The art of staying lean takes a fair amount of discipline and practice, but from experience it is not that difficult to become a master of managing your body composition.

So if you would like to achieve this, consider again whether it is time, finally, to do something about it. If yes, you’ll need to think through the best approach, so to get you started here are 5 tips to help you succeed.

1. Make an honest list of all the things you like to eat that contain starch and sugar.

Think of the food with starch and sugar that you have major cravings for. It could be food like bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, pastries or fruits for example. The point of doing this is to identify the culprits you most love to eat that prevent you from burning fat and staying lean.

2. Write down all your reasons for wanting to stay lean

and keep it near you at all times. Here are some to get you started: “My daughter, my granddaughter, my husband, my wife…” You get the idea.

3. Remove starch and sugar from most of your daily diet

will help keep your insulin levels in control to allow you to be in the best fat burning state at all times. You can consume some starch and sugar daily but that should be kept to a minimum or only after low intensity exercise.

4. Eat more protein and vegetables.

Nothing beats putting “real food” in as often as possible to give your body the vitamins, nutrients and minerals it needs to maintain good health. While starch and sugar provide the body with quick and easy fuel, they have little nutritional benefits and prevent you from tapping into the naturally abundant and better fuel source - FAT.

5. Start training at least once a week at a lower intensity for a longer duration of time

helps to feed your fat burning furnace by making use of the air that you breathe and process more efficiently. The more time you are able to complete, the more results you will see. If you start to get out of breath, it is a clear sign to slow down to stay in the “zone”. High intensity training often leaves you fatigued, hungry and does not reinforce the fat burning to help you stay lean, so this should only be done every now and then to add variation to your training.

Follow these 5 tips religiously and you should see changes in your body and energy levels.