TK Smith, Fitness Nutritionist & Lifestyle Coach

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Avoiding Vacation Weight Gain

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Since so many of us will be on the road at some point this month (family reunions, vacation, etc.), many people have asked me to provide useful nutrition tips for vacation/road trip travel. The funny thing is, as I write this, I am on a flight to Las Vegas for 4 days for a work conference. So, this is perfect timing.

Vacation and work travel are two different things, of course. Vacation is about changing up your routine & enjoying life outside of your normal environment. Work travel usually requires a little more focus on making better choices because it’s usually something we do more frequently.

For the purpose of this article, let’s focus on vacation, but these rules will also be helpful to you as a business traveler.

So, the question is – how can you enjoy all of the fun of traveling without putting on those dreaded vacation pounds. Well, my general philosophy is that if you are doing all the right things all year long, it really should not matter what you do on vacation. Generally, I tell my clients to make sure and enjoy themselves. That’s what vacation is all about.

However, if you are less than perfect all year long, then it may be helpful to have a couple quick tips in your back pocket for this fun time of year because if you never take that weight back off – it adds up quickly over the years.

So let’s get right to it:

1) Bring your own snacks – The more control you have over your food options, the better off you will be. So, when you hit the road, pack up some healthy snacks. The choices you have at fast food restaurants, gas stations, 7-11s, and AM/PMs are pretty limited. In fact, besides water, there is very little I would eat in any of those places. Last year, when we drove to Vegas, we brought fresh veggies & hummus, raw nuts & seeds, and fresh fruit.

2) Over-emphasize healthy choices – Restaurants are in business to sell food – not to keep you slim. They want the food to taste addictively good so you will come again. When you are traveling, you are over-exposed to food and drink that is not helping support your goals. Just do your best to go for the healthier options. Stay away from the fried, sauced-up, carb-rich meals and go for the more fresh, local options — salads, veggies and fresh fruits.

3) Stay hydrated – As with food, when traveling, we tend to drink things we normally do not drink on a day-to-day basis – maybe a fancy coffee drink from Starbucks or a poolside cocktail. (I don’t know about you, but I normally do not order a cocktail at 8 am in the morning like the guy behind me just did here on my flight). It’s these small choices that we normally do not make when we are at home that add up to a few extra pounds after vacation. If you can limit them, you’ll be better off. But at least make sure you mix in some extra water. A good rule of thumb: Drink a glass of water in between each beverage. It will help flush out your system and slow down your consumption.

4) Watch your calories – Normally, I don’t recommend counting calories for long-term weight loss, but in the case of a short-term vacation, watching your calories can be a helpful guide.

Remember, your weight is determined by the type of food you eat on a regular basis, not by what you eat or don’t eat for one week when you are on vacation. So, yes, you may gain a few pounds while traveling because you tend to eat more calories than when at home. But, your weight should bounce right back to where you were before you left for vacation once you get back to your ‘normal diet’.

Of course, if you are not happy with your pre-vacation weight to begin with, then that is a whole different story. If that is the case, call me when you get back from vacation and let’s fix that!

How to Get the Perfect Body

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We all want the ‘perfect body’, right? Each of us has set goals at one point or another to lose weight or gain muscle or fit into a certain size jeans or look like a certain person or whatever.

For the longest time, I sifted through fitness magazines and pulled out images of people I wanted to look like. I used these images as motivators to help ‘keep me on track’. The problem was that these people had totally different body types than me. I was never going to look like those people. But for some reason, I always set my goal based on images I believed were the ideal ‘perfect body’ and not based on what my personal ultimate goal was.

I spent a lot of time trying to become that ‘perfect body’ and it was a struggle. Trying to mold your body into some perfect image – well, it’s a battle. Maybe you relate.

One day I sat down and asked myself….where am I going with this? What is my ultimate goal? You see, I can work all day long on trying to have a ‘body builder’ type of body….but my body is not designed that way. And, no matter what I try, that look will never be a sustainable look for me. So, what is my real goal when it comes to fitness? My real goal is to feel good and to not have to obsess about what I eat or don’t eat. My real goal is to be healthy and to know I’m taking care of myself.

