Every day of the year I work with clients to improve their lifestyle, fitness, energy levels and body shape. This is something I love doing and when you see someone’s whole mindset change once they have experienced a whole food diet with very little processed food and lots exercise ideal for them the transformation is amazing, physically and mentally.
Clients always tell me the same thing a few months into their newfound fitness and lifestyle. They don’t even recognise how unhealthy they had become or how bad they really felt day to day until they made the changes for the better. Once I see someone reach this point I know they will never go back. I know this because I was also one of these people before I became a trainer. I was a smoker, drinker and 5 stone heavier not realising how unhealthy I was until I got in shape.
The answer that the food industry and the government have been telling us for the past few years to solve the obesity epidemic is to simply eat less and exercise more. This is simply wrong.
The real answer is not as simple as this. The answer in actual fact is to not eat less but eat better.
All calories aren’t created equal. Man made processed foods with little nutrients, which are full of sugar and fat, are killing our population and causing the huge weight problems we are now seeing worldwide. We are surrounded by processed foods and these days we have to make a conscious decision not to eat something unhealthy.
30 years ago people weren’t overweight in Ireland. People ate porridge for breakfast, a sandwich at lunch and meat and vegetables for dinner with maybe some fruit throughout the day. They also cycled or walked to work and had jobs with lots of manual labour. So 30 years ago people were more active and they ate a whole food diet made by nature. Only about 5% of the population was overweight when this was Irelands lifestyle.
People these days have hugely inactive lives. We don’t walk, cycle or move much at all, we work mainly at desk jobs, we eat huge amounts of processed foods with very little fruit, vegetables or whole foods and we drink more alcohol than ever.
Now Ireland’s obesity/overweight figures are 70% of the population. Really think about that for a minute, 7 out of every 10 people are now either overweight or obese. It’s not rocket science to see from the above why we are becoming fatter and fatter as a nation. The Government predicts that by 2030 our population will have a 90% overweight/obese statistic making us the fattest nation in Europe.
The most common complaint I hear from new clients before they start is that they have no energy, sore backs, feel tired all the time, feel bad about their body and don’t know how to change. These are all symptoms of an inactive lifestyle and lack of good whole food.
Let me be completely honest with you. There is no magic pill. If you want to be fit, healthy and happy with your body it takes hard work and lots of changes. The secret is to slowly change one thing each week for the better.
Start with walking 30 minutes a day. When it comes to changing your nutrition for the better start by cutting down on processed foods, sugar and alcohol. Next look at one meal a week where you are going to make sure you have 1-3 healthy options you can choose from that keep you away from processed convenience foods. After a few weeks you will realise how much better you feel from just these small changes.
Don’t eat less just eat better. Eat whole food (Lean meats, lots green vegetables, small amounts of root vegetables and some good fats like avocado or olive oil) 3 meals a day and a couple of healthy whole food snack like fruit and nuts. If you do this you will never have to count a calorie ever again.
Don’t just exercise, but make sure you’re using your body. Do some weights whether it be with a trainer, in the gym or in a class. This is so important for the health of your muscles, bones and joints as we are so sedentary nowadays. Along with this run, swim or cycle for your aerobic fitness. The body is made to move, so move it as much as possible in lots of different ways.
So remember don’t just eat less and exercise more but more importantly just eat better and exercise smarter.
Jonathan Ledden – BodyByrne Fitness
Senior Personal Trainer