Avoid These 5 Fitness Disasters

Avoid neglecting strength training just because you're a cardio buff. More lean muscle mass gained from weight lifting burns more calories.

Avoid holding your breath when lifting weights. It could strain your heart. Inhale as you release weight and exhale as you push out.

Avoid worrying about bulking up. Women don't produce enough testosterone to bulk up. Weight training will simply sculpt your body and boost your metabolism.

Avoid pigging out just because you're exercising. Exercise can increase your appetite, but don't let it give you a false sense of being able to chow down.

Avoid dehydration. Proper hydration can both increase your energy and help reduce your appetite. Don't mistake thirst for hunger!

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

Apply Your Resolve and Make it Automatic

When I met Sarah at a dinner party several years ago, I saw right away that she was really quite beautiful, but at just over five feet tall and weighing well over two hundred pounds she was also dangerously obese. As we were talking that night, Sarah told me she was forty-one years old, divorced, and looking for a new man in her life.

I’m sure she was shocked and also probably initially offended when I replied that it appeared to me she was actually trying to kill herself, and if she wanted someone to love and care for her, she’d have to start loving and caring for herself first.

Sometimes it takes that kind of tough-love approach to help people shift their perspective and reframe their goals in terms of a true core desire. I was able to do that for Sarah by allowing her to understand that losing weight and becoming fit was not a goal to be sought in and of itself but rather as a way to fulfill her desire to have a loving companion in her life.

If I’d left it there, however, I’d have been doing Sarah a great disservice, because I knew that making such a big change in her life would not be easy. Not only would she have to shift her mental attitude toward herself and her lifestyle, but she’d be facing significant physical challenges as well. That very evening, I made Sarah a promise: If she was willing to give me four to six weeks, I would stick with her, and she would be able to turn her life around. Armed with her newfound power of intention, Sarah agreed, and the very next day we began to work together to develop an appropriate plan of action that would not be too ambitious, because we both knew that, at least in the beginning, doing any kind of exercise at all was going to be very difficult for her.

To find out how Sarah lost over 120 lbs on my program, buy my book Mind Over Body: The Key To Lasting Weight Lost is All in Your Head!

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

Look at the ingredients.

All food labels list the product's ingredients in order by weight. The ingredient in the greatest amount is listed first. The ingredient in the least amount is listed last. So, to choose foods low in saturated fat or total fat, limit your use of products that list any fat or oil first--or that list many fat and oil ingredients. If you are watching your sodium intake, do the same for sodium or salt.

Total Lipid Calorie Diet: a low fat diet designed to lower Total Cholesterol. People who are overweight usually have higher blood cholesterol levels than people of desirable weight. When you cut the fat in your diet, you cut down on the richest source of calories as well as saturated fat and cholesterol. An eating pattern high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat or nonfat dairy products and a moderate amount of lean meat, skinless poultry, and fish is a good way to lose weight and improve your blood cholesterol.

Call me at 520-360-9214 or email me for your custom made nutritional plan today!

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

College freshmen’s stress levels intensifying, study finds - KansasCity.com

College freshmen’s stress levels intensifying, study finds - KansasCity.com

Maximize Your Chances for Weight Loss Success

Everything you see around you was first an idea in the mind of one individual who got his mind, body and spirit involved in the process of giving life to his idea. There are universal laws we must abide to in order to manifest whatever it is we want to do, have or be. Here are two things you must start doing to trigger the law of attraction. It's a matter of Mind Over Body.

Visualize Your Victory: If you can see it, you can have it!

Visualizing the way you want to look and feel is important for your success in shedding weight and building muscle tone.

Close your eyes and visualize yourself achieving your desired goals. You may not feel completely comfortable doing this at first and the images may not be entirely clear. That’s okay, because the more you practice the clearer they will become. Try to picture the same images every day, adding more detail as you become more familiar with the process. Think of yourself as the lead actor in a movie you are projecting on the screen of your mind. Make sure that when you are doing this, you give an Oscar-winning performance!

Affirmations: The more you say it, the more you see it!

Affirmations are simple and effective. They are you being in conscious control of your thoughts. They are short, powerful statements. When you say them or think them or even hear them, they become the thoughts that create your reality. They help you move closer to your goals.

Here are a few simple rules to remember when you’re creating positive affirmations for yourself.