What I found in my life is that when I let go of the images from the fitness magazines and focused instead on letting my body gravitate to its own natural state of health, I no longer needed to worry about eating high levels of protein or calories or working out all the time to maintain a certain body mass. I just matched up the proper nutrition for my body type and then my body maintained the healthy physique that was right for my body.

If you really sit down and think what you really want, it makes the journey so much easier and more direct. You will save yourself a lot of time and frustration. We are all different and unique people with our own unique physique. And, we each have a ‘perfect body’ in us. The trick is finding it. The good news is, once you find it, it is actually very easy to maintain.

So look deep and identify why you really want. Is it to be more attractive? If so why do you want to be more attractive? Is it to feel better? Is it to live longer? Is it to be healthy?

If you focus on letting your body naturally gravitate to what is best for it, I think you will be surprised and pleased with the results. You will feel better and you will finally be truly happy with what you see in the mirror.

what if

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Have you ever asked yourself the question, “What if?”

What if I did something different this year?  What if I stuck with my New Year’s Resolution?  What if I ate healthy all year?  What if I did not miss one workout all year?  What would happen?  What would that feel like?  What would I look like?

It took me 2o years to get myself into really bad shape. Did I really think I could join a gym or buy a DVD that was going to transform my body and reverse the damage in 90 days?  Okay, actually, I did. That is what we all hope and what we are sold every day via advertising. The sad part is – none of the solutions we are being ‘sold’ will fix the problem.

If you want to experience long-term weight loss, it is not going to happen overnight.  Overnight solutions are temporary.  If you quickly force your weight down by a “diet” and exercise and you do not address the underlying problem, your weight will come back — guaranteed (it is about as assured as taxes and death).

If you want long-lasting results, you have to resolve the core problem.

The root problem is that what we are eating is not right for our bodies. If you are carrying a few extra pounds or are not in great health, then something you are doing is not right for your body.  You need to discover what that is and make a commitment to changing it.

Health and fitness is not going to come from a pill, “diet”, potion, lotion, surgery, DVD, Ab Barcalounger or any of this nonsense. It is only going to get solved by you taking responsibility as we discussed in a simple resolution to improve your health, and, secondly, making a commitment to your health and fitness.

The struggle is, we are afraid to take that step because that would mean we would have to make a change. But what if you made the change, what would happen?

Maybe you are afraid because you might have to give up something you love? But what if your body really does not love those things. What if your signals are off? What if your body is trying to tell you, “This stuff is killing me,” but what you are hearing instead is “Give me more”?

Our bodies are designed to be perfect. Each of us has a perfectly working biochemistry that is working to keep us at the perfect body composition.  The problem is, some of the things we are eating are causing communication problems with our biochemical feedback system and our signals are not quite right. In some cases, they aren’t even close.

So how do we get our biochemistry reset to ‘perfect’ working condition?  Well, to start, you need to take responsibility and make a commitment to yourself.  Not for a month or 90 days. You need to make a commitment for the entire year. You need to eat right for your body and exercise every week. The choice of food and the type of exercise is different for each person, but a general rule of thumb is, eat a whole foods diet and exercise 3-5 times per week (every week and every month of the year)!

What if you committed to just these two things for the rest of the year? How would you feel at the end of the year?

Don’t ask what if anymore, just do it and find out what you’ve been missing.

If you need help with the eating part, contact me I would be glad to help you individually.  Or check out The Kitchen Skinny which takes the hard part out of how to eat healthy.


how to get the body you want…tomorrow

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This month marks the 4-year anniversary of a turning point in my life.  Four years ago, I decided once and for all to lose those extra pounds and get into shape. You see, I was facing my 40th birthday and I remembered that on my 30th birthday, I had promised myself, “When I turn 40, I want to be in really good shape.” I figured ‘no problemo’ I have a whole decade to pull it off, but somehow I found myself 60 days before my 40th birthday making a frantic call to a professional for some help.

