Happy 75th Birthday Dad

 

Today is my dad's birthday. He would have been 75 years old. 
I can't believe that I've lived the last 8 years without my dad in my life. I really don't know how I've made it this long as my dad was such an important person in my life. It also makes me sad that I don't have any pictures with my dad after the age of 31. It's just not fair. 

I often wonder what he would think about my current lifestyle, my career and all the bikes we've accumulated over the past few years. I wonder what he would think about Greenville, SC. We had only been living here for a few weeks before he passed away after a 10-month fight with cancer. I wonder which one of our four cats would be his favorite :) 

It's been a tough day today. I really miss him. I miss his advice, his stories and how proud he was of my accomplishments. 

During my long run this morning, I couldn't help but think about my dad and what his passing taught me about life. I know that his death really changed how I wanted to live my life. 

Take good care of yourself 
My dad was never sick, he was at a very healthy and lean body weight and he ran 3 miles every single day for decades. When my dad was diagnosed with stage IV cancer, he asked for my advice on how he could eat better. As a medical professional himself, he had knowledge of healthy eating but he didn't feel that it was needed to make changes in his diet as he was the epitome of good health. Although healthy eating doesn't guarantee a life free of disease, it can help with better quality of life. And the definition of healthy eating looks different for everyone. For many people, until there is a major health setback, it's normal to reset making meaningful changes for health. This doesn't include nutritious eating but also better sleep, stress management, reducing alcohol consumption, setting boundaries (learning to say no) and making "me" time. Don't wait until a major medical problem or a brush with death to take good care of yourself and to make changes to your lifestyle. If you are wanting to do something about your unhealthy habits or just desire to make a change, here are a few tips: 

• Write down what changes you'd like to make and then pick only 1-2 of them to focus on to start. 
• Consider the struggles/traps that you may experience and how you will overcome them. 
• Consider working with a professional for support. 
• Share your changes with your close friends and family - people who will encourage you instead of undermine you. 
• Recognize that change doesn't happen overnight. There will be setbacks and struggles. 
• Track your progress and continually address what's working and what needs tweaking. 

Don't wait to live your life
My mom and dad had a lot of exciting travel plans after he retired. Sadly, he never made it to that day.  My dad loved his job. He worked for the VA as an optometrist for over 30 years. My dad taught me the value of getting a good education and working hard for it. I spent over 10 years pursuing three degrees - from undergrad to graduate school to becoming a registered dietitian. I love my "job(s)" but it was a lot of hard work, time, money and struggles to get to where I am today. I see a lot of people hating their job. They are miserable and stressed every day of the week, year after year. I'm not coming from a place that money is everything but don't let your one chance at life slip on by for a job that makes you unhappy (and perhaps unhealthy). 
Karel had to work incredibly hard to make it in the USA. He came here with a backpack and gave up cycling at the age of 20 to work 3 very hard working labor intensive jobs a day. He was not living. He was barely surviving. But it's what he had to do to "make it." 
Take an inventory of your life - how is your job affecting your physical and mental health, your sleep and your relationships? Like Karel, you may have to endure a stressful situation for a few years to become financially stable but there needs to be a finish line in sight. It's very difficult to enjoy life when you are under constant stress and pressure. 
I'm not saying that you need to quit your job and life will never be stress-free but the situation with my dad taught me to never waste a day. Maybe there's another job out there where you don't make as much money as you do now but you can spend more time with your family, your mental and physical health is better and you can spend more time doing things that make you happy. The point I'm trying to make is that you shouldn't wait until you are retired to enjoy life. Enjoy life now, you only get one chance at it. If you are feeling like life is slipping by and you are not enjoying life because of your job, here are a few suggestions: 

• Consider a different work environment. You may love what you do for a career but the corporate culture that you are in isn't beneficial for your mental and physical health. 
• Consider a different position within the same company. 
• Change your career. Go back to school, get a different job, start a small business. Like many things in life, sometimes your career may not be the right fit anymore. 
• Communicate with your boss. Learn to set boundaries so that you are not taken advantage of by others. 
• Use your vacation days. Everyone needs to reset the mind and body. 
• Save money and be wise when you spend. Working less or changing a job for less money may be more achievable than you think. 
• Consider moving to a more affordable city/state. You may be able to do the same job in a different location but the cost of living is much less (which means it's much easier to live without needing to work as hard). 
• Don't forget that your health, family and a low stress environment are all needed for a happy, quality filled life. 

