After a long and for the New York Mets specifically, rather bizarre winter, things are back to normal: pitchers and catchers are officially reporting for duty in Port St. Lucie on Monday. With that likely comes a number of feel-good stories about players looking to turn things around. Or, there are those who have reported to camp in the best shape of their professional baseball life.

Those story lines wont be limited to just the Mets, of course there will be many of those stories being told all over Florida and Arizona in advance of Opening Day next month. Reliever Jeurys Familia is firmly in the best shape of my life camp since hes spent the offseason shedding a ton of weight (30 pounds, to be exact).

Familia completely transforming his body over the last few months was the best remedy to put a horrific 2019 campaign in the rearview mirror. Expected to be a crucial cog with Edwin Diaz at the backend of ballgames, the right-hander was worth -0.2 fWAR thanks in part to a 5.70 ERA and 15.3% walk rate. With both him and Diaz having a bounce-back performance on their respective minds for 2020 to go along with the signing of Dellin Betances, that spurred Familia to say the Mets have baseballs best bullpen heading into this season.

Of course, one of his statements begin with the usual If everybody is healthy, which we all know is a big if each year for New York. If manager Luis Rojas relief corps is going to make good on Familias statement and offseason projections, the 30-year-old has to get himself back into form.

Losing all that weight gives us an idea of how serious Familia is about bouncing back, but thats far from the most important development when talking about the progress hes made this offseason. Its this quote from general manager Brodie Van Wagenen that caught my eye, which was captured by theNew York Post and mentioned again on Sunday by MMOs Rob Piersall:

Jeurys has been a man on a mission this offseason. He has worked with our health and performance department to improve in every aspect of his preparation. In addition to losing weight, he has spent time with [pitching coach] Jeremy Hefner to better understand his mechanics and his approach. He has been throwing off the mound at Citi Field since before the holidays.

Getting trimmer as Familia has is a worthy exercise that will hopefully boost his on-field performance, but it wouldnt have meant nearly as much if he hadnt paired that with working on his mechanics and committing it all to muscle memory with Hefner at the same time. When a player loses a significant amount of weight, there are a lot of physiological changes that happen with their rhythm, balance, and just general feel for what theyre doing. Familia mentioned such himself when talking about the extra weight he carried during 2019 negatively impacted him (also viathe New York Post):

Ive never had a year like that. Gaining weight affected my delivery to the plate and messed up my rhythm, which is why I started training to take the weight off this offseason.

This time around, Familia made sure the mechanics of his motion evolved as the pounds melted off. That could be key toward a turnaround in 2020, and either way, its clear Hefner has already been putting in a lot of work with certain members of this pitching staff to set them up for success.

What will be most crucial with these improved mechanics will be the performance of Familias four-seam fastball and sinker, two of his three most-used pitches last season. His slider (the second-most used pitch) was easily the best of his arsenal that offering produced a 51 opponent wRC+ to go along with a 6.5% walk rate and 40.3% strikeout rate.

His four-seamer and sinker, though? Both struggled considerably. The right-handers four-seamer generated a 21.1% strikeout and walk rate, while opposing hitters posted a 216 wRC+. His sinker wasnt much better: hitters finished with a lower 151 wRC+, but it was accompanied by an 18.3% walk rate and 14.5% strikeout rate.

Upon peeking at his career pitch split numbers, its not as if these two pitches have been utterly dominant, but theyve been much better than what they were this past year (opponent wRC+ marks of 118 and 95, respectively). A better overall performance from these two offerings will likely lead to even better numbers for his slider (29 opponent wRC+ with a 4.8% walk rate and 47.0% strikeout rate for his career).

Despite the rough season-long numbers for his four-seamer and sinker, there was some improvement between the first and second half of 2019. While the value of these pitches were bunched together under his fastball, FanGraphs tabbed the per-100-pitch value of this area as going from -1.23 prior to the All-Star break to -0.88 following the midsummer classic. Nothing huge, but its at least progress.