Not that I had been a total slacker that whole decade. In fact, I honestly tried really hard all through my 30s to get into shape. I tried all the fad diets. I joined gyms and even bought a Bowflex (I mean it worked for the Bowflex guy, right?).  I exercised regularly. I always tried to choose the lean meat and the low-fat/non-fat versions of my grocery store favorites, etc.

Still, as hard as I tried, I just seemed to continue slipping backward, rather than moving forward. At one point, I was 230 pounds, my hair was starting to thin and go grey, I had high blood pressure and I was sick at least a couple times a year. I was headed down a path that was not looking good.

So, when my 40th birthday rolled around, it was obvious to me that none of my efforts were producing the results I wanted. It was time to try something different. I called a fitness studio that was just about to open and explained my situation. I went down there thinking my personal trainer would just run me around a bit and ‘bada bing bada boom’ in a couple months, I would look like the Bowflex guy. Well, I did make incredible progress by my birthday, but I quickly learned, it takes a lot more than that to look like the Bowflex guy!

As it turned out, this ‘birthday’ gift I gave myself became a turning point for me. It was only just the start, but today, four years later, I am stronger, leaner, more fit, more healthy, and…I am wearing smaller jeans than I did in high school.  Better yet, I have not been sick or even seen the doctor for an illness in the last 4 years. To top it off, the graying and thinning of my hair has slowed to a snail’s pace. People who knew me back then will tell you I look like a different person. But, to me, what amazes me the most is that I feel like a different person. I have never felt so good and it just keeps getting better.

So, what’s the secret? What clicked? Looking back, I just did not have the right information on how to get into shape. I have learned so much in the last 4 years about health, fitness and nutrition that it is crazy. And, now that I’ve learned what really works, I am passionate about helping other people that I know are in the same spot I was four years ago. I know how frustrating it is to work out and work out and sacrifice your favorite foods – all with minimal results. You feel like you try so hard and still you get no where.

I worked so hard for so long, but what I needed to do was to work smart. What I have learned can be summed up like this.

You can have the body you have always wanted by following this simple formula:

Proper Nutrition + Proper Exercise + Consistency + Time = The body you have always wanted

Proper Nutrition: This one is key and it is something I was missing all along and didn’t realize.  You can have the best trainer in the world and you can workout all the time, until the end of time, but without the right nutrition, you will never be in the shape you want.  When it came to food, I tried to do the right thing to the best of my knowledge, but I didn’t have the knowledge I needed to support my goals.

Proper Exercise:  If you want to have something nice and toned to look at once you get lean, you need some muscle tone. Exercise along with proper nutrition will speed up the process – and here’s a secret – it doesn’t have to be a lot of exercise. I work out 4 times per week for 45 minutes each and that is it. The type of exercise all depends on your goal. You should be getting measurable results from your exercise program. If you’re not, it’s time to stop and take a look at what you’re doing.

I hope that the first two items nutrition and exercise are obvious.  These next two are equally as important.

Consistency: Fitness is like a savings account.  If you save only one month out of the year (say January) and then you don’t save anything for the rest of the year, come December you may be a little disappointed.  But if you saved every month consistently, you’ll have something to be excited about come December.

Time: Now, what if you saved consistently the next year and the year after that? It all builds on top and you get in better and better shape.  I can tell you for the past 4 years I have rarely missed a workout, I am always working on improving my nutrition and I am in better shape than I was the year before.

What I have learned from my own experience is that there is no magic bullet or quick fix when it comes to health and fitness. There is no pill, potion or magic machine that will give you the healthy body you desire. The only way to do it is through proper nutrition, exercise, consistency and time. If you leave any one of those things out of the equation, you will not reach your goal.

Looking back, the sad thing is that I waited 10 years to take real action. The only thing I regret is that I did not start sooner (taking advantage of the time factor).

It just takes a little knowledge and coaching to get you started, then your body takes over naturally. The key is to just get started and don’t wait for tomorrow because tomorrow may be too late.

