'Abs are made in the kitchen'

I'm one of those lucky people with a fast metabolism. I struggle to gain weight no matter what I eat. But I've found that if I want nicely defined abs have to control my diet. I can do all the sit ups in the world but without a healthy diet no one will see all the hard work.

Abs are made in the kitchen.

As a student I struggle to eat well even at the best of times. My budget is tight and I rarely have time to make any sort of meal plans. If I'm not out with friends I'm studying, training or sleeping. Over the summer holidays however, I had time to look at my diet and eat well. In combination with regular training sessions at the gym the results of this healthy eating were amazing. Now that a hectic term and exams are over I'm getting back into eating healthy. It's proving to be the hardest part of my overall fitness plan. So I'm going to start simple.

I have decided to start by eating breakfast. I have about three different types of cereal sat in the cupboard because I tend to get bored of eating the same thing each morning. I either go for something simple like some fruit (bananas are a life saver if you're running late), or some toast (wholegrain is best), or just a good old fashioned bowl of cereal. I've also taken to making huge batches of pasta (or some other meal prepared from scratch) at the beginning of the week and storing it in the fridge. This means I can just pop some in a box for lunch or for a pre/post work out snack.

I think the biggest mistake people can make is drastically changing their diet. A diet is for life. If it's going to work it needs to be reasonable. The more extreme you make it the more likely you are to give into temptation...and it's just a slippery slope from there. So start simple. Never ever cut something out completely. I personally love chocolate. But instead of cutting it out completely I have decided to buy dark chocolate. This means that a) I don't want as much and b) there is much less sugar in every piece I eat. I've sort of made a compromise with myself.

It's the simple things...

I was once in the gym when a girl almost collapsed because she hadn't eaten. She thought that not eating then exercising would make her lose weight faster but that is far from the case. Not eating is by far the worst thing you can do (for obvious reasons).

So make sure you eat when you are hungry. But do not mistake boredom for hunger. Keep portion sizes reasonable. You don't have to eat the whole damn bowl of food just because it's wasteful if you don't; pop it in the fridge and save it for later. Switch out cream for Greek yogurt, go for whole grain bread and pasta. If you're exercising regularly it is key to alter your diet so that you get enough protein and carbs (yes carbs are essential as well) to fuel your workouts and repair your muscle. Tuna is a brilliant source of protein. Be wary of food labeled 'low fat', the reason it is labeled low fat is because it is filled with sugar instead which can be just as bad. Try to eat fresh food if possible (that means eating your veggies as well!) but failing that read what is in your food. So many of us just don't bother to turn over the packet and read the nutritional information or find out just how much/what meat is actually in that pack of sausages (or indeed burgers...). There are 'ready meals' out there that are quite healthy. Although I would not recommend them all the time they are handy if you are just too busy to prepare a meal from scratch and if you're going to resort to them at least pick the healthier ones.

To keep this post sorter than a book I'll go more in depth on this subject in later posts. Altering your diet to suit your lifestyle, goals and body type is key (I will also cover the basics on finding out what body type you are). If you are serious about gaining some muscle definition and hit the gym regularly supplements such as whey protein and creatine are also worth looking into. I will also try to cover 'fast' and 'slow' burning carbs. Please bare in mind I am not a nutritionist so the information I give is just a helpful guide at most. I am however, good at doing my research. The internet is a wonderful tool if you know how to use it properly. It has all the information you could ever want if you just have the patience and aptitude to sift through the crap.

'First we form habits, then they form us. Conquer your bad habits or they will conquer you' --Rob Gilbert

Useful link: https://www.facebook.com/FitnessRecipes Click on 'Photos' then 'Albums' for some good, healthy recipes.