(That’s total B*LLSH*T!)

“Follow this trick to lose 10kg in 2 weeks”

‘I read it on the internet so it must be true…’

Is it though?

We fitness professionals get our daily dose of laughter from reading the headlines of social media/WhatsApp health and fitness posts. It used to be from the cover of fitness magazines in the old days, how times have changed. 

But something never changes – b*llsh*t fitness tips. 

Realizing that people still fall for the same “too good to be true” advice – your run of the mill fitness influencer decides to reuse the same BS, not because they believe in recycling. 

Can’t say we’re surprised. There are people hopping on one leg back into minefields with better pattern recognition than that.

There is some fitness advice out there that you just shouldn’t follow, no matter how many people said it or where you read it (except here, obviously).

So beware when you hear claims like these:

1. “Get abs in 2 weeks with this 10 minute effortless workout!” 

“Your lazy a** will love it as we won’t be breaking a sweat, so you don’t have to worry about your makeup melting and not looking good. Sweating is for suckers.” – Fitness B*llsh*t Translator

How about getting rich in 2 weeks by working just 10 minutes a day? (You can indeed make enough money to last your whole life, provided you die next Monday)

Now do you realize how absurd these “shortcuts” are? 

You obviously didn’t gain all that weight in 2 weeks, you likely won’t be losing them in just 2 weeks either.

Too much work for you? That’s fine! Get yourself an electric stimulator – it’s like an electrocution chair for your stomach. Nothing could go wrong there, or could it?  Or these “weight loss belly wraps”. That’s right, magically, your fat will disappear into thin air. And reappear again. Just like magic!

How we all wish we could live a life of pleasure and bliss, free of pain, worry, or physical discomfort. But this is where a little bit of that “no pain, no gain” spirit would do you a whole lot of good.

2. “The number on the scale is the only measure of progress”

“I’ll still love you just the weigh you are” *wink*

In fact, take a minute to really understand this diagram below. The scale thinks that both the persons below are the same.

Same same but different?

As you can probably already tell, you can be 80kg of lean, mean machine or 80kg of blubber. And the weighing scale wouldn’t know the difference.

Let’s take an example, one of our trainers, Khor sits around 75kg bodyweight with a BMI of 26, which categorizes him as “overweight”… 

Slim chance of Mr.Khor getting into The Biggest Loser, eh?

Changes in muscle mass and body fat percentage, also known as body composition, aren’t accounted for on weight scales.

So, you might weigh more, but you may have a lower body fat percentage and be packing more muscles. On the other hand, you could lose a lot of weight in the form of muscle mass and water weight, which you don’t want! 

Here’s why:

FAT  LOSS

• Improved Fitness
• Reduced Stress on Heart
• Peak Performance
• Delayed Aging
• Reduced Risk for Diseases
• Fat Percentage Decreases
• Increased Metabolism

WEIGHT LOSS

• Decreased Fitness
• Decreased Strength
• Poor Performance
• Early Aging
• Dehydration
• Reduced Metabolism
• Organs Shrink

If anything, body weight is a rather unimportant metric. Just like how redundant your zodiac sign and a particular *cough* body part measurement is in a job evaluation.

3. “I don’t want to lift heavy because I’m scared I might get too big”

“I don’t want to get too big” is something you should tell your waiter.

How about I tell you I don’t drive cars because I’m afraid I might become a professional racer?

Or I don’t want to work hard because I’m afraid I will get too rich?

Also, if ladies have to avoid free weights and strength training like the COVID-19? Does this also include things like groceries, the laundry, a backpack, your children, a laptop, etc?

On second thought, just stay away from lifting anything against gravity all together – that’s just too unsophisticated for a lady anyway.

Growing muscle is sooo easy, lift something heavy and the next day you’ll be too bulky to roll out of bed? Hmm, wonder why we still have a job as personal trainers and the health and fitness industry still exists?

There’s your answer, thank you.

4. “Muscle confusion is key to getting in shape so you must always switch up your exercise”

Change your workout every five hours. This way your muscles stay confused and have no clue WTF is going on. If you can’t convince your muscles to grow, confuse them!