The best gift you can give yourself is to stop beating yourself up about how you can’t reach your goal, and instead, spend a little time learning why it’s not working and how easily it can be adjusted to get you where you want to be.

I invite you to call or email me and let me share all the things I have learned so you can have a head start and get where you want to be faster.

how to eat healthy in a restaurant

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When I was a kid, going out to dinner at a restaurant was a treat. It was something we did maybe once or twice a month – usually to celebrate a special occasion, like a birthday, graduation, anniversary or something like that.  We got to enjoy some good service, good food and the company of our family.

Well times sure have changed in many ways.  First of all, I think we all eat out more often, but even more importantly, it’s usually not to celebrate an occasion, but simply out of convenience.  There was a point where my family used to eat out 3-4 times a week and I’d say it was mostly out of convenience.If you are eating out 1 or 2 times per month, you may have some wiggle room, but when you eat out multiple times per week, it is even more important to pay attention to what you order.The most important thing you need to know is this, most restaurants are in the business of making money, not making you healthy.  So just keeping this in mind will really help you out.  If you want to eat as healthy as you can in a restaurant, you really have to take on the responsibility yourself.

Besides saying a small prayer and eating a little something healthy before you go out (so you are not as hungry when you get there), here are some of the tips I use when going out to eat:

the eney meeny miny moe – It all starts with picking the right place to eat.  By making the right choice of restaurants, you really open up more options once you are in the restaurant.  Ideally, finding a restaurant that serves fresh, locally grown, organic food is the best option.  But if that is not an option, stay away from places you know have a lot of fried foods and pick ones that you feel at least have some healthy choices.

the menutranslatenator – Okay, obviously I’ve been watching too much Phineas and Ferb, but that Dr. Doofenshmirtz has got some awesome lines. So, let’s say you could not find a healthy restaurant and you ended up in a chain restaurant or something along those lines.  No problem, you will just need to translate the menu.  Stay away from words like fried, breaded, battered, buttered, gravy, creamy, saucy…and, for heaven’s sake, please stay away from words like big, large, grande, hearty, huge and ginormous.  Stick with things like fresh, seasonal, light and steamed.

the rico suave – So you could not find anything seasonal, fresh and light on the menu?  Well, you may need to move to the “the rico suave tip” (formally known as “be a pain in the butt” tip, but it went through a name change, for obvious reasons).  It is about charming your server. They are there to make you happy, so you will give them a nice big fat tip.  So they should be open to any questions about how their food is prepared.  But be nice about it, you don’t want them spitting in your food because you are being a pain in the butt (not that that ever happens).   Anyway, I would not nit-pick about everything, just see if they can slightly alter or substitute some of the bad for good.  Usually, all restaurants will have some sort seasonal vegetables (if they don’t, go back to the eney meeny miny moe and start over) and I am sure they will substitute your greasy fries or fatty saucy side dish that comes with what you are eyeballing with some steamed fresh veggies or a side salad.

the chop su·ey (CHäp ˈso͞oē) – Still no luck?  Well, maybe just go for “the chop suey.” Nope, not the dish, but the karate chop method.  If you are with someone, order something close to being healthy and just split it.  Or order it split and take the other half home or just leave it there (better there than on your hips or stomach or butt or where every you carry your fat reserves).   Sometimes we will order a side of steamed veggies and another dish and then just split the two dishes.  Either way, you are cutting the bad in half.

the vegas baby –  Don’t want to share? I see how it is! Okay, so they say when you go to Vegas you can be whoever you want to be.  So, pretend you’re in Vegas, pretend you’re a vegetarian.  Most restaurants will have at least one vegetarian dish and that will most likely be a healthier option than the others.  At least you are cutting significant caloric intake and animal fats by ordering in this fashion.

the when harry met sally – Okay you’re a tough cookie.  Still have not found anything?  If all else fails, I go with what I call “the when harry met sally” – order a salad, but with the dressing on the side.  Generally, salads should be health, but restaurants can take something healthy like a salad and destroy the calories, sodium, fat and sugar content through the dressing.  So just order it on the side and dip your fork for some flavor now and then.  You will shouldn’t use even a fraction of what they bring you.

