I received the email below from one of our awesome readers yesterday. I thought it was worth sharing my answers since I receive similar questions each week. If you have questions about green smoothies or need some motivation, shoot me an email at allen-at-letstalkfitness.com. I can either give you some advice or point you to someone who can help.
First Lisa’s email:
—–Original Message—–
From: “Lisa F.”
Sent: Tuesday, December 4, 2012 2:29pm
To: “allen@let…”
Subject: A few questions…Hello Allen,
I would like to thank you for all the wonderful information on your blog, it is very motivating and informative! I have a few questions whenever you have a few minutes I would greatly appreciate your response.
1. How did things “click” for you initially? I am struggling with just getting started.
2. Do you use your green smoothies as a meal replacement or in addition to your healthy meals?
3. Why do you think they have helped with your weight loss?
4. What type of exercise do you do on a regular basis and how did you get started with it?
5. How did you find your fitness trainer? It appears that she was an integral part in your transformation. Any input on this would be great.
Sorry so many questions but I really appreciate your help! Congratulations on your success!!
Thanks again, Lisa
And here are my replies:
1. A few months after I started with Linda, the nutritionist I worked with, things just clicked. I think it was for two reasons:
a. I figured I would see what would happen if I gave it my a full go
b. I visited my sister and she took a picture of me and my niece. When I saw the picture, I realized that I hated how I looked and said that this photo will be my motivation for change.
I can tell you that one of the things that helped me get started and helps me every day is to think about the things I want – and all of those things require that I get in shape. Just imagine yourself at your goal! I can tell you that my life has been so amazing – if you asked me a year ago if I would finish a 5k race, I would have laughed and ate some fries or a cake. Today I am looking forward to my first 10k race and to being able to live with passion!
2. I drink a liter of green smoothie in the morning – I guess you could call it breakfast. But you don’t need to start there – I started with a 16 ounce smoothie and it was awesome. Not sure about your situation but before I started this journey, I never, ever ate any fruits and veggies. Today at least 85% of my food intake is raw fruits and veggies – it has been an amazing change. Have you checked out my basic green smoothie recipe? If you can tell me what fruits you like, I can give you some good smoothie ideas.
I think what is great about the green smoothies for weight loss is that they are easy and think about how much healthier they are than bowls of cereal, cups of coffee or an Egg McMuffin. I am sure we can find a combo you will love – I can assure you that the energy will be great and it’s an awesome way to start the day.
3. I think a lot of it is because they replaced something bad – either lots of mcdonalds crap or half a box of cereal. And just think about all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrition that are packed into the drink. You can put it next to your desk in a sippy cup and drink on the straw for hours. I also think the green smoothies (and even more the green juices) help me detox – without getting TMI, they help push out all the junk inside of me. The combo of the nutrition and the detox benefits combine for awesome weight loss.
4. When I first started on this journey, I did a small bit of exercise here and there but nothing routine. I always assumed that losing weight was about working out a lot but what I have learned is that the majority of my weight loss has come from just changing what I eat. My fitness trainer Ashli will probably disagree somewhat but today I’d say that losing weight is about 80% what you eat and 20% working out. All people are different and I hear almost everyday that women have a harder time losing weight than men and also remember that the more you have to lose, the easier it is to lose at first.
5. I found Ashli via a service called FitSteady which is a matching service that is currently only available here in Austin. I think Ashli has been very important – after dropping 100lbs so far, she is helping me get toned up so I am ready for my GQ magazine cover next year!
Ask your friends for trainer recommendations, try Yelp or go to a local gym and ask for recommendations. You can also check Meetup.com for fitness meetups in your area and then ask for recommendations from the trainers. Until you do that, just get out there and walk! You don’t need a trainer to go for a walk every day 
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