So there I was, sitting next to the canal in Broad Ripple, eating mahi mahi tacos and sipping iced tea while chatting/catching up with a friend. She is moving out of the state and I wanted to meet up before she left. It was kind of a bummer though because she and I are very like minded. We are both into fitness, eating well, delving into entrepreneurial adventures, and maybe most importantly, we both really like a good IPA. We discussed our usual plan of trying to conquer the world (with little success thus far unfortunately) and what had been going on lately in our lives. She mentioned that she liked my blog (thanks, Becky!) and that’s what ultimately got me to writing this right now, fish tacos still digesting and all.

After she mentioned the blog, I laughingly said “do you have any topic ideas, cause I’m running low?” This ended our discussion about my blog. But in all seriousness, just meeting with her today gave me an idea for this post. NO ONE MAKES IT BY THEMSELVES. This is truer than truth itself. Pick up any biography on any person who “made it”. And by “made it” I’m referring to folks like Steve Jobs, Jay-Z, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Zuckerberg, etc. You get the point. Read enough about ANY of them or others who “made it” and you will read of stories of how they would not have been able to “make it” without the help of _______. Never fails.

I thought about this as we were parting ways. We said that we’d stay in touch so we can bounce ideas off of one another. This got me to thinking. What if I didn’t have that? What if YOU didn’t have that? We all need help at one point or another. Without the help of my parents to get me through school financially, I wouldn’t be writing this today. Without Heather Fink, whom I consider my mentor and who helped me learn so much about sports nutrition and dealing with clients, I’d be one lousy dietitian. Without making those calls and sending those e-mails to friends of mine in the industry, I’d likely have given out poor advice to many of my clients. You see, dietetics is actually a really diverse industry. We work in hospitals, long term care facilities, the food service industry, in dialysis clinics, for grocery stores, as consultants for businesses and sports teams, in private practice, and many more. Hell, even in the field of sports nutrition it gets diverse. A diet for a 160 lb, 40 year old man training for his first Ironman triathlon is VASTLY different from a diet for a bodybuilder in contest prep. So because of this, we often call each other up for advice in a specific area.

So what does all of this have to do with you? Well if you are reading this, you are either doing it because health and fitness are important to you or because you have like an hour left at work, are mentally checked out, and saw this pop up on your news feed. Either way, I’m grateful so thanks for sticking around.

So….

Have trouble routinely making it to the gym? Try getting a training buddy.

Don’t feel like you have time to prepare healthy food? Make it a point to split up the duties with your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend

Not sure what to eat at a restaurant? There’s an app for that.

Feel like you need to be held accountable? Get a trainer. I recommend www.athleticrevolutionnortheastindy.com or http://indianapolisfitnessandsportstraining.com

Just flat out having a lousy day? YouTube Richard Prior or Cosby and thank me later.

So that’s it for this round guys. Don’t get down on yourself for not being able to do it all on your own. No one does.