Baby Steps

How many of us started a New Year's resolution this year? What was your New Year's Resolution again? If you have fallen off already, let's try it again but take a slightly different approach. Instead of having some huge goal, why not take small steps instead. You have to have little encouragements along the way. Jessica Sinn, at Texas State University - San Marcos, recently published an excellent article on taking Baby Steps to get to your goals. It's a great article on how to accomplish your New Year's Resolutions this year. Tips she mentioned include:

- Give yourself small rewards
- Find a friend to workout with or hire a personal trainer
- Schedule time in your schedule to workout

Weight Loss Drugs.....For Your Canine?

Everyone wants a magic pill to lose weight, well now there's one for your pet dog. It turns out that it's not just the owners of the pets that are overweight, but that habit has now been passed on to the pets, and now 40% of pets are overweight. The pills cost $1-2 a day but they also suggests that you exercise the pets and also alter their diet. It's amazing how we are now turning to quick fixes for even our pets now. If we would just alter our pets food and exercise habits, they would be in better shape and so would we. Maybe if we took our pets for walks we could get in better shape ourselves. It's amazing how our society has changed so much over the years. Read More

What will happen next? stay tuned.....

Healthier Doughnuts?

AOL recently printed a story that I see as a little bit misleading if you just glance over it, "Doughnut Makers Seek Healthier Recipes". It talks about steps that are being taken to make doughnuts healthier by eliminating trans fat. The problem is that eliminating trans fat, while is important, does not make a doughnut healthier. Expect to see the makers of trans fat free food to make a big push to be viewed as "healthy". Expect to see a lot more stories about trans fat in the near future.

Another Trans Fat Story: Women's Fertility

They are saying that trans fat also affects fertility in women. A UK story talks about how trans fat can affect fertility by as much as 70% or more. The story suggests that people who eat a lot of fast food may consume as much as 10 grams of trans fat a day. Take a look at the story and read more.

Lose Weight and Make Money?

SmartMoney has had some interesting articles lately, and a new one they just came out with is really fascinating to me. Losing Weight Will Fatten Your Wallet They say that losing 15 pounds will help you make $2,489. Here's their list, and you can visit their website for more information.

5 Points they make:
1) Latte Factor $783
2) Life Insurance $275
3) Health Insurance $680
4) Health Care Costs $151
5) Employer Incentives $600

Katy Group Meeting 11/15

If you are looking for something sweet in between meals, try eating something like a protein drink with a piece of fruit or some crystal light mixed in it for a unique flavor. If you need some recipes for a way to make a shake, let me know and I'll be glad to share them with you.

Another important aspect is how many calories you are consuming. You can use www.fitday.com (use www.dietfacts.com to compliment the website) to help you, you can use MyFoodDiary and track your meals and give you feedback, and MyWeightLoss has an excellent article on calculating your caloric needs and how to lose weight.

Goal for the group: Write down everything you are eating and how many calories and bring on Monday for discussion.

My end of discussion statement was the following:
My goal with this group is only to offer help and support. I can't make results happen for anyone. If I offer support to people, I am only with them for a limited amount of time for the week. What happens when I'm not around someone is even more important. If someone isn't ready for change, I can't force them to change. My presence doesn't make someone get results, and the lack of my presence doesn't prevent them from getting results if they are determined. I can only support, encourage, educate, and motivate someone to make better choices to achieve the results they desire. I am here for support, I can't make anyone get results unless they are ready to get results.

Want to Get Rich, Get in Shape

Kiplinger article on, "Want to Get Rich, Get in Shape"

Read the article for more.

Top 10 Things Your Fitness Club Won't Tell You

Smart Money recently published an article on the top 10 things your fitness club won't tell you. Some of these are irritating, and I have to argue back on them, especially in regards to where I work. They really demonize the gym industry. There is good and bad in any business, but I want to reply to their Top 10 list.

