Are you ready to drop a few kilos but not sure of the best way to start?

If you’re putting in the effort to shift a few kilos, no doubt you want those few kilos to stay away too. Here are 4 of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to drop body fat and what you can do to help you change the way you look:

1. They follow generic diets.

Diets and meal plans from books, magazines and what worked for your friends may not be the right diet for you. What works and what’s healthy differs from person to person. Unnecessarily depleting yourself of nutrients or consuming foods your body doesn’t digest well will leave you feeling lethargic, sometimes even storing fat. The good news is you can find out what foods your body best responds to in one of our Applied Muscle Testing (AMT) sessions. Other things you can do is consume more plant food in place of packaged foods and drink more water however when it comes to meal frequency, your protein requirement, your carbs, fats, serving sizes, training programs, fat burning stacks or supplements, trust an expert who spends their life learning and working in the industry to create a plan that’s right for you, not a generic one size fits all plan out of a magazine or book. Our personalised nutrition guidelines will always be tailored to what your body needs right now for best results, all things we can address in an AMT session!

2. They try to out train a bad diet.

You just can’t out train a bad diet. This is coming from an ex cardio bunny that used to track all her calories, burning some times 1000 more calories in a day than I had consumed. My body was not ripped, it was stressed and holding onto fat because of this. At the time I was also consuming foods that made it hard for my body to burn fat, not sugar or junk food but foods like bread and pasta post training. You can still eat your favourite foods, you just need to know what works best for you and find healthier versions of them.

• The best way to go about your training is to use those opportunities to prime your body for performance and recovery.
• Stay consistent with what you choose to implement and if you have trouble with consistency, consider working with a personal trainer to help you until you get on your feet and into a better routine.
• Be happy with who you are from within. Our bodies are so susceptible to the energy we give it. If you spend most of your time feeling down, you pass that energy onto the way your body functions. This is where gratitude and breath work is really important and so effective, providing a whole approach to wellness. If you’re not into all of that, you can start by appreciating the things your body allows you to do and reward it in a way so you can keep doing those things.

3. They weigh themselves every day.

You don’t want to be sacrificing bone density and muscle tissue for the sake of a number on the scales. This will only make you more susceptible to diseases like osteoporosis. Chasing weight loss by following fads and always looking for quick fixes results in gaining those lost kilos again, sometimes quicker than you shed them. Instead chase “health” because a healthy body will always burn fat. Fat loss is just a byproduct of being healthy and it’s far more enjoyable focusing on things you can do within your power than jumping on the scales to dictate your mood for the day. Here are a few things you can focus on instead:

• Put your scales in the garage and use a measuring tape to get girth measurements, track again a week later.
• Book in for a body scan to get a report on your body composition each month or take photos of you wearing an item of clothing you want to have fitting you better.
• Pay attention to what foods make you feel good, sick, lethargic or set of symptoms like bloating, heartburn, pain or constipation. Check out our Food Freedom ebook for a whole lot of free helpful information with this.

4. They snack on carrots, celery and nuts.

There’s actually nothing wrong with this if you really like eating carrots and celery but going from a diet high in processed packaged foods and switching your choices to just a plant food can become very bland and boring. If you don’t like the foods you eat, you just wont sustain the habit. Think of meals as opportunities to fuel and nourish your body, meals that are satisfying and delicious. To do this, make your meals as colourful as you can and make sure each meal contains protein. Consuming nuts as a snack can be very risky when trying to watch your calorie intake. The best way to use nuts is as a garnish on your meals. When starting out, you may wish to make yourself a bigger lunch and divide it up into 2 meals to eat throughout the day and manage your hunger with more frequent but satisfying meals. Don’t forget the herbs and spices too. There are lots of good tips in our Food Freedom ebook on this point as well. Get your free download off our website today. If you would like a personalised plan to follow suited to where you’re at right now and where you want to be, contact us for a free consultation and we’ll recommend what’s best for you.