5 weeks!  Here is what I’m talking to my clients about this week:

FITNESS

If you’ve been following along, you’ve tried something new, you’ve added “Rev Ups” to your routine and you are lifting some heavier weights.  You ARE doing those, right?  When it comes to my clients who have had long-lasting results, one common thread that they share is accountability.  Whether it was being accountable to me (as their trainer/instructor),  to a workout buddy or to an online fitness forum, making a commitment to show up and complete a workout guaranteed some sort of success.   Who likes to let people down?  I’m not saying that you should workout to please someone else.  You showing up MOTIVATES the other people, too!  You even motivate me as your trainer/instructor!

Goal for the week:

Find a buddy.  Find a way to be accountable.  I have a running date with a girlfriend.  It is INKED in my calendar.  I see people on Instagram tagging their workout and who they do it with.  This is a fantastic way to be accountable.  Join a smaller gym that tracks you along with people who workout with you at the same time.  Start talking to people at the classes you go to.  I’ve seen so many lovely friendships grow that started on the patio of GRIT Cycle (where I teach indoor cycling).  Aaahhh….remember this:  You are most like the 5 people you hang around with.  If you are hanging with people who share your love for a healthy lifestyle, it will serve you.

FOOD

I was listening to talk radio yesterday and a gal called in about needing to lose the last 10 pounds.  She explained that she ate great, worked out 6 days a week and just couldn’t get the scale to budge.  Then she talked about her busy days and how she liked to come home and have a glass of wine while making dinner.  BINGO!  Drinking your calories is one of the biggest weight loss saboteurs.  We tend NOT to count those calories OR we think, “this beet juice is so healthy!”.  Okay, a cup of beat juice only has 54 calories.  Throw in the apple, the avocado, a banana, some mango, etc… and you could end up with a calorie BOMB.  A latte, a glass of wine and some post-workout Gatorade and you’ve negated the spin class.

Goal for the week:

Stop drinking your calories!  I mean it.  It adds up to pounds.  For the next two weeks, stop the lattes and the nightly glass of wine and see what happens on the scale.  Bonus:  You’ll probably sleep better, too!

SPIRIT

Have you ever heard the song “Kokomo” by the Beach Boys while waiting at the dentist?  Why does that song always make me settle down, smile and think about a cute boy behind a bar serving up a Pina Colada?  WAIT…I just stopped thinking about the dentist!!!!!  Coincidence?  NOT!

Goal for the week:

Discover some new music!  Turn it UP!  Let the music shift your mood.  Where am I finding my new beats these days?  I like Spotify for following playlists of random strangers, DJs and fitness studios.  I listen to BPM on Sirius radio and I have the Shazam app on my cell so that I can tag songs that I like.  Where do you find your music?  (I want to know what your latest fave is!  Tweet me @SmartyCassie)

BODY

Confession Time (again):  I’m a Sun Goddess.  That’s the glamorous way of saying “I like to be tan”.  I know we talked about sunscreen and I DO use it.  But I didn’t always and I still go in the sun.  I’ve had my skin checked and so far, so good.  Dear Reader, I have to tell you, I’m not as young as I look.  I can only imagine what my skin would look like if I didn’t workout and eat well.  Because I’ve spent a lifetime in the sun and it’s starting to show!  I’ve got white “freckles” on my legs.  I’ve got a few “dark spots” on my face and new, this year….some wrinkles on my NECK!!!  WTF!  When did this happen?  Sometime between Fall 2013 and last month.  Did I forget to put sunscreen on my neck?  I always put it on my chest!!!

Goal for the week:

Think about the little places on your body that you may forget to put sunscreen on.  Make sure you are covering your neck, your ears, your scalp, the back of your neck (where your bikini ties around your neck), your hands, the backs of your knees and the tops of your feet.  Besides skin cancer, the aging that occurs on many of these areas is dramatic in people who have neglected them in the sun.  Pick up a hat like that pretty lady above and that will help, too!