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2010-05-01T09:02:00.005-04:00

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You Can Attract It

2009-12-21T20:55:00.003-05:00

You Can Attract It

Steve G. Jones and Frank Mangano

Listen to my Interview with Steve G. Jones and Frank Mangano

You Can Attract It Interview

FitTalk featured two good friends of mine, Clinical Hypnotherapist Steve G. Jones and Leading Natural Health Advocate, Frank Mangano to talk about their new Law of Attraction book, You Can Attract It

During the course of the interview, Frank and Steve were very candid and there was so much we talked about in depth which couldn’t be covered in this article. After reading the highlights of my interview with them, I highly recommend you listen to the podcast by clicking on the player above.

Steve and Frank teamed up to write what is becoming a best selling Law of Attraction book on Amazon.com called You Can Attract It. There are many aspects to the Law of Attraction. Mind and spirit are connected to the body and have a lot to do with your health. When you look at what Steve, Frank and I do, we are all in the business of helping people improve their lives and well being, and, we are also Law of Attraction practitioners. Once you come to understand how the Law of Attraction affects your life every day, you will understand how it will help improve your life and well being when you learn how to use it.

As an avid Law of Attraction student, I have read many books by some of the top Law of Attraction experts. Steve G. Jones and Frank Mangano have put a new twist on this topic with their book, You Can Attract It. Both share their own personal story of how the Law of Attraction changed their lives and Steve’s background as a hypnotherapist provides great ways towards getting in touch with your subconscious mind to attract what you want.

A healthy, physical body is also important when using the Law of Attraction as the mind is connected to the body. Frank’s background in Natural Health teaches you how your Health plays a big role in attracting what you want, and how you can attract optimal health.

The Law of Attraction is based on science. Steve and Frank go over the science as to how the Law of Attraction works.

If you are a Law of Attraction enthusiast or new to this topic, You Can Attract It is a must read.

The Law of Attraction and troubled times

I commented to Steve and Frank that the launch of their book is perfect timing being that we are coming towards the end of what has been a year of turmoil for so many people. There are many people out there who may be experiencing stress, depression, anger, and uncertainty about their lives and about their future. Most people don’t view these times as an opportunity to reinvent themselves. It’s all about shifting your thoughts and your vibrational energy to attract what you want and that is what the Law of Attraction is all about.

People are wondering what the solution is to these troubled times. According to Steve, the solution is doing the opposite of what the media says. Look inside yourself and find that positive part of yourself and share that with the world and make that your reality and keep the faith.

Frank stated that “it doesn’t have to be this way. It is unfortunate that people have experienced turmoil in their lives whether it is financially, relationally or with health issues.” Through the methods in their new book, You Can Attract It, people will learn what they can do to turn a negative situation into a positive.

Personal Stories
In Chapter One Steve and Frank share their personal stories. I really like how they open up and give the reader a glimpse into their life “before”.

Steve’s Story
Steve was in a marriage that ended. Saddened by the demise of his marriage, he decided to wipe the slate clean and traveled across the country from Florida to Los Angeles with only a few hundred dollars and an old van. Steve rebuilt is life in Beverly Hills and opened what became a successful hypnotherapy practice that attracted a who’s who of some of Hollywood’s top celebrities as clients. As Steve put it, he built the business, attracted the clients and his career took off. Steve’s life changed from being down and out, having little or no money and driving across the country in an old van to becoming the hypnotherapist to the stars. Steve attracted all of this. He believed in it and he made it happen.

Frank’s Story
Frank had a lot of low paying, dead end jobs and dreaded working for others. What lead Frank to where he is today and self-publishing his first book is through a situation with his mother who was diagnosed with high cholesterol. Frank did extensive research and created a program for his mother to follow that would naturally lower her cholesterol and avoid her being on prescription medicine. Frank was inspired by the success he had helping his mother that he decided that if he can help his mother, he can help many more, thus, self-publishing his first book.

In the meantime, Frank continued working his dead end jobs, but knew his dream was to do research and write about natural health. The one thing that stood in Frank’s way of realizing his dream was that he was surrounded by negative people who didn’t believe in his goals.

Frank realized that these negative influences were getting in his way and made the choice to distance himself from these people. Once he did that, things started happening for him.

**Frank’s biggest piece of advice is that you must rid yourself of any negativity in your life because it will stand in your way and hold you back. **

What is The Law of Attraction
Everything in this world is energy. We are energy and everything around us is energy. The Law of Attraction is very much about energy and getting into the same vibrational frequency as the things you want. To some, this may sound a bit new agey and out there, but understanding this is a big part of learning how to make the Law of Attraction work for you.

I asked Frank to explain his definition of The Law of Attraction. According to Frank, essentially, you attract what you think about most. To make the Law of Attraction work more efficiently for you, you need to rid yourself of limiting and negative thoughts.

You Can Attract It provides you with the process, or plan of action, to help you attract what you want in your life. Frank briefly outlined the 6 step process he and Steve provide you with in their book, You Can Attract It.

Step 1 – Change the Negative into a Positive

Step 2 – Know What You Do Not Want

Step 3 – Know What it is You Do Want

Step 4 – Ask For What You Want

Step 5 – Allow What You Want Into Your Life

Step 6 – Receive It, Enjoy It, Be Thankful For It, Surround Yourself With It

Steve had a different explanation of what the Law of Attraction is. We are energy and the Law of Attraction is all about the energy or vibration we put out. The vibrations we put out over and over again become a pattern, reinforcing the vibrations you put out to the Universe which is really at the heart of the Law of Attraction.

Steve’s analogy of the vibrations we put out are like waves or ripples; kind of like when you throw a pebble into a pond, you will see waves or ripples start to ripple out in a pond. These ripples can be negative or positive thoughts. The thing in the pond that resonates with those ripples will be attracted to it.

You can use this theory to your advantage and put out positive ripples attracting positive people, situations and creating a positive support group.

Abundance

Initially, when you say the word abundance to someone, they instantly think of financial wealth as abundance, however, abundance is much more than that. In this chapter, Steve provides an abundance script. This is where Steve’s background as a hypnotherapist adds a twist to The Law of Attraction that I have not seen in other books on this topic.

Hypnotherapy comes into play to overcome your stumbling blocks that prevent your from attracting the things your really want. Many of us create walls that prevent us from going through them. As Steve put it, hypnotherapy helps you drive a tank through those walls so that you can attract the things you want that will add abundance to your life.

Health
The human body truly is a temple and when mind, body and spirit are acting synergistically, you feel good and you are emitting positive emotions and vibrations to The Universe. Good Health is vital when it comes to attracting the things you want. When your health and fitness is not up to par, it affects you physically and emotionally and you are not in a positive vibration. Going back towards changing your mindset from negative to positive, if you are always in a negative vibration, it does affect your health.

As a leading natural health advocate, Frank provides some very detailed information about health in this chapter. During my interview about the Law of Attraction and Health, Frank talked about some of the recent scientific studies on brain imaging and they have discovered mirror neurons. What this means is that humans mirror the behavior of the object or person they are observing. This applies to the Law of Attraction. If we hang around people who are active, healthy, like to exercise, that will have an affect on us. Surrounding yourself with people who have healthy habits will rub off on you so to speak.

Steve provides a detailed “health script” to reprogram your mind for optimal health. Many people want to improve their health, however, when it comes to taking the right action, they need to take that action and turn it into a healthy habit. They will find that difficult to make excuses as to whey they didn’t eat as healthy and nutritiously as they should, or why they didn’t exercise, etc. The mind and body need to be reminded of what to do and again, this is where Steve’s background as a hypnotherapist helps the reader.

**Frank emphasized that you need to take action. This goes beyond just positive thinking**

Wealth

So now we’re going to get to the part that everyone is interested in when it comes to the Law of Attraction. How do I attract the money or as Tom Cruise was yelling into the phone in Jerry Maguire….”Show me The Money”. Wealth is a whole other mindset. I also think that people may not realize the negative inner conversation they have with themselves when it comes to wealth. For instance, when you’re on the highway and you see someone driving an expensive car or you pass a nice house and you think to yourself “Must be Nice” with a sarcastic undertone, which is an example of having a negative inner conversation with yourself about Wealth and Wealthy people.

Steve spoke about Wealth and told me that the concept of wealth has become distasteful and to many it’s the haves and have not mindset. This thought process stems from the connotation of limitations in the Universe. People who focus on “lack of and not having” will always lack and not have. Those who focus on opportunity will attract and create the people, places and events that will provide them with the opportunity to attract wealth. Look for the possibilities and you will see that abundance around you. The world is an abundant orchard and there are plenty of apples available for the picking. If you don’t believe that, then you won’t see that you are standing in the middle of the apple orchard.

**Steve’s take away message – To achieve wealth you need to believe in yourself and will help you rise like a Phoenix out of the ashes.**

Frank added to that by saying “Limiting beliefs will be the obstacle that will hinder your efforts towards using the Law of Attraction to attract what you want, including wealth. True wealth is about having it all.”

Relationships

Another topic I feel is important are the relationships you have with people and this is not just about romantic relationships. It’s the friends you attract, the business associates you attract and yes, romantic relationships and relationships you have with loved ones

According to Frank, attracting relationships is not about attracting a specific person, but a type of person. You need to know what it is in detail, what type of person you are looking to attract not only in your romantic /personal relationships, but in your business relationships as well. If you focus on the type of person you want to attract in detail, then you will attract that relationship.

Steve stated that you need to have a clear vision of what you want. When it comes to relationships, all too often we focus on what we don’t want or what we don’t like. The Universe will think that’s what you do want and will keep delivering what you don’t want to you.

Your relationships are a litmus test of what you attract. To improve on an existing relationship, focus of the positive aspects of it rather than the negative.

Success

I asked Frank and Steve what success means to them and how can someone use the Law of Attraction to attract more success in their lives.

For Frank, the meaning of true success means living an abundant life and it’s not only about the money, although it does play a role, but it’s only one piece of it. Success to Frank does mean being financially independent, being physically and emotionally healthy, and having good relationships. That’s the meaning of true success.

If someone is looking to attract true success into their life, they need to evaluate their life and write down exactly what area of their life they need to be more successful in and start working on that area of their life. Focus your energy and attention of that, and take action to get to your goal. Be specific with what you want to be successful with. Surround yourself people who have achieved the same goals you are looking to achieve.

For Steve, success means being able to help people at greater level. In the beginning, Steve was only able to help a few people, but now the internet, TV, etc., he is able to help thousands of people with product promotions at a price people can afford. Financial abundance is a by product of success. The money is just a by product of being able to help people by providing a service to them.

Being able to help as many people as possible. It’s not about money, but it is a by product of having that ability.

Steve believed that he could be of service to a lot people and the he would be able to sustain himself from doing this. Believing that you will be OK if you follow your heart and trust it, that is how you can use the Law of Attraction to create the life you want.

Lifestyle

Your lifestyle has a lot to do with what you attract and no one knows this better than Frank Mangano. If you’re not eating healthy foods, not exercising and possibly smoking, what kind of signal are you putting out to attract back to you? If you aren’t eating properly, you’re sending the signal that you don’t want a healthy body. If you’re not exercising, you’re sending out the signal that you don’t care about your body.

If you’re looking to improve your overall health, clean up your lifestyle. By cleaning up your lifestyle, you are clearing the negative signals and you will attract better health. Your lifestyle habits are going to play a tremendous role in the Law of Attraction process. Health has everything to do with the Law of Attraction.

