New Year’s Resolutions Gone Sour

 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1….HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 “My New Year’s resolution is to quit smoking”.  “My resolution is to lose weight”.  “I’m going to start eating healthier”.  “I’m joining a gym”.

 Week One:  Getting Started

“I can do this, I’m pumped!”  “This is going to be cake”.  “Let’s do it”.

 Week Two: 

“Wow this is hard but I got this, I have willpower”.  “I just have to psych myself up”.

 Week Three:

“I need a cigarette!”  “I’m starving to death!”  “My body hurts!”  “I need a cheat day!”

 Week Four:

“This is for the birds!”  “I can’t do this anymore, I’m all done!”  “Oh well at least I tried”.  “There’s always next year”.

 Does this sound all too familiar year after year?  Well it doesn’t have to be!

Most New Year’s resolutions fail within the first 30 days.  Probably because some people start out with the right intentions but may be going about it all wrong.  Think about it.  Some people go from smoking for years to trying to quit cold turkey.  And for some they have been eating foods loaded with fats and sugars year after year to a diet consisting of egg whites, dried out chicken and vegetables.  Not to mention exercising.  Some go from an exercise regimen of getting off the couch to find the remote control to killing themselves on a stair master 5 days a week.  No wonder why so many people fail at their New Year’s resolution.  They try to make their resolution a quick fix instead of a lifestyle change.

 Bad habits were not created in a day, a week or even a month.  So breaking those habits (which can be done) may be a slow process for some.  Instead of looking at your goals as a resolution why not look at them as a journey, one day at a time.  With each day you get through its one step closer to winning the battle. 

Here are some ways that may help prevent your New Year’s resolution from going sour.

 If your New Year’s resolution is to:

• Quit Smoking—You may want to seek medical advice before quitting.  Your physician may suggest alternatives to just quitting cold turkey.  Alternatives such as using nicotine replacement therapy or non-nicotine medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms. Or by reducing your intake of nicotine gradually over time by decreasing the number of cigarettes you smoke.  Acupuncture or support groups could also be an alternative to just quitting cold turkey.

• Lose Weight and/or Eat Healthier—Try not to make drastic changes to your diet all at once, do it in increments.  In other words if you need to add more fiber to your diet (fruits, veggies, whole grains), do it gradually.  Start out with the first few days by adding fiber to one of your meals.  Oatmeal or fruit for breakfast or a serving of veggies or brown rice with lunch or dinner.  Then after a few days add another serving and so on until you reach your recommended daily intake (25-30 grams per day).  By adding fiber gradually you may prevent bloating and/or stomach cramps.  Another way to make gradual changes to your diet is by bringing a lunch from home instead of ordering take out or eating at a fast food restaurant.  This way you can control the fat intake associated with fast foods.  The same goes with water intake.  Water is very important for overall health & weight loss.  If you feel you don’t drink enough water or no water at all then gradually add one cup at a time.  Your ultimate goal is to take in at least half of your body weight in ounces (150 pd person = 75 ounces of water intake per day).  And the more water you take in the more water your body will crave instead of sugary drinks such as soda’s, juices etc…. Don’t like plain water?  Then try flavored water or add lemon or any kind of other fruit.
• Start an Exercise Regimen—Start out slow slow slow!!  Don’t be another statistic with failing at your New Year’s resolution.  Start out by walking on a treadmill or using a stationary bike for 15-20 minutes every other day for the first week. Then with each passing week either add more time to your cardio, more days or increase your intensity levels.  (Try not to exceed 45 minutes of cardio 5-6 days a week if your goal is weight loss). After a few weeks of doing cardio add weight training to your regimen but start at a beginner’s level. Start with a full body workout (one exercise per muscle group and 1-2 sets of each).  Train 2-3 X per week with 1-2 days rest in between.  Use light weights in the beginning then gradually increase your weight over time.  Make sure you change up your weight training programs every 4-5 weeks when you hit a plateau.  By gradually adding and making changes to your cardio and weight training regimen, you may not only prevent burnout and/or injuries but you may prevent your New Year’s resolution from going sour.

Need help getting started with an exercise program and healthy eating habits?  Visit my website at www.myaudibletrainer.com   “My Audible Trainer” is a hot new fitness product that takes the guesswork out of exercising & eating right and gets you results!

Go from Flab to Fab

With Fitness Expert Susan Ferrari

The dreaded flab!  Flabby arms, flabby legs, flabby stomach….  Who doesn’t battle with one or more of these problem areas?

