Fitness Goals

As the gyms start to re-open, a lot of us will be out of shape facing the same age-old challenge of getting our fitness back to what it was or taking that extra step to improve. So here I am to share some tips on how I've been able to lose weight, keep it off and maintain a Physique that not only keeps me at a healthy weight but gives me the confidence I need to take on the daily struggles of everyday life.

The first aspect I would like to address is the Diet. The diet is honestly the biggest component of your fitness journey. Frankly speaking, if you worked out three times a week and ate healthy for most of it you would still make just as much progress as someone who practically sleeps at the gym. So what diet works best? This depends on you and the type of foods you like to eat. Theirs this misconception that salads and extremely restrictive diet fads are the way to eat if you're attempting to lose weight. This is completely wrong! These make you even worse off. They deplete energy and do not fuel the body the way it supposes too. I am not a nutritionist. I can only preach on what worked best for me. Everyone is different. Fact! so what do I recommend? Firstly, I would suggest identifying what your goal is. For instance, let's say weight loss is the goal. You would need to identify your starting weight and then the weight you want to get too. Then find out what your body burns naturally, this can easily be done online with a calculator whereby you simply enter personal details such: height, age, weight, gender etc. This will help identify how much of a caloric deficit (shortage in the number of calories consumed relative to the number of calories required for maintenance of current body weight.) you should be in. For example, My body naturally burns 2,500 calories, so if my goal was to lose weight then I would simply have to consume less than 2500 calories per day. After you have identified all of these factors the next question is what do I put in my body? remember the food you consume is extremely important. If you can only consume 2000 calories per day (using me as an example) consuming a lot of snacks that are high in calories will not fuel the body sufficiently and will almost certainly cause you to over consumer pass that 2000 calorie mark. I would suggest you research this area to better suit you. Some tips from me, I suggest drinking water instead of fizzy drinks or juice. As water contains zero calories. This will make it easier to stay within that calorie mark. I also suggest eating lots of fruits and vegetables; not only do fruits taste amazing, but they are also low in calories, contain lots of vitamins and antioxidants, are extremely filling with their high fibre content. This makes the food that your able to over consumer and still stay within your calorie mark. best way to adapt them into your everyday life is too replace them with your usual snacks of chocolates and sweets (if that's what you're prone to eating daily, the time has come to switch it up!) Vegetables are useful with meals. Again, they contain lots of vitamins and fibre that will help you stay fuller for longer and prevent those midnight rummages through the fridge. (remember just because its gone past midnight doesn't mean its okay to stuff your face!). These are my basic recommendations of things you should look into adding into your meals and snacks. I would suggest doing some more research on a more personalised meal plan for yourself that includes these foods groups protein of course but taking into account stuff that you don't mind eating. (remember when I explained this I was going off the example of someone who's intention is to lose weight, please do more research as this is only touching on the subject.)

The second aspect, I would love to discuss is consistency. A lot of people start and don't see their fitness journey through for several reasons. losing weight isn’t easy, keeping it off is even harder. It’s s a full-time commitment and not something you do on the side. Take it just as seriously as you take other aspects of life. Health is wealth and remembers If it were easy everyone would be doing it. Consistency along with a healthy diet and you're well on your way to achieving your fitness and health goals. How to build consistency over time - At the start of my journey, I found myself constantly slipping back towards my old habits and repeatedly shaming myself for such behaviour. Which is perfectly normal. I realised, however, my goals were not realistic enough. I was trying to lose weight too quickly it just wasn't possible. So I gave myself a 3-month time frame, I know what your thinking “3 months! I’ll never get that summer body now”. Well yes, you won't and that's okay. To build consistency you have to think long term and be realistic. I started to plan and take every day as it came. This included what I wanted to eat and how many times a week I could exercise. I even started to give myself days where I could indulge and still reach that target, which did wonders for my mental health. The journey became fun and exciting as the pounds started to shed away from my body. My suggestion, start off slow, look towards your first three months and see what foods you can and can’t cut out, then find simple ways to integrate them throughout your week. Then slowly weave them out one by one and before you know it, you won’t even crave those foods anymore. Make your fitness journey fun! Stop fixating on that burger you had for lunch from Mac Donald's you haven’t ruined anything, a small setback only lets you reaffirm the gruelling journey ahead. Take it by the chin and move on. Simply adjust what you eat for the rest of the day to match your caloric intake goals and your back on your way. At first, to build consistency, you have to be obsessive after a while it just simply becomes a way of life. Keep in mind, Once you get into the habit, I can almost assure you, you won't regret it one bit.

Finally, I would like to talk to you about the one everyone dreads, the gym! yes, you knew it was coming it wouldn’t t be a fitness post without it. But yes the gym is just as important as the other aspects mentioned in this post. I would say find what’s best for you and do it, whether that's a sport, yoga or some weight training. Whatever you like do it. Just do it. I would recommend an hour a day of intense training and that’s all you need. With this, I would say anywhere from 3-5 times a week depending on your schedule. let's talk about weight training and the gym. A lot of people think if they want to lose weight they need to do tons of cardio only, this is far from the truth. A combination of both cardio and weight training is needed to form the best exercise regime. I won't go into depth on the different types of exercises etc. what I would say, however, is that to achieve a more toned physique weight training is needed, I know a lot of women that avoid weight training simply because they do not want to look too muscular, which I understand. However, by lifting weights it doesn't mean you would become muscular it would tone your body to a more desirable physique. Why are a combination of cardio and weight training the best form of training? because for example if you consume a chocolate bar that is 200 calories it would take almost 20 minutes of running and about 25 of cycling ( don't quote me on the times) to burn that chocolate bar, which is a complete waste of time right? post weight training metabolism increases up to 48 hours. Burning more calories after your workout so a combination of the two is your best chance of shedding those pounds. Remember, no matter how much calories you burn in the gym, a combination of reduced caloric intake is your best chance of achieving your fitness journey. (if your fitness journey is weight gain/muscle gain, its a completely different story).

Hope this helped you out with your journey, please give me some feedback and let me know if you would like to know more, I could break down other fitness goals such as increasing muscle mass etc. Thank you for reading!!