The Body Coach's ten point guide to keeping in shape

Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach. Picture: PA

Last year saw Joe Wicks, aka The Body Coach, go from Instagram sensation to one of the most in-demand wellness and weight-loss gurus on the circuit – and so far, his success looks set to continue in 2016.

His debut book, Lean In 15, shifted 77,097 copies in its first week alone.

The nutrition coach and personal trainer – who devised his 90 Day SSS (shape, shift and sustain) Plan from his bedroom, while trying to boost his profile in an already crowded market – says he is “on a mission to rescue people from the awful dieting industry.

“I am sick and tired of people struggling on low-calorie diets and meal replacement shakes.”

Wicks’s motto is all about education and knowledge, encouraging people to learn how to eat well to fuel their bodies so they can maintain a healthy weight without going hungry.

Here, 30-year-old Wicks shares 10 top tips for getting – and staying – lean for life.

1) Prep like a boss

“You’ve got to prep like a boss, which means preparing your own meals, so when you’re leaving the house, you’ve got your lunch and your dinner sorted.”

2) Drink more water

“A lot of people don’t drink enough water, and a hydrated body burns more fat, so try and drink two to four litres a day.”

3) Do HIIT cardio

“Twenty minutes a day, four to five days a week. It’s high-intensity interval training and you’re going to burn loads of calories.”

4) Eat more fats

“A lot of people are frightened of fats, they don’t eat butter and eggs and saturated fats because they think it’s unhealthy and you’ve got to cut it out, but it’s actually really, really good for you.”

5) Don’t fear carbs

“Everyone that’s starting a diet is like, ‘Low-carbs – cut the carbs, can’t eat that’, but you can eat carbs. You’ve got to eat them at the right time, so if you like bread, pasta, bagels whatever, you’ve just got to eat them after you train, to refuel.”

6) Plan like a winner

“That basically means plan your meals into the week ahead. So you could get a little seven-day planner and you can write what you’re going to have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Little things like that may seem a bit silly, but it’s practical and if you follow it, it’s much easier to sustain.”

7) Throw away the sad step

“The ‘sad step’ is what I call the scales, because I have seen people in the gym and they look really happy, they’ve just done a workout, they walk to the ‘sad step’, they stand on it, and they are just like, ‘Hmm’, because the ‘sad step’ doesn’t move and it’s just depressing. So get rid of the ‘sad step’.”

8) Take before and after pictures

“You can keep them for yourself, but it’s a really great way of seeing your progress over time, as opposed to looking in the mirror and thinking, ‘I haven’t changed, I look exactly the same’, but really you probably have, you just don’t know it.”

9) Get your store cupboard essentials

“In the book, it talks about products that you need that you can have in your house at any one time, to make really healthy meals on the go. So you’ve got things like curry powder, coconut milk, Thai green curry paste, chillis and eggs for making omelettes. So if you get store cupboard essentials like that, you can always make a healthy meal.”

10) Allow yourself treats

“Don’t be afraid to get a bit guilty on the weekends. If you like having a drink and if you like treating yourself to a little tub of ice cream, it’s fine – you know – moderation, balance. Lean In 15 is a lifestyle, it’s not me saying, ‘You’ve got to eat this way’, it’s just me trying to encourage you to take control, prepare your own food, and you’re going to feel great. Nutrition’s about feeling good, you need to have treats.”

• Lean In 15: 15 Minute Meals And Workouts To Keep You Lean And Healthy by Joe Wicks is published by Bluebird, priced £14.99. To find out more about The Body Coach and his plan, visit www.thebodycoach.co.uk