Do you know what is in the food you regularly eat? Do you eat processed food? Do you think you eat a lot of sugar? Is sugar in your foods? If you don’t know the answer to these questions you need to find them out.

Often when we get a new client a very big part of our program is discussing their current eating habits. It is very important to get them off all the processed foods and basically very un-nutrient rich foods they have been eating that has led to their weight problem and get them on the road to eating quality food so they can start to get healthy and drop some body weight. This is a tough, tough process. Many people just don’t realize the junk they are eating. Most if not all that most people eat all day everyday is loaded with SUGAR. I think this really surprises people. I know it surprised me when I learned this.

Do you know the different names for sugar that is used in the ingredients list at the supermarkets? Here are a few: High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
Glucose
Sucrose
Maltose
Dextrose
Honey
Fruit concentrate
Natural cane sugar
Brown sugar
Brown rice sugar
Agave Nectar
Raw sugar
Powered sugar

Yes all these words mean one thing. You are eating sugar. Here are a few of the things you may be buying regularly at the supermarket that contain some of these words for sugar. In fact some items contain 3-5 of these words in one ingredients list. So you may be eating 3-5 different kinds of sugar in your one serving of the following…
1. Catsup
2. most Cereal, yes even the organic supposedly healthy varieties. Check the labels carefully
3. Jarred, canned spaghetti sauce
4. Soups
5. All Salad Dressings on shelves- I have looked and no there are not any without!
6. Peanut Butters…big brands…stick to natural peanut butter
7. Pancake Syrups
8. Most BREADS on the shelves – Pepperidge Farms Rye and Pumpernickel are the only ones without sugar!
9. Yogurts
10. Most if not all packaged, pre-made meals (most processed foods) even the so called low calorie, healthy ones.
11. Packaged oatmeals
12. Most Crackers
13. All Protein Bars
14. Alcohol – yes Ladies that includes all wines

So in reading this list I hope your thinking like I did many years ago, OH NO! BUT…I thought I was feeding my family healthy food! Yes many, many of you are eating just SUGAR all day long. So you may be asking at this time so what? Well I know most people think a little sugar here and there is no big deal and they are right. The problem arises when it is what you eat all the time.

Let’s say you eat cereal and milk for breakfast, lunch meat sandwich on whole wheat bread for lunch, snack of crackers and cheese in afternoon and then go home and have a spaghetti dinner with some bread and butter. Maybe this is not your regular day but close, guess what? You have successfully eaten sugar at everyone of your meals. And that is scary. I’m sure you thought you were eating healthy right? You didn’t eat a candy bar or any commonly known junk food?

While thinking about writing this blog I looked up sugar addiction and guess what I discovered. First it’s real and second it has some nasty side affects. I am sure many of you reading this already know this, I know I did from personal experience. So besides all the excess calories which in turn produces all that extra fat carried around there is some serious health hazards associated with excess sugar.

I am going to explain this very basically. When your eat a food that has sugar in it or is a simple carbohydrate (breads, crackers, pasta, cereals…flour products and processed whole wheat and all processed products…they all have sugar added too) which your body then converts to sugar it has to be metabolized (broken down to be used by your body). Although it has NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE, once it goes into the body your body has to do something with it right? In metabolizing this sugar your body draws from your vitamin and mineral reserves. So your not bringing in any vitamins and minerals because your eating food that doesn’t have any of that and you keep drawing from your stores well you can guess what happens here. You create deficiencies which, of course, create many health problems. And as we all know now, just carrying around lots of extra weight creates many, many health issues all on it owns. Heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, some cancers, high cholesterol and emotionally: depression, irritability, hyperactivity, mood swings and the list goes on….

So let’s get educated about this. Pay attention to the foods your buying. Read the labels and try to cut down on pre-made, pre-packaged, ready to eat foods and work toward getting ourselves and our families healthy. We always recommend to our clients to just stick with nature and you can’t go wrong. Did man mess with this food product? If the answer is yes put it back down and buy the product as GOD made it. It really is that simple. Did I say easy? NOOOO

A real quick way to find out if you have a sugar addiction is to cut it out of your diet and see how your body responds. If you have no adverse side affects then great you are not addicted but if you feel lethargic, craving sugar foods, depressed, flu like symptoms, HEADACHES ( common side affect), body aches, and well this list goes on and on…. these symptoms usually last from a few days to a few weeks so good luck.