Healthy lifestyle habits

It’s quite the paradox but America is obsessed with eating healthy yet we are one very unhealthy nation.
Although what we eat (or don't eat) affects our health, healthy eating is simply part of a healthy life.

And a healthy life requires healthy lifestyle habits.

 If you are constantly looking for quick fixes after you realize that your unhealthy lifestyle has become a problem, it's time to stop the diet mentality so you can (finally) create good lifestyle habits to improve your health, body composition and performance/fitness.

Believe it or not, but by addressing your lifestyle choices you can actually improve your fitness, achieve/maintain a healthy weight/body composition, minimize GI distress (especially during workouts), improve recovery, have more natural energy throughout the day, reduce risk for injury and sickness and enjoy your athletic lifestyle a lot more without following a diet plan. 

I realize that it's much easier to gain control over your life by following a diet plan as it's easy to feel great anxiety, fear and stress around food.
Of course, a diet plan takes away the guessing and being told what not to eat is much easier than putting in the work to make better choices with your eating, training/exercising and lifestyle but you can't live your entire life obsessing about what to or not to eat.
It's time to make peace with food and live a more healthy lifestyle. 

If you feel like you need a change in your life, I want you to select three of the following lifestyle habits that need improvement in your life.

-----------------------------Restful sleep
Healthy relationships - spouse/significant other, family and friends
Healthy life, work and family balance
                                          Stress management                                     
Strength training and mobility work
Following a smart training plan
Following a smart training plan that fits into your life
Reduce sedentary time
Nutrient timing - timing food with workouts
Using sport nutrition wisely
Better recovery routine
More time warming up before workouts
Learning to say no more often
Prioritize real food variety - reduce junk food
Improve coping skills (stop using alcohol or food for emotions, stress, anxiety, etc.)
Meal planning/prepping
Staying hydrated
Developing a healthy relationship with food and the body
Goal setting
Mental strength/skills
Create structure with your life
Give yourself "me" time--------------------------------------------

I want you to dedicate this entire week to exploring these three lifestyle habits. 
1) Why did you select these habits?
2) What's keeping you from making a change in this area? 
3) What will help you make a change (education, professional help, accountability, motivation)?
4) How will you maintain your changes for long-term success?5) What will you do when a set-back occurs? How will you get back on track?

Fit AND healthy

Great performances are built on great health. If you are carelessly eating whatever you want or intentionally restricting energy and fluids before/during and after your workouts, in an your attempt to improve performance, you could actually find yourself becoming less healthy.

You can't expect to train your way to great fitness and live an unhealthy lifestyle.

Sure, you may not smoke, eat fast food all day or drink excessively but how are your dietary choices enhancing your health?

Great health is the foundation to great performances. 

As it relates to healthy living and healthy eating, how much time you devote to getting fit compared to how much time you devote to improving your health? 

Don’t assume that both are correlated as many times, they are not.

You can be very fit but also very unhealthy. 

 

In the February 2016 issue of Triathlete Magazine, you can check out two pages (Pg. 68-69) of my nutrition tips relating to fueling your body for short distance triathlons. 

You will read in the article that I am not suggesting complicated sport nutrition tips nor am I suggesting to be overly restrictive with your eating.

Hopefully with my tips you will better understand how to fuel your body in motion so that you can be more consistent with training as you keep your body in good health. 

Just because you signed up for a race and you have a training plan, this doesn't mean that you are guaranteed good health.

