MERCED I say this all too often: Fitness is for life. When I get questions on my blog or emails about motivation and how to maintain an even flow of it, I cannot help but recognize it comes from a variety of factors.
Being a mobile personal trainer, I see an opportunity to work out wherever I am.
I do not know everything there is to know about fitness.
When a workout program gets repetitive and uninteresting, it is a lot less likely to be adhered to than one that is motivating, exciting, new and innovative.
Here we are, halfway through 2012 already. It is amazing how time can just fly by; I feel like I was just writing on making New Year's improvements, and here we are almost to summer. Spring and summer are my favorite seasons because of all of the produce that's available.
Getting fit and living a healthy lifestyle can be a big transition.
Memorial Day is a day for us to remember all of the fallen soldiers who have courageously and unquestionably fought for every single one of our freedoms. The sad part is, many don't take the time to reflect on the real reason for this three day weekend -- instead, it is a time for pool parties, alcohol, hamburgers and hot dogs.
Sometimes I find myself in, what I like to call, a fitness rut. Not because I am too lazy or unmotivated to work out, but because sometimes I just feel like my workouts are boring.
There really is not any easy fix or easy way to just magically become fit and healthy.
When talking to my clients about eating healthy and maintaining a healthy diet, a lot of people get frustrated because they feel that transitioning into healthy eating habits is going to require a lot more money than they are used to spending on food. While it is true that healthy and fresh ingredients are a bit more costly than frozen meals and fast food, there is absolutely no question that there is a true tradeoff when it comes to your internal health as well as healthy lifestyle habits.
You wake up in the morning, get out of bed and head to the bathroom to look in the mirror and wake up a little bit. There's a scale in your bathroom that you step on that reveals a number that then leaves you wide awake and wishing you had not eaten so much the day before.
On the refrigerator in my parents' house there was always a yellow square piece of paper with a Bible verse typed on it: "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it" (Proverbs 22:6).
Food and healthy eating are topics that I thoroughly enjoy talking and writing about.
The transition into a healthier and cleaner diet can often be difficult on the taste buds. The foods that are high in sodium, high in refined processed carbohydrates and all of those spreads that are high in fat can be extremely addicting and hard to eliminate from your diet because they just taste so good, right?
"Get caught in the race of this crazy life. Trying to be everything can make you lose your mind."
So here it is, ladies and gentlemen -- summer is around the corner. I know that the weather in most areas may not reflect that, but it's going to be beach, pool, swimsuit time in the blink of an eye. The time to get into shape starts now!
I fell a few weeks ago in a grocery store, over my own two feet. I was doing wardrobe styling, one of my other side jobs, and I ran to the store to get lunch and slipped in my high-heel, over-the-knee boots and landed on my knees. At the time, I felt zero pain, minor embarrassment, and I just got right back up and continued in the self-checkout line. A couple of employees at the grocery store came to see if I was OK, and I thanked them, told them I was fine and continued with my day.
One of the traits I have come to notice a lot with clients who are unhappy with the way they look is their eating pattern -- or lack thereof. You would think if someone wanted to lose weight, you would tell them to eat less and exercise more. However, most of my clients who say they want to "look like me" eat significantly less and less often than I do. It's all about what you eat and also when and how often you eat it.
I like to talk about food a lot because it is something that we all have to face three or more times a day. I once had a psychology of addiction professor say that food addiction would be the hardest to overcome because you can't just quit food cold turkey. That statement has always stuck with me, and it is so true.
I'm half Italian, thanks to my beautiful mother. One of the most amazing meals that my mom and my grandmother make is their famous pasta. What's most incredible about the dish isn't even the pasta; it's the sauce.
Lack of sleep always makes everything so much more dramatic in my life. Traffic makes me cry, not being able to find a parking spot at school tees me off, and I have to put so much more effort into minute tasks. We are humans; we are emotional beings. But really, crying over traffic? Yes, I have done it, real tears. The more consistent my sleeping patterns are, the better my mood is.
The first three workouts on this list were featured in my interview with ManiacFitness.com. I added two more workouts to my "favorite" list, and they all require little or no space and equipment.
Recycling, hybrid cars, solar energy, reusable grocery bags and paperless bank statements. A lot of people have become more environmentally friendly by adopting such things into their lives, and what an impact it has had. What about going green with your diet -- and by green, I mean green vegetables.
"He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else." Thank you, Benjamin Franklin, for being so blunt. One thing I have learned from roommates, classmates and friends is that excuses are worthless and come by the truckload, if you let them. Excuses are fueled by a lack of effort and commitment. I have heard so many excuses about why people cannot fulfill promises to lead a healthy and fit lifestyle.
