Online coach, personal trainer and professional bodybuilder Andrew Hudson is a well-established and respected transformation expert.
He has vast experience and his numerous successful client transformations have helped him to hone his craft and determine exactly what people need to achieve sustainable weight loss over the long term.
Following his proven tips and approach will help you not only transform your body, but also improve your life.
Tip 1: Start with a picture
Take a picture of yourself and have a long hard look at it. Seeing a picture of yourself is often the wake-up call you need to sort your negative habits out. I always get my clients to take pictures of themselves for this reason, and so that I can assess where they are storing body fat.
Disproportionate amounts of fat in certain areas often tells me more about where the actual problems lie. However, the important reason for a picture is so that they get to see it. They are almost always horrified!
Tip 2: Benchmark your condition
Measure your body fat, weight and the circumference of specific body parts. Use all of these (and the picture) to assess whether you are making progress or not. Don’t just go by the scale.
From my experience, most of the time when you do things right, the scale doesn’t change that much, but these other measurements do. If you do not have records of these measurements then you have no way to really track if you’re making progress or not. Letting the tightness of your jeans be your marker for success is not a good idea!
Tip 3: Track your macros
Keep a record of the exact amounts and ratios of the foods you eat. This will allow you to really understand what you’re putting into your body. This record of what you eat will allow you to then manipulate calories and ratios to change your body composition. You are what you eat, after all!
Tip 4: Train with weights
Weight training should form the basis of your exercise regimen if you want long-term success. Compound weight training exercises have a much greater effect on the body than just burning calories.
While calorie balance is part of the weight-loss equation, another major component – one that most people aren’t aware of – is your hormonal profile. There are multiple hormonal adaptations that occur when you perform the correct exercises.
Optimising your hormonal profile will definitely increase your chances of long-term success. The way to do so naturally is with heavy compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses and military presses.
Tip 5: Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes
Too many people blame themselves and engage in emotional self-bullying when they deviate from their nutrition plan. When people feel bad about themselves, they often turn to food, which leads to more negative emotional self-talk, and merely perpetuates the cycle.
When you deviate from your nutrition plan, take ownership of it but look forward to the future and picture yourself achieving your goals. Get straight back onto your weight-loss plan as fast as possible and remain optimistic.
Author: Pedro van Gaalen
When he’s not writing about sport or health and fitness, Pedro is probably out training for his next marathon or ultra-marathon. He’s worked as a fitness professional and as a marketing and comms expert. He now combines his passions in his role as managing editor at Fitness magazine.
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