Original photo by Norma*Iriz*

Whether it’s losing weight, working out, quitting smoking or just making time for yourself, what people tend to lack most isn’t information, but a strategy for implementation.

What is it that causes people give up giving up smoking? Why can some people lose weight and keep it off, whilst others can’t? What makes the difference between succeeded and failed? It invariably comes down to one thing: a breakdown of one of the following 15 steps. Get these right, and you can change any part of your life.

Whether it’s a top athlete, a great business person, or simply someone who’s achieved things that you admire, they’ll all have followed the following steps. They may not have done them all in this order, but they will have done them all.

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Original photo by Duncan

Too many people get turned off from getting fit, because they start the wrong way. In our society of quick-fix, instant results everything, the idea that something may actually take time and some work is a painful one to accept.

As such, people bounce from fitness program to fitness program over the years, never sticking with one for long enough that it will actually have enough time to work.

This one however is different. I’m not going to promise instant results, I’m just going to promise results, if you stick to it. That means doing what I’m going to show you, and being patient and allowing your body time to change. Don’t like it? Go somewhere else. There are programs, don’t get me wrong, that can change your physicality much faster, and make you drop more weight and gain more muscle quicker than this one. The only problem is though, once you’ve finished it, there’s no real motivation to keep it up. They’re so focused on muscle gain or weight loss, that they lose sight of the real goal: to be more fit for the rest of your life.

These exercises that I’m about to outline shouldn’t take you too long. In fact, if you’ve got a spare half hour or so every couple of days, you could quite easily manage them in that time. And if you think you haven’t got a spare half hour, then frankly you’re lying to yourself. You have, you’d just rather do something else instead. So how about instead of watching something in front of the TV, you record it and watch it on the weekend, and do this instead.

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Original photo by Christi Nielsen

We’re coming up to spring, and already the shops are starting the switch to help with that warm weather retail therapy; swimsuits, shorts and horrible t-shirts are popping up all over the place. So maybe it’s time to lose a few pounds, and get in better shape.

The first thing to do, is to check if you actually need to lose weight in the first place. The way to do that, is to calculate your body mass index, or BMI for short. You can do that with the BMI calculator I’ve put up in the tools section. As a general rule, a healthy BMI is around 18.5 to 25. 25-30 is classed as overweight, 30-35 is obese, and above that is getting into the realms of being really bad for your health.

So what can you do if you need to lose weight? Well, I’m going to outline 17 tips that should help.

