Before I start personal training a new client I go through their diet and analyse what changes need to be made. I have noticed that a lot of people make similar mistakes when they start a diet and are trying to lose weight. So here is a list of some simple changes I often tell my personal training clients to make:
As a personal training I almost always see people eating too many carbohydrates late in the evening. If you are trying to lose weight, as a general rule, avoid eating and carbohydrate rich foods after lunch time. Your body doesn’t require carbs in the evening as all you tend to do is chill out and watch TV all night; if you aren’t using the carbs as energy your body will store them as fat. Only eat carbs at breakfast and lunch and you will then have the rest of the day to burn them off, meat and vegetables only after lunch time.
Virtually all my new personal training clients are snacking too much when they first start with me. Some people snack so much that if you combined all their snacks throughout the day it would add up to a whole extra meal. Try adding up all the calories of the snacks you eat each day and I’ll bet you’ll be surprised at how big the number is. If you are trying to lose weight snacking is one of the worst things you can do, it is only giving you extra calories you don’t need. Stop the snacking now!
I always tell my personal training clients to start drinking more water. If you are bloated most of the time, chances are your body is holding on to fluid. Simply drinking more water will help relieve this problem as it helps to flush away all the excess fluid you are holding. 2 litres is the minimum you should be drinking each day, anything less is dangerous (this dose not include tea, coffee and fizzy drinks).
To avoid feeling hungry mid morning and during the day make sure you have breakfast. If you skip it you will find yourself getting sugar cravings late morning and stuffing your face with whatever you can find, normally something unhealthy. Having breakfast will avoid this problem and keep your hunger at bay until lunch time.
Eating just before you go to bed is a big no no. If you do this you won’t digest the food properly and it will sit on your stomach all night. You will find you sleep better if you go to bed on an empty stomach. As a general rule don’t eat 2-3 hours before you go to bed.
To book a session or for comments and questions call or e-mail me:
E-mail: pete@petegriggs.com. Phone: 07947 049889
Please Read Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the above articles are those of the authors and theirs alone. Information in the articles is not to be taken as medical advice, please consult you doctor before undertaking any type of exercise programme especially if you have any medical conditions.