Take the test, try just ONE day without any sugar products and see if you have a sugar problem. Love to hear back from you. An excellent reference on this topic can be found at http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/refined-sugar-the-sweetest-poison-of-all.html

God Bless You,
Evey

So I have made a decision to get back into the best shape I can. Since my husband Lynn got sick a little over a year ago I have just stayed OK. Not really fit and not fat. Mainly because I have not made it a priority to work out and watch my food like I should. So it is time to take it to the next level or back to where I like to be. The step after my deciding to do it and determining exactly what I’m going to doing is the tracking of the doing it i.e. the food journal.

I have to say, once you start the very first day to write down what your eating all day long…you come upon what I call the “eye opener” moment. Do you track your food and drink intake? If not, get on it. You will be so surprised about exactly what you are eating, when you are eating it and how much you really are eating. So often we underestimate what we are doing. Especially when it comes to the food. As a sidebar here we usually overestimate how much we exercise…too funny and so very human!

So I started tracking my food this past Monday as that is my official start day to getting very healthy and fit again. As usual
so often when we get clients who come in and really want to change their health and fitness we encourage them to track it all by giving them a food journal book and letting them know our expectation of having them fill it out regularly as in daily.

Initially this works out great. They, like me this past week start recognizing that perhaps I and them…well we were eating alot of junk, or to much food or eating when we are bored or overeating when going out to dinner and so on. It becomes glaring obvious that we have some sticky points with this food thing. So Thank God we’ve decided to track it.

Another thing you may notice as you try to get ahold of this food business is that you just don’t like this focus your having to give it! Or maybe your hungry or maybe not hungry or maybe thinking this is just too much work. Well join the club. It is alot of work to track it and to make it available when you need it. Lots of work will go into this health and fit stuff and a majority of it is with the food issue.

So here we are starting to be accountable and tracking all the food we put in our mouths and it’s way different then you’ve lived in the past so it’s hard. But still very doable because you have your reason’s WHY you want to get healthy and fit. SO stay on course and keep at it and you know what? In a very short time (it really is a relatively short time if you consider how long you’ve been fighting this fat thing in your life) you will start to FEEL better, LOOK better, have more ENERGY and suddenly (at least if feels that way) clothes start to fit better and the best part…people start to notice and comment on how GOOD your looking. Yeehaw!!!!!

Get on board and take charge of YOUR health and fitness TODAY!

Always interested in feedback…

God Bless You,
Evey

So here it is… a New Year with new resolutions and you’ve decided this is the year your going to be the healthiest and fittest you’ve ever been. You are tired of struggling into your pants, having no energy, just feeling like crap so…it’s time for a change. Well congratulations on making the decision to change your health and fitness. So what do you do? Do you jump right in, change your entire life and run full speed ahead? Burn out because you are unrealistic in your commitments to your goal? Or are you the other type that sits down to write your pros and cons, write what it is going to take, think about it…think some more about it and eventually it becomes February and well it’s to late to take advantage of this year’s New Year’s resolutions anyway…maybe next year.

You see there has to be a medium ground. In fact maybe you aren’t the jump in and burn out type or the procrastinator type but instead the balanced type. You recognize that you have to be resonable with your changes. They have to be mostly doable, daily and small so you will have a very good chance of meeting your goals. Well with that in mind I’ve put together a list of 5 small changes you can start to incorporate into your life TODAY that will have a big impact on you health, waist line and energy.

1. EAT BREAKFAST- Ok so I know you might be saying to yourself right now….”I thought she said she was going to list small doable steps. I never, never, never, ever, ever, ever eat breaksfast.” Well alright but you do want to get healthy and fit right? If you want to get healthy and fit YOU DO HAVE TO MAKE SOME CHANGES, because if you don’t want to make any changes then you can just stay where you are…unfit and unhealthy.  It has been proven time and again…breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Almost all obese people DO NOT EAT BREAKFAST. That should give you alittle hint. Don’t want to be overweight and unhealthy hmmmm maybe I should eat breakfast. You can start small with this. Make a plan just for tomorrow. Plan what your going to eat…make it something you KNOW you like so later you won’t complain about having to have eggs and oatmeal everyday, or plain whatever…you can make a decision about what kinds of healthy foods you can have and PICK THE ONES YOU LIKE. Don’t make this so complicated. It really isn’t, it’s just different for you UNTIL it becomes a habit. Believe me, once your body gets used to eating breakfast it will TELL YOU FEED ME! And that’s a good thing. If you mess up and fall into old habits tomorrow and sleep in late with no time for breakfast just keep going, get some healthy food when you get a chance and recomitt to making sure to get up the next day in time for a healthy breakfast. If you just continue to refocus on what you are really trying to do you WILL DO IT.

