Newbie.

[eminemustafa]

I am going away in august and i really want to lose a stone. Over the last 2 years I have lost 3/4 stones but i am finding this last little bit hard. I workout 4/5 times a week but find the healthy eating side tricky. I seriously need some support on how to stick to it and what foods to eat. Thank you.

[HRHGaby]

Welcome! I suggest you download an app on your phone and keep track of your calories, My Fitness Pal or Fat Secret. Good luck!

[Stentatron]

Sounds as though you have a good general level of fitness with your exercise pattern however nutrition is paramount to losing weight.

You can make progress on losing that last stone by making some informed choices when you are deciding what food you fuel your body with. Do you eat a lot of sugar? Do you eat a lot of carbohydrates? Do you snack between meals? Do you eat enough fibre? Are you getting enough protein? You can change your diet depending on your answers to these questions.

As a general rule avoid 'simple' carbs (sugar, fizzy drinks, chocolate, biscuits etc.) and opt for 'complex' carbs (think vegetables, grains and beans). Another approach is to eat foods with a low glycemic index (Low GI) and avoid foods that have a high glycemic index (High GI). The glycemic index allows us to maintain steady blood glucose levels throughout the day by choosing the right types of high carb foods.

A carbohydrate with a high glycemic index (high GI) breaks down quickly during digestion and therefore releases glucose into the bloodstream rapidly. Some common foods with a high GI rating include white bread, white rice, corn flakes, crackers and most sugary and/or highly processed snack foods.

A carbohydrate with a low glycemic index (low GI) breaks down more slowly therefore causing a much slower and more gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream. Some common foods with a low GI rating include most fruits, vegetables, and beans.

Try and eat balanced meals, have small portion of complex carbohydrate (Sweet potato) with a large portion of fibre (vegetables) and a good helping of protein ideally chicken or fish rich in omega 3 fatty acids (Mackeral, Fresh Tuna, Salmon etc.)

Having a snack between meals is fine as long as the snack is healthy, fruit and vegetables are great as well as nuts but steady on the portion side.

Now before I continue I am making a massive assumption that you are currently doing steady state cardio as the main component of your exercise routine. I might be wrong but this is the most common form of exercise. For instance running on a treadmill for a fixed amount of time at a constant speed i.e. 30 minutes at 9km/h. This is beneficial and will help burn calories contributing to your calorie deficit however there are other ways to burn calories and variety is the spice of life. Try a resistance routine (weights) and some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) i.e. 30 seconds sprinting, a minute rest for an extended period.

HIIT

Since the mid-1990s, scores of studies have shown the effectiveness of interval conditioning for fat loss. One Canadian study compared the fat-loss effects of interval training versus a traditional, slow cardio regimen. The traditional regimen (steady state) burned twice as many calories as the interval regimen, but those who performed intervals lost more body fat - this is what we are after.

If you want more information get in touch.

Happy hunting.

[eminemustafa in reply to Stentatron]

Thank you so much I enjoyed reading this. Im not a fan of fizzy drinks and drink around 2 litres of water a day. I try to be healthy and have foods such as chicken, brown pasta and veg. I always start my day off with a green tea and normally porridge or brown toast and peanutbutter. I just like my chocolate and tend to not have it for a while then when I do eat it I go overboard and don't know when to stop. I find it harder when at work because I get more hungry and tend to snack (breakfast bars, fruit, yogurts, nuts etc)

I do spin class around 3/4 times a week as my cardio then afterwards we like to do a weight session. I just signed up for a personal trainer so we do cardio with him at the gym once a week too.

Sometimes I'll make food thinking it's super healthy then get told otherwise. Im find with the workouts I just need to learn to control my eating when at work.

I just want a nice body for the summer Hahaa

Thanks it for the help I appreciate it.