Weight loss without dieting

One of the most common New Year resolution is weight loss (or changing body composition). If you are feeling dissatisfied with your body, wanting to improve your health or feeling tempted to lose weight fast, you may be thinking that a diet, calorie restriction or extreme exercise is the solution.

A desire to lose weight coupled with body dissatisfaction can easily turn unhealthy and dangerous. It's easy to take a diet too far. It's not uncommon for people to make extreme changes - like not eating grains, dairy, sugars and processed foods - severely restricting calories and nutrients all in the name of weight loss. A "diet" may offer quick fixes and a black and white method of dictating what you can and can not eat, but the truth is that these methods are extreme and impossible to maintain in the long term. Plus, they teach you nothing about changing your lifestyle habits which is how long lasting weight loss is achieved.

You can take a pill, injection, supplement, purchase a meal replacement kit, fast for 8-12 hours or follow a fad diet but if your weight loss method isn't sustainable, the weight loss you achieved will not last. Furthermore, with many extreme weight loss methods, there may be long term risks associated. It's easy to think that weight loss will happen easily from eating less and exercising more but maintaining a healthy weight means making sustainable habit changes. 

Here are some practical tips to help you eat healthier without the constraints of dieting:

1. Embrace whole foods

• Fruits and Vegetables - make sure your plate shows color variety
• Whole Grains and potatoes - choose brown rice, quinoa, oats, and potatoes.
• Lean Proteins - incorporate beans, lentils, fish, chicken and tofu.

2. Eat slowly and mindfully

• Take your time to savor each bite.
• Look forward to something at every meal.
• Limit distractions while eating (ex. avoid eating in front of the TV, while reading, scrolling social media, in the car, etc.)
• Pay attention to your hunger and satisfaction cues.

3. Stay Hydrated

• Carry a water bottle with you as a reminder to drink. 
• Add a slice of citrus fruit, a splash of fruit juice, cucumber or mint to add flavor to plain water.

4. Adopt a positive relationship with food

• Avoiding Labeling Foods as "Good" or "Bad" as this can lead to guilt and unhealthy eating habits.
• Focusing on eating for fuel, nourishment and joy. Think about how foods make you feel and how they fuel your body.
• Induldge responsibly to prevent feelings of deprivation and the tendency to overeat.

5. Plan and Prepare Meals and Snacks

• Set aside time once or twice a week to prepare meals and snacks.
• Create a grocery list to help with meal planning (and to avoid impulse buys).
• Don't go more than a few hours without eating. 

Avoid These Common New Year Weight Loss Strategies

 

When it comes to eating, it's not uncommon to have developed a few unhealthy habits over the years. For example, relying too much on caffeine to survive work, using alcohol as a reward after a stressful day or frequent eating out because you forgot to meal prep.

When it comes to the New Year, it's not uncommon to want to make a dietary change, especially if there is a desire to change body composition or to lose weight.

However, it's not uncommon for athletes and fitness enthusiasts to make radical dietary changes. While short term weight loss may result, fad diets and extreme dietary methods are not linked to long term weight loss or health benefits. Rather, following a fad diet increases the risk of disordered eating which increases the risk of developing an eating disorder. And eating disorders are mental illnesses that have serious physical consequences.

If you seek a dietary change for health, performance and/or weight loss, it's important to take a mindful approach. Instead of making drastic changes, here are a few realistic healthy eating changes to foster long-term results.

The problem with New Year Resolutions

 

Resolution.
"The act of finding an answer or solution to a conflict or problem." 

How many times have you resolved to improve your lifestyle habits?

Have you ever promised yourself that you will exercise more, start saving money or eat a healthier diet?

According to research, ~40% of people abandon their New Year Resolution after only one month.

I'm not for resolutions but I'm all for setting goals. But for most people, a mental shift is needed. As you go about your day and think about all the things that are making it hard for you to pursue your goal. To reach the end goal, you must embrace the steps in the process of getting there. Your thoughts matter. 

One of the most effective ways of enjoying the process of pursuing a goal is replacing that one word "have" with "get". Immediately, you should feel a sense of calm of what you "get" to do. Words like "need" or "have" or "must" can bring a sense of shame or guilt. In contrast, pursuing a goal with words like "want to" or "get to" can be much more motivating.

