It’s Not a Diet, It’s a Way of Living
Anna Langridge of Wellbody Health and Fitness fishes the facts out of the sea of health-boosting fiction to help you sail into fitness.
There are so many ‘ways to lose weight’ advertised on social and print media, but how do you separate the myths from the facts? Anna, a Master Personal Trainer and Nutrition Consultant from Wellbody Health & Fitness simplifies what to do to get that long term result rather than a quick fix.
“Eating healthily is a great start to help you to lose weight but it doesn’t guarantee it. Any weight-loss plan that includes regular exercise is not only more successful, it’s also healthier. By eating healthily and exercising, you’re keeping your bones, muscles, and heart strong and decreasing your risk of developing some diseases eg: diabetes .
As soon as you mention the word ‘diet’ a high percentage of participants will fail at this point. Rather than looking for quick fixes in your health and lifestyle, try changing things for the long term.
So how do I do this? Here are 10 questions to ask yourself:
- Be honest with yourself – do you eat healthily and exercise enough? You should be doing 3-4 sessions of 20 minutes or more a week.
- Have you tried weight loss supplements but as soon as you’ve stopped them the pounds have piled on? Keep your eating changes simple. Try and change your cooking processes by grilling rather than frying. Swap refined sugars for natural sugars for example; fresh fruits and vegetables
- Do you eat too much at meal times and snack on high sugar and high fat foods throughout the day? Eat less, move more. It’s really that simple!
- Are you hungry when you eat or do you eat for the sake of it? Most people consume more calories than they can burn off. Be mindful of what you eat and when and check with yourself that you really do need that extra snack versus just eating for habit. Are you thinking you’re hungry when you’re actually thirsty? If you’re feeling tired and sluggish drink a large glass of water and wait 15 minutes before you eat anything. Then check to see if you still feel hungry.
- Does your heart rate elevate when exercising? This is essential for your cardiovascular and long term heart health.
- Do you consume the required amounts of food groups each day? Eat all healthy food groups – carbs, fats and proteins but make sure your carbs are low, protein is high and the fats are healthy fats. Then fill your plate with a colourful array of vegetables.
- Is fast food always fattening? No, there is healthy fast food out there, snack on a banana, apple with 100% nut butter, raw vegetables with home made dips. The key to success is being organised and planning what you’re going to eat and stick to it!
- Are thin people healthy and larger people unhealthy? No not always, they can both be metabolically unhealthy and feel tired and sluggish.
- Do I have to do HIIT training to be successful? HIIT training is high intensity interval training and it’s not for everyone. If it’s not for you, find a few different types of exercise that you enjoy and then you’ll stick to it. People who work out in groups or with friends tend to have a higher success rate as you then accountable. You do have to elevate your heart rate though!
- I don’t have any willpower. Everyone has it, you just have to WANT to find it.
Most of us can relate to one or all of the above in some way. Don’t panic though as there are lots of tools out there to help you make small positive changes to our health.”
Anna has invented ‘The Big Shred’ to create a simple, affordable way for people of any age to change the shape of their body, improve their overall health and steer away from diets. The whole ethos of this programme is to analyse what you’re eating, when and why and how to make small changes to improve your physicality. Get rid of the bad and find a new good that makes you happy, energised and healthy. It’s not a diet, it’s a way of living.
You can sign up to The Big Shred at www.wellbodyfitness.co.uk/thebigshred
