A Recipe for Sustainable Long Lasting Results

With so many Fads diets and so much information out there on the wide web in regards to training and nutrition, it can get really easy to get lost amongst it all. After being in the industry for more than 7 years I have witnessed more and more people shift towards these so-called fad diets which does initially get them results, only for them to fall back into old habits just as hard and put all of the weight back on. Over the years i have built a bit of a recipe of factors that all my more successful clients have had in common.

BE PATIENT

Too many people in this day and age want results NOW….. One analogy that rings true for me is that “Rome was not built in a Day”.

Realising that the process of loosing weight/Gaining Muscle is more of a marathon rather than a sprint. Many people think the road to weight loss is a linear line going down and that you will be loosing weight consistently; but rather it has a lot of ups and a lot of downs but with time you will eventually reach your goal.

BE CONSISTENT

I believe that consistency is a massive variable for hitting any goal, whether it be in or out of the gym. You need to create some form of consistency with your training and your nutrition alike. The more consistent you are the quicker you will reach your goal. The same applies with your food. If you eat well for 1 day then eat your body weight worth of pizza the following 2 days then you're not magically going to loose weight are you….

My personal recommendation is that people train roughly 3-4 days a week and try to keep that as consistent as possible. I also always recommend for my clients to eat healthy from Monday to Saturday and on Sunday try and stay healthy as well. If they can’t hold out then a CHEAT MEAL to keep them sane.

SET GOAL (Short And Long term)

Too many people I see come in only with a short term goal. Due to only having short term goals they tend to give up once things don't start going their way. Yes loosing weight is not easy but you need to have multiple goals long and short term. Having this step will always keep you motivated to strive for more.

Don't be afraid to cut your goal down in to small chunks to help you manage expectations or even change your goals as you go.

ie.

MAIN GOAL : Loose 12 kgs over 12 months

Loose 6 kgs in 6 months

Loose 1kg every 4 weeks ……. (way more achievable)

80/20 PRINCIPLE

The 80/20 Principle is one of the easiest ways to reach and maintain a lean body. The principle is very simple and requires you to eat clean for 80% of the time and then allow a few “Fun Foods” 20% of the time.

With that said, the less “Fun Foods” you include in your diet, the better your results will be; so over time I recommend switching to the 90/10 principal which would give you better results.

TREAT YOUR FITNESS AND NUTRITION LIKE A DIAL RATHER THAN A SWITCH

This will fall under consistency. Most people treat their fitness goals more like an on and off switch, ie, ON first 2 weeks of the year they train the house down, then after that they turn the switch OFF and they are absent… then they go round and round in circles. for the remainder of the year.. 2 weeks on 4 weeks off…

My advice is to treat your training and nutrition more like a dial. By this I mean sometimes training more than other times and eating better than others, but overall you are in the gym consistently for the best part of 12 months.

As you get better better with managing time and start seeing results you can start cranking up the dial from level 1 to level 10.

Level 1 being the least intense and level 10 being you are giving it your all. Now when things aren't going your way you can turn the Dial down rather than taking any time off as this will keep you active for longer....

IMPLEMENT SMALL CHANGES OVER TIME

So this particular one I believe is one of the most important techniques. Often when people try change something in order to reach a goal, most people go COLD TURKEY…. now this is never a great idea.. doing too much too soon generally leads to failure.

Rather than trying to change everything at once, what I would recommend is to add a new habit or make a small change to your normal day or to your daily activities over a longer period of time. Generally changing one habit weekly or adding 1 habit weekly for 12 weeks is much better than going cold turkey. A good example of this would be:

Week 1 : Drink More water

Week 2: Park further away from work and walk to work

Week 3: Go for a 20 min walk once this week

Week 4 : Go for a walk twice this week

Week 5: Go for a walk 3 times this week

Week 6 : Join a gym and attend once this week (get familiar with equipment and machines)

Week 7: Start attending the gym 3 days a week (either classes or by myself)

Week 8: Cut down any junk food to only once a week

Week 9: Cut out any Processed foods

Week 10 : Ensure i get a serve of protein at every main meal (Breakfast/ Lunch/Dinner)

Now you can imagine if you were to continue to add 1 new habit a week for another 6 weeks, over time your habits would get better and healthier leading to better results.

In conclusion I am a big believer in a slower process to weight loss or weight gain to really encourage people to make longer lasting changes to their relationship with health, fitness and their nutrition, rather than the 12 week or 6 week shred approach. I strongly believe that sustainable results should take roughly 6-9 months to obtain...