Final tips, stay away from the bread & appetizers and order unsweetened tea or water to drink. And, if you need desert, fresh fruit is a great option.

what’s for lunch mom?

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It’s that time of the year, back to school shopping, which normally includes a new lunch box (at least that is what they use to call it back in the day. I wish I still had my Scooby Doo lunch box that would probably be worth something nowadays.)

Breakfast and lunch are the 2 most important meals of the day (for everyone, but especially for our kids). They need to have the proper fuel to maintain a constant energy level at school so they can perform their best.  They will be more focused and retain more while at school and will come home in a more relaxed and less famished way.  My kids use to come home like hungry bears and the quick fix to that was to give them a quick snack, which as it turns out raises their blood sugar fast and turns out to cause a lot of health problems.

It has always been my responsibility to pack my kids lunch. Unfortunately, I have not always done the best job for them. In fact, it makes me a little sick thinking back to what I use to feed my kids. It would explain a lot of the health, behavioral and physical issues we experienced during that time. The good news is that with some small changes you can avoid these problems with your kids.

Here are some of the things I used to pack for them: tube of yogurt, cookies, chips, fruit roll-up, apple juice, granola bar, apple and maybe a sandwich.  It was not all of this at once, but always some combination of these types of  items.  Any combination of these type of things (except for the apple and maybe the sandwich) are a disaster for your child.    I think most health experts now agree that over time, these types of foods will cause serious health problems and to some extent could be considered chronically toxic to the human body.  I think we are seeing the results now with the increase of obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease and so on.

So how do you make your kids eat healthier?  That is a good question. The problem is that you are going up against large corporations the spend hundreds of millions of dollars EACH, marketing these products to your kids (don’t even get me started on this topic).  Your kids do not necessarily care about nutrition, they just want something that tastes good and has a cool wrapper with lots of colors.  How can regular old fruit and veggies compete with that?  The answer is they can’t.

The trick is if you do not want your child to have problems down the road, you have to change their habits and get them eating healthier options.  In our household, this didn’t happen overnight.  It was a slow process that occurred over time.  Our kids’ systems were addicted to these types of foods and to cut them out cold turkey would not be the best long term approach. So, here are some tips to make that transition:

1) the talk – give your kids the talk.  Educate your kids on what is healthy and what is not and what the effects of eating a poor diet are and why you want to help them eat in a more healthier way so that when they start seeing different in things their lunches they will understand why you are making these changes.

2) the ol’ switcharoo – For the most part, there are healthier versions of everything we currently eat. This was our first step. We took the things we were familiar with and liked and bought the healthier version.  To do this you will most likely have to go to a health food store to find them because you won’t have much luck in your standard chain grocery store.  Here in San Diego, Jimbo’s is a great place to find these items locally.  Whether it is crackers or macaroni &cheese, there are some better options out there. It is all about the ingredients. The general rule of thumb is pick things that have as few ingredients as possible. Make sure your child can pronounce them (meaning they should not sound scientific in any way).

3) the bedazzle – Bedazzle your kids with interesting and new foods.  Your kids are bored with apples, oranges and bananas!  Buy some fun and interesting things like kiwi, papaya, mangos and pineapple. Same with snacks and lunch items – find things that are new and interesting.  Kids love to try new things.  They may not like everything, but keep trying.

4) the decision maker – Make your kids part of the decision process.  If they get to choose between a bunch of healthy choices, they are more inclined to eat whatever it is.  So take them to the health food store and let them pick out whatever fruit, vegetable or health food item they like.

5) the monkey see monkey do – Oh this one may sting a little. Over time kids do what they see you do. If you eat the Oreo, so will they. If you eat healthy, so will they. (This plays out way beyond food, but that is not what this article is about!)