Hypnosis
Hypnosis certainly does play a large role in getting the Law of Attraction to work for you. Hypnosis talks to the subconscious mind. It is the subconscious mind that creates all kinds of resistance, self sabotage and negative inner conversations that prevent you from attracting what you want. Steve is certainly the master in the field of hypnotherapy and there is a chapter devoted to this.

We can hypnotize ourselves all day, every day. When we talk to ourselves in a certain way, we hypnotize our selves. Affirmations are vital. If you have people around you saying “you can do it”, that’s an affirmation. If you tell yourself “you can do it”, that’s an affirmation and that’s hypnosis.

A lot of hypnosis that happens to us, whether you believe in it or not, happens from ourselves, and our good friends believing in us or doubting our possibilities. We need to be very aware of what programs us, even though we’re wide awake.

According to Steve, being under our own control can be a lot worse than being under the control of a hypnotherapist’s control. We have thoughts in our minds that tell us we can’t do this or we don’t deserve this.

Steve teaches you how to program yourself in the book. Steve’s take away message is that you hypnotize yourself every day and you surround yourself with people every day that have an influence on you and you have an influence on yourself.

Hypnosis is a very easy state to achieve. All you have to do is relax yourself. Close your eyes and relax yourself and tell yourself positive affirmations.

Formal hypnotherapy can be more elaborate with induction, a deepening, a script – the affirmations/positive programming – however, with a hypnotherapy session, you’re dealing with the subconscious mind, and the affirmations take effect within a shorter period of time. Then there is the “amnesia technique” which is designed for you to forget everything that’s in your mind. The reason for the amnesia technique is that people will second guess themselves. For example, their mind will tell them, “I know the hypnotherapist told me I’m great, but so and so said I wasn’t so I think the hypnotherapist may be wrong”. The amnesia technique bypasses that critical factor that undoes everything.

The end of the hypnotherapy session is called Transtermination where the hypnotherapist brings you out of hypnosis.

Steve’s takeaway message ** We can hypnotize ourselves in our daily lives, so be sure to surround yourself with positive people, positive things, positive suggestions, so that we can have hypnosis work for us in a positive rather than negative way.**

There is so much more material in You Can Attract it which also goes into more detail than was covered in the interview.

For more information about Steve G. Jones, you can visit his website : http://budurl.com/BetterLivingHypnosis

For more information about Frank Mangano, you can visit his website www.naturalhealthontheweb.com

Click here to order your copy of You Can Attract It.

(note: the links posted on this page are sponsored links, however, I do stand by my recommendations.)

Is The Alpha Male Extinct?

2009-11-22T17:32:00.031-05:00

Listen to my FitTalk Interview with Rick Collins - Is The Alpha Male Extinct?

Alpha Male Challenge
co-author Rick Collins

www.alphamalechallenge.com

Men, are you a true Alpha Male? Ladies, is your husband/boyfriend a true Alpha Male or, if you’re single, are you looking for an Alpha Male? Is the Alpha Male extinct?

What does this mean? In America today, men are fatter, sicker, more stressed, and less rested than ever before. Too many men have slipped from “alpha” to “beta,” and average testosterone levels are dropping at an alarming rate. In other words, American men are losing their masculinity.

Alpha Male Challenge is a revolutionary 10-week transformation program designed to not only rapidly build muscle and lose body fat, but to build a better man, inside and out. This is a straightforward instruction manual to build the kind of man these hard times demand: ruggedly powerful and supremely confident; traditionally manly but with modern enlightenment. Not just a guy whose muscles look heroic, but one who feels heroic.

I had the opportunity to talk with Rick Collins, co-author of The Alpha Male Challenge about what a True Alpha Male is and how you can BE a true Alpha Male.

Rick is a celebrated personality in the bodybuilding, fitness and nutritional supplements industry. He has degrees in psychology and law and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (National Strength and Conditioning Association).

He is monthly legal columnist for the internationally circulated Muscular Development magazine and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Muscle & Fitness magazine, is a principal in the New York law firm of Collins, McDonald & Gann, P.C, and legal advisor to the International Federation of Body Builders and the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

I enjoyed reading the Alpha Male Challenge, and, as a self-proclaimed Alpha Female and Fitness Professional, I know that this book is written by guys, for guys, but I’ve got to admit, I just couldn’t help taking the Alpha Male Challenge myself and I am enjoying the workouts and seeing great results. There is some great information in this book that I can certainly use with the male clients I work with. The workouts in this book are clearly designed with men in mind, and anyone, any age can do the challenge. The book is meant to inspire people, men In particular, to improve themselves.

The title of chapter 1 is called “The Decline and Fall of Manliness”. According the the authors, James Villepigue and Rick Collins, men have changed culturally over the years. Rick said on my show that guys are in a state of confusion as to masculine excellence is all about with the reign of the “metro-sexual”. The fundamental qualities of what make men “manly” were getting confused.

Not only are men losing their manliness sociologically, but physiologically as well. There was a study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metaboliosm in January 2007 which provided evidence of a new physiological de-masculinization of the modern man. The study compared testosterone levels of three generations of men in the 80’s, 90’s and new decade and the news was quite troubling. Their study found that of the age-matched subjects, the men in the 80’s had higher average testosterone levels than the men of the 90’s, and the men of the new century have on average the LEAST testosterone of all. Simply put, testosterone levels are going down.

Testosterone is not just about your libido

Testosterone is a more than a hormone that makes men manly. Testosterone influences psychological factors such as mood, memory, libido, assertiveness and confidence. It also affects physiological factors such as cholesterol levels, blood sugar which means equates to body fat and obesity.

Sociologically, our male hero’s have evolved over the years. Back in the day, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum epitomized the true Alpha Male, The 80’s had Sylvester Stallone (Rambo) and Arnold Schwarzenegger as our action hero’s. Today, there really isn’t a truly “manly” American movie star and Johnny Depp certainly is not what I would call an Alpha Male.

According to Rick, there clearly is a cultural and physical downward spiral of manliness which inspired the writing of this book.

The authors developed a system for you to find out what your current Alpha Factor number is with the AlphaMale Scale™. At the end of the 10 weeks, you will revisit The AlphaMale Scale™ and discover that your Alpha number went up. You can quickly the express version of the AlphaMale Scale™ by visiting: http://alphamalechallenge.com/male_scale.php

The Alpha Male Challenge is not just a diet and exercise program, but a plan, a blueprint, that has a psychological aspect to it to “bring manly back”.

Alpha Attitude

One of the key aspects to the Alpha Male Challenge is “Alpha Attitude”. It’s what makes a guy a hero. What makes him his best. What makes him a leader. Alpha Attitude are inner innate qualities that can be developed. The book covers the “4 C’s” – Confidence, Courage, Commitment and Conscience.

Alpha Archicture

The book as 27 workouts that are all different and should not keep you in the gym longer than an hour. The workouts are fun and challenging and designed for different fitness levels. The exercise can be done at home or in the gym. Alpha Architecture is the part of the book that provides you with what I call a true “game plan”, so that when you walk into the gym, you know exactly what your goals are making your workouts more efficient. The workouts designed in “Alpha Waves”. A specific result will be achieved in each wave such as increasing endurance, lean muscle, increased strength and explosive power. In each wave you are building up for the next wave and continuing to improve on the benefits of the previous wave.

Work Heart, Play Heart

Another part of building your Alpha Architecture is a program the writers created called Work Heart, Play Heart. This is a cardiovascular system that does not require endless hours on a treadmill. Instead, you earn points making simple beneficial choices such as taking the stairs over the elevator or parking at the far end of the parking lot rather than finding the closest parking spot to the door.

Alpha Fuel

Alpha Fuel covers the nutrition portion of the book and I can tell you that the foods aren’t weird and that no, you won’t be on a diet of rabbit food, tofu and soy. You are eating NORMAL food, however, you will be more conscious of the foods you eating consuming QUALITY calories that are nutrient rich. You will be eating less processed foods, more sources of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats. The book also has some great recipes that are quick and easy to make.

To help further simplify things, there is the “Handshake Diet” taking all the guess work out of portion control by measuring a portion with the size of your hand and supplementing your diet with a whey protein shake which is a quick, easy, convenient way of ensuring you’re getting your daily protein intake which is essential for building lean, healthy, fat burning, muscle.

The Alpha Male Challenge is a call to action for men. It is designed men to become healthier, fitter and just, better.

If you’re on Facebook, search Alpha Male Challenge and join their Fan Page www.facebook .com/pages/Alpha-Male-Challenge or visit the website www.alphamalechallenge.com

Order your copy of the book today

Tom Venuto Reveals the Big Fat Lies in Weight Loss and Fitness

2009-10-19T03:00:00.003-04:00

Listen to my FitTalk Interview with Tom Venuto

Big Fat Lies in Weight Loss

Tom Venuto - Author Burn the Fat and

The Body Fat Solution

Part 1 of a 2 Part Blog

FitTalk had the opportunity to interview Tom Venuto about the Big Fat Lies in Weight Loss and Fitness. What do I mean by that? Time and time again you’ve tried the latest diet, or took a weight loss supplement that promised to give you the body of your dreams, bought the latest exercise gadget as seen on TV that promised to deliver 6 pack abs and got little or no results and you end up feeling frustrated and unmotivated.

Tom Venuto exposes the biggest scams, cover-ups, lies, myths and deceptions in the diet, supplement, fitness and weight loss industries known as the Big Fat Lies which is a free mini e-course he offers on his Burn the Fat site. It is these Big Fat Lies that have been sabotaging your weight loss goals.

Burn The Fat is a Fat Loss Program geared towards people with Weight Loss Goals. The program is designed to help overweight people clear the misconceptions regarding Weight Loss and teach then the best Weight Loss diet, exercise and mind techniques and help people lose weight while sparing muscle.

So, what are some of the Big Fat Lies? Well, the media certainly has no shortage of them. An article published in Time Magazine which caused a lot of controversy in the health and fitness industry, is a great example of Tom's Big Fat Lie #3 - “The Magazine Lie”.

"In general, you tend to trust what you see printed in the magazines, just as you tend to trust the information you hear on the evening news and read in the daily newspapers. The news media and most magazines have mega-credibility. Most people automatically assume - consciously and unconsciously - that if it's in print or on the news, then it must be true".- Tom Venuto

This article also ties in to Fat Loss Lie #9 – “Exercise is not necessary – all you need is a diet”. AKA the ‘ol Diet vs. Exercise debate. The article in question is called "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin." People who read this will think that the information in this article is true and accurate because it is in TIME magazine. As Tom explained it, "the issue here is what's more important, diet or exercise? To answer that, you need to create a caloric. You can create a caloric deficit with just diet alone or through exercise, expending more calories than you consume."

Dieting alone is 50% of the equation. Yes, you can lose weight with just dieting. Tom provided a great explanation of the The Diet vs. Exercise debate. "If person "a" burned 1,000 calories with a combination of weight training and cardio, and person "b" didn't do any training and just cut calories, are the results going to be the same? Will persons "a" and "b" health be the same? Will their body compositions be the same? No. The training group will always come out better all the time.

No amount of dieting can ever make you stronger, only training can do that. No amount of dieting will ever make you more physically conditioned or build lean muscle. Only training can do that. Yes, you can lose weight with just dieting, but if you are able bodied, dieting alone is the worst way to lose weight."