You have to make the effort to be healthy when you are NOT training so that when you train, your body can adapt better to training stress. 

It is important to focus on healthy living as an athlete so that you don't compromise your health as you are trying to improve your fitness. 

Here are a few focus areas for healthy living:

Good sleep
Healthy relationships
Healthy work/life/family balance
Stress management
                                   Train smart - train enough but not too much                             

Strength train
Reduce sedentary time
Nutrient timing
Prioritize real food, variety
Meal plan
Healthy relationship with food and the body

2015 diet tip: Accept and re-create your environment

                                              Accept and re-create your environment

Healthy living is extremely important when it comes to supporting your training/exercise, nutrition and health goals. Everyday, you put yourself into several different types of environments like commuting, traveling, work place, social/volunteer activities, training/working out and most of all, your home so it is obvious that if you want to change something in your life, you need environments that have structure but also accessibility to things that move you closer (not further away) to your goals.

We live in a world where many people blame outside forces (their environment) as the main reason why it's difficult to maintain new lifestyle habits. Oddly, most people have the motivation and drive, at first to create new habits, but it's very easy to let "easy, comfortable, familiar or the norm" bring a person back to square one when it comes to developing and keeping those healthier living habits. 

If your work was within walking distance from your home AND you had a safe walking or biking path for commuting, would you choose feet/legs over car?

If your work allowed you 1 hour of paid workout time per day, would you find yourself working out more?

If you could hire a chef to prepare you and your family a healthy, balanced and delicious dinner built from locally sourced foods, every evening, would you find it easier to eat healthier?

If you could have someone clean your house, fold your laundry, pack your lunch (and the kids), pay the bills, shop for food and clean the dishes every day, would you go to bed earlier and sleep better? 

Just image what life would be like if you could walk/bike to work, workout while you are at work, not worry about what's for dinner at night and have someone take care of all the things that often keep you up late at night.....it would be amazing, right?

Not only would you feel better, but this type of lifestyle presents environments that would be conducive for healthier living. 

Some people already take some of these steps, some consider them impossible to do or to pay for and some people consider them a necessity. So what about you?

Can you live a life like this?

Is this the environment you want but just can't have?

Does this mean you are doomed forever because you will always say you never have enough time, enough money, enough energy, enough motivation to create and maintain healthy habits to reach your goals?

Absolutely not!

If the closest natural food store is close to an hour away, it's going to be very difficult to create an eating environment that includes the foods that are listed on some diet plan. 

If tomorrow happens to be a 10 hour work day, plus 2 hours of commuting, whereas the time for that 90-minute workout on your training plan plus that meal that requires 60 minutes of food prep and cooking?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make in your own personal journey is not accepting the environment that you live in. You can't live with the mindset that your situation needs to be perfect for you to start something or that you wish you had it easier. You must accept what you are given and focus on what you can do with what you have right now. 

Once you make peace with the fact that this is your life, find ways to set yourself up for success.

You have to re-create the environment that you live in so that it is conducive to your health, fitness and body composition goals. 

 Life will change a lot in the next 12 months so understand that some days will present as "easier" days to get things done. But don't throw all your hard work out the window when your environment doesn't feel conducive to change. 

Create an environment that works for you.

No more should you go through life hoping to be better tomorrow.

Create a positive environment no matter where you are at, who you are with or how busy life may be. 

It's your life. 

Accept it and make the most of it. 

Re-create your environment tips

1) Lay out your workout clothes the night before.

2) Have a go-to bag for the gym that is always filled with make-up, shelf-stable bar/recovery drink, underwear, etc so even in a hurry, you won't forget something. 

3) Prepare leftovers at dinner and spend 10-minutes preparing breakfast or lunch for the next day. 

4) Have lots of tupperware containers for storing leftovers. And a few go-to cook books/blogs/websites for cooking inspiration.