Let’s look at some causes of flab and ways to combat it:

• High Protein/Low Carb Diets—Low carb diets deplete the healthy glycogen (the storage form of glucose) stored in your muscle and liver.  If you eat protein without enough fuel calories coming from fats & carbs you will convert dietary protein to fuel (energy) leaving no protein for cellular needs.  This in turn will force the body to attack its own lean muscle tissue causing loose skin as well as dehydration.  That’s why people on these types of diets see a significant amount of weight loss.  It’s a combination of body fat, muscle tissue and water loss.  You might be thinking what’s wrong with that?  The problem is that most people don’t last long on these types of diets.  Because of the loss of muscle tissue your body’s metabolism will slow down in turn causing you to gain more body fat then when you started.  Instead, preserve your muscle tissue & the elasticity of your skin by eating a well balanced diet.  Include a variety of low fat protein choices, complex carbohydrates, low fat dairy, fruits & vegetables.  And don’t be hard on yourself if you cheat here and there.  Brush it off and get back on track!
• Lack of Water—Minimal water intake causes dehydration of the skin which in turn loses its elasticity.  Drink at least half your body weight in ounces.  (EX:  150 pounds = 75 ounces of water).  Don’t like plain water then try flavored water or add lemon or any kind of other fruit to your water.  Stay well hydrated daily and your skin will love you for it.
  • Smoking—Smoking damages the elasticity of the skin making it more difficult to tighten flabby skin after weight loss because it deprives the skin of oxygen & nutrients. With a good diet, skin supplements and great skin care you can do a lot to get your youthful skin back.
  • Age—Skin elasticity decreases with age.  If you lose a considerable amount of weight when you’re older it may be harder for the skins elasticity to bounce back to normal.  Give your skin that extra lift with a firming cream.  As we age our skin loses essential skin proteins such as collagen and elastin.  A good skin firming cream may increase the store of collagen & elastin thereby improving skin elasticity.
  • Lack of or Minimal Exercise—We can start to lose muscle tissue at a slow rate as early as the age of 25.  By the time were 35 though we can lose an average of 5 % of our muscle mass every 10 years.  Muscle loss due to lack of exercise will lead to flab. If your already weight training good for you!  But if you still see signs of flabby skin try increasing your weight and dropping the reps.  You may also need to change up your program to shock the muscle into new growth.  And if you have never weight trained before then it’s time to get started.  It’s never too late to build lean muscle tissue.  If your goal is weight loss then make sure you weight train along with doing cardio and eating healthy.  Don’t go with the myth that you should weight train after you lose all the weight.  If you lose weight through cardio and/or diet alone the elasticity of your skin may not go back to normal resulting in flabby skin.  Weight training also increases your metabolism adding in weight loss.  With your cardio workouts you can tone your upper and lower body.  Instead of walking try jogging or walking uphill to tone your legs.  Add some hand weights and you can tone your arms at the same time.  If you use an elliptical or cross trainer increase the incline or intensity level to shape up your legs.

If you need help getting started with an exercise program and healthy eating plan, visit my website at www.myaudibletrainer.com   “My Audible Trainer” is a hot new fitness product that takes the guesswork out of exercising & eating right and gets you results!

Quick Tip:

Tone up a flabby butt while walking up stairs.  Instead of pushing off with the ball of your foot, instead push off with your heels.  By pushing off with your heels you will activate your glute muscles (AKA:  Butt)

DRINK WATER LOSE WEIGHT WHY YOUR DIETS FAIL

Everyone I talk to wants to lose weight and they all have some crazy diet designed for rapid weight loss but they all fail at some point due to several reasons.  The number one reason is losing weight is hard and it takes commitment and a plan. But what if I told you that you could lose more weight if you just drank more water.
Water is very important ingredient to your weight loss program and should never be underestimated water can be the key to losing more weight. If you are one of those people who doesn’t drink enough water, then chances are your body has developed a pattern of storing water. This water retention can be the reason you have unwanted weight. We must drink water our body’s need water and if you want to lose weight it is vital.

But there are more benefits to drinking more water than just losing weight, water flushes out toxins and that is a good thing, once you teach your body that it no longer needs to store and retain water, in a sense you must retrain your body. How much water do you need to lose weight ? You must drink at least 8 glasses a day. Boiling water and adding sliced lemon will help make it easier to drink and it will taste better, now drink the water throughout the day all day. Most people don’t know that water, is a natural appetite suppressant so it should help you eat less too. Remember losing weight is hard but it starts with the basics but you can do it.