By replacing mandatory words like "I should" with empowering words like "I choose to" you are more likely to stick with the action plan needed to pursue your goal. Sometimes all you need is to reframe a situation and to change your perspective. 

If you are struggling with motivation or feel it's impossible to move forward with your goals, I encourage you to spend some time with these questions: 
 

2022 Reflection Questions
1. What is the best thing that happened? 
2. What challenges did you overcome?
3. What did you want to do but were too afraid to try?
4. What was the most important lesson you learned?
5. What new habits did you start?
6. How did you fail?
7. What got in the way of your success?
8. What did you struggle with?
9. What did you leave unfinished?
10. What did you do for your physical and mental health?

2023 Intention Questions
1. What do you intend to be different at the end of this year?
2. What do you want to accomplish?
3. What will be your purpose this year?
4. How will you make this year matter?
5. What opportunities do you want to create for yourself?
6. What do you want to change completely?
7. What personal qualities do you want to strengthen?
8. What skills do you want to learn?
9. How will you take care of yourself physically and mentally?
10. Who do you want to become this year?

As a reminder, most New Year's resolutions fail because there isn't much thought into the meaning behind the resolution and what it will take to achieve it. Your focus is likely centered on what will happen when you reach your goal and there is no planned-out process of actually achieving the resolution. Plus, there's often little meaning attached to the resolution - it's something that you feel you need to do. 

I'm all about self-improvement. Ultimately, you need to understand why you want to change and why it is what you want. Find purpose and meaning in every change of behavior, action, thought or habit. 

Our 2021 Year In Review

 

For the past few years, I've enjoyed the yearly process of reflecting on and documenting the highs and lows in our training, racing and in life. Although there were several accomplishments and highlights to celebrate, it's hard to define the year as successful because there were a lot of challenges to overcome. If I had to pick a mantra to summarize this past year, it would be...

Don't give up. Keep showing up. 

It's hard to stay focused and motivated when it feels like nothing is going as planned. It's so easy to crumble down in the face of traumatic situations and circumstances. It's difficult to stay positive when you can't seem to catch a break. 

Don't give up. Keep showing up. 

While 2021 had its setbacks, challenges and struggles, it also gave us the incredible opportunity to grow, learn and to step outside of our comfort zone. One of the biggest benefits of trying new things is beating the power of fear and expanding our sense of accomplishment. I feel that we are truly living a meaningful life because life is about taking risks, having fun, trying new things, making mistakes and learning. 

Over the past 12 months, we kept showing up when we could have given up. 

January

• Participating in 7 of the 8 Greenville Winter Bike League Group Rides (GVL WBL) and winning a few QOM/Sprint competitions. 
• My first gravel ride with my makeshift road turned gravel bike. 
• My Grandma passes away from COVID. 
• Karel gets into gravel riding more regularly (and loves it).
• I got vaccinated against COVID.
• Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition turned 9 years old. 

February

• My first gravel group ride.
• Finished the 104-mile Thomasville Clay Road Classic.
• Karel's dad passes away from COVID.

March

• We welcomed back providing athletes with private training camps. 
• Our first gravel race (and my first off-road crash).
• I crashed on my gravel bike for the 2nd time in 2 weeks. 
• Karel got vaccinated against COVID.

April 

• Had a successful 3-day early season group training camp. 
• We raced IM 70.3 Florida (and I fainted on race day morning).
• Karel raced Peachtree International Tri. 

May

• Karel participated in his first off-road triathlon at Xterra Oak Mountain (and picked up his new mountain bike two days before the event). He earned a spot to Xterra Worlds in Maui.
• I participated in my first trail run event at Xterra Oak Mountain. 
• Participated in the Spinners 10-mile TT. 
• Karel broke his hand mountain biking 4 days before he was to race IM 70.3 Chattanooga. 
• I had my best ever feeling 70.3 performance at IM 70.3 Chattanooga (while Karel was at home recovering from hand surgery). I finished 3rd overall female. 
• I turned 39 years old. 

June 

• Placed 2nd overall female at the inaugural IM 70.3 Blue Ridge (2 weeks after IM 70.3 Chattanooga) and missed the overall win by 2 seconds (but first across the finisher tape due to the time trial start).