5) Keep healthy snacks at your work place for healthy eating. Have go-to places for eating out when traveling or work events so you are prepared. 

6) Prep your dinner in advance for easy cooking and shop every 3-4 days for groceries so you can maintain a varied diet. 

7) Invest in cooking products (ex. crockpot, panini press, waffle maker, variety of pots/pans, blender, etc.) that will help you with the cooking process. 

8) Walk as much as possible throughout your day, especially when you just can't squeeze in a workout. A 10-minute workout still counts as a workout. 

9) Plan ahead in every situation. Write out your day before it happens and then think of your plan A, B or C for situations that often make you feel "off". 

10) Stay on top of things. Do a little of something every day so you don't feel as if you are behind on one thing in your life. This can be for any area in your life from cleaning, organizing, bills, calling/writing your close friends, writing thank you cards or laundry or simply making an effort to eat healthy and workout.

Bonus tip: You need a positive workout environment. If you don't have a treadmill, elliptical, weights, stationary/spin bike/trainer at home, then your options are to workout outside or get a gym membership. Make your investments wisely - if a gym membership is not practical due to location/hours/limited use of equipment or fees, then consider creating your own workout environment at home.

Where do you get your nutrition advice?

With so much nutrition advice available, how do you know what to believe? 

For example, my friend Jason asked me if I heard about Almased, not because he was interested in it but because he was shocked at the diet plan and that it was endorsed by a Registered Dietitian (RD). So, if a MD and RD recommend Almased, does that mean that you should use the product to lose weight and follow the diet plan? 

At the beginning, you only drink vegetable broth, water and three Almased^® shakes per day. For each “meal”, eight level tablespoons of Almased^® with cold water (bottled or filtered) or milk (skim, unsweetened almond or soy). The weight loss during this phase may be higher than for the rest of the diet. You can stay in this Starting Phase for a couple of days or up to 2 weeks if you feel good. Then you begin the Reduction Phase, during which you replace two meals (preferably breakfast and dinner) with an Almased^® drink and eat one healthy meal. This phase lasts about 6 weeks or until you reach your ideal body weight. Then you enter the Stability Phase. For several weeks, replace one meal a day with Almased^® in order to avoid the dreaded yo-yo effect that causes pounds to come back on quickly after a diet. Weight loss continues during this phase.

If you replace your dinner with Almased^®, you speed up the fat burning process during the night. Almased^® not only curbs your hunger but also improves thermogenesis, the conversion of fat into heat. The body takes the energy it needs for the nightly repair of cells that were damaged during the day from fat cells – you lose weight while sleeping.


There appears to be many nutrition experts out there with plenty of conflicting information. I work with many athletes and fitness enthusiasts and patients in the hospital, who ask me about different diets, foods, products, etc. and although I hear similar questions over and over again, there is always a question or two that makes me a bit upset that there are actually people out there with no credentials who speak so strongly about how a person should eat and people actually go to certain lengths to pay money for their advice.  


Just like with a tri or running coach, a lawyer, a doctor, accountant, etc, you always want to put your trust in a person based on his/her credentials. Certainly, experience goes a long way but there is something very important in society for individuals to gain an education in an area before practicing in that area.

But what about a personal philosophy? With so many experts out there (with and without credentials), who do you trust when your health is involved....and you are willing to pay money for help/advice?

 I feel right there, this would take away a lot of confusion with nutrition for if you want nutrition help, direct your energy toward someone who has a reason to provide nutrition advice and then go with the philosophy that you feel will better your life and will fit your needs. Although I highly recommend working with a registered dietitian when it comes to eating for health and a RD specializing in sports when it comes to performance, your choice of who you receive your nutrition advice from should be based on a personal philosophy of the expert. Credentials or no credentials, there is a lot of advice available to the public and you don't have to believe everything that you hear. 

To help you out when it comes eating to improve your health and/or changing your diet for performance/body composition, here are a few tips to follow. 

