Weight Loss Musts

Try implementing these little things into your daily routine. I know they will make a big difference.

1. Avoid frequent use of soda. Read this interesting article about the facts that drinking even diet soda can increase your chance of getting or staying overweight.

2. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night. Our body's hormones, Ghrelin (tell us we are hungry) and Leptin (tell us when to stop eating) change when we don't get adequate amounts of sleep. Ghrelin levels go up (causing more hunger) and Leptin levels go down (causing less signals of feeling full).

Interesting Fact: 65% of Americans are overweight and 63% of Americans don't get 8 hours of sleep at night.

3. Eat Breakfast. This is a no-brainer...just do it to get your metabolism going for the day-even if you aren't hungry.

4. Skip Late Night Snacking. Oh my goodness, if we can all stay disciplined about this one it would make all the difference!

5. Make a long term plan, divided into small plans. I do this by making a yearly spreadsheet with my weekly micro goals listed and record of my weight. I weigh myself every Thursday morning and record it. Then I also check off each week to make sure I did the things I wanted to do during the week. I do that for a year at a time, barely changing my micro goals throughout the year. It's kind of interesting to see the progress through the year as well as the patterns I can pick out when I get into "crazy cycles." I think it's so important to plan like this because it will help out with sticking to something long-term. Even if there's not much progress for the first 3-6 months, later you might be happily surprised with a positive change because of your focused endurance.

Long term planning is also so important because we have to give our body reaction time. They don't automatically change overnight or even in one week. It's such a delayed reaction because of all the chemical changes that occur within our complex body. Give yourself time to catch up with what you are doing to it. Set realistic goals and stick with them!

When I want to slip up on something I always think to myself, "if I keep doing what I've been doing, I'll get what I've been getting" which is normally no results.

So start or continue to do different things to your body in order for it to react differently!

Be the Tortoise

You know the story, the tortoise wins the race. Being the Hare doesn't typically pay off. I saw this theory hold true during the last two weeks of the Olympic games. Many would start out strong and take the lead during the majority of the race but in the end the people trailing would often keep their steady pace and have enough gas in the end to pull through for a medal.

I think the same can be said for the race of life, losing weight and working to live healthy. While the Hare is flashy and fast at first, later he normally loses gas. This can be paralleled to the energy and enthusiasm that starting a new exercise routine and/or new diet. After the new has worn off it typically becomes more "work" to live healthy and suddenly gets very easy to be defeated. Keeping things steady and constant will aid in staying the course.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the entire race, not just the finish line. It's way too easy to look ahead and plan for the future but what about right now? Sometimes it seems, good intentions aren't enough. For some silly reason the, "what I'm going to do" and what actually happens tends to be two different stories. I'm not trying to be cynical here it's just what I've found to be true from my experience.

So what's the secret ingredient? How can we all become tortoises? Why do some succeed and others give up? Here's a list of ways to help get us there:

1. Believe.
2. Don't be afraid to go after something you really want to do even if there is a chance you could fail.
3. Perservere through hard times and try to learn from them.
4. Control what you can control.
5. Make no excuses. Figure out a way to finish through with something no matter how hard it is-get and stay determined.
6. Be realistic in what changes you are making. Don't go crazy all in one week trying to lose 5 pounds but rather tackle what you can in a timely manner.
7. Create accountability. Find someone that will hold you accountable for your life (this has worked extremely well for me as I have a group of 3 friends that hold me accountable each week).

Intensity Changes Everything

It's easy to wonder into weight gain, but impossible to wonder out of losing it. Intensity can increase or decrease weight loss rates. It's all about decisions and how you look at them, here's a perspective:

1. Do I want to add another helping to my plate or forgo the extra calories in order to lose weight quicker?

2. Do I want to drink the extra calories in the form of pop, wine, Starbucks, or sweet tea? Or would I rather drink water instead and save the calories for food.

3. Do I want to eat food for comfort and pleasure? Or nourishment which is ultimately what our bodies need in order to function at it's best capacity.

4. Am I "all in" with this weight loss and living healthy concept? Or would I rather just kinda work at it when it's most convenient and easy for me?

5. Do I really see myself at my ideal weight and doing the things I want to do or do I just think it's a neat idea if it, by chance, happens?


I know these could be a little harsh but they are questions that we should constantly ask ourselves as we push through the obstacles of losing weight and living healthy. After all, since 67% of Americans are overweight being healthy would be the minority.

