The No Diet Health Tips
The Diet season has landed in full force this week. Between the TV shows, adverts, magazines, and newspapers you could be forgiven for forgetting that a lot of these companies were pushing their high fat, high sugar indulgence based products last month. But it’s January now and somehow there all too keen to guide and shape your health and weight loss in 2017.
We all know the truth of the matter is that most of them are trying to sell you their products, whether it be shakes, training kit, diet food or exercise DVD’s. Before you fall foul and suffer another frustrating New Year Resolution failure and empty pocket consider the following.
Fundamentally FIT spent the whole of 2016, January – December helping our customer’s transform their lives through our nutrition and exercise coaching. We provided quality free to access content to all of our loyal followers on our blog and website, Facebook and more recently our Instagram page. We also offer a free to download fitness report on our website and offer free Skype and face to face consultations.
So when you’re thinking about where you take you advice from, whether it be health, fitness or diet ask yourself what have they done for the last 365 days to help you? If they were selling you over indulgent high-calorie foods in December then why trust them to help you lose weight safely and smartly in January.
If you want to get started the smart way this January follow my three No Diet Health Tips for real results FREE of charge.
1. Portion Control Made Simple.
The single biggest thing I see clients get wrong and struggle with time and time again is portion control. This is not always a client’s fault entirely as our portions as a nation keep growing. Some of this is down to food manufacturers, and especially restaurants and takeaways. I’ve lost count of the fast food and restaurant meals I’ve seen that total more than a full day’s calorie requirement.
The responsibility for controlling your portions, however, does lie with you. Whether you the one who cooks or not, whether your dining in or out if you’re eating it you are in control.
Firstly it’s time to cut out second portions. Check the recipe size, most home recipes are made for four people and it is not uncommon to see people eat this between two. These extra meals could be frozen for later saving time, money and your waist line.
Secondly, downsize your plate. Plates have grown in size dramatically in recent years, almost as fast as the national waist line. Plates are not all one size and the temptation is always to fill it up. If you have an oversized dinner plate you will not think you have a proper meal if it looks visually half empty. We eat with our eyes as this prepares the stomach juices for the food we are about to digest. Down size your plate to a tea plate if need be but tackle those portions sizes to cut your waistline. Remember just because the plate is smaller doesn’t mean you get seconds, or to pile it up higher.
2. Drink more Water
Yep, you have heard this one before but do you actually do it? This is the one thing we could all do overnight to dramatically improve our health. I pester client’s repeatedly to improve this one simple thing.
So why is it so important?
The body is nearly two-thirds water and it takes just a loss of 1.5% to become dehydrated. Water is essential for so much of how the body functions we simply cannot survive without it. In daily terms, we need it for things like digestion, heat regulation, and within cells.
Dehydration leads to tight muscles and increased risk of injury, whether that be sporting or back pain from Woking too long at the desk. Dehydration also leads to headaches and loss of concentration and affects mood. So being hydrated will make you feel more alert, help you get more from your exercise while remaining injury free as well as its links to increased metabolism and reduction on overeating at meal times. The signal for thirst can also be mistaken for hunger, leading people to consume more calories when they are in actual fact thirsty.
How Much?
1.6L for Women & 2L for Men. These are general recommendations and will vary depending on humidity, activity level, and your personal fluid loss (sweat).
Bottoms Drinking!
Get Tracking
Finally one of the easiest and quickest ways you can address your diet even without any help is to start tracking. In the simplest form, you can use a note pad or diary. If you want to get more technical Apps like Myfitness pal are a great resource to make this quicker.
Either way start writing down EVERYTHING you eat and drink, including alcohol, sweets, and the bad things. The saying goes that ignorance is bliss and it’s very true when it comes to diet. The act of writing your food and drink down will open your eyes to what your eating habits are really like. Those extra biscuits and sneaky hot chocolates really do add up. When you have completed three to five days recording sit down and read through the results. Next take a red pen and underline all of the things that you think are bad or need to be addressed. This then gives you a personalized starting point to address your own diet.
As you progress I recommend speaking with a coach who can educate you and expand your nutritional knowledge along your journey, feel free to grab a free consultation with Fundamentally FIT.
The most important thing with food tracking is it lifts the lid in your eating habits and lets you self-evaluate.For example, is that treat takeaway actually a regular feature in your diet and not a treat at all? You can choose to track calories and additional information if you wish, however, to get you started and to help your initial weight loss, simply write everything down, be honest and change what you know needs to be changed.
Summary
Fundamentally FIT is always more than happy to help you achieve your health and fitness goals, but not just because it’s January, because it’s what we do, full stop.
Try out these three tips and I guarantee you will lose weight, feel better and start your 2017 much smarter and happier than all those people wasting their money on “products”. Health and fitness can only be achieved by the individual.
Good Luck & Happy New Year