-Ask yourself if the philosophy of your expert gives you happiness.
-Does the philosophy have meaning?
-Is the advice practice, useful and valuable during all stages of life?
- Can the philosophy apply in all situations and circumstances in life?
-Does the advice seem healthy? Would the advice of this expert work for a child, an elderly person or an individual who just beat cancer? Sure, everyone has different nutrient needs and different eating styles but is the recommendation so extreme for you that it would not be appropriate for others in some way or fashion?
-Does the philosophy work for a lifetime - what about when the quick fix phase is over?
-Can the advice of the expert carry you through the good and bad times in life? Is the advice only appropriate for you to be 100% in control all day every day?
-Does the philosophy seem appropriate to meet your personal needs and goals?
-Is your expert open to change or does he/she give extreme or black/white rules?
-Is your expert open to many ways of thinking about how to improve your health? You don't have to accept every philosophy so don't limit yourself to believe that you only have live one way for the rest of your life. 
-Does your expert appear to be an expert at everything or is his/her philosophy based on a specialty? 
-Does your expert practice what he/she preaches?
-Does your expert have an answer for everything or is he/she constantly exploring new ways of thinking to ensure that you live the best life possible?

The bottom line is where do you draw the line when it comes to believing everything you hear and read? Even when you are most vulnerable, desperate and needy to try anything and everything or feel frustrated that you have failed in the past, consider your primary goals both short and long term with your body, health and fitness/performance before you search for a person who has a philosophy that meets your individual needs.

Simple tips for an uncomplicated life

A few tips for a more balanced day: 

-Aim for 60 minutes of movement today (any way you like it, split up or at once)

-Snack on fruits and veggies 

-Surround yourself with people who give you energy, not take it away from you

-Be motivated by your personal goals that are meaningful and realistic, not by what others are doing and what you feel others expect you to do.

-Eat to be satisfied, fueled and nourished. Focus on a plant strong meal that is balanced with whole grains (1/2 - 1 cup) or high fiber starch (~30-50g carbs) +  20-30g of protein + enough healthy fat to make the meal taste great and hold you over (~7-15g). 

-Work on a good, better, best system. Don't try to be your best right now if you are just making good choices. Accept the patience that is needed to make small changes that will last a lifetime. 

-Learn to love new things in life. Not much is easy the first time you do it, especially if you want it to change you. 

-Snack with a purpose: control blood sugar, compliment meals and fill in nutritional gaps between those meals, honor hunger and don't be a clock watcher. 

-Don't let a store-bought household appliance run or ruin your day. Instead of chasing a number on a scale, use your eating and exercise routine for something more meaningful in life. 

-Reframe situations that appear to make you unhappy. Tired of your job? Be grateful you are making money to pay your bills. Is your training/exercise routine too challenging at times? Acknowledge that your body is strong enough to do something on a daily basis. 

-Let the important people in your life know that you love and care about them. 

-Tell yourself that you love yourself. 

-Stop wasting time reading tips in magazines, on the internet and in books that tell you how to get a quick fix for a healthy life. A balanced life is not extreme or rushed. Don't make excuses, make things happen with small steps that allow for some progress. 

Waiting for your wake up call

Athletes are all too familiar with wake-up calls. Waiting until things happen and then wishing they would have started doing things earlier. Injured? Perhaps you said I should have been better with strength training, I should not have pushed through that workout and I need to be stretching. Burnout? Perhaps you said you knew you should have rested when you kept pushing through. Not at your racing fitness? Perhaps you wish you would have made slow progress earlier in the year than trying to make everything happen in the last few weeks of training. 

As humans, I feel it is perfectly normal to use wake-up calls appropriately for we all need a little kick in the butt to remind us that life has meaning and we need to appreciate it to the fullest.  For the 20+ year smoker has been known to quickly stop smoking when he/she finds out he has cancer and the individual who thought that diet and exercise didn't matter may feel instantly motivated to change habits after learning that his/her current state of health is at a result of not focusing on lifestyle habits earlier in life. Most people find it easy to change their lifestyle when they are given a wake-up call...but why wait? 

