The media in particular portray a false sense of accuracy regarding fitness advice. They are always writing diet advice which in the long term will cause you more harm than good – and will not help you lose weight and certainly won’t make you fit. For example anabolic pharma steroids
, I was reading an article that stated if you eat a certain piece of fruit every day for 1 month you will lose 1 stone. What rubbish!
Why people publish these awful tips and advice is beyond me… like drop 2 dress sizes in one month. For those of us who work 9 to 5 this is just about impossible. What you can do in a month is, get a good level of fitness and the foundations for losing your weight. Start to eat healthily and eat the correct things to have a well-balanced diet. We all know what foods are good for us and what are not. Don’t do these “diets” you see online or in magazines, trust me they are not good. Eat healthily – have a good amount of protein in your diet, include lots of fruit and vegetables and carbohydrates but ensure you don’t overload on carbs. Your diet starts in the supermarket – if you buy junk, you will eat junk! If you don’t buy it, then you won’t eat it. A good idea is to plan healthy meals for the week, it only takes a few minutes to write down what you are going to have. Ensure you are getting the essentials for each meal, ensure you are not going to over load your plate with carbohydrates and having a mixed and colourful plate. Another major point to consider is your portion size – cut down the amount of food, don’t overfill your plate. It’s all in the mindset – you don’t need it – have a sensible amount.
Try not to snack! Cut out fizzy drinks and cut down your alcohol intake. If you do feel hungry and have the urge to eat, why not have some nuts or some fruit. You don’t need chocolate or fizzy drinks, replace these drinks with water, ensure you are drinking plenty of fluids, this is essential in your start to getting fit and healthy. Once you start eating healthily and drinking plenty of water, you will feel better within yourself.
Another very important point… I am a very big believer in not weighing yourself! You should not regularly use the scales. My theory is that it depends on how your clothes feel on you, are they starting to feel looser etc. Stop weighing yourself! If you feel the urge to step on the scales, try and cut it down to once a month maximum.
Some of the major things that people ask me regarding fitness are, “what’s the secret to losing weight in the gym? How can I tone up and build muscle?” I have read and heard a lot of rubbish with people trying to answer this question. The majority of people give bad advice and if you want a factual answer – the secret is hard work. If you attend the gym I would highly recommend you use a fitness plan which is tailored to you. Everyone is different and has different fitness needs relating to their body shape and their metabolism etc. You shouldn’t only do cardio or just go and do weights. A good fitness plan involves a range of exercises. Females need to do weight exercises too, don’t be put off to go into the weights area and complete your exercises.
Sports may get kids off the couch but don’t think playing team sports teaches fitness as a lifestyle. Too often when their sport ends so does their physical activity- whether for the season or for the rest of their life.
Fitness activity should be as much a part of one’s day as is getting out of bed.
Have you ever wondered why so many former athletes are eventually just as out of shape as everybody else? Physically talented people who at one time were in incredible condition- at the top of their game- often end up in worse shape than people who were never athletes. This is partly because fitness was never their motivation- never their reason for playing sports.
• Achievement is a fundamental component of sports and requires one to push oneself “beyond” to perform. The higher the level of competition the greater the pressure to push to perform. Pushing oneself to perform to attain victory is commonly encouraged in sports but can be risky and unhealthy.