• Always use the present tense. You want your mind to know that what you affirm has already happened.
• Be absolutely positive. Use as many positive verbs as you can.
• Be emotionally involved with your affirmations.
• Write them down so that you will remember them. Keep them short and specific.
• Personalize them by using your name.
• Repeat them as often as possible in order to imprint what you are affirming on your subconscious mind.
• Create a habit by setting aside a specific time for doing your affirmations each day.
• Believe that what you say is actually happening. The more you are able to believe, the stronger your affirmation will be.

Repeat each affirmation you choose three times with feeling, and trust that with practice everything in your life will gently fall into place for your highest good. Take a moment to let go of all your limitations and allow your heart’s desires to be created.

Here are some examples of Powerful Affirmations:

1. I have the power to control my health.
2. I deserve to be fit now.
3. I am ready, willing and deserving to be fit.
4. I adopt healthy behaviors.
5. I focus on my form while I exercise.
6. I respect and appreciate others who are fit.
7. I am guided by my true core desire.
8. I am strong, lean, and beautiful.
9. I am losing the unwanted weight surely and smoothly.
10. I am strong, intelligent, and handsome.
11. I am in control of my health and wellness.
12. I have abundant energy, vitality, and well-being.
13. Health and vitality flows into my veins.
14. I am healthy in all aspects of my being.
15. I am maintaining my ideal weight.
16. I am burning fat easily.
17. I am fit, healthy, and happy.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

Reaching For The Fit Kid Within

Remember when you were little and you "exercised" because it was fun? You never thought about how many calories you were burning in ballet class or how high you were getting your heart rate in the heat of a soccer game. That was never the point.

Now that you're out of grade school, exercise means something different. It's that thing you squeeze in after work or before dinner, feel guilty about skipping and therefore adding even more stress to your life. Somehow, the elliptical trainer or the treadmill doesn't inspire the anticipation and joy that the swimming pool once did.

So how do you reconnect with that long-lost sense of play? Going back to the activities you love. Just because you're an adult doesn't mean you can't do the things you enjoyed as a kid. After all, studies show that if you love the physical activity you're doing, you're likely to do it more often and for a longer period of time than if you don't. That's why I recommend getting in touch with your younger, fitter self as a way to recharge and reenergize yourself; I call it "Reaching for the Fit Kid Within". I ask people what they enjoyed during their childhood, early teen years and high school. Then I ask them if they would consider doing that again.

Starting with a 5 minutes meditation that would facilitate the connection between mind, body and soul, allowing yourself to reach within and accept the playful kid that you are.

Follow with 30 minutes high energy, fun drills and exercises that you use to enjoy when you were a kid. You can even involve your kids; they'll guide you, allow to be yourself, and allow them be the kids they are. I personally play soccer or simply chase my kids around the backyard. There is no limit to what we can actually do.

Finishing with a 5 minutes stretching program and cooling down with a 5 minutes relaxation techniques to come back to our adult world.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

Your Willpower Muscle

If you find yourself struggling with your commitment to exercising or to keeping a clean nutrition, don’t be too hard on yourself, according to neuroscientists having willpower is not a character flaw and it could all be down to the physical make up of the brain. Because the part of the brain called prefrontal cortex is the same part of the brain that records our working memory and is in charge of willpower, researchers showed that when the brain is overwhelmed with tasks willpower is very weak.

The solution , as I mention in my book, Mind Over Body: The Key To Lasting Weight Loss Is All In Your Head,  is not hammering people with new habits but helping them bulk-up their willpower muscle by making them consciously aware of certain changes that need to take place before any physical habits are set in motion. In other words, you must outsmart the subconscious mind and make firm decisions to commit to your goals and be sure to keep your word with yourself. If you put exercising last on your daily “things to do”, you will fail! You will be so tired physically and emotionally that outsmarting your subconscious will be almost impossible. So make sure you make an appointment with yourself to exercise before work or in the middle of your day.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice, which should be obtained directly from your health care professional.

You Snooze, You Lose: More Weekend Sleep Cuts Kids' Obesity Risk

You Snooze, You Lose: More Weekend Sleep Cuts Kids' Obesity Risk

A Time for Fitness

A long term exercise program needs scheduling for success; here are a few important points to consider.

Does your exercise plan fit you?

Think about what kind of person you are, what you like and do not like, how you feel during different times of the day. If you are a night person, maybe exercising after will help to relieve stress from your job. If you are an early riser, perhaps exercise will help you to get a good start on your day.

Does the plan fit your family and friends?

If you want to exercise with a friend, you will have to find a time that is good for both of you. The same goes for team sports. Your family may have feelings about when you exercise. You spouse may not want the alarm going off an hour earlier in the morning. On the other hand, your spouse may like to exercise with you but can do that only in the evening.