Uh, NO. Muscles are not people, so they don’t get bored! People are the ones that get bored and confused.

However, if you’re squatting the same weight, with the same number of reps and sets every time, for weeks and months on end, then of course your muscles and fitness level will remain the same.

Guess what, all you need to do to fix that is to lift more weight and/or increase the repetitions and sets done. To your muscles, this is challenging and exciting enough.

Your muscles are not the social media, you don’t need to do a completely new and different workout every time to shock/entertain your jaded muscles. 

If you do that, you’re the one who’s confused, not your muscles.

“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”- Bruce Lee

5. “Exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories”

Yes you do burn more fats than carbs when you’re exercising on an empty stomach. 

But your body also stores more fat, while burning more carbs and less of fat after that. 

And you DON’T burn more calories. Rather, you may burn less because you’ll just tire out faster on an empty stomach.

At the end of the day, the amount of fat that is stored or burned will depend on your energy balance (fat gain if surplus of calorie; fat loss if deficit of calorie).

Don’t believe us? In a study for the Journal of the International Society of Sports Medicine, twenty females were divided into 2 group – one group (fed) was given a shake before performing cardio, while the other (fasted) would wait to consume the shake post-workout. They were prescribed the same calorie-restricted diet.

And voila, no differences in results found between the 2 groups!

In the age of the internet, people would rather act like witches from the dark ages talking about super-ultra magic fat loss and grain-melted-organic-detox mumbo jumbo than to obey the First Law of Thermodynamics.

Thermodynamics and nutrition are things everyone can learn about for free on the Internet, but sadly that stuff is a lot less fun to listen or read about than the honey-glazed nonsense from your IG booty/6pax model.

6. “No Pain, No Gain”

If pain builds muscle, does that mean getting run over by a bus would turn you into the next Mr. Olympia? That’s totally not the case isn’t it? Exactly because pain is your body’s way of telling you it’s injured. 

Excruciating, stabbing pain in muscles and/or joints? Not good at all!

Soreness in muscles after or during a workout? Perfectly normal and to be expected.

So, for the guys, I know at this point working out for you is just masochistic exhibitionism, but no girl ever cares about how much you can lift. Only other guys *wink*  

And girls, you can’t “walk it off” that knee pain with stretches, massages, or ointments. Fix the problem, not the symptom. 

7. “Sit ups and ab exercises give you visible abs”

Yes and no. But for the most part, still a NO.

Simply crank out a few sit ups while eating cakes and burgers and that stubborn belly fat would just melt away? 

Have you seen someone with rippling 6 pack abs while all the rest of them look like your average The Biggest Loser participant?

That’s how your average video game character looks anyway, and video games cause violence, so it must be true?

Other than a healthy, calorie-restricted diet combined with a proper exercise regimen, nothing short of liposuction will give you visible 6 pack abs (even that will be short lived if your habits don’t change, which has been shown to be the case with most liposuction). 

BUT WAIT! There’s more! 

Honorable Mentions

1. “Yoga gives you long, lean muscles/ Yoga makes you slim and slender”
2. “You must stay in the fat burning zone or your workout is useless”
3. “Women must train high repetitions with light weights”
4. “Cardio is the best way to lose weight”
5. “Machines are better than free weights”
6. “Squats are bad for your knees”
7. “Eating late at night makes you fat”
8. “I want to look like him/her, so I must buy their program and eat exactly what they eat”

There you have it folks, all of the worst fitness advice that’s total BS. We know it’s not easy to filter out the truth from a sea of unscrupulous snake-oil salesmen and fitness “influencers”.

To put it simply, you should do your own research and get your information from actual studies, not from IG influencers and certainly not from “Karen’s” whatsapp messages.

Everyone has an opinion on what works, but feelings and thoughts do not refute science!

Effective and correct science-based methods that fitness professionals use are ever evolving. Which is why it’s of the utmost importance to train at a facility or with a personal trainer that has valid credentials and is current with the sciences.