July 

• We put on a successful 4-day group endurance training camp (2 weeks before Ironman Lake Placid).
• I finished my 17th Ironman at Ironman Lake Placid and finished 3rd overall female amateur. PR swim 55:43.

August 

• Karel raced Lake Logan half and placed 2nd overall (first race in 3 months since breaking his hand).
• Karel participated in his first ever Belgian Waffle Ride. 
• I found our newest furry addition Asher (a 2-week old kitten).

September 

• We both got sick with COVID (2 weeks before the 70.3 World Championship). Read more here.
• Raced in the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in St. George, Utah with over 20 of our athletes.
• Karel finished Xterra USA Championship, his 2nd Xterra event (turned into a duathlon) in Ogden, Utah a week after 70.3 Worlds. 
• I finished the 21K Xterra trail run (8 days after 70.3 Worlds). 
• Karel turned 46 years "young."

October

• Campy turned 14 years old. 
• I volunteered and then participated in the Hincapie Gran Fondo (for the fourth time). 

November 

• Karel raced in the 60-mile Austin Rattler MTB race. 

December 

• I raced the Xterra World Championship trail run in Maui, Hawaii. 
• Karel raced the Xterra World Championship triathlon (turned into a duathlon) and finished 2nd Age group in his 3rd ever off-road event. 
• I successfully completed my first two ever mountain bike rides (Dupont State Forest and Pleasant Ridge Park).

RACE RESULTS
Thomasville Clay Classic - 104 miles, 6:47 (Marni), 6:41 (Karel)
Sumter Forest Gravel Race 72 miles - 4:01 (Marni), 3:16 (Karel) 
IM 70.3 Florida - 5:02.48, 2nd AG (Marni), 4:29.24, 1st AG (Karel)
Peachtree International Triathlon - 2:08.30, 3rd overall (Karel)

Xterra Oak Mountain triathlon - 2:51.41, 1st AG (Karel)

Xterra Oak Mountain 20K trail run - 2:01.07, 3rd overall female (Marni)
Spinners 10-mile Time Trial - Completed.

Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga - 4:42.39 3rd overall female, 3rd AG (Marni)
Ironman 70.3 Blue Ridge - 5:00.14 2nd overall female, 1st AG (Marni)

Ironman Lake Placid - 10:40.40. 3rd overall amateur female, 1st AG (Marni)
Lake Logan Half - 4:29.39, 2nd overall (Karel)
Belgian Waffle Gravel/Road Ride 96 miles, 9600 feet elevation gain - 5:53.30

Ironman 70.3 World Championship - 5:08.24, 11th AG (Marni), 4:48.08, 11th AG (Karel)

Xterra USA Championship triathlon 2:45.13, 2nd AG (Karel)
Xterra USA Championship 21K trail run, 2800 feet elevation gain - 2:10, 2nd AG (Marni)

Hincapie Gran Fondo 82 miles - 4:56 riding time (5:07 w/ stops), 7th overall female (Marni)
Austin Rattler MTB - 5:12.16, 5th AG (Karel)
Xterra World Championship triathlon, 4500+ total feet elevation gain - 3:08.56, 2nd AG (Karel)
Xterra World Championship 21K trail run, 2300 feet elevation gain - 2:04, 2nd AG (Marni)

Happy 2021! My Heartfelt Message To Athletes.....

Dear athlete, 

On the first day of the New Yearm you are likely reflecting on the past twelve months. The New Year brings with it excitement for new beginnings and hope for a better future. As you look ahead to the upcoming year, you may be planning your New Year goals, resolutions or intentions as a way to officially begin anew. 

Although goal-setting is an important component in the journey of self-improvement, I ask that you carefully think through your New Year, New You thoughts, actions and behaviors. 

The New Year symbolizes a time when most people resolve to make changes in health. I'm assuming that one of your New Year goals involves your diet, training, body composition or health. Even if you have great intentions with your New Year goals, I am concerned. Because the month of January is so deeply rooted in making changes in body size, shape or weight - supported by the toxic diet culture - I am extremely worried about how your current thoughts about your body size or health will influence your new nutrition strategies and training regime. 

I see and hear about it year after year.........

