Cara Kempf is a certified personal trainer with the Fitness Zone in Carmel and a group fitness instructor with NIFS in downtown Indianapolis. She can be contacted at fitnessblog@theindychannel.com.

Most of you have seen the new dietary regulations that just came out about a week or so ago.

Man, do they have people talking! Thirty minutes of exercise per day to aid in disease prevention, 60 minutes per day for weight loss, and 60 to 90 minutes per day to maintain that weight loss.

These new guidelines have people shaking their heads in amazement, saying, "that's just too much!"

Trainers everywhere are shaking their heads in amazement as well, but we're saying "it's about time!"

These guidelines change about every five years or so, and the last time they changed, they changed for the worse. In an attempt to get people to do something, it was stated that 30 minutes of exercise a few times a week would be enough to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Well, obviously that wasn't quite true and now the truth has resurfaced.

The food guide pyramid is also on its way to change, although it hasn't yet been completed.

The government is now saying that we should eat more fruits and vegetables, lower our carbohydrate intake (eat whole grains like oatmeal and brown rice), watch out for saturated and trans-fats by eating low fat cheese and milk, etc.

Hmmm, eat more fruits and vegetables ... what a great idea!

I'm joking about these new "facts" that have always been known to me and lots of others in the field. But in all seriousness, I know that the amount of time recommended to exercise seems quite high compared to all the other daily activities in our daily lifestyles.

I also know that eating healthy foods all the time is hard and takes lots of willpower and planning (especially for those who don't necessarily like fruits and vegetables).

But I also know that we can do it!

Start planning out your exercise times for the week so that you will stick to it.

Buy a book that lists healthy foods and take it grocery shopping with you as a guide. (I suggest The Zone by Dr. Barry Sears–more on that at a later date.)

Pack a cooler every night that you can wherever you go so that you always have those fruits and vegetables on hand.

I know many many people who do it every day -- even people that work 10-hour days and weekends. I also know that there are lots of people who want to do it -- an estimated 40 billion diet books and products were purchased last year alone.

You MUST put your health at the forefront of your day. I have faith in all of you -- you CAN do it!