Whilst combining healthy eating with aerobic exercise will help you to slim, there is no better way to transform your body than through strength training.  Strength, or resistance training works by overloading your muscles, which stimulates muscle growth.  Not only will you burn more calories whilst exercising, as indeed you would do with aerobic exercise, but with resistance training this raised metabolic rate continues for up to 2 hours after the end of your session.  Regular training also increases muscle mass, which in turn, increases your metabolic rate as muscle burns more calories than fat.

However, strength training alone is not enough.  It is often the case that people who start to exercise more and don’t watch their diet, just end up eating more because they feel hungrier, thus negating the weight loss benefits of the exercise.  In order to achieve the body you’ve always wanted and to get the most from your training, you need to follow a healthy eating plan.  This is not the same as “going on a diet”. Traditional diets are very restrictive and difficult to stick to for very long, whereas making several small changes to your eating plan makes it more likely that you will follow it forever. 

The basic rules for a healthier diet can be summarised as:

Foods to eat LESS of:

v  Fat, especially saturated fat.

v  Salt.

v  Sugar (bad for you, but not as bad as fat!).

v  Alcohol (sorry – but remember it’s just less not complete abstinence!)                      

Foods to eat MORE of:

v  Complex carbohydrates like potatoes, pasta rice and cereal.

v  Vegetables especially dark green leafy veg.

v  Fruit, in moderation as fruit is high in sugar.

v  Water or any other non alcoholic drinks.

Over the course of your training we can work together to modify your diet to maximise your weight loss potential.  I will suggest healthier alternatives to your current excesses and extravagances and help you to optimise your meal times so that you achieve your goal.

For those of you who would prefer a more formal weight loss approach, I recommend Slimming World, as they have a really easy, flexible and effective eating plan and in my experience, get the best results.