Our columnist James O’Neil from Feel Good Fitness is on hand with his expert guidance on how to finally achieve your fitness goals.
There are many opinions, ways of getting fit and products and tools that try and always give you that ‘Quick Fix’.
Today I’m going to break down my 4 Steps to get the fitness results you have always wanted.
They are most likely things you already know about, and things that seem pretty simple to you.
But they are what is necessary and required for you to achieve your fitness goals. I’m also going to talk about the main ingredient that people seriously overlook, which is patience.
1) CONSUME LESS THAN YOU BURN. THIS SHOULD BE NO MORE THAN A 25% DEFICIT PER DAY.
The famous saying. Move More, Eat Less. I’m sure the majority know it. But why don’t we all do it? Simple answer because it’s not exciting, it doesn’t get us quick results and it’s hard to sustain.
It is not exciting by any means, not everyone likes to exercise more and people certainly would rather opt for their nice meal deal or quick takeaway rather than a healthy lunch with a side of fruit and water.
And results do not certainly happen overnight. The body or fitness level you have always wanted takes time and a lot of effort. However, this does not need to be an all-out plan.
This can be something you can sustain. I’m going to show you how. With all of our programs that we set for clients, we only recommend a 25% calorie deficit for clients to work towards.
This means that when they first start changing their eating habits, they really are only have to sacrifice a little rather than transform our whole lifestyle in a single decision.
It may only mean that you have to sacrifice a bit of chocolate off the top of your coffee and reduce your cappuccino intake by a few and you are almost there.
It’s going from using full-fat milk to then going to semi-skimmed or even better almond or soya milk. It’s replacing your red meat with a white meat or fish alternative.
It’s these little things that add up. So, you still keep your current routine. You don’t get rid of all your joys; you just pick some healthier alternatives.
All things you already know. But next time you start to reduce your calorie intake make sure that you are not giving everything up.
Start small, and still have foods and drinks that you enjoy. Just make sure that you burn more calories than you consume.
2) START A WEIGHT TRAINING PROGRAM WHICH YOU PERFORM 2-3 DAYS PER WEEK
Weight training is a great tool to promote fat loss and it is also a great tool for helping you to ‘Tone Up’.
Which basically means to add muscle and lose fat. This creates the appearance of a more defined body which has good musculature and a low body fat percentage.
You can’t possibly tone up when you are on the treadmill for hours. This is why we encourage you to start lifting weights in the gym.
It’s also important to have a full-body approach and make sure you are working all areas of the body. I’m afraid you can’t specifically target one area and get rid of fat from that one area. You must work the body fully with great intensity and a Moderate-Heavy load.
That’s why we think 2-3 days would be more than enough time to spend in the gym.
You can work your Push movements one session, pull movements the next session and also get a Leg session in there too.
The reason that I may isolate each session is so you can create more intensity in a certain area. For a beginner or new person in the gym you could get away with working a full-body approach 3 days a week.
Just lower the intensity and load slightly so you can get to the gym again in the next few days without your body feeling so beaten up.
3) DRINK WATER REGULARLY
Water is one of those key ingredients. You are made up of roughly 70% water and it’s such a key thing that you should be included in your diet as much as possible.
The negative effects you get from dehydration, especially on performance is crazy.
But the positive effects you get from staying hydrated and out of this world. You will have better energy; less cravings and water will also help aid fat loss.
When focusing on drinking water I personally think about having a big bottle of water with me wherever I go in the day.
It means I can measure my water intake throughout the day and it puts it in the forefront of my mind because it’s always there with me.
4) EATING 5-8 SERVINGS OF FRUIT & VEG PER DAY
Having a diet rich in fruit and veg us key. It should make up the bulk of your diet and not ensure people are even hitting their 5 a day.
Fruit and veg contain loads of water in the food which aids with getting more water in your diet.
They are also rich in Vitamins and Minerals which is what your body needs to work at its best. It’s also super high in fibre.
They are also naturally low in calories meaning that this will assist your calorie Deficit, but why don’t people do it? Why don’t they eat the 5-8 servings of fruit and veg?
People love quick results; people love the feeling of comfort and hate the feeling of change and difficulty. It’s a natural instinct.
But how can I get you going away today feeling like you have more control of your decisions and consistency with a new plan?
I want you to understand that you need to enjoy life, you need to keep your stress low. When you are stressed or depressed then your ability to think clearly gets truly trashed.
When you need to have a job, you enjoy most of the time, you need to be in a relationship you love rather than hate. You need to fit in time each day to do things you enjoy. I spend 1-2 hours each day fitting in stress-free time.
When you have all the above in check it then comes down to working the steps above. It’s about having a long-term vision rather than having a short-term mindset, it’s about understanding that this process will be hard and it won’t always go the way you want it to go.
But if you preserve and be patient and keep following the steps 80% of the time you will achieve progress.
I hope by reading the above you understand that getting fit and being healthy is more than just about the 4 steps above.
There Is so much of a bigger picture. But you need something to ponder about. I hope I have given you something to think about and some ideas to help you achieve the results that you deserve.
To find out more about James and Feel Good Life UK make sure to head over to his website www.feelgoodlife.uk where they’ll be able to help you create a positive life by changing your outlook on many things, whilst also creating a fitness program that is specific for you and you alone.
James has over three years as a qualified Personal Trainer is always on hand to support people who are looking to change their lifestyle from their current one to a healthier one.