We all know people who make being healthy appear inactive. They are always definite, they never come away with that crazy weight gain around the holidays, and they always have more energy than everyone else.

So what’s their secret?

You may not believe how simple it is, but rest assured: Follow these simple rules that I teach all my personal training clients, and you will not only look great all the time, but you’ll also feel great! Healthy people make fresh vegetables and some fruit the primary component of all their meals. Some of you will read this and have a collective ‘sigh’. What your mama told you was right; you must eat fruits and veggies. People who eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies have an easier time keeping their weight in check.

The reason why: Fruits and veggies have the highest nutrient count of any foods with the lowest amount of calories. What that means is you will feel fuller and have more energy without adding a lot of extra calories. So ditch those junky ‘100 calorie’ type snacks that have no nutritional value and leave you feeling more hungry 10 minutes later.

Recently I had nearly all my personal training clients wanting to get bikini sexy for the beautiful summer we enjoy here in Ventura-which is an awesome beach town in southern California. I said it’s simple, eat 2 cups of fresh veggies with each food first, then eat certain proteins and complicated carbohydrates. Most thought it was too simple to work. But they found unanimously that they felt full, satisfied, and energetic while dramatically cutting their calories and reaching their goals of being beach-ready!

Healthy people do exercise they enjoy!

If you’ve had a hard time being consistent with your exercise routine, it may not be because you don’t have the time or energy. It’s probably because you haven’t found a type of exercise you like doing. Listen even among my hard-core personal training clients who LOVE working exclude at the gymnasium, it’s really all about developing your life outside the gym. Again, being in Ventura California offers my clients opportunities to train for a mud run, hiking, surfing, doing a hard bike ride, or something similar. Working out in an environment you enjoy will make all the difference and keep you committed. It will also help you to focus on cross-training (like working out in the gym with a personal trainer) to make you better at your sport.

Surprise! Healthy people DO NOT diet! You’ll find that healthy people don’t follow the latest trendy diet plan or miracle cleanse.

The reason why?

They don’t need to because they are always eating healthy, getting a lot of fresh veggies grass-fed/wild-caught protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates from whole foods. Oh, and they only indulge in drinking alcohol and desserts sometimes, NOT in the night-time! This is the approach I teach all my training clients at my studio- Get Cut Fitness. No gimmicks, no restrictions just a well-balanced long-term lifestyle approach that works now and forever. When you do these simple things daily, you will never feel a need to go on a short-term rapid weight-loss diet. Besides short-term diets have been proven to make you weigh more in the long term than you did when you started.