5 Tips To Make Meal Planning For A Family Easier

By: Ashley M., MetPro Client

I’m pretty sure we are the worst family to invite over for dinner. Between the 4 of us, we each have different dietary needs and preferences and while ours might be considered “extreme”, I am sure we are not alone.

It goes something like this:

Me: Pescatarian, following a strict MetPro meal plan
Husband: Will eat anything I cook as long as it doesn’t have cheese
Daughter: Typical child who prefers anything that includes bread and cheese
Son: Gluten, dairy, corn & soy-free

I feel very strongly about making sure my kids learn how to eat healthily and know the foods they put into their bodies have the ability to make them feel good or bad. Overall, we try to stay away from processed foods and stick to a whole foods diet, which is why MetPro is the perfect balance for our family.

Over the years I have come up with a few different ways to meal plan and make my life easier:

1. Don’t Make Meals, Piece Together Side Dishes

You will be cooking a bunch of different types of “meals”, but you will be able to mix and match depending on everyone's food preference. This is great for MetPro because you can assemble your meals when you are ready to eat and make sure that your macros match your current phase.

Here are some tricks I implement:

• Make a big batch of meat (and/or lentils, and beans) for a few nights worth of protein

• Make smaller batches of meal carbs such as rice, noodles, sweet potatoes. Cook pre-prepped fresh veggies every night (having chopped or sliced veggies on hand already for meals is a great meal-prep hack!)

• Add fruit for the kiddos

2. Always Do Taco Tuesday

Did you know Taco Night is MetPro-Approved? As long as you have the staple ingredients for tacos, you can make them differently depending on everyone's needs. You are able to switch things up and make street tacos, taco salad, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and stuffed bell peppers.

I guess this is more of a “Mexican Food Tuesday” plan now, but most of the time you can interchange the ingredients accordingly, without much effort which is a big win!

3. Breakfast For Dinner

When I’m having a hard time coming up with something to eat for everyone in my family, breakfast for dinner is always the easiest thing. I typically have all of the items I need on hand and I can bust out dinner quickly. Usually, breakfast for dinner is a huge hit for the kiddos!

• I’ll make french toast, pancakes or waffles for the kids

• Sausage or bacon for the meat-eaters

• Egg scrambles or omelets for those on MetPro. These are easily customizable by adding in veggies, protein and fats as it relates to your meal phase. The kids might eat scrambled eggs but typically with nothing in them.

4. Don’t Complicate It

Try to find something that works for you and your family. I know it can be especially difficult to have a consistent routine while being on MetPro because your meal plan is constantly changing, so it’s hard to plan WAY ahead of time. What I found that works for me, is sticking to themes on specific days of the week so I always know what’s for dinner:

• Monday: Meatless Monday

• Tuesday: Tacos / Mexican Food

• Wednesday: Meat, Carb, Veggies

• Thursday: Breakfast

• Friday: Meat, Carb, Veggies

• Saturday: Leftovers

• Sunday: Meat, Carb, Veggies

5. Make Extras So You Have Leftovers

We all know that staying on your plan is super important. I don’t know about you but I always feel like I can stay consistent with my MetPro breakfast and snacks but lunch and dinner are harder for me. When making dinner opt to make extra!

If your dinner recipe calls for chicken, throw in a couple of extra chicken breasts and incorporate them into your meal prep for the week. If you are making a recipe for two, double the recipe and there's lunch for the next 2 days. Cooking meals or sides in bulk and having a variety of different foods to choose from in your fridge or pantry should help you whip up a MetPro-Approved meal for your current phase in no time.

Other tricks that have helped me:

• Always have canned beans and canned or frozen vegetables on hand just for those moments when you need to add macros.

• Prepare items by macro or bulk cook your favorite protein and meal carb, split the appropriate amounts into different meals, and then add your veggies and fats as you go.

 
From one MetPro Mom to another, I hope these tips and tricks help you feel more confident planning and creating meals for you and your family!

8 MetPro Approved Creative Sources of Protein

Are you tired of eating the same sources of protein day in and day out? You’re not alone. Whether you're tired of boiled chicken or looking for more meatless ways to get your protein, we have come up with 8 different options that can improve your protein variety!

Chickpeas
1/3 cup = 0.5 protein (MetPro breakdown: + 1 meal carb)
Saying we love chickpeas would be an understatement! We usually enjoy adding them to salads or any time we make pasta. They are also delicious roasted and seasoned, making them a tasty snack or added on top of a salad–instead of a crouton.

Try these MetPro approved chickpea recipes:
Grilled Zucchini Chickpea Tacos
3 Bean Veggie Chili
Chickpea Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

Black Beans
1/3 cup = 0.5 protein (MetPro breakdown: + 1 meal carb)
Black beans are a great option to incorporate within your “Taco Tuesday”, soups, stuffed into bell peppers, or even included within a cold salad.

Try these MetPro approved black bean recipes:
Quinoa Black Bean Tacos
Black Bean Chili
Black Bean Taco Stuffed Spaghetti Squash

Lentils
1/3 cup = 0.5 protein (+ 1 meal carb)
We always keep cooked lentils on hand and enjoy cooking them with salted water but you could also cook them with vegetable broth to add additional flavors. Nothing is more boring than lentils and broccoli when you are on a low phase, so try making a soup or adding lentils to a salad to get some variety!

Try this MetPro approved lentil recipe:
Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Peas
2/3 cup = 0.5 protein (+ 1 meal carb)
Peas are one of those vegetables we can eat a bunch of without getting tired of them. They are little but pack a great nutritional punch! These are great to eat when you are on a higher phase because they are not as filling as something like broccoli.

Try this MetPro approved pea recipe:
Meatless Split Pea Soup

Tofu
5 oz = 1 protein (+ 0.5 fat)
Often times many people have a hard time with the consistency of Tofu, but we think you can use this to your advantage! Some of our favorite ways to incorporate Tofu are baking it, roasting it with a variety of vegetables, or throwing it into a stir fry. Don’t’ be afraid to add a variety of seasonings to Tofu, it’s a blank slate and can take shape of whatever you're craving!

Try this MetPro approved tofu recipe:
Tofu Spinach Breakfast Scramble

Greek Yogurt
5 oz= 1 protein (+ 0.5 meal carb)
For our breakfast parfaits, a trick we like to share is to line up multiple mason jars and then fill them up with greek yogurt and different fruits in each jar so you have different flavors every morning. Sprinkle in some flavorless protein powder or peanut butter (if you need extra macros). Next, take the immersion blender and mix everything up. It makes the yogurt sweeter because all of the fruits get mixed together! If you like a chunkier yogurt, just set a little fruit aside and add it when you are ready to eat.