A seemingly simple resolve to become a faster, stronger, healthier or better athlete takes a downward spiral due to extreme measures. Although being driven, disciplined and highly motivated are great qualities to help you achieve athletic excellence, these same qualities can put you at higher risk for mental and physical health issues, an exercise addiction or an eating disorder. Because of the normalization of disordered eating and obsessive exercising among the athletic population, it can be incredibly difficult for you to recognize the difference between your self-care and self-sabotaging behaviors. 

As a Board Certified Sport Dietitian, many athletes come to me for help with daily and sport nutrition. Not surprisingly, far too many athletes try to optimize performance at the cost of mental and physical health. Sometimes this is unintentional, but many times it is from an intentional desire to achieve the idealized body in the name of sport. 

Because of an ongoing obsession with weight and performance, alongside the cultural norms of disordered eating and exercise behaviors falsely labeled as a "lifestyle change," I had to do something.

I will no longer sit by as a concerned outsider, watching you damage your physical health, destroy your mental well-being and sabotage your athletic capabilities. 

This is why I create The Whole Athlete.

There's nothing wrong with being motivated and dedicated. But when your extreme drive and perfectionistic qualities show up in your eating habits and exercise regime, your intentions can do more harm than good. Add in the pressure of wanting to be lean due to sport expectations and a societal obsession with health, I hope you can now understand how your good intentions can lead to unhealthy outcomes.

Taking health risks for a perceived competitive edge will make you lose in the long run. No matter your athletic goals or fitness level, you should not have to prioritize your athletic development over your well-being.

If this speaks to you, I create a program to help you get more out of your training without compromising your mental and physical health. Through The Whole Athlete 6-lesson course, you will learn how diet culture, a societal obsession with health and the chase for an ideal race weight could be negatively impacting your training, mental well-being and physical health. Once you understand why you think how you think about food, health and your body, you can fix the distorted views that you've developed. You can try out an intro course for free. The 6-lesson course will officially open on January 3rd. 

I care about your health. I also want you to succeed in sport. To help you truly optimize your health and performance, I want to remind you that overall wellness involves taking care of your mind, not just your physical self. 

As you look ahead to the upcoming year, please think about how you want to live your life and not what you want to look like. Remember, your thoughts drive your actions. 

Don't forget to thank your body. Give it credit for all it has allowed you to do and be grateful for what it continues to let you do in life. 

-Marni

A Better Alternative to New Years Resolutions

 

On the eve of 2021, the classic tradition of New Year's resolutions may look a bit different.

In a year of living with restrictions, being let down, feeling unproductive, and not being able to make plans, you are probably looking ahead to the hopeful end of this pandemic and returning to a life of normal. 

Because of this unprecedented time, we are all feeling a bit reflective about the year that we leave behind us and this may be affected your expectations for 2021. 

For those who typically make resolutions, you may be feeling the need to do without in 2021 - "why bother?" you say to yourself. Or, perhaps you want to create a resolution for 2021, even though you have generally avoided them in previous years. 

As it relates to New Years Resolutions, to be honest, the meaning behind it all is somewhat impractical. Sorry to be a downer but there's got to be a better way to self-improvement. 

Here are a few reasons why New Year Resolutions don't always work: 

1. Don't wait all year to decide on one or two things that you sorta, kinda want to or need to stop doing. Plus, the timing's all wrong - after the holiday season and into the cold, dreary winter months you suddenly decide that now is when you can stay motivated and commit to change?? Putting a lot of pressure on yourself can lead to an all-or-nothing mentality, especially if you don't have a realistic action plan.
    
2. Although a resolution sounds great on the surface, it's often based on what you think you should be doing - often decided upon by other peoples expectations, what's trendy on social media or by watching TV/reading a magazine. A resolution should have meaning behind it and it should be something that is supported by your core values in life. It should be based on what's important and what matters to you. Don't tie a goal to the New Year because everyone else is doing it. What matters most to you?
   
   
3. They can make you feel less-then if you don't meet your standards. Even when you have great intentions with your resolution - like abstaining from alcohol, getting 8 hours of restful sleep, exercising for 60 minutes a day or avoiding processed foods - a resolution with specific rules is a huge undertaking. A simple slip up of your high expectations for yourself can lead to discouragement and disappointment. If you are extremely self-critical, by the time mid January rolls around, you may find yourself throwing in the towel or making rules more rigid. Feeling upset about lack of progress, your resolution may turn into unhealthy behaviors and habits. 
   