Check out our best fat loss tips, used by KD Trainer’s most successful clients. And learn how to slim down your thighs, hips, and legs.

Let’s clear one thing up first: The idea of spot-reduction, or specifically losing fat from a certain body part, is a MYTH. 

It is simply a fact that exercising a certain body part does NOT cause your body to bias fat burning on just that part.

That’s because fat loss happens only when you’re in a net negative energy balance, a.k.a calorie deficit. Fat is not burned just because a muscle is doing work.

And fat loss happens throughout the entire body as fat is stored everywhere.

I know, not exactly what you wanted to hear, isn’t it?

As opposed to all the sweet promises and “shortcuts” from your typical fitness iNfLuEnCer, this just doesn’t tug at your heartstrings huh.

But there are strategies you can employ to lose fat effectively and tone up your leg muscles to make them look awesome.

1. Calorie Deficit/ Track Your Food Intake

If you wanted to save up money, you would instinctively have a budget to limit spendings and track your finances to make sure you don’t spend more than you earn. 

The very same principle applies to losing fat. 

Keeping track of the foods you eat helps make sure you don’t eat more calories than what your body burns daily. So that you remain in a calorie deficit and lose fat consistently.

More importantly, you get to learn the calorie and nutrient content of your foods. Which helps you make healthier food choices. 

There are calorie counting apps for this and they’re easy to use and have estimates for most foods.

2. Lift Weights/ Exercise!

Though you can’t spot-reduce body fat, you can spot-train muscles so they look toned and strong. 

With poorly developed muscles, a low to moderate body fat level often results in the dreaded “skinny fat” look. And what better way to tone up your muscles than with weight training. 

Unfortunately, many people neglect proper leg training because they think they’re already working their legs when they’re running or cycling. Which is simply not enough of a training stimulus to elicit muscle growth in the legs.

To get the best bang for your workout buck, focus on strength exercises that specifically target your legs.

Ideally, you would want to train your legs 2 to 3 times per week, with 3 to 4 exercises each training session and roughly 2 to 3 intense sets per exercise.

Here are 5 of the best strength exercises for your legs

• Squat (Bodyweight/ Goblet/ Barbell squat)
• Lunges 
• Deadlift 
• Hip bridge
• Bulgarian split squat

And here’s a quick and effective warmup routine for you!

Incorporate them into your own leg workouts by choosing 2 or 3 out of the 5 exercises listed above, and add in 1 or 2 accessory exercises like frog pump, clamshell or kickback.

3. Have An Occasional Refeed Day

This is absolutely not to be confused with a “cheat day”, which is just unplanned days of uncontrolled eating.  

A refeed day is a planned increase in calorie and carb intake for one or two days on a weekly basis.

As you go on a prolonged period of restricted calorie intake, your body begins to fight back by reducing your metabolism and fat loss slows down or even stagnates.

This is especially true for women, where they may even experience disruptions to their menstrual cycle. Refeeds are thus needed to counteract this.

 – “Wouldn’t a cheat day work the same?”, you ask? 

First, as your body enters a calorie deficit, the hormone leptin drops – resulting in a reduction of energy output (calories burned, basal metabolism), energy levels and mood. 

And carbohydrates have been shown to have a positive impact on leptin levels, while fat does not elicit any leptin response at all. Which is why we want to fit in as many carbs as possible during a refeed.

As opposed to “cheat days”, where foods are typically higher in fat and most people ended up eating so much that they negated all their prior hard-earned calorie deficits.

Simply put, during a refeed day you should be consuming at least 50% of your calories from carbohydrates, and eating at a 10% calorie surplus.

4. Eat More Protein & Fiber

Pack every meal with high fiber and high protein foods to boost weight loss. Since they help keep you fuller on fewer calories, leading to generally lower calorie intake.

Protein, in particular, is especially essential. Not only for building the lean muscles that will make your legs look great, but also for their well-studied appetite suppressant effect.

Aim for 70 to 100 grams of protein per day for females and 90 to 120 grams for males.

Or 1 serving of protein(lean meats, eggs) per meal for females and 2 servings of protein per meal for males.