• Eat better. I know it’s not exactly rocket science, but it’s true. If you want to lose weight, then use that calorie calculator I gave you yesterday, and work out how many calories you need, and what that should be made of in terms of carbs, proteins and fats. Then work out a diet based on that, and damn well stick to it.
• Exercise more. Again, it’s not rocket science. Go for a walk for half an hour in the mornings or evenings, instead of watching the tele. Yes, this does mean that you’re actually going to have to do something other than sit on your bum, but hey, what were you expecting? To do nothing? Sorry, but this is real life.
• Get help. Everything’s easier when you’ve got others supporting you. So go find a support group online, or other people who’ve done whatever it is you’re trying to do. Find out what’s worked, and what’s not worked for them, and get their advice. It’ll save you a whole heap of time and trouble.
• Substitute foods. Like meat? Great, so do I! That doesn’t mean it’s good for you though. If you’re making lasagna, which has a shedload of fat in it from the cheese, replace the mince with quorn or soya. Fancy a burger? No worries. Just have a bean burger instead.
• Read the label. Find out what it is you’re actually eating. See how much fat you’re consuming. This sorta harks back to what I was saying earlier, but it’s a necessary part. You’re not going to know whether you’re sticking to your calorie limit, if you don’t check what you eat.
• Set realistic goals. Don’t aim to lose 50lbs in the next two weeks. It’s just not going to happen, and even if it did, you’d kill yourself. Be realistic with this. Set a sensible length of time, and break it down. Aim to lose a little as you go, and chart your progress each week. About a pound a week is good.
• Don’t eat trans fats. Seriously, they’re just not cool.
• Stop comparing yourself. Looking at people you consider to be skinny and getting yourself all worked up isn’t going to do anything other than make you feel lousy. So don’t do it. Accept that yes, you’re bigger than you want to be. But also remember that you’re working on it. And one day, you’ll be the weight you want to too.
• Men are from Mars… Men lose weight more easily than women. No it’s not fair, but it does mean if you’re doing this with a group of people, don’t be discouraged if the guys have an easier time of it.
• Eat your greens. Yes, shock of shocks, we’re designed to be omnivorous. That means eating meat and vegetables and fruit and berries and just about everything really. So eat more fruit and veg.
• Go slow. Slow food is everything fast food isn’t. It means learning to cook, and then cooking your own food. Rather than scoffing things down, take your time and enjoy what you eat. Learn to love food. And that doesn’t mean comfort eating.
• Don’t snack. Just don’t. Instead, go with the five meal plan I outlined, and stick with that instead.
• Understand the percentages. Muscle weighs more than fat. If you’re eating better and exercising, you’re going to be putting on some muscle. So even though you might not be going down as fast as you’d like, take that into account.
• Sleep well. Make sure you get a good night’s sleep. Give your body time to rest. If you feel tired a lot, your body is trying to say “get some more sleep”. Listen to it.
• Drink water. Lots of it. Don’t start drinking eight pints a day now, but work up to a few pints a day over time. You’ll feel a lot better for it. Try this - replace one cup of tea or coffee you’d have normally with a glass of water. Then, next week, replace another. Try and get to the point where you’re drinking two or three pints a day. That doesn’t mean you can’t have tea or coffee, as they still give you a net gain of water overall. Just drink less of them.
• Go wholemeal. Bread, rice, pasta, everything. Go for the whole grain version, not the white one. It’s healthier, and you’ll realise in time, it tastes better too.
• Fry without oil. If you need to fry something, use coconut butter instead. Far healthier, and it’s got a really high smoke point, so you can use it in stir frys too.

Anyway, here ends today’s post. Have you got any tips? Share them in the comments below.

Original photo by mac_vegetarian

It’s a basic fact of life that a good diet is conducive to general good health. However, what you may not know is that the odds are your diet right now sucks. I mean, I’m not a big fan of that whole “my body is a temple” stuff, but taking care of it just makes good sense. You’ll feel better, your skin and hair will feel healthier, you’ll maintain a good weight… There’s basically no reason why you wouldn’t do it.

The Ideal Diet
So what does it take to have a good diet? Well, you should be looking to have the following:

• A fair amount of starchy foods, like pasta, wholegrain rice, bread (preferably wholemeal), cereals, potatoes and so on
• A good amount of fruit and vegetables daily, for all those nutrients, minerals and vitamins
• A more moderate amount of dairy produce, or dairy alternatives, for calcium and proteins
• A moderate portion of meats, fish, or other sources of protein, such as beans, peas, lentils, quorn or soya
• The odd treat, such as donuts, chocolate, cookies etc

When To Eat
Now when it comes to how often to eat, most I’d recommend having several smaller meals, as opposed to a light breakfast, moderate lunch and whacking great dinner. Five smaller meals seems to be what works for most of the healthy-eating people I know. Have a good breakfast, with a source of protein and carbs. See my post from yesterday if you want some ideas for that. After that, I go for a thirty minute walk, or if the weather’s nice then a job along the river, which is my morning commute to work. Near the end, I tend to grab something with simple carbs and fast digesting protein, such as a cereal bar, or something with whey. That gives you the hit you’ll need after a gentle workout.

The next meal should be a good lunch, with complex carbs and some protein. A sandwich with some meat in it works for me, such as a BLT or (my indulgence) a spicy Italian sub.

Around 5-6ish, have some kind of snack. Something with some fats, and a little protein. A chocolate bar with nuts in it is a good option, or something along those lines will do fine. Then the last meal of the day comes around 8 o’clock, in the form of a good dinner. Go for something with a balance between proteins, fats and carbs. Spaghetti bolognese, lasagna, pizza, something with sausages, something with chicken, something with fish… The list for what you can have here is almost limitless.