While its easy to get in the gym and be on a nutrition plan that yields terrific physical results, any professional athlete needs to pair that with the repetition of whatever their athletic endeavor is to truly make a difference moving forward. Two of the Mets most crucial bullpen hurlers Familia and Diaz have seemingly paid a lot of attention to that this winter.

Now they just have to stay healthy and actually perform up to expectation in the coming months.

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Familia's Weight Loss Won't Be What Leads to His Success - metsmerizedonline.com

Getty / PeopleImages If You Want to Lose Weight, Try Strength Training at Least 3 Times a Week -Here's Why

There are a lot of things to consider when you're working out, especially if your goal is weight loss. There isn't one perfect exercise, workout, or diet that will guarantee weight loss, but generally speaking, experts have found that incorporating strength training and cardio into your workout routine (along with implementing a nutritional plan tailored to your needs) can help.

"For weight loss, you need 250 minutes [per week], or more, of physical activity in at least the moderate-intensity category in order to show appreciable weight loss," Heather Milton, MS, RCEP, CSCS, an exercise physiologist clinical specialist at NYU Langone's Sports Performance Center, told POPSUGAR. We'd be remiss if we didn't state that factors such as the amount of sleep you get, your genetics, and other variables, like stress, also play a critical role in weight loss.

If you're going from sedentary to physically active, "You're going to see changes, especially if you pair it with diet," Heather explained. As your body acclimates to exercise, the goal is to increase the amount of time you're physically active to a minimum of 250 or 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise (for example, walking at a brisk pace, hiking, biking, dancing, aerobics, and weight training) per week, Heather continued. You may be tempted to hit the gym for long durations of time, but Heather advises against trying to reach this time goal in one or two sessions. Instead, she recommends splitting it up throughout the week.

It's often assumed that doing more aerobic exercise, such as running, can help with weight loss. And although cardio can help you lose weight, Heather said, "There's more literature coming out for weight loss, especially if you pair it with diet, that if you can consistently do three days per week of resistance training, whole-body resistance training, that can have a very good effect for helping to lose weight because you're improving your metabolism at the same time you're burning fat." Resistance training is beneficial because it allows you to preserve your muscle mass while you're losing fat, which means your metabolism isn't affected, Heather explained.

Video: 7 incredible results you'll get from walking 30 minutes a day (Courtesy: Prevention)

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It may take some trial and error to figure out a workout plan that works for you, and we recommend easing yourself into a fitness routine, especially if you're a beginner, then advancing the intensity and frequency as you begin to feel more comfortable with training. If you're looking for a more individualized plan, we suggest working with experts such as personal trainers, exercise physiologists, and registered dietitians to develop a program that's best for your lifestyle and goals.

Slideshow: The 50 all-time best exercises for weight loss (Courtesy: The Active Times)

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If You Want to Lose Weight, Try Strength Training at Least 3 Times a Week - Here's Why - msnNOW

If youve entered that new decade deciding that you will be losing weight and making some actual effort to be healthier, then chances are you overindulged a bit during the Christmas season. But no need to feel bad at all, the most wonderful time of the year, after all, comes only once a year, and we get how easy it is to be carried away by the festivities.

But before you click away and look for the latest health fad to follow, here are some of the most common health myths concerning weight loss and weight management that you may not be aware of. Read on.

All sugar is bad for you

Youve probably heard (or read) countless health experts telling you to avoid sugar because all of it is bad for you. However, before you try to eliminate it, know that sugar is naturally found in fruits and vegetables, as well as plain milk and other dairy products. And while its easy to go overboard with sugar, controlling your intake of it is still good and recommended.

Lemon water helps with weight loss

While drinking lemon water is healthy in itself, youve probably heard that it can also help you lose weight. Turns out, this is true in a sense, given that you start drinking it instead of sweet and carbonated beverages. So it can be effective, though it needs a bit of effort on your part too. In any case, you still get hydrated and get the added benefit of vitamin C.

Natural sweeteners are not sugars

Hate to break it to you, but it is. This is because sugar is found naturally in whole foods, such as honey, maple syrup and even fruit juices. As such, exercising moderation is still recommended.

