Zanna Van Dijk - Strong: Over 80 Exercises and 40 Recipes for Achieving a Fit, Healthy and Balanced Body

Ditch the fad diets. Step away from the treadmill. Theres another way to get results, and its all about balance.

Being in great shape doesnt mean depriving yourself or running your body into the ground. In STRONG, personal trainer and Instagram star Zanna Van Dijk busts these myths and reveals her no-fail formula for a powerful, lean physique and lasting health and happiness.

STRONG gives you all the motivation and practical tools you need to get started on your fitness journey. Zannas inspiring and achievable approach to eating well and training effectively features a comprehensive guide to lifting weights, detailed workout routines, sustainable nutrition tips and simple principles of health and wellness. After youve worked up a sweat, her mouthwatering, easy recipes prove that nourishing food isnt just fuel it can be absolutely delicious and bursting with flavour too.

Make your body STRONG. Move it. Nourish it. Thrive.

Every single day we are bombarded with information about the latest diet craze or weight loss quick-fix from exercising while wrapped in cling film (yes, really!) through to juice cleanses, detox teas and everything in between.

Quite frankly it can be overwhelming and confusing, and can lead you down a road of yo-yo dieting, losing and regaining weight, and never truly finding a lifestyle which you can stick to.

What if I told you that you dont need to follow these radical approaches to feel energised, lose weight, get fitter and achieve lasting results?

Its all about finding balance.

When I was at school, staying healthy certainly wasnt high on my priority list. I would do anything to avoid exercise. I wrote fake sick notes for P.E. on a regular basis and struggled to run for the bus. I would eat sugary cereal for breakfast, have pasta and brownies for lunch, and snack on sausage rolls. I saw working out as a chore and eating healthily as uncool, and this attitude stuck with me into early adulthood.

When I was at university I gained the freshers 15 (pounds) and as a result I made it my mission to lose weight through any method possible. I tried every diet out there. Im talking low carb, high carb, paleo, the cabbage soup diet... you name it, I did it. I ended up slimmer but tired, fed up and frustrated. I wasnt enjoying my food and I was about as active as a sloth. It was at this point that I decided to prioritise my health. I was tired of feeling tired and I wanted to learn how to nourish my body and get fit and strong the right way.

Being the nerd that I am, I dived head first into a mountain of books on the topic of health and kept up with the latest research in the area. I soon realised that the fad diets I had been following were a load of nonsense and that there is so much more to training than plodding along on a treadmill. I educated myself about how to fuel my body appropriately, the importance of macronutrients, the value of strength training and so much more. I started to implement this knowledge on myself and the results came thick and fast. I became energised, my concentration improved and my skin glowed. I started to enjoy my training, I developed muscle tone and I became stronger than I ever thought I could be. Instead of seeing food as the enemy, I saw it as something to be enjoyed. I started using it as fuel to nourish my body. Instead of seeing exercise as a chore, I saw it as a way to look after myself and a gateway to thrive both physically and mentally.

Health and fitness soon went from being a hobby to a passion, and after I left university I studied to become a personal trainer. Now I make it my mission to educate others about having a balanced approach to fitness and nutrition so that they dont make the mistakes I did. I ensure that everyone I work with looks beyond their appearance and considers how they feel. I am constantly learning through continued professional development, reading books, attending workshops and listening to hours of podcasts. I want to challenge you to change your beliefs and change your life. I want you to feel awesome, energised and empowered. I strongly believe that life is for living, food is for eating and exercise is to be enjoyed. Gone are the days of restrictive diets and hours of exercise. Say hello to an achievable, realistic and enjoyable approach to looking after your body, losing weight and thriving every single day. Say hello to balance.

How many times have you been told, Its not a diet, its a lifestyle? What does that even mean? How do you actually live this elusive lifestyle everyone talks about? That is what this book is here to tell you.

Strong avoids strict diet plans, busts fitness myths and tells you what you actually need to know so that you can enjoy your journey to becoming healthier. It is not an unsustainable short-term fix that leaves you tired, weak and deprived. It isnt a cleanse and it certainly isnt a detox. It is a detailed guide crammed full of information which you can use to educate yourself about how to fuel your body, train hard and achieve a healthy lifestyle for the long term. It guides you through how to make small healthy choices which fit into your life, as it is these daily decisions that ultimately determine your health, happiness and results.

A balanced approach emphasises both body and mind. Not only do you need to learn how to cook delicious food and push yourself in the gym but you also need to make sure you have the mindset to match. As a result, not only will we discuss slotting fitness into your life and reducing stress but we will also make sure you maintain a positive relationship with food and with your body along the way. By the time you finish reading this book, youll be a balanced badass with so much knowledge that itll be coming out of your ears!

Now I dont want to get ahead of myself here... but this book has the potential to change your life. Yep, bold statement. However, if you just read it and then pop it on a shelf never to be touched again, that probably wont happen. Instead, I encourage you to really engage with the information I present to you, absorb it and question it. Grab a pen, write in the margins, fold down corners, make notes and be inquisitive. Get nerdy, ask questions and look further into areas that interest you. I will give you as many tools and tips as I can but dont stop there. This book is a starting point on what I hope will be a continuing journey for you as a reader.

Now, its over to you. The power is in your hands to take control of your body, mind, health and life and to implement the changes you need to achieve long-lasting results. I hope that this book inspires you to cook delicious meals, train like a badass, achieve a balanced lifestyle and feel pretty damn amazing along the way.