Many people have good intentions and begin an exercise and healthy eating program, but within a few months at least 50% of them drop out.  A few weeks of increasing your activity and changing your eating habits may get you started, but it is not going to get you to where you want to be in the long term unless you are committed to a lifestyle change.  In order to achieve any goal, you must stick to your plan on a daily, consistent, long-term, basis.  If you are consistent with your efforts, falling off track for a few days is no big deal.  But if you are regularly distracted from your program, you will have a hard time succeeding. 

Commitment and consistency are the keys to achieving any goal.  If you want to be 15 pounds thinner 15 years from now, it is not what you do over the next few months that matters, but what you do over the next 15 years. All the changes you make while creating a healthier more balanced life must be followed for the rest of your life.  There are no quick fix solutions.     

If you have made your commitment to creating a healthier more balanced life by exercising and eating healthy, you must follow through with this commitment on a daily basis.  It is kind of like brushing your teeth: you know that in order to have healthy teeth and gums you have to brush your teeth on a daily basis.  Would you ever leave your house in the morning without brushing your teeth?  I don’t think so.  The best, most well-intended exercise program won’t work if you don’t think of it in the same manner: you must be consistent and dedicated to it. 

It all comes down to the choices you make in life.  Every day you decide if you are going to have a good day or a bad day.  You decide whether you are going to get up and exercise or sleep a few minutes longer.  Every day that you make a healthier choice, you are staying committed to living your life based on your values and goals.   If you consistently work towards your goals, you are taking small steps in the right direction.

The first and most important ingredient to modifying your eating behavior is the desire to do so. The reasons for change must be more important than those for carrying on your present lifestyle patterns. If a sincere commitment is made, the chances for success become much greater.

It is also critical to learn to differentiate between physical hunger and emotional hunger. Physical hunger is the actual physical need for food (stomach growling, feeling shaky, headaches). Emotional hunger is a desire for food, usually triggered by factors such as stress, lack of sleep, boredom, smell, depression, food availability or the thought of food itself. 

Let Healthy by Design Nutrition Specialists guide you to a healthier new year by creating a personalized nutrition program designed specifically for your goals and lifestyle.

Stacey Whittle, RD, CPT and Dorothy Bernet, MS, RD, CPT are Co-Founders of Healthy by Design Nutrition Specialists in Santa Monica, CA. For more information visit their website at:  www.healthybydesignnutrition.com

What it is:

Fitness Coaching by Healthy Balance Fitness involves two critical components:

1. Customized weekly workouts based on your individual lifestyle, goals, and schedule
2. Weekly personalized phone coaching sessions to review progress, get specific focus and direction, and set progressive workouts and goals

Why it works:

Fitness Coaching by Healthy Balance Fitness combines guided training and coaching with a system that allows you maximum flexibility and responsibility for your personal health and fitness. Research finds that this system is more effective than one-on-one fitness training, perhaps because it places more responsibility on the individual while still allowing him or her to take advantage of the advice and encouragement of a professional fitness trainer.  

How it works:

You will meet with your personal coach 16 times via phone. During these meetings you will:

1. Establish your current fitness level and identify your fitness goals
2. Learn how to use your Pedometer, Heart Rate Monitor, and Fitness Diaries to document your achievements each day and monitor your progress over time
3. Receive a customized weekly exercise and activity plan with specific daily and weekly goals 
4. Discuss progress and establish your customized weekly workouts.  
5. Measure progress and discuss goal achievement and next steps

GIVE IT A TRY! CALL 310-200-6223 TODAY
FOR A COMPLIMENTARY ASSESSMENT.

There are two eating habits that can triple your chances of being overweight, according to research. 

The second is eating until you’re completely full.  You should stop when you are 80% full.

Do you drop in and out of exercise because you
aren't getting results?

Do you want to lose weight and keep it off?

Do you find exercise boring and can't keep yourself motivated?

What if there was a better way to achieve your health
and fitness goals?  And it worked?

If you keep promising yourself that some day you will get in shape but you just don't know how to get started, this may be just what you have been waiting for. 

Call for a complimentary, no obligation, Fitness Consultation
and Strategy Session today.

310-200-6223