All fats are bad for you

We dont blame you, fats sound evil. However, this is wrong since there are lot of healthy fats that can benefit your health. The key, however, is to find out which ones are good for you. As such, make sure to replace the saturated fats in your diet with monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats, which can be found in olive oil, avocados, nuts and fish.

Lemon-infused water is a better energy booster than caffeine-packed coffee. Pixabay

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Drinking Lemon Water For Weight Loss And Other Myths Debunked - Medical Daily

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Nutritionists Weigh in on How Drinking Green Tea Could Help with Weight Loss - FOX10 News

Highlights

What is your comfort food? Is it dosa? May not be for all, but most of you will agree to it. Although this food has its origin in the Southern India, dosa is preferred by people globally. On this note, recently a study by online visibility and marketing analytics company, SEMrush, found that dosa was one of the most searched (top 10) food globally in 2019. Dosa is always termed as a quick fix when you run out of time, especially when you keep the batter ready and stored in fridge. Now imagine, if we add some health factor to this comfort dish! Yes, you hear us! We bring you 'Moong Dal Dosa' that will not only offer you comfort but also nutrition boost to your meal.

Moong dal dosa is also termed as 'Pesara Dosa' or 'Pesarattu' in Telegu. 'Pesara' stands for moong dal and 'Attu' stands for dosa. Unlike the regular dosa that contain urad dal, pesarattu contains moong dal in it. It is generally eaten during breakfast in Andhra Pradesh. As per 'Healing Foods' by DK Publishing House, moong dal is being traditionally used in Chinese and Indian medicine "to keep the body running smoothly due to their detoxifying properties and anti-inflammatory benefits." Moong is known for its high protein content (1 cup moong dal has 49 grams of protein), hence, it helps in weight loss. It is rich in fibre that helps in reducing 'unhealthy' cholesterol under control levels.

Moong dal- half cup (sprouted)

Rice flour- one-fourth cup

Sooji/rawa- one-fourth cup

Fresh coriander leaves- one tablespoon (finely chopped)

Ginger- one teaspoon (finely chopped)

Onion- half (finely chopped)

Green chilli- one (finely chopped)

Oil/Ghee/Butter

Salt- to taste

Methi/Fenugreek- half teaspoon

Soak moong dal overnight to get them sprouted. The sprouted moong dal is yet more nutritious. Better still, you can just soak the moong dal for three-four hours.

Wash and grind the moong dal.

Add rice flour, rawa and methi and grind once again. Rawa adds crisp to the dosa as the batter is not fermented.

Now, pour the mixture in a bowl and add lukewarm to get an appropriate consistency of the batter.

Finally, add the onion, green chilli, coriander leaves, ginger and salt to the batter and mix it well.

Set a tawa on a medium flame.

Rub some oil/butter/ghee on the tawa evenly.

Take two teaspoon of batter and spread it evenly on the tawa.

Spread some oil and roast it on high flame till it turns golden brown in colour.

When the dosa turns crispy place it on a plate and serve with tomato-garlic chutney, tamarind chutney and coconut chutney.

Now on, whenever you feel like having dosa, try pesarttu or moong dal dosa to give a protein kick to your day!

Read more here:
Weight Loss: Add Protein To Your Breakfast With This Moong Dal Dosa (Recipe Inside) - NDTV Food

Dancing is not only fun, but it also aids weight loss. If you are planning to get into shape this year, then, here's how many calories an hour of dancing can help you burn daily.

Weight loss is a tedious process, while many say that it's 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise, we tend to forget that exercise is equally important as diet. When it comes to exercise, there are different types of exercises that people do to stay fit. While some prefer gymming and pilates, others resort to yoga and jogging for weight loss. If you are someone who is planning to get fit this year and despise the idea of gymming, then include dancing in your routine.

Dancing not only frees you from your inhibitions, but it can also be an awesome fitness activity. One can burn a good amount of calories with regular dancing. As long as you enjoy it, move your body to the beat properly, it doesn't matter which dance form you choose.