6 Steps to Successful Weight Loss FOREVER

There are many recommendations I would make when meeting with a person to lose weight but here's my top 5. Follow these steps and I know you will be pounds lighter at some point!

1. Set a Realistic Goal. Don't get all crazy like all the infomercials. "I lost 10 pounds in a week!" But in tiny letters at the bottom of the screen reads, "results not typical." This also means, you probably won't lose 10 pounds in one week unless you stop eating completely. Don't listen to all the hype. There is no such thing as a magical weight loss pill or diet or workout program (if there was we'd all know about it because that person would be RICH!) Instead focus on setting small (maybe really easy, attainable) goals for yourself. This way you can avoid feeling disappointed, but rather, excited that you met your goal.

2. Write down everything you eat!!! I can't say this enough and now research supports it, click here to read. You lose TWICE as much weight when you write it all down versus guesstimating. This way you know exactly what you are putting into your body. I highly recommend using a free service like www.calorie-count.com.

3. Surround yourself with someone that will support you. This could be a personal trainer (wink, wink) or a group of people that want you to win. I've found that my ladies that come to the small group training for women class create a great support system for themselves. A close friend, spouse, mother, or father will also do wonders. Someone that will always be able to offer words of encouragement during times of struggle and someone that will be your biggest cheerleader when you get it right. 'Cause both times will happen-unfortunately!

4. Have a secure grasp on the meaning and understanding of diligence. I found some good definitions:
a) The quality of being determined to do or achieve something; firmness of purpose; "his determination showed in his every movement"; "he is a man of purpose"
b)Earnest and persistent application to an undertaking; steady effort; assiduity.
It's going to take much perseverance and diligence to get to where you want to go. Understand this, accept and embrace it. Things will make more sense after this.

5. Create a change collage. Change is hard. It's something that's always constant in life but nonetheless its more difficult for some than others. I have a handful of "change lines" I like to remember often. It keeps me going when I get sad of what I've left behind.
a) not until the pain of the same is greater than the pain of change will one embrace change ~Dave Ramsey
b) If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit
c) All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. ~Anatole France
d) When you are through changing, you are through. ~Bruce Barton
e) We did not change as we grew older; we just became more clearly ourselves. ~Lynn Hall
f) Every beginning is a consequence - every beginning ends some thing. ~Paul Valery

6. Think Long Term!It's so easy to set short term goals of weight loss. It's something that we've all done before or are doing again. However, have you ever thought about changing your mindset from present to long-term future? Looking at 10 years down the road and envisioning your life in a decade or two? What will your quality of life be like? What will you enjoying doing in your spare time? Don't do the short-term fix always but make the long-term decision that will impact you in a positive way. Such as the saying, "a moment on my lips, a lifetime on my hips." Get where I'm going with this?!

Overcoming Obstacles

I've tried to write this post a handful of times. For some reason I just can't spit out into words what's going through my brain. There's so many different angles I could take this. The "hump" seems more complicated to me than ever. Nevertheless, here's a handful of theories:

1. (From a post I never published last week)

I've been meditating on "the hump" this week. I wanted to make sure I put enough thought and research into this topic as it's a big one. There are many ideas and approaches to this that entered my brain this week. Although there were lots of keepers, there is one logic that I feel sums it all up.

We only have one chance, one life; make it a good one.

I came to this conclusion earlier in the week. My husband and I were having one of our usual "budget meetings", but this one was far from usual. Instead of discussing monthly goals we visited about our vision for the next 5-25 years. I know there are so many variables and things that could change dramatically during that time, like our income (either up or down). Nonetheless, we set some goals for retirement, kids college funds, future house, car, boat, etc... Then it hit me, we only have ONE chance at this. If we mess it up now, there's not another opportunity because we have just this one life. We're only going to be 30 years old one time. We're only going to have the year 2008 one time. July 6th, 2008 only happens once. Deep, I know. As I was sharing this insight with my husband, he called me Mandy Freud...Funny.

So I wanted to attempt to make this correlate with fitness. I only have one body. If I decide to eat extra calories for the decade of my 30's and omit exercising regularly, chances are when I hit 40 my body will start to show the effects. My knees and hips may decide to fail as well. When I am 80 my body might tell me it's done walking. Who knows? My quality of life later on will more than likely be affected for the worse. Or if I take care of my body now, the 60 year old version of me will look back and thank the 25 year old version of me because of the decisions and choices I'm making now.

