Scenario 1: You are trying to lose weight and go on a diet. After lots of suffering and sacrifice you lose weight, only to gain it all back after you stop the unsustainable diet you were on.

Scenario 2: You have incorporated exercise into your lifestyle. Congratulations, you are doing well! However, after hours at the gym and lots of sweat lost, you still haven’t lost any weight.

What is happening? Well, first of all, I want you to be proud of the changes you have made to improve your health. While weight loss might have been the only goal on your mind, I am sure you have noticed other improvements. Don’t give up yet! The problem is that it takes both, a regular exercise routine and a healthy, sustainable nutrition program.

How to start an exercise program: It does depend on your current health and physical condition, but I believe that everyone should be able to incorporate a daily walk. Begin with that, even if it’s just 10 minutes a day. Slowly increase the time and intensity of your walks, and maybe mix it up with some bicycling or hiking. Next it is very important to incorporate resistance, core, flexibility, and balance training into your workouts as well, when it comes to overall health benefits as well as weight loss. The best weight loss results can be achieved with a combination of cardio and resistance training. Now, I might be biased, but I think the best and safest way for anyone to at least begin an exercise regime is to work with a Personal Trainer. This will assure that the exercise you do is effective, and most importantly that you don’t get injured. Plus, it’s nice having someone hold your hand when trying something new.

How to change your nutrition for weight loss: Great news! I don’t want you to starve yourself. Rather, you’ll change what you eat, how often you eat, and how much you eat at one meal. A few basics to start with are:

1. Eliminate white flour and sugar from your diet.
2. Eat 3 - 5 small meals daily.
3. Don’t eat three hours before bed.
4. Eat a combination of lean proteins (i.e. fish, poultry, beef, egg whites) and vegetables with every meal.
5. Eat 5 - 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Check out http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/ for help.

How to make time for exercise: It’s hard being the perfect everything these days, isn’t it? Fitting exercise and healthy nutrition into your and your family’s lives isn’t easy. It doesn’t have to be all that hard either. The good news when it comes to exercise is that it all adds up. You can benefit from three 10-minute workouts as much as from one 30-minute workout! That’s right! Do a little bit whenever you can fit it in. Walk your kid to school, walk to the restaurant at lunch time, and then walk the dog in the evening. Done.

How to fit in healthy meals: There are ways to fit healthy and balanced meals into your life without a lot of time and effort, by using quality supplements that offer both, the best of nature and the best of science. I am going to write more about this subject in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please feel free to browse my online store and stock up on healthy treats for your whole family.

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