With spring just around the corner, you may be thinking about fresh new ways to shake up your wellbeing – but why limit this to the warmer months? Louise Parker, body transformation expert, shares her top 10 tips for real, long-lasting diet and fitness changes that last all year round:
1 Change can start at any time
I advocate a ‘diet-free’ weight loss and lifestyle change that can be started at any time of year – because I believe in a sustainable method that needs to last forever. And forever is a really long time. My very top tip would be to ask yourself, whatever program you are considering, the question ‘Will I still be maintaining 70% of this in 5 years time?’ If not, move on, it’s a fad and it will do you more harm than good.
2 Keep your wits about you
The weight loss industry is big business, and you have to really stand back and assess. Know when you are being sold something that seems too good to be true. No one supplement or miracle pill is going to change your life. You have to start with the basics.
3 Learn to ‘eat beautifully’
Ensure you’re being coached by experts such as registered dieticians. Eat in a highly nutritious way that will encourage really satisfying fat loss, whilst not eliminating any food groups. Once you reach your goal, eat in balance. It’s important to learn how to weave life’s celebrations into your new style of eating. True balance can be taught and being ‘ultra healthy’ all of the time is not normal.
4 Work out intelligently
I’m a working mum of three young girls and have no more inclination to spend hours in the gym than you do. You’ll be amazed how you can transform your body by focusing on exercises that simultaneously burn fat and really sculpt your body. Now that I’m in maintenance, it’s often 20 to 30 minutes a day. The trick is not to stop – just keep paying your daily rent to your body. If you don’t stop, you won’t stop. It’s all about habit.
5 Think successfully
You have to utterly believe that you can achieve stunning results, inside and out. You have to let go of the mentality of ‘I always fail’. If you’ve failed at diets in the past, you are not the failure. The diet is the failure, because it was unsustainable. Once you’re following an intelligent, kind program, you will find freedom dieting and reach your best body.
6 Live well
This is a key pillar to The Louise Parker Method. By this, I mean that it’s crucial you rest, resolve problems as best you can as they arise, take time out for you and most importantly increase your sleep. I have a ‘digital detox’ after 9pm and always sleep better for it. When you sleep well and live well, your hormones balance beautifully and really give your willpower a massive helping hand. Your cortisol, leptin, blood sugar levels and ghrehlin levels are balanced and I, hand on heart promise, you feel better.
Ghrelin is your hunger hormone and when you are sleep deprived, it literally fuels your appetite. A great fat loss tip that you can do lying down! So nap more!
7 Don’t obsess about your weight
Do check it, but no more than once a fortnight on ordinary bathroom scales. We’re looking for trends and if you pop on every day, you are literally wasting your time. Water, hormones and all manner of things will affect your total weight.
8 There’s a difference between ‘weight loss’ and ‘fat loss’
Focus on reducing your fat loss, whilst maintaining your very precious muscle mass which fuels your metabolism, improves your bone density and most of all, sculpts a beautiful figure.
9 Get support
You’ll find amazing support from all the followers of my book <Lean for Life: The Cookbook> on my Twitter and Instagram pages.
10 Supplement intelligently
They really do help – but edit it down. If you’ve got 10 pots in your kitchen, I promise you they will gather dust. I regularly take Enterosgel, my best discovery this year. It helps to remove toxins from the body which is helpful to anyone suffering from obesity or losing weight. It’s safe, natural and I regularly give a tablespoon to my girls if they’re coming down with a bug. Somehow the following day, it’s nipped in the bud. It works wonders on hangovers too. I take a tablespoon a day. A great quality multi-vitamin is just good insurance – make sure it contains a good vitamin B complex. I take CLA (conjugated lineoic acid from the safflower plant) which helps preserve muscle mass – so essential for metabolism. Lastly, Vitamin D – most of us are deficient and if you are, you will feel tired all the time. So very important in the winter months. Lastly, stick to no more than 4 supplements at any one time – or you really won’t take them regularly. And like all the pillars of my method, it’s all about consistency. We are our habits.
Are you making any positive changes for spring? Tweet us or tag us on Facebook and Instagram – we love to hear from you!