I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “a calorie is a calorie,” and that when weight loss is the goal, you can probably loose weight on a 1,200 calorie/day diet whether it is 1,200 Twinkie calories or apple calories. At this point, you might be thinking, “Cool! I’ll go on the Twinkie diet!”   Our bodies are smarter than that though, and I say, thank goodness. I know – I’m no fun at all . Last week at the grocery one of my kiddos held up a box of Twinkies and had the audacity to ask me to purchase them. I nearly burst a vessel in my forehead trying to restrain myself from smashing the box with my feet.

All calories are not created equally. Take a peek at the chart below:

Keep in mind that a carbohydrate is not necessarily bread. Veggies, fruits, and whole grains/seeds are also carbs (much healthier ones, I might add). Protein can be from meats, fish, tofu, beans, nuts, and eggs. Fats are what they are, and of course, they range from the unhealthy variety (full-hydrogenated vegetable oil), to healthy oils, such as olive, safflower, and sesame oil. Then, there are the dreaded alcohol calories from beer, wine, etc. Calories from alcohol decrease the amount of fat that the body utilizes for energy. Note: this is a bad thing, as we WANT to use fat for energy, since it packs more calories (9, if you read the chart above). Fat is your friend when it comes to energy. Remember that – in case I give a pop quiz. But alcohol inhibits the body’s use of fat for energy. Bad. That is what the “beer gut” is – excess fat the body can’t get rid of. For more on this, visit: Rochester.edu

Think about the calories you are consuming every day. You need a variety of foods, a variety of colors, and a variety of types of calories, and if you are trying to lose weight, make sure your calories pack a nutrient-dense punch. This means limiting refined sugars, unhealthy, saturated oils, and foods that are too easy for the body to break down, which is just about anything white (white bread, potatoes, snacks, crackers, and again, sugar). In fact, I often tell clients to count nutrients rather than calories. When you eat the way you should, the weight often takes care of itself.

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Maybe you’ve been on a workout train for some time, diligently going to the gym and happily taking your dose of cardio and weight training, maybe even a few classes too just to challenge yourself. Perhaps you’ve been on this train, per se, for years, then all of a sudden, you’re okay with missing a workout, then two. The idea of going to the gym or out the door for a jog becomes a chore, when it was once something you enjoyed. Have you been there? Are you there now? If so, read on… I think I can help.

True, I am a trainer, but at heart, I’m really a fitness buff and have been since college. My reasons for working out have not always been the same, however. They change every 3-5 years. For example, in college I worked out to equalize the pizza and beer I consumed on the weekends. After college it was to lose the weight I’d gained when workouts weren’t enough to equalize pizza and beer, which I had to give up as well. That’s okay – good riddance. In my early twenties, the goal was to maintain weight loss, then to prepare for my wedding and honeymoon. After that, to deal with the stresses of a high pressure job. Moving into my thirties, my goals changed more frequently: I worked out to stay healthy and strong during pregnancies, and to lose weight post-pregnancy, and to keep up with my active brood. At forty, workouts have become a way to slow the aging process, maintain muscle mass and bone health, and keep arthritis at bay for as long as I can. As you can see, goals and reasons or working out evolve as you do. If those goals don’t evolve, or you don’t take the time to assess WHY you are working out, workouts can become meaningless. Dull. Passe. A chore.

Your body likes change. So does your mind.

When (if) you find yourself losing interest in exercise, it may be time for an overhaul. I don’t necessarily mean harder workouts, but maybe different workouts. Challenge means many things – just trying something new may help you discover a new love for exercise, and a new reason to keep at it.

Last year, I began to notice that I didn’t recover quite as quickly from hard workouts as I used to. I felt tight and unbalanced. I found myself less interested in hitting the gym, more interested in my “rest and recovery” days, which sometimes spanned two or more days. That wasn’t like me, and I knew it. Based on experience, I also knew it was time to reassess why I was working out.

Why do you want to be fit?

Ask yourself this important question from time to time: Why do you want to be fit? Your answer will likely change every few years, so if you haven’t thought about it in awhile, now might be a good time. For me, my reason quickly went from “training for an endurance event,” to “staying fit and flexible for the long haul.” The daily pounding and brutal workouts served their purpose, now I wanted to learn something new, something gentler. Enter, yoga! For me, this served the purpose of both challenging me, and correcting some of the tightness and imbalances that weren’t resolving on their own (most don’t, by the way.) Yoga improved my mental focus, and helped me realize that fitness is about a balance between strength, cardio, and flexibility. And mental muscle. Once I acknowledged the benefits, my attitude toward the gym took a turn too and I found myself looking forward to working out again, but in a gentler way than before.

So before you throw in the towel and quit working out together, first see if you can come up with some new reasons for staying fit. I bet you’ll find a renewed enthusiasm for sweat.

I’ve noticed a common theme lately among clients, neighbors and friends who are trying to focus on making healthier choices every day, but are somehow falling short of their own expectations: lack of focus. Perhaps the bar is set too high, or your time and energy are spread too thin? There could be many reasons for those days, or even weeks, when you just aren’t as motivated to do all of the healthy things you know you should.

My advice:

• Don’t beat yourself up. You’re entitled to a little down time, and I think it is healthier to take a break and get back on track when you’re good and ready, than to fall off the wagon completely and never get back on. Use the down time to re-assess your goals, your motivation for adopting a healthier lifestyle, and no matter what, don’t give yourself a bad grade.
• Change can be scary, but it can also breathe new life into your workout routine and get you excited about exercising again. A recent article in Forbes magazine highlighted fitness trends for 2008 – why not try one? Forbes – Fitness Trends
• Try a new recipe — even mixing up what you eat and when can motivate you to keep making healthy choices. Check out Eating Well for ideas.
• Challenge yourself. If you stick to your routine faithfully for months, only to completely burn out and lose interest, maybe you’re not challenging yourself enough. Re-evaluate your fitness goals, or train for an upcoming race, or learn a new sport, such as rock climbing, boxing or soccer.

Check out these websites for inspirational ideas:

Women’s Sports Foundation

Beginner Triathlete

Hal Higdon – a great resource for marathon training from one of the most highly respected experts in the running world.