   
4. The real value is in the experience, not in the end result. Sure, you may be motivated to make a change but your resolution should allow you to still enjoy life right now, right where you are. Otherwise, you will continue to be on the hunt for meaning, happiness and a boost in confidence. Don't burden yourself with a perfectionistic outcome. Enjoy the process over the outcome.  
   
   
5. You need to set yourself up for success. I find that the best way to do this is to pause and to reflect on what you have learned about yourself in 2020. Instead of just looking ahead and wanting something different, do a bit of soul-searching and think about your 2020 lessons learned, challenges, highlights and takeaways. Once you do this, you can then set your intentions (not resolutions) for 2021.

2020 Reflection Questions

1. What is the best thing that happened? 

2. What challenges did you overcome?

3. When new skills did you learn?
4. What was the most important lesson that you learned?
5. What new habits did you start?
6. How did you fail?
7. What got in the way of your success?
8. Who or what had the biggest impact on your life?
9. What did you leave unfinished?
10. What did you do for your physical and mental health?

2021 Intention Questions
1. What do you intend to be different at the end of next year?
2. What do you want to accomplish?
3. What will be your purpose next year?
4. How will you make next year matter?
5. What opportunities do you want to create for yourself?
6. What do you want to change completely?
7. What personal qualities do you want to strengthen?
8. What skills do you want to learn?
9. How will you take care of yourself physically and mentally?
10. Who do you want to become next year?

As a reminder, most New Year's resolutions fail because there isn't much thought into the meaning behind the resolution and what it will take to achieve them. Your focus is centered on what will happen when you reach your goal and there is no planned-out process of actually achieving the resolution. Plus, there's often little meaning attached to the resolution - it's something that you feel you should do. 

I'm all about self-improvement. Ultimately, you need to understand why you want to change and why it is what you want. Find purpose and meaning in every change of behavior, action, thought or habit. 

Should your diet have a name?

Around the age of ten, I decided that I would never again eat meat. The decision to become a vegetarian was not a temporary fad that I would one day give into when I was craving meat or when I was in a social setting and meat was served. Nearly 26.5 years later, I am still proud to call myself a lacto-ovo vegetarian. However, I don't feel my diet needs a name for the only thing that makes my style of eating different from Karel's style of eating is where we get our protein from.

My decision to become a vegetarian was not supported by the idea that I needed to do so to become more popular, to fit in with a crowd, to achieve a different body image or to boost my health. It also wasn't a New Year resolution. Oddly enough, I can't remember the trigger why I wanted to give up eating meat but I do remember that it was around the month of April and I was around 10 years old when I came home from school and told my parents about my recent dietary change. 

I knew very little about nutrition at the time so this was simply a personal decision with no ulterior motive other than I love animals. Since then, I've never told or asked anyone else to become a vegetarian as this was a personal decision that was important to me but it also took a lot of effort, work and time to figure out how this style of eating would work for me.

Because my "new" diet was restrictive by nature, I needed to learn how to do it correctly so that it would support my athletic goals as a high school and collegiate swimmer and keep me in good health. I needed to do a lot of education to learn how to eat a healthy and well-balanced diet while fueling my very active lifestyle. I also needed to learn how maintain this diet in a healthfully way. I'd say that it took me a good 4-5 years to really master plant-based eating as an endurance triathlete.


Going back to the title of this post, still today, I've yet to think of my eating patterns as a "diet." I've worked really hard to create enjoyable, sustainable and healthy patterns that I can maintain for the rest of my life and most of all, as an elite ultra-endurance triathlete, I never feel limited by my lifelong style of eating. Even though I am vegetarian, I don't see my diet as something that is rigid and strict with rules and an off-limit food list. I don't panic when I eat out, eat with others, travel or if someone else prepares my food.

