Top 5 Tips for Anyone đź—’
I’ve been on this crazy little journey for a little over a year now, and so many amazing things have happened to me along the way. .

👆 (I even made a new friend)
Something that still surprises me, and has done since the first time, is when someone asks me for weight loss advice. .
Me? Of all people me!?!
When did that happen? 🤷‍♂️
It was something totally new to me and whilst I don't profess to know anything really, or have any form of accreditation in terms of qualifications to do so, I've managed to change things in my own life with a little guidance from my P.T, shift over 100lbs and I'm beginning to really feel good about myself again. .
The first person that asked that question of me was a loved one, a family member, who was (much like I was) very over weight and just wandering around, unsure of where to go or what to do. .
I've been there, I saw so much of where I had been in that family member's eyes.
It pained me a little if I'm honest, because I knew.
I'd been there.
I knew it was easier to hide and pretend like there was no problem. Constantly moving up clothes sizes, scouring online shops for the best loose fitting large fits.
I knew how difficult it was to come to grips with being in that situation and how difficult it was to pluck up the stones and come to someone asking for help.
It's a horrible place to be. And yet, there's something fantastic about that.
I coasted around for quite a while not really overly bothered, blindly assured I'd just wake up fit and lean some day.
Then came a stage where I (having obviously gained more and more weight) became massively self conscious, reclusive and all round not very happy, all of which is now obvious stemmed from being so over weight.
So how is this fantastic you may ask?
Well, once you reach the point where you've spent time looking in the mirror and hating what you see, where it's brought you to the brink of tears, when your clothes no longer fit and you sit there on the edge if your bed unsure of what to do and you finally make a decision (and I mean a serious decision, not some whimsical 'oh I'll stop eating carbs and cheese from Monday' type of decision) something changes.
There's just something about that point.
I genuinely mean it.
It's incredible and it may sound a touch crazy.
For me, I was at the bottom of the barrel, sitting on that bed's edge in tears.
That was it.
No where else to fall.
Once I spoke to Paul Dermody (personal trainer) and began to think about where this journey was going, what we were going to do, it all changed in my head.
I just saw a change, I saw possibilities, something that when I looked at myself in the mirror up until then I hadn't seen or even thought was possible
Well I gave this loved one 5 relatively simple pieces of advice, that anyone can do really, that I myself have gained from massively in recent months. .
• Download My Fitness Pal
Get it on the phone (it's free).
Scan some labels.
Log some foods.
It may just open your eyes to how calorific some foods are, and equally as importantly, how 'not the enemy' some others are, even though they may have been portrayed as just that (point in case - bread).
Don't accept 'just cause' responses when someone says you should stop eating something either, that's bullshit.
Always get a why.
• Increase General Activity
This doesn't mean you've to go and do gruelling High Intensity Interval Training sessions 10 times a day or that you've to go run ultra marathons. Go for it, but not necessity. It can simply be going for a walk.
I never really believed in going for walks. I knew it was a thing obviously, but it was never my thing.
But nowadays I strive for that 10k steps a day. It gets me out, gets some fresh air in my lungs, gives me a chance to enjoy some chessey music or learn and develop with an auidobook or podcasts.
Importantly, it keeps my ass of the couch and away from the boredom snacking.
• Liquid Calories
Cuts out the liquid calories, or at least try reduce them as best you can.
It’s not as drastic or impossible as it sounds.
Coke Zero for Coke, Black Coffees for Lattes or your favourite sugary creamy MochaLattaFuckaLottos down at your local café..
The difference this makes can’t be understated. Personally, I managed to cut about 1000 - 1200 cals a day from my caloric intake solely by removing liquid calories.
• Become aware of your less than helpful habits
Try and consciously become aware of habits you have that are proving to be detrimental or poor to your goals or health. Figure out exactly the cues and triggers are for those habits that are causing and aiding weight gain.
If you come in from work, sit in the same spot on the couch and watch TV where you spend the evening throwing down glasses of wine/beers and, highly palatable but massively calorific, snacks maybe find something to do that isn’t watching the soaps or game shows on the couch.
Go for a walk?
Pack a gym bag and bring it to work so you don’t have to go home to change etc before deciding "Ah fuck it.. I’ll just sit down for a minute" and then next thing it’s bed time. . Been there!
• Social Media Cleanse
Something that took me a long time to realise, but what you're watching and scrolling through on your Instagram has the ability to positively and negatively effect your mindset. For me, I went through my Instagram and decided to unfollow a whole lot of the "perfect bodied" individuals in my follow list. In hindsight I often made myself feel pretty crappy by sitting there, watching what I perceived to be demi-God after demi-God and questioning why I wasn't like that, after my one day of a diet.
Just in the same way that the information and noise that flows into your ears has the ability to help you better yourself and expand your outlook and mindset, what flows in through your eyes is similarly powerful. Choose wisely.
Well. That's that.
What qualifies me to give anyone advice?
Absolutely nothing.
But you know what?
If you need it, or feel you do, give it a try before you disregard it

.