Well, this should give you a good start on moving your kids towards more healthy eating habits and provide them some more nutrient-dense foods to help them through their day! You’ll be amazed at how tiny changes lead to huge transformation over time. Don’t stress out about forcing your kids to eat healthy. Instead, make it fun. By working together as a family, we can all improve our habits and our health.

does the caveman have the answers?

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Food should be an easy thing to figure out, but in today’s environment, it’s not.  In fact, it’s gotten pretty tricky and there’s always some new diet out there promising to give us all the answers.  It seems we’re always looking for the perfect ‘diet’ to answer all of our dietary concerns.

One of the latest diet trends making a comeback is The Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet. It’s promoted in various fitness centers and is catching on because of its focus on whole foods and ‘getting back to basics’.  People often ask me what I think about the Paleo Diet. Well, as a nutritional consultant, I never have a ‘one size fits all’ response. We all are very different people. We have different tastes, physiques, professions, hobbies and we each process foods differently. There is never a blanket answer, which is exactly why people need help to find the right individualized nutritional plan.

The Paleolithic (Paleo) Diet is the caveman or hunter-gatherer diet – it consists mainly of high protein with low amount of grains, refined sugars, starch, bread and processed carbohydrates.  I am a big fan of whole foods.  So, at first glance, this type of diet makes a lot of sense to me. After all, this is what our ancestors ate and when you look at images of the hunter-gatherers they seemed like they were healthy and in good shape.

It definitely makes sense to look back at what our ancestors ate, but we also have to look at lifestyle.  When I compare my lifestyle to a hunter-gatherer, they are two very different lifestyles.  I am pretty sure the caveman did not wake up and hop in his SUV and drive through Starbucks on his way to Costco to hunt and gather.  My guess is he had some different requirements on his body than I do.

For the caveman, different times of year (the seasons) put different strains on his body.  He only had access to certain foods certain times of the year.  Different types of foods may have played a role in keeping him alive in his environment.  It might have made sense (certain times of the year) for the caveman to have higher blood pressure or to have a little extra body fat.

In comparison to the caveman, my environment is nearly constant and my food choices are very different. My home is 70 degrees all year long.  I can get ‘seasonal’ fruit all year round. My meat is raised on factory farms and has a much different body composition to that of a lean wild animal.  My fruits have been engineered to grow larger and sweeter.  I sit in front of my computer all day.  So, maybe my diet should be slightly different than the caveman?

There are a lot of ‘diets’ out there and they all will help you to lose weight initially. However, the goal is to find a ‘diet’ you can live with; one that optimizes your health and leaves you feeling satisfied. The underlying commonality you’ll see in all of the latest fad diets is that they usually limit or eliminate sugar and processed carbohydrates. That’s a great place to start, but don’t stop there. The ‘perfect diet’ is something unique to each of us and once we eliminate the sugar and processed carbs, we can begin to pick up on the signals our bodies send us that point us toward the perfect diet for each of us.

 

 

a few extra pounds is not the problem – it’s a symptom

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The human body is truly this amazing thing. The more I learn about it, the more I am in awe of it. In addition, the more I learn, the more I realize how little we truly know about it, specifically as it relates to nutrition. Don’t get me wrong; we know a whole lot, but in reality, we know a lot less than we think.

Our body on the other hand knows all the answers to our problems.  It works so hard everyday single to keep your body at its best. When something is not right, it tells you. It sends you signals. If you are not paying attention to those signals and you ignore them, over time that could be a problem. If you are carrying a few extra pounds (or a lot of extra pounds) this could be one of those signals that things are not working properly.

For me, being overweight was not fun. I did not like the way I looked or felt. Looking back, these feelings were my body’s way of telling me, “Hey, you’ve got a problem in here that you have to fix or else!” Our bodies (you know the ones that work around the clock to keep us healthy) do not want to be overweight or sick. And, when we are overweight that is just a symptom that there is something wrong internally, something is not right with our biochemistry.