Your current diet doesn't have to be a forever style of eating but it should be helping to pave the way to healthy habits that you can maintain for a lifestyle. Your diet also doesn't need to have a name if you don't want it to.  If your diet has a name for medical/health reasons, just make sure whatever you need to avoid is replaced with an alternative that fills in nutritional gaps. Regardless of what you call your diet (if you choose to do so), your diet should not leave you hungry, deprived, unsatisfied, without energy, feeling isolated, requiring an excessive amount of planning and prep and costing you a lot of money. Your diet should work for you at home and when you travel. Your diet should be simple and stress-free. Sure, with any new improved style of eating, it's going to take some work but if it's all for a lifestyle change (and to support your mental and physical health), the work will be worth it. 

When you think about the diets that are marketed to the masses these days, most claim to be a lifestyle diet. But sadly, diet plans don't teach you the tools that you need to make your new way of eating part of your life. And many diets make you more stressed, anxious, worried and fearful about food than before you started the diet plan. 

In 2019, make the effort to personalize a style of eating that works for you, your lifestyle, your health and your activity regime. You may be surprised to learn that the diet that works best for you actually has no name. Yeah, this style of eating isn't glamorous or sexy but when you stop obsessing and stressing about food, you can put your energy, focus and attention into real life moments and experiences that matter a lot more than whatever diet everyone else is choosing to follow. 

18 memorable moments in 2018

I always enjoy reflection as I close the chapter to one year and welcome in a new year. As we roll into 2019, here are eighteen of my most memorable moments in 2018.

1. Karel became a US citizen.

2. I qualified for my 5th Ironman World Championship.

3. Karel qualified for his 4th Ironman World Championship.

4. Karel finished the 2018 IM World Championship after completing the 112 mile bike on only one gear.

5. We spent 5 amazing weeks in Europe, visiting Karel's family in Znojmo, Czech Republic, racing in Austria and Prague and traveling to Frankfurt, Germany. 

6. Karel stuck to a strict ice cream diet while we were in Europe. One ice cream a day for over 3 weeks!

7. We brought Karel's mom back to the US with us and she enjoyed 3 months with us! We took her to Madison, WI, Augusta, GA and Kona, Hawaii.

8. I wrote my first book!

9. People purchased my book! 

10. Campy survived his first dog attack. We are so thankful that he is ok!

11. We took full advantage of our off-season and enjoyed a few fall hikes. 

12. Karel and I stayed injury free in 2018!

13. We had over 30 Trimarni athletes racing at the IM 70.3 FL Triclub championship. And we placed third in division IV. 

14. On behalf of Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, you helped us donate $532 to the Greenville Human Society.

15. We survived two days without power after a strong snow storm hit Greenville, SC.

16. We celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary.

17. I got a new bike!

18. My Grandpa turned 95!

Lastly, a big thank you to all the Trimarni athletes and team members, our friends and family and the many Trimarni followers for your ongoing support!

Cheers to a great 2019! 

Choose Anti-Diet in 2018

You've probably noticed the sudden increase of ads and commercials promoting certain diet products and plans to help you lose weight and get healthy in 2018. As a dietitian who specializes in endurance sports, I carefully equip and brace myself for the bombardment of diet/nutrition/wellness information as the diet industry does an exceptional job to guilt you into a style of eating that claims to change your life and help you finally reach your weight loss goals or improve your health. But let's get real....in about 18-30 days, most people have wasted a few weeks of life, all to eventually return back to old lifestlye habits.

I'm always amazed with the attention that people place on "healthy eating," making it so complicated and extreme. If you are confused as to the "best" way to eat, there's a good chance that you are searching for the best way to get back on track with healthy eating after all of the holiday indulging.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with healthy eating and I 100% encourage and support nourishing your body with a wide range of vitamins and minerals in an effort to reduce risk for disease, optimize health and to keep the body at a healthy body composition. 

But as it relates to the methods for healthy eating, there's no one "best" approach. Sure, there's a lot of comfort and security in joining a dietary movement (ex. Paleo, whole-30, detox, vegan) especially if you find it terrifying to make nutrition decisions on your own. And with so much food freedom and uncertainty, there's great safety when you have to conform to rules and have an army of other like-minded dietary members to support and to encourage you when you feel weak and vulnerable. 

Sure, you want to get rid of your sugar cravings and eat more real food and perhaps lose some weight and improve your fitness but for many people (especially those who naturally live with an obsessive and additive personality), you may find it easy to overdo things when it comes to changing your diet, wanting to be perfect with your diet and trying to control everything in your environment in an effort to eat healthy and to lose weight.

