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6 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau
New Year’s Resolutions isn’t just about making new goals. It can be making the old goals actually work. Another words, after weeks or months (and yes, for some people it’s been YEARS) of doing what you think has been right, without getting the results you wanted, maybe it’s time for a change.
Like Albert Einstein once said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
You don’t have to receive the Noble Prize to relate to this statement. I think we’ve all caught ourselves, at one time or other, in the vicious circle of insanity Einstein was talking about.
I witness this firsthand every day. People talk themselves into believing what they are doing is right, even when their results are wrong. With that belief system firmly set, they continue their same routine with the hope it will all magically start paying off one day – or they settle as if that’s just as good as it gets. If you are one of those people who feel like you are just spinning your wheels, maybe it’s time to make a change. Here are a 6 ways to help you break the cycle.
1. Re-examine your diet. Diet is 80% of weight loss. Even if you fully believe you are eating healthy low-calorie meals, start tracking your calories (yes, ALL of them) everyday for 30 days straight. Many times those little “cheat meals or snacks” adds up more than you think. You may even want to do pre-packaged meals for a couple of weeks to leave no room for mathematical error. If you lose weight, then you know you are miscalculating or measuring incorrectly. Read the rest of this entry
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January 2nd: Time to Erase Your Sins!
Finally!! No more parties filled with crappy (but yummy) food! No more junk in the house. No more excuses to miss workouts. No more body fat!! It’s time to Erase Your 2011 Sins!
Today starts the giant eraser. Yes, today is the day that we quit GAINING weight and we start LOSING it! We burn calories instead of eat them and we decide what we want out body to look like and we start beating it into submission.
Getting fit is not complicated. Losing weight is not complicated either. Brands over-complicate it and lead you to believe you need their product or their methodology to get results. I say Bah HumBug! You need the bare basics to get results. Eat less and exercise more.
Where to Start
You can’t possibly know how Read the rest of this entry
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Fat & Trapped? Maybe YOU Are Holding the Key.
As we approach the New Year, it’s not only important to look at what you WANT, but it’s crucial you look at what you DON’T want. Maybe failure is not about what you are doing, but what you are not doing.
Moving on, in many ways, means saying goodbye. The problem is, goodbyes are often hard, even when the place we are headed may be a good place to be. I don’t know why it is so hard to let go of the past, but it is. We prefer the known over the unknown I guess. Ironically, we often prefer the known even if the known is in prisoning us.
It may sound crazy, but I believe many of us don’t get to experience a lot of great things in life because we have such a strong grip on the past. This issue can also affect us when attempting to make New Year’s resolutions – especially when it comes to weight loss. Read the rest of this entry
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Twas the Day After Christmas, & Not a Creature Was Thin
‘Twas the day after Christmas and all through the house,
Every creature was stirring, yes, even the mouse.
The stockings, once hung by the chimney with care,
Were being packed up and are no longer there.
If only the children were nestled all snug in their beds,
All the adults in the house wouldn’t be losing their heads.
I finished some cleaning and took off my thinking cap;
And thought for a second I might take a nap,
When out of nowhere, there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.
Across the house I flew like a flash,
Tripping over empty boxes, wrapping paper and trash.
My neighbors’ Christmas lights lit up the neighborhood
So I could see my neighbor clearly exactly where she stood.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
She was standing on her scale crying in fear.
More rapid than eagles, all her weight came,
She cried and shouted and called her scale a bad name.
“Now Dangit! Now Darnit! Dagnabbit and Flippin!
My True Religion jeans are no longer fittin!
To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall;
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves before Hurricane Frances did fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount in the sky.
Out of her garage her husband flew,
With the car full of toys and all the kids too.
And in a twinkling, I heard my doorbell sound,
Followed by crying and sobbing from everyone around.
As I drew in my head wondering how I could help,
All my friends and neighbors were at my door with a yelp.
They were dressed in fitness gear from their head to their feet
Their clothes were all tarnished with cookie crumbs and sweets.
They seemed to have an extra bundle around their fronts and their backs,
And they all looked like peddlers, each one with a gym sack.
Their eyes, how they twinkled – but wait, they weren’t merry,
They’d all been crying, their noses red as a cherry.
Their droll little mouths were drawn up like bows;
And their faces looked shocked, like they had all seen a ghost.
They had gotten on a scale and didn’t like what they saw.
And now they were ready and determined to erase it all.
They had broad faces and a little round belly,
That shook when they cried like a bowlful of jelly.
They were chubby and plump, each like an unhappy old elf,
And I laughed when I saw them because I was there myself.
A wink of my eye and a twist of my head,
Soon they all knew they had nothing to dread.
I spoke not a word, but went straight to work;
Getting the gym ready, and then turned with a jerk.
And laying my fingers on the computer keys,
I started writing out my fitness tips with ease.
I sprang to my car and gave my team a call,
And told them “get ready! Get ready for them all!”
And away they all flew to the health clubs that night
saying, Happy New Year to all, let’s give fat a good fight!
story by Bonnie Pfiester
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7 Ways to Plan NOW for a Fit New Year
OK, so you’ve been thinking about the New Year already. You’ve been dreaming of how THIS is going to be YOUR YEAR and how you will FINALLY commit to losing weight and getting fit ONCE AND FOR ALL. You are so convinced and focused, you even put your “Face in the Hole” in your favorite FaceInHole.com scenario to give you extra motivation. Maybe that was just me. Ha!
Problem is, it’s easy to get so bogged down in Christmas activities that we find the New Year suddenly smacking us in the face – and we’re NOT ready for it. If we aren’t prepared, we’ll be one of those people finally starting their New Year’s Resolutions in February. Don’t believe me? Trust me, I’ve signed up a LOT of gym members in my time and I can’t tell you how many people finally come in WEEKS after they had hoped – even despite their good intentions. Read the rest of this entry
Back to School Back to YOU: 10 Tips for a New You
There’s something about getting back into a routine that makes you feel normal again. Sure, parents complain about dragging their kids to and from school and all their extracurricular activities – football, band, ballet, cheer, piano, church, etc. However, there is something very good about being forced into a solid (even if seemingly binding) routine.
We humans need structure.
Although I’m not a mom, I had the unique opportunity to be a mom for almost 2 years when my 12 year old sister came to live with us (or you could say she came for a summer to visit and never left! ha!). With band, basketball, church and all the other activities she was involved with, I became a part-time taxi and cheerleader. It was like taking a second job – but secretly, I liked it. Having structure forced me to manage my time better.
Sure, we’d all like to complain about it and talk about how great the summer was – free of the taxi job and stress of school. But the truth is, our body NEEDS a tighter schedule. Even if you don’t have kids like me, I still am impacted by school starting back up and the world around me being back in a steady rhythm. Read the rest of this entry
