Kelly Sullens
Owner & Coach, AZ Fit Body AZFitBody.com
How can you stay on track with your nutrition goals?
An excellent first step is to find a reliable meal-tracking app, such as My Fitness Pal, Lose It or Fitbit. Set up your profile with current statistics such as height, weight and activity level. This will help the app to provide you with your “Total Daily Energy Expenditure,” or TDEE, and your daily calorie goal. Also, plan your week’s meals. You'll reach for something unhealthy if you don’t have anything healthy on hand. Failure to plan is planning to fail!
What are common mistakes people make, and how can they fix them?
First, not drinking enough water. Adding fruit is a great way to make water more appealing. Also, make sure you eat enough protein. People often forget to add enough lean protein to support weight loss or muscle maintenance/growth plans. Shoot for around 40-50% of your meals and snacks from protein. Finally, have a good support system. That is always helpful when making lifestyle changes.
Our Lake Pleasant or Arrowhead Fit Body Boot Camp teams can help you craft and execute fitness, wellness and nutrition goals!
Brett Alexander
ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, Life Time Happy Valley-Peoria Lifetime.life
What trends do you see in the health/wellness space for 2023?
I see more people understanding the value of investing in their health and prioritizing fitness. Utilizing experienced health and wellness professionals is the perfect place to start. It’s worth your time to check in with a fitness professional and get a grasp on where you are and what you need to accomplish to get to where you want to go.
What tips do you suggest for someone looking to get healthy?
Define your goals and then aim low. Sounds off, but too often, people come in with lofty goals that aren't feasible for their current lifestyle. Losing an extra 20-30 lbs. this year is possible with strategic lifestyle changes. However, doing everything all at once compounds stress and can lead to failure. Instead, aim low and start with one daily habit, such as eating protein with every meal, drinking more water, or committing to one non-negotiable day to go to the gym. Gain the momentum of little wins and build your confidence.
What are some time-efficient ways to get healthy?
Try to increase your frequency of strength and resistance training. I tell my clients it’s better to do five or six 30-minute workouts throughout the week than to try and force themselves to do three to four 1-hour workouts. The exercise volume is the same, but the body responds better to frequency and consistency.
How can we hold ourselves accountable without spending a lot?
I recommend utilizing some of our facility's SGT (small group training) classes and engaging with that community. Eventually, motivation runs out. Having the accountability of friends and coaches waiting for you to walk through the door each day keeps you on that path to success.
Carrie Weinberg
Owner, LMT, CPT, CNC, Desert Sage Bodywork DesertSageBodywork.com
What are some of the top trends you see for health and wellness in 2023?
Meditation and sleep are high on the list. Also, people are seeing immune health and personalized nutrition.
You offer massage services; how can those be beneficial to overall self-care?
Massage is a great way to maintain self-care as it helps reduce stress. Desert Sage Bodywork offers membership programs to help you save money while focusing on self-care. Good massage therapy can help you utilize other fitness activities such as walking, running, hiking, etc.
What are your top tips for those wanting to be healthier in 2023?
Be consistent with diet, exercise, massage, sleep and meditation that lead to reduced stress. Skipping any of them can negatively impact your overall health. I also believe in scheduling health-related activities as if they were doctor appointments. This creates the time for us to focus on our health.
Eric James
Stretching Expert, LMT, Desert Sage Bodywork DesertSageBodywork.com
Why is stretching important to overall wellness?
We constantly put our bodies in positions that tighten our muscles all day. So, you can't go from sitting all day to going for a run right after work. Those are exact opposites. Without stretching to loosen everything up, eventually, it will be like a rubber band...you pull too tight, and it will break.
What are some simple tips for getting started?
Start small, and don’t start on January 1st. That can equate to instant failure. It sets an all-or-nothing mentality and pre-sets up an excuse to quit. Whatever you are trying to do, or undo, will take time. Start one new thing at a time— whether it is a new stretching regimen, fitness plan, or nutrition plan— take it one step at a time so your body can get used to it.
