13 Reasons Why You’re Not Losing Weight and What You Can Do About It

#13, Same Routine = Same Results; every 3-6 weeks you should mix it up.

#12, Not Keeping a food & cardio journal; gotta keep records to beat records

#11, Too Many Splurge Meals; 2 meals or 10% of your meals can be splurges (no sugar).

#10, Drinking too much alcohol; save it for the splurges & no more than 3 drinks per week.

#9, 1st: No sugar at all. 2nd, limit sugar free sweeteners to 1-2x/wk (save it for your splurges)

#8, too many starchy carbs, not enough vegetables and fruits Read the rest of this entry

Specific. Measureable. Attainable. Realistic. Timeline.

By Michael L. Alves, ATC, CSCS

O.K.  If you’re considering changing your body and getting in your best shape for 2009, then you must set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

What are S.M.A.R.T. goals?  S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym for specific, measureable, attainable, realistic and timeline and is a formula for achieving goals.  Read on to learn more.

Specific:  You must set specific goals if you want to achieve them.  General goals gets you general (read:  mediocre) results, specific goals, get you…you guessed it, specific (read:  awesome) results.

Ask yourself, “What is it I must change now?  What way am I tired of being and I must do it now or I’m only going to get older and it’s never going to change.”

Measurable:  You must be able to measure your progress in the short term (to keep excited or to make adjustments if not going as planned) and long term (how will you know you’ve achieved your goal).

What feeling/emotions and actions will you measure daily?

What objective & subjective things can you measure each week/month to give you feedback on your progress? Read the rest of this entry

 Lose 20lbs in 20 days!

Don’t believe a word of it! I wish it was that easy! Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for weight loss. Supplement companies are making a fortune making people promises of having the magic pill or weight loss drink, but the truth is that there is no magic supplement to help you lose weight overnight. Sure you can have liposuction or even bypass surgery to lose weight quickly, but what happens after the surgery, when you resort back to the same old behaviors that caused you to gain the weight in the first place. Do you think that you will still be able to keep the weight off and prevent future weight gain? I seriously doubt it.

Losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle requires a lifelong commitment. It does not just happen overnight. You must make it a priority in your life. I couldn’t tell you how many people that I have meet over the years that said, I want to lose weight, but they failed to do it. The reason was that at that point at time they were not ready to make the sacrifices that come with making a commitment. They were only able to be successful when they were truly ready to commit to living a healthy lifestyle.

Set goals for yourself.

 Find out what motivates you. Do you want to get back into your skinny jeans? Do you want to lose the last 5 lbs? Do you want to reduce your body fat? Do you want to have more energy so you can chase your kids around? Whatever it maybe, you need to find what it is that drives you and make it your goal to accomplish it.  Write your goal down and use it for motivation.

Educate yourself and create a plan.

Now that you have a goal take the time to educate yourself, learn as much as you can about what you’re trying to accomplish. If weight loss is your goal you need to learn about exercise, nutrition, life style changes, and the psychology that goes into it making the changes.

Use the information to develop a plan to achieve your goals. Write your plan down and keep records. Studies have shown that people are twice as likely to succeed if they follow a written plan and keep and keep a journal to track their diet and workouts.

Most people fail to achieve their goals because they lack the knowledge or skill that it take to achieve them.  If you don’t know how to do something, I strongly recommend that you find someone that does, like a coach or a mentor.

Find a support system

Surround yourself with people who will support you. Having a support network is important for your success. Having people there to offer positive feedback, will encourage you to stay focused and help you work harder to achieve your goals.

It can be very challenging to be do it all on your own. Sometimes friends and family can be your biggest distraction to our success. Often they can be negative influences that contribute to your negative behaviors. This is why it is important that you let your friends and families know what it is that you are trying to accomplish and how important it is to you.

Many times you can encourage them to make changes as well and you can work together. You can work out together, share recipes and eat healthier meals together, and motivate each other to do better.

