Alicen Ronan: Get-Started Tips

Personal trainer and Sharecare Fitness Expert Alicen Ronan wants her clients to know they don’t have to have perfect bodies to start exercising. She believes in baby steps to reaching a fitness goal. “Even small fitness and wellness changes can have a big impact,” she says. This self-described former fitness flunky knows everyone has to start somewhere. When Ronan lost 60 pounds in 2006 she decided she wanted to help others make the same type of changes.

On Sharecare Ronan helps others by answering questions on topics such as what to do if you hate exercising to how to stay fit while traveling. Here she shares some must-know tips.

Day Job:  Personal Trainer

Weekend Job: Adventurer

Favorite Quote:  “Exercise: you don’t have time not to.” – Unknown

Proud to be: “Making a difference in the lives of people who needs help reaching their fitness goals.”

Favorite Hobby: Bicycling

Health Mission: “To help my clients understand that they don’t have to have perfect bodies to benefit from exercise.”

What’s always in her fridge: “Non-fat plain yogurt. It works as a low-cal substitution for all kinds of stuff like sour cream and is a great addition to smoothies.”

The one healthy thing she does every day: “Stretching. It keeps me limber and relaxed.”

Passion: “Cooking—exploring new ways to create amazing meals that support a healthy lifestyle is the perfect companion to the hard work of exercise.”

Secret pastime: “Reading. I am a major bookworm, so I have to balance the stationary time I spend reading with exercise.”

Weight-management secret: “I never deprive myself. It only leads to issues later. If I want to eat something indulgent, then I do it. But I make sure I get right back track at the next meal. “

Advice to live by: “Focus on all the benefits you’ll get from exercise—not just how it makes you look, but how it makes you feel and how it can improve your overall health.”

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File under: Fit Friday