Here at The Fitting Rooms we generally don’t advocate overly regular measurements of body composition as we feel that long-term, sustainable improvements do not happen overnight, and close monitoring can actually lead to frustration and demotivation. However, this is the first time I’ve had my body fat % measured this year and so this seemed a good opportunity to talk a little about our philosophy on achieving body composition goals, healthily.

The measurements I had taken today came up at around 8%. I haven’t been on a crash diet, I like a drink at the weekend and I don’t spend every day training at the gym. I feel strong, happy, full of energy and never hungry. I supplement my diet with 1x multivitamin, 1x cod liver oil, 1x vitamin D tablet and 3x BCAA tablets daily.

At The Fitting Rooms we encourage moderation and believe that the route to long-term body composition improvement is not best achieved through drastically low calorie diets; training twice a day, 6 times a week or denying yourself a drink for months on end! Bad habits and unhealthy food choices obviously need to be addressed but your lifestyle should be sustainable and enjoyable, otherwise what’s the point?

Our first course of action with clients is to wean them off excess refined sugars. This means cutting down on (and ideally, out) all fizzy or sugary drinks, processed snacks and ready meals. We encourage always cooking fresh food from scratch, but fresh does not have to mean bland! Using herbs and spices, including chilli, ginger and garlic, ensures that meals are not only tasty but also packed full of other healthy benefits, for example: turmeric is great for inflammation whilst garlic helps fight off colds by boosting your immune system.

Exercise needs to become a fixed part of your weekly routine: choose your training days and times and book them in your diary. Try to break the habit of going to the pub after work, and instead get yourself down the gym. The hardest part will always be getting there, but once you are you’ll be glad you did! Exercise releases endorphins in the body and you’ll soon feel the stresses of the day fade away as you get your sweat on. And remember there’s no need to spend hours training: if you’re pushing yourself with the right intensity, 45 mins will suffice, with extra time for a warm up, cool down and mobility work.

Learn to enjoy cooking fresh food from scratch and make exercise habitual and you’ll be a clean-eating gym-rat before you know it!

To help get you started and keep you on track, we offer industry leading Online Personal Training. Click here to find out more: Online Training Programs