5. Reduce Salt Intake

Salt makes your body retain more water and that causes bloating, which can affect your whole body, hips and thighs included. 

Water is bounded to salt, so the more salt you eat, the more water gets stored instead of being excreted by your kidneys. By reducing salt intake, you’ll notice almost an immediate change in how you look and how your clothes fit.

The recommended salt(sodium) intake is 1500 milligrams per day, but most people are eating way more than that. Cut back by limiting fast food, processed food, kuah, sauces, noodle soups, and salty food in general.

The Bottom Line

Execute all of the above tips and strategy and you’ll definitely feel (and see!) the benefits.

Just like everything else in life, this takes time, know-how, and consistent work, but are easy enough to do.

Want to learn more about how to change your eating and lifestyle habits in order to get fit? 

Now you too can have access to our team of life changers! In our new Fit-From-Home program!

See you inside:)

Losing weight is easy…

Eat as little as possible and do lots and lots of cardio for a month or two, you will lose weight fast…

But weight loss does not equal fat loss and your results will be disappointing, even if you do manage to suffer through that.

The biggest change you may notice is but a drop in the number on the scale. And your metabolism too

Yes, you may not look as big sized as before but you will look more skinny fat. And surely that’s not the goal.

As it happens, the all too common “starvation diet” and “jog everyday” method of losing weight not only burns fat but your muscles too.

This gives you the skinny fat look and reduces your metabolism.

And this is why most people tend to gain back the weight they lost and perhaps even put on more. 

Which is also why your goal should not be “losing weight” but to lose fat and gain muscle!

And in this article, you’ll learn how to lose that belly fat fast and get toned.

Since you’re reading this article, surely you have been around Google and seen a lot of such belly fat tips. 

It does sadden us to say this, but there are quite a lot of misguided, biased, and/or downright bullshit tips out there.

But at KD Trainer, we are all about evidence and science-based training and nutrition!

So, here’s a quick myth-buster for you!

• You CANNOT directly “target” belly fat!
  • Fat loss happens throughout the entire body. So no amount of crunches, sit-ups, planks or whatever ab exercise can ever directly burn just belly fat.
• There are no specific diets, foods, or supplements that are especially beneficial or harmful for fat loss.
  • Fruits, veggies, healthy fats don’t help get rid of belly fat. Neither does rice or a high carb diet induce accumulation of belly fat. And NO, fat burners don’t work if you don’t put in the work yourself.
• Eating late at night doesn’t turn food into fat for no reason.
  • Calories are the same regardless of what time you consume them. At the end of the day, fat gain and fat loss boils down to energy balance(calorie intake) from a day to day basis.

Those are the 3 biggest fat loss misconceptions here in Malaysia. As personal trainers in Penang, we have heard these myths countless times!

Fortunately, losing belly fat is much simpler than what many unscrupulous individuals would have you believe.

In reality there are only 2 things you need to know to lose belly fat!

• Reduce overall body fat percentage

That’s all there is to getting rid of belly fat.

Drop your body fat percentage to below 15% (men) or 20%(women) and most of your belly fat will be gone. And every bit of body fat reduction from here will give you more visible abs.

• You can use certain nutritional and exercise strategies to help you burn fat faster.

From the first point, losing belly fat is no different from losing body fat, and to do that you need to be in a calorie deficit, a.k.a, eating less calories than what your body burns.

In this article, we will guide you through these strategies.

By way of example, here are some results of our personal training clients:

Kewell runs a very successful business and disproves excuses like “I don’t have time”

Anna was a student who has transformed her life completely and we are so proud to be part of her journey!

Dr Hafiz is a medical doctor who practices what he preaches

Now let’s talk about how they achieved it and how you can too!

The 5 Proven Ways To Lose Fat Faster!

1. A Moderately Aggressive Calorie Deficit 

When dieting for fat loss, it is better to employ a strategy to lose fat quickly rather than slowly. 

Given that hunger will surely be present when you’re in a calorie deficit (to a greater or lesser degree depending on how big the deficit is, but hunger can be mediated with some nutritional strategies). 