Calories you can burn with one hour of dancing: The number of calories one burns differs from person to person. It depends on your body composition, dance form you choose and the energy you put in. On average, one hour of dancing can help you burn around 330 calories. It can be more or less, depending on the weight of the person and the intensity.

Dancing also improves flexibility and helps you improve your balance and strength. Furthermore, it helps you deal with stress and improves heart health. Dancing not only aids weight loss, but it elevates your mood and challenges your brain. However, simply dancing cannot aid weight loss. You also need to follow a decent diet to achieve your goal.

Importance of calories deficit: One needs to eat 3,500 or fewer calories in a week to lose 1 kilo of fat. Along with this, you need to perform moderate-intensity dance every hour, only then will you be able to lose 1 kg in a week.

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Weight Loss: One can burn THIS number of calories within an hour of dancing? - PINKVILLA

Proper nutrition is not only required to stay healthy and fit, but it is even essential when trying to bulk up. Lifting heavy weights or performing intense exercises alone won't help you build muscles or get a toned body. You have to give your body the building blocks it needs to build lean muscles. Our body needs different kinds of nutrients to function properly, but when it comes to bulking up, protein is the most important of all.

The Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. However, the number varies as per your calorie intake and the amount of physical activity. If you are strength training, you are required to eat more protein than an average person. In this article, we tell you 5 protein-packed food items that are considered excellent when trying to gain muscle mass.

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Weight loss: 5 food items you should eat to build more muscles - Times of India

When former US Rowing National Team member Mike Holbrook didnt make the 2012 London Summer Olympics due to a back injury, he quickly put on weight.

I was pretty disappointed, devastated, depressed, Holbrook, 36, tells NBC News BETTER.

He quit sports, but says he still ate like an elite rower. Soon, the 6 foot 6 inch tall Holbrook was tipping the scale at over 300 pounds.

Over the next several years, Holbrook, who lives in Seattle, made multiple attempts to lose weight. He ran a few half-marathons, he says, and would shed some pounds only to gain them back.

Last January, after Holbrooks then-girlfriend, Alyssa, accepted his marriage proposal, he knew he wanted to transform both his body and his outlook for good.

I thought: I have to do something now, he says.

Over 7 months, Holbrook lost 50 pounds just in time to say I do to the woman he loves.

Heres how the former national team athlete got back his edge.

As a former rower who once trained up to 6 hours a day, Holbrook knew that too much exercise would increase his hunger, which he feared would hurt his weight-loss goal. He decided to burn calories instead by incorporating small amounts of exercise into his daily work routine.

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A manager at a busy tech company, Holbrook made a rule for himself. Every day, he takes the elevator to and from the 32nd floor of the skyscraper where his workplace is located. He is only allowed to use the elevator twice a day: once in the morning when he arrives at work, and once in the evening when he leaves. On whatever floor the elevator happens to stop first, he has to get off and use the stairs the rest of the way. And if he needs to go to another floor for a meeting between those periods, he must use the stairs.

Climbing up and down stairs often, in a rush to avoid being late helps Holbrook burn calories throughout his busy day.

For the first few weeks and months, I was kind of winded when I got to the meetings, he says, but yesterday I was late, and I got 10 floors in about two and a half minutes, which is doing two stairs at a time, and I recovered in about 30 seconds, and I was good to go.

Holbrook downloaded the weight loss app Noom on his phone. The app calculated the amount of weight he wanted to lose, gave him a calorie budget for each day to reach his weight-loss goal, and provided a colored food grading system that showed him how calorie dense specific foods were.

Its the idea that the volume of food that you eat is more important than the actual calorie content, he says.

Foods that are lower in calories are graded green or yellow, he says, whereas higher density foods are graded in red, which makes his budget easy to visualize.

For example, grapes are graded green, while raisins are red (a half cup of raisins has about 220 calories versus 50 in a half cup of grapes, according to Berkeley Wellness). So he could easily see that a bowl of grapes would be more filling and less caloric than a handful of raisins.

I eat 40 grapes a day its a huge, overflowing of the bowl that I eat them in but if you had 40 raisins, it wouldnt even look like a small handful, he explains.