Cottage Cheese
1/2 cup = 1 protein
When we don’t get enough protein in our macros, we often turn to cottage cheese. Usually, we’re only off ½ protein, so ¼ of a cup is a really small serving. Try simply grabbing a measuring cup and eat it in the kitchen (not really with a meal) but there is no shame in grabbing a quick low-maintenance snack! Cottage cheese and avocado on top of toast almost makes for a delicious breakfast or lunch.

Try these MetPro approved cottage cheese recipes:
Cottage Cheese Avocado Toast
Spinach and Cottage Cheese Frittata

Egg Whites
4 = 1 protein
Eggs are not just for breakfast. When we feel like we’re having a hard time coming up with something to eat mid-week, breakfast for dinner is always a huge hit! Try gathering your favorite veggies and build-your-own egg scrambles or omelets.

Try these MetPro approved egg white recipes:
Egg White Muffins
Avocado and Egg Toast

Next time you’re tired of the same old meal or looking for ways to get your protein outside of eating meat, we hope you will find this list of protein options helpful.

Mindful Strategies for Managing Stress

Living a healthy lifestyle isn't just about what you put in your body or how much you work out, it's also about how well you take care of yourself daily and manage your stress. Here's a list of helpful strategies and techniques you can use to manage your stress levels or ways you can implement more self-care into your daily life:

Breathe

Give yourself permission every day to do nothing but sit down and breathe. Try to do this a few times a day if possible. It could be a moment to yourself before your day starts or in the middle the day when you begin to feel overwhelmed or anxious. Pause, and focus on your breathing for just 5 minutes and feel the stress melt away.

Take Physical Breaks

Taking a short break and moving is a great way to ease moments of stress. Take 10 minutes and get up and walk. You can enjoy this time to walk around the block, go out to your patio area or backyard, or even just getting up and taking a lap around the house is helpful. The purpose here is to keep your body moving, taking small moments to disconnect from things that might be putting pressure on you.

Create a Routine

Identify a few things that you enjoy and make an effort to do them daily. This could be a morning routine of stretching and journaling, meditation in the afternoon, or a nighttime routine that includes limiting screen time 1-2 hours before going to sleep, reading a book instead of watching the news or setting a 9 pm bedtime. Whatever it is, put in place some healthy habits that you can commit to daily and practice them.

Pencil it In

Getting in the habit of creating calendar appointments for things that fill your life can help you move forward toward a goal, or even instill purpose within your week. Put calendar appointments into your phone for workouts and meal prep, plan a FaceTime with a family member or a virtual game night with friends.

Journal

Journaling can be a therapeutic way to unload any fears, anxieties, or built-up stress. If you’re new to integrating journaling into your life, start by writing 10 things you're grateful for. This doesn't have to be a long list or overly complicated. The list could include anything such as your health, family, job, clean air, running water, access to food – anything you appreciate. Come back daily to your list and reread what you wrote, or carve out some additional time to build upon it.

How to Lose Those Last 10 Pounds

When you're motivated and striving to achieve your health goals, nothing can be more frustrating than plateauing. Your metabolism’s job is to keep you “stable.” This is one reason why the last ten pounds can be so stubborn.

One of the most common phrases we hear is, “shouldn’t I be losing faster” or “Shouldn't I be seeing this result or that result.” The reality is that the concept of what “should” or “shouldn’t” happen is based on the misconception that all metabolic rates are equal.

They are not.

The key to weight loss is reviewing your habits, and more so analytics, and building the best possible strategy based on however your body is responding today.

It’s easy to get hyper-focused on day-to-day weight but what we are actually looking for are trends over time. As you transform into a more athletic version of yourself (and yes that’s the goal even if you don’t consider yourself an athlete), there are four things you should be watching for:

Energy and Performance Your energy may not be quite as high while on a fat-burning cycle as it might be when you are consuming more food, however, if energy is too low your metabolic rate will follow and you won’t have the energy for exercise. This is the first analytic to watch. If you think this pattern is developing, consider adding extra snacks between your meals to fuel your exercise.

Body Composition If you have access to a professional method of tracking your body fat, it’s a great tool. Many body types respond with a dramatic shift in body composition. This can happen independently from what’s seen on the scale – especially with consistent exercise. Try logging your composition by taking updated photos, monitoring how your clothes fit, tracking body fat percentage, and/or simply using the mirror.

Weight The number on the scale is not always your first indicator of progress or problems. That being said, at MetPro, we look at trends in your weight to determine when it’s time to adjust cycles. Within each cycle, MetPro will make smaller tweaks and adjustments to your meal plan based on how you’re responding.

Now that you know what trends to look for, ask yourself if you’ve noticed improved body composition, looser fitting clothes, or weight loss (even if gradual) in the last 30 days?

If so, you’re on the right track. If not, you may need to make some adjustments.
Here are a few tips if you’re looking for a good place to start:

1. Is there room to decrease sugar or alcohol in your diet?

2. Can you replace some starches with protein and veggies during the back half of your day?

3. Can you eat more often without increasing calories (i.e small snacks)?

4. Are there hidden sources of fat or sugar you might not be noticing from sauces, dressings, and beverages?

5. Are you able to prepare and pack healthy snacks in advance?

At MetPro our experts use baseline testing to assign meal plans that measure metabolic response, but food journaling is a great place to start to learn where your calories, carbs, and nutrients are coming from. Tracking trends along with your macronutrients can help you identify new strategies or opportunities where you may have the most leverage toward achieving your weight loss goals.

6 MetPro Approved Meal Prep Hacks

By: MetPro Coaches

Meal prep gets a bad rep for being a very time-consuming chore and can often intimidate people. At MetPro, we believe it's one of the best skills you can adopt into your daily or weekly routine. It’s, in fact, a skill – the more you practice it, the better and quicker you get. Over the years, we’ve adopted a few tips and tricks that have helped us and our clients master the art of meal prepping. Here are some of our favorites:

1.) Prep by Macro, Not by Meal

Prepping by macro is a sure way to stick to your meal plan. If you plan by meal, it is a lot harder to split your food into the appropriate and accurate macros once all of your ingredients are mixed together. We recommend bulk cooking your favorite protein and meal carb, split the appropriate amounts into different meals, and then add your veggies and fats as you go.

2.) Keep It Simple

While the stuffed bell peppers might look great… keep your meals simple until you feel more comfortable meal prepping. Start out by planning meals by macro and then as you begin to understand your phase or meal plan better, you can get more creative with your food. Head over to our recipes page where we have broken down the MetPro servings and macros, once you get more adventurous, branch out and find new recipes that you can spin into MetPro approved meals!

3.) Make Extra

If you cook by meal, it’s just as easy to cook 4 meals as it is one. When making dinner opt to make extra! If your dinner recipe calls for chicken, throw in a couple of extra chicken breasts and incorporate them into your meal prep for the week. If you are making a recipe for two, double the recipe and there's lunch for the next 2 days.