Tom and I also talked about the pros and cons of the popular TV show, The Biggest Loser. While it does have several positive aspects, it does have some negative aspects giving people an unrealistic view of how much weight someone can lose in a week. Tom suggests you draw your inspiration from it, not your education.

Another one of the Big Fat Lies we discussed is Fat Loss Lie #12 - "It takes just minutes a day". What we mean by that is when you see or hear the ads for

"2 MINUTE ABS" - "A FEW MINUTES IN THE MORNING!" -

"THE ONE WORKOUT A WEEK FITNESS REVOLUTION!"

"CHANGE YOUR BODY IN 30 MINUTES A WEEK"

"It used to be the big corporations touting ads and infomercials promising you weight loss miracles in just minutes a day. There now seems to be an increase of Fitness Professionals looking for sales making these types of claims. What they're doing is making these ultra condensed workouts saying they're superior to conventional workouts. Some may have crossed the line with integrity by selling quick fixes." According to Tom, it's all about finding the right balance between intensity and duration. For example, if you are in the gym for an hour and not really working out intensely, you're not going to achieve the same results as someone who may be doing an intense 30 minute workout.

“Big Fat Lie #1 – The Starvation Diet” is something I think most of us are victims of. I know I was once upon a time ago. I know I have clients that are victims of this lie – and it’s not just the women who are guilty of this. Men are equally victims of this lie just as much as women are. We were all taught to believe that if you want to lose weight, simply keep your mouth shut. The truth is that most of us aren’t consuming enough calories and the calories we are consuming aren’t the right calories.

There is that fine line between an optimal "caloric deficit" and simply going overboard and not consume enough enough calories, which is "starvation" which can cause confusion. Starvation diets are done for instant gratification to lose weight faster. Most people fail on starvation diets and according to Tom, "they will make you fatter in the long run. It is difficult to stay on these diets. Hunger/food is the most primal drive and your body will start to crave what it doesn't have, causing you to binge, rebound and give up."

"A diet is as good as your ability to stay on it and as effective as your ability to keep the fat off afterwards." - Tom Venuto

The Burn the Fat program is based on burn more, eat more. You have a caloric deficit, but what if you stay active doing two types of training - weight lifting and cardio - with high level of calorie burn - let's you take in more fuel and still have a caloric deficit at a higher level energy expenditure.

Another one of the 12 Big Fat Lies we talked about is Fat Loss Lie #10 – “Fat loss can be Quick and permanent” which is a lie you see advertised almost daily.

"Lose 30 pounds In 30 Days!"

"Lose 9 Pounds Every 11 Days!"

Lose 10 Pounds This Weekend!

We have become a society that has become accustomed to instant gratification and think that the same concept applies to the human body. Everyone wants a quick, easy fix and if there was a quick, easy fix, someone would be a multi millionaire and weight loss would no longer be an issue. But that’s not the case.

Here's how Tom explains it. "When it comes to weight loss, it is critical that you understand body composition which is the difference between body weight and body fat. You body weight isn't the whole picture. There is a difference between losing water weight, muscle tissue and body fat. You want to distinguish what the weight loss consists of.

You can take a body fat test with a body fat caliper or a body fat scale you can use at home, a DEXA scan, or hydrostatic test. Check your weight and body fat once a week and write it down on a progress chart and don't obsess over the short term fluctuations, but more on the long term results.

You also need to set realistic goals. Double digit numbers that you see on TV are unrealistic. It is more realistic and to lose 1-2 pounds per week keeping a caloric deficit.

Tom’s Burn the Fat is a really great program and I learned a lot from it when I went through my initial body transformation. If you want to see all 12 Big Fat Lies in his free mini e-course, or get more information about Burn The Fat, all you need to do is Click Here!

Tom and I continued our conversation about his newest book, The Body Fat Solution which you can read about in Part 2 of this blog: Tom Venuto and the Body Fat Solution.

Tom Venuto and the Body Fat Solution

2009-10-18T21:42:00.009-04:00

Listen to my FitTalk interview with Tom Venuto

Tom Venuto

The Body Fat Solution

Attitudes, Beliefs and Emotional Eating

Part 2 of the Big Fat Lies interview

This blog is a continuation from the Big Fat Lies, Burn The Fat interview. Tom and I spoke for nearly two hours. The second part of our conversation was about his new book,The Body Fat Solution. This is without a doubt, the most comprehensive weight loss book I have ever read.

The Body Fat Solutions is not a diet. In this book, Tom talk about Attitudes, Beliefs, and Emotional Eating. The mind has a lot to do with weight loss success and I have touched on this topic on my show. Let’s talk about your book and how the role our attitudes, beliefs and emotional eating play on our weight.

You need tools to stick with your plan and that's what makes The Body Fat Solution different. A lot of what is in this book is how you stick with your program and that's where people get stuck - the mental side of it.

One of the things that holds people back are “excuses”. In the book, Tom provides some great examples of common excuses and solutions. He calls this “Reframing to Eliminate Excuses and Resolve Inner Conflict.” People are always making excuses as to why they can't work out or stick to their diet. Making excuses can become habitual. Tom says, "you need to become aware. Pay attention to what you're thinking and be aware of the excuses you make. It's a negative mindset. When you catch yourself, talk back to it and reframe it with a positive mindset. You will look at challenges with a different perspective - a solution mentality. This is what's called reframing."

Here's a classic example of an excuse: I don't have time to workout. Here is how Tom reframes this classic excuse - "you have all the time in the world. You have the same time everyone else has. Twenty four hours in a day. The same amount of time as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet and The President." What you haven't done is taken the time to sit down and prioritize your life - put health as a high priority.

One topic Tom talks about in his new book is "Limiting Beliefs". I loved the way he covered “Limiting Beliefs” in his book. Tom presented it in a way that’s different from what I’ve seen in the past and really like how he talked about it. I asked Tom to explain what Limiting Beliefs are and how they can sabotage your weight loss efforts. "Some beliefs you know are not true, and they hold you back. A belief is like a placebo effect and it's involved in the mind-body connection. A belief is an unconscious program that controls your behavior. You may have beliefs on the unconscious level that hold you back. It helps if you analyze your beliefs with a pen and paper to try to draw them out. You can't change a problem if you don't know you have one."

Tom gave some great tips on questions you can ask yourself to discover your limiting beliefs and move past them. You can hear him on the podcast posted at the top of this page.

Another topic in his book we talked about is Emotional Eating. Emotional Eating is one of the biggest sabotages of weight loss. Emotional eating does not require psychotherapy. Emotional eating is done unconsciously to fill a void, to alleviate boredom, stress, depression, etc. Tom maps out a plan on this topic with

the A.W.A.R.E. Formula. I know so many people who struggle with Emotional Eating and could really benefit from this information in the book.

When it comes to Emotional Eating, food is used as a coping mechanism. There are several "triggers" which lead to emotional eating. They are patterns that can be broken via awareness.

A.W.A.R.E formula is a 5 step formula

Awareness - The first step is to raise awareness. Doing something as simple as keeping a food journal is an awareness exercise.

Slow down when you eat. Eat exclusively meaning don't pair eating with other activities such as sitting in front of the TV.

Watch for all your triggers - people, places, events can trigger eating. Make a list of your triggers. Prepare for your triggers so you can handle them. Some common triggers are stress, loneliness, sadness, boredom, TV, etc.

Arrest the behavior before it happens. If you feel the urge, stop it in the act. The word arrest implies that you have been poli

cing yourself, your thoughts, etc. like staking out the scene of a crime. You can "arrest" it before it happens.

Replace the old emotional eating behavior with more constructive alternatives. If you're using food to cope with feelings, you have to find a replacement for the old behavior. Some alternatives are exercise, taking a long walk, meditating, etc.

Establish new reasons for eating. What does food mean to you? Is food fuel? Do you think of food as nutrients? What are your beliefs about food? It's not that some people have superhuman willpower to say no to every temptation. When a behavior violates your strongest beliefs, there is no temptation.

As we were nearing the end of the interview, I asked Tom if there was any one point he wanted people to walk away with. He paused for a moment, thought and this is what he said - "A lot of the biggest lies and myths in the industry are based on refusing to accept or not understand the fundamental cause of obesity and that is a caloric surplus.

That is the simple truth. A lot of people believe it has to be something else. Obesity and body fat can be very complicated but when you trace it all the way back to the point of causation, it's the caloric surplus.

The confusing factors is how much you really eat and how many calories you burn. There's so much that affects that caloric equation and it's not just exercise physiology and not just nutrition. It's your attitudes, thoughts and emotions and how you respond to your feelings. It's also social. The people you hang out with affects how much you eat and exercise.

You need to accept calories in vs. calories out. You need to dig deep and understand why your caloric equation is out of whack. If you don't accept that 1 piece, you're going to keep falling for more myths and lies, but if you get that one point, your caloric balance equation, you're going to continue to be a victim of the Big Fat Lies.

To learn more about Tom's Burn the Fat program and the Big Fat Lies,Click Here! If you're serious about losing weight correctly without all the hype, I highly recommend Tom's Burn The Fat Program.

You can order Tom's newest book: The Body Fat Solution

To read Part 1 of this blog, Click here: http://sharifitness.blogspot.com/2009/10/tom-venuto-reveals-big-fat-lies-in.html

Simple Weight Loss Tips

2009-09-08T14:33:00.004-04:00

Listen to my FitTalk Interview with Jen Hendershott
Weight Loss Made Simple

Simple Weight Loss Tips

with Jen Hendershott
http://budurl.com/jenhnutrition

I had the opportunity to trade weight loss tips with two time Ms. Olympia and Ms. Fitness International, Jen Hendershott on my FitTalk show.

It’s certainly no secret that as a country, we are very unfit and very unhealthy. Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about the growing obesity rate in this country. Most people say they are unhappy with their weight and wan to lose weight and make the mistake of looking for a quick easy fix which in most cases don’t work. Jen and I agree that people tend to make weight loss more complicated than it really is, don’t get the results they want and give up.

We’re overworked, underpaid, and very stressed and we’re always looking for the quickest, easiest, solution to everything. When it comes to weight loss, the cold hard truth is that there really isn’t a quick fix. If there was, someone would be a multi-millionaire for inventing it and obesity wouldn’t be an issue.

In addition, the obesity rate among children is rising. Children are watching and observing what you do. They learn from you and develop lifestyle habits from the adults in their lives. Not only do you need to start developing better habits for yourself, but also for our children.

When it comes to weight loss, knowledge is power. We’re simply uneducated about nutrition and it really isn’t taught in the schools. One of the easiest things you can do to start making changes is to start a food journal and track everything you eat and drink for 5 days. At the end of the 5 days, look at your journal and see how many sodas you drank. You’ll also see how many meals you ate came from a restaurant or drive through. Ask yourself of all the choices on the menu, did you make the best choice? By looking at this snap shot of your habits, you can get a clear picture of what you chose to eat or drink, identify what choices you made were unhealthy, and give some thought about better choices you can make.

If you and your children are drinking too much soda and want to cut back on it and have your children drink more water, you can add Crystal Light or Sugar Free Kool Aid to your water.

It’s a matter of making small steps towards better habits. Jen came up with a simple suggestion that you can do to develop better eating habits and turn it into a lifestyle instead of a temporary fix. Jen suggested making 8 major changes in 8 weeks. Every week, pick a new good habit to replace a bad one.