Stay Focused

Understand that you are human and that you will have ups and downs. If you have a bad day diet wise or if you skipped a workout, get back on track the next day.

Remember that you made a long term commitment to your health and that the bad day was just a bump in the road. Just make sure that you keep your sights set on accomplishing your long term goal.

Make it happen

Now that you have the knowledge and a support system in place it’s time to take action and start improving the quality of your life.

Nothing is going to happen until you decide to take the next step and make the commitment to change your life.

Now go make it happen!

By Benjamin Petitpas

There are six basic essential nutrients.  There are three nutrients that provide energy to your body in the form of calories. These three are carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The other three nutrients are vitamins, minerals, and water. These three do not provide you with any calories, however they are essential to all metabolic activity that takes place in your body.

The six essential nutrients are:

·         Carbohydrates

·         Protiens

·         Fats

·         Vitamins

·         Minerals

·         Water

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are made up of sugars and starches. There are two different types of carbohydrates, Simple and Complex carbohydrates.

Simple Sugars- Are the sugars that can be found in foods such as: candy, soda, juices, and fruits. They are made up of  two or less sugar molecules. This type of carb can be broken down quickly and used immediately as a source of energy, often referred to as a “sugar rush.” Simple sugars will cause an instant increase in blood sugar levels causing a spike in your insulin levels, in order to remove the access sugar from your blood circulation, often causing your body to store it as fat to be used as a source of energy later.

Complex Carbohydrates-Are found in foods such as; potatoes, rice, bread, and pasta. Complex carbs are made up of many sugar molecules bonded together. Complex carbs are different from simple sugars because the sugars are released at a much slower rate, because it takes longer for the body to break them down. 

Protein

Protein is made up amino acids, which are the building blocks for muscles cells. There are 22 amino acids, divided up into essential and non-essential amino acids. Non-essential amino acids are naturally produced by our bodies. Essential amino acids cannot be and as a result they must be consumed in our diets.

There are two different types of proteins. There are animal proteins and plant proteins. Sources of animal proteins include; meats, fish, dairy products, and eggs. Sources of plant protein usually are; beans, nuts, and grains.

Protein is a key component to building lean muscle, which will increase your metabolism. The more lean body mass that you have the more calories it takes for your body to maintain it so as a result your body burns more calories all day long, even at rest.

Fats

The term fat is commonly associated with obesity and heart disease and has taken a bad rap. However, it is important to understand that not all fat is bad for you. There three main types of fat; saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and mon-unsaturated fat.

Saturated fat

Saturated fats are the type of fats responsible for increasing cholesterol levels and elevating your risk for heart disease. They can lead to clogged arteries, which will in turn slow down your metabolism.  These fats come from animal fats such as butter, fatty meats, high fat dairy products.

Polyunsaturated and Mon-unsaturated fats

Unsaturated fats on the other hand do not have an impact on cholesterol levels. The majority of your daily fat consumption should come from these two types of fats. Common sources of unsaturated fats are found in your nuts and vegetable oils.

Vitamins

Vitamins are used by your body in to assist in chemical reaction that take place within your body’s cells. In addition they help the body build proteins and repair injuries. There are two types of vitamins fat soluble and water soluble. The difference between the two types of vitamins is that fat soluble vitamins are stored by your body in the liver and in fat tissue. Water soluble vitamins are not stored by your body and as a result they need to be regularly replaced by your body.

By eating a well balanced diet you can meet all of your daily vitamin needs. However, you have a hard time eating a balanced diet I recommend that you take a daily multivitamin supplement. 

Minerals

Minerals are used by your body to support growth and to assist in your body’s chemical reactions. Sources of minerals come from various foods, water, and supplements.

Water

Water is the most essential nutrient for all life. Water is used in all chemical reactions in your body. It is estimated that the average person uses approximately 2 to 3 quarts of water a day. This is why it is so important to keep yourself hydrated and to constantly drink water throughout the day.

By Benjamin Petitpas