2. MOVE YOUR BODY - Don’t say Uh OH here….you know exercise will  be a part of any fitness program. Again this is an area that some people just lose their minds over. They will say “BUT…But…But I hate to exercise. Can’t stand gyms, can’t stand running, biking or any physical activity.” Really? I say REALLY? NO PHYSICAL ACTIVITY? So again my question would be, “Do you really want to get HEALTHY AND FIT? Or do you want to get unhealthier and fatter everyday? The choice is yours.” And your choice will decide if you are on your way to being healthy and fit or not. It really is that simple. OK so you know what YOU DON”T LIKE TO DO…how bout setting out to discover what YOU DO LIKE TO DO. It can start off as simple as walking around the block, going on a short hike, walking through Sam’s instead of using the electric cart…you start where you are. For those of you who like to exercise make it challenging for yourself…work yourself up to some kind of goal and do it WITH SOMEONE. Planning to meet up with girlfriends to go shopping can actually be a cardio for some folks. You are only limited by your imagination …so start thinking about something YOU CAN DO that will require you to move your body everyday.

3. DRINK MORE WATER – This is another biggie. From my experience…it is not so much the drinking water that is the problem with this step but the giving up of something else in order to be thirsty to drink the water. Such things as soda’s, coffee’s and well pretty much everything else but water. So start small with this step too. Just try to add alittle water to your daily life instead of whatever drink is your norm. It won’t feel right for some time and hopefully you are not a caffeine addict or you will experience headaches till you adjust but eventually you will actually CRAVE WATER. I’ve found that the more I drink water the more thirsty I am for it and that’s a good thing.

4. SLEEP MORE – Ever wake up tired and wish you could just stay in bed? If you are like most people this is a common feeling and you know what? It is not healthy. Your body heals and recovers from all the stresses you go through every day so let it rest. Instead of staying up on fb, twitter or to watch Dexter GO TO BED. Your health and waistline will thank you. And you just might not have that sugar craving so much. Yes when we are tired we crave simple carbs whether they come in the form of cookies, donuts, chips or crackers it’s all junk food. Your body looking for a quick pick me up because you are worn down. No better feeling in the world then waking up feeling refreshed and renewed. If it’s been so long since you’ve felt that and you can’t remember what it feels like…that is a sure sign to unplug and sleep NOW!

5. EAT SMALLER PORTION SIZES – So let’s say you are out at a social event and you really can’t resist the chips and spinach dip….I say have some BUT not all of it. Maybe two or three and move on to healthier fare. Moderation is the key here. Someone puts a slice of cheese cake in front of your face and cheese cake is your absolutely FAVORITE dessert…take a couple bits and then STOP. Enjoy it without pigging out till your ready to burst syndrome. WHY does it have to be binge or starve…why can’t it be moderate. You are shooting for moderate in your thoughts of eating and actually eating that cheesecake because I definately don’t want you thinking but “I will never be able to have cheesecake again.” You see that there thinking it what causes you to go overboard everytime you see an M&M. You can have M&M’s just not everyday and definately NOT THE WHOLE BAG!

Well I hope this little entry helps simplify your healthy living strategy. Remember to implement  small doable changes into your schedule. You don’t have to start tomorrow swearing off everything you love….just swearing off some things some of the time and adding in other things. If you are really, really committed to getting healthy and fit then find other likeminded folks that want to go on this journey with you and get educated. With the internet now…so much information at your fingertips. Use it.

Would love to hear back from you…

God Bless You,

Evey

Have you ever argued with yourself about whether to go exercise. You may be going to the gym to lift weights or go running at the local track but for some reason you just don’t FEEL like it today. You keep weighing in your head all the reasons NOT to go.

