With spring coming up there will be a myriad of fat loss diets and unsustainable ways of losing fat appearing in social media feeds and magazines.

In my mind, the basics of healthy eating, whether it be for fat loss or a health issue, come down to a few simple things.

• Eat real food! If it comes in a box or packet, read the ingredients. If it has more than a few ingredients, it probably isn’t the best choice for you. Real food is things like protein (chicken, lean meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, edamame beans, tofu and legumes), fresh and frozen veggies, fruit, good fats found in avocado, nuts and seeds, olive oil and avocado oil. These foods have only one ingredient and should form the bulk of your daily diet.

• Drink plenty of water and also herbal teas if you like them.

• Get enough quality sleep

• Moderate alcohol consumption

• Move regularly – aim to do some form of exercise most days of the week. The exercise that you enjoy is the one that you will stick with.

Then, it all comes down to consistency. The more often you incorporate the above habits into your daily life, the more likely it is that you will continue to do so. 

Let’s face it, we would all love to find the holy grail where we could eat and drink what we like and still lose fat and feel amazing. Sadly, that is not going to happen and the only way to get and to keep the results is to consistently apply good habits most of the time.

I meet lots of clients who have tried many different methods to lose weight. Many have tried drastically cutting back their calories only to find that hunger drives them to overeat and then the whole cycle starts again. No one wants to go 'on a diet’ and realistically anyone who goes on a diet is going to ‘come off a diet’ at some stage. The goal is to find a sustainable way of eating that can become a long term way of living for you.

I know, food planning and prepping takes time and effort, but it is so worth it to be able to come home to meals that just need warming up and extra veggies cooking. One thing I really noticed in English supermarkets was the huge range of ready meals. It was always the busiest section of the supermarkets. Some of the meals are probably not too bad, but they are unlikely to provide enough veggies and possibly protein and these are two critical components of a healthy diet.

With spring hopefully not too far away it is time to get back into good habits and shake off any winter regain. Let me guide and support you to eating better, feeling better and doing the best you can to prevent future health issues.