Keep your body guessing for faster results
Allow yourself to explore many different forms of exercise. This will help you avoid burnout and encourage your body to be balanced. You will also burn more calories and break through progress plateaus because your body has to work harder to adapt.
-Lisa Marie

If in doubt, keep it simple!
It's easy to get confused when trying to design a workout on your own. Don't get caught up in trying to replicate all the things you just read in the latest fitness magazine, or that you saw so-and-so's trainer doing. Pull, push, squat! These are the basic movements that will get you by while you (or your stinkin' trainer!) are on vacation. A push-up, a pull-up, a row and a squat pretty much cover all your major muscle groups. Make sure, at a minimum, you know how to execute these properly -- within your personal limitations.
-Frank

Mountains out of Molehills!
Every day, I am asked about the latest supplement that will supposedly help them lose 98 pounds a week and increase their strength and muscle mass by ten million percent. It may not be as sexy as the newest advertisement, but the truth is that basic exercise and diet principles coupled with hard work are the single most effective tool for reaching your goals. Until your diet is looking solid and you’re busting your butt in the gym with consistency, don’t even think about hopping on the latest bandwagon! Taking "W8ST Trimmer 5000" or "Muscle Optimizer Volumizer Harmonizer 300" won’t help you out if you’re still eating too much in the case of the former, or too little in the case of the latter. I have never seen a supplement do as much for a client as some nutritional improvements, better planning of training, and some extra hard work.
-Matt

Food Fashion Faux Pas
If there is anything that I have learned living in NYC, it is to choose clothing pieces that express style over those that are trendier. This way, my wardrobe carries me through numerous seasons as garment essentials. Healthful food is similar to style. Fad diets, such as the South Beach or Atkins Diet, fall into the category of fashion, targeted at the public through media and advertising. As fashion is often our perception of style, dieting portrays our perception of health leading only to rapid weight loss and re-gain. To obtain a healthier lifestyle, stick to a variety of food choices such as whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy, and unsaturated fats, with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables as your diet essentials. When tempted to fad diet, ask yourself if you want a quick, fashionable solution, or one that will demonstrate your commitment and understanding to style? Ultimately, style is always more healthful.
-Lauren

You Are What You Eat
When it comes to grocery shopping in NYC, graze within the outer parameters. Here, you will find fresh produce and baked grains, dairy products, and meat and fish. These ingredients are more wholesome, meaning they are fresher and possess fewer preservatives than foods buried within the depths of packaging and grocery store isles. Another question that often arises is local or organic? Focus your purchases on local produce (grown no further than 250 miles away); this is one way to improve your diet and conserve energy. Buying local also enables you to support the immediate economy by being a part of the food network of local food sellers. Although you may pay extra for freshness and taste, your money is not going toward preservatives, packaging, refrigeration, and freight. For cheaper local food products, get exercise and walk to a local green market, where you will find fruit, vegetables, breads, and meat. And the next time you are shopping, ask yourself, who is making money on me and for what reason?
-Lauren