“I don’t have time to really have a great work-out so…”
“I just feel lazy and don’t want to do it.”
“Why bother, I am still fat and I’ve been working out so much lately.”
“I’m so tired. I would rather sleep instead.”

I am very sure that you have been there at some point and maybe you are there right now.  Having trained many, many people over the years, often how we handle this self-talk will determine our success or lack thereof.  Sometimes it is very difficult to motivate yourself to work out for several weeks till you get into the groove of regularly working out.  Often our focus is on the right NOW,  not on the where we are going with our attitudes and feelings. It is really important to just get doing it initially and the rest will follow.

For me, I was sick this past week and it has been very difficult to get back into the swing of things. It is Christmas time and normally most of us, myself included, are not to interested in working out. Instead we are interested in eating and drinking way to much so come the New Year we have our job cut out for us. So if we push past the excuses of why not to work out we arrive at the reason(s) to work out. That’s what I keep telling myself and you should too.

So this past week as I am trying to get back into my healthy habits I keep thinking about how GREAT I feel when I am done. How energetic, calm and happy I am after the fact. These are the attitude adjustments we all get after the hard work is done. My husband has remarked so often on how different I am after I have cardio’ed or weight trained then before I have done anything. He likes to say I am a different person and I am. I am calmer, happier and always have more energy.

Let’s focus on what we get from running, lifting weights, playing tennis, swimming or whatever activity you enjoy doing…it’s alot. It is more energy, less stress, burning some calories. Who knows maybe you are like me and you will get a whole new positive attitude. And along the way you will become fitter and healthier too.

So put those excuses aside and get moving. God didn’t make us to sit. We are to move. Find something you like to do that makes you active and get doing it. Great things will follow.

Love to hear your thoughts…

God Bless You,

Evey

In all the excitement of enjoying Thanksgiving with family and friends we often forget what it is really all about. And NO it is not just about the fabulous food. It is a time to reflect back on your year and remember the people in your lives and your current circumstances and be grateful for where you are right now even if it is challenging;it was for the Pilgrams.

When the Pilgrams and the Indians settled into their three day celebration all that time ago,  the Pilgrams had just come through some really tough times. Upwards of 50% of the Pilgrams had died their first year in America. One day an Indian showed up who knew English and helped out the Pilgrims with ways to cultivate the land and basically survive in this new world. By their third year they had a bountiful harvest and invited their Indian friends to celebrate. And we have since celebrated Thanksgiving as a time to remember where we have come from and survived and be blessed with opportunity to move forward from this place.

So if Thanksgiving is about gratitude for overcoming tough circumstances what exactly does that have to do with eating so much you have to undo your pants top button to let your stomach out? Not sure, but if you are one of those people who go overboard with your eating on this holiday I have included approximations of calories for all those goodies you might be eating tomorrow. Hoping a little knowledge may cause you some second thoughts while indulging in some favorite dishes. Remember only 3500 extra calories and you have gained a pound of fat.

Let’s start with the drinks. I believe the Pilgrams and Indians drank water but…

1 glass wine              120 calories

1 cup eggnog              343 calories

1 mixed drink              250 calories

1 glass cider              120 calories

Snacks:

1 cracker w/cheese              70 calories

1 celery stalk w/cream cheese              45 calories

1/2 cup mixed nuts              440 calories

1/2 cup fresh fruit              60 calories

1 tbsp dip for chips              75 calories

1 ounce potato chips              150 calories

Salads:

3 cups salad with diet dressing              100 calories

1 tbsp ranch dressing              75 calories

1/2 cup gelatin w/ fruit              120 calories

1/2 cup waldorf salad              110 calories

Main Dish:

Turkey White meat w/ skin – 1 cup               276 calories

Turkey Dark meat w/ skin              310 calories

Bread stuffing – 1/2 cup               190 calories

Mashed potatoes (milk & butter) – 1 cup               237 calories

Cranberry Sauce – 1/2 cup              190 calories

Gravy- 1/2 cup              150 calories

150 caloriesGreen Bean Casserole – 1/2 cup              225 calories

Candied Sweet Potato – 1/2 cup              150 calories

1 Dinner Roll              110 calories

1 Pat butter              45 calories

Desserts:

2 Small Chocolate Chip cookies              150 calories

1 piece apple pie (1/8)              410 calories

1 piece pecan pie (1/8)              480 calories

1/2 cup whipped cream              75 calories

1/2 cup ice cream              145 calories

1 small piece fudge              70 calories

Thanks to www.About.com and www.Suite101.com for their stats….

