% fat mince 253 calories per 100 grams- 5% fat mince 134 calories per 100 grams
  1. Ben & Jerrys full fat ice cream 228 per 100ml- Low fat ice cream 75 calories per 100ml

(oppo salted caramel is a personal favourite)

  1. Cumberland pork sausages 170 calories each- Hecks chicken sausages 36 Kcal
  1. Give yourself a chance. Alice Davidson-Richards

Everyone makes mistakes or has an off day. Whether it is missing a workout or eating and drinking a lot more than you ought to, do not beat yourself up about this little blip. Rather than focusing on the past, accept it and focus on what you can do in the future to be awesome. It is what happens over a period of time that makes the difference (Consistency is your best friend!). Don’t beat yourself up if you slip up, give yourself a chance.

22. Be mindful at mealtimes. Luke Greenslade

Using smaller plates at meal times are a guaranteed way to reduce portion size. Leaving smartphones and screens off the dinner table will also help with digestion. When distracted we tend to eat bigger mouthfuls, chew less and eat more overall. A glass of water before your meals also does wonders for supressing your appetite.

 

So there you have it 22 fat loss tips from 22 personal trainers. If you need any help with any of these you know where to find us.

CW