Ask a Trainer: Healthy body with a health bank account

Q: It gets pretty expensive trying to eat healthy, any tips/tricks to helping your wallet as well as your waist? I am doing everything the doc tells me to do, now I am in the no bread and eliminate salt phase. — Edward C.

A: The first thing I'm going to do is pick the low-hanging fruit and state the obvious. Eating healthy is way less expensive than dealing with the medical issues that come with a long-term poor diet. Now that that is out of the way — shameless plug — I offer grocery store visits to help people with food choices and to show them proper food label reading and comparison. My clients often make requests for this service and seem to get a lot from it! Now, one of the best things you can do in any goal-setting situation, including eating better, is to get a plan together, follow the plan, continue the plan, and remain consistent with the plan.

So break it down to its simplest form. What "plan" or "diet" are you doing? What does it entail? What calorie level are you trying to stay within? What's your focus? How are you tracking and measuring your intake? How are you tracking your progress? What does your idea of progress look like? When you get those questions answered, it will help you become more focused so you'll know exactly what you need to purchase, how much, and when. It will help you avoid over-spending, buying things that are either not needed or that just sound good at the time, and essentially wasting your money.

I spend way less at the store and throw out way less food because I know exactly what I'm eating and how much. Because of this I can buy higher quality food because I'm buying lower quantities of food and throwing away less. Also, I only drink water at restaurants (that saves $2 to 4 each meal), I never eat appetizers or dessert, and although I already don't drink, you could always limit the majority of your alcohol consumption (if any) to your house or at friends' places. Spend your money on your health and you'll save so much in the long-run!

Q: Women who lose weight end up feeling weird about it. How did you deal with that, and what things would you offer to women who either want to make the change or are going through the change? – Libby W.

A: This is an awesome question! It really depends on why they are feeling weird about it. Some women use their extra weight to try and ward off any sexual attention because of past experiences like sexual assault, rape, molestation, etc., so losing weight takes away that barrier and they end up feeling more vulnerable. Some women have just never been at a healthy weight so they feel awkward. Some women are just not used to people acknowledging their successes since many achievements in life aren't as visual as extreme weight-loss. In all cases, it's helpful to seek out some support and/or counseling in order to transition.

This is a huge change for people, both physically and mentally, so finding either a group or a professional that can help guide you through and keep you balanced is important. If there are deeper issues such as the sexual assault, etc., then therapy will be the best option regardless of weight loss or not. Chances are there are other areas in their lives they are finding difficulty in coping with as well, and a good counselor, psychologist, or therapist can help address those issues as well as provide guidance in starting to work through the healing process.

Shanna King is a certified health coach and personal trainer with a Behavior Change Specialist designation through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. Her personal journey through a healthy lifestyle change, which resulted in losing over 80 pounds, served as the catalyst to helping others realize their healthy living goals, also. Her organization, Coaching Healthy Living Inc., specializes in not only weight-loss, but behavioral modification, education and support. For a free health coaching sessions and personal training session, or to get your fitness and nutrition related questions answered by a certified personal trainer, call us at 321-972-5833 or email [email protected].