One thing about fat loss is that everyone responds differently to various nutrition and training regimes.

There are no clear cut answers, however there are definitely some strict guidelines to follow no matter what plan you’ve chosen as a lifestyle.

1, Make fat loss a priority

Losing body fat, especially for women, takes effort and discipline. What does making fat loss a priority truly look like?

• Putting yourself first

• Prepping your meals

• Scheduling your workouts and grocery trips on a consistent basis

• Planning special treats and staying focused outside of them

• Talking to family members and friends about your goals so they can act as a support system

• Being wise and making good choices when out to eat

The list could go on and on. Typically, a lot of women that I’ve worked with tend to put everyone and everything before themselves.

They tend to start caring for the children, doing laundry and other tasks that cause them to neglect the things they need to do for themselves.

I definitely put my family first in a lot of instances. Rather than going for that run, or even the spa, I’ll stay home and cook or clean. But at some point we have to put ourselves at the top of the list if we want to accomplish a personal goal.

2, Eat sensibly on the weekends

Eating whatever you want on the weekend can truly throw you out of a calorie deficit. I’ve had clients — and even myself — fall into the rut of eating lower calorie throughout the week and when Friday comes around with all of the social events, relax and fall completely off the plan.

Eating super low calorie or low carb during the week, then eating whatever you want the next two to three days, is tossing your body up and down a blood sugar and insulin rollercoaster every week.

Most of us cannot get away with this long term; it will catch up to you. What I would suggest is give yourself that free meal every now and then however you can’t just wing it 40 per cent of your week and expect results.

3, Stay consistent

We all have to make sacrifices if our true goal is to lose body fat. Yes, you will feel uncomfortable and you will want to quit. But when it comes to fat loss, if you don’t have patience and a long-term vision you will not meet your goals.

You have to be realistic and understand that plateaus will occur and are completely normal even though they can be frustrating.

If you fail to consistently follow your regime, you will not receive the benefits that you desire.

4, Prioritise self-care and stress

Being in a constantly stressful environment will affect fat loss over time. Mental and emotional stress take massive tolls on our bodies. When we are constantly stressed, our body gets burnt out, which can cause inflammation and even insulin resistance.

This in turn causes increased fat storage and water retention. You have to make self-care and stress control a priority — something I honestly have to work on myself. It may not be fun, sexy or easy at times, but if you follow the guidelines above in whatever plan you’ve chosen, I know that you will succeed. Follow the plan and B-Active For Life!

• Betty Doyling is a certified fitness trainer and figure competitor with more than a decade of experience. Look for B. ActiveForLife on Facebook