Here are my top 5 favorite carbohydrates that are not only my favorite, but also very nutritious!

Carbohydrates are an important part of your nutritional intake. You may or may not know this about me, but I am strongly against low and no carb diets. Please choose your carbohydrates carefully and eat them as a part of a balanced diet.

Anyway……on with my top 5!

1. Sweet Potato
2. Oatmeal
3. Whole Grain Brown Rice
4. Whole Wheat Bread
5. Fresh Organic Fruits

Often I get questions about people not being able to reach certain goals or that their progress has slowed. They usually ask me what to do. My first suggestion is to look at the 5 components of fitness.

Each component is extremely important. Do you have all 5 components in your program?

1. Proper Nutritional Intake - Most people underestimate their caloric intake by about 30%

2. Proper Hydration and Supplementation - Are you drinking enough water? Is your body getting the proper amount of nutrient with the foods you are eating?

3. Proper Cardiovascular Training - Are you reaching your target Heart Rate and sustaining it during your cardio workout?

4. Proper Strength Training / Resistance Training - Are you on a strength training routine? Did you know that lean muscle is your number fat burning tool? Are you implementing the proper amount of reps, sets and exercises with the proper rest in between?

5. Professional Assistance - Have you ever heard the saying ” Knowledge is Power”? Well, in the subject of health and fitness it certainly rings true! Learning about the proper components of health and fitness is priceless! This one component will fuel the rest!

Those who think that professional assistance is expensive is sooner or later going to have to find money to treat sickness and disease.

I think that it’s pretty obvious that this is extremely important. Be aware of the food that you are putting in your body. Be HONEST with yourself. Most people justify there eating based on some outside circumstances. There is NO EXCUSE . It is your CHOICE what you put in to your body. This is an area that will need to be changed over time. DIETS rarely work! A gradual change in your eating habits combined with an exercise program is the only way to get the weight off and keep it off!

Cut the Fat

Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

Cut the Sugar 

Cut out ALL sugar possible. This means any time when you would normally add sugar to something like coffee or tea….DON’T!!! Cut our all sodas, teas and other drinks that contain sugar. These drinks are simply NOT GOOD FOR YOU! The only sugar that I would say is okay is in fruit and I would limit that to early in the day. None after lunch! 

Just to start!  

These are just a couple of things to think about to start. Remember, it’s all a choice. If you want to live differently, feel healthier, be happier, have more energy, be more productive and be around on this planet a little longer…..Then you have to make a decision to do something about it and you HAVE TO take it seriously! You have to be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen. Are you willing to do whatever it takes? Are you ready to join the Fitness Life Club? If so, we are ready to help you!

Americans may eat too much fat overall, but 90 percent of us don’t consume enough of the fats that are good for us.

The right balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is vital to cardiac function, joint and skin health, insulin balance and mood stability, according to Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, author of The Omega Diet.

Unfortunately, most of us consume too little omega-3 fatty acids and too much omega-6, which is found in corn oil and can worsen symptoms of some inflammatory and degenerative diseases such as arthritis.

To increase your intake of omega-3 fatty acids, Simopoulos recommends eating fish (especially salmon) at least twice per week.

You should also increase your consumption of green leafy vegetables, flax seed and walnuts, while cutting out as much animal fat and hydrogenated vegetable oil as

If you’re like me, you don’t want to spend a lot of time keeping track of calories in a journal, worrying about fat grams, or spending hours reading and deciphering nutrition labels.  If you do happen to enjoy that type of thing, more power to you!  However, if you lack the discipline/motivation/time to be a meticulous health god or goddess, here are some sneaky tips to keep you on the right track.

-Go diet.  Soda, that is.  Coke, Pepsi, or whatever soda pop it is that you prefer.  Despite all the nutritional hoopla surrounding artificial sweeteners, the difference between a 12 oz. Diet Coke vs. a regular Coke is about 150 calories.

-Dip your salad.  Instead of pouring that entire plastic cup of ranch dressing on your salad all at once, try dipping each forkful into the dressing.  You’ll save about half the calories while still getting the flavor of your favorite dressing.

-Ants on a log.  Remember in grade school when your teacher dressed up healthy eating in the form of fun?  Spread some creamy peanut butter in a celery stick, decorate it with some strategically placed raisins, and you’ve got yourself a fiber-filled, nutritious, and fun snack!

-Try the 90/10 mindset.  Or the 80/20.  Or maybe even the 70/30; whatever works for you, just as long as you’re eating healthfully the majority (90%) of the time.  You can let yourself “slip” for the other 10%.  Hey, no one’s perfect, and this way, you can trick your mind into thinking you’re cheating.  After that big fat slice of chocolate cake, you might find yourself craving a big fat slice of cantaloupe.  Who says you can’t have your cake and eat it too?