Everyday you are forced to answer hard questions with your lifestyle choices. Perhaps everyone is doing it so you want to fit in. Maybe your standards are lowered because of lack of confidence. Or maybe you are excusing your behavior because you just don't feel you deserve any  better. Maybe you feel great and you love the way you are living life.

 Life is hard because many times we feel fine and have no reason to change, to think or to act differently. But when we ignore many things for too long, it only takes one quick wake-up call to recognize all those former positive thoughts that could have made an impact on how you are living today.

There are no guarantees in life. We often receive wake up calls because we are being given another chance. The call is not typically welcomed and many times, it keeps us from living the life we had been enjoying. But if you do a little searching, there are many times when wake-up calls are given to you as a learning experience and not as a punishment for your previous actions or thoughts.  Sadly, sometimes you aren't given a wake-up.

 Wake up calls require you to rethink your priorities and that is something that you can do now, tomorrow and everyday. Whether or not you have been given a wake-up call in the recent months, don't wait for your first one or another.

Remind yourself as to what is important to you in life. Crossing a finishing line, traveling the world, being successful at work, being a role model for your family, keeping your body in optimal health, sharing love and education with others. Many times it doesn't involve a number on a scale, a size of clothing or a 'fast' racing time or place. Eager to be perfect or to do well at everything, many choices are often extreme or goals are often pushed off due to difficulty.

Your body is there to take care of you for the rest of your life. Subtle changes have cumulative effects on your quality of life. If your body is giving you a warning signal, if you feel like you are waiting for the right moment to start or if you feel like all is wrong in your days....at least you have days to make things happen.

Start now, don't wait and enjoy the journey of life. Don't wait for the worst to make things better now.

Body and mind stir-fry creation

Fuel your body with real food because your body needs fuel to function, to thrive, to live, to be happy.

Don't watch the clock.

Don't say you're being bad.

Don't regret what you choose to put into your body.

Don't say you're cheating.

Don't worry/stress about what other people are doing, what others may think or what others may assume. Own your actions.

Feed your body throughout the day when your brain and body need energy.

As I was seeing and charting on patients today in the hospital today, I couldn't help but think (as I always do) about how grateful I am to have a body that is well, happy and healthy.

Every time you think about (or do) body bash or voluntarily restrict food that can be used for fuel or for health, consider reframing your thoughts.

That same body that you think is fat, ugly or gross or just messed up or failed you, is the same body that you push to cross finishing lines, wakes you up in the morning to take care of your family, helps you have a productive day of work to pay the bills and is where you will live for the rest of your life.

 

Body and mind stir fry

 

Cubed pre-cooked potatoes (you can buy frozen, in bag or slice fresh and then microwave for 2-3 minutes until soft)
Cubed firm tofu
Red bell pepper
Sliced mushrooms
Garlic
Peas
Pistachios
Peanuts

Dark leafy greens
Salsa
Olive oil

Herbs/spices

1. In a large skillet, heat to medium heat and place potatoes, tofu, pepper, mushrooms, sliced garlic and peas in the skillet with 1/2 tbsp olive oil. Add 2 tbsp of water and cover for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking).

2. When veggies are slightly brown and soft, add a spoonful or two of salsa and then ~1/8 cup mixed nuts (pistachios and peanuts).
3. Season with your choice of seasonings - a pinch of salt, pepper, turmeric, oregano.

4. Prepare a Tupperware container (if bringing to work for lunch) or shallow dish with a large handful of leafy greens and top with the veggie creation.

Tips for an active and healthy lifestyle

 

Thanks to Oakley Women and Shape Magazine, I was able to have an amazing venue to speak about topics that have changed my life. Because "healthy" can be a word that is often overused and not clearly defined in our society, I enjoy helping others live a more balanced lifestyle.

