All it took was a conversation with a personal trainer from London’s Canary Wharf to understand just how much my nutritional deficiencies were undermining my weight loss efforts.
From Fisherman’s Wharf to Canary Wharf, personal trainers across the globe can agree on one thing - our focus on nutrition isn’t what it ought to be. However, one of the biggest barriers to making nutrition our ally in the ongoing battle to lose weight is really nothing more than a lack of knowledge.
If you’re interested in learning more about the role of nutrition in the modern weight loss game, connecting with a personal trainer can be a huge first step.
After all, if your experience has been anything like mine, weight loss has always been an area spent focusing on what we shouldn’t be eating rather than on what we should eat…and nutrition often gets pushed to the side.
Not today. But let’s consider one fact: you need to burn more calories than you’re consuming if you want to lose weight and keep it off. However, that does not mean we have to starve ourselves. It just means having a little discipline to include the right foods in our diet and eating less of the foods that aren’t helping.
Sound complicated? It’s not. Drawing on the expertise of London’s most sought-after personal trainers, we’ll show you how to use smarter nutrition as an easy strategy to boost your metabolism and ignite your body’s calorie-burning potential.
Protein Sources are Essential!
Our diets consist primarily of three macronutrients: carbs, fats, and protein. Of those three, protein plays the most vital role in how successful we are in losing weight and keeping it off. It helps us achieve this in a couple of interesting ways. For starters, protein has powerful properties as an appetite suppressant. When we eat protein-rich sources like eggs, peanuts, and lean meats, we feel fuller longer.
Protein also has a strong connection to our body’s ability to build lean, fat-burning muscle tissue. The more muscle mass in our bodies, the higher our daily caloric burn rate will be. In other words, a diet that includes ample sources of protein-rich foods leads to weight loss success because we’re hungry less often and our metabolism gets a boost.
Studies show that we should be consuming 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. But that doesn’t mean you need to focus exclusively on meat sources or make a rash commitment to an Atkin’s-like diet. In fact, one Canary Wharf personal trainer told me that eating a variety of protein sources is key to a healthy nutritional balance. As you include more protein sources in your diet, consider the array of plant-based proteins and powders that you can experiment with.
Focus on Fiber
Brits aren’t getting enough fiber! That’s unfortunate because it’s no less important than protein when it comes to your weight loss success. Fiber sources like fresh fruits and veggies include “roughage” or “bulk” – things our bodies can’t digest. But it’s also the stuff that moves fat through our digestive system at a faster rate. Therefore, we absorb less fat when we eat more fiber!
Fiber also helps us lose weight by regulating our blood sugar levels. When we don’t experience wild swings in our blood sugar levels, we’re less likely to have to deal with those pesky hunger cravings that so often interfere with our weight loss goals.
Most of us tend to associate fiber with fruits and vegetables. However, nuts, whole grains, beans, and seeds are also great sources of fiber. Just keep something in mind - if you’re focusing on fiber for the first time, add it in to your diet slowly. If you suddenly binge on fiber sources hoping to spark its fat burning properties, you may experience bloating and (ahem) “gassiness.” Increase your fiber intake gradually over the course of several weeks to see how your body responds.
Hydrate!
Scarcely half of British adults are drinking enough water – a huge disadvantage if weight loss is your goal. Without proper hydration, personal trainers tell us that we put ourselves at a greater risk of obesity. Chiefly because water plays such a vital role in breaking fat down into useable sources of fuel.
Our bodies are 60% water, and not getting enough of it can lead to a whole host of ailments ranging from poor cognitive function to higher blood pressure. So, the advantages of staying properly hydrated go far beyond a slimmer figure.
The personal trainers I spoke with promote proper hydration as a major step in living a healthier lifestyle!
Seems easy, but approximately 40% of Brits say they don’t drink enough water simply because life gets in their way. They get distracted and simply forget to drink enough water. One Canary Wharf personal trainer suggests getting around this by developing a habit of keeping a water bottle with us wherever we go. Having a source of water immediately available allows us to take sips throughout the day.
Another personal trainer recommends his clients pause for a moment before snacking. It’s often said that we tend to confuse hunger for thirst. If we simply stop whenever we feel those hunger pangs to ask ourselves ‘have I had enough water today,’ it can be an effective way to hydrate more and consume fewer calories.
One personal trainer we spoke with was big on exploring the many apps available that track your water intake and you can even consider the world of “smart water bottles.”
How much water we need to drink depends on many factors, including our body size, diet, how much physical activity we get, even the climate where we live. We talked to two Canary Wharf personal trainers who gave us their opinion on the topic. The method they use with their clients to estimate how much water they should consume is to divide their weight in half and drink that number in ounces per day.
Quit Drinking Unnecessary Calories!
To lose weight and keep it off we need to be mindful of all our calorie sources. As energy drinks continue to gain popularity, a lot of extra calories are “sneaking” into our diets. This is especially true in the U.S. where Americans drink an average of 400 calories a day!
While tempting us everywhere from gas stations to kiosks in departments stores, energy drinks and specialty coffees can be a huge liability if weight loss is your goal. These beverages, though convenient and tasty, are often nutrient poor, containing little to no fiber content and few vitamins or minerals. And they’re often mega-loaded with calories.
The best advice personal trainers have offered is to simply be wary of what beverages you consume throughout the day and prioritize your water intake.
Conclusion
The popularity of personal trainers is rising, especially amongst people with goals as simple as weight loss. And nutrition is an area where personal trainers can offer remarkable guidance in terms of how it can be applied to weight loss. Though the fact remains that weight loss occurs only when we burn more calories than we consume. The advantage of the nutritional strategies mentioned above is their ability to help us accelerate the rate at which our bodies burn calories and do it in a way that’s healthy and safe.