Hence, why not just diet a little harder so that fat loss happens faster.

Eat enough protein, lift weights and keep cardio to a minimum, you can safely and easily maintain 20% to 25% calorie deficit to maximize fat loss while minimizing muscle loss. (1)

We have experienced these results on hundreds of our clients and with our own bodies too.

So, don’t be afraid of a moderately aggressive calorie deficit. Check this out if you don’t know how to start. 

2. Lift Heavy A** Weights

By lifting weights, not only do you burn lots of calories, you will build muscles. Thus, preventing your metabolism from slowing down, which is a common side effect of losing weight. (2)

Secondly, it raises your basal metabolic rate for several days after heavy resistance training a.k.a lifting heavy weights. Research shows that this type of training can result in a few hundred more calories burned than workouts performed with lighter weights. (3)

Besides, most people find heavy weight training to be more challenging but also more enjoyable than high repetition, cardio-like, “feel the burn” workouts. 

A good guideline for this would be at least 3 times per week of 60 to 90 minutes of intense weight training.

3. Eat More Protein And Fiber

When it comes to improving body composition, also known as “getting toned”, protein is definitely the single most important nutrient. 

Almost every single study done on dieting and macronutrient ratio has shown protein to directly correlate with better body composition. (4,5)

Here are the reasons why:

• Protein is the most satiating macronutrient. High protein diet also suppresses appetite (making you less likely to overeat throughout the day).
• Protein has the highest thermic effect of food, meaning it takes a lot of energy to be digested.
• Recover faster from your workouts and build more muscles, which leads to a higher basal metabolism.

This is backed by multiple research and studies showing when protein and calorie intake are equated, all diets are similarly effective for weight loss. (6)

In essence, a high protein diet beats a low protein diet in every possible way when it comes to losing fat, fast!

Adequate fiber intake is also equally important for maintaining a calorie restricted diet. 

Essentially, fiber slows down the passage of food in your digestive tract and fills up your tummy with it’s low calorie, high volume content. 

In other words, you will stay full for a longer time and this helps you eat less of other foods.

4. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT is a type of exercise routine where you alternate between bouts of all out, max-effort intensity exercise and low-intensity recovery.

HIIT has been shown to be more time-effective for burning calories than Low-Intensity Steady State(LISS) cardio exercises like jogging and cycling.

A study done on HIIT shows that 3 to 4 rounds of 30 second max-effort sprints with 4 minute rest periods burning more calories than 60 minutes of incline treadmill walk.(7)

That is indeed very economical, given that 16 to 25 minute HIIT training resulted in more fat loss than 60 minutes of slow, boring cardio.

5. Have A Workout Partner/ Community

We’ve all seen or experienced it: Finding the motivation to wake up for 6 a.m. run with a friend; finishing the last round of exercise when you see those around you pushing through; sharing recipes for healthy food, and the list goes on.

One study found that 95 percent of those who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program, compared to a 76 percent completion rate for those who did the program alone. The friend group was also 42 percent more likely to maintain their weight loss. (8)

It is no secret that you get more motivated to workout with a partner or a group than by yourself. 

Community brings out the best in people. If you are going to run 100m, you will likely run faster if you’re racing someone.

So, get yourself a workout/fitness buddy or buddies. 

Looking for a community fitness program? Check this out!

The Bottom Line

Many people think that losing belly fast is near impossible.

And they end up resorting to all kinds of weird diets, supplements, routines and “flat belly tricks”.

Of which the outcome is well known – it didn’t work, not in the long term anyway.  

It doesn’t have to end up this way. Not for anyone. Ever.

If you take the simple actions stated above, you too can get that powerful, toned flat belly that you’ve always wanted.

