How To Stay Fit: Issue 1

From taking the stairs to watching TV at the gym, experts share what really works for them.

1 Focus on your sleep: People underestimate the impact of lack of sleep; not only will the intensity of your workouts suffer, but you are likely to crave sugary foods the next day. My top tips for deep sleep are to switch off your laptop and mobile at least 30 minutes before bed and leave them in another room. Ditch the bedroom TV; listen to music instead. Get a comfortable eye mask. It takes getting used to, but trust me, it will allow you to sleep deeper and longer.

2 Do not fear carbs: Yes, eating too many of them, beyond your body’s need, causes you to store fat, but they’re great for fuelling and recovering from workouts. Eat carbs such as sweet potato or jasmine rice within one hour of your workout. Cut down on them on rest days when you don’t need the extra fuel.

3 Start the day with water. Make sure the first thing you do when you wake up is drink a big glass. Think of your body like a car: a glass of water first thing in the morning is like starting your engine.

4 Track your workouts. To keep progressing, enter your exercise session into your calendar as an appointment. Once you have completed the session, you can add all your training notes to your diary – what did you do, how did you feel, what distance did you cover? You are more likely to stick to your plan and improve.

5 Keep a visual food diary. We often underestimate how much we eat and drink in the day. My clients are far too busy to write a food diary or journal. Instead I ask them to take photos of what they eat and drink, and keep them on their phone to review at the end of the week.