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.