More broccoli, less chips?

My 10 top tips for fat loss

It’s that time of year again. Oh yes,  New Year’s resolutions.

Too much turkey? Feeling guilty about all that Christmas cheer/beer? Feeling the need for renewal and refocusing of goals?

It seems everyone is looking at how to shift a few pounds and make themselves feel a little better after the over indulgence of the holidays. And of course around now there’s a plethora of ‘top tips’ floating around the web giving you suggestions for ways to loose fat, but often they’re not much more useful than ‘cut the carbs’. So what counts? Let’s get to the bottom of the top tips.

Here’s the point: focus on WHYs and HOWs, not WHATs

Your health, fitness and body shape is the expression of your behaviours and actions and what they do to your body over the months and years. You have to change WHY you’re doing things, not just WHAT you’re doing otherwise you’ll fail in the end. Many ‘top tips’ don’t recognise this.

So in my years as a nutritionist, what do I think are the 10 ten tips? As I say it’s about actions, behaviours and habits.

Actions

1. Figure out why you’ve been slacking on the health and fitness front.

2. Write down goals and a defined plan and tell people about them.

3. Focus on the kitchen: clear the junk foods out of your house, go food shopping & refill your kitchen with the right foods.

4. Get some Tupperwear for lunches and storing healthy foods.

5. Think HARD about how you will make the changes practical and ensure consistency.

Behaviours

6. Explore your options diet wise at work and in restaurants – stay on plan.

7. Keep exercise fresh and effective. Explore new workouts and read up about performance.

Habits

8. Exercise daily.

9. Don’t skip meals.

10. Not finding excuses, stay on track: look to fill you plate first with fibrous veg and lean protein no matter where you’re eating.

So there you have it. This isn’t of course it, but these are the most important tips. There are some others I’ll throw in that you may find useful…..

Honorable mentions: OTHER TIPS AND TRICKS

Earn your starch

The white stuff on your plate is invariably starch and/or sugar. Generally this is low on vitamins and minerals and high in carbohydrate with little fibre. These foods (pasta, potato etc.) are often touted as health food “They’re low fat!”, but you must EARN these foods with extra activity.

Don’t put off change

Do something now, today. It doesn’t matter if it is buying some healthy food for dinner or going for a run but realise that you have to…

Focus on food

It has been shown again and again that it is your diet that makes the real difference when it comes to taking the fat off your frame and keeping it off.