References

1. Huovinen HT, Hulmi JJ, Isolehto J, et al. Body composition and power performance improved after weight reduction in male athletes without hampering hormonal balance. J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(1):29-36. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000619
2. Hunter GR, Fisher G, Neumeier WH, Carter SJ, Plaisance EP. Exercise Training and Energy Expenditure following Weight Loss. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2015;47(9):1950-1957. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000000622
3. Farinatti PT, Castinheiras Neto AG. The effect of between-set rest intervals on the oxygen uptake during and after resistance exercise sessions performed with large- and small-muscle mass. J Strength Cond Res. 2011;25(11):3181-3190. doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e318212e415
4. Halton TL, Hu FB. The effects of high protein diets on thermogenesis, satiety and weight loss: a critical review. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004;23(5):373-385. doi:10.1080/07315724.2004.10719381
5. Evans EM, Mojtahedi MC, Thorpe MP, Valentine RJ, Kris-Etherton PM, Layman DK. Effects of protein intake and gender on body composition changes: a randomized clinical weight loss trial. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2012;9(1):55. Published 2012 Jun 12. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-9-55
6. Sacks FM, Bray GA, Carey VJ, et al. Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. N Engl J Med. 2009;360(9):859-873. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa0804748
7. Macpherson RE, Hazell TJ, Olver TD, Paterson DH, Lemon PW. Run sprint interval training improves aerobic performance but not maximal cardiac output. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(1):115-122. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181e5eacd
8. Wing RR, Jeffery RW. Benefits of recruiting participants with friends and increasing social support for weight loss and maintenance. J Consult Clin Psychol. 1999;67(1):132-138. doi:10.1037//0022-006x.67.1.132

Most people already know that to lose fat, eating sensible, balanced meals on a consistent basis is key. 

The question we get asked in return, “But how do I do that, consistently, without spending so much time cooking every day?”

“By the time I got home, cook dinner, eat it and clean up, it’s already bedtime…” – Not so fun huh?

Enter Meal Prepping!

Meal prepping is a popular meal planning method of preparing complete meals or dishes ahead of time. Often days or even weeks worth of food in advance. 

You must be thinking “Eww! No.”

Realistically speaking, you have been eating such foods your whole life; meal prepping is extensively used in the food industry everywhere!

The soup you were drinking? Prepped 2 months ago and frozen. The grilled chicken/fish? It has been sitting in the refrigerator for days.

When done properly, meal prepping is perfectly safe; nutritionally and taste-wise.  

Just think of it as organizing leftovers for instant meals. 

Here are some benefits of meal prepping:

• Healthy, well-balanced meals whenever you need it!
• Economical
• Actually saves time. Cooking in a big batch, as compared to going out, driving through traffic and queuing up to get your meals – ultimately takes less time.
• Helps with weight loss, you get to decide the ingredients and food portion.
• Variety and great taste are all in your hands!

There are many ways to go about meal prepping, this article will explore and break down this process into a few easy steps!

I’m ready! How do I start?

First, knowing what a healthy, balanced meal looks like. This is what your plate should look like every meal. 

   “Eat your greens”-mama

There’s no point in meal prepping if you’re just going to prep nutritionally-bankrupt meals.

Unpopular opinion: KFC>McD

However, if your goal is weight loss, how many calories you eat is still more important than what you eat.

Next, you will need reusable, airtight food containers that will help your meals stay fresh longer and taste better by keeping oxygen, moisture, and bacteria out.

There should be at least one person in your friend list that sells Am*ay

*BONUS TIP* ~ Because we love you. Here are 3 ways for you to meal prep:

• Batch cooking
  • • Making large batches/portions of a specific recipe, then frozen, saved up and eaten over the next few days/weeks.
• Individually portioned meals
  • • Entire dishes cooked and portioned out into individual meals to be refrigerated and eaten over the next few days.
• Ready-to-cook ingredients
  • Ingredients and components chopped, peeled, sliced or cooked and refrigerated to be used in recipes later on. This cuts down on cooking time.

