good habits

This is my yoga friend and fellow teacher Mike, with me at Ben and Jerry's!

This might be the first time I have ever truly given myself a break. In over 10 years in this sport there has always been something next... something new.... something to work towards. I force each one of the athletes on my team to take an off-season. But I have always found a good reason of why I should avoid it. Or why I should equal the hours in the pool.

This round of decompression has been heavenly. I am eating an eighth of what I typically eat. My nutrition is really going well. I feel good, really good when I eat well. This is the time of the year to establish those sound nutrition habits that will follow you through the rest of the year.

Nutrition is a tricky thing and there is no super secret method of losing weight except:

Calories out must exceed calories in.

How many calories should you eat? Great question. More than 1200 and less than 2000 is a good general rule for the average person WHO IS NOT TRAINING AS MUCH AS YOU DO. But don't get caught up in the numbers. That will cause a good dose of OCD. Concentrate on eating good food. Food without an ingredient list (in it's original form). Sure there are programs like Weight Watchers and such to help you track calories and fat. Those are good programs if that's the kind of structure you need.

I guarantee that if you strive for five, 5 fruits and veggies per day..... if you eat three balances meals, or six smaller meals, if you eat a colorful plate, if you eat some protein at each meal, if you allow yourself some indulgence, and exercise every day....... I guarantee you that you will lose weight.

It really can be that simple.

As someone who has been in the health and fitness industry for more years than I care to admit, and someone who has traveled the path of the eating disordered (to the point that it nearly took my life), I have seen more gimmicks, promises, and pills than I care to think about.

Things like body fat testing, calipers, scales that swear to know your body fat percentage by just stepping on the thing (R.I.P.P.-O.F.F.), etc etc. The true way to get your body fat tested is the dunk test which is expensive and even that.... has a margin of error. What if you got your body fat tested and you got down to that magical number, then suddenly you kept getting sick and you started to underperform? Wasn't life supposed to completely come together if you hit that magical number??? Don't let everything hinge on it.

What weight do you feel good at? What weight do you perform your best at? What weight do you think you lose power and ability at? Give it a try.

Please stop making everything so complicated. We get to live once. There is really good food out there. Check out Bree's site, she posts some terrific recipes. Put away the nonfat butter, the fat free cream cheese, employ moderation and whole foods.

That's really all you need. And you won't make yourself nuts anymore. In fact, try a handful of nuts, they're good for you!