For those looking to burn a few pound of fat, lose the tyre, shrink the ‘moobs’ or tighten the thighs then exercise and diet are a marriage made in heaven writes Personal Trainer in Dublin, John Lark one cannot exist without the other.
You leave work, gym bag in hand and pop down to the local gym to get in your workout. You train hard, shower up and leave feeling invigorated and refreshed. You have accomplished what others haven’t. You feel satisfied and a little bit smug with yourself.
You know you should eat right but then suddenly you get home. Dinner becomes a second thought. TV – comfy cup of tea, maybe a biscuit – because you ‘earned it’. Come 8.30 you know that knocking up a meal is going to take another hour. So what do you do?
The Power of Food Journals
Having looked at food journals for the best part of 10 years now, the most common routes are Baked Beans on Toast, a Sandwich with deli ham, bowl of soup followed two hours later by a bowl of cereal (because of the hunger pangs), maybe a boiled egg and toast or even some leftovers.
Worse case scenario – not eating at all.
Fitness plans and ‘look great naked’ programmes are exercise AND diet. Exercise will set you up nicely to burn fat (depending on what type, intensity and duration of exercise). Diet will keep the fat furnace burning. Skipping meals, avoiding vegetables, fruits and lean meats, fish and eggs will slowly let that flame burn out.
One over-riding reason why sticking to a healthy eating plan is made ‘hard work’ is lack of preparation skills. Here are a few preparation skills that will have you sticking to healthy eating no matter what your circumstances.
Sunday the Power Day
Make Sunday your ‘to do’ day. Getting in the habit of making this your plan and prepare day will save you hours during the week. Make a shopping list. Take it with you to the shops. Ensure that the majority of your trolley is full of vegetables, meats, fish, some diary, fruits and some provisions such as legumes. Most of this can be found on the outer ring of the supermarket.
Make your home a safe haven for eating good healthy and nutritious food choices. If you have a home filled with poor food choices then despite your protestations you WILL eventually eat them. Make your home safe, secure and free from temptation.
Useful Tips
Once you have finished your shopping spend 15 minutes chopping vegetables and fruits and placing them in zip-lock bags or Tupperware containers. 15 minutes will save you hours when you come home from work and don’t feel like cooking.
Bulks cook your meats. Cook a Sunday roast and in the meantime throw on a few chicken fillets and small steaks. Keep these handy in the fridge when you want to add a bit of protein to your salads or grilled veggies.
Learn how to make a good omelette. This is a superb meal in minute. Other great choices include stir-fries, casseroles and protein based salads
Have a couple of the ready-washed bags of salads in the fridge
Invest in a cooler bag to ensure that when out and about you can snack on healthy choices.
Most of us rely on the carbohydrate loaded deli offerings to fix our hunger pangs. Try a salad box stuffed with chicken or other meats and fish. A boiled egg or two thrown in one of those bags of ready-washed bags of salad will be a better and more fulfilling choice than the ones above.
Make sure your kitchen is well equipped for healthy eating. Essential items include a small blender, good cookware, a desktop grill and containers for storing the food.
Preparing food is a habit. Much like exercise. Allow yourself time to adopt such a habit. Allow yourself 21 days of ‘consistent persistence’ to forge this habit. Try the Sunday ritual to start with.
Like any programme geared towards achieving results in health and fitness having practical strategies in place is crucial to success. Hopefully this will light the path a little.
John Lark is a personal trainer in dublin
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