Written by Baby Body Fit Galway Owner, Airike Monahan

You want to lose weight? You want to tone up? You want to look better naked? These are the questions I answered YES when I started my own weight loss journey. First things first ok, you want to lose body fat not weight! The simple explanation to this is that muscle weighs more than fat. A nicely toned person can be the same weight or heavier than a softer version of that same person. So forget about the scales and go by clothes sizes. I don’t want to bore you with all the scientific talk and loads of numbers so I will keep it very simple.

In order to achieve those goals you need 3 things:

Nutrition. Really have a good look at what you have in your fridge. Clean eating is the key here. Lose the processed foods (“convenience foods”, such as microwave meals or ready meals; breakfast cereals; meat products, such as bacon; crisps; chocolates; fizzy drinks etc.). I can keep going on and on about proper nutrition as it is very close to my heart and I’m still learning myself how to change my own diet for better. Useful tip: When in the supermarket try to get most of your food from the outer circle of the shop, this is where all the fresh produce is! Middle aisles are just full of junk.

Training. There is no “one way is right” here. Even though I’m a firm believer in weight training I also believe that first you have to find the type of training that you like. Have you heard the phrase “consistency is key”? It really is! So basically if you do what you like and you like what you do, you will stick with this and you will get results. Simple as! I fell in love with weight training and this has been a part of my life for the past 3 years. And since muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue does, muscle tone is a key factor in fat loss.

Rest. This not only includes sleep but also relaxation times when stress is at a minimum.  If you don’t rest, you will not grow. Strength and muscle gains (or fat losses!) abound during rest periods – outside the gym. And I also know that it is easier said than done in our hectic lives.

As for number talk now, your nutrition is 70%, your training is 20% and your rest is 10% of your success. BUT… One does not work without another.