Dedication. When you love something it's not hard to be dedicated. Sure, somedays you have to dig a little deeper, but you look to the big picture. Find your purpose and then dig your heels in and find that drive. I hear a lot of "I couldnt do that" or "it's too hard" or "I don't have the time."

My responses are as follows: You can do anything you want to do and set your heart to doing.

I am in my 6th year of training clients and offering nutritional consulting as a professional in the field. Over four of those years, it has been my only full time job. I am very confident in my training practice and in my skills for adjusting nutritional programs, training programs, supplement programs and the like, but I want more. I am unbelievably passionate about this industry and here is why....

I have a confession to make -- I love the original Beverly Hills 90210. When I say love, I mean LOVE. Luke Perry (a.k.a. Dylan) is still one of my favorite actors. (I like him so much I listened to his interview on a sports podcast called theB.S. Report. It is a little bit pathetic considering that none of the sport references meant anything to me, but it is the truth nonetheless.)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

There are many reasons to choose to eat well and many benefits that can be gained from healthy food choices. Eating a plant based diet is one thing you can do to help lower your chances of getting cancer.

There are three omega-3 fats that you may have heard of: ALA, DHA, and EPA (alpha-linolenic acid, docosahexanaenoic , and eicosapentaenoic acid). They are considered to be essential fats because we need to get them from our diet. Our bodies can't make ALA, and can only make limited DHA and EPA from the ALA, so it is important to include food sources on a regular basis.

Omega-3s can help prevent...

When we talk about weight gain or weight loss we need to consider how the energy balance is being swayed. For weight maintenance we want energy in (calories consumed) to equal energy out (calories burned). When:

energy in > energy out = weight gain

energy in < energy out = weight loss

Vegetables contain important nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants - all known to help fight disease and allow your body to perform at its best. The nutrients (carbohydrate, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and B vitamins such as folate) work together to provide the overall health benefits. Vegetables are also low in fat and calories (the exception being olives and avocados) making them a great snack any time of the day.

Adequate nutrition and hydration during activity provides the energy needed to perform at a high level, allows for mental focus and skill execution, and helps prevent hunger and thirst. The duration and intensity of your activity will affect your food and fluid needs, as well as the temperature, humidity, and altitude at which you are being active. This is a very individualized science and your needs may differ from your workout partner or teammate.

It's important to start to make healthy food choices on a regular basis, but once you add more activity to your life it's important to look at your food choices around your activity. With more activity comes a higher sweat and energy loss. These fluid and food losses need to be replaced to fuel your next workout session.

So, you've decided to start exercising and eating healthy – good for you! Deciding to do it is a huge step and puts you ahead of many others. However, if you're like most people, you're not sure where to start.