Ready To Get Healthy? March is National Nutrition Month!

March is National Nutrition Month. That makes it a perfect time to kick start a healthy eating routine! The first thing you should do is hire a Health Coach to help you understand "HOW" to eat healthy and exercise right, this will help assure that you'll succeed at your personal goals.  A Health Coach can educate you on what you are eating that is not beneficial to your body and assist you with your overall health and fitness goals, however a registered nutritionist can help you with a more detailed dietary intake plan along with your physician's guidance for medical reasons and they should not be confused with one another.

Here are just a few quick tips to help you kick-start your routine. First write down your list of healthy food choices for the week and go to the grocery store, DO NOT add anything along the way that tempts you while you are there, you will also need to choose a day that you can take the time to prepare your food for the week this will help you stick to your new healthy eating plan, good preparation is a key part to succeeding with what you eat throughout the week, it will also keep you from making those last minute, poor food decisions when you are on the go and hungry! Keeping a bag of raw almonds or a whole food snack in your bag or car when you are in transit and on the go is helpful too.

While it may be the last thing on your mind in the morning, be sure to start you day with a good healthy breakfast, it refuels your body, jump-starts your day and will benefit your overall health. I always ask my clients this question: "Do you drive your car without gas?" Do not expect your body to run efficiently on empty! The way you start your day will reflect the rest of the day to follow and keep you mindful of what you eat throughout the day.

These are a few of my personal favorites for a healthy breakfast:

*Organic whole-grain toast, hot or cold whole-grain cereals, low-fat muffins.

*A lean protein, peanut butter, sometimes I like poultry or salmon in the morning, and soft or hard-boiled eggs.

*Anything dairy is always low fat, 1% milk, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese.

*I never skip fruits and vegetables in the morning! Always organic, and fresh in season or flash frozen, 100% fruit juice without added sugar. In the warmer months I love fruit smoothies, in the Winter I like to juice with veggies and fruit combinations.  I add wheat grass to drinks for added health benefits.

What are you waiting for?  Get started on your new healthy lifestyle and start to feel the benefits within a week!

Is Substance Abuse Effecting Your Fitness Goals?

Recently, I was contacted by an outreach coordinator with The Coalition Against Drug Abuse in reference to the effects of drug, alcohol abuse and weight gain; she shared a very informative resource on the implications, contraindications and their latest research regarding substance abuse, weight gain and obesity. It covers many areas that I feel are important to today’s society and the need to get people healthy, I was very happy to blog about the topic and share their page in hope of helping people learn to live cleaner healthier lives.

The Coalition Against Drug Abuse covers many important topics such as how substance abuse affects our metabolism and the way the body breaks down food for energy and nutrition, the body cannot function properly without proper diet and nutrition. They also cover liver function; most people have a few drinks with no thought of how hard the liver has to work to break down alcohol and remove it from the body. In my career, alcohol has been the most common and abused substance that I have seen with clients at the initial sit down assessment, these clients were feeling frustrated and depressed because they were having a hard time reaching their weight loss and fitness goals, once they cut back or stopped consuming alcohol entirely, they lost weight, their bodies started to look toned, they had more energy and were less depressed, and most importantly, these clients have all continued to exercise and live healthier lifestyles!.

Drug and alcohol abuse is an area in the health and fitness industry that is often ignored, yet it is an area that needs to be addressed since any substance abuse alters our metabolism, diet and eating habits and some people even start to abuse a substance to cope with the way they look and feel about their bodies. I feel this is largely due to the pressures that are placed on people in today’s “perfection” society. With that said it is important to tell your Personal Trainer-Health Coach about ALL medications, prescription drugs, recreational drugs, tobacco and alcohol that you are consuming on a daily basis because it can have a direct effect on your health as well as your fitness goals and results.

For more information on the Effects Of Drug And Alcohol Abuse On Weight Loss and Gain by Dr Karen Vieira, PhD MSM, go to The Coalition Against Drug Abuse website. 

Photo Courtesy of The CoalitionAgainst Drug Abuse