You may be wondering if I am guilt tripping you on this most festive holiday and I say it’s not so. Believe me in our household we love Thanksgiving and this year we have so much to be Thankful for so we will be in the same boat as you tomorrow with the one exception being; my husband Lynn and I are determined to go through this year’s Holiday season losing body-fat. This is different for us as we usually gain weight from Holloween  till New Year  when we are 5 pounds heavier, sluggish and miserable. Looking in the mirror and saying, “Well all of January we will be working to get back to where we were before the Holiday’s.”  NOT THIS YEAR.

So you see this little entry is for me as well as for you. Tomorrow, when we go to our friends house to celebrate,  I am going to remember those serving sizes, drink alot of water and skip the seconds and still enjoy the holiday with our friends. Hoping you do the same.

Love to hear your thoughts, comments….

God Bless You,

Evey

It has been my pleasure over this past week to share with several different people on several different occasions the importance of weight training in their lives. Their ages ranged from 20 somethings to 70 somethings and all of them wanted to understand WHY they should weight train.  Why go to a gym, why get a personal trainer, why do a resistance class, why do push-ups  ...what does it DO FOR ME?  Why is it so important? They wanted to know HOW it would improve their lives and HOW did it impact everyday stuff.   Well here it is;  your list of benefits you receive from weight training, lifting weights, polymetrics, strength training, resistance training and any other words that describe weight bearing exercises that cause your muscles to adapt.

1. Metabolism, metabolism, metabolism...did I write that enough times? Sorry but if you are a women over 30 and you constantly wonder why you just keep getting bigger and bigger no matter what...well here it is. Your metabolism naturally slows down as you age and if you are not being proactive and working to prevent that natural slow down well? And men, is your belly expanding larger and larger? (wrote all about metabolism in another entry, refer back to it for more info)

2. Prevent osteoporosis or the weakening of your bones by weight training which strengthens your bones. Recommend you get a bone density test done prior to beginning a weight training program and a few short months later repeat the test. You and your Doctor will be pleasantly surprised at your improvement.

3. Weight training makes you strong. We have helped many people just get strong enough so they can now walk across a large parking lot without taking frequent breaks or being able to walk up a flight of steps without a break or doing the steps one by one. Maybe you aren't that weak now but lately I've been seeing more and more people young and old alike now getting in the motorized carts to shop in the big outlet stores like Sam's Club or Walmart. What's up with that? A little weak in their legs? Carrying to much weight around? Get yourself stronger so EVERYTHING else is easier.

4. Weight training makes you less prone to back injuries and/or helps people with back injuries lead less pain filled lives. How? By making your back stronger, core stronger and supporting your lower back and therefore making everything easier for you. We are and have worked with many, many people with back problems from the very minor back problems to people who've had back surgery and have pins in their back.

5. Weight training improves your posture, your balance and your coordination. Wow lots of stuff you take for granted when you are young but start aging and these skills fall by the wayside. But if you keep weight training and continue developing these skills then guess what? Yes you can and will maintain them.

6. Weight training increases your good cholesterol, lowers your resting heart rate, lowers your resting blood pressure...so why NOT do it? All good things improved from a couple hours of weight training a week. Well worth the time and effort. Much better than taking and paying for medication.

7. Regular weight training has been shown to help people's self-esteem, help depression and build confidence.

Pick anyone of these 7 benefits of weight training and it is in itself a good enough reason to find the time to do it. Combine all 7 benefits and all I have to ask is WHY NOT do it. Get started today. Don't wait till there is a problem , be proactive with your health and make some positive changes in your life. If you have never lifted a weight or even been in a gym find someone who can help you. Stretch out and try some new things and who knows you just might live a long and healthy life.

Any comments and suggestions always welcome...