4.) Use That Freezer!

We love to make items, such as Coach Dallas’ Turkey Burger Meatballs, in bulk and freeze them. They are delicious and are ready to eat after just 3 minutes in the microwave. The same can be done with a lot of recipes. If you find a recipe that you love and can easily make it in bulk, go ahead and make enough to store in the freezer. This way, when you’re having one of those busy weeks, you always have a plan B!

5.) Prep Those Veggies

Prep your veggies to make your meals easier to throw together. Have veggies washed, chopped/sliced/diced, and ready to throw into cooking, prepped meals, and to have as snacks. You're more likely to use them if they're already prepped and ready! Great examples include: chop or dice your onions and peppers to add to meals and slice up cucumbers or celery to have on hand for free food snacking.

6.) Experiment

When possible, experiment with different vegetables, spices, and new recipes. Find ways to make them easy and fast, but delicious! There’s nothing wrong with eating broccoli, brown rice and chicken every night, but for the times when you find yourself getting burnt out, think outside the box and try something new! You're more likely to stick to your meal plan, and more importantly, enjoy the meals you've made when you are looking forward to them. Head to our recipes page if you are in need of some new flavor!

It’s like the old saying goes, “fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” Meal prepping can be stressful at first, but the more you do it, the simpler it will get. Not to mention, it makes sticking to your meal plan a lot easier! With these 6 tips, we hope you learned a few new tricks to add to your meal-prepping process.

Is a Ketogenic Diet Good for Weight Loss?

We get this question a lot. The best first step is to gain a good understanding of your individual metabolism and the theories behind popular dieting methods.

Let's talk about what category Ketogenic diets fall into. There are diets that focus on calorie restriction and diets that focus on carbohydrate restriction. Keto is a tool in the carbohydrate restriction category.

Is the Keto diet good for weight loss?

The truth is, your past dieting history and your personal circumstances influence how your body will respond to keto and other weight-loss strategies. Some people respond better to carb control than others. Most people notice their body doesn’t respond the same way the second or third time on a low carb diet.

Keto works by nudging your body to burn more fats for fuel instead of it’s preferred source of carbs and sugar. The higher fat content is satiating (filling), and can help some with sugar cravings. If you struggle with sugar cravings, you might find some value with a dieting method that focuses on carb control. The problem we find with this tool is that people don’t understand that they’re signing up for a lot of other things too, when starting a low carb diet.

One thing, in particular, you are signing up for is carb sensitivity. When your body goes too long without having that macronutrient it becomes sensitive to it. A night of indulgence can result in surprising weight gain if you don’t understand how carb restriction works. We see this phenomenon leading people into cycles of yo-yo dieting and rebound weight gain.

Keto usually isn’t the best choice for inconsistent dieters. You’ll get the carb sensitivity without all the benefits. If you’ve already gone low carb, be sure to include a reintegration period to gradually introduce carbs back into your diet. This helps your body to ease out of carbohydrate sensitivity.

Does that mean low carb dieting is a bad tool?

No, low carb dieting is not a bad tool. At MetPro, we use carb restriction when we analyze your data and identify that it will produce the right kind of leverage. Your goals and lifestyle must be considered when selecting which diet approach is best for you in your personal season of life. We never pick just one tool or the same tool for each person, and rather than making broad recommendations, we identify the strategy that’s going to work best for you. If carb control is identified, there will always be a game plan and time frame for what comes next. Having insight into your current metabolic rate and pairing that information with your goals lets us identify the areas where you personally have the most leverage. If you'd like to dive into this further and learn more about your metabolism, we’re here to help.

Our final thoughts on low carb dieting are, it’s a great tool with a lot of science behind it. However, to use it properly you must understand the biology of how it works, what you are signing up for, and if applying it -- use it as a tool that’s part of a broader strategy.

Bob's Transformation Story

"This is the best fitness and nutrition program I've ever tried, and I've tried them all. I started in March of 2019 and I've lost close to 70 pounds so far. Better than the result is the team at Whole Body Fitness. They've taught me what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat it – the trainers are awesome. If you've spent a lifetime trying to control your weight and get fit, you can stop looking for a solution." – Bob L.

3 Steps to Selecting the Right Fitness Plan

So, you want to get in shape? We see it all the time – gym bag in hand, playlists fully loaded, and a workout that looks like something you’d expect if Richard Simmons and Hulk Hogan got together to teach a yoga class.

You have guts, determination, and the Rocky theme in your head. The only thing missing: a fitness plan. Before stepping foot on the treadmill, let’s talk about three things you need to do to get results:

1. Know your body type
2. Evaluate your nutrition
3. Set a goal

Step 1: Know Your Body Type.

Knowing your body type will allow you to address the specific obstacles you’ll face while working to reach your fitness goals. Once you know your body type, you can structure your nutrition and exercise to best suit your needs.

There are generally three basic human body types:
Ectomorph: Are you small-framed with longer arms and legs, prone to accumulating fat in your mid-section, but not your legs? Can you wrap your thumb and middle finger around your wrist and easily touch your fingertips together, even overlap? You’re an ectomorph. You may be lower in body fat but struggling to gain muscle. Most ectomorphs will need more calories to make substantial muscle gains. Generally, in this order, assure that you are getting adequate (and possibly a bit more) protein. Then, begin liberally adding complex carbohydrates and a little healthy fat. If you still are not seeing gains or if you’re too full to consume more carbohydrates, try adding more good fats. If you’ve identified yourself as an ectomorph, but still have weight to lose, consider incorporating resistance training into your fitness regimen to help you maintain lean mass while you thin out.

Mesomorph: Did you have an athletic build in high school? Not too skinny or stocky, you know, the Goldilocks zone, just right? You set some athletic records in high school and still think of yourself as an athlete, even though you’ve gotten a little soft around the middle? Probably a mesomorph. Our advice? Change it up. Do you want to build muscle? Fine, do it for a while, then switch it up. Get your body used to extra calories and carbs for recovery, then scale back and watch the body fat melt off. If you want to do it in reverse, cut back on your calories or carbs until you stop seeing changes in your body, and then gradually increase both food intake and training intensity. You’ll pack on some new muscle.

Endomorph: Were you were bigger and stronger than most the kids in grade school, but running was never your thing? By high school, you already began equating the word “metabolism” with various profanities. You, my friend, are an Endomorph. Gains in the weight room come easy, but so do gains around your waistline. You have a solid muscular foundation. If weight loss is your goal, you’ll likely have to be more diligent about monitoring your intake than the other body types by eating fewer calories and carbs than someone of similar height and weight. Be consistent and include plenty of aerobics in your day-to-day activities, like walking, climbing stairs, and hiking.

