A large percentage of people who walk into a gym or group fitness studio have the goal of losing weight. However weight loss isn’t as easy as you clicking your fingers together. Yes, you most definitely need to start engaging in physical exercise to help promote weight loss however it’s not just that, three simple things to avoid if your goal is weight loss include:

1. Avoid eating and drinking highly process foods

Avoid eating and drinking products that are highly processed and contain nothing but high amounts of sugar and simple crabs that have no nutritional benefit for you. Processed foods, is referring to pretty much anything that is found in a packet such as pasta, bread, cookie, muesli bars, cereal etc. These beloved foods that have, without a doubt, been in most people’s diets for years, are something that you should essentially avoid. Think about it; when you have a tiny packet of chip it doesn’t fill you up. That basic packet of chips contains high amounts of calories which in most circumstances will result in 2 possible 3 additional packets, to fill your cravings. The world of processed products don’t just point to food items on the shelves but also drinks such as Powerade, energy drinks, flavoured waters etc. What do all these products contain? Sugar. Sugar is something that can be found in abundance of products. Theoretically eliminating sugar is easy however, when you actually take full initiative and eliminate it you will be amazed of how your body changes. Little fun fact when you truly eliminate sugars out of your diet your body will go through similar side effect and symptoms of those go through cocaine withdrawals. Our body shouldn’t be relying on something that is processed. Include real food in your diet. When you make home cooked meals you know what you are eating, when you buy something you only see what you want to see. The world of health foods can be overwhelming so start small. Take part and go back to our November challenge. It is very easy to consume processed foods and drinks but it most definitely isn’t easy to avoid them! It is however extremely rewarding to avoid them.

2. Stop living a sedentary lifestyle

Do you regularly hit 10000 steps a day? Our actions dictate the way our body develops. If your job is to sit behind a desk all day then your after-work routine is to go home and ‘relax’, which 9/10 times is code for sitting on the couch, then it’s pretty clear that you are engaging in what we call a sedentary lifestyle. Engaging in low activity levels can most definitely can results in weight gain. Let’s use the last 8 months as an example. During the peak of the pandemic, we were restricted to 5km around our homes. Unfortunately, a lot of people did nothing. They simply binge watched Netflix and became best friends with the pantry, laptop, and the people you lived with. Being under such harsh restrictions meant that a lot of people had to improvise and try do something to clear the heads in moments of high stress. However due to lack of accessibility most could only engage in simple walk around the block, if they could be bothered. Living a sedentary lifestyle is easily described as doing nothing or essentially the bare minimum. However you can shake these low intensity lifestyles by simple do something that will benefit you. Aim to hit 10,000 steps a day without failure, look at engaging in group classes, even make the promise to walk your dog every day for at least 20 minutes. It is going to better than doing absolutely nothing. If someone continues to live a sedentary lifestyle then that can lead to weight gain causing some to become obese, which then can lead possible health issue such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes etc. Simply get up and move, do something for you that will benefit you now and in the long run!

3. Avoid eating the bare minimum

When people have got their eyes set on losing weight 9/10 times they also connect minimal meals and eating less than what they usually would. The power of food is undoubtedly the most underrated thing in the world. Your body needs food in order to function. So why deprive it of the nutrient it needs to complete your everyday life! I ask you now to step back and actually look back at what you have eaten so far and what you’re going to eat the rest for the day. How many meals, proper meals, have you actually eaten? I’m not talking about a handful of nuts and 2 possible 3 coffees in-between, I mean how many full meals have you eaten? Many people eat snacks rather than meals. They opt for snacking because it’s ‘easier’ or because “I don’t have time to eat”. You take the time to eat crap so why not take the time to each something good for your body. You’ll be amazed that the way to lose weight is actually to eat more food, real food that is actually healthy and wholesome. Real food that, believe it or not, will actually fill you up! If you don’t believe me then take part in the nutritional consult TF offers and learn from experience. Remember, just because your best friend’s neighbor tried out some publicized diet and it worked for her, doesn’t mean it will work for you. We are all physically different so have different needs. Food is your friend not your enemy.

• Coach Emilia