Introduction

After working in the entertainment industry for many years I know how important it is for men and women to look and feel as good as they can. I’ve seen the consequence of not maintaining a healthy body and mind and the massive negative effects it can have on people. This understanding has spurred me into the world of personal training.  The old adage “you are what you eat” is so important, 75% of how you look is pure diet the rest is hard work.  With that in mind I’m going to share with you my dietary and exercise advice to unlock your full potential both physically and mentally to help you achieve your goals throughout your new long healthy life.

OK, here are my first key points.

• Be realistic about your goals, make them specific and achievable and give them a time frame. If you’re a size 18 don’t expect to be a size 10 in month safely and effectively because, as with all these crash diets, you’ll only put it all back on and then some.
• Get motivated and look forward to a new healthy energised you.
• Cut down bad habits like drinking, smoking and eating bad foods as these will all effect your over all goal and progress.
• Sleep deprivation causes fatigue, slows your metabolism and leads to a lack of motivation, so keep yourself well rested.  We all need our beauty sleep.
• Don’t starve yourself, you need energy to work.

If you have a sweet tooth, try and give yourself a structured plan to your treats.  Take your treat in the afternoon instead of in the evening so that you can burn it off during the day rather than having it sit in you all evening when you’re not working.

Believe in yourself.  There is no quick fix, health and fitness is a life style choice.

Depending on your goal, every mile stone remember to reward yourself for all the work you’ve done.  For every 2lbs you lose do something you enjoy, it doesn’t have to be food related.  Spa day, night out (without drinking) etc.

When losing weight cardio exercise is essential, ie jogging, running, swimming, cycling.  Especially while the weather is still ok to go outside.

Introduce weights, weather it be at the gym or at home to contour the body, define your muscles and achieve the body you and others desire.

You are what you eat

Eating a healthy balanced diet is essential.  It provides the ground work for all your activity during the day, both physically and mentally.  This means eating a wide variety of foods.  To avoid putting on any excess weight I would highly recommend looking at the total fat content of any food before purchasing it, ensuring that it is below 5g total fat per 100gs.

Keeping 5g fat is good and will ensure your body gets the essential fats that it needs to protect your nerves and keep your complexion smooth and bouncy, but it will also ensure that your saturated fats (the bad ones) are kept well below 5g, these are the fats that your body can’t process so get stored under the skin.

The only exception to this rule is oily fish like fresh tuna, mackerel and salmon, these are higher in fat but they are the essential fats that protect the body and reduce your cholesterol.  Just limit these foods to 1-2 servings per week.

This simple, easy to follow, rule will ensure you have a consistently low fat diet and will definitely aid in slimming.

Too tired to exercise?

We all live stressful lives.  Life is full of barriers, lack of time, injury, self confidence.

Sadly it’s a vicious cycle, you have no energy to exercise, but without exercise you’ll have no energy.  The key to breaking this cycle is making your exercise work for you.  Make the most of your day:

• If you can walk to work do so, if it’s a bit farther, cycle there you will feel better for the fresh air.
• If you’re on the underground or bus be polite and give up your seat, choose standing, it will improve your core stability and burn more calories.
• At the station walk up and down the escalators, don’t just stand there and wait.
• When you get to the office, take the stairs instead of the lift.
• During your break instead of playing solitaire or having a cigarette and coffee, take a brisk walk down the road to a fresh fruit juice stand and get your 5 a day.

To help keep your body energised drink plenty of water throughout the day, your body is 70% water, so you need to keep it that way.  The best way to do this is to drink at least 2 litres of water a day.  So start your day with a glass of water,  did you know can lose up to ½ a litre every night in sweat alone.

Be complex with your foods, eat lots of whole grain oats, whole meal bread, wheat pasta and brown rice.

Top Tips

Throw away all the food your children don’t eat.  Don’t be tempted to finish off their left overs, you’ve already had your dinner, you don’t need theirs too. Greedy pants!

Eating the correct balance of foods at the right times will leave you feeling fulfilled and energised, this will stop you from snacking.

Make time for some physical activity during the day, even if it is during your commute.

Don’t become obsessed but get in the habit of checking your food labels for fat content.

Remember to reward yourself but don’t over indulge or you’ll be back to where you started.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my first health and fitness page.  Please feel free to write in with any comments or questions.  I’ll be back next month with my 3 month plan to Christmas.

TV presenter and celebrity personal trainer, for free PT consultation or to book a session please email: lisa@lisa-nash.co.uk.
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Lisa Nash
www.lisa-nash.co.uk