By the way, if you’re ever stuck for something to cook, I’d recommend the UKTV Food website. It’s got a wonderful selection of recipes, including a section just for people who want to cook something, but don’t know what to go for.

Counting The Calories

The last thing is to know how much to eat. With your five meals a day, you’ll want to have a certain number of calories. If you want to know how many, you can use the calorie calculator tool to find out. Then take that figure, and of it you’ll want around 50-55% to come from carbs, 25-30% to come from fats, and 15-20% from protein. To work out how many grams each are, take the number of calories and divide by 4 for carbs and proteins, and 9 for fats.

So if you need 2,500 calories per day, then around 1,250 should be come from carbs, 750 from fats, and 500 from protein. That would then work out as 305-310g of carbs, 80-85g of fats and 90-95g of proteins. That would give you a healthy, balanced diet, that would keep you at whatever weight you’re at. And obviously, if you want to loose weight, you’d cut down on the fats and carbs, and if you want to gain, then up the levels of carbs and proteins.

How’s your diet? Share your story in the comments.

Original photo by kalandrakas

Breakfast has to be the most under-loved meal of our modern lives. Whether the excuse is a lack of time, a lack of ideas, or just plain old-fashioned lazyness, far too many people miss breakfast. I’m a believer in always having something to start the day, even if it’s just a quick grab on the way out.

The problem with having nothing is that you then start your day on an empty stomach. As such, you get a few hours in to your day, and you need something sugary. Whether it’s too much coffee, a donut or, Heaven forbid, a MacMuffin, it’s your body crying out for some sugar and something to digest.

The simple fact of the matter is, a good breakfast just can’t be replaced. So if you’re looking for some inspiration for starting your day, then here’s some quick, simple ideas to get started…

The Sit Down List

Think of these ones as the breakfasts for watching the morning news over. Or reading the paper. Just try not to spill anything!

• Bowl of cereal with fresh fruit and milk. Personally, I like something crisp and crunchy, but go with whatever does it for you. Whack in some fresh cut strawberries, some berries and a splash of ice-cold milk and you’re done.
• Fruit juice and toast. Get some bread, toast it and spread on some jam. A great starter, especially with some orange or apple juice.
• Boiled egg and toast. We always called them eggy soldiers when I was young, but whatever you want to call them, they’re a great source of protein, and a great starter to the day!
• Beans on toast. Ah, you can’t beat a good classic. Whether it’s ordinary baked beans, kidney or something more exotic, you can’t beat them stuck on a nice slice of toasted granary.
• Stuffed peppers. Now, I can understand that peppers aren’t to everyone’s taste, but I love them. Get a pepper, cut off the top and then grill it. Then fill with brown rice cooked with chopped red onion, some peas and a little ground black pepper. It may take a little preparation the night before to do the rice, but it’s just great.

And now for the person who really doesn’t have any time…

The Grab and Go List

For the person who wants something to grab on their way out…

• Bagels with assorted fillings. There’s something wonderfully moreish about bagels. Especially when you get some reduced fat cream cheese and smoked salmon, or maybe just good old-fashioned lettuce and ham. Perfect if you’re walking in to work.
• Crumpets and spreads. Take one crumpet and toast. Add on some fruit spread. Eat. Job done.
• Fruit smoothies. Especially good in the summer on a hot day, but still a good treat any time of the year, just take some fruit and blend the heck out of it until it looks like goo. a great way to get some vitamins and fruity goodness.
• Cereal bars. For those times when you just haven’t got time to grab anything else, a good cereal bar will get you off to a good start.
• Brioche, pan au chocolat or cuissant. I freely confess to loving all three of these. There’s very little better of a morning than a gently microwaved French baked something. Just stick it in the microwave for ten seconds, and the job’s done. Viola!

And there you are. Ten great, and healthy ways to start your day. What do you like?