| When you’re working out regularly, it’s important to keep yourself well hydrated and fuelled by putting enough of the right ingredients into your body.
Just a few key changes to your eating habits will help you to get in shape and be healthier. Try these tips to get you on the right track:
Cut out processed food (anything that is not in its original state) wherever you can. Try replacing them with fruit – it’s just as portable and and easy to eat on the go Cut down on caffeine, it’s a diuretic (it will dehydrate you), affects your sleep patterns and can become addictive Drink at least two litres of water a day and do not add salt to your food.
What to eat If the thought of cutting back fills you with horror, why not think about adding healthy things to your diet rather than cutting unhealthy things out. Make sure that you eat as much as you can from the following list, and chances are that you’ll be too full for unhealthy snacks anyway! Fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, fish, potatoes, oats, pulses, unsalted nuts and seeds, nuts or seeds without salt or flavouring, live natural yoghurt, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, honey, herbal/fruit teas. Try to only eat the following foods in moderation, as they slow down your digestive system and leave you feeling tired: Fatty meat, saturated fat in dairy products, pastry, cakes and biscuits, crisps, chocolate, sweets, jam and sugar, processed foods, alcohol, coffee and tea, sauces and pickles, fizzy drinks (including diet varieties).
Maximise your metabolism
Everybody’s heard the word ‘metabolism’ and many people use it as a way of explaining why he or she can’t lose weight. But not as many people actually understand how their metabolic rate affects them.
Your metabolism is the amount of calories you burn at rest or your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - the amount of energy your body uses to function. The average 30-year-old woman burns around 1,450 calories daily when not doing any exercise and the average 30-year-old man uses around 1,800 calories daily - just to exist. After 30, your metabolism slows down. If you continue to eat the way you did in your 20s you'll be consuming more calories than your body can use.
The good news is you can improve your metabolic rate, and that the best way is through exercise. Here are some other ways to maximise your metabolic rate:
Eat breakfast Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn't pick up speed until you eat. So you should always eat a healthy breakfast. Choose a high-fibre breakfast as fibre helps you feel fuller for longer and helps stabilise blood sugars.
Increase your protein
Because protein is harder for your body to break down than fat and carbs, you burn more calories getting rid of them. Try to ensure that 10 to 35 percent of your total daily calories come from protein. Eat little and often Eating five to six small meals every day rather than three larger meals keeps your metabolism firing all day. It will also prevent you from getting so hungry that you overeat. Try not to go without food for more than four hours and make sure each meal includes protein. Train smarter Adding short bursts of high-intensity training (eg sprints) to your workouts is a great way to boost your metabolism. Do some weight training A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories a pound of fat does and regular strength training can increase your resting metabolic rate anywhere from 6.8 to 7.8 percent. Studies show you can get results from just two fifteen-minute sessions of weight training a week. Get some sleep When you're tired, your body lacks the energy to do its normal day-to-day functions, which include burning calories, so your metabolism is automatically lowered. To improve your sleep, try exercising early in the day and limit caffeine and alcohol intake. | 
