We’ve all seen Kirstie Alley in the media lately, having gained back all the weight she lost when she was with Jenny Craig. But she still wants to get into her bathing suit and show it off on Oprah. Here are five tips on how you can get into your bathing suit again and again, and look your best year after year. Let’s get you back into your Skinny Jeans and your “hot” bathing suit, and keep you there. Talk about true freedom!

Tip #1: Stay connected to the qualified professional who helped you get there in the first place. It’s so important to have a strategy and surround yourself with the people who helped you become successful. Let me be honest with you. It’s hard to sustain your good eating, exercise, and self care habits on your own. It just is. We are constantly exposed to triggers in our environment that easily take us off track and distract us from taking care of ourselves. It’s important to have someone who can help you stay empowered, inspired, and successful for the long run.

Tip #2: Take things off your plate. This is especially true for women reading or hearing this today. Women tend to overdo and feel virtuous and seemingly “guilt-free” by saying YES to everything and everyone. I encourage you to stop this habit as soon as possible. I have found the most successful in my programs are those focused more on their wants and needs first, before focusing on what everyone else’s wants and needs—either in their home or professional lives.What happens is that when you are taking care of yourself, a miracle happens. Everyone else seems to be doing just fine and maybe even getting healthier as well. As you start to take better care of yourself, those close to you actually become inspired and start doing the same. Now there’s no guarantee this will happen; however, surprisingly, I see it happen a lot. So stop doing for everyone else, fixing everyone else’s problems, and start focusing on you. You owe it to yourself. Unless you are dealing with young children or elderly parents, everyone else can take care of themselves more than you think. Believe me I see this happen everyday.

Tip #3: Make sure you reward yourself with things other than food or alcohol. There are so many other, non-caloric, ways to give yourself a gift of appreciation for a job well done, or for something you’ve accomplished, a massage, a new scarf, a new piece of jewelry, going for a walk on the beach, a concert, a belly dancing class—why not?

I just started ballroom dancing myself. Even though I’d always taken dance classes most of my life, ballet, modern, jazz, and most recently hip-hop, I thought I’d add some “new steps” to my repertoire. You know learning a new activity is not only good for your waistline but also for your mind and your confidence. So go ahead, give yourself a healthy reward. It’ll be satisfying in many more ways than eating a bag of M&M’s.

Tip #4: Eat real, whole, and fresh foods as much as possible. They are loaded with the stuff you need and won’t leave you starving or feeling deprived because they are providing the nutrients you need to stay slim and healthy. I have never been a big fan of packaged, processed, or altered foods. There is not much to these bagged, boxed, and artificial foods, which I sometimes refer to as just good tasting cardboard, with the “good tasting” component being questionable.

The closer a food is to its natural state or as I always say, “closer to mother nature,” the better it is for you. You can’t derive much fuel for your mind and body from empty calories. Even if a whole food appears to have more calories like a sirloin steak, in comparison to a box of crackers you will always be further ahead with the real food versus the packaged one.

Consider also Kirstie Ally’s reliance on the packaged Jenny Craig food she never learned how to cook healthy on her program and these foods are loaded with sodium and other additives. So think healthy, not necessarily quick fix.

Tip #5: Move. You need to move. There’s no getting around this. Find something that doesn’t feel like work but is loads of fun. As I just did with the ballroom dancing. Yes, that’s right, exercise can be fun (just like eating well can also be fun). Make a point of doing something everyday, even if just for 10 minutes.

You need to make this a habit. It’s good for your brain to help with stress reduction and for taking a simple break in your day. Have things around that trigger you to move like the weights or pictures of you doing yoga. That is what I have on my Vision Board, which I get to look at every day. I also have a recumbent bike, free weights, ball and bands at home, and a beautiful neighborhood to take walks in if I choose to. Don’t just plan to go to the gym someday. Take the first step and then stick with it. And also mix it up a bit. Don’t always do the same thing everyday. Try something new, so you can work different muscle groups and keep it interesting.

These are the tips that will keep you from heading down the same path Kirstie Alley and Oprah have recently found themselves on. Do these and you will always be in great shape—mind, body, and spirit!

Healthy Blessings,
Monika

(c) Monika Klein, B.S., C.N. is an award winning clinical nutritionist and weight loss expert. Monika is the “Compassionate and Practical Nutrition and Lifestyle Coach.” Her company, Coaching For Health, offers life transforming weight loss and wellness programs, classes and products throughout the world. To learn more about Monika’s services and programs, visit www.coachingforhealth.com.