1. "If you're still here in April, it'll be a miracle." This is true. Most people that join in the beginning of the year, drop out, and I absolutely hate that. I can meet someone new and beg them to make changes otherwise they will drop off again, but they won't believe me. You have to get some help sometimes if you are going to try to accomplish something you've never done before.
2. "Don't touch anything -- this place is crawling with bacteria." True also. My gym does have wipes all over the gym, but there is bacteria everywhere. If this discourages you from joining a gym, let me add that I have worked in gyms for 10 years and I haven't been sick since around February of 2001, and rarely before that. I'm in the gym 8 - 1o hours a day. If eating healthy and keeping in shape keeps me from getting sick when I'm in there 50+ hours a week, you will be ok for the 2 - 3 hours you are in the gym.
3. "We're not equipped to handle health emergencies." This just isn't true for my gym. We have training, everyone is CPR trained, and we have electronic defibulators.
4. "Our trainers don't know what they're doing." Listen to me on this, it take 1 weekend for someone to become a personal trainer. Do your research and don't hire just anyone. I've already done some articles on this if you look around on this site, but there are several trainers that don't have a clue what they are doing. Lucky for members at our gym, our trainers have to pass the NASM, which is not easy for most trainers. It's pretty extensive, so lucky for our members, you have better trainers than most gyms.
5. "We won't let you quit." Don't enter a long term contract without reading the fine print. I'm so glad my gym is month to month. You can leave anytime with us, which is the way it should be.
6. "Be sure to read the fine print on our contract." Never sign anything without reading it first. That applies to everything in life.
7. "Our equipment can be downright dangerous." Again, my gym and some 24 hour fitnesses have a staff that does nothing but repair work on equipment. That's very important. I'm glad we have that.
8. "Everything is negotiable." I think memberships can sometimes be negotiated. That's not my department though, so my comments are pointless on this one.
9. "If your wallet gets lifted, it's not our problem." That's probably true. If you walk into a grocery store and your wallet gets lifted, I don't think they reimburse you either.
10. "Go ahead and sue; you'll never win." This isn't always true. Pay attention to what you sign. I've heard of cases where people have sued despite the club saying they are not responsible for things and win too.

Diet Myths That Won't Go Away

I want to share this AOL article because there are so many people that have trouble with these points. They list 10 myths on the website and explain each one of them. Here are there 10.

1. Myth: Calories eaten after 8PM turn to fat
2. Myth: To jump-start your diet, you should fast.
3. Myth: Low-carb (high protein) diets are the most effective route to weight loss.
4. Myth: Eating white foods is bad for you.
5. Myth: Drinking lots of water will help you lose weight.
6. Myth: When you're on a diet, drinking juice is a no-no.
7. Myth: All sugar is bad for you.
8. Myth: Exercising on an empty stomach burns more fat.
9. Myth: Drinking liquid meal replacements will help shrink your stomach.
10. Myth: Eating grapefruit will help you burn fat.

Suprised by some of the statements? Take a look at the article and learn more.

HURRY, HURRY, I HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT, but how do I do it?

I am so overwhelmed at work right now with people wanting to get in shape. It's the new year and it's time to lose the holiday pounds. There are more people out there than I could ever help, so I thought I might type something now and refer people to it. I honestly have so much to do that writing on this blog is the last thing on my mind, but this information is important.

Reuters just published a story entitled, New Years Dieters can Binge on Publishing Boom. It is a good read and speaks a lot of truth. Every year there are tons of books that come out talking about different diets, but everyone wants to know the best one to follow. If you want to know the answer to that, avoid any book that is extreme or promises fast results. Pick something that is moderate that you can stick to for a life time. If you can do that, then you have yourself a winner. Some book ideas from the article are:

"You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management" by Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz

The Diet Detective's Count Down: 7500 of Your Favorite Food Counts with Their Exercise Equivalents for Walking, Running, Biking, Swimming, Yoga, and Dance by Charles Stuart Platkin

The Biggest Loser Cookbook: More Than 125 Healthy, Delicious Recipes Adapted from NBC's Hit Show by Devin Alexander, Karen Kaplan, The Biggest Loser Experts and Cast, Bob Harper

The Serotonin Power Diet by Nina Frusztajer Marquis, Judith J. Wurtman

The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight Loss by Tanya Zuckerbrot

Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen by Naomi Moriyama

The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene

Feed Your Tiger: The Asian Diet Secret for Permanent Weight Loss and Vibrant Health by Letha Hadady

The F2 Diet by Audrey Eyton

The Wine Diet by Roger Corder (I have no idea where to get this book)

Sleep Away the Pounds: Optimize Your Sleep and Reset Your Metabolism for Maximum Weight Loss by Cherie Calbom, John Calbom

That list should keep everyone busy for a while. I have not read any of these books, so unfortunately I can't comment on them directly. Take the time to read up on each of them, find something you think you can stick with, and follow it exactly for the rest of your life. Don't throw in the towel yet; you can get results and keep them. Just start eating healthier and move more. Those two components alone will take you a long way when you truly stick with it.

I hope to post again soon when I catch a break from the rush....in the meantime take a look at my old posts. There's a lot to read on here, so I hope you enjoy it. Until next time......