Healthy eating does not and should not be all or nothing. It should not be extreme. Your diet should never bring you anxiety, fear or guilt. And certainly, healthy eating should not destroy your health and quality of life.

It's easy to get sucked into the beauty of food pictures on the internet alongside perfectly sculpted bodies, posing half naked after a sweaty workout, all in an effort to make you believe that the person behind those pictures (or blog post) is healthy and you should eat like so-and-so.

We must remember that every person is on his/her own individual quest to become healthier and the chapters of your life book do not have to look like the perfectly edited chapters of the book of someone else. Although similar methods and ideologies may work for the masses, like eat more real food and cook more at home, ultimately, you are on your own nutrition journey and you don't need a rule book or off limit food list in an effort to succeed. 

Consider this...

To one person, healthy eating may include making homemade almond milk, purchasing eggs and meat from a local farmer and picking produce from the at-home garden.

To another person, healthy eating may include not skipping breakfast, eating a serving or two of vegetables each day and learning how to cook a whole grain, like quinoa or barley....for the very first time.

And then there are individuals who are seeking a healthier diet by learning how to not stress/emotional eat, trying to reduce binge eating and working through strong and destructive thoughts about food and the body. 

Perhaps healthy eating means making changes in your diet so that cancer doesn't return for a second time. Or, maybe healthy eating means finally admitting that you have been struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder and after so many years trying to control your weight, health or performance, you want to get help so you can start living your life by not feeling controlled by food.

Healthy eating is different for everyone. Living a healthy life should not require you to do anything extreme. If you are considering taking an extreme dietary approach to kick start the New Year, I strongly encourage you to not waste your time, money and energy following an eating plan that is targeted to the masses.

In 2018, I encourage you to pledge NO DIETING.

It's important to eat healthy but not at the cost of your health and quality of life. Yes, you will need to make changes in your lifestyle and you may feel overwhelmed. But change doesn't have to be extreme. I strongly advise to skip the diet plan or 30-day challenge and start focusing on creating new habits in your life, one small change at a time.

If you choose anti-diet in 2018, here are some tips to help you kick-start your new healthy eating strategies in the New Year: 

1. Create a realistic plan for the day, before it happens. What will you eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and for snacks? Don't get too ambitious as small changes make for long lasting results. When you have a plan for yourself, you will find it easier follow through and reflect on what went well and what didn't go as planned (and why).
   
2. Don't bring a diet mentality (or off limit food list) to your New Year eating strategies. Allow for flexibility and avoid making food choices with an all-or-nothing approach. Use your best knowledge to make educated food choices as to the most practical food swaps to help you move toward a more real food, balanced diet.
   
3. Make the time, don't hope for the time. Reorganize your life and dedicate 30 minutes a day to food prep/cooking. The more food that you have prepped, cooked and readily available, the easier it is to follow through with your healthy eating plan.
   
4. Take a social media break. If you follow a lot of health-related blogs/twitter/instagram/facebook accounts, you may need a social media detox from the people/sites that are making you feel depressed or not good enough. Remember, people selectively post what they want others to see so as you begin your new journey, it may work against you to click on a site for inspiration, only to feel like you can't keep up with the successes of others. Plus, social media take time out of your day when you could be spending that time on yourself.
   
5. Don't make eating complicated, time consuming or difficult.  Sure, at the beginning of any journey, change is tough and you will have questions but eventually, you should find that your diet easily fits into your life because it supports your life and doesn't control your life. A sustainable healthy diet shouldn't require an excessive amount of energy, thought and meticulous planning.
   
6. People thrive off rules because with rules, you eliminate options and choices. A healthy diet should not require iron-willpower or an off-limit food list.
   
7. Be kind to your body. If body composition modification is a desired goal to enhance performance or to improve health, the methods should not be strict or extreme. You should allow for gradual weight loss (not a quick fix), without extreme food restrictions, excessive exercising, unsafe behaviors (starving, purging, laxatives) or use of weight loss or performance-enhancing supplements. A health-conscious person cares about his/her body. Your diet shouldn't give you anxiety and your body image shouldn't make you feel frustrated or upset.
   
   Feel free to share and pass along in an effort to encourage others to not diet in 2018. 