For example, Week 1 you won’t skip breakfast and get into a habit of having breakfast every day. It can be something as easy as a protein shake with a piece of fruit.
Week 2: Prepare a healthy lunch the day before so you don’t have to eat fast food. At the end of the 8 weeks, you’ll have 8 new habits that will stick for life.

Another simple thing you can do is be pro-active about your diet. Jen’s motto is “Your cooler is your purse”. If you fill a small cooler with healthy snacks such as apples, low fat yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds, etc. you will always have something nutritious to snack on throughout the day.

My simple suggestion is to pre-cook all your meals once a week. I do this every Sunday and it takes me about 90 minutes. When I come home and I’m tired or in a hurry, I can heat up one of these meals very quickly.

Of course, there are times when you have to get something “to go”. Rather than hit a drive through, I will go into a local supermarket and pick up a rotisserie chicken and salad in a bag. I’m literally in and out of the store in the same amount of time it would take for me to place my order at the drive through. This is a low cost, healthy meal that can also quickly feed a family.

Another habit you can develop is regular exercise. Set aside at least 30 minutes a few days a week to exercise and give it a chance and realize how good you feel. Exercise helps you feel strong and empowered. When you feel empowered, you do things which make you feel successful, happy and creates self confidence.

I had created a Vision Board of my role models and images that represented a healthy, fit, body along with pictures of treadmills, dumbbells, spin bikes, healthy foods, etc. I would look at these images every day and was inspired and motivated by them. When I went to the gym, these images would be in my head which helped fuel my workouts.

If you are looking to learn everything over a weekend, Jen has created a program that she has been touring the country with over the past few years called PHAT Camp. PHAT camp is a camp designed for women who want to learn about being the best they can be. It’s not just for fitness competitors. People of all ages, shapes and sizes attend the weekend long camp. Jen has had participants as young as 13 and as old as 70 attend camp. Jen teaches you creative ways to make cardio more fun, you will learn exciting new exercises, and so many great ways to eat and cook healthy. Learn things you didn't know and get your questions answered. This is something I highly recommend that will get you motivated and on the right path. To learn more about Jen’s PHAT Camp, visit her website: http://budurl.com/jenhnutrition You will also find exercise DVD’s and other products that can help you reach your goal.

You really don’t need to get hung up on counting calories. Focus on eating foods that are what I call quality calories. Foods that are rich in nutrients and are as natural as possible. Avoid foods that are loaded with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Be aware of the sugar content in the foods you eat. Read the nutrition labels. If you do these simple things, the weight will start to come off and you will start to feel better.

Incorporate strength training and cardio along with improving your nutrition and you’ve got the basic, simple formula for weight loss.

EFT and Weight Loss Interview with Brad Yates

2009-08-09T22:42:00.001-04:00

Listen to the interview I did with Brad Yates to learn about EFT and weight loss and hear the weight loss EFT Session he did with me. Click on the BlogTalk Radio button above. You will be redirected to my Blog Talk Radio Page.

EFT and Weight Loss With Brad Yates

I had the opportunity to talk to one of the most renown and highly respected EFT practitioners, Brad Yates about EFT and Weight Loss. EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique.

How I came learn about Brad and EFT, is through my friend, Bob Doyle, who is one of the teachers in the movie, “The Secret” which is about the Law of Attraction. Bob is an advocate of EFT and highly recommends it as an effective tool to help make the Law of Attraction work for you.

Brad has been a presenter at a number of events, including several International Energy Psychology Conferences and the Walk On Water (WOW) Fest in Los Angeles.

He has done teleseminars with “The Secret” stars Bob Doyle (who has been a guest on my FitTalk show), and Dr. Joe Vitale and is also the co-author of the best-selling book, Freedom at Your Fingertips: Get Rapid Physical and Emotional Relief with the Breakthrough System of Tapping as well as a featured expert in the film “Try It On Everything” along with Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Dr. Norman Shealy and Dr. Bruce Lipton.

In addition, Brad has teamed up with another guest on my show, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Steve G. Jones, M.Ed. to create a program called Confidence Beyond Belief which combines the power of EFT and Hypnosis.

What is EFT and how does it heal people?

I asked Brad this question and he explained that EFT is an incredible healing modality which is based on the same principles as the age old techniques found in acupuncture only without the use of needles. It basically works by changing the body’s energy system. It is very effective in helping people overcome pain, fear, emotional trauma, chronic physical pain and addictions which are driven by our emotions. EFT is the quickest, easiest form of stress relief and clears out negative feelings like fear, anxiety, cravings, etc.

EFT has been around since the 1980’s and was discovered by a psychologist, Dr. Roger Callahan while working with a patient with a life long fear of water. Dr. Callahan had been studying different modalities, one of them being acupuncture. By chance, he tried tapping on one of the meridians of his patient and her fear of water was gone.

With acupuncture, there are meridians or pathways of energy that run through our bodies and when these energies are out of balance, we experience illness, and when these meridians are brought back into balance, we experience wellness.

Dr. Callahan started teaching this “tapping” technique and one of his first students was Gary Craig. Instead of tapping on one point, Gary decided to tap on all points with his patients and was getting great results. Gary called this technique “Emotional Freedom Technique,” AKA EFT.

Stress, Negative Emotions and Emotional Eating

I brought up the subject of Stress and Negative Emotions with Brad with my viewpoint about it. One issue we hear about constantly is the Obesity Rate which is alarming. One area most people struggle with and are unhappy about is their weight. Weight loss is equally mental as it is physical and lot of our behavior is driven by our emotions. For instance, stress and negative emotions tend to make some people use food as comfort or a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, or a way to cope with stress. Once you get used to using food to feel better, it’s hard to break your routine.

We all know that most of the foods consumed “socially” are mostly unhealthy snacks and/or meals. When it comes to social gatherings, food tends to be at the center of it and most people feel that if they aren’t participating on eating, that they’re not being social. In addition, via advertising, food subconsciously becomes associated with having a good time, particularly the unhealthy snacks and/or meals, making them addicting. A lot of people have a hard time resisting these types of foods, yet consciously know that they are bad for them and will hold them back in their goal to achieve weight loss.

According to Brad, our actions are a result of our thoughts and feelings and there are many people who are trying to change their actions without changing their thoughts and feelings. Letting go of your judgment of yourself regardless of your current physical weight or health, allows you to cleanse yourself of your negative self-judgment. You need to change your belief system in order to change your behavior. Brad made the analogy of trying to make an accounting software program do word processing. It can’t change because of how it was programmed. You need a different program in order to make it work.

Brad talked about how food can become an unhealthy addiction. In the moment, your subconscious mind will tell you the Pop-Tart, cookie, French fries, ______ (fill in the blank), is going to fulfill a need right then and there and that it will make you feel good NOW. Worry about how you feel later.

EFT is a great way to clear negative beliefs

I told Brad that while listening to one of his seminars, something he said really resonated with me. What Brad said, and I quote, “weight loss is thought of as getting away from something, but it’s more about working towards a goal. People are already in a negative mindset. My body is terrible, there must be something wrong with me. You can’t create a healthy body with hateful motivation”.

Brad responded by saying our thoughts are the building blocks of our reality. Basic LOA. We’re building our future, our next few minutes, our next hour, our next day, etc. With the thoughts and feelings you have, what kind of future are you building if the thoughts you have are, “oh, I’m such a pig, I’m a lazy slug”. You simply can’t attract good things with that kind of thought process. We are programmed to expect the worst.

EFT is a great way of clearing negative beliefs and judgments of ourselves. When it comes to weight loss, some people are of the belief that they need to feel pain to motivate themselves. With EFT, before you feel better, there is the chance that some uncomfortable emotion will come up.

At that point Brad took me through a basic EFT session and then a more advanced one. Although I don’t have self esteem issues with my body and I enjoy eating healthy and working out, I can honestly say that after the session Brad did with me, I felt really good. All this can be heard on my show with Brad. (simply click on the BlogTalk Radio Logo at the top of this page to hear it)

If you’re struggling with weight loss, particularly with getting your self motivated to workout or with making better food choices, than I recommend you look into EFT and giving it a try.

I have listed links to information about Brad, EFT and the book he co-authored.

To hear the interview I did with Brad and the EFT session we did, click on the Blog Talk Radio logo at the top of this page or go to www.blogtalkradio.com/sharifitness

To learn more about Brad Yates, -------->> Click Here!

The trailer for the EFT Documentary that Brad was a part of,

--------->> Click Here

Freedom at Your Fingertips, the Best Selling EFT Book written by the top EFT Practitioners. Click on the book to find out more about it.

The Blood Pressure Miracle - Save Your Life or The Life of Someone You Know

2009-05-27T23:36:00.000-04:00

Click on the logo above to listen to my interview with Frank Mangano

Fit Talk with Shari Fitness

Best Selling Author of the Blood Pressure Miracle &
Consumer Health Advocate Frank Mangano

http://www.naturalhealthontheweb.com/

The Blood Pressure Miracle – How you can naturally lower your Blood Pressure

One of the most important topics I have covered so far is this one, High Blood Pressure, because the information I have learned from reading Frank’s Book and interviewing him on this subject could potentially save your life or the life of someone you know. High Blood Pressure is known as “The Silent Killer” because there are no symptoms and there are thousands of people walking around with it and probably don’t know it. What Frank Mangano did, was uncover the truth about High Blood Pressure and the alternative solutions to prescription drugs.

Frank is a Consumer Health Advocate and his passion is about health advocacy promoting all things related to health. He is always on the lookout for new information on health that consumers need to be aware of from new studies and reports that affect your health for the better or worse. Frank gets the information out to the consumer making sure it is accurate and contains all the information you need to live a healthy life. You can find information on every condition from A-Z on Frank’s website www.naturalhealthontheweb.com

How this all began for Frank was through his mother who was diagnosed with high cholesterol some years ago. Frank had extensively researched this topic and designed a protocol consisting of nutrition, vitamins, supplements and minerals for his mother to follow. She was able to lower her cholesterol 40 points which had impressed her doctors so much that she was able to avoid going on prescription medication. This led to Frank’s first self-published book, The 60 Day Prescription Free Cholesterol Cure.

The High Blood Pressure Miracle Book:

While Frank was researching cholesterol, he discovered that there is a direct correlation between high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Being that Frank’s mother already dealt with high cholesterol, and discovering that there is a direct correlation between high blood pressure and high cholesterol, Frank wanted to take preventative measures for his mother from developing high cholesterol.

What is High Blood Pressure?
Blood pressure is the amount of force the blood puts on the arteries as it passes through. When the walls of your arteries have a greater force on them than is considered safe and unhealthy, then you have high blood pressure.

While high blood pressure doesn’t make you feel bad, it can cause serious conditions such as strokes, heart attacks and other types of heart disease if left untreated, hence, it being “The Silent Killer". The extra work the heart must do to push blood through the body will eventually take its toll on the heart and arteries.

Who is at risk for high blood pressure?
Anyone is susceptible to High Blood Pressure. The #1 factor to High Blood Pressure are unhealthy lifestyle habits such as drinking too much alcohol, poor nutritional habits which cause you to lack certain vitamins and minerals, not doing enough physical activity, smoking, too much sodium, obesity, and certain ethnic groups tend to be at risk of developing High Blood Pressure.

