I recently had the pleasure of talking with Tosca Reno, a successful author, fitness expert, model, and life-changing motivator. Her best selling books including The Eat Clean Diet series, The Butt Book, and Your Best Body Now provide practical advice to help you make positive and lasting changes in your life.

In this first of a three part series, we discuss some of the key philosophies behind Your Best Body Now. Reno talks about how she became empowered by changing her life for the better.

I asked Reno if she agrees that in some ways, the predominant thinking in our society is not so much about being 50, 60 or 70 and being great at those ages, but rather trying to stay 30ish for as long as possible. Are we resisting the reality of getting older to the point of denial?

TR: “I think that’s very true. We live with that unrealistic expectation that is very prevalent today. But you know I have to say when I look at say some of the Hollywood celebs that look amazing I give a shout out to Helen Mirren. I think she embraces her age, looks great for her age, and she’s not trying to look ridiculous.”

“I mean you know let’s face it; we can see the faces that have been injected, pumped, and stretched and just don’t look real don’t look youthful or even look sexy They might look younger to some extent but doesn’t look right somehow because you pretty quickly recognize that is not a natural face”

‘”In Your Best Body Now, my whole goal was to try to help women embrace the best of themselves. It doesn’t matter what the age or decade is that you are in, but to put some strategies into place to look the best you can for whatever age you are.”

"It is those people who have the courage to live the best version of themselves. Not the best plastic version of themselves the best more realistic confident healthy version of themselves that give us all hope. I remember seeing Jane Fonda at the Oscars a few years ago I want to be that person, who raises, sets bar for how we can look our best as the years go on. I’m turning 52 this year and I am shooting a bikini cover!”

Yes, Reno will be appearing in a bikini cover shot later this year at 52. Just as amazing is when you consider when she first made a similar appearance – at age 50! But how does a shy, middle-aged, divorced mother of three go from overweight and unhappy to fit and fabulous?

TR: “I didn’t come from a pedigree list of Hollywood starlets that made it realistic or even reasonable for me to think these things could be possible such as being on the cover of Oxygen Magazine. Or being a New York Times Bestselling author.”

“I came from a place that was obese and unhealthy and definitely not looking well. When I was in my twenties and thirties, I looked and felt more as if I was in my forties or fifties. After I learned the lessons of training and eating properly, not crazy training but regular physical fitness, and put them into practice is really, when the best of me appeared. And that is what set the tone and allows me to give hope to others. I show women that they can achieve this for themselves.”

One of the comments I read in a previous interview of Reno’s was that Your Best Body Now is proof of Tosca Reno's transformation, but what can it do for the average woman?

Reno points out, “I am the average woman.” This is the most important part of Your Best Body Now. Reno is a woman who has been there and experienced it all; the weight gain, the unhappiness, and feeling as though her life had no real purpose other than to care for others.

Reno does not have a team of experts to help her out the way a Hollywood celeb has. Being like the rest of us makes it easier to identify with someone who looks good because of hard work and discipline and not just a skilled hairdresser or makeup artist.

Still, what makes many women see someone like Reno far removed from their personal situations? We discuss why it is so difficult for women to believe that they deserve to take care of themselves in part two of our interview. Find out why you and Tosca Reno have a lot more in common than you may think, bikini-clad magazine cover aside!

A very special thank you to Tosca Reno for taking time out of her busy schedule for our recent telephone interview.

Please visit www.ToscaReno.com for more insight and helpful tips!