It doesnt feel restricted because youre satiated, he adds, and youre full because you continue to eat a fairly large volume of food.

Holbrook says he still eats some red foods, like chocolate and potato chips, but is careful not to go outside his budget. Every night before bed, he enjoys a few caramel chocolates. His wife helps him by nibbling the corners, he says, so he isnt eating the entire chocolate.

Still being able to enjoy some red foods helped him lose weight in the long term, he says. I am at peace with allowing myself to enjoy a little bit of any food, I think thats what made it sustainable, says Holbrook.

Holbrook lost 50 pounds just in time for his wedding in July. But there was a problem: the tux he ordered months before was too big, and he had to order a new one with a custom fit. But he says it was worth it.

I just felt amazing standing up there and telling this woman that I love her, and crying a little bit, he says.

Holbrook says he also sleeps better and no longer suffers from back pain, adding every second of every day is better.

I feel really jazzed when I come into work every day, he says.

Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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How this man lost 50 pounds: Incorporating exercise into his work schedule cracked the code - NBC News

The most effective fat burning exercises consist of cardiovascular workouts as well as strength exercises that can help get your body in shape. To lose weight healthy you should choose a sport or physical activity that best suits your needs. That's why we present to you 12 physical activities for effective calorie burning. Dont forget that you are going to need adequate equipment that will maximize your potential and prevent/minimize injuries. You can alwayscheck it out hereto be sure you got the top-quality gear.

An easy, fun and inexpensive way to lose weight is to dance. You can do this physical activity at home, it is enough to play your favorite music and just dance for an hour. Find YouTube channels that can help you learn various dance moves. An hour of dancing burns from 600 to 800 calories.

Tennis is a fun sport that also helps with weight loss. It requires constant and fast movement, which is an ideal way to burn calories. It also gives you a great opportunity to socialize and try something new.

It doesnt matter if it is summer or winter, you can always go for a swim. An hour actively spent in the water shapes the whole body and burns 800 calories. If you go swimming with friends, you can also play numerous games in the water.

Another activity for eliminating stress from the body is kickboxing or just boxing, which is also an ideal way in your journey to weight loss. An hour of practicing the sport burns 600 calories. You can meet new people, find a sparring partner, and learn self-defense.

Sports such as football, basketball and handball require constant movement and running. This kind of cardiovascular activity helps burn fat quickly, and group sports are fun too.

Stretching and yoga, in addition to helping relieve stress, lower back pain and improve body flexibility, is also an effective way to lose weight. An hour of yoga burns 180 calories, and if you do more demanding exercises it will help you lose weight faster. YouTube is filled with channels that will teach you various types of yoga, and if you like to socialize you can always find a studio nearby.

An easy but very effective way to lose weight is to run or jog. Beginners are advised to combine slow and light jogging with short sprints and fast walking. Such interval training successfully burns calories. To make it more fun, choose your favorite music or find a friend that will join you.

Whether you use an indoor bike or ride it outdoors, cycling is a good way to burn calories, especially if you go for an uphill ride. An hour or so of cycling burns from 500 to 1,000 calories. Find a bike you like and explore the world around you. Discover a new park in your area, a coffee shop, and other interesting things.

Any type of exercise that involves jumping helps to burn calories, such as jumping rope or jumping on a trampoline. Training consisting of squats and jumping is also a great activity for burning fat and strengthening your muscles.

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Fun Activities that will Help You Lose Weight - State-Journal.com

At just 29 years old, Justin Simpson got a not-so-stellar report card on his health. His doctor called his cholesterol level "embarrassing" and said his liver had become so fatty that he was considered prediabetic.

Justin Simpson lost 95 pounds and became a personal trainer along the way.

Credit: Justin Simpson/LIVESTRONG.com Creative

At that time, he was at his highest weight ever 305 pounds but also at his lowest point emotionally. He knew something had to change. Armed with motivation to live and lead a healthier lifestyle, he made some big, big changes. Here, he shares his decade-long journey in his own words.

