Hint #9: Unleash Your Motivation

The number one question I am asked as a personal trainer is “How can I stay motivated?” Guys and gals alike want to know how they can stay focused on their goal of losing weight, exercising regularly, or even eating better.

When I first started working with clients, I researched high and low in hopes of finding some magical trick for maintaining motivation. I wanted to provide my trainees with a fool-proof tip that prevented them from ever falling off the wagon. I combed through suggestion after suggestion, from finding a workout buddy and listening to music to joining a gym and adding variety to workouts, but none of the ideas made the grade.

And then it hit me.

We are all motivated by something different.

A former client of mine started working out regularly with me at age 68 to strengthen his knees so that he could take a week long ski trip in the Rocky Mountains every winter. My mom has wanted to lose weight for over a decade, and finally did it with portion control and nutrition alone. Her motivation is keeping the weight off. For me, experiencing the incredible feeling and energy that accompanies clean eating and regular exercise keeps me focused day after day.

Regardless of the goal – weight loss, improving physical fitness or simply becoming a regular exerciser – the answer to that commonly asked question is the same.

YOU have to figure out what motivates YOU.

Athletes likely have different motivators than non-athletes, just as men may differ from women in what drives them. If you are in need of inspiration, I challenge you to look within. What would make you want to exercise more or to eat whole, clean foods? It could be feeling good, running faster, having more energy, looking better, fitting into that old pair of jeans, reducing your risk of chronic disease, or something completely different.

One of my favorite quotes regarding motivation and the achievement of goals is quite applicable to this post, so here it is. "Obstacles are those frightful things that get in the way when you lose sight of your goals." - Henry Ford.

Do not let “lack of motivation,” be your excuse for living a healthy lifestyle. We all have motivators; the challenge is looking inward to find them. Now is your opportunity to discover what motivates you, and never look back.

Hint #8: Shop on the Perimeter of the Grocery Store

Have you ever paid attention to the layout of the grocery store?

Most of the fresh, whole foods line the outside, while the processed and packaged items fill the aisles.

My challenge to you this week is simple: Shop on the perimeter of the grocery store. I know what you're thinking ... "eating healthy is expensive!" Not always. Here are my suggestions for filling up your cart.

1. Begin with fresh produce. Fill up on as many fresh fruits and vegetables as you can. They make great snacks throughout the day and are the perfect complement to any meal. To save money, look for bargains. Check the store ad ahead of time so you know which items are on sale. When I buy apples, the lowest priced variety wins its way into my cart. Apply that same rule to berries, salad greens, and other fruits and vegetables.

2. Scan the meat section. Choose lean meats over red meat, whenever possible. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground turkey breast, tilapia, salmon, and pork loin are just a few lean options. Watch out for lunch meats - they can be packed with sodium. Check the label to make sure you aren't filling up on unwanted salt.

3. Visit the dairy area. Avoid butters and margarines when possible. Instead, choose low-fat yogurts (be wary of added sugars), and low-fat or non-fat milks. Eggs and egg substitutes are excellent options here as well.

4. Check out the frozen fruits and vegetables. This is a great alternative to fresh fruits and vegetables because they can be more economical. Yesterday I bought frozen edamame, asparagus, blueberries, and strawberries. Steam up frozen veggies for dinner or use them as a snack. Frozen berries taste great in the morning with breakfast or mixed in with low-fat yogurt and natural granola.

5. Look for healthy options in the center of the store. When buying foods in this part of the grocery store, remember natural is best. Look for whole grains, and items low in added sugar. I buy rolled oats, natural granola, whole wheat breads, sea salted almonds, and tuna packed in water. Items closest to their natural state will be your best friend when it comes to improving your health and fitness.

From now on, I challenge you to take a different route through the grocery store. Strive to select more and more items from the perimeter, and fewer and fewer from the center.

Happy Shopping!

Hint #7: Add Exercise to your Agenda

Brace yourself, I am going to share with you a suggestion that will change your life:

Exercise. Daily.

How many of you have ever fallen off the workout wagon? Even I’ll raise my hand to say “Yes,” to that one, and I am a personal trainer. Life happens. We lose track of our priorities. We lose motivation.


Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be excited to wake up every day at 4:45 a.m., but life is full of surprises, isn’t it? Working out six days every week for at least an hour at a time not only helps my physical strength and endurance, it gives me stamina in other areas of my life. I feel energized, I feel motivated, more awake during the day than ever before.

Certainly you have heard people say "You will feel better when you exercise!" But, it is tough to comprehend until you dive in and find out for yourself. If you have fallen victim to the trials and tribulations of a sedentary lifestyle, I challenge you to change that. Set your alarm an hour earlier tomorrow. Or, bring your tennis shoes to work and walk over your lunch break. Find a workout partner who will join you for an afternoon of activity.

Many of us forget that our heart is a muscle, and like any muscle, if we don’t use it, we will lose it. Give yours a workout on a regular basis. In order to ensure that I exercise, I have to do it in the morning. Otherwise, excuses galore will present themselves. If that sounds like you, I would suggest you also set aside time in the morning. Others of you may be able to squeeze in time later during the day.


The first few days of your new routine will be a challenge, without question. It may feel like you are getting nowhere. You will want to hit snooze on the alarm. You’ll find something to do over lunch. You will have too much to do after work. Do not let those excuses keep you from living and feeling your best.

My advice: Aim for three weeks of daily exercise. And then keep going :)

You can do it, and you should do it, because you only live once.


Now get up, and get moving!

Hint #6: Just Try It!

How many times have you said "No thanks," when someone offered you a seemingly foreign food? If you are anything like the rest of the American population, I bet there have been too many instances to count.

A couple of days ago, I overheard a conversation related to this topic that stopped me in my tracks.

Two fourth grade boys were eating fresh strawberries and grapes, and one said there was no way he would sample the orange fruit dip being offered. "I don't really like orange things," he told his friend. "I think I'll just eat the fruit by itself."

Surprisingly, his friend had no reservations whatsoever. "I think I'll just try it," he said. Just try it. What an interesting concept. This was like a suspense film - I had to stay to find out what happened.

Within a few minutes, both students were raving about how much they loved the fruit dip (a healthy alternative to caramel, without a doubt), and asked if they could have more. Thank goodness for positive peer pressure!

The first student I described would not have discovered his affinity for the fruit dip had he not stepped outside of his comfort zone to taste it. We have all said "No thanks," when presented with plates of unfamiliar foods, but we may simultaneously be missing out on opportunities to find new favorites. I sneered at sushi for 21 years of my life, and finally gave it a chance this fall. My, oh, my, was I missing out!


What are you missing out on? There are thousands of foods to try, and so little time to do it. Follow that fourth grader's lead. The next time a new food pops up - try it. Otherwise, you may never know what you are missing.

Eat up!

Hint #5: Eat Close to the Ground

What do you think this product is?

INGREDIENTS
Chicken, water, salt, sodium phosphates. Battered and breaded with: bleached wheat four, water, wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, spices, partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil with mono -and diglycerides, egg whites, wheat gluten, paprika, dextrose, leavening (sodium acid pyrophosphate, baking soda, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium bicarbonate), garlic powder, yeast, natural flavor (plant source), extractives of paprika. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

Some fancy chicken casserole?

Good guess. It is actually a chicken patty from a well-known fast food restaurant. Wait a minute. I counted over 30 ingredients in that patty. That doesn't even include the bun. Here are the ingredients for the bun:

INGREDIENTS
Enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, enzymes), water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, yeast, soybean oil and/or partially hydrogenated soybean oil, contains 2% or less of the following: salt, calcium sulfate, calcium carbonate, wheat gluten, ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, dough conditioners (sodium stearoyl lactylate, datem, ascorbic acid, azodicarbonamide, mono- and diglycerides, ethoxylated monoglycerides, monocalcium phosphate, enzymes, guar gum, calcium peroxide, soy flour), calcium propionate and sodium propionate (preservatives), soy lecithin.

More than likely, both of these foods have been through an overwhelming amount of processing. Have you ever heard the saying "Natural is best?" That has incredible validity when it comes to the nutritional value of the food we consume.

How do you know if a product has been through extensive processing? Simple. Check out the ingredient label. My rule of thumb is, the fewer ingredients, the better. Often, that equates to less processing, less sodium, and fewer chances of mystery ingredients entering into our bodies.