High Blood Pressure and Prescription Drugs
When you are diagnosed with High Blood Pressure, chances are you are going to be put on prescription drugs to treat it. While they are necessary in certain cases, if they can be avoided, that would be your best route. There are many different side effects you can get from blood pressure medication, which are rapid heart rate, fluid retention, dizziness, fainting, and muscle paralysis just to name a few. Sometimes, the side effects from prescription drugs are worse than the actual condition. Most drugs are made up of chemical compounds and the human body was not made to consume chemical compounds, hence, the side effects.

According to Frank, sometimes blood pressure is not correctly measured and there are people who are put on medication that shouldn’t be. Also, there are a lot of doctors that don’t evaluate a person’s lifestyle to see where that person is de-railing and get them back on track, and in most cases, it has to do with lacking certain vitamins and minerals due to poor nutrition. It is unfortunate that most doctors treat the cause, and not the effect.

Supplements – The Mangano Quality Test
Nutritional Supplements to help lower blood pressure….naturally
Frank’s book certainly has extensive information on various nutritional supplements that can help lower blood pressure. However, buyer beware, not all supplements are created equal. For example, Frank talks about the benefits of Co-Q10, and when you buy this particular supplement, it should be in an oil based formula so that it is properly absorbed in your body.

High Blood Pressure and Stress
Stress can elevate blood pressure. Frank recommends walking as a way to reduce stress and also recommends hypnotherapy. Frank and I both recommend self hypnosis from Clinical Hypnotherapist, Steve G. Jones. Steve has some great self-hypnosis to help reduce stress which I personally use. More importantly, Frank advises to take time out of your day for yourself to unwind.

The Blood Pressure Miracle
Frank’s book is an easy to read format. It’s straight up and to the point. His program is very easy to implement and is endorsed by licensed doctors and are recommending this book to their patients.

The Blood Pressure Miracle is a great book for people with other health issues such as diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, etc., which can help improve your overall health and it is a book I highly recommend.

To order your copy of The Blood Pressure Miracle, Click on the Book:

Learn the 10 Steps Towards A Successful Body Transformation

2009-04-15T20:44:00.001-04:00

Click on the Blog Talk Radio Logo to Hear the 10 Steps Towards a Successful Body Transformation

Stephen Adele

Editor-In-Chief

RealSolutions Magazine
www.realsolutionsmag.com
CEO - iSatori Technologies

I know we’ve all seen the ads in the magazines. The “Before” and “After” pictures of someone who has transformed their body. True, most of the people in the ads are professional body builders or fitness/figure competitors whose “before” photos are taken in what is known as the “off-season” when they purposely put on weight and the “after” picture is taken just prior to their competition. Well, what about those of us “real” people? You know, the person you see every day who wants to lose weight, look better and feel better?

Once upon a time ago, I was that person and never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be a real life transformation success story, let alone someone whose story was featured in magazines. My before and after pictures are me and they are real. There’s no air brushing, photo shopping, etc. to my pictures.

To talk about the subject of How to Achieve a Successful Body Transformation, I interviewed
Stephen Adele, Editor in Chief of Real Solutions Magazine and co-author of the Lean System Success Plan and Maximum Growth, Volume II, and is also the CEO of the prestigious supplement manufacturer, iSatori Technologies. Stephen been helping individuals from all walks of life create measurable results in their physiques and performance over the last 15 years and has rapidly become a respected authority. He has published numerous articles for magazines around the world, been quoted in several trade publications, appeared on radio shows, conducted seminars around the globe.

Stephen shared all the secrets you need to know about how YOU can be a real life transformation success story and CREATE your best body. Stephen revealed his 10-step plan for surefire success that literally ANYONE can follow, whether you're young, older or 10 or 100 lbs out of shape! His principles overcome the roadblocks that can prevent you from reaching your goals.

I can tell you first hand that building a body that is fit, healthy, and tone takes commitment and doesn’t happen over night. Many people are in a constant battle of the bulge and too often they will start and stop a program and not achieve results. No one said it was an easy process, but one that anyone can achieve with the right tools. I would also like to take this opportunity to say that you are never too old to do this and I am a true believer and living example that living a fit and healthy lifestyle, and I stress the word LIFESTYLE, where you are consistent with eating healthy meals and incorporating strength training in your exercise program truly is the fountain of youth.

Stephen presented the 10 most common mistakes people make when to achieve to a successful physical body transformation and how to avoid or overcome them.

According to Stephen, 85% of Americans are displeased with the aesthetics of their physique, 50-60% are on some kind of diet, 90% of these people will not succeed. This leaves us with a small group who will succeed who do want to do this the right way and make this a long term lifestyle change.

10 Steps Towards a Transformation

Stephen suggests that you start by rating yourself, like a report card.

A - Read a book, specific goal, reasons, committed, eating 5/6 meals a day, weights 3/week, cardio 3/week; attracted help and support, and I am tracking progress.

B - Loosely defined goal, reasons, committed, eating 3/4 meals a day, weights 1/2 week, cardio 1/2 week, attracted help but not tracking progress.

C - Goal in mind, but not written out, no reasons, semi-committed, eat whenever I can find time, weights & cardio about once a week.

D - No goal, no reasons, not very committed, not paying attention to eating, nor am I working out.

In order to achieve a successful transformation, you need to overcome some obstacles. Stephen lists the 10 most common obstacles people encounter and how to overcome them.

#1 Using the scale to judge your progress.

The scale lies. Body composition is where it’s at. Lean Body Mass vs. Body Fat. Take pictures of yourself every 4 weeks and take visual ques from your clothes.

#2 Comparing yourself to others.

- Competition is between you and your past habits
- Every body is unique!
- Slow start, faster finish; versus fast start, slower finish
- Depends on how much fat you began with
- 2 to 4 lbs of fat per week is a good, safe goal

#3 How Do I Eat 5-6 Meals a Day?

- Carelessness, when it comes to eating,is the #1 obstacle to building a healthy, strong body
- Plan and prepare meals in advance; weekly
- Use MRP/protein shakes (and limited nutrition bars)
- Important to feed your body consistently in order to rev up metabolism to burn more fat!

I think that this hits home with most people. I think the one area most people get “stuck” is with their diet, but with anything else, if you are proactive about your diet as well as your workouts, meaning, you have a “game plan” every day knowing what your meals are for the day and walking into the gym with a plan, it takes away a lot of the guess work and frustration. I have a routine that I go through every single week where I pre-cook my meals for the week no matter what is happening. This has been one of my biggest keys to success. It really isn’t that big a deal and not as hard and as complicated as people think.

#4 How do I put a healthy meal together?

- Start with protein (Remember to eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of bodyweight. E.g.,
180 person would eat 180 grams protein / 6 meals a day = 30 grams each meal)
- Keep portion sizes to the palm of your hand
- Take the guesswork out of it --Use a Meal replacement shake
- Eating out –order what you want, how you want it!
- Fast food –pick your food apart

If you have the ingredients on hand and most of your items pre-cooked, putting together a healthy meal is a snap! A lot of people ask how I am able to throw those meals together on a daily basis throughout the day and it’s all because I’ve planned ahead.

#5 If I work out more, will I get better results?

- Yes, and No. More is not always better…
- Higher chances of:
Overtraining
“Burn-out”
Injury
- Stick to your Plan!
- Resistance training with weights –3 /week
- Cardio exercise –3 /week
- Free workout planner: p. 69 in Lean System; Or visit RealSolutionsMag.com. Click on the free stuff icon

Working out too much was one of the mistakes I was making in the beginning. Not only was I over training, but I wasn’t consuming ENOUGH calories or the RIGHT calories.

#6 My schedule doesn’t allow me to work out.

- Is it important to you?
- What is your specific S.M.A.R.T. goal?

S.M.A.R.T. Goal:“I am in the process of losing 10 lbs of bodyfat, and gaining 5 lbs of muscle, by March 30, 2006, by eating six nutritious, balanced meals a day and working out at least three times per week.”
- What will that feel and look like when you achieve it?
- What are your reasons?
- Create time; schedule an appointment with yourself EVERY day!

If I had a dollar every time someone said that to me…. The simple truth is that you make time for the things you want to make time for and that are important to you. That goes back to a topic I have spoken about several times in past shows “resistance”. You make all the “why not” excuses. If you go back to what I said about walking into the gym with a game plan, and stay focused on doing your workouts, you will find that you can be in and out in about an hour. Surely you can set aside an hour of your time at day.

#7 Do I need to take Supplements?

No. But…Supplements can used as an excellent “tool”to help you achieve your results easier and faster

1. Convenience(e.g., Meal replacement)
2. Results(e.g., Lean System 7 for Burning more fat; CE-XL for Building muscle)
3. Health Insurance(e.g., a multi-vitamin)

A few of my clients have used or are currently using some of your products which has made a difference in their workouts. I know with me, personally, my physique would not have taken the shape it has without your products and I know this will surprise a lot of people but yes, I do use the muscle building supplements that are marketed to men and no, I am by no means big and bulky. At the age of 45, I honestly feel that these products will help keep me shapely, lean and tone as I age and I also feel that the muscle building products will help me preserve bone density as muscle does help build and preserve bone density.

#8 How Do I Workout Considering My Injuries?

- Do what you can
- Exercise “around” the injury
- Don’t do exercises that cause sharp or nagging pains
- Read/ask Dr. Sanchez in Real SOLUTIONS
- Visit your primary physician –check it out!

# 9 If I Slip Up, should I just throw it all away?

- Absolutely Not! We all mess up.
- Quickly assess how the slip-up happened (hint: it’s usually eating poorly or lack of planning)
- Pick up right where you left off
- Don’t let mistakes, obstacles or slip-ups get in the way of your dreams

With the “slip up”, think of it as having had your cheat meal. You know you had gone off the plan, treat it like a cheat meal, and be determined to not allow it to deter you. We all have our “moments”. Even the pros. You put it behind you and move forward. As long as you remain consistent with your diet and workouts, and keep the slip ups to a minimum, they won’t be as damaging. Sometimes, a slip up can actually re-ignite your metabolism. Keep a positive mindset.

#10 What is YOUR Roadblock?

Are you ready to make a transformation and lead a healthy, physically fit lifestyle?
- Make a Decision
- Plan & Prepare
- Tell Others Around You
- Track Your Progress
- Celebrate Your Accomplishment!

There are so many resources out there to help get you past your roadblocks. The message board at RealSolutions Magazine is a great resource for support. I have had discussions on this topic with previous guests. Hiring a coach to help you be accountable is another way.
For further information on iSatori Products such as Eat Smart, H+Blocker, MORPH, and Real Solutions magazine, click on the banner below:

Throughout the interview, Stephen had made reference to this book by Harley Pasternak:

Your Burning Nutrition Questions.....ANSWERED!!!

2009-04-13T12:52:00.001-04:00

Your Burning Nutrition Questions.....ANSWERED!!!

click on the blog talk radio logo to hear my interview with Marie Spano

Marie Spano
Sports Nutritionist
http://www.mariespano.com/

The ONE topic most people have questions about is nutrition. Yes, it is VERY confusing. How do you know what’s good for you, what’s not good for you, how much is too much, or not enough? There’s always some new diet craze going on and which one should you choose? Low Carb diets, low fat, no fat, etc. There are foods that are advertised as being healthy but really aren’t.