 

In San Diego, Boulder and DFW, I spoke to over 600 women (combined) for over 6 hours (total) and loved every minute of it. When you are passionate about something, it is easy to talk about. But when you can practice what you preach, it is easy to communicate to others with happiness, joy and satisfaction that the lifestyle that you live is so amazing that you hope that others can share it with you. Sure, this can be taken out of context as many people strive for a lifestyle that is unrealistic, extreme and often, unhealthy but I feel that to be healthy, you have to be happy. Sadly, as many people go about changing habits, they are not happy and feel that only the end result will bring happiness. With tomorrow being my golden birthday (wow - turning 31!!) I can only think back to the last year and smile when I think about all that has happened, thanks to a balanced life. Living a healthy life is not about a number on a scale, sticking to a certain diet or bragging about how many hours of weekly exercise you can do. Living a healthy life is about your quality of life and I hope my 7 top tips for balanced living, help jump start or enhance your journey to an active and healthy lifestyle.

 

 

Keep in mind that it's not about how well you balance everything on your plate but instead, making sure everything you do has a purpose and brings meaning to your one and only life. You don't have to be perfect or be like others. It's better to be really awesome and great at a few things (and spend the time working on being great) than to be OK at a lot.

 

1) Develop a mindful eating plan– Eat with attention and intuition. Does anyone not like to eat? Eating mindfully means that you don’t feel guilty when you eat and you always feel better after you eat than before. To eat mindfully - you have to eat! Aim for 3 balanced meals a day to nourish your body and then snack wisely. Snacks should serve 3 purposes: to fill in nutritional gaps between meals, to control blood sugar and to honor hunger.

 

2) Train smarter to train harder – You don’t have to be a triathlete, training for an Ironman to be "healthy". You also don't have to be  a "runner". Recognize the difference between training for an event and exercising. Remove the pressure that you have to do x workouts a week and for x-minutes a day and just focus on ways that you can move your body more - athlete or fitness enthusiast. In addition to your current cardio routine, I recommend to strength train 2-3 times per week, add in yoga, cross training and flexibility work. Also, if you own a GPS –HR enabled device, be sure you know how to use it for consistent training? Take advantage of gadgets, equipment and anything else that will take the guessing away from working out and will help with more consistent performance gains. Thus, training harder by training smarter. Focus on quality workouts, not quantity. For more info, read here for an article I did on training smarter.

3) Develop a positive relationship with food and the body – Consider this example. I bring Campy into the vet and put him on the scale. He has gained 5 lbs and in disbelief, out-loud I complain "uggh, how disgusting". The vet, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be concerned as he is telling me how healthy Campy is, how strong his bones are, how he has a good heart beat and that he is really fit and happy. However, I hear nothing of how "healthy" he is because I am obsessed with that number on the scale. So, as a result, I think about how I can get that weight off...quickly. Detox, cleanse, over-exercise, restrict his food.....Should I exercise him obsessively during the day? Should I cut out carbs and his calories? Should I not take him to the doggy park because they other doggies are going to notice his extra wiggle and talk about how bloated he looks? Should I put him on detox for 5 days?
Certainly, I'd never do that (I only give him lots and lots of kisses because he gives me unconditional love every day) but that just sounds like crazy talk, right? But what about you all or someone you know. Do you let a household appliance tell you how your day is going to go? Are you going to let numbers tell you how to eat, how to exercise and how to act for the day....do you let a number run and ruin your day and affect your self worth? Certainly the scale can be a positive thing but for many, it is used irresponsibly. 
I want everyone to designate at least 2 rooms of your house (the bedroom and kitchen) where you avoid using words like bad, off-limit, restricted, cheat, fat, skinny, gross..  Stop counting calories, see food for nutritional value and give your body a little credit for what is allows you to do on a daily basis like crossing finishing lines and being productive at work. Every time you look at your body - thank it, don't bash it.

(Campy says he doesn't care how much you weigh.....he has a lot of love to give and doesn't judge people by a number on a scale. I agree.)