New Year = New Trimarni services!

Happy Birthday to us!
Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition is turning five.
And to celebrate, we have 7 (yes seven!!) NEW nutrition services to offer athletes!!! 
I can't believe that our business has been up and running for the past five years. It's crazy to think where we were when we started on January 1st, 2012 and where we are today.

Stay tuned because on Monday January 2nd, 2017, we will be revealing our new nutrition services, the 2017 Trimarni sponsors and affiliates and an updated media page full of educational content on the Trimarni website. Also, be sure to sign up for our Newsletter as mid January will start the new Trimarni Newsletter with tips and healthy fitness-focused recipes to help athletes create healthy habits to achieve athletic excellence. 

-------------------------------------------------

So how did I get to where I am today?
It sure didn't happen overnight!

Here's a snapshot of the past 17 years of my life. 

2000-2004 Undergrad – BA in Exercise Science, minor in psychology - Strength & Conditioning focus

2004-2006 Graduate – Master of Science in Exercise Physiology -Strength & Conditioning and nutrition focus

2006 – 4-month internship with Ironman corporation - Nutrition focus

2006 – 2007 – YMCA Wellness Coordinator – Nutrition/health and training/coaching focus

2006 -  Boston Marathon & Ironman Florida finisher – Sport nutrition, coaching, speaking and writing focus

Lessons learned over 6 years:
-Pursue higher education.
-Don’t be persuaded by money. Follow your passion.
-Use real-world experiences to guide your career path: internship, paid work, mentors, volunteer. 
-Don’t wait for the perfect time to continue your education (Start now, don’t let time pass by!).
-Your career path will be influenced by a variety of life factors.
-Don’t change your career path simply based on wants, dislikes or trends.
-Don’t chase the easy route.
-Keep yourself healthy. Don’t put your athletic/fitness aspirations on hold. 

2007-2010: Back to school (again) Accredited online dietetic classes (UNCO – distance education) and local pre-req classes.

2010-2011: 10-month, 1200 hour internship (Marywood University – distance education)

2011: Eligible for RD exam. Passed 2.5 hour, 125 question RD Exam (June 2011)

2011-2014: PRN Inpatient Clinical Dietitian (Baptist Medical Center Beaches)

2012: Started Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition, LLC. Karel switches from Cat 1 bike racing to triathlon. Marni wins her first ever overall titles (Irongirl Half marathon and Branson 70.3). 

2014 - 2015: Moved to Greenville, SC. Full-time at Trimarni coaching and nutrition. Karel comes on board to work for Trimarni full-time. Karel offers RETUL services in Jacksonville, FL once a month and locally in Greenville. Marni and Karel qualify for their first IM World Championship together. 

2015: Applied to take CSSD exam (Certified Sport Specialists in Dietetics). Passed 3-hour, 140 question exam (June). Karel now only offers RETUL services in Greenville. Athletes drive/fly to visit Karel for a professional bike fitting experience. Marni and Karel compete in their first Ironman World Championship together. 

2016: Trimarni coaching creates a triathlon team and specializes in endurance coaching. Trimarni now offer several triathlon group and private camps, key Trimarni events, training plans and an educational membership "coaching" option. Marni has now completed 11 Ironman distance triathlons and Karel as completed 7 Ironman distance triathlons. Between them both, they have completed 18 Ironman distance triathlons and have qualified for and competed at the Ironman World Championship 6 times.

2017: Trimarnicoach.com gets an update with seven NEW nutrition services and an updated media page full of educational content. Trimarni also now offers a newsletter to help athletes create healthy habits to achieve athletic excellence. 

Lessons learned

-Be willing and ready to make a lot of sacrifices. 

-Your first real job doesn't have to be your forever job. Enjoy finally making money for at least 

 a year or two. 

-Education gets you a job. Experience and continuing education makes you great at a job.

-Create strengths and skills that make you valuable, before pursuing a career. 

-A job makes you money. A career is a pursuit of a lifelong ambition. 

-Owning your own business means that you never stop working. 

-Hire people when you need help or when you need something done that is not within your specialty. 

-Never stop learning and be open-minded. 

-Find and use a mentor.

-Don’t work so much that you can't keep good health and enjoy your life.