Step 2: Evaluate Your Diet.

Start by keeping a detailed food log for three days. If you bite it, you write it. Food logging alone can go a long way toward rooting out poor nutritional habits. Ultimately, the best way to predict what nutritional approach will work for you is to evaluate your current eating habits. If you aren’t particularly savvy about nutrition, use an online calculator (such as FitDay or Calorie King). Take special note of your approximate calories and carbohydrates and view them as dials you can use to rev your metabolism up or scale your intake back. Small increases to your intake can help when trying to build muscle, while calculated restriction results in shedding unwanted body fat. Nutrition is at least 75 percent of the battle, and you can’t out-train a poor diet.

Step 3: Set a Goal.

It needs to be a real goal. Something you can measure and stay committed to. Just saying you want to “get fit” or “tone up” doesn’t commit you to anything specific and leaves the door open to bowing out before you see measurable results. Be specific. If your primary goal is weight loss, then choose an additional performance-based goal that supports your goal of weight loss. Running a 5k or signing up for a triathlon are both great examples of performance-based goals that will also help you drop pounds. Bumping up your bench press or doing more pull-ups is a great choice for someone trying to build muscle. Don’t make the mistake of failing to select a performance goal. By itself, the scale can be deceptive, unable to discern composition improvements and additional muscle. However, making progress toward a carefully-selected, performance-based goal will be empowering and motivational.

Putting it Together

Now, we’re ready to head out and create the new you, this time with goals clearly laid out, body type well understood, and nutrition to back you up! With the demands of daily life already vying for space in our busy schedules, having the right fitness plan is worth the due diligence.

The End of Fitness Plateaus!

We’ve seen a lot of trends come and go. Superslow training. Balance training. Step aerobics. Tae Bo. P90X. Spinning. Rowing. Nordic-tracking. The list goes on and on.

Ever notice, though, that these trends typically have about an eight-week shelf life?

Sure, you may see them straggling along past the eight-week mark. But how long does your average person do Pilates, or HIIT, or P90X?

The answer? Eight weeks. For eight weeks that's all they'll talk about: the new HIIT class. The new piece of exercise equipment they got for their garage that solves everything for them. You'll probably even notice them getting slimmer or muscling up a bit. But soon enough, the talk will end. The membership will expire. The equipment will start to gather dust.

How soon? Eight weeks. You can set your watch by it.

Funny thing: Eight weeks is ALSO about how long people continue to see results from ANY exercise program. Even the spiffiest, coolest, most bang-zoom-wow program you can imagine, promoted by the slimmest, most six-packed stud or studette in the world. That's about how long a body can adapt to a new stimulus before you need to shake it up with something new. We've seen this happen over and over with our clients.

So every eight weeks, we shake things up. Radically.

You should too.

If you go to the gym, you've probably seen this trend at work: the guy or girl who slavishly does the same workout for years. You may have even thought to yourself, “Wow, wasn't that guy curling or benching or squatting that same weight two years ago?” Poor guy, you think, spinning his wheels, going nowhere, hoping that the honeymoon phase when he was making real progress will magically come back again.

And then you realize you've been doing the same thing.

But rather falling into the fitness doldrums (and getting bored, and probably taking an extended break from training) you can use this one little tidbit of fitness trivia to help you stay on a constant upward-spiral of improvement.

The solution: Every eight weeks, choose a new goal: Lose 10 pounds. Gain five pounds of muscle. Lift a Volkswagen. Run a marathon. Or just keep up with your kids. You want to make it YOUR goal, not the goal of the exercise addict next door or the infomercial yelling at you from your blurry TV screen. Make it a goal that speaks to YOU, something tangible and attainable that you're passionate about.

If you have a longer-term goal -- say, lose 50 pounds or add 100 more pounds to your bench press -- break it down and attack it in eight-week chunks: Focus on building a cardiovascular base for eight weeks, then work on sprinting. Work with low reps on your strength training, then higher reps.

Maybe you need a coach to help you. Or a decent exercise manual (the book that Andrew recently co-authored, The Exercise Cure, has just such a program!). Or a knowledgeable training partner. Any way you slice it, do it, and do it hard.

For eight weeks.

This article originally posted on The Huffington Post. Written by Angelo Poli and Co-authored by Andrew Heffernan, co-author of The Exercise Cure (Rodale, 2013)

The Dirty Secret Behind Goal Setting

By: Angelo Poli, Founder of MetPro and Whole Body Fitness

Goals are fine and dandy. I’ve been drilling them into my clients for decades. To be honest I’ve pretty much mastered the bait and switch goal setting scene. Get just a little faster, jump just a little higher, and drop those last five pounds! Yay, you did it! The confetti hasn’t even hit the floor and I’m already plotting your next goal.

Why? The answer is simple. In our goal-oriented society, humans are never quite content. We use goal setting as a means to achieve something that we believe will make us happy. One after one, we set a goal, accomplish it and move on to the next. Nothing motivates us more than measurable progress, and goals are great for that. The reason being is that we focus on the objective we’re trying to achieve. Want to lose 20 lbs? Here’s you then… and bam! Here’s you now! Want a promotion? Land bigger clients, work longer hours and boom! Get that raise!

In theory, goal setting is not bad. Setting an objective and working toward personal or professional growth is powerful. The problem with goal setting is the manner in which it is executed.

The Problem With Goal Setting

The problem: goals have a secret flaw. After we set a goal and achieve it, reward centers are triggered in the brain causing us to feel moments of happiness and success. But how long does it last?

By themselves, goals have no staying power. They shift our focus from the process to the outcome. In fact, we use them to create artificial motivation to do things that would otherwise make us cringe. Go run that marathon! Give up sugar! Complement your mother-in-law’s cooking! Ok, maybe I’m mixing up a goal with a dare but here’s the point – we use goals like kindling is used to start a fire. Unless we actually change how we act and think, they’re just a ploy to ignite something inside of us.

We all know that one person in our life, who wakes you up in 30-degree weather and says, “Let’s go for a run! And then we can start that bathroom remodel we’ve been talking about.” What do you think is driving their motivation? Well, you probably guessed it. There are no goals involved and no one’s lost a bet. Their motivation is driven by their real-life values. Their values act as the underlying principles for the choices they make, how they behave and how they want to live.

You can’t control everything life throws at you. Life will pitch you curve balls and try to throw you off course. Without a strong foundation rooted in values, those curve balls will wreck your goals, guaranteed.

Goals vs. Values

What you can control are the values you live by. Despite life’s ups and downs, they are a part of who you are. Your behaviors and outcomes are shaped and molded by the values you adopt. Values are a result of your behavior, whereas goals are stepping-stones to bigger and better life-values.

