Ahead of the January health kick, a fitness coach has revealed her secret tips for getting ripped – and says you don’t need to give up ‘guilty treats’ like chocolate, ice cream or bread.
Before she became a personal trainer, Anjuli Mack, 26, from Auckland, had tried every fad diet under the sun – and would often be on the receiving end of cruel comments due to her curvy physique.
From Keto to detox teas, low carb to low fat – nothing worked long-term, and the weight returned as quickly as it fell off.
She was also constantly in the gym but focusing on the wrong exercises, which didn’t give the desired results.
Before she became a personal trainer, Anjuli Mack, 26, from Auckland, had tried every fad diet under the sun, but she finally got her dream body by dicthing fad diets and devising meal plans and workouts tailored to her body and goals
Despite going to the gym ‘constantly’ Anjuli did not see the results she wanted (left) until she started doing weight training (right)
‘Some girls at university said something mean about me and it really stuck,’ Anjuli said.
‘It was along the lines of “Why does she go to the gym all the time and not have abs?” – that was what led me to try fad diets, unfortunately.
‘I tried everything from Keto to detox teas to low carb to low-fat diets.
‘Nothing worked long-term and I ended up struggling to get any results.
Anjuli no longer denies herself the occasional treat but instead focuses on a meal plan based around calories calculated to her goals
The fitness instructor has shared her top tips on how women can achieve their own weight loss and fitness goals
Before she met her fiancé in the gym, Anjuli would do whatever workouts she found online for free and hit the gym regularly, without seeing results
The fitness trainer now tells her clients not to deny themselves treats, but to work them into their calorie allowance
‘Like many people, I wanted results fast. So instead of looking into a proper program, I was just trying anything I found online for free.’
It wasn’t until Anjuli met her now-fiancé in the gym and the pair started working out and cooking together, with a tailored programme to suit her body type, that the fitness coach started to notice a change in her weight.
The Instagram influencer (@anjuli_fitforlife), who has 165,000 followers, threw herself into weight training and ‘clean eating’ – and is now unrecognisable.
Anjuli no longer denies herself the occasional treat but instead focuses on a ‘meal plan based around calories calculated to my goals’.
Here, she shares her top tips on how women can achieve their own weight loss and fitness goals.
Back in 2015, Anjuli was not seeing the results she wanted while trying fad diets and constantly trying random workouts
Anjuli drinks 3.5-4 litres of water daily and only has alcohol once or twice a year. But she does track her calories meaning she can work treats into her allowance if she wants one
The basis of most diets is to deny yourself some type of food, but the fitness coach believes it’s more important to build your diet around your lifestyle
WEIGHT TRAINING IS EVERYTHING
While many women focus on cardio, Anjuli recommends swapping this out for weight training or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) exercises, like squats, hip thrusts and a structured programme.
She said: ‘I do weight training five days a week at the gym with some HIIT and bike/stair master/bodyweight circuits or running sprints when I’m preparing for a competition.
‘The key to getting ‘toned’ is building muscle and losing fat to show it.
‘Focus on compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, hip thrusts and a structured programme that helps you progress over time.
‘You cannot expect results by just picking random workouts from YouTube or Instagram.’
‘I tried everything from Keto to detox teas to low carb to low-fat diets. Nothing worked long-term and I ended up struggling to get any results,’ Anjuli explained
The Instagram influencer (@anjuli_fitforlife), who has 165,000 followers, threw herself into weight training and ‘clean eating’ after meeting her fiance at the gym
GET THE STEPS IN – BUT NOT TOO MANY
Walking is a very effective way to lose weight, but Anjuli warns against walking too much if your aim is to get ripped versus losing weight.
Her personal goal is at 10,000 steps every day – but she will decrease this to 6,000-8,000 when she is building muscle.
‘I have no restrictions with foods and I have a ‘no food police’ rule with my clients,’ Anjuli said. ‘I encourage them to have chocolate, bread or ice cream if they want to’
‘Consistency and patience is key. You have to work hard and stay patient. It won’t happen overnight,’ the fitness instructor advised
STOP DENYING YOURSELF FOODS
The basis of most diets is to deny yourself some type of food, but the fitness coach believes it’s more important to build your diet around your lifestyle – not the other way around.
She said: ‘I drink 3.5-4 litres of water daily, I rarely ever have alcohol, maybe once or twice a year, I track calories/macros year-round and flexibly diet so if I want ice cream I just fit it into my calories.
‘I have no restrictions with foods and I have a “no food police” rule with my clients – I encourage them to have chocolate, bread or ice cream if they want to as long as it fits into their calories and they primarily focus on whole foods 80-90% of the time.’
According to Anjuli, weight training pf HIIT is the best form of exercise if you want to see results, rather than focusing on cardio
The fitness coach does weight training five days a week at the gym with some HIIT and bike/stair master/bodyweight circuits or running sprints when she’s preparing for a competition
HAVE A CLEAR GOAL AND BE PATIENT
The fitness coach says the biggest mistake people make when it comes to diet and exercise is not having a clear goal and plan in place to achieve it.
She said: ‘Write down your main goal, set some mini-goals, get a plan in place and then be consistent.
‘Consistency and patience is key. You have to work hard and stay patient. It won’t happen overnight.
‘Portion control is a really important aspect of fat loss, you cannot outwork your diet.
Anjuli said that as long as your diet is 80 to 90 per cent whole foods, then you can afford to incorporate some treats
‘Getting seven to eight hours of sleep a night, drinking lots of water, moving more and having a good understanding of nutrition, calories in foods/drinks, and being patient will get you results.’
Anjuli adds that ‘quick fixes never work long-term’ and it’s important to invest time into learning more about nutrition or getting a coach to help you set up a fitness programme.
The fitness coach, who is in the best shape of her life, not only helps women with their weight loss goals – but also competes in events such as the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion show in Australia.