I want my "one chance" to be one of no regret as one of the worst feelings (in my opinion) is the taste of regret.

2. The mini steps to get out of a hump.

a. Re-focus.
b. Remember what brought you to the place of wanting to change your life.
c. Revise micro goals into something realistic. Many times we over-estimate ourselves (I do this all the time) and set unattainable goals. The only constant in life is change. Situations change thus micro goals need changed along with life.
d. Find someone or something that inspires you to keep going. I think this is very useful as certain people or situations motivate me such as (as cheesy as this may sound) watching American Gladiators. The show is all about overcoming obstacles and reaching for a goal. Something else that really inspires me is being around healthy people. People that eat right and exercise. I see how they "have it together" and strive for that same situation for my own life.
e. Get to know someone. I find I do this a lot. I try to find people that I can relate to that I want to strive to be like. Maybe I like their character, a personality characteristic, or the way they handle tough situations. I study them (although they never know this) and work to figure them out. I ask them questions to further my investigation which helps me understand how to improve myself more.
e. Check out Gretchen's list of keeping New Year's Resolutions

The Hump

Beginning. Middle. End.

The easiest part of starting something new is the beginning and end. In the beginning everything is exciting and new. It's different than normal which adds a new twist to life. The end is also pretty fun because there's triumph in sight as the finish line is within view. Although in my opinion, the middle is where true victory is had-where the champions truly reside.

I see it almost weekly. I meet a new client, run into an old friend at the grocery store or am approached by someone in the gym. Their eyes are filled with excitement and the dream of losing weight and getting healthier. 99% of the time I am holding my new-found exerciser back from spending 7 days a week in the gym. They are filled with joy as their new, improved future vision of themselves is looking up. I love this stage!

However quickly frustration sets in. They did not lose the 20 pounds they wanted to by the end of month one. Slowly but surely the diet and exercise fades. It's no longer very exciting but more of a burden and slowly their dreams of health die away and are declared impossible. The aspirations they once had are gone. I hate this stage!

What I call, the "middle" is the hump, the Wednesday, the stagnat area where all you can do is tread long enough to stay afloat. At least that's what it typically feels like. It's not fun, it's work. There's not much enjoyment because the new has worn away and the end is nowhere to be seen.

Are you sitting on a hump right now? Have you been on a hump in the past and gotten over? If so leave a comment and how you've gotten over it or how you are getting through it.

More on the hump later....

80 Percent

Behavior is 80%-only 20% is what you know! The choices we make on a daily basis ultimately decide how we look and feel. I can't stress this enough when I get a new client. There sometimes is a perception that hiring a personal trainer will make a person thin. Not true-all of the people I have worked with that have lost weight or accomplished the goal they set for themselves did it ALL on their own. I am their biggest cheerleader, supporter, motivator and coach. However, I am not with them 99% of the time. Thus, your destiny is your own.

Some choices you can make for yourself throughout the week that can help with weight-loss and leading a healthier life:

1) Create some micro-goals.
2) Look at food labels.

Let's look at these a bit closer.

1) Micro Goals- Here's an example:
Walk/Run 12 miles per week
Avoid eating after 7pm 5 times in a week
Participate 2-30 minute strength sessions per week
Stretch 3 times per week, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds
Learning how to create proper goals will enable you to reach your goal without giving up. Here's 2 key ingredients:
a) Be specific
b) Be realistic
c) Create accountability
If your goals are vague you will be more likely to give up. Putting too much on your plate will also encourage defeat. Know yourself and what you are capable of while making your goals. I have a spreadsheet of 52 weeks with my micro goals on the side. Each week I have to check off what I did or failed to do the previous week. It gives me some sense of accountability to myself. Another great idea is form an accountability group. It's a group where you are accountable to 3 or 4 people of the same sex. It can go beyond fitness into other realms of your life.

2)Food Labels
I had an eye-opening experience earlier this week. I teach a course at a local college. There were about thirty 20 year olds that barely knew anything about basic nutrition. I love these kids-they are great! I love being able to teach them about health and the possibility of preventing obesity later in life. Many of the students were not aware of something called high fructose corn syrup.I gave them the same assignment I'm giving you....look at all food labels and avoid buying anything with that listed as an ingredient. It's something small but you will be surprised how certain "healthy" products have this as a primary ingredient.