I interviewed Marie Spano and asked her to answer the most commonly asked nutrition questions. Marie Spano, is an M.S., RD, FISSN, who holds a B.S. in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and an M.S. in Foods and Nutrition from the University of Georgia. She is also the current VP of the International Society of Sports Nutrition.

Protein/Meal Replacement Bars
The one topic that garners the most questions is nutrition. It can be such a minefield of conflicting information and makes it hard for someone to separate fact from fiction. Take for instance, protein bars/meal replacement bars. They are everywhere. I don’t advise my clients not to make a habit of eating them. On the rare occasion I have one, I feel bloated and horrible for hours on end after eating one. Marie had recently made a comment in one of her articles about IBD in which she referred to The South Beach Living Bar. “One South Beach Living bar full of sugar alcohols and I'd qualify for IBS if I could even make it out of the house to see the physician.” Here’s a great example of something that is marketed as being good and healthy for you and really isn’t. A lot of those bars are full of sugar alcohols which can be worse than sugar. I asked Marie to give me the low down on sugar alcholos.

Sugar Alcohols are in a lot of “Low Carb” foods. They are a type of carbohydrate that is not fully digested in the gastro intestinal track. According to Marie, the healthy bacteria that lives in the stomach feeds off sugar alcohol and this is where the gas, bloating and stomach distention comes in. When buying bars, check the ingredients for sugar alcohols or make sure there’s only a few grams in them. You want to find a bar that is high in protein and contains no more than 5 grams or no sugar alcohols. Marie recommends VPX Bars.

VPX Zero Impact Bars, Box Of 12, Chocolate Peanut Butter

Products that are labeled low carb will be higher in other ingredients to help make it more palatable such as sodium, hidden fats or sugar alcohols. It’s always best to read the labels but your best rule of thumb is to stick to whole real grains such as 100% whole wheat tortilla wraps, breads, pasta, etc. rather than purchasing the low carb version.

Caloric Intake
A common mistake people make is that they tend to not eat the RIGHT calories let alone ENOUGH calories. People are afraid to eat, i.e, we were programmed that if you want to lose weight, keep your mouth shut, or people get so busy that they forget to eat. What happens is that your body stores fat instead of burning fat and you wind up reaching for the wrong foods. How does a person know how many calories they should be eating to make sure they are consuming enough calories throughout the day? Marie recommends the Harris Benedict Equation. My simple recommendation is to take your body weight x 12 divided by 6 for progressive fat loss. This formula will tell you approximately how many calories per day you should be consuming and how many calories per meal (6 meals per day). There are also several nutritional sites which can help you track your meals and caloric intake. Marie has The Daily Plate as a recommended site http://www.thedailyplate.com/.

Children and Nutrition
With regard to children, a lot of them are diagnosed with ADD and other “behavioral” type problems. The American diet is pitiful and children are exposed to way too much sugar in their diet with soft drinks, fruit juices, sugary snacks, sugary breakfasts such as Pop Tarts and Fruit Loops Cereal and the list goes on and on. Knowing what these foods do to the insulin levels of adults, imagine what they do to children. I asked Marie if what a lot of what children are being fed is causing behavioral problems and what food alternatives do you suggest a parent can shop for that their children will like and is quick, easy and convenient? There are studies showing that some foods can increase behavioral problems in some children. Some great grab and go snacks that parents can buy for kids are string cheese, whole grain crackers (provided they are sugar free and contain no trans fats), baby carrots, fruit (seedless grapes are great!) bottled water, and now, products such as Silk Soy Milk and other milk products come in small shelf stable packaging which is a great alternative so the sugary juice boxes.

Nutrition over 40
As we age, our metabolism slows down, our digestive systems become more sensitive, our bones become more brittle and we lose bone density. Another part of the aging process is that we lose muscle mass and there tends to be a decrease in fitness activities. For those over the age of 40, what adjustments, if any, should be made to diet? Are there more foods we should be eating and less of other types of food? Marie and I both recommend that you should be engaging in an exercise program that does include strength training/weight bearing exercises to protect your lean muscle and bone density. You diet should contain lean protein sources such as egg whites, fatty fish high in Omega 3 or Fish Oil Supplements, chicken, whey or soy protein and foods rich in Calcium and Vitamin D.

Snacks before bed
It’s OK to have a snack before bed, however, you don’t want to eat a full meal and then go to bed an hour later. Recommended night time snacks would be a whey or soy protein shake, low fat/low sugar yogurt, low fat cottage cheese or cereal that contains no or low sugar and partially hydrogenated oils.

If you would like more information on this topic, Marie and I recommend the following books:

Your Health, Fitness and The Laws of Attraction

2009-04-06T21:49:00.003-04:00

Your Health, Fitness and the Law of Attraction

Click on the Blog Talk Radio Logo to listen to the interview

Bob Doyle
Creator & Facilitator of the
Wealth Beyond Reason Program
Featured Teacher in the Movie “The Secret”
People are under a lot of stress these days and are not sleeping well, they are smoking and drinking more, eating more, and exercising less. They feel as if life is spiraling out of control.

The world is a crazy place and we are all being inundated with negativity these days through the media. Every day all you hear about is the economic crisis, job layoffs, government bailouts of huge corporations, rising gas prices, and home foreclosures. Perhaps you may or may not be one of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by these events. The news and the current times are scary, depressing and stressful and these events can put you as an individual into a negative vibration where you will be attracting negativity into your life.

I interviewed Mr. Bob Doyle, who is the creator and facilitator of the Wealth Beyond Reason Program. The Wealth Beyond Reason program is an in-depth, on line curriculum of the Law of Attraction. His work gained the attention of the producer's of the movie "The Secret" which has touched millions of lives around the world, and continues to do so with it's message of the Law of Attraction.

Bob is a veteran broadcaster, and had also spent some time in the fitness industry, but is better known for his real passion, the Law of Attraction, and helping people to realize its full potential in their lives, no matter what their starting point or current beliefs may be. I spoke to Bob about the Laws of Attraction and how it comes into play with health, fitness and wellness.

For those who have never heard of the movie “The Secret” and are not aware of what The Laws of Attraction are, I asked Bob to give an explanation of what it is. “The Law of Attraction explains how energy works. We are energy made up of atoms and electrons that are in the Universe and there are certain rules that energy follow and energy follows the Law of Attraction. Energy vibrates at a certain frequency and we as humans are vibrating at a frequency. When we are in resonance with another vibration, we attract it. With regard to the study of the Law of Attraction, it’s all about how we get into vibrational resonance with the things we want such as money, cars, health, fitness, relationships, careers, etc. Essentially, we are attracting all aspects of our life and that includes health and fitness.”

You really need to get “clear” and let go of all limiting beliefs which causes resistance. Your Temple, the precious human body, and it’s health, fitness and wellness is at the core or center of getting clear within yourself of what your passion and or purpose is. If your health, fitness and wellness are not up to par, it becomes difficult to get “clear” of what it is you want and attract the things you want.

Poor health or self image makes it hard to feel positive about things because you feel so bad physically and emotionally. If you are lethargic all the time, feeling unmotivated or unproductive because your energy levels are low, it makes it hard to focus and concentrate on the things you really want. If you look at yourself in the mirror and are not happy with the image you see, it affects your self-confidence making you feel you are unworthy of things. Your mind is cluttered with negativity.

Exercise releases “endorphins” which is a chemical in the brain that is responsible for putting you in a positive mood. It’s almost as if you’ve taken a “happy” pill. Another chemical that is released from exercise is Serotonin which helps combat depression.

Shifting your mindset
One of the keys to weight loss is your mindset. If you use the concept of the Laws of Attraction and shift your vibration, you will have much better weight loss success. Remember, mind and body connect. If you can see it in your mind and feel it emotionally, you will BE the person you want to be.

According to Bob, “This is where we get into the visualization mindset of the Laws of Attraction. If you visualize yourself as a healthy, fit, person, you WILL BECOME that person. If you stay stuck in the mindset and see yourself as a fat person who will never be thin, “this is the way I am, this is the way it has been and this is the way it will always be”, then that’s the way you will be. “When you have that mindset and you have that thought process over and over again, it can transcend whatever action you take, and according to the Law of Attraction, that is what you are going to attract more of. Even if you go to the gym every day and improve your diet and keep telling yourself “I don’t deserve to be thin, fit. I’m fat, blah, blah, blah, that is going to be your reality because you are RESISTING a fit, tone, healthy, body. You can’t get into vibrational resonance with health if your inner conversation with yourself is “It’s too hard, I don’t deserve it, etc.” When you change your inner conversation, you’ll logically start marking different choices and migrate to better foods and want to exercise more.”

The foods you eat can impact the way you feel. Foods that are processed and are high in sodium and fats can make you feel sluggish and bloated or can cause heartburn or indigestion in some cases turning us into “couch potatoes”. When you start to feel bad physically, in turn, you feel bad emotionally and mentally, which again, does not put you in a positive frequency. There are simple things you can do such as reaching for an apple instead of chips.

Getting started isn’t easy, but once you get started, you’ll start to feel better. You’re not going to see results overnight, but mentally you will start to feel better and if you are feeling better mentally, that will put you in a positive vibration. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. The simple act of getting outside and walking or running is a good starting point or doing simple bodyweight exercises that require no equipment. I know when I’m exercising, it’s almost like a form of meditation for me and I start getting inspired thought which gets me clear and focused on what I want.

When you start feeling better physically and emotionally, you start to feel better mentally. You are more confident, happy, energetic, and people are drawn to that “feel good” energy. You are able to get “clear” of the things you really want making it easier to attract the things you want through the people you interact with and take inspired action. Aaahhhh, inspired action. How refreshing. Actually doing something about what you want as opposed to just talking about it. Not living your life as a “what if”. And it all started with something as simple as taking care of YOUR Temple, your precious human body.

Here are some links and information about Bob Doyle, The Law of Attraction, and some of the programs and products he offers.

The Boundless Living Challenge is one of the biggest success stories, changing more lives in a concentrated time than any other undertaking - and it's FREE to participate in!!!! Click here to view the video about it.

To learn more about the infamous Wealth Beyond Reason program, click here to view the video about it.

There are so many Law of Attraction DVD's out there. I really like Bob's. It's so honest and raw. Bob talks about his family, his experiences and his life and how using the Law of Attraction changed his life and how it can change yours.

Your Spine - The Center of Your Temple

2009-04-06T14:23:00.000-04:00

Your Spine - The Center of Your Temple

Dr. Terresa Hwang, DC
Choice Chiropractic and Wellness, Inc.
3400 McClure Bridge Road
Duluth, GA 30096
678-205-2313
http://www.choice-chiropractic.com/

I interviewed Dr. Terresa Hwang, Doctor of Chiropractic about the benefits of Chiropractic care and to also dispel all the common myths and misconceptions of Chiropractors in general.

Dr. Hwang began her undergraduate studies at University of Washington in Seattle, Washington and continued her chiropractic studies at Life University in Marietta, Georgia where she received her Doctor of Chiropractic degree and has been serving the community of Duluth, GA since 2002.There are so many myths and misconceptions about chiropractors and chiropractic care that may prevent a person who can truly benefit from this kind of treatment from seeking it. Statements such as “chiropractors are nothing but a bunch of quacks,” and “Once you go in for treatment you’re a patient for life.”

