Shedding the pounds might be a challenge, but keeping them off is where the real test lies.
No one fancies the thought of reversing all their sweat and tears, but luckily there’s a pro on hand to help. Shannon Collins, aka The Gym Nurse, has over 150,000 followers on Instagram, thanks to her top fitness tips for staying in shape.
She’s been there, done that and is totally upfront about the graft she’s put into sculpting her physique. Now she’s spilled the beans on how to keep that fat at bay, and it’s all about sticking to some golden rules.
READ MORE: ‘I’m a fit gran and don’t need to look younger – I already know I’m beautiful’
Check out more diet & fitness stories here
Keep tabs on what you’re eating, keep in new maintenance and fill up on whole foods and protein-packed meals. Even if you’re eating more, Shannon warns against a total diet overhaul.
Also keep those cheeky takeaways rare and focus on drinking loads of water instead. As well as this, she also recommends staying on the move, pumping iron and focusing on strength training.
When you mix it all together, you’re set for success, and she said it’s the way to try and stay on track. However, she did point out that a bit of weight gain is nothing to fret over, as it can happen sometimes.
On Instagram, Shannon shared: “Where the real work starts. Fat loss is the easy part for most people. Maintaining it is another story.
“If you only know how to diet or be in a surplus you need to spend a lot more time perfecting and mastering maintenance. Stop the yo-yo cycle.
“It’s not supposed to be (for majority of people) lose, gain, lose, repeat! So listen up if you don’t know how to maintain your losses.
“It starts with taking this time just as serious as fat loss. Quit blowing it off. It’s got to get tiring repeating this same cycle for years.”
As well as this, Shannon noted it’s vital not to get “sloppy”. You need to keep in control and avoid falling into any bad habits.
Trying to maintain “extremes” is also unachievable, according to the mum. You just need to stay at a steady pace, and make sure you stay on track when it comes to your diet and fitness.
Since she shared the post, over 900 people liked it, and her followers were quick to comment too. They were keen to thank Shannon for the advice, and share some of their own experiences.
One person said: “The hardest part for me is figuring out the amount of calories I need to maintain. Macro calculators put me at 1800cal but that sounds like so much, I haven’t been over 1500-1600cals in so long.
“I’m so scared to bump up to 1800 and gain a bunch of weight that took so much effort to lose.”
A second wrote: “Maintaining fat loss results sometimes takes more effort than fat loss itself. Because this is truly where all the habits are tested.”
A third replied: “I feel like maintenance isn’t THAT different than fat loss. There’s still some structure and mindfulness. There are multiple inputs that still matter. We just get a little more food and less hunger which ROCKS.”
Want all the biggest Lifestyle news straight to your inbox? Sign up for our free Daily Star Hot Topics newsletter