What is in your refrigerator? What about your freezer? Or in the pantry? The cupboards? Processed, packaged items with ingredients you can't even pronounce? Or clean, natural foods? I am sure some of you have a mixture of both, while others distinctly sit on one side of the fence or the other.


With such high incidences of obesity, cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes in the United States today, we should be putting our food under a microscope - reading food labels and checking ingredient lists - and filling up on foods that are close to the ground. Foods that are close to their natural state. Foods that have undergone little-to-no processing before they make it to your mouth.

Good examples would be uncooked plant foods - fresh fruits and veggies, sprouts, nuts, seeds, beans, dried fruit, and whole grains. Some lean means and dairy products could fit into this category as well.

Michael Pollan does a nice job of summing it all up in his book, Food Rules: "Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food."

Best of Luck!

Hint #4: Keep your Body Guessing

My older brother, Bill, and I were talking about exercise the other day, and he said something worth quoting. "The biggest thing I've learned is that you need to keep your body guessing.", Boy, oh, boy, did he hit the nail on the head.

Bill has made some amazing strides with his fitness over the past year, and a lot of it has to do with the variety of his workouts. You will never find him doing the same workout two days in a row. This is good practice no matter what your exercise goal - weight loss, improving physical fitness or sports performance, toning, or even adding bulk.

Our bodies are very good at adapting, regardless of the situation. Think back to your first day at a new job. Was it stressful or challenging in any way? Usually a new environment can be challenging, but we eventually adapt and are able to develop some form of a routine.

Think about how that applies to exercise. As your body becomes used to a certain workout, you will require less energy to complete the same routine. Over time, this is a recipe for the dreaded "fitness plateau." When we fail to challenge ourselves, we will simultaneously fail to see progress.

I challenge you to do something different every single day, or at least change one component of your workout. If you are a regular walker, mix up the route, or, add short bursts of jogging every few minutes. For resistance training, my brother's advice was to utilize gym machines for select muscle groups (i.e. upper body) one day, and use free weights for those same muscle groups later in the week, while also making a point to add in a few new exercises.

There are so many ways you can add variety to your routine. Pick a new route. Switch up the intensity. Try a new class. Buy a new workout DVD. Add intervals. Try circuit workouts. Change the number of sets or repetitions. Experiment with a new type of exercise.

The key to seeing results, no matter what your goal, is stepping outside your comfort zone. Or, as Bill says, just remember to "Keep your body guessing." Do something new in your workout today!

Hint #3: Stock Up on Healthy Foods

People often assume that because I graduated in Dietetics and have my personal training and group fitness certifications that I do everything perfectly in terms of nutrition and exercise. How I wish that were true! Even I walk down the aisles of the grocery store tempted by brownie mixes and cheese crackers.

Certainly, there are times when I give into temptation and buy a product that may not be the healthiest choice. But, the majority of the time, I don't. Instead, I stock up on healthy choices so that I am not even tempted by high-fat, high-sugar options at home. Yesterday, for instance, I was looking at a box of brownies in the cookie aisle and thought, "Now, wouldn't this be yummy!" But, I didn't buy it, because I knew I would eat it if I did.

Instead, I went to the nut section of the store and added whole, cocoa-roasted almonds to my cart. This snack contains only 1 gram of sugar and tons of healthy fats, unlike the alternative I had considered just minutes before. Knowing I would want more "dessert" options than just the almonds, I headed over to the fruit section. I picked up some fresh strawberries, apples, and bananas, knowing they would be a perfect fix for my sweet tooth.

And then there was the snack aisle. I could have sworn the Cheez-Its were talking to me. But, I plugged my ears and threw some whole grain crackers into my cart, which actually taste quite delicious with reduced-fat cheese.

In this one shopping trip, I was faced with so many chances to make an unhealthy choice and multiple opportunities to stock my apartment with foods lacking in nutrition. Instead, I considered a healthier alternative with each tempting item.

How do you respond to unhealthy temptations at the grocery store? Do you give in? Or do you seek out nutrient-dense alternatives? Hopefully it is the latter. We have all heard the saying "You are what you eat." However, we have to first purchase the items that we eat. We might as well say "You are what you buy."

I challenge you to fill the shelves of your pantry and refrigerator with healthy products - fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean sources of protein. What are you buying?