First Nutritional Target - Hit a daily protein target.

Try to get some more protein in your diet. A good target I like to aim for with my clients is 1.5-2.2g of protein per KG of body weight. Lets say you weigh 80KG then I would like you to try and aim for 120-178g of protein a day. Example of 120g a day…

Breakfast - 30grams

Mid morning snack - 15grams

Lunch - 30 grams

Min afternoon snack - 15grams

Evening meal - 30 grams

It doesn’t have to be this precise but try to get a good serving of protein with each meal.

By eating a higher protein diet it will actually burn more calories through digestion. Protein is also very satiating and it will help to supress the feeling of hunger, which will keep us feeling full for longer and lead to less snacking.

Try to eat leaner sources of protein too and less fatty cuts of protein. Take a look at the PDF below to see some different protein sources.

Second Nutritional Target - Try to eat more whole foods. Aiming for 30g of fibre a day is a good place to start.

Foods that are high in fibre…

• Weetabix.

• Porridge.

• Wholemeal or granary breads.

• Wholegrains like whole-wheat pasta or brown rice.

• Potatoes with the skin on.

• Pulses such as beans, lentils or chickpeas.

• Fruit and vegetables are key here as they are low in calories and high in nutrients and fibre. Aim for your five a day.

Take a look at my carbohydrates video where I will list some good sources of carbohydrates.

Third Nutritional Target - Drink more water and try to cut back on your liquid calories.

Now this is something a lot of people struggle to do whether you are too busy, forget or don’t like the taste.

Water intake is very important for our health and its important to be replace the fluids that we loose throughout the day. If we are drinking enough water then we are less likely to get headaches, less likely to snack and we will feel more energised which will also lead to better performance in the gym. One of the best indicators we have is the colour of our urine, if its clear or slightly yellow we are probably drinking enough, if its dark yellow we probably are not.

Liquid calories are often forgotten about when it come to your daily calorie intake as they are not in the form of food but liquid calories are still calories. If you are someone who enjoys a can of fizzy drink then why not switch to a zero calorie alternative and save yourself the calories. I know the taste may not be 100% the same but that will allow you to consume more food. Its worth to have a think about it and it is normally a welcome change to your diet. This will also help to protect your teeth.

My goal for you is to cut back on your liquid calories, maybe swap to low calorie alternatives and try to drink more water! Why not start with a pint of water every morning as we wake up as this is when we are most dehydrated. Then throughout the day make an active effort to drink more. 6-8 glasses a day is a good target to aim for.

First Exercise Target - Complete these 3 workouts each week for the first 4 weeks, ideally with a rest day in-between.

Workout 2

Workout 3

Second Exercise Target - Get Your Steps Up

(If you are already someone who walks 10,000 plus steps a day I am not expecting you to keep upping your steps further, as 10,000 steps a day is amazing already.)

Walking Your Way To Fat Loss

Simply going for daily walks can be a great way to burn some extra calories. That is why a step goal can be such a useful tool to utilize. I want you to improve your current amount of daily steps by 2,000 steps a day or 14,000 across the week. By adding a weekly target it allows for a little bit of flexibility. Some days in the week you may be busier than others so when you are free you can make up for it by heading out for a nice walk on the weekend.

Using your phone or an fitness watch is probably the best way to track this although these can sometimes be a little unreliable, nevertheless it is a good guide.

The average person will walk about 1,000 step in 10 minutes so 2,000 step a day can be done in 20 minutes. A couple of thousand can be done daily by moving around the house and doing daily chores etc.

To summarise try to hit these goals over the first 4 weeks

1. Think about consuming more protein within your meals throughout the day, ideally 1.5-2.2g of protein per KG of bodyweight.

2. Aim for 30g of fibre a day. This means trying to substitute some white bread, pasta and rice etc for wholemeal and wholegrain versions (not all the time but occasionally), also try adding 5 servings of fruit and veg to your daily routine as a good target to aim for too. Cooking from my recipe books will help you hit these protein and fibre targets.

3. Try to cut back on your liquid calories maybe swap to low calorie alternatives and try to drink more water.

4. Carry out my 3 workouts each week with a rest day in-between.

5. An added 2,000 steps a day or 14,000 steps a week throughout these 4 weeks.

YOU CAN DO IT

Once the 4 weeks are up you can move onto your second block.