No one likes going to the doctor and I definitely didn't. What's even worse is when your doctor looks you straight in the face and says your blood pressure is an indication that you could die very soon. Once she said that, I knew I had no other choice but to make some serious changes, and fast. I was only 29 years old how could I be close to death?

Not only did I want to have a long, healthy life, but I also really wanted to go on adventures. I had always dreamed of traveling, and I realized how unrealistic that was given my state of health and my weight. I knew it wouldn't be fair to my travel partner if I had to stop for a break every 15 minutes or had to carry insulin my entire trip.

Though I transformed my lifestyle for myself, a big motivation was to not let down those who depend on me.

"There's no such thing as before and after, there's only before and in-progress."

In 2009, when I left that doctor's appointment, I was 305 pounds. Over the next five years, I tried a couple of bad crash diets. I also tried the Mediterranean diet, which was recommended to me by that same doc. I knew from the moment I bought a book about it that it wasn't for me, but I really wasn't sure what else to do.

Over the next five years, I lost 30 pounds thanks to a lot of weight fluctuation and crash diets. Really, I didn't know how to eat, didn't want to learn and didn't push myself.

In fact, it wasn't until July 2014 that I decided to take it seriously. I started then with a weight of 275 and got down to 210 by November 2015, which is about where I've stayed ever since.

So how'd I get there? I like to say that the journey of health is ongoing, and my philosophy has always been 'There's no such thing as before and after, there's only before and in-progress.'

While this is true, I did take some proactive steps over the last decade to drop nearly 100 pounds and get my body fat percentage down to 14 percent.

For starters, I now love to cook! I challenged myself to find ways to enjoy foods I knew were good for me but had never liked. I also started tagging along with my friends to cycling classes and, perhaps most importantly, I started Couch to 5K with the intention of running my first 5K before I turned 30.

I hit that goal, just two weeks shy of my birthday, at the Hot-to-Trot Thanksgiving Day 5K in Knoxville, Tennessee. The very next day, I walked into TITLE Boxing Club, and life changed forever. That's when I began my journey training as a boxer.

For the next year, I was a member and the weight really started to fall off. Inspired by my own improvement, I wanted to help others make better choices and meet their goals, so I became a boxing group instructor. A few months later, I decided to go even further and become a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM)-certified personal trainer.

Today four years later! I'm a board-certified personal trainer with a nutrition specialization and a growing list of clients. I have been promoted to director of my gym, and recently, I was nominated as the Best Personal Trainer in a city-wide poll.

Did you know that keeping a food diary is one of the most effective ways to manage your weight? Download the MyPlate app to easily track calories, stay focused and achieve your goals!

My fitness journey, undeniably, has played a major part in my transformation. It's hard to believe that I once couldn't run a 5K, when now, that's easy for me.

However, as a person who loves to eat, nutrition was my biggest, most difficult hurdle to overcome. For years, I postponed cleaning up my meals because I had a negative perspective on what 'eating healthy' would look like. If I'm being honest, I truly believed I'd have to eat salads all the time, and trust me, I'm definitely not a salad guy.

"I lost about 100 pounds, but I rarely ever ate any salads and never starved myself. Knowledge is indeed power!"

What clicked for me is when I changed my mindset. Instead of focusing on all that I couldn't have, I decided to think about what I could have. I really believe nutrition is a process and you have to trust it.

I did everything I could to learn about foods and learn how to cook, and I challenged myself to try anything and everything. And guess what? I lost about 100 pounds, but I rarely ever ate any salads and never starved myself. Knowledge is indeed power!

Boxing helped Justin lose the weight and keep it off.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If I would have put myself on a very restrictive diet that was only about leafy greens and olive oil dressing, I wouldn't have met my goals. (And I wouldn't be helping so many others to meet their own, too!) Giving myself the ability to eat what I like within reason, of course helped me to keep meals fun. I knew if I was miserable every single time I ate, I would have given up fast.

Instead, I made little changes to my habits, little bits at a time, and found new, sustainable ways to eat clean and actually have fun with food. Over time, I didn't have to make 'conscious' health decisions anymore because it had become the normal way I ate.