One of the most iconic examples of goals versus values is “getting in shape” for your wedding. Many people reach their goal and feel great for their wedding day, but what happens after the honeymoon is over? They fall back into previous habits (and shape) unless they changed their values too.

My friends are always asking me what I think of their diet and what they can do to be healthier. The truth is, I really don’t care what they ate for lunch. What I do care about is if they’ve adopted a value set surrounding good nutrition. If eating kale every day for thirty days is a goal that helps them become healthier, then I’m all for it. If they still hate kale a month from now, they might want to rethink their strategy.

How Can We Set Effective Goals?

Goals are an important part of measuring progress, but goals will come and go. Values dictate your long-term beliefs and actions. If there’s an area of your life you want to improve, don’t pick a goal – go bigger. Adopt a personal value you consider worthy and use goals as mile markers along your way to owning a broader value.

The Only Strength Exercises You'll Ever Need

This article originally posted on The Huffington Post. Written by Angelo Poli and Co-authored by Andrew Heffernan, co-author of The Exercise Cure (Rodale, 2013)

Big box gyms pride themselves on having lots of equipment -- specifically, vaguely medieval-looking contraptions you strap yourself into and lift stacks of weighted bricks by pushing, pulling, squeezing, extending or flexing various parts of yourself against a platform or a lever arm.

For a newcomer to the gym, though, all that machinery can be awfully confusing. Do I get on the machine where I sit and push the pads outwards with my knees -- or the one where I push them inward? Or both? And then what do I do? A person could waste a lot of time wondering such things.

The machine/free weight debate is something I'll take up in another blog post -- though I will say here that the people who modeled for all the classical statues many consider the standard for physical beauty never met a Butt-Blaster. Here instead I want to boil down strength training into five simple types of exercise you should be doing in the gym.

Here they are: plank, pull, squat, push, lunge. Do those five moves and you can go home knowing you've worked your entire body effectively -- no innie-outie machine required.

Taking those things in the order you should do them in the gym:

• A plank is a ramrod straight top-of-a-pushup position, usually done on your elbows and held for time. Think you're straight enough? Get in front of a mirror and you'll see your hips are too high. Now squeeze your belly and hold it. 30 seconds too easy? Try it with one leg lifted. Still easy? Lift the opposite arm as well. If that's easy, it may not be too late for the 2016 Olympic trials. I'll be rooting for you.

• A pull is a move where you take hold of something and pull it towards your chest or abdomen: a row. A pulldown. A pull-up or chin-up. Often neglected, these moves -- especially row variations -- are a major key to improving posture and keeping your shoulders healthy. Do them.

• A squat is a squat is a squat. Gym class-style, bodyweight only, is fine, just make sure you drop down to a point where the tops of your thighs are parallel with the floor. Do it holding two dumbbells. Do it with a jump at the top. Then with a barbell on your shoulders, in front or behind your head. Good form is imperative. Get some coaching on this one from that bored-looking trainer wandering the floor. Seriously, that guy needs something to do.

• A push is anything where you... wait for it... push something away from you. (I hope you're taking notes.) Two dumbbells overhead. One barbell while lying on your back -- aka the ever-ego-boosting bench press. Yourself, off the floor, with your body straight (as in a pushup!). If you're really diesel, try the handstand pushup.

• A lunge is a lot like a squat, only your feet are in a staggered position, one in front of the other. Do them walking, or with your feet planted, or holding light dumbbells, or your grandchild on your shoulders. Don't let you front knee buckle inward. Keep your form tight, like a Renaissance courtier bowing to royalty.

Those five moves will do it for you. Pretty soon you'll be able to stroll confidently past all those machines at the gym knowing that all of them are just variations on those five simple moves you've now mastered. See something that isn't? You probably don't need it. Good luck!

MetPro Coaches Share 5 Strategies to Living a Healthier Lifestyle

Achieving a balanced and healthy lifestyle starts with having a plan in place. Without a plan of intent, implementation of healthy habits will be difficult to achieve. Here are 5 tried-and-true strategies for maintaining a healthy lifestyle from world-class MetPro coaches who’ve seen it all:

1. Carry a Go-Bag
Even with good planning, life is unpredictable. It’s foolish to assume that your diet will be any different. Best intentions give way to the whims of the moment when you leave the house unprepared. Health coaches who work with high-profile individuals, professional athletes and those with demanding schedules will tell you – stop leaving it to chance!

We all know how important preparation is, but how do you prepare for the unexpected? Here’s the trick: carry a go-bag with low perishable items.

This go-bag is designed to be discreet, portable, and long-lasting. Think of foods that aren’t messy and can survive in your car overnight. Again, low perishable is key. Cottage cheese and berries won’t work. Choose items like nuts, jerky, rice cakes, dried fruit (such as raisins), and peanut butter packets. Remember this isn’t your day-to-day diet. This is so you don’t get stuck with hot dogs and cotton candy at the amusement park.

2. Use Snacks to Manage Carbohydrates
No, this isn’t another bit on how protein cuts down carb cravings. Top coaches often recommend carbs with snacks – but not for the reasons you think…

We love snack-time carbs because we can control them. Snacks aren’t consumed socially. Co-workers, friends, and family dominate your lunches and dinners. This makes carb selection difficult for a variety of reasons, especially when consuming meals socially. Instead of banking on restaurants having sweet potato or quinoa, include specific “ideal” carbs with your snacks. These snacks could include applesauce, berries or other fruits such as peaches and oranges.

A meal of mostly protein and veggies is usually accessible (and more realistic) if you’ve been eating good snacks and the right carbs throughout the day.

3. Eat First, Eat Twice
Find yourself overindulging at dinner parties or events? Pro solution: eat first, eat twice.

Most people think they’ll offset an evening of indulgence by eating less during the day. Most people are wrong. Each circumstance is different, but most of our coaches find that insisting on a “light but relevant” meal prior to a decadent evening prevents snowballing. Eating “dinner twice” does less damage than the extra calories consumed in a frenzy to manage low blood sugar and a raging appetite.

Try having a small meal that’s high in fiber-rich foods (such as veggies) combined with a little protein and carbs an hour or two before heading out. You may be pleased with the extra willpower you show up with.

4. Grocery Stores, Not Fast Food Chains
Need something quick? The Deli Department is the new fast food. Long gone are the days of housing only sliced meat and cheese. More and more grocery stores are expanding their Deli Department to include prepared, healthy food options like grilled salmon, steamed vegetables, brown rice, and both salad bars and hot bars. The variety of fresh grab-and-go foods available in these departments provide you with healthy choices sans artificial flavors, colors, sweeteners or preservatives. This means the food is fresh, rather than forcing you to succumb to the limitations of fast food chains.

Whether you’re a frequent traveler, a busy work schedule with limited time, or a novice cooker, the Deli Department will become your secret weapon when you’re in need of a quick and healthy meal.

