Here on Love U Madly, we feature some pretty indulgent recipes. I want to be sure to explain that I do not sit around eating globs of butter and I’m not suggesting that you do either. I try to keep as balanced a diet as possible, but that balance (for me) does include some treats that are just that… treats. I try to avoid processed and pre-packaged foods and encourage everyone to get in your kitchen so you can know, and be in control of, exactly what is in your food. In order to promote a healthy lifestyle, I enlisted the help of a person with far more discipline and knowledge than me. My sister, Melanie. She then enlisted the help of a person with far more discipline and knowledge than her. Michelle O’Toole.

I asked Michelle for her top tips on how to be healthy and fit. And, of course, how can we all get hot bodies in time for Spring?

“All questions I constantly hear as a Personal Trainer and Diet Doc Nutritional Consultant. The first thing I would like to point out is that most of those “tight looking” body parts are made in the kitchen, not in the gym. You will never see those muscles if they are hidden under a layer of fat. Don’t get me wrong, you DO need to spend time in the gym and yes women you DO need to lift weights. You also need to add cardio to your routine. I find that Interval Training is one of the best fat burning workouts out there. 20-30 seconds of your maximum intensity followed by a short recovery repeated for a set amount of time will do the trick.

But back to the food, in order to see all those sculpted biceps, triceps, abs and nice firm butts you need to “Eat Clean.” This means get rid of the processed food, artificial sweeteners, fatty sauces, ice cream, soda (yes Diet Soda too), and the white stuff like flour, white rice, white bread etc. Try to make your diet consist of Whole grain carbs, lean protein and “good” fat. Make sure you eat plenty of vegetables and fruit; however fruit should be limited due to the high sugar content. It’s all about what you eat, when you eat it and what you eat it with. It really is a science- and when you figure out how YOUR body works it easily falls into place. So clean out that pantry, get rid of things that come in a box, this includes your freezer too. All of those foods are loaded with sodium. Read your labels and know what you are putting in your body. If you cannot pronounce it, don’t eat it! And most of all DRINK DRINK DRINK…water! And before you know it you will shed that layer of fat and your sculpted body will shine thru!”

- Michelle O’Toole~ Owner of FIT Happens LLC www.fithappensllc.com
Diet Doc Nutritional Consultant, A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer, Lifestyle Fitness Coach