When making dietary changes for health and wellness, as well as weight loss, preparation is so important. I cook more than I will eat in one evening so that I have lots of leftovers for lunch the next day. Weekends are a great opportunity to meal prep for the week ahead, and I also batch cook. My tip is to plan the meals for the week ahead, batch cook on a Sunday, freeze what you can and get really organised, so that you are never reaching for a quick food fix. Soups and stews are ideal for lunches; make sure to pack them with veggies and lentils to feel more satisfied and full.
A key aspect of any change in your diet is to be sure you’re not lacking in any vital vitamins and minerals. Calcium can be found in things such as kale and chickpeas, protein can be found in peas, nuts, lentils and quinoa, and you can get sufficient amounts of iron through lentils, chickpeas and, of course, spinach also.
A huge barrier people often find when changing how they eat is the myth that healthy recipes need expensive ingredients. Yes, eating healthy could be expensive if you’re constantly buying the superfood of the month, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you stock up on the crucial ingredients in your cupboard they will last you a long time, the only things you need to buy fresh is fruit and veg. Don’t worry about having to hunt certain healthy foods down, use whatever fresh stuff you can get hold of.
You Can’t Out-Train A Bad Diet
Exercise alone is rarely a successful way of losing weight. There’s no doubt that exercise is one of the best things in the world you can do for your mental and physical health. It is incredible, a blessing if you are able to run, walk, jump, lift. But weight loss due to exercise alone? Hmm, not so much.
Most people overestimate calories burned during exercise (by a long shot). I’ve seen people in the gym finish their session and then guzzle down a protein shake that probably has more calories in it than they had just burnt anyway!
While research is very clear that it’s almost impossible to keep weight off unless you exercise regularly. If you were to improve your diet and not exercise, you would lose weight but eventually your metabolism would slow and you would have to eat like a sparrow to sustain your weight loss. If you were to exercise and not work on your diet, you would likely improve your cardio fitness and possibly gain some lean muscle to speed up your metabolism, but not by enough to really lose much body fat. If you pay attention to both exercise and diet, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goal. Remember, your food choices equate to around 80 per cent of the fat-loss equation. That’s why ‘you can’t out-train a bad diet’. Eat and exercise like your life depends on it…… because it does.
Kelly Francis Bell 