5. Anchor Your Exercise
That doesn’t mean stop moving! Experts are finding creative workarounds for people who don’t fit the classic nine-to-five schedule. It’s all about anchoring your exercise to fixed elements in your schedule. Exercising first thing in the morning is popular because nothing is more consistent to anchor to than waking up. Getting it done first thing is always a plus, but if that doesn’t pan out, don’t allow your exercise to become negotiable. Plan ahead. Think about the time of the day you pick up your kids from school. Or what about the gym you pass on your way home from work. Comb through your schedule for any standing appointments you know you won’t miss, and “anchor” to them!

A healthy and balanced lifestyle looks different for everyone. The best first step is to consciously think about your lifestyle, health goals, and the strategies that you can implement on a daily basis. Even when you experience unplanned changes in life, keeping these 5 strategies front of mind will help you transform healthy habits into lifelong behaviors. Living a balanced and healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated, you just need the right tools to help you along the way.

Ian's Whole Body Fitness Transformation

Ian first joined Whole Body Fitness in 2015 with a goal to lose weight. He started at 200 lbs and over the course of about a year, he was able to drop down to 175 lbs. After his transformation, Ian stuck to his workout routine but stopped following his MetPro plan and slowly gained the weight back.

In February of 2018, Ian started training with Joel again and Crystal got him back on a MetPro nutrition plan that he could sustain. He started at 202 lbs and within 14 months Ian lost 30 lbs! Reaching his goal weight of 170 lbs. This time with his MetPro nutrition plan, Crystal took Ian through many up and down adjustments while always making sure his workouts matched based on which phase he was on. Whether he was focusing on more cardio or strength training, Ian learned the importance of having your workouts and nutrition work together in a cohesive strategy. The way Whole Body Fitness and MetPro match his workouts to his meal plan keeps him on track and feeling healthy and full of energy. As a result, he has gained more muscle mass and definition than his first experience.

Ian believes that maintaining his weight is much more manageable. His WBF team is consistently motivating him to stay the course, and push him to get to that next level. Ian feels so much better and even if he deviates from his plan, he now has the MetPro app in hand to help him get back on track. Ian attributes his success to the knowledge he has gained from his MetPro coach and WBF trainer.

Jose Bravo's Whole Body Fitness Transformation

When it comes to making healthy life choices, starting can be the hardest part. Sometimes all we need is a push in the right direction. When Jose Bravo’s doctor informed him that he either needed to start medication or change his diet to keep his blood pressure under control, the father of three received the wake-up call he needed. 

Jose promptly joined Whole Body Fitness in Chico and refused to let excuses stand in his way. Working around a demanding job (with little physical activity), and countless household duties, Jose stayed committed to the training center’s program and has the numbers to prove it. After three months with the program, he has dropped 35 pounds and lowered his blood pressure significantly. “It’s eye-opening to start something and see how it really does change your life,” says Jose. And now that he’s started, he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

“It’s eye-opening to start something and see how it really does change your life”

— Jose Bravo

While the journey hasn’t always been easy, Jose notes that more than just physical progress keeps him going—healthy eating benefits his day-to-day life in many other ways he hadn’t anticipated. Not only does he look good, but he feels good. “I was always a coffee drinker,” he explains, “but once things started to change in my body…I didn’t need coffee in the morning.” Working out wasn’t new to him, but learning how to improve his diet with proper nutrition made a significant difference. Jose says that he now notices when he eats unhealthy because he feels the negative effect on his body and mind. Even splurging on chocolate birthday cake left him feeling the damage the next day. “At this point, any little change that I choose to make will impact my weight and my whole body,” he adds.

The main obstacle in healthy living is discipline. Luckily, Jose has Kalyn Burnell, his Whole Body nutritionist, to keep him on track. The two meet regularly to discuss Jose’s progress and to make any adjustments to his specialized diet strategy. When they’re not talking in person, they have the ability to communicate through Whole Body’s unique nutrition app. “The app gives clients something very specific to look at, but it gives people options at the same time,” says Kalyn. Jose agrees. He says the app is “phenomenal” and keeps him accountable throughout the day by providing hourly reminders and easy building blocks for each meal—all personalized to his needs. Meanwhile, Kalyn can see Jose’s meals as he tracks them and is available to answer any questions he may have in real time.

Kalyn praises Jose for staying focused on his health even when he’s busy. “His transformation has been really fun to watch,” she says, describing the excitement of watching his numbers drop steadily lower. While Jose attributes some of his success to his support system at home, he also notes the power of making small changes: instead of eating out during meetings, he eats beforehand and orders coffee; instead of beer, he drinks sparkling water. His advice is to “keep it simple.” With an already busy household, too much change isn’t always a good thing. Kalyn has similar advice for anyone interested in changing their lifestyle. If a complete diet overhaul sounds intimidating, she suggests to focus on taking baby steps; look at one meal a day and think about how you might make it more nutritious. “One of the things that people need to understand is that success doesn’t come from what we do occasionally but from what we do consistently,” says Jose. “It’s about our choices on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour basis.” With the support and knowledge from Whole Body Fitness as his guide, those choices become easier every day.

3 Reasons Why You're Not Seeing Results

Do you feel as if you’re doing everything by the book, and yet you just aren’t seeing the results you are working so hard to achieve? The truth is, you’re not alone.

Americans spend more money on diet fads, dieting products, and weight loss surgery than anyone else in the world. We follow inaccurate advice such as carbohydrates are the enemy, or cutting calories is the only way to lose weight. It seems some people have cracked the code to losing weight, while the majority of us continue to play process of elimination while grasping onto anything that will yield results. We’re here to tell you there is no quick fix or one-size-fits-all approach to health and fitness. What we mean is, what will work for you, will not work exactly the same for someone else, and vice versa.

The key to sustainable weight loss is customization—integrating a customized meal plan and exercise routine that fits into your lifestyle and meets the goals you want to accomplish. In the following piece, we will discuss three reasons why the approach to health and fitness you are currently taking may not be yielding sustainable results:

1. You’re Eating Like Everyone Else

Your metabolism is a moving target. You can’t treat it the same way all the time. What works for John won’t necessarily work for Brad, and what worked for Brad last month may not work for him today. This is a HUGE reason most diets fail. So, why should you eat like someone else, and why should you eat the same all the time?

The answer is you shouldn’t—not if you want optimal results. At Whole Body Fitness, we use an integrated nutritional method that finally closes the door on cookie-cutter diets by providing an evaluation-based system for nutrition planning. Through the combination of knowledge from our in-house registered dietitian and our proprietary technology platform, we curate a specific nutrition strategy that fits your lifestyle needs as well as weight loss and health goals. In doing so, we are able to track and analyze your results and adapt your plan so that you are moving forward at all times.