How hungry are you?                           

Exercising right after eating can feel uncomfortable. But, if you have not eaten for hours, you may not have much energy for your exercises. Wait at least one hour after a meal to exercise. Try eating a little snack one to two hours before exercising.

What to do when you miss a day?

You may not always keep to a schedule. Most people cannot. There are interruptions and unexpected happenings. A friend may drop in. It may rain or snow. To become a part of your routine, exercise needs to adapt to such changes.

One common way to make your exercise program adaptable is to exercise every other day. If you miss a day, just do the exercises the next day and there will still be no more than two days between sessions.

Deciding now on your exercise strategy will increase your chances of long term success. By selecting what is going to work for you, you have made great strides toward a successful exercise program.

If you have not yet fit exercise into your life….STOP. Do not risk wasting another minute. Plan for success!

Need an exercise plan? Contact me via email or call me at 520-360-9214

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice which should be obtained directly from your health care professional

Love is Life’s Greatest Source of Inspiration

“The meeting of two persons is like the mixture of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” 

When we list all the qualities we seek in a relationship we must make sure we possess those qualities ourselves in order to attract them! Far too many people think they are ready but find themselves frozen by fear. Fear of giving love and not receiving any in return and also fear of commitment. If you truly are not ready you need to either stop hurting g yourself and others or make space in your heart before you even contemplate the idea of dating. The later can take some times; the former is a matter of honesty, integrity and karma. 

For many of us, relationships are the most rewarding and sometimes the most challenging and painful of human experiences. We must stir away from our past and move on to the new by erasing old tapes and choose to be courageous enough to love ourselves and therefore reigniting the flame in someone else’s heart. One must engage in a quest for finding the right person who is independent, smart, and honest and who can be a great partner, someone  we can co-create not only new endeavors but co-create fun and discover life in its fullest sense of the term. There is no such a thing as comfort zone in life. We must keep envisioning our future partner to be kind and loving towards all and be rational but at the same time remain the dreamer she or he might be. It is important to surround our self with good and positive people, to love to have fun, do yoga and meditate on the beach and when the going gets tough turn to our partner and use love as a source of rejuvenation. We can only live a second a time and breathe one breath at a time. I like to spend quality time with someone who does not drain me but fulfill my passion for life’s most beautiful gift

Take It From Avtar: Losing Weight Should Not Equal Starvation

Take It From Avtar: Losing Weight Should Not Equal Starvation

Healthy Eating Is Contagious

The benefits of healthy eating are endless. You feel better about yourself, more gets accomplished, there’s less stress. But now study shows that just by changing your diet you can help your spouse loose weight.

Spouse cooperation can be difficult to achieve. They may be skeptical your diet will last and want to let you try it out first. They may not see their own need to diet.

The good news is when you eat right; your spouse will most likely start to follow –automatically.

In a recent study sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, when wives consumed less fat or less calories, so did the majority of their husbands – most cut their fat intake by as much as 10%.

However if the wife fixed a separate meal for the husband, one different from the low-cal one for herself, husbands actually ended up eating 10% more fat.

This can also be true for the rest of the family as obesity in America has quadrupled in less than three decades, parents must pave the way for their children to eat right.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice which should be obtained directly from your health care professional

Into those Golden Years

An Associated Press survey found that more than 60 percent of Americans don't want to live to 100 for fear of bad health and insufficient finances. Don't be a fool; you can live to be 103! Studies have shown that stress management along with regular exercise and eating right improves ones health and can even slow the effects of aging. Start now, age gracefully and feel great!

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice which should be obtained directly from your health care professional

Give yourself 3 hours

Yes 3 hours before going to bed. Do not consume anymore calories. As I mentioned before, your body starts to slow down as the day goes on and gets ready for sleep. You do not want to consume a lot of calories right before you go to bed, because you will end of potentially storing those calories as FAT!!!

Your body sometimes give you a false sense of being hungry as you bedtime nears. You get those 9pm cravings... And a lot of people end up hitting the Refrigerator and over consuming right before bed time...

Not good for managing your weight and body fat %. If you just can't resist the munchies, then what I do is eat a few high good fat nuts. Like unsalted Almonds skin-on (good for fiber) or a couple spoonfuls of no sugar added all natural peanut butter. Eating a good quality fat food will satisfy your craving and will keep you from binging on something with lots of bad carbohydrates or simple sugars, like ice cream, cake or cookies.

This article or post is not intended to provide individual advice which should be obtained directly from your health care professional