Let’s get cookin’

1. Decide the meal you’d like to prep for – Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Start with the meal that you usually eat out, or tend to overeat due to lack of self-control and choice.
2. Pick a day to meal prep – Sunday and/or Wednesday are good choices. 
3. Decide how much you want to prep – You can choose to prep for 3 to 5 days worth of meal at a time. It’s up to you, but we recommend you start with 2 or 3 days and slowly increase as your familiarity and consistency with the menu improves.
4. Pick your recipe – Ideally, you should go for more healthful recipes that do not involve deep frying, processed foods and fatty cuts of meat. But you can base them around foods you generally enjoy.
5. Grocery shopping – Write down the grocery list, how much of each ingredient do you need based on how many meals you want to prep for, and do your shopping. 

The easiest foods to prep

• • Frozen vegetables – Peas, carrot, green beans, edamame, cauliflower. And contrary to popular belief that frozen vegetables have no nutrients; most are no different nutritionally compared to fresh ones.
  • Starchy veggies – Potato, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, and etc.
  • Stiff fresh vegetables – celery, carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, radish
  • Prepped salads – You can find individually packed salads and bagged vegetables at most supermarkets.

• • Whole grains – Oats, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, brown rice.
  • Legumes & beans – Lentils, all beans(canned or dried), chickpeas, and etc
  • Lean protein – Frozen or canned seafood, eggs, greek yogurt, tofu, lean cuts of chicken, beef, pork, and etc.
  • Nuts and seeds – Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, chia, flax and etc.

How to make cooking easier

1. Organize your cooking workflow. Having recipes that use different cooking appliances: the oven for baking proteins, stovetop for boiling grains or beans and frying vegetables, slow cooker for soups. This helps to avoid clashing in appliance usage and speeds up your cooking time. 
2. On meal prep day, start with foods that take the longest to cook – proteins like chicken and fish; whole grains like brown rice and quinoa; and dried beans and legumes.
3. Multi-task while your proteins and whole grains are baking and bubbling. Chop and dice up your vegetables and fruits. 
4. Divide into balanced portions and store them into your air-tight food containers. This is a crucial part if your goal is weight loss. 

Each meal should have 1 to 2 servings of protein, 2 to 3 servings of vegetables and fruits, 1 serving of carbohydrate and 1 serving of fat/oil. 

Here are some balanced serving sizes compared to common items to help you estimate your portion sizes:

• 1 serving of carbs- rice, noodle, potato (1 cup): a deck of cards.

• 1 serving of protein (100 grams lean meat): a deck of cards.

• 1 serving of fat- cheese/butter (15 gram): The size of your thumb.

• 1 serving of fresh fruit (1/2 cup): a tennis ball.

• 1 serving of green leafy vegetables (1/2 cup): a tennis ball

• 1 serving of vegetables (1 cup): the size of your palm.

• 1 teaspoon of oil (10gram): 1 fingertip.

Storage and Reheating

Food storage and reheating is the most important part of meal prepping, to prevent food poisoning and to preserve flavour, texture, and nutrients.

• Refrigeration temperature – Keep your refrigerator below 5°C and freezer at -18°C or below.
• Recommended maximum refrigeration time:
  • • 1-2 days: Cooked ground meat
    • 3-4 days: Cooked whole meats, soups and stews
    • 5 days: Cooked beans, legumes
    • 1 week: Hard boiled eggs, chopped vegetables if stored in air-tight containers
• Recommended maximum freezing time:
  • 2-3 months: Soups and stews, cooked beans
  • 3-6 months: Cooked meat
  • 6-8 months: Berries and chopped fruit 
  • 8-12 months: Vegetables
• Defrosting and Reheating: 
  • Frozen foods should be defrosted in the refrigerator overnight, instead of leaving it in a room-temperature environment.
  • All foods should be reheated to at least 75°C before eating.
  • You may want to label or date your food containers so you will be reminded to consume them within the recommended time period.

The Bottom Line

Meal prepping is amazing in so many ways, not only does it save you time in the kitchen and money, but also improving your health with a more nutritionally balanced diet.

Trying to change your eating and lifestyle habits in order to get fit can seem impossible to sustain.

Which is why we have a team of certified health and fitness professionals (certified personal trainers and registered dietitians) to help our personal training clients.

Want to learn easy meal prep recipes, exercise and more?

Now you too have access to our team of life changers! In our Fit-From-Home program!