I understood that if I wanted to make long-lasting change, I would need to take on something that I could do forever. I had been learning a lot about the paleo diet and thought it seemed like a good method that I would enjoy, so I started cooking mostly meals I'd tracked down from paleo recipe websites. I was getting to eat vegetables I liked, plenty of lean proteins that I liked and I grew to love it! There were even paleo versions of some of my favorite high-calorie meals (hello, country-fried steak!).

"I never eat something I don't want to eat, so I'm left with a nutrition philosophy that I can use forever."

But I also knew that even paleo wasn't fully sustainable for me if I were to remain strict, so I was never 100 percent strict. Rather, I used paleo as a starting point. This means if I wanted to have a bit of rice, I'd do it but I'd watch my portions. If a coworker brought in cookies, I'd have one but limit myself to that one. So I was primarily following paleo but also being very aware of what I was taking in that fell outside of that scope.

Once I became a trainer, my schedule exploded and it was very difficult to cook fresh meals every day, so I started getting my feet wet with meal prepping. I started small by just making my lunch for the week and then eventually started batching my dinners as well. It took a few weeks before I latched on to the concept because the idea of eating the same thing day after day for a whole week was boring to me... but I quickly realized how much time and effort I was saving.

Meal prepping then led me to my current philosophy of not being afraid to try new foods but also being OK with eating a lot of whatever you like. I love sweet potatoes and I could eat them every day, so I do! I could eat seasoned ground turkey every day, so I do. I never eat something I don't want to eat, so I'm left with a nutrition philosophy that I can use forever.

In those early days my focus was more on making better daily decisions than it was staying under a calorie limit. I quickly found that I would be consuming a calorie deficit automatically by simply eating cleaner, healthier foods!

"The hard truth? You're going to mess up your diet. You're going to have weeks where you gain weight. But you don't need to beat yourself up for it! You're not a failure, you're a person."

Nowadays, I calculate my caloric needs using the Harris-Benedict equation to get my basal metabolic rate and total energy expenditure. I adjust my daily requirement based on my current goal (cutting weight or bulking mass) and then break down my macros from there. I want to set a good example for my clients while also teaching them how nutrition works, so I'm very transparent about how my macros break down and why they break down the way they do.

I do not track micros but I do eat a variety of vegetables throughout the day, supplement with a daily multivitamin and occasionally have some powdered greens in the afternoon, so I have no reason to believe I'll be out of balance anytime soon.

Boxing is a very personalized sport: It's you and the bag, or you and your opponent. It also requires a great deal of self-discipline and training, and you have to be your own biggest supporter to get through the workouts. The same is true with any sport and with any lifestyle change. That's why it's so important to be kind to yourself and to be positive.

Something I hate is the phrase 'cheat meal.' I also hate when people bring treats to an office and coworkers turn them down because they're 'being good.' This insinuates the rest of us are 'being bad' for enjoying a cookie.

Join the LIVESTRONG.com Challenge Group on Facebook to learn about the latest 30-day challenges and get support and encouragement from other members along the way!

The hard truth? You're going to mess up your diet. You're going to have weeks where you gain weight. It's part of it, and it's just how it goes. But you don't need to beat yourself up for it! You're not a failure, you're a person. You learn from it, and you move on. Too many times people get discouraged with themselves when they make a bad decision or suffer a setback and it causes them to give up completely. I feel like taking away these critical phrases and thoughts and being more forgiving of ourselves will take us all a long way.

When you're a fan of yourself and your own cheerleader, you give yourself the responsibility you need to succeed. It's important to understand that no one else can lose your weight. No one else can get you to the gym or maintain your diet. You may have dietary limitations or medical issues, but it's ultimately up to you to take responsibility for yourself, work around your limitations and go get your own success.

Accountability partners are awesome, workout buddies are great and a supportive significant other is an amazing thing to have, but at the end of the day, your success depends on your efforts and your attitude.

Accept that and watch your success start pouring in!

More:
How Boxing Helped One Man Finally Achieve Long-Term Weight Loss Success - LIVESTRONG.COM