Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are

How many of these work? How many people do you know who go to the gym or exercise classes regularly yet still can’t seem to shift those extra pounds?

Well I’m going to tell you the secret to permanent weight loss. Now, what I’m telling you is nothing new, but it’s the only way to truly succeed in being fit and healthy (which are two completely different states by the way, it is possible to have one without the other!).

To be successful in shifting those extra pounds and inches, there are two main aspects that you need to look at (there are many more, but for the most part we will stick to these two) – nutrition and exercise. Contrary to popular belief, it is very difficult to make serious and consistent changes to your body without considering both of these factors.

You see, to lose fat (notice I said fat, not weight) it’s a case of simple mathematics, you need to burn more calories than you eat. However, these calories need to be nutrient rich in order for the body to be satisfied and send out the “stop eating” signal. Eating foods with empty calories (like sugar) do not provide the body with essential nutrition, and so the brain will constantly send out “eat” signals until these nutrients have been detected, making sure we stay hungry and keep eating! As you can imagine, this can lead to a huge calorie intake.

Now I’m not saying everything has to be organic (although the benefits this would be huge), but you must avoid processed foods, ready meals, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and sweets, microwaved food and basically anything that’s not “natural”. A good rule of thumb is that if it wasn’t around a thousand years ago, don’t eat it.

A fresh fruit and veg diet, with some good quality meat and plenty of variety will ensure you are getting all of the ingredients you need for a healthy diet. Let’s face it – we all know what foods we shouldn’t be eating…. Cakes, biscuits, sweets etc… those guilty pleasures we allow ourselves far too often!

Eating 5-6 nutrient-packed meals a day will help trick the body into thinking it’s taking in more calories than are needed, and so will increase it’s metabolism, burning more calories. These meals, consisting of foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables and organic meats will ensure the body is getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, essential fats and protein and will keep the brain satisfied that the body has all the nutrients it needs, and therefore prevents any unwanted “eat” signals.

As a result of this, you are able to avoid feeling hungry and will feel much more healthy, and this will show in your mood, skin tone, your eyes, nails and hair… Eating smaller meals more frequently will also help the body to maintain constant energy levels, avoiding highs and lows during the day – have you ever hit that wall when returning to work from lunch, where you just feel drained and tired with no energy and no enthusiasm? Or how many of you know someone who, without fail, will fall asleep on the sofa after the Sunday roast? Sound familiar?

Meal timings are also important, in order to maintain these constant energy levels, you should be aiming to eat around about every 3 hours, leaving no more than 4 hours and no less than 2 hours between meals.

Now I can hear alarm bells ringing – “this sounds like far too much” you may be thinking, but remember, these are small meals that you will be eating, not the large portions that many of you are used to eating – those dinners where you have to undo the top button of your trousers by the time you’ve finished. That being said, try to avoid eating large meals of an evening as the calories taken in far outweigh the requirements of the body at that time of day, and if they aren’t being used, they’re being stored…. as fat.

You need to throw out that “3-meals-a-day” mentality, which has you constantly going to the fridge or shop to get snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and be thinking about having smaller meals for breakfast lunch and dinner, with a planned snack/meal between each, a small salad, some fruit, nuts and seeds, yoghurt – anything ‘healthy’.

Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are s

You see, to lose fat (notice I said fat, not weight) it’s a case of simple mathematics, you need to burn more calories than you eat. However, these calories need to be nutrient rich in order for the body to be satisfied and send out the “stop eating” signal. Eating foods with empty calories (like sugar) do not provide the body with essential nutrition, and so the brain will constantly send out “eat” signals until these nutrients have been detected, making sure we stay hungry and keep eating! As you can imagine, this can lead to a huge calorie intake.

Now I’m not saying everything has to be organic (although the benefits this would be huge), but you must avoid processed foods, ready meals, caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and sweets, microwaved food and basically anything that’s not “natural”. A good rule of thumb is that if it wasn’t around a thousand years ago, don’t eat it.

A fresh fruit and veg diet, with some good quality meat and plenty of variety will ensure you are getting all of the ingredients you need for a healthy diet. Let’s face it – we all know what foods we shouldn’t be eating…. Cakes, biscuits, sweets etc… those guilty pleasures we allow ourselves far too often!

