4 Simple Steps to Get Your Healthy Eating Back On Track

We’ve all been there, pigging out at the weekend, had a stressful day in work come home and ordered a curry, this is life I’m afraid. As a personal trainer I’m not ashamed to say that I’ve been there myself.

Many people train and train, they improve their fitness but the reason that their results aren’t as impressive as they should be is down to their nutrition programme. Often the toughest part of a healthy life is choosing the foods you eat, you only need to dedicate about 5 hours a week to training whereas you need to commit to eating well 24/7!

But as I mentioned above there will be a time when you have just had enough and you crack, this could mean a piece of bread for one person or 8 Big Macs for another. Whatever the lapse is, the most important thing is to get yourself back on track, QUICKLY!

You must react fast in order to stop this crack/weak moment from becoming a full blown relapse where you can undo all your months of hard work in a matter of a week or two. So either later on in the day or the morning after your weak moment you should make efforts to get back in the swing of things.

Here are 4 simple steps to help you out:

Hydrate Yourself – It is vital that you aim to drink about 2-3 litres of water a day. Water is a great way of reducing hunger as well as great for the skin. Other benefits of drinking water are it will make you more productive at work, you will fell healthier and also maximise your training potential if you are efficiently hydrated. So cut out the fizzy drinks and go for water in its most natural form.

Avoid White Carbs – This is probably one of the things people struggle with the most. There is a very common conception with people not ‘in the know’ that a bowl of pasta is automatically a healthy choice. Carbs have many functions and are definitely needed but it is important to limit your carbs and where possible aim to have less processed carbs. Wholegrain carbohydrates are the way forward, things such as brown rice, beans (not Heinz!), wholegrain pasta, porridge oats and legumes are a great source of carbohydrates and are less refined. White carbs are heavily processed and high in white sugar and flour.

Get Your 5 a Day – One of the best meals you can have will contain some quality lean meat, raw or lightly cooked vegetables (anything green is great!) along with an appetising serving of quality carbs. Fruit is great for you so you should be aiming to get several portions a day in but you should ensure that you are getting a good supply of vegetables with your meals. There are so many different vegetables out there that I refuse to accept they are boring and tasteless, get some good fats in and boost your flavour by using oils such as extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, remember only in moderation though.

Work Out Effectively – Remember that we need to be getting in some quality exercise as well. After a lapse I find that a good exercise session will leave you feeling better in no time. It is important that the exercise we do is appropriate to our goals though, for fat loss training methods such as high intensity interval training (HIIIT), circuit training and weight training are great. These methods of training really boost your metabolism and leave you burning calories for hours after you finish exercising. You don’t need to spend hours and hours a day exercising, you can get everything you need from exercise in less than 40 minutes if you do it properly.

So there we have 4 simple steps that you can adopt straight away to get you back on the right path. Being fit and healthy does take a lot of time, work and commitment, this is why so many people are unfit and unhealthy, don’t be one of them.

Thanks for reading,

Richard Clarke