One of the main problems I come across with my clients is food, or, the inability to cook and prepare food. I’m one of those weird types that has no issue cooking and preparing food in advance and eating out of Tupperware as and when I have to. I recognise that not everyone has to be like me, but it makes so much more sense to be in control of your food if you are actively trying to manage your input. This leads me on nicely to convenience health foods.
There are a multitude of companies out there now jumping on the band wagon of health foods, because, with a few choice changes or a couple of featured ingredients they are mislabeled as health products. I don’t want to get into supplements right now as that is another blog, it is the ridiculous things I see people eating under the guise of ‘health’. There are businesses (not naming any) that will supply you pre-made dinners that are calorie controlled or even labelled ‘ketosis diets’. Seriously! are you kidding me?! Companies will actually prescribe foods or apparently ketosis inducing diets without knowing a single thing about you. They will then say ‘you can eat as much of ‘X’ as you like as long as you eat this sachet of dust for lunch.’ I’m sure there are people who have lost weight on these systems, but how long did it last? or how much long term metabolic damage was caused? or at least, what do eat when you’ve run out of dust pouches?
I read lots of different articles and keep an eye on social media to see what the world is up to. I saw a post just yesterday where an unnamed “personal trainer” was selling the benefits of ‘energy balls’ she had made. Just because there is cocoa, flax-seed and coconut oil in something doesn’t mean you should eat it. Each one must have been 250 Kcals, a normal person would consume 4-5 of these easily in one sitting.
My point is, on this particular rant, it’s simply not good enough to assume that everything available to us labeled as healthy, actually is. Almost everything pre-made and sold like this is to make money out of people who are desperate to lose weight, or do not want to take responsibility for their own lack of enthusiasm towards their own nutrition. In my experience, I’ve never seen a physique worth having from eating these foods, nor have I seen long term fat loss results this way. You don’t have to eat like a bodybuilder or an athlete to have a nice balanced physique, yet you won’t look even half decent if you eat poorly. Making the right decision can be tough when surrounded by temptation but do not be fooled into thinking ‘healthy snacks’ can’t make you fat too.
The easiest way I know of is to buy and prepare foods that look like they did when they were grown, I.e. real meats, vegetables, fruits, grains etc. If you cook it, you know what’s in it. If you know about flax-seed, cocoa and coconut oil and understand why you might have it and when, then use it. If you add them in without a clue, you’re just eating it for the sake of it, and it could lead to weight increases. Nuts are an amazing food, but so calorific and packed with fat, dried fruits, gram for gram are loaded with sugar. Both brilliant foods, but like anything over consumption will lead to weight gain.
I always ask my clients or my gym members that get results the same question. “What do you think helped you drop the fat?” If they are my clients they say, “I just did what you told me to”, (well done me) or if they are members they say, “I just stopped eating crap all the time, had proper meals, and trained.” Nothing makes me happier than to hear this. It’s a simple strategy, I can’t sell it, it won’t make me a millionaire, it’s hard work, and it’s the truth.
If you’d like any further information or help with your own nutrition plan then contact me at Ali@FatAlsGym.co.uk
Click here to sign up to my Newsletter