The first step in overcoming the “quack” stigma is to make sure that the doctor you seek treatment from is a reputable doctor. How should someone go about trying to find a good, reputable chiropractor? What Dr. Hwang recommends is that you get a referral from a friend, co-worker or family. Have a consultation with the doctor and ask questions. You can also find out through your State if your Chiropractor is Board Certified.

Getting a good understanding of what a Chiropractor does should help ease any fears about seeking treatment from one. A Chiropractor finds misalignments in the body that is causing pinched nerves and makes the adjustment in the spine to take the pressure off the nerve. The medical terminology for this is called a subluxation. Some of the common symptoms are neck pain, low back pain, headaches, sciatica or shooting pain. Symptoms of a pinched nerve can be inflammation, pain, swelling and limited loss of range of motion. Sometimes symptoms can be neurological from pinched nerves such as headaches that occur in the neck. The job of a Chiropractor is to find where there is nerve interference in the alignment of a joint and make an adjustment or series of adjustments.

Some people are afraid to go because of the cracking or popping and are worried that it will hurt. An adjustment is a gentle, specific "thrust" delivered by hand or instrument. The purpose of the adjustment is to correct your spinal subluxation(s) thus removing the nerve interference in your body. Chiropractic adjustments feel great. Once you begin receiving your adjustments, you will begin to look forward to them. They will become one of the highlights of your week. When you allow the vertebrae in your spine to return to their proper position, you will notice much less stress and tension.

Things we do in daily life or through our activities cause your body to go out of alignment. For anyone who runs, jogs, does strength training, kick boxing, group exercise classes, whatever your activity of choice is, what is happening is because of the pounding on the body and the impact it has on your joints, you do throw your body out of alignment and the muscles are not lined up correctly with the spine which does cause performance issues when you run, jog, do your workouts or whatever your exercise of choice is. If this goes on for a long period of time without being looked at, all of a sudden you wake up one day wondering why your shoulder or back hurts which is why chiropractic care is so important.

An ignored injury can become a compensatory injury if you had not had chiropractic treatment. If you have been experiencing any sort of discomfort for more than two weeks and have been ignoring it thinking it will go away on it’s own, think again. For example, low back pain can be a biomechanical misalignment which can be corrected shouldn’t be ignored. If untreated, it can become a compensatory injury and potentially cause knee, hip, or ankle problems.

Chiropractic treatment is not just for neck or back pain. It’s great for headaches, allergies, TMJ, and Sinus issues. There are hundreds of nerves throughout the body which can cause pinching or stress. When there is stress in the body, the body causes stress hormones to be released and these stress hormones can cause a lot of health functions/symptoms such as insomnia, hormone imbalances, and thyroid problems just to name a few.

People think that once they seek chiropractic care, they are going to be a patient for life. Once you’ve had your specific issue healed, it is recommended that you go back periodically to keep your spine healthy and aligned, much like bringing your care to a mechanic for routine maintenance like an oil change or alignment.

Chiropractic Care is for children. According to Dr. Hwang, it’s never too early for a spinal analysis. The birthing process is traumatic with the twisting of the spine. A very soft and undeveloped spine of an infant can suffer trauma during delivery. It is estimated that as much as 80lbs of pulling pressure can be exerted to remove a baby from the birth canal. Spinal issues in children can cause nervous system deficiencies. Most common childhood symptoms are ear aches, ear infections and childhood asthma. OSHA estimates a child receives 1000 traumas to the body by the age of 7. Children receive thousands of trauma to the body. As children grow up and become more adventurous, the number of injuries to their spines becomes countless. Repeated falls as children learn to walk, regular childhood play which involve running, jumping twisting, bumping and falling all over the place while playing in the yard or on an athletic field will cause misalignment along with carrying heavy back packs in school. Children tend to not show any signs or symptoms of misalignment until later on in life

Chiropractic Care is a must for Seniors. As we age, our health should become more and more of a priority. Chiropractic care does benefit us as we age as part of keeping our bodies healthy and repetitive motions we have been doing in daily life over the years catches up with us as we get older. Chiropractic treatment should be part of your preventative care by keeping small issues from turning into big issues. As we age, we do lose bone density and weight bearing exercise helps to slow down the degeneration of bone density. Along with bone density, as we get older, our range of motion and sense of balance deteriorates as well. Chiropractic care can lessen these effects.

To learn more about keeping your spine healthy and managing back pain, the following books are recommend.

Click here to listen to my Blog Talk Radio Interview with Dr. Hwang

Your Sexual Health and Fitness

2009-03-25T21:29:00.001-04:00

Your Sexual Health & Fitness on Fit Talk with ShariFitness

Click on the blog talk logo to hear the show

Dr. John Stripling
www.striplingcenter.com
678-356-2000
Center For Sexual Health & Education
www.bestsexualadvice.com
888-LOW-DESIRE

Your sexual health and fitness was discussed on my radio show with Dr. John Stripling. Dr. Stripling is a board certified Urologist who specializes in Sexual Medicine. Dr. Stripling is a member of the American Urological Association, the Sexual Medicine Society, and the International Society of Women's Sexual Health. He is also the co-founder of the Center for Sexual Health and Education in Atlanta, Charlotte, and Palm Beach. He has been in private practice in the Atlanta area for over 20 years and is a frequent speaker on Sexual Medicine Topics on Radio and Television.

We hit all the topics, Testosterone, Andropause, Menopause, Sex Drive, Testosterone Supplementation, and how your health, fitness, wellness and lifestyle plays a role in your sexual health, sexuality and sexual performance.

Ladies, if you thought we had “issues” men have them too.

We started the show off by talking about Testosterone or “T”. Dr. Stripling explained that it is the sex hormone that creates desire in both men and women. It is produced to a small degree in women in the ovaries and adrenal glands, and in men, it is produced in the testicles and to a smaller degree, the adrenal gland.

Your “T” levels climb as you reach puberty and remain high in women until they hit puberty. As a man reaches his early 30’s, his testicles start decreasing the amount of testosterone he produces. For men, if they have low testosterone, they experience Andropause, which is a gradual decrease of testosterone. Your lifestyle plays an important role in keeping your testosterone at a good level and is influenced by strength training exercise and the things you eat. A poor lifestyle can decrease testosterone levels. According to Dr. Stripling, weight training is CRUCIAL in keeping Testosterone levels up.

How does a man know if he is experiencing low testosterone? Testosterone levels are highest around 8 a.m. and lowest around 6 p.m. Generally speaking, you should wake up in the morning with an erection. Other signs of having low testosterone levels are fatigue, irritability, low sex drive, low self esteem and mild depression.

The conversation then moved on to Testosterone supplementation. I asked Dr. Stripling about receiving Testosterone from a Doctor or buying one of the popular over the counter testosterone supplements for your local supplement store.

I learned from Dr. Stripling that Testosterone given orally can be damaging to the liver or increase cholesterol. The best way to receive testosterone supplementation is in a gel you rub on your or you can get testosterone injections.

Most over the counter supplements are made in China and there are a lot of impurities in the product. Studies show that the active ingredient varies from 0 to 200 times what they say it is. Some even have an illicit form of Viagra or Cialis in them. You want to make sure you are buying a quality product from a reputable company.

DHEA is recommended for a man who still wants to have children. Testosterone can suppress sperm count. Dr. Stripling recommends 25 mg of DHEA times a day.

Sexual Health Issues – Erectile Dysfunction, Obesity, Diabetes and the “Hidden Penis Syndrome”.

As a Urologist, Dr. Stripling is very well versed with Erectile Dysfunction. Interestingly enough, Erectile Dysfunction is a canary to heart disease. A study showed that men who showed up at a hospital for a heart attack had begun experiencing erectile dysfunction 5 years prior to the heart attack. Dr. Stripling said, “A doctor that gives you Viagra and sends you on your way is doing you a disservice”.

Diabetics can have problems retracting their penis which can become dangerous because you can’t clean it and can possibly develop penile cancer from not keeping the shaft clean. When a man gets a pad of fat around the penis, it literally works the skin of the shaft up so what is really exposed is much less. Fat eats away at the penis. If you want a longer penis, you need to lose weight to gain length. If you are 25-30 pounds overweight, you are at risk of “buried/hidden penis syndrome.” As you get more and more obese, less and less of the shaft is visible and appears smaller and smaller.

Once again, it all goes back to exercise and diet to maintain good Sexual health.

To learn more about Testosterone, Andropause and your sexual fitness, the following books are recommended.

How Toxic Are The Foods We Eat?

2009-03-16T14:21:00.002-04:00

Dr. Scott Perlman
http://www.drspines.com/

A&J Family Spine and Wellness Center
1075 Whitlock Avenue, Suite I
Marietta, GA 30064
Phone: 678-797-1104

click on the blogtalkraadio logo to listen to the interview

Body Toxins was the main topic of discussion with my guest, Dr. Scott Perlman on my weekly radio show, Fit Talk With ShariFitness. Dr. Perlman (aka Dr. Scott) is a Doctor of Chiropractic and Alternative Medicine specializing in nutrition and energy balancing techniques, along with homeopathic, organic Vitamins, Minerals and Supplementation. Dr. Scott believes it is more than one entity for total health and wellness. He calls it “The Pie of Life”.

Dr. Scott and I subscribe to the same philosophy: The Body Works a Whole Lot Better Without all The Chemicals. What exactly does that mean? Many categories of illness are created from chemicals or drugs which creates toxins to build in the body. Toxins, by the way, are poisons. It is these toxins that are responsible for many of the health problems you may be having right now.

Americans are consuming a lot of chemicals with al the processed foods which make up the typical American diet, which I refer to as “The Toxic Diet” from all the toxic foods we eat which includes fast foods, soft drinks, frozen dinners, junk snacks such as chips, and the effects is has on the human body. After all, the human body was not designed to digest chemical additives and preservatives that are found in most foods.

The chemicals we are exposed to on a daily basis create free radicals which scavenge on healthy cells. The cells die in the blood and you become a big toxic cell.

Dr. Scott talked about some of the health problems associated with the overload of chemicals and preservatives we are exposed to in the foods we eat such as Thyroid, Prostate issues for men, Ovaries with women such as cysts on fallopian tubes, bowel disorders, chronic fatigue, depression amongst several other illnesses. Essentially, disorders have become “common” and don’t need to be.

According to Dr. Scott, 50% of the mood swings and hot flashes that women experience are due to water retention which causes kidney malfunction. The biggest culprits of water retention issues stem from restaurant foods, fast foods, canned foods, frozen foods, convenience foods and snacks which all contain high levels of sodium. Sodium causes water retention. Couple that with the fact that most people don’t drink enough water and you have a recipe for disaster. This led to our discussion of water and the importance of water in your diet.

Another topic we talked about on the show was Colonics/Cleanses. What they are and the pros/cons of them.
To Listen to the Show, Click on the blogtalkradio logo

To learn more about this topic, Dr. Perlman recommends the following books:

Did you know that Hypnotherapy can help you Lose Weight, Improve Your Workouts and Diet?

2009-03-01T15:50:00.001-05:00

Did you know that Hypnotherapy can help you Lose Weight, Improve Your Workouts and Diet?

Yes, it is amazing and true. I had the pleasure of interviewing Clinical Hypnotherapist, Steve G. Jones, M. Ed on my on line radio show, Fit Talk with Shari Fitness.

We discussed this very intriguing topic and was surprised to learn as much as I did about this. Hypnosis can help you to overcome limiting beliefs such as poor self image, which, in the sub-conscious mind, causes self-sabatoge. When it comes to achieving anything you want in life, you need to believe in yourself and let go of the idea that you are unworthy or losing weight.

