A fitness coach from Northern Ireland has shared her top tips on getting in shape this summer and how to stop yo-yo dieting.
Leah Clarke from Coleraine is an online coach and 1-1 personal trainer who says her goal is to help as many people as possible raise their self confidence by providing them with 'realistic lifestyle changes'.
The 25-year-old has shared the mistakes people make, says that there is no such thing as a "bad foods" and has given tips on how to stay motivated.
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The Co Derry woman, who has a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, told Be : "By no means was I a fitness guru at university.
"I still loved to go out, drink and eat a McDonald's on the way home, but it got to a stage where I got really uncomfortable with how I looked so I knew it was time for a change.
"I had just moved back home with my mum at the time, her and my aunt are both also personal trainers, so together they really helped me get fully into a good routine with training and nutrition.
"I loved it so much and how it made me feel that I wanted to become a coach myself so I could help other women feel good as well. Fast forward two and a half years and here we are."
Leah says a mistake a lot of people make is that they think there is a "magic diet or workout programme that will help them achieve their goals".
She added: "There isn’t! It’s really simple, to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit and to gain muscle you must be in a slight calorie surplus or maintenance calories. When it comes to training and losing weight, you technically don’t need to train at all if you don’t want to.
"However for health and optimal results, I recommend it. For me, three sessions a week is a good starting point, and remaining consistent is key! For muscle building, you really need to ensure your protein intake is high and that you're following a structured programme, keeping a workout log book and beating your gym numbers each week as well as prioritising recovery.
"Four to five times training per week is optimal for muscle growth."
Leah also explained why it is vital that your calorie intake is not too low.
"I have seen some people on mad low calories before and personally anything below 1200 is too low. I try not to put my clients on any less than 1500 if I can help it, there’s just no need for it.
"It creates a bad relationship with food because you end up starving and wanting to binge. Yes you may lose weight quicker, but it won’t stay off because you won’t be able to maintain that diet," she said.
The fitness coach added: "Increase your calories during the week, leaving yourself less of an urge... It may take you a little longer to reach your goal but you will get into a better routine."
Leah has given her top tips to help those who are trying to eat better stay on track.
1. Don’t buy junk food and then it won’t be in the house to eat
2. Don’t class any food as 'bad' as any food is OK in moderation
3. A lot of the time having the support of a good coach that will create you a meal plan that has already all your favourite foods in it means you won’t feel the need to binge
4. Find comfort in something else other than food like running, reading, taking a bath, taking a walk and listening to a podcast. Your body will soon adjust and the cravings will eventually stop being so often.
"Again everything in moderation, the sooner people start realising that carbs aren’t bad, chocolate isn’t bad.. it’s how often and how much you eat of them that will affect you, not the actual food!" she said.
Leah also explained that "believing that things such as diet pills, shakes and no-carb diets will work" are some of the mistakes people make.
The 25-year-old said: "Yes it may get some weight off, but what are you doing to do when you stop with that particular diet? Your weight will bounce right back. Carbs aren’t bad, you can eat them after 7pm and you don’t need to be doing anything crazy to achieve your goals. A good plan and consistency is all you need!"
She added that your fitness or transformation journey starts with your nutrition which is "80% of the battle".
"Second to that comes things like your daily steps. Honestly, walking is the most underrated exercise for fat loss. Start aiming for 8,000-10,000 steps a day and you will notice a difference.
"Once you have nailed all of that, then look at adding some other types of training in, whether it’s getting a coach, going to a few gym classes or just creating your own gym programme. Lifting weights is what will help 'shape' your body the most," Leah advises.
The Coleraine woman also gave her tops on staying motivated and said: "Motivation won’t always be there, you need to work on being disciplined as well.. but to start I always recommend -
1. Ensuring you're eating foods you enjoy and doing the exercises you enjoy
2. Some new gym outfits always help with actually getting to the gym. You want to feel good when you're working out!
3. Take some before pictures. If that’s not how you want to look, then use them as your motivation to better yourself both physically and mentally
4. Create yourself a playlist with all your favourite music to get you in the mood!
"I think people see dieting as this big scary thing that is really hard... it’s not, trust me! Don’t over complicate it, set some simple steps up to follow with consistency and be patient. The results will come!"
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