2. Your Workouts Don’t Match Your Diet

The hardest part of selecting a diet and fitness plan is predicting what will work best for your body. Again, no two people are exactly alike (which may help explain why so many different— and sometimes contradictory—diet and fitness systems exist). Knowing your body type will allow you to address the specific obstacles you will face while working to reach your fitness goals. Once you know your body type, you can structure your nutrition and exercise plan to best suit your needs.

Our trainers at Whole Body Fitness have the expertise needed to formulate movements and exercises to match your weight loss goals. From strength building to posture and alignment, our trainers will work with you individually on a variety of movements that will never put you in a position that compromises form or injures your body. We believe implementing a customized approach that takes into account both your nutritional strategy and fitness routine is the only way to lose weight and keep weight off reliably, without experiencing the yo-yo dieting effect.

3. Your Body Has Adapted to Your Environment

At a certain point, your body adapts. This allows you to survive while increasing or decreasing the amount of food you eat. Without managing this response, permanent weight loss is almost impossible. Our registered dietitian and fitness trainers will work with you by providing effective workouts and up-to-the-minute feedback in order to make decisions about your day-to-day food intake and physical activity. We then give you the green light when you’re on the right track, and provide warning signals when your body isn’t responding optimally—all based on an evaluation of your results and no one else’s.

At Whole Body Fitness, we don't limit ourselves to just one approach. Each person responds a little differently. It's those differences we identify and evaluate for you to ensure your program is moving forward at all times.

Rediscovering Health & Happiness at Whole Body Fitness

Tyler Ceccato has lived in Chico his whole life. Similar to many Chicoeans, Tyler and his family always enjoyed being active outdoors. From hiking Upper Bidwell Park, to Stand Up Paddleboarding, to playing competitive sports such as running track, lacrosse, and wrestling, Tyler lived a very active and athletic lifestyle. In 2014, his whole world came crashing down when he was hit by a car while riding his motorcycle. This devastating accident changed Tyler's life forever.

The effects of the accident were nothing short of traumatic. When the paramedics, fire truck, and police arrived on the scene, they believed the high school senior wasn't going to be able to come back from it. After being in a coma for two days, 5 broken ribs, broken clavicle, broken scapula, broken collarbone, and suffering a traumatic brain injury, Tyler had survived.

No one would be able to prepare Tyler for what was in store for him for the next couple of years. From learning how to walk again, to working through a stressful settlement, Tyler was worried he would never enjoy life as he once did.

A Journey to Better Health

After 3 years of rehabilitation, Tyler was ready to take back his life. He had been searching for a way to help him gain back the mobility, muscle, and weight he had lost from the accident.  In January of this year, Tyler gave himself a goal to try Whole Body Fitness for 6 months to see how he could improve his strength.  Starting at 143 pounds, with hopes of being 165 pounds, and still coping with debilitating back pain, Tyler had his work cut out for him.

Once Tyler jumped into Whole Body Fitness, he was all in. He was dedicated to going 5 days a week working with trainers Taylor Catrett and Crystal Palmer, as well as following his customized nutrition plan working with Whole Body's in-house registered dietitian Kalyn Burnell. “Tyler was very consistent from the beginning, he was dedicated and focused on reaching his goal,” says Kalyn.

"I chose to go to Whole Body Fitness because they are educated in knowing the right movements so that you don't injure your body."

In the past, Tyler always tried to eat healthily, but he never focused on the timing of when to eat or what combination of foods would work best for his metabolism and body type. "As a cook, following my nutrition plan was easy. I enjoyed preparing my meals and the accountability their nutrition app provides. It was fun to check off each meal in my app after completion. I felt a sense of accomplishment because I knew my nutrition coach would be looking at them." said Tyler.

Mind Over Matter

Over the course of the first few months, Tyler was consistent but hadn't noticed any major changes in his body – until he took new images. Tyler was blown away by the differences he saw in his posture and muscle development, "I didn't think I had made that much progress, but after taking images it was really encouraging to see that just after only two months." said Tyler.

Although Tyler participates in Whole Body's group classes, he feels that his trainers Crystal and Taylor customize the movements and workouts to accommodate his body and goals. Tyler had a plethora of fitness centers to choose from in Chico when he was considering a new gym to go to, but education and knowledge about strength and conditioning were very important to him, especially since he was still experiencing severe back pain. "I chose to go to Whole Body Fitness because they are educated in knowing the right movements so that you don't injure your body." For Tyler, going to a place like Whole Body was critical for his success not only to surpass his injuries but also to enable him to feel better about himself. "The most important thing for me today is feeling good, and I've definitely accomplished my goal," says Tyler.

With a mental commitment to join Whole Body for 6 months and physical goal to gain more weight, Tyler has exceeded well beyond these objectives. "After experiencing Whole Body, I will never go anywhere else. The staff and trainers make you feel really great about yourself – we're like a family. There are all levels and it comes down to how hard you want to push yourself." says Tyler.

Today Tyler is no longer taking three Aleve to alleviate his back pain, he has gained 25 pounds, and more importantly, he feels the best he has ever left in his entire life.

My Whole Body Fitness Story: Shila Gramps

When Shila Gramps entered Whole Body Fitness eight months ago, she had been dieting most of her life. The mother of three remembers counting calories when she was just eight years old— “I lost weight and gained weight so many times it was ridiculous,” she admits. After years of failed crash diets and self-taught exercises, Shila wanted to get healthy the right way. She joined Whole Body Fitness to learn how to take care of her body through healthy and sustainable practices.

Starting is the Hardest Part

Though she states repeatedly that “starting is the hardest part,” Shila’s progress has required an incredible amount of determination. She attends Whole Body’s group exercise classes up to four times a week while balancing work and her children’s school schedules at the same time. She also meets weekly with Kalyn Burnell, Whole Body’s registered dietitian, to check in on her progress and make adjustments to her diet as needed.

During Shila’s first nutrition consultation, she and Kalyn looked at Shila’s eating and exercise habits and then constructed a diet strategy that fit Shila’s specific dietary needs and goals. “We are in constant communication with our clients to make sure they are feeling well and progressing at the rate they should,” states Kalyn. Whether the client’s goal is weight loss or building muscle, Whole Body’s staff is there to guide them every step of the way. “Shila’s progress has been so fun to see!” exclaims Kalyn. “She has made this a complete lifestyle change and has an amazing transformation.”

Committed to Healthy Living

And Shila agrees. She showed her commitment to healthy living just after joining when she deliberately purchased a three-sizes-too-small bridesmaid’s dress for a friend’s wedding. Though the sales clerk was skeptical and Shila’s young daughter told her it wouldn’t fit, Shila believed in herself. With only three months to change her lifestyle, Shila started to exercise regularly, cooked healthy large-batch meals for her family, and eliminated fast food from her diet. When the wedding came, Shila’s daughter was able to zip her into the bridesmaid dress.

