It’s important to point out at the start of this that without more information about you, it’s virtually impossible to tell you how you could behave to kickstart your progress.
Instead of seeing this article as a comprehensive guide, think of this as a set of guidelines that will probably give you more results than looking for the latest hack or fad.
These pieces are often the big pieces of the puzzle that get missed because they’re not easily marketable and no one can sell you them!
These pieces are so simplistic that they’re often missed by people but will help out anyone, whether you’re brand new to any sort of fitness or a professional athlete.
So, ask yourself these questions:
1 – Do you eat whole foods with most meals?
Whole foods keep you feeling fuller for longer, are packed with nutrients and are also available virtually everywhere – make your life easy by getting the majority of your calories from whole foods. Your waistline and bank balance will probably thank you.
2 – Do you eat protein with every meal?
Protein is found in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products and vegan alternatives to all those. Proteins are the building blocks of your muscles and eating some at regular intervals throughout the day keeps your body ticking along nicely and your belly feeling full. If you don’t know how much to eat then start with a portion of one of the foods listed above at each meal.
3 – Do you eat 5 portions of vegetables and fruits per day?
Vegetables are full of water, fibre and vitamins and minerals – getting more of all these things is rarely a bad idea! A variety of them cooked in a variety of ways will also provide new tastes and textures to keep your meals interesting. Fruit can be a great way to snack and get extra nutrients in without any special preparation required.
4 – Do you sleep around 8 hours a night?
Not sleeping is one of the fastest ways to short circuit your body. Lack of sleep will leave you feeling sluggish and make your performance worse at work and at home. If you aren’t sleeping well then fixing this is often the start of fixing the bigger picture. Go to bed half an hour earlier than usual and leave your phone downstairs – see if it kickstarts your morning (and if you are reliant on your phone as an alarm clock, then spend £10 on a stand-alone alarm clock from Amazon).
5 – Do you drink enough water throughout the day?
A great place to start from is 30ml per kg of bodyweight – any exercise you do will increase that demand. Dehydration will make you feel tired and irritable, as well as making everything physical you do feel harder. If you know you routinely don’t drink enough then fill up a large bottle in the morning and start sipping instead of trying to get it all in in the evening as you’ll probably not sleep well as you’ll be up and down from the toilet all night!