I talked about some of this in my blog post “why exercise won’t make you skinny.”  There are many biological reasons that cause us to be overweight, but I think most of those stem back ulitmately to what we eat (and maybe don’t eat).

I am not sure why, but it seems like when we have a problem we always tend to find a solution that addresses the symptom, rather than the cause.   If we are overweight, or we are sick, or just  feeling down, we typically try to fix the symptom.  We exercise more to try to lose weight, or take medications to cover up the symptoms of feeling sick, or drink alcohol when were are feeling down.  In all of these cases, we are addressing the symptoms and not the root problem.   That’s like turning up the radio in your car when it starts to make a noise.  Sure, you don’t hear the noise anymore, but eventually it’s gonna break down.

The funny thing about it is, there is a very simple, easy and cheap solution.  That is to eat nutrient-dense, whole foods and to get regular exercise.  It really is that simple.  The problem is there is very little money to be made in this solution.  The money is in selling the disease (aka nutrient-poor, processed foods) and then turning around and selling the quick fix solution (aka drugs and services) to cover up the symptoms.

Personally, I was headed down the highway of  life with my car stereo volume up all the way.  If I would have kept going and not turned down the music to listen to my body, I know I would have had to eventually deal with worse problems such as, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart problems and a host of other related medical issues.

So if you are carrying a few extra pounds and you do not have the body you are happy with, this may be a sign from your body that something is not right. Turn down your radio and start listening to what your body is telling you and try and fix the problem, not the symptom.

The solution is easy, I already gave it to you.  The hard part is just “thinking” about making that change.  It seems so overwhelming, unrealistic and like a lot of work.  And, that is just because it’s different and unknown.  When you actually start making the changes, you will realize it’s not as hard as you were making it out to be. When you give your body more of what it needs and less of what it does not need, it stops producing the ‘symptoms’ and those few extra pounds melt away for good.

exercise? don’t waste your time

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What I mean by that is, really, don’t waste your time! If you’re going to spend your precious time and your hard-earned money, then make it count! I see people all the time in the gym or working with their trainers just going through the motions. If you are going to spend the time make it count! The one thing I have learned is that, time is precious. Life goes by so fast and you really need to hold on to each minute. A combination of exercise and good nutrition will help you live a longer, more healthy, active life, so you will get to enjoy more of those precious moments.

Here are some things I do to not waste my time when I workout:

Get help – My old workout routine was the same every week, year in and year out and I was getting minimal results at best. I started taking workout classes at a fitness studio and my workouts became very efficient and effective. Working in a small class environment or with a trainer will allow you to spend less time working out. If you’re just a regular person like me that has a family and a job, you may not have the time it takes to come up with new and meaningful workout routines every single week. So, for me, classes are the perfect solution.

Get your motivation – You’re in the gym, you’re working out, you are there and you are not getting that time back (remember time is precious) so use it – focus! Don’t talk to your trainer or neighbor. Don’t look around at what other people are doing; do that stuff after if you want. If you are not 100% focused on your workout, you are not going to get 100% of the results you want. If you can talk as you exercise, it means you are not pushing yourself. If you want to talk, hire a shrink not a personal trainer. Your trainer won’t be upset if you are working so hard you can’t talk with them. They will forgive you; I promise! For me, I look at every workout as if it was my Olympic games, World Series, Super Bowl or whatever championship game of the sport you follow. Give it 100% effort every time and I promise you will be happy with your results.

Eat – Exercise and nutrition go hand in hand; you really cannot have one without the other. So many times I hear people say, I workout so I can eat what I want. Well, I have not met too many people where that works out for them. That strategy is an uphill battle that you will eventually lose over time (kinda like the slots in Vegas). Proper nutrition will allow you to get the full benefits of your workout (so your not wasting your time) and you will see those results much faster.

Proper nutrition is important both before and after workouts and even during workouts (if you are working out at a certain level). Before your workout, you will want to make sure your body has the fuel it needs to get you through the workout, so you can really push yourself. When I know I have a tough workout class coming up in the evening, I plan my food all day long so that I know my body will be ready for the class. After a really hard class, if you worked hard and broke down some muscle, your body will be looking for some fuel to recover from your workout. Having some protein would be a good idea directly following a good workout to help you recover.