It’s moments like this that demonstrate the importance of leading by example when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle. Since this significant accomplishment, Shila’s daughter joined her mom’s fitness classes and now loves completing the workouts with her mom by her side. Meanwhile, Shila catches her son eyeing her nutritious meals and sneaking green beans off her plate when he thinks she’s not looking.

There is Power is in The Results

Aside from the compliments that often accompany weight loss (which Shila writes down for future motivation—she approximates more than 100 so far), she remarks that her fitness journey has altered much more than her physical appearance. “Whenever I think about it, seven months ago I was so miserable,” she says. But now, “waking up is easier; going to bed is easier,” and she is treating her body right. Shila’s change didn’t happen overnight, she worked hard for it and that makes the results even more powerful.

5 Ways to Stick to Your Meal Plan

A certain level of dedication is required when striving to see fitness and nutrition results. In the case of nutrition this means committing to the process of meal prep, planning ahead for your week, designing a menu, making good choices at business meetings or long weekends at sporting events, and expecting the unexpected. Here are a few ways you to help you nail your MetPro nutrition plan.

1. Schedule a Meal Prep Day
Designating specific days for 1-3 hours of meal prep can save you hours cooking throughout the week. It also means you are not waiting until you are hungry to scramble to put together a meal.

Meal prep can be daunting at first, realizing what measurements are needed, knowing food combinations for each meal, etc. When you first begin meal prepping allow for extra time to make sure you are comfortable and accurate.

2. Design a Menu. Don’t Let Monotony Affect your Success!
Sometimes the options become overwhelming, or you are SO sick of chicken your eyeballs will fall out if you see it again. Designing a menu for the week makes you consider new combinations. For example sick of steamed broccoli and green beans at every meal? Try out a BBQ grilled bell pepper and zucchini blend?

3. Bring an Ice Chest
Remember: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Have a small ice chest along with you with pre-packed with your lunch and snacks! When the doctors appointment runs late or meetings at work take longer than expected you don’t miss a meal!  You live a busy life, don’t let unexpected events interfere with your meals!

4. Make Educated Choices
You have knowledge now. Even when you are eating off a menu, you have the tools to make decisions that will still support your efforts.  It is normal to want to still go out with your girlfriends, meet up with the guys after hoops, or attend weddings. The important thing to remember is you still can make good choices. Go for the vodka soda instead of the margarita; choose the grilled chicken and side of veggies instead of fish and chips.

5. Be Committed to your efforts
Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed of your choices and lifestyle. Giving into the peer pressure of drinks, appetizers, or tolerating comments like “oh she can’t eat that” is easy, staying committed to your efforts takes resolve.

Remember it is your life and you are making a responsible choice to live a healthy lifestyle. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Perhaps your commitment to your health and nutrition will inspire those around to make better choices as well.

My Whole Body Fitness Story: Trevor Leavell

“If you push yourself, you start to see results—and then that pushes you further.”

Trevor Leavell proves that fitness has no age requirement. The 17-year-old struggled with his weight throughout high school until deciding he needed a change. Last spring, his outlook began to shift: rather than assume that he would have time to correct his health in the coming years, he realized that his future might suffer from his unhealthy habits. “If I didn’t do it now, I’d be overweight for the rest of my life,” he thought. “There’s so much free time in high school; might as well utilize it.” And he has used his time wisely. Since Trevor turned to Whole Body Fitness for help, he has shed more than 45 pounds. Each day his goals continue to grow with confidence.

A Journey to Better Health

Before Trevor joined Whole Body Fitness, he was no stranger to weight loss tactics. “I exercised and went on diets before, but I never stuck with it,” he admits. He had played baseball when he was younger, but by high school, his insecurities kept him from staying active through sports—a vicious cycle that many people know well. When the teen decided to challenge himself one more time, he went all in. He began exercising daily, tracking his calorie intake, and eliminating unhealthy foods from his diet. Trevor did practically everything right—but after a few months, he noticed himself slowing down. “I figured I needed a change,” he says. “I didn’t have the willpower to push myself.”

That’s when he looked to Whole Body Fitness. Our personalized approach to health and fitness provided the structure and guidance that Trevor needed for lasting success. “Without their support, I honestly don’t think I would have made it this far,” he says. Not only did we aid Trevor with customized nutrition goals, but we also motivated him with judgment-free exercise classes that eliminated the self-consciousness that once restrained him. “When you’re at the gym, everyone is there to better themselves,” he realized. “I wish I had known that.”

Support and Perseverance

Our supportive environment helped Trevor recognize health as an ongoing lifestyle that extends beyond the gym. Like many people, Trevor admits to eating more when bored or out with friends, but with our nutrition program he has recognized the value of eating to fuel his body for energy, rather than unconscious or emotional eating. “[My trainer] Kevin told me that nutrition determines how much you weigh, and working out determines how it looks on you,” he says. While unhealthy foods aren’t out of the question, Trevor has found that success lies in dedication, moderation—and sometimes in friendship. Breaking free of junk food-filled afternoons, Trevor now pushes his friends outdoors so that health becomes a shared activity. And with new friends by his side, Trevor actually looks forward to working out.

Though he struggled in his first few weeks, he insists that determination pays off: “If you push yourself, you start to see results—and then that pushes you further.” With more energy and confidence than ever before, Trevor finds signs of his accomplishments every day. From being more comfortable when socializing to new physical developments. “I was pretty shy before,” he says, “but this gave me more confidence and social skills.”

A True Lifestyle Change

Setting his sights on a summer six-pack, Trevor proves his commitment to his lifestyle change every day, and he encourages others to do the same by ignoring the “mental barriers” that are holding them back. “I learned about my limits and how to push past what I thought I could do,” he says. The knowledge that Trevor learned from Whole Body Fitness are lessons that he will use for the rest of his life.

7 Survival Secrets for Summertime Shindigs

Summertime is the perfect season to get together with friends and family. Living your best life means participating in the things that make your heart sing without sacrificing your health. From traveling, dining al fresco, or celebrating with friends and family, you want to be conscious and prepared for when you are without your MetPro-approved meals.

Here are 7 quick tips to help you navigate summer shindigs:

1. Buns are nice in swimsuits… but lettuce wraps are better for burgers.
2. Reach for veggie sticks instead of potato chips
3. Have unsweetened iced teas or water instead of Soda pop
4. Watermelon = sugar juice. Pick berries.
5. Heavy salad dressing and dips are for steakhouses. Get outside and use olive oil, lemon and vinaigrette's on salads
6. Have your frozen plain Greek yogurt with berries in it, and eat it to.
7. Go green. Smoothies are more colorful than milkshakes anyway.