No one can accuse Tosca Reno of going Hollywood. Although the busy mom of five is known globally as a bestselling author, fitness model and columnist for Oxygen magazine, she remains grounded through family and by remembering her start on the pathway to success.

“My day-to-day life was a struggle,” Reno tells Lifestyler about being her heaviest weight more than 10 years ago. “I was 203 pounds and not even pregnant at the time. Even walking up the stairs was a hassle. I felt much older than my actual age.”

Clean Eating
Before adapting her more healthful lifestyle, Reno says her weight constantly fluctuated.

“I yo-yo dieted in my twenties and thirties, always losing and gaining the same weight,” says Reno. So, when she authored her first nutritional guide, in what would become the start of her Eating Clean series, she comments on how important it is to know that eating clean isn’t another fad diet.

“Eating clean has changed my life; I feel (and look) better now than when I was in my twenties,” says Reno. “I feel like I’m in control of the way I look and feel, and trust me, if I can do it, so can anyone.”

“I would tell anyone to Eat Clean for a few months and see if they notice a difference — in their energy levels, the way their skin looks, how bright their eyes are, and, of course, how loose their pants have become.”

A typical day on Reno’s eating plan, for example, might begin with a warm bowl of oatmeal, or toast and egg whites with fruit on the side; a chicken wrap and chopped vegetables for lunch; and a lean cut of steak with salad for dinner. Two snacks a day are also allowed.

Exercise and Strength Training 
Many of Reno’s fans are surprised to learn the fitnessista doesn’t spend hours upon hours in a gym, she says.
“The truth is, I’m a busy woman — like many other adults out there. I have a demanding job, a husband, children, pets, an aging parent… the list goes on,” says Reno. “I make sure to make every second of my gym time count. I’m in and out in under 45 minutes so I can get on with the rest of my day.”

Her current workout schedule consists of weight-lifting three to six days a week, depending on how she chooses to split her routine. At the moment, Reno says, she’s training for a half marathon, so the need to fit in longer cardio workouts is essential.

Whenever she makes an appearance at her home gym, some of her favourite strength training moves include exercises that work the butt and thighs, like squats, lunges and cable kickbacks. “Exercises that target these large muscles are very effective for fat burning,” she says.

On days where she isn’t her best or may find it challenging to continue (just like everyone else), Reno reminds herself she’s never regretted a workout.

“There are times when I’m busy or just don’t feel like getting in the gym, but I tell myself it will be worth it when I’m finished,” says Reno. “I usually work out first thing in the morning — that way I don’t have a chance to talk myself out of anything later on in the day.”

Age and Fitness 
To Reno, you are as young as you feel. Over her career, she says she’s found that most age barriers people face are psychological.

“I know now that it’s never too late to make healthy changes and change the way your body looks,” says Reno. “If you are in your thirties, fourties, fifties, sixties… even your eighties or nineties, you can improve your life.”

….read the whole article HERE – via LifeStyler Magazine