God Bless You,

Evey

I was recently talking with a regular client of ours who just started to wear a pedometer to monitor how much she actually moves around (steps walked) in a given day. She made the decision to wear this device due to health problems she has been experiencing as well as by a recommendation of her personal trainer.  So the very first day that she wore the pedometer it showed her that she just walked 1200 steps and well she was aghast. She could not believe that she really only walked so little. She was under the understanding that she was walking all the time but NOOOOO not so. She now recognizes that she must move a lot more. She must set time aside everyday to move because her day job is sitting at a desk all day long. It was a “wake up” call or an eye opening moment for her.

What impression are you under? Do you believe you will live forever? Do you believe shoveling in all that sugar will not effect you or eventually give you diabetes? Do you believe your Dr. when he tells you  to watch your cholesterol or high blood pressure? Do you hear wide awake or are you still sleeping? Do you realize that all that extra fat you are accumulating may KILL YOU.

Another client of ours has a family history of dying young from heart disease. All males in this guys family have died before 50 years old. He currently is close to 40 and about 40lbs overweight. He is training to help him make friends with food and live a more active lifestyle. Hopefully this will break the health trend his family currently is living. He is learning to eat healthier food and lose some of the bodyfat that is weighing him down. He is listening and responding to his families history. He knows he must make some changes. He lives daily with his “wake up” call.

Are you aware that 68% of this country is overweight. With a third of the population being obese and unfortunately even with all the education and scare tactics the statistics are getting worse. Heading into this holiday season if you just don’t know how to take care of this unique gift we are all given called our bodies then make it a point to find out. NOW before you get a rude “wake up” call that you might never recover from. 

Find out if you are doing it right.Pay attention to what you are eating on any given day. Look into how much you really move around. And so what if everyone around you is fat and eats junk. Does it make it OK or even right for you to be fat or unhealthy and eat junk just because everyone you know behaves that way or is that way?

I just started telling my kids when they say to me…

“But Mom, Stephanie’s Mom and Dad let her do it!” and I say “I don’t care what Stephanie’s family is allowing her to do. This is what our family is doing.”

“But Mom..all the other kids get cookies and chips in their lunches. Why can’t we?”

“Because in this family you will have fruits with your lunch..and occasionally some pretzels.” (believe me me kids have junk sometimes…we are balanced here not extremists)

So just because 68% of everyone around us all is fat or obese it DOES NOT MAKE IT OK for you…not unless you make it so. Please don’t make it so. Understand you are responsible for your decisions and the decisions you make for your children.

Today is what matters. Evaluate where you currently are and make changes for where you want to go. So make it happen for you and your family.

Always interested in your comments, suggestions or questions…I’m listening!

God Bless You,

Evey

Can the cellulite be gotten rid of? Can you ever be free of the “cottage cheese” thighs? “Pock marked” butt? “Dimpled” arms (yes nowadays even the arms are getting cellulite)? Some would have you believe that once you get it…you never can lose it. Can you really NEVER lose it? Is it  truly a chronic condition?

First we should understand exactly what cellulite is…. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cellulite our online dictionary states that cellulite is “a condition that is claimed to occur in most women where the skin of the lower limbs, abdomen, and pelvic region becomes dimpled.”  Merriam-Webster ( www.merriam-webster.com/definition/cellulite ) defines cellulite as “deposits of subcutaneous fat within fibrous connective tissue that give a puckered and dimpled appearance to the skin surface.” Wikipedia  also states towards the end of the entry that a few researchers feel that “there really is no cure for cellulite” as if it were a disease.  Basically we all know what cellulite is and most definitely what it looks like…

Personally we here at Fit Transformatins believe that losing cellulite is a lot like losing fat. Seeing as cellulite IS fat and when you lose fat you shrink those fat cells down and they no longer take up space in your body then….low and behold….you really CAN lose cellulite. Well I’ll be. This unbelief in being able to lose your cellulite is right up there with the person coming in the door not even believing they can actually lose 5-20 lbs of fat. Which, of course, can really, really happen. 

