Prepare to succeed!

They say that abs are made in the kitchen. This is not far from the truth! The key to successful nutrition, whether it be for fat-loss, muscle building or general well-being, is preparation.

When I say preparation I mean planning what meals you are going to have for the week, writing a list, shopping in advance and lastly preparing all your meals.

In my opinion this is the key if you are going to get into the shape that you want. If you leave nutrition to chance, you wont have the food available or the time to cook something and this leads to poor choices and convenience food. How many of us have got home after a long day, feeling hungry and not had anything in the fridge? Next step, something easy like toast, or even a takeaway.

Convenience food is often full of trans-fats, sugar and additives. If eaten regularly, this will often lead to an increase in body-fat. Fresh whole foods like meat, fish, eggs, veggies, salad, nuts and seeds will keep you lean. When you ask people why they opt for bread, takeaways, microwave meals, junk food, they will tell you they don't have time to cook. Often these people will be sitting on facebook for an hour a night or watching three hours or TV. There is always time.

Try these tips to get yourself organised:

• Plan your weekly meals
• Write a list before you go shopping based around your meal plans
• Choose a day to cook up several batches of food. I do this on Sunday. Sometimes I cook two or three meals for the first part of the week and then do the same on wednesday for the end of the week. Some can be frozen or simply put in the fridge to be heated up
• Have healthy alternatives on standby. Keep tinned fish in the cupboard, pre-cooked meat in the fridge, fresh salad that can be prepared instantly, healthy fruit and nuts to hand, etc. This along with pre-cooked meals will keep you fully stocked up and reaching for healthy food all day!
• Think about when you are going to eat for the next day. If you have a busy day plan when your are going to take some time to sit down and eat. It's important and you will be more productive with healthy food in your system
• Buy tupawere! Simple but effective. Use these to store meals in the freezer or take meals/snacks in these to work.

No excuses!

Oli.