Eating 5-6 nutrient-packed meals a day will help trick the body into thinking it’s taking in more calories than are needed, and so will increase it’s metabolism, burning more calories. These meals, consisting of foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables and organic meats will ensure the body is getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, essential fats and protein and will keep the brain satisfied that the body has all the nutrients it needs, and therefore prevents any unwanted “eat” signals.

As a result of this, you are able to avoid feeling hungry and will feel much more healthy, and this will show in your mood, skin tone, your eyes, nails and hair… Eating smaller meals more frequently will also help the body to maintain constant energy levels, avoiding highs and lows during the day – have you ever hit that wall when returning to work from lunch, where you just feel drained and tired with no energy and no enthusiasm? Or how many of you know someone who, without fail, will fall asleep on the sofa after the Sunday roast? Sound familiar?

Meal timings are also important, in order to maintain these constant energy levels, you should be aiming to eat around about every 3 hours, leaving no more than 4 hours and no less than 2 hours between meals.

Now I can hear alarm bells ringing – “this sounds like far too much” you may be thinking, but remember, these are small meals that you will be eating, not the large portions that many of you are used to eating – those dinners where you have to undo the top button of your trousers by the time you’ve finished. That being said, try to avoid eating large meals of an evening as the calories taken in far outweigh the requirements of the body at that time of day, and if they aren’t being used, they’re being stored…. as fat.

You need to throw out that “3-meals-a-day” mentality, which has you constantly going to the fridge or shop to get snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and be thinking about having smaller meals for breakfast lunch and dinner, with a planned snack/meal between each, a small salad, some fruit, nuts and seeds, yoghurt – anything ‘healthy’.

Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are

Eating 5-6 nutrient-packed meals a day will help trick the body into thinking it’s taking in more calories than are needed, and so will increase it’s metabolism, burning more calories. These meals, consisting of foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables and organic meats will ensure the body is getting plenty of vitamins, minerals, essential fats and protein and will keep the brain satisfied that the body has all the nutrients it needs, and therefore prevents any unwanted “eat” signals.

As a result of this, you are able to avoid feeling hungry and will feel much more healthy, and this will show in your mood, skin tone, your eyes, nails and hair… Eating smaller meals more frequently will also help the body to maintain constant energy levels, avoiding highs and lows during the day – have you ever hit that wall when returning to work from lunch, where you just feel drained and tired with no energy and no enthusiasm? Or how many of you know someone who, without fail, will fall asleep on the sofa after the Sunday roast? Sound familiar?

Meal timings are also important, in order to maintain these constant energy levels, you should be aiming to eat around about every 3 hours, leaving no more than 4 hours and no less than 2 hours between meals.

Now I can hear alarm bells ringing – “this sounds like far too much” you may be thinking, but remember, these are small meals that you will be eating, not the large portions that many of you are used to eating – those dinners where you have to undo the top button of your trousers by the time you’ve finished. That being said, try to avoid eating large meals of an evening as the calories taken in far outweigh the requirements of the body at that time of day, and if they aren’t being used, they’re being stored…. as fat.

You need to throw out that “3-meals-a-day” mentality, which has you constantly going to the fridge or shop to get snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and be thinking about having smaller meals for breakfast lunch and dinner, with a planned snack/meal between each, a small salad, some fruit, nuts and seeds, yoghurt – anything ‘healthy’.

Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are

Meal timings are also important, in order to maintain these constant energy levels, you should be aiming to eat around about every 3 hours, leaving no more than 4 hours and no less than 2 hours between meals.

Now I can hear alarm bells ringing – “this sounds like far too much” you may be thinking, but remember, these are small meals that you will be eating, not the large portions that many of you are used to eating – those dinners where you have to undo the top button of your trousers by the time you’ve finished. That being said, try to avoid eating large meals of an evening as the calories taken in far outweigh the requirements of the body at that time of day, and if they aren’t being used, they’re being stored…. as fat.

You need to throw out that “3-meals-a-day” mentality, which has you constantly going to the fridge or shop to get snacks between breakfast, lunch and dinner, and be thinking about having smaller meals for breakfast lunch and dinner, with a planned snack/meal between each, a small salad, some fruit, nuts and seeds, yoghurt – anything ‘healthy’.

Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are

Next… DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! This is without doubt the most important meal of the day.

I’ve heard many clients, friends and family talking about exercising in the morning before breakfast as it helps burn off more fat – this is a myth.

Please do not attempt vigorous exercise on an empty stomach. The body needs energy first thing in the morning when you get up to replace energy used through the night. We’ve been talking about eating every 2-4 hours, well in the morning you’ve just gone anywhere up to 12 hours (or more) without eating! You’re body is crying out for nutrition, you need to break the fast. It is during the night that your body is busy repairing itself and resting. Hormone levels are regulated and your body is recharging – this requires energy and nutrients gained from your food. By the morning these are severely depleted and so need replacing.

This is also the meal that is going to provide your body with the fuel to start your day, without it you’ll be running on empty ‘til lunch (or whatever snack you need to tide you over ‘til lunch!), and a cup of tea and a biscuit just won’t cut it!

Try to eat complex carbohydrates and complete proteins – a fantastic breakfast that is quick and easy would be an omelette made with three egg whites (you can have one yolk so long as it’s from an organic or free-range, corn-fed hen) and some fresh vegetables. This will ensure a good amount of protein, with some essential fats and a good array of vitamins and minerals.

So, with the very basics of nutrition laid down (this is merely the tip of the iceberg), you should have a good idea of what you should and should not be eating, when to eat it, and why you are doing so.

If you aren’t convinced on why fitness professionals advocate organic foods so much, visit the links page at www.markonefitness.co.uk where you will find a video which shows you some of what goes on in the meat industry with non-organic, mass-production of our beef, chicken, turkey, eggs and pork. Organic food is not a fad, nor is it expensive…. It is merely the correct price for this food, which is being undercut by the large profit organisations producing much of our food.

One last note on the nutrition side of things is hydration. Far too many people constantly worry about food and what they eat, yet completely neglect hydration, with many of them walking around completely unaware that they are dehydrated.

This is a vital part of your fat loss plan as being dehydrated can inhibit the optimal functioning of organs and cells. Water is also a key ingredient for flushing toxins out of your system, if these aren’t processed they are stored….yup…you guessed it, in your fat cells. So if your not cleaning your system you are preventing your body from shifting that stubborn fat.

You should be aiming to drink at least 1 litre of water per 50lbs body weight, and if you drink tea or coffee, or anything containing caffeine, you need to drink even more water as these will be dehydrating you – not all drinks will hydrate you! Our bodies are designed to drink water, give it just that. I’m not saying you can never have a cup of tea or the odd glass of wine, but remember to drink extra water when you do and try not to make a habit of it!

Now to the exercise. How many of those “cardio junkies” you see in the gym, the ones that seem to run on the treadmills for hours on end, look how you want to look - or even, how they want to look? Not many.

Despite it being the long-standing, accepted method, cardiovascular exercise is not the key to successful and permanent fat loss.

The secret to burning calories lies in the muscles. These are the furnaces that burn the fuel (calories) and the harder they work, the more energy they need. Put simply – if you want to burn calories, work your muscles.

Long, arduous cardio workouts are very good for strengthening the cardiovascular system (heart, lungs and blood vessels), but they don’t work the muscles hard enough, and can even cause the body to go into a catabolic state (where it breaks down muscle rather than builds it). Now obviously, if we’re looking to burn calories, we don’t want to be losing muscle, so in order to stay in an anabolic state, we need to do shorter, more intense workouts, and we need to be lifting weights!

Let me clarify this ladies – by lifting weights you are NOT going to end up looking like Arnie (don’t worry guys, you won’t end up like Popeye’s Olive either), however, you ARE aiming to gain muscle.

Now, a few extra pounds of muscle spread across your whole body will not leave you looking like the female Hulk, but it will be a few extra pounds of furnace. This in mind, your weight on the scales may not change dramatically - remember what I said earlier about losing fat not weight? Don’t worry too much about weight, by all means make note of it, but don’t check it again for at least 5 weeks –gaining or losing one pound means nothing, something as simple as hydration can cause a bigger fluctuation in weight than this.

The b