After perusing several websites claiming to solve your cellulite problem with lotions and surgeries among many treatments …we are still of the mindset that this cellulite circumstance is another issue that can be minimized if not out right solved with a program with three lifestyle components in it. Can you guess what I will write next? Yes cellulite and lifestyles do tend to have correlations. Those folks that eat healthy foods, weight train and do cardio tend to decrease their bodyfat and minimize the cellulite. Yee Haw I say…

From personal experience, having been fat after both pregnancies and having gained weight recently after my husband’s illness I have cellulite. Everytime I focus on my eating habits, get regular cardio and weight training  I slowly but surely lose the cellulite. In fact a little over a year ago, when I had my bodyfat down to 14 percent (I also was 41 years old) I did not have one dimple in my butt and all I can say is YES!!!!! There is light at the end of the tunnel. It can be done.

It just takes a focus, a want and a plan to get you to your end result. So whether that end result is modest and you just want alot less cellulite all the way to the other end of the spectrum and you don’t want even one dimple on your butt I say go for it. Give it 100% and keep giving it 100% till you get there. Have fun on your journey…it is well worth it.

Please feel free to share your experiences, thoughts or opinions…I’m listening!

God Bless You,

Evey

Quite often we have someone show up at our personal training studio saying “I just need to lose this!” as they point to their rear end, big belly, or jiggle under their arms. Then they say, “Can we do lots of abs today because I just have to get rid of this, I can’t stand how fat my stomach is.” Are you one of those people who go to the gym and make a beeline for the abs class or the adductor/abductor machine to work you inner and outer thighs with the intention of whittling the fat away through exercise? You keep saying if I only do 1000 crunches everyday I will have great abs like that girl on the fitness magazine cover or if I only work my huge thighs more they will get smaller so I can fit into my favorite jeans.

Unfortunately, still to this day many, many people remain under the assumption that working a particular body part will get rid of the fat in that area and somehow make that problem area smaller. Not sooooo….in fact you will probably push your fat out more if you just so happen to put muscle in that area from working it, before you drop any bodyfat. Then you will look bigger in your problem area….. (at least momentarily until that muscle goes to work for you). Uh oh! So then how do you lose that big belly, big butt or jiggly arms or cellulite?

There are three components to transforming a flabby, sloppy out of shape body into a firm, strong and healthy body. The first component and perhaps the most important is how and what you feed your body. Are you eating junk with no nutritional value and expecting an incredible body? Do you eat live from the earth as God made it food or are you slamming McDee’s every morning? These are important questions that have to be addressed before anything else. What you eat, how much you eat of it, when you eat it, how it’s prepared and so on is such a big topic that it is definately a topic for another entry. Suffice it to say that you should be eating 5-6 small meals through-out the day. Every meal should have a quality protein source and carb source and of course veggies and fruits should be part of your meal planning.

After you have your healthy eating under control your next focus will be weight training. So you want to be firm and strong….well then weight training it will be. You can not get muscle without actually working that muscle out. So you must lift weights or do some kind of resistance training to challenge your muscles to grow. Your muscle is a big factor in your metabolism and probably is still one of the most misunderstood parts to getting fit and healthy. In a nutshell, it will help you to lose the unwanted fat by speeding up your metabolism as in more muscle, more calories needed to support that muscle. Bigger muscle groups have more potential to grow alot bigger hence require alot more calories to sustain them, unlike abs which are a small muscle group and will only grow so much and never require a substantial amount of calories to keep them their size. That is why many, many fitness people often say…”ABs are made in the kitchen.”

So here you have all this unawanted fat and you decide to try to get rid of it as Fit Transformations recommends so you start watching your food intake, start lifting weights and you WILL start noticing some small changes but to take in to the next level and speed things up you must add your third component which is cardio. Cardio on its own, even without looking to drop bodyfat as a goal, is so important for a variety of reasons. Cardio is great for your heart, blood pressure, to relieve stress and on and on it goes… and it’s a must to lose the big butt, oversized thighs or jiggly arms. So get out there and work up a sweat doing something, anything you enjoy because you will burn some calories and in turn lose some bodyfat.

There you have it…the basic elements or three components to getting a firm, strong body versus a large, fat and flabby body. So what are you waiting for? Make your plan using these basics and you can achieve anything…

Always interested in your comments or thoughts….

God Bless You,
Evey

Wow…this is such a major, big topic and has so much influence on people that it has been known to steal the joy out of whole days in some folks lives. Incredible that an inanimate object that records numbers that represent our personal weight can have such an impact on our lives. How did this happen? Where did this start? More importantly when will it end…this insane focus on the numbers on “The SCALE”. What are those numbers and what do they represent for us?

