Your 7-Point Nutrition and Exercise Checklist

1) Are you eating too much – If your total calorie intake is still too high, you may need to eat slightly less each day to get your weight loss moving. Just 150-200 calories a day might just do it! It is very easy to exceed the amount of calories your body can actually “use” just by having those extra biscuits everyday, the drinks in the evening. Having treats and little extras once a week isn’t going to hurt – but if you have a small “daily extra” eating habit, it will make a difference to your weight loss. If you are already eating small amounts, read on…

2) Have you balanced your protein, CHO and fat to suit YOUR body? Macronutrient balance is crucial to effective fat loss. Some people are particularly sensitive to carbohydrates in their diet and store fat easily with carbs. These are the people who gain weight easily and often say “I have a slow metabolism”. Be aware of the potential to gain weight with too much carbohydrate.

3) Are you eating “quality” nutritious food? You need plenty of nutrients to lose weight effectively, so make sure the foods you are eating are natural, unprocessed and nutrient-dense foods.

4) Are you exercising enough times in the week – You know one of the best reasons to exercise, is you can eat more, without worrying about gaining fat! Exercise increases levels of fat-burning enzymes and regulates hormones involved in fat metabolism. If you are existing on very few calories, but not losing weight, you really do need to exercise more often than you are, as well as eat small balanced meals very regularly throughout the day – maybe 5 to 6 times. This is a great way (and possibly the only way) to drive your metabolism back up. The less you eat the more you drive your metabolic rate down. It is always better to burn your excess fat by exercising, not try to starve it away! For effective weight (fat) loss, try and be active daily, but specifically, do at least 3 “aerobic” exercise sessions 30-60 mins 3-5 times a week. My ideal recommendation would be 5 sessions of 45-60 minutes.

5) Are you exercising for LONG enough – Read the above again! If you are already doing 30 minutes, 3 times a week, then increase those sessions to 45 minutes. You will see a difference in a few weeks, if you not compensating by eating more!

6) Have you thought about changing the TYPE of exercise you do? The body adapts very quickly to a mode of exercise. If you always cycle, try power walking and progressing to running, or try and build up your stamina in the pool, or a stair master or cross-trainer. There are many ways nowadays to find effective modes of cardiovascular exercise.

7) Have you thought about incorporating intervals into your aerobic exercise sessions? “Intervals” are repeated bursts of higher intensity exercise, lasting anywhere between 1-5 minutes. Not only do they make an exercise session more interesting, they help the body burn more calories during exercise AND more fat after exercise. Not a bad deal for simply “stepping out of your comfort zone” once in while!

If you are trying to lose weight and get fitter, don’t worry if you feel you haven’t got EVERYTHING right. Work on the important aspects that relate to YOU, and if you need help – ask.

Lucy-Ann Prideaux MSc BSc RNutr is a registered Nutritionist in the UK. She runs a nutrition consultancy “Simply Nutrition”, and is author and founder of YeartoSlim, a popular year-long e-mail delivered weight loss program, and on-line community.
Visit http://www.yeartoslim.com

E-mail me at [email protected]

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