Simon Says . . . Simon Goswell - owner and Head Coach of Full Circle Fitness in Dry Drayton – offers enlightenment on achieving good nutrition

In his first bi-monthly column, Simon Goswell - owner and Head Coach of Full Circle Fitness in Dry Drayton, and a hands-on Dad to two children and a dog – offers enlightenment on achieving good nutrition. . .

Nutrition – keep it simple!

From experience, nutrition is easily the area of health and fitness that carries the most confusion for many people trying to get healthy and look great. But it doesn’t have to be.

I like to keep this subject as simple as possible. For the majority of the people I have worked with, there is little need to look beyond simply eating sensibly, consistently, to see fabulous results. There are some cases where a specialised nutrition plan are required, but beyond being a performance athlete, figure model, some special health considerations and a few other cases, there is very little need to overcomplicate nutrition.

The reality of modern life is that for many of us, particularly parents of young kids, life is 100mph. It’s simply not practical to follow a complicated nutrition plan. For this reason, at Full Circle Fitness we have adapted a ‘simple is best’ approach to our client’s nutrition and meal plans.

Let’s look at some of the things you should consider avoiding if you want to be fit, healthy and well.

Culprit #1:

Sugar

Why?

Sugar is a major cause of obesity and poor health in the UK.

Dietary sugar contributes significantly to fat gain as well as a host of other serious health problems.

Culprit #2:

Wheat / Gluten

Why?

The jury is out on many of the health concerns raised with wheat or gluten but what is certain is that certain individuals are highly intolerant of either and can experience serious health problems after eating them. My experience is that individuals who expose themselves to higher amounts of dietary wheat or gluten, often experience digestive problems, bloating or weight gain.

Culprit #3:

Processed fats / or trans fats

Why?

As well as being associated with causing an increase in bad cholesterol, they are devoid of nutrients but high in calories. Usually found in processed foods and ‘treats’ and often sit next to some or all of the other items on the Hit List.

This is where the inevitable question “what should I eat?” is likely to raise its head. For the purpose of this article, there is no one size fits all but as a rule of thumb, many of the people we speak to have too many carbohydrates in their diet. This can quickly lead to weight gain.

As a simple exercise, write 3 columns on a sheet of paper with the headings Carbs, Fats and Proteins. Keep a food diary for 2 or 3 days logging each food item you eat in the relevant column. Your aim here is to try to have roughly an equal amount of protein Vs carbs and a small amount of healthy fats such as nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil or avocado.

One of the main barriers we find our clients experience when trying to eat well is inspiration. Luckily, the internet is packed with excellent suggestions. Try typing ‘quick healthy breakfast’ or ‘easy healthy dinner’ and you’ll get a host of recipes. You can also run the same search for recipe books on Amazon or similar.

Whilst all of this advice may seem to have arrived from the school of the obvious, it doesn’t mean it isn’t effective. One of the biggest hurdles our clients come across is making a healthy lifestyle a consistent feature in their busy lives. For this reason, if you are starting your health and fitness journey, my advice is to keep it as simple as possible.

Eat well often, move as much as you can and frequently set yourself goals - and staying on track should soon feel like a habit vs a chore.

Keep it simple folks and drop me a line if you need any help.

Simon

Full Circle Fitness is at Unit 19, Dry Drayton Industries, Scotland Road, Dry Drayton, CB23 8AT. Find out more at full-circle-fitness.co.uk or email Simon at simon@full-circle-fitness.co.uk