20 quick tips to transform your body

1. Stop running for miles and miles and start resistance training instead. Running only burns calories while you do it, while resistance training will keep your body burning calories for hours, even while you sleep! Resistance training includes bodyweight exercises, dumbbells, weights, resistance bands, or kettlebell training.

2. Make sure 90% of your diet is made up of lean meat, vegetables, fruits, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Drink water whenever possible.

3. Use only exercises that work your entire body, rather than just one muscle at a time. For example, a bicep curl only targets the arm muscle. However, a push-up will work your arms, shoulders, core, and back muscles in one go. The more muscles you use, the more calories you burn!

4. Plan your exercise in terms of Quality (intensity), not Quantity (duration). A 20-minute hard workout is much more beneficial than a 60-minute light workout – anyone who tells you otherwise will be deceiving or simply lying to you.

5. Do not use fixed resistance machines! The reason many people are overweight is because they sit around all day. Do you really think that exercise machines that have you sitting even more will help you? In fact, it only leads to a less firm rear, which I’m sure is not what you want.

6. Don’t listen to anyone who advises you not to eat fruit because it contains sugar. The obesity epidemic did NOT happen because we ate too many apples …

7. Fruit juice, on the other hand, is not good for you, as the natural fiber has been removed. This allows the sugar to turn into fat.

8. White bread, white pasta, most breakfast cereals and cookies, Ryvita cookies are not good for you either.

9. Foods marked “healthy” or “low fat” are not better for you. This is because when the fat content is removed, manufacturers replace that fat with more sugar. Check the nutrition labels on the back if you don’t believe me …

10. Fat loss is NOT as simple as ‘Calorie In vs. Calorie Out’, even though that’s what the media tells us. If it were true, a person who eats 2000 kcal of ice cream a day should lose as much weight as a person who eats 2000 kcal of vegetables and meat. But we both know that is not the case.

11. Controlling your hormones is important in training. The hormone cortisol is released in your body when you are stressed. This hormone causes your body to store more fat (especially in women). So take steps to reduce the amount of stress in your life.

12. Another hormone, called insulin, is released in your body when you eat large amounts of sugar. The job of this hormone is to turn unused sugar into fat. So avoid sugar!

13. Eat healthier fats, fish, eggs, oils, nuts, and seeds. These fats are essential to boost your metabolism and make your skin and hair healthier.

14. Starving yourself for calories will only cause your body to store more fat. Your body simply thinks that you are starving and reacts by holding on to your body weight to live.

15. It is okay to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Eating 8 would be better.

16. Foods with fiber are among the best you can eat. Porridge should be a staple of your diet.

17. The ‘Special K Challenge’ is a pile of rubbish. Do you eat three small bowls of cereal (made from sugar) a day to lose weight? Yes, okay, you will lose weight. But that weight will be mostly water, muscle, bone mass, and leftover sugar stored in your muscles. You will still have the same amount of fat on your body and it will probably look worse. And it will deprive your body of essential fats, proteins, vitamins and minerals. That’s not healthy.

18. The key factor in a successful weight loss program is social support. When you exercise in a group setting, you are much more likely to stay motivated and accountable to your peers. A fitness program like Bodyshape Bootcamp gives you that social support.

19. Walking is not exercise. It is physical activity, something you should do every day in addition to a structured exercise program. I am in favor of walking as much as possible, but I am afraid it will not burn belly fat.

20. Take action TODAY – nothing will happen and your body will not change unless you take the first step. Find a reputable local coach or bootcamp group and get started now!