On the best of days, it can be a challenge to stay motivated and go to the gym, or stick to a healthy diet. But in the dead of winter, when the weather is cold and dark, it doesn’t get any easier to stay on track. When we discovered that even celebrity fitness trainer and TV personality Cary Williams admits to struggling with motivation, we asked her to share her top tips with us.
In the boxing world, Cary boxed competitively in the amateurs and won the Pacific Northwest Women’s Tournament before hanging up her gloves. She is now a Level IV Olympic Level Boxing Coach with USA Boxing. Cary has trained many boxers, some of whom have made it to Olympic Trial Qualifying Tournaments. She is co-creator and co-host of Boxing 101 Boxing Camp Workout and Additional Fundamentals, unique boxing instructional and workout DVDs.
Williams founded the “Knocking Out Obesity” tour which stopped at 10 of the “fattest” cities in the nation (according to Men’s Fitness). She conducted non-contact boxing workouts with students at middle schools across the nation, and now runs The Stables, a boxing club in Santa Monica, CA where she is based.
1. Remove all food items you should not be eating from your kitchen. Yes, even the stuff you bought last week that you “don’t want to go to waste.” If it is in your kitchen, you will eat it. This can be anything loaded with sugar or preserved and packaged.
2. Keep raw nuts and a jar of almond butter on your counter, not fruit. When you are feeling hungry between meals you can have a few nuts. Almond butter will also help with a sweet tooth. Fruit has a lot of sugar and you should not eat too much of it so putting fruit out may not be a great idea.
3. Put a filter on your water faucet or buy gallons of water to keep in your kitchen. You need to drink lots of water, and if filtered water is readily available you won’t reach for other beverages. Do not add anything to your water except lemon. If you add anything that tastes sweet, you will never kill that habit and will go back to drinking sweet drinks much more easily.
4. Keep pre-cut vegetables in your refrigerator. Most of us are busy and don’t make the time to cut and clean veggies. Just buy them cleaned and cut so that you can use them easily and there is no excuse not to eat them.
5. Stick to the basics. Sometimes when we look at fabulous healthy recipes out there, we are excited about the idea of cooking some great-tasting healthy food, but it takes time to prepare. If you have time, great. But time is always one of the biggest factors in not staying on track. Keep staples in your fridge such as vegetables, and proteins and healthy fats in the cupboard.