I'm headed for a Saturday morning workout with my fitness trainer. For one hour, I will physically challenge my body and emotionally charge my spirits. I will sweat and pant and if I am required to do the inner thigh exercise, I will scream. I will also whine -- it's in my nature -- and I will push, pull, bounce, balance, lift, squat, lunge, and run until it's quitting time. I will fall short on some of my exercise expectations. And I will surprise myself and exceed others. In the end, I will feel accomplished, strong, motivated, and ready to tackle the day.

I'm making a comeback. I have come back from the depths of cancer and all of its accompanying treatment, and I have invited this powerhouse of a girl to transform me. She has accepted the challenge -- and she has helped me evolve from a weak, shaky, dizzy cancer patient to a semi-strong, 5K-running breast cancer survivor with biceps that are almost visible at a close distance.

This spunky fitness girl -- also an accomplished kick boxer, wife, and mom of two little ones -- has accepted another one of my challenges. I asked her to share some of her health and fitness expertise so that we all may reap the benefits. And so she kindly extracted some important tidbits from her vast library of knowledge and concisely crafted the responses that follow.

Take it from Fitz Koehler -- exercise and healthy eating habits are key for survival. For all of us. Cancer survivors included.

Why is fitness important for everyone?

100% of the population needs to exercise in some way. For the most part, if you're not working to get stronger, you're going to get weaker. Whether it's tummy time as an infant, gym class as a kid, weight training as an adult, or short walks as a senior, in order to live well and live long, we must eat well and exercise. Plus, a fit lifestyle prevents so many horrible ailments and diseases -- heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, GERD. Who wants any of that?

Do you recommend weight training? Aerobic training? Both? Why?

The three areas of fitness people must engage in are strength, cardiovascular, and flexibility training. Without considering personal appearance, we need to be able to climb stairs, carry groceries, and put on our socks. I can't tell you how many people tell me they've thrown their backs out putting on socks. Having strength, stamina, and flexibility are essential to total fitness.

How much exercise is required for achieving and maintaining general fitness?

I recommend engaging in deliberate exercise most days of the week. Gardening is NOT deliberate exercise; swimming is. Train to become better. Train four to seven days of the week, and challenge yourself. No coasting! You should huff and puff during cardio, grunt while you're strength training, and wince just a little while you stretch. I'm not suggesting you try a 10K on day one, but each workout should be meaningful. Certainly ease into things, but always aim to improve. Choose activities you'll enjoy and are accessible if possible. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you huff and puff, grunt and wince. Just a little. If you get an "ouch" pain, stop! If you get an "ugh this is tough pain," go!

Why is fitness important for cancer survivors?

Since most survivors have been through a ridiculous amount of debilitating treatment, surgeries, and procedures, their bodies are significantly weakened. If a survivor doesn't want to become weaker, he or she must train to become stronger. Creating a sturdy structure/body is imperative for two reasons. It will allow each person to regain his or her life back, to truly feel like the normal person he or she once was. Physically strong survivors will also have the benefit of being more resilient should the cancer come back.

For those whose bodies have been weakened by surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatment, how do you recommend easing into a fitness routine?

First of all, follow your doctor's orders. These people are your first line of offense with cancer. But I suggest keeping it simple and doing what you can. Even if walking to the mailbox is all you can do, do it. Start by getting back to normal life activities like grocery shopping and doing laundry -- these things take legitimate effort. Ease into deliberate exercise slowly. Walking is a simple start. Post-surgical patients need to work on regaining flexibility. I recommend The Breast Cancer Survivor's Fitness Plan (Harvard Medical School Guides) by Josie Gardiner and Joy Prouty, my colleagues in the fitness industry.

Many cancer survivors experience heightened fatigue, sometimes years after treatment ends. What do you suggest these tired souls -- like me -- do to incorporate exercise into their lives?

Make it a priority. Like everyone else in the world, you need to schedule an appointment in your book in INK, not pencil, to make fitness happen. Use restraint at the grocery store and only bring home items that will fuel your body. The first few workouts may leave you more exhausted, but soon they'll leave you invigorated and ready for more. I promise.

How does diet affect health?

The old saying you are what you eat is kind of true. Choose quality foods, and your body will respond. Choose low quality foods, and your body will respond too. Even if you could stay trim by exercising hard core on a daily basis, eating grease and sugar all the time will leave your body more susceptible to sickness and disease. Eating well is not only for achieving weight loss. Making great food choices is a huge component to gaining energy, mental clarity, and a complete vital body. Most people don't respond to sermons on the matter, so I'll avoid that. Let's just change the way we look at food.

The purpose of food is for fuel, not fun. Sure it can be a part of your fun, and it can also be delicious -- but a giant bowl of something fried shouldn't make or break your party. Our bodies are designed to do best with a certain amount of vitamins and nutrients consumed each day. Look for these -- lean protein and dairy, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and a small amount of healthy fats should consume your plates. Make 90 percent of your meals high quality, and then enjoy a slice of cake on your birthday. A small amount of lesser quality foods are fine, as long as you put the healthy choices in the majority. You can even maintain this quality on the go at fast food restaurants. Wendy's, for example, makes a tasty grilled chicken sandwich with some yogurt on the side. Good choices are everywhere now. Look for them.

I spoke with a group of firefighters awhile back, and one of the habits they all had in common was the habit of driving around with a 32-ounce cola in their trucks, which they constantly refilled. Their jaws fell to the floor in sync when I told them how many calories were in that giant drink. 400! More calories than they would get in three slices of Dominoes pizza. I don't believe in diets. It is simple choices like these that get people on the right track. I suggested they switch to diet soda, water, or unsweetened tea. More than 15 of those particular heroes grabbed me within three months to tell me they'd lost between 10 and 15 pounds only by switching to diet soda. How easy is that?

Other simple choices follow. Avoid foods cooked or coated in oil or butter. A tablespoon of butter is loaded with more than 100 calories of pure fat. You certainly don't need that. It's simple -- all you need to avoid are the foods labeled fried or sautéed. Choose foods that are baked, broiled, boiled, steamed, toasted, roasted, grilled, barbecued, microwaved, or Lean Mean Grillin' machined. Just avoid dipping or smearing your food in pure fat. It could cut hundreds of unwanted calories out of each day, while preventing your arteries from clogging up. Would you ever consider putting mustard in the gas tank? It doesn't belong there. Mustard shouldn't go in your vehicle, and oil shouldn't go in your body.

Give us three diet tips

Choose 90 percent quality foods
Ditch caloric beverages
Avoid cooking or coating your food in grease

Give us three exercise tips

Make it a priority
Start slow
Train for improvement

Please share anything else you think everyone should know about fitness and diet

It's true that fitness can be tough -- especially for cancer survivors. It is also the one thing in the world that can provide so many benefits. It's the only ONE THING that will help you avoid numerous ailments and diseases and will provide a strong resilient physique, improve mental clarity, boost energy, and positively affect the skin. Being fit relieves stress, anxiety and depression, and improves work output and relationships. Hopefully everyone who has survived cancer has figured out how precious their lives are and that the body they're living in needs to be at it's best. I'd like to believe we are not just our bodies, but without them ...

Fitz Koehler is a fitness expert with a Master's in Exercise and Sports Sciences from the University of Florida and almost two decades experience teaching fitness around the globe. Send questions to Fitzness@aol.com or visit Fitzness.Com more fitness tips.