If you think you need to make a change, you probably do and I can guarantee you this. It will NOT get easier the older you get. If you want to live into your old age in a healthy way, you will have to make a change at some point. Whether you change today, tomorrow or 5, 10, 15 years from now, one day it will come. I personally think it is a lot more fun and easier to do on your own terms vs. having your doctor insist on it. Plus, you get to enjoy all the benefits of feeling your absolute best right now!

I can promise you this! When you get into the best shape of your life, you enjoy each day more, you have more energy, people look at you differently, your relationships improve, your outlook on life totally changes, and you won’t have to worry about your health in your old age. So, if you are serious, get a good workout routine (take classes, get a trainer, or whatever), give each and every workout 100% effort, and give your body the right type and amount of fuel it needs. That is how you will transform your body into the body you never dreamed you could have!

but i don’t like them

by

Ah yes, good old green eggs and ham! You can learn a lot from a Dr. Suess book. My dad read Green Eggs and Ham to me growing up and I read the same book to both my kids when they were, well, kids. I imagine my kids will be reading it to their kids too (but hopefully not anytime soon). I actually do not have a problem with the green eggs and ham, for me it was always the vegetables, I did not like them Sam I am!

Growing up my mom always nagged me, “eat your vegetables” (in that nagging voice). Yeah, well, as much as I hate to admit it, she was right! According to the USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, we are not eating enough vegetables and we are “eating too much added sugars, solid fats, refined grains, and sodium.” Looking back, it was funny how many of the things our parents said were right (darn it). Some day I am sure my kids will look back and say the same thing about us.

When you grow up and are out in the world on your own, you get to make your own choices. Mom is not there to tell you to eat your vegetables. It’s awesome! You can eat what you want when you want and no one is there to tell you differently. What ends up happening though, is you focus on things that you like and typically do not cook or order things you don’t like (aka a variety of vegetables).

Well after 25 years of being on my own, I knew I had to start eating more vegetables, I knew I had to do it, but I did not know how to make myself like them. So I started drinking V8 juice. After all, the commercial said it had like 3 servings of vegetables in it. I figured one of those bad boys and some steamed veggies at dinner and I would be all set. The problem for me was it was loaded with sodium and I knew deep down I was missing something by not consuming the whole vegetable.

So I started making my own vegetable drink – a green smoothie – with the whole vegetable (not just the juice). It was low in calories and sodium and LOADED with fiber and all the vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals our bodies need to function properly and to stay healthy; and it tasted great! The key thing I noticed when I started drinking these whole vegetable drinks was the way I felt. I was energized and noticed a whole new level of feeling good. It was amazing. I had more energy during my workouts and found I had less cravings for foods that were not good for me.

What was happening was that I was finally giving my body what it was looking for. My body then stopped looking for the things it was missing by asking me for more food. My cravings for bad foods went away and my energy level went up. I felt great and my waist size today is smaller then it was in high school.

If you’re not getting enough vegetables in your diet, a green smoothie just might help. The point is get creative. There’s a wide variety of vegetables and an even wider variety of ways to prepare them. You’re bound to find something you like if you just try. The government recommends getting somewhere between 2 ½ – 3 ½ cups of vegetables per day (depending on your age, sex and activity level). I personally consume 3-4 times the recommended amount of vegetables per day (depending on the day). The funny thing about it is I just had my physical a couple months ago and my doctor did not say to me, “Hey TK, you really need to ease up on those veggies.” Looking at my numbers, he actually really did not know what to say to me except, “looks great and we’ll see ya next time.”

So this month, let’s eat some more veggies and see if you don’t feel better. “You do not like them. SO you say. Try them! Try them! And you may.” I have a green smoothie recipe on my blog www.hereswhatido.com and some other recipes to get you started, so…. “Try them and you may I say!”

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