I spend so much time getting frustrated with people for following all the ‘quick fix’ diets out there. Professionals in fitness and nutrition have a constant battle trying to make people understand that the ONLY way to lose body fat and weight long term is to eat REAL FOOD!

Those promoting quick fix diets have only one aim – to make money. Sadly they don’t seem to care about the damage these diets are doing to people in both the short and long term.

If you cut calories you are going to lose weight – there’s no doubt about it. But more than likely the weight you will lose is muscle, especially if you are following a low calorie shake, cereal twice a day kind of plan. The actual damage you are doing long-term to your metabolism and hormones is worse than you being overweight.

The only way to make a change long-term is to eat real, non-processed food. I have written about this in the past but there is definitely a need for me to continue reminding readers about exactly what to do.

Everyone I meet through my work is looking to achieve fitness and weight loss goals but the only ones who achieve this long-term are those willing to put in the time and effort to cook real food, prepare meals in advance and invest time into their health and bodies.

There really are no quick fixes to being fit and healthy – no special pills or shakes that are going to change you long term without causing more harm. You have to be ready in your body and mind to make the change, not just talk about it.

Here are three tips to start you on the journey to making long-term changes:

* Cut out sugar for a minimum of 14 days: Sugar is the killer, it is known to be as addictive as cocaine. You’ll find sugar in nearly all processed foods, not just cakes/biscuits/sweets etc but in ready meals, ‘low fat’ products, sauces to name just a few.

You need to get rid of this sugar addiction, it will be tough in the first few days but after about seven to 14 days your cravings will decrease and maybe even disappear completely depending on how much sugar is in your diet at the moment.

When you ditch sugar it will help level out your hormones which means you will not only lose body fat short term but long term as well as long as you keep it limited.

* Fat doesn’t make you fat: Going on a low-fat diet is one of the worse things you can do, you need fat to burn fat but it has to be the right type of fat – monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats, and Omega 3s. You can get all these from real food (non processed) and great sources are oily fish, avocados and olive oil. These fats are also essential for physical and emotional health. The fats to avoid are saturated fats and trans fats found in a lot of processed foods.

Eating low fat products means they’ve been substituted with something to make them taste better. This something is more than likely sugar or a sugar equivalent (sweeteners etc) – both will mess with your hormones so won’t help in your fat loss/health mission (see first tip for details on sugar)

* Start exercising: Exercising is so important for you both physically and emotionally. But remember, exercising alone won’t change your health and body because the key is: 70-80 per cent diet and 20-30 per cent exercise.