With a little bit of research I discovered that scales have been around for thousands of years but the act of weighing ourselves came about in the United States in the early 1900’s and became extremely popular during the Great Depression with coin operated scales used as big money makers. By the 1940’s our love affair with scales was in full force when bathroom scales became regular household items.

From then until now our fixation with the numbers on the scale has only intensified to the point that some people will do darn near anything to get those numbers to go down. As evidenced by surgeries and drugs and other unnatural ways to drop weight. So what exactly does that number on the scale represent? Maybe to some people it represents who they are socially or economically but really the numbers on the scale are simply YOU. Your bones, muscles, organs and bodyfat. That’s it… just all the parts that make up the physical being of YOU. And your saying…”Is that it? Bodyweight is just my organs, muscles, bones and bodyfat? Then why do I lose my mind over the numbers on the scale everyday and sometimes many times a day?” Maybe you give those numbers on the scale a little too much power over you, your life, your moods, your days… and that is just not healthy. So stop doing it.

Stop focusing on your scale weight as the means to some end that you may not even be aware your using for an ends. How often have you thought.”If only I looked like her/him? Was as small as them? Could fit into a size 2? If only I could lose 15-20lbs I would be so happy!” Is that you? You are looking for an ends to make you fullfilled, happy or just different than the person you are right now. The scale is NOT going to do that for you…but I think you already know that. And that is definitely a topic for another post.

So with that in mind back to the subject at hand. Do you get upset when you don’t lose the weight on the scale that you feel you should lose because you’ve PUT IN SO MUCH EXERCISE and good eating that that scale had BETTER be lower this week? If so…welcome to my world. This has got to be the number one discourager for most of our clients. They weigh themselves..which we advise against up to a point, and of course the number on the scale is never as good as they think it should be from all the time and energy they put in for the week and they say…”WHY do I even try? What is the point? This isn’t working…and on and on it goes. I call it the process of talking yourself out of getting fit and healthy. Getting fit and healthy actually takes time and evergy that hopefully will extend throughout your life so who cares if you stayed the same weight this week. You goose egged on “The Scale”! It didn’t move at all or worse yet you put a pound on! YIKES! It might feel like the end of the world but it is not.

In fitness the best way to measure your success with getting healthy and fit is NOT “The Scale” but by bodyfat measurement. When you get your bodyfat measured it is measuring your Lean body mass versus you Fat. It will tell you how much of your weight is purely fat and from there you can determine how healthy or unhealthy you are becoming. Most people trying to get fit start to weight train and do cardio and lots of changes occurr in your body from these efforts. With the best change being putting muscle on and therefore lighting up your metabolism.

Always when a person comes into our studio to lose weight before anything else we figure out where they are right now. We do this several ways with one of those ways by doing their bodyfat analysis. We want to know how much Lean Body Mass(LBM) versus bodyfat(BF) they are carrying around. There are several ways to measure bodyfat with most having a small margin of error. The important thing is to get it measured regularly and to use those results as a gauge to determine if you are losing fat and/or putting muscle on. So when someone walks into our studio and says “I want to lose 70lbs.” they are probably referring to scale weight but we will in turn determine their bodyfat and propose for them to shoot to lose such and such amount of bodyfat and also put on such and such amount of muscle.

It is important to remember that muscle weights 21/2 times fat. So when you start weight training you WILL put some muscle on and hopefully also lose weight so initially there may be no change on the scale, in fact you might even gain weight on the scale. And your like “Holy Cow” but I came in to lose weight….and yes you did. But if your are weight training you will have put muscle on so on “The Scale” it might appear as if you have actually gained weight but instead what probably happened is that you put muscle AND dropped bodyfat. That can be answered with a bodyfat ananlysis. So make sure you get your bodyfat measured and try to use that as your measurement tool instead of just “The Scale” to determine if you are heading in the direction you want to go. For most of us that direction is losing bodyfat.

Remember that Rome was not build in a day nor did God make our world in one day so please, have reasonable expectations for your fat lose. Assume it will take you as long to lose the fat as it took to put it on. Good luck and know that it can be done. All great endeavors take time and isn’t your health and fitness worth it?

God Bless You,
Evey