Art Chowder January | February, Issue 25 | Page 50

B
rit Motzkus is a talented Spokane personal trainer, health
and fitness guru — she has trained at The Union and Fit Edge.
After a move to sunny California and fertility struggles, she
finally became pregnant with her beautiful son, Ivan. Through
this journey, she became an expert in HA Recovery and pre/
postnatal coaching. We became instant friends when we met a
couple years ago because of two common interests: fitness and
food.
As a fitness coach and personal trainer, a few of the common
questions that Brit gets asked are “What do you eat? How do
you eat perfectly all the time? What should I eat? How can I
eat healthy if I don’t like to cook?” And on the flip side, some
of the questions that I get, as a food blogger, are “How do you
eat out all the time and stay in shape? How often do you work
out to balance all the good meals? What’s your secret to stay-
ing fit with a food blog?”
We have come up with 10 tips to help you out. Whether you’re
a food lover, fitness lover, or both, there’s a way to have your
cake and eat it too.
1. Decide on a healthy lifestyle.
This means leaving the “diet” mentality behind. Healthy eat-
ing is not something you start on Monday and end on Friday.
It’s all about balance. Healthy eating is something that is easy
to maintain if you’re doing it right. If you’re on a diet that
makes you miserable and you can’t wait until the 30 days are
over so you can end it, then you’re never going to succeed.
The advice that Brit gives her clients is to start where you cur-
rently are and make baby steps towards a healthier you. Don’t
jump into anything extreme that seems daunting. By taking
smaller, manageable steps, you’ll create a healthy lifestyle
over time that you can maintain.
2. Prioritize what’s worth it.
This is about learning to pass up on mediocre food just be-
cause it’s there and enjoying the whole experience when
you do splurge on a meal out. For me, part of what makes a
splurge worth it comes down to what I like to call a “foodie
experience” (which my husband loves to tease me about). This
includes the good company I’m with, the location where we’re
eating, if it is something unique on the menu, or that you can’t
find anywhere else (like voodoo donuts in Oregon), if it’s a
special occasion or holiday, and how satisfied I’ll feel after
eating it. If I don’t find at least one of these factors, it is NOT
WORTH IT, and I’ll move on.
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ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
3. Learn to cook healthy food at home.
As fun and convenient as it is eating out, part of staying
fit is not eating out for every meal! If you’re passing
up on mediocre (not worth it) food, then you better
learn some kitchen skills. Nowadays it’s so easy to
cook quick, healthy meals from home. With things like
riced-cauliflower and spiralized veggies, you’ll be well
on your way!