4) Welcome change by relying on the power of goal setting – Do you  like change? Change can be scary and it can be exciting. One of my favorite quotes is "if it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you." If you have goals in your life, don’t wait until tomorrow as there is no perfect time to get started. Set 3 short and long term goals, in the areas of lifestyle, exercise and nutrition to keep you motivated and excited to wake up every morning wanting to see what you are capable of achieving by the end of the day. Life doesn't always get easier, you just discover new limits.

 

5) Think beyond diet and exercise: work on sleep, stress and attitude management.– Everyone wants to blame diet and exercise when it comes to "health" and there's always a quick diet and exercise fix/fad to help us be "healthy". As an athlete and coach, I know that there are many variables that affect performance and to be a good athlete, you can’t just focus on the miles or a perfect nutrition plan.  For a balanced lifestyle, focus on the other variables in your life that can affect your health. Aim for a restful night of sleep most days of the week and surround yourself with people who give you energy and not take it away from you. You can't avoid stress but you can know how to deal with it with an action plan. Make time for you, don’t be afraid to say no and make your health a priority.

 

6) Prioritize a real food diet. – In my mind, one of the most important components of living an active and healthy lifestyle is to create a balanced eating plan that prioritizes “real” food. The keys to longevity are not special K bars, coconut ice cream, kale and chia seeds , but rather a diet rich in foods that are straight from mother nature, from the Earth. Every day you can emphasize foods that are produced by farmers and made in gardens or chemical "food" concoctions created in a factory. Think about emphasizing foods that your body knows how to metabolize and use. I don’t believe in off-limit foods or “bad” foods but rather to emphasize foods with little to no ingredients and when you choose to indulge be sure to savor and enjoy that "occasional/de-emphasized" food – don’t devour it or stress about it. 
To help you reach your fitness, health and body composition goals, consider a plant-strong diet filled with colorful fruits and veggies, alongside lean/low-fat protein, heart-healthy fats and whole grains. It's not about what you do occasionally that matters but what you do regularly.

 

7) Adapt to training stress with nutrient timing and sport nutrition – 

Now that we covered 6 tips, it’s time to talk Sport nutrition. When it comes to sport nutrition, I do not expect you all to formulate your own sport drink or energy gels.  There’s no reason you need to make your own protein powder. Sadly, however, many people
confuse or associate the daily diet with sport nutrition and thus, many people have no idea how to properly "fuel" workouts when the body is under a tremendous amount of stress.  Sport nutrition is there to support the physiological demands of training. When you are running for an hour, your body needs fuel. When you are sitting behind a computer at 3 in the afternoon, your body  does not need an energy drink so you can sit for 2 more hours. 
When it comes to eating before a workout, your choices should be easy to find, easy to prepare, easy to consume and easy to digest. Yes, you should eat a high fiber diet to keep you satisfied throughout the day and you should monitor your portions and calories to meet your individual needs, and Yes, you should eat protein and whole grains throughout the day. But before a workout your primarily focus is energy dense food– foods that can digest quickly so you can focus on your workout, not on digestion. During a workout – fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates depending on the intensity and duration of the workout. And immediately after your workout, your body requires quick recovery fuel - generally protein, but often a mix of carbs + protein. 
If you are an athlete or fitness enthusiast, focus a bit more about how you are fueling around your workouts so that your body is primed to perform when you want it to perform. As for the rest of the day, nourish it so you can do it all over again tomorrow.
For more info, I have many articles and blogs dedicated to sport nutrition, here is my most comprehensive blog post on sport nutrition. If you need additional help, email me via my website and we can discuss my services to help you move closer to your fitness and health related goals.

When you have a healthy relationship with food, have a positive body image and appreciate food for fuel and for health, your life will change and you will find yourself living a balanced life. Remember, if you don’t take care of your body, your body won’t take care of you. Don’t forget to thank your body on a daily basis.