With someone who has already begun or has been consistent with a diet and exercise program, Steve explained that hypnotherapy helps to reinforce keeping up with a healthy lifestyle and not fall off the wagon.

The conversation got really interesting when Steve spoke about how you can increase muscle mass which begs the question to be asked, how can WORDS make muscles bigger???? Research shows that you can increase muscle mass with words. You can cause physiological changes in the body simply through telling the brain where to direct that power. This concept also applies to getting the body to heal itself.

All in all, I can honestly say that this was a really good show and I was very impressed with my guest, Clinical Hypnotherapast, Steve G. Jones.

To hear the show, click on the Blog Talk Radio Logo.

Click here to view Steve's website and to learn more about him ----> Better Living Throug h Hypno sis .

Steve G. Jones

Your Health, Fitness and the Laws of Attraction

2009-01-27T14:53:00.000-05:00

NOW is a great time to REINVENT YOURSELF. Find your Passion.

The world is a crazy place and we are all being inundated with negativity these days through the media. Every day all you hear about is the economic crisis, job layoffs, government bailouts of huge corporations, rising gas prices, and home foreclosures. Perhaps you may or may not be one of the hundreds of thousands of people affected by these events. The news and the current times are scary, depressing and stressful and these events can put you, as an individual into a negative vibration where you will be attracting negativity into your life.

It doesn’t have to be this way and this is the time to look at this as an opportunity to reinvent yourself. Well, one way to do that is to get “clear” on what it is you really want and to dig deep inside of what it is you are passionate about and what your purpose is to create your reality, the life you want.

What do I mean by reinventing yourself. Let’s say you’re unemployed and you’re feeling bad about it on so many different levels and you are home all the time, feeling lazy physically and mentally. You’re not able to think clearly and see this as a time of opportunity. This country was built on entrepreneurs because they were able to see opportunity and stay in a positive mindset. Now is the time to pursue your passion.

Here’s a true story. I have a very close friend of mine whose wife divorced him and a month later lost his job last year and spent the year trying to find work through traditional methods. To help get himself through this difficult time, he went to the gym every day and always stayed in a positive frame of mind and his health and fitness was the best it had ever been in his 40+ years. My friend never found a job, and the unemployment ran out, but you know what, he reinvented himself. From spending time in the gym and getting to know the people who worked there, he found his passion and saw an opportunity. He became a fitness professional and is now employed. This also allows him to pursue his other passion as an actor and model.

You really need to get “clear” and let go of all limiting beliefs which causes resistance. Your Temple, the precious human body, and it’s health, fitness and wellness is at the core or center of getting clear within yourself of what your passion and or purpose is. If your health, fitness and wellness is not up to par, it becomes difficult to get “clear” of what it is you want and attract the things you want.

Poor health or self image makes it hard to feel positive about things because you feel so bad physically and emotionally. If you are lethargic all the time, feeling unmotivated or unproductive because your energy levels are low, it makes it hard to focus and concentrate on the things you really want. If you look at yourself in the mirror and are not happy with the image you see, it affects your self-confidence making you feel you are unworthy of things. Your mind is cluttered with negativity.

Exercise releases “endorphins” which is a chemical in the brain that is responsible for putting you in a positive mood. It’s almost as if you’ve taken a “happy” pill. Another chemical that is released from exercise is Serotonin which helps combat depression.

The foods you eat can impact the way you feel. Foods that are processed and are high in sodium and fats can make you feel sluggish and bloated or can cause heartburn or indigestion in some cases turning us into “couch potatoes”. When you start to feel bad physically, in turn, you feel bad emotionally and mentally, which again, does not put you in a positive frequency. There are simple things you can do such as reaching for an apple instead of chips.

Getting started isn’t easy, but once you get started, you’ll start to feel better. You’re not going to see results overnight, but mentally you will start to feel better and if you are feeling better mentally, that will put you in a positive vibration. It doesn’t have to be anything complicated. The simple act of getting outside and walking or running is a good starting point or doing simple bodyweight exercises that require no equipment. I know when I’m exercising, it’s almost like a form of meditation for me and I start getting inspired thought which gets me clear and focused on what I want. As a matter of fact, I recently got an inspired thought and I am once again reinventing myself within my profession and I am sooooo excited about it that my clients are feeding off my excitement and enthusiasm.

When you start feeling better physically and emotionally, you start to feel better mentally. You are more confident, happy, energetic and people are drawn to that “feel good” energy. You are able to get “clear” of the things you really want making it easier to attract the things you want through the people you interact with and take inspired action. Aaahhhh, inspired action. How refreshing. Actually doing something about what you want as opposed to just talking about it. Not living your life as a “what if”. And it all started with something as simple as taking care of YOUR Temple, your precious human body.

ShariFitness
www.sharifitness.com

Check out my appearance on the "Talking With Tami" Show! Shari FINALLY got on TV.

2009-01-14T13:10:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was a guest on the "Girls Night In" episode of the Talking With Tami show.

You can click on the Talking with Tami link above or go to my ShariFitness.com web site to see my TV Appearance.

ShariFitness

www.sharifitness.com

www.myspace.com/shari_fitness

Year End Blog: 2008 - A Year of Gratitude

2008-12-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

2008 – A Year of Gratitude

It's Christmas Day 2008 and I am continuing on with my tradition of writing my year end blog where I reflect back on the year that was on many different aspects of my life. When I think of this past year, one word stands out in my mind. GRATITUDE. This has truly been an incredible year for me. More often than not, I have had many moments where I have consciously been very grateful and thankful for so many wonderful things that I have experienced this year and look forward to 2009 with optimism.

I have found myself many times this past year thinking out loud to myself how much I love my life and how happy I am, and realize not many people can say that or feel that way, and have found myself overcome with feelings of Gratitude because of it. That in turn has influenced me to "give back" so to speak not so much in monetary terms, but to really be there for someone in their time of need, to help when and where I can and to help empower, uplift, encourage and motivate someone with my word.

ShariFitness has had it's best year since it's inception and I love, appreciate and care about every single client I have and am truly passionate about what I do. I have established some incredible friendships (and you know who you are) this past year which I am forever grateful for and have met so many wonderful people.

A wonderful experience was The Boundless Living Challenge created by Bob Doyle. It was great to be a part of that and the community Bob built and look forward to a new challenge for the New Year. Being part of that and becoming a student of Bob's Wealth Beyond Reason Program has really given me so many ah-ha moments that I am looking to implement in 2009.

As a model, I had the opportunity to work with some amazing people and have built a great portfolio and am still amazed at the images that have been created with these truly gifted people. I look ahead to 2009 and establishing myself further as a model.

One thing I was able to do on a personal level this past year was to give my heart to another. That is something I had not allowed myself to do as a way of protecting ShariFitness. The relationship didn't last long, and although he is the one who ended it and yes, I was a bit heartbroken about it, I am grateful for the fact that it did help me step out of my comfort zone. I am grateful for his honesty, the untarnished memory of a healthy relationship and the realization that great guys do exist. I found one once, and I will find one again.

Before I close this blog, there are some programs, DVD's, etc. which have helped me immensely this year and have been quite influential on the amazing year I had which I would like to recommend. I would not be recommending or endorsing these items if I truly didn't believe in them and if they didn't have the positive impact they had.

Wishing you all magical moments, happiness, health, and an abundant 2009.

Rhonda Byrne - The Secret DVD

Why is it that we RESIST and run away from the things we want most???

2008-12-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

Why is it that we RESIST and run away from the things we want most????

I had an Ah Ha moment when I woke up this moment and it came from a conversation I had last night with a friend of mine. My Ah Ha moment, helped me to come to the realization about something within me, however, it also helped me to understand why the Object of My Affections was resisting me even though I AM what he is looking for, AND also helped me to come to a realization about why people resist doing anything to improve their overall health and fitness when it is something they want.

We all want things, desire things and want to acquire things in our life whether it is financially, relationally, mentally, physically and or spiritually. However, we are “wired” or “programmed” from birth to have certain beliefs which contradict what it is we truly desire. These contradictions cause us to RESIST the things we truly want for ourselves. RESISTANCE stems from fear and prevents us from stepping out of our Comfort Zones. It keeps us in a “holding pattern” where you keep doing the same thing over and over again.

Relational Resistance:
Here’s a good example relationally of this. I was presented by my OOMA (Object Of My Affections) with what we call “the White Elephant”. My OOMA had put out to The Universe what traits it is he is looking for in a person, and I enter his life. I am EXACTLY what it is he put down in writing of what it is he is looking for in a person, however, he RESISTED (in the form of The White Elephant) what it is he wanted and was looking for.

With everything he stated that he was looking for in a person, he RESISTED me even though I was what he was looking for. However, it is his wiring that caused the resistance which is something he acknowledged. The wiring and program can be changed, however, in order to do that, rather than running away from me, (which is what he did), he really needed to face it head on and work within himself to make that paradigm shift…..or…to change the tape in his head. In order for him to do that, he needed to spend more time with me, rather than away from me.

Health, Fitness and Wellness:
You talk to just about anyone out there, next to wanting to be financially abundant, the number one thing people want to is to lose weight, feel better and look better. But when you talk to people and ask them what they are doing about it, chances are they aren’t doing much of anything. And it’s not like they don’t know what it is they have to do to make improvements in this area. When you ask them why they aren’t doing anything to make the improvements they want, they will come up with all kinds of excuses. The excuses are forms of RESISTANCE. No body truly desires to be overweight, obese, lethargic, sick. Yet, we all know that being sedentary, sitting on the couch in front of the “plug in drug” with a bag of chips or getting your next meal from the drive thru of your nearest burger chain, is only going to continue to contribute to weight gain and a decline in your overall health, fitness and wellness. So why do people RESIST making better food choices or getting off the couch and exercising? Because it’s easier to stay in your holding pattern. To not step outside your comfort zone. It’s comfortable and familiar even though you know deep down it’s wrong and it’s not what you want.

Wealth Consciousness:
So many of us are held back by our belief system and money. The media plays a huge role in our thoughts about money and so we are led to believe that the world is full of lack and not abundance. We are beat over the heads every day with headlines about the Economic Crisis and our belief system buys into it. So, we start thinking in terms of lack and we feed on that. It creates our reality. What happens, we RESIST spending money. When people stop spending money, the economy slows down even more. Look around. When you go to the malls, the stores are practically giving away the farm to get you to spend money. If you don’t, then stores will go out of business and people will lose their jobs and the cycle never breaks. There are people I know who are still very much gainfully employed but are cutting back simply out of FEAR of the economy and it is making them RESISTANT to living the life they have always lived. If you continue to think in terms of lack and RESIST, you put yourself into the mindset that you will always lack, there is not enough to go around and that you don’t deserve to have. Don’t think you don’t have wealth. BE what you want. You don’t need to have external evidence. Just BE.

The Economics of Your Health, Fitness & Wellness

2008-11-11T01:30:00.000-05:00

“Procrastination gives Way to Consequences” - Winston Churchill. These words apply to so many aspects of life, however, when you apply these words to your overall Health, Fitness and Wellness, they have a lot of meaning and truth to them.

It's very rare when you come across someone who doesn't want to look better, or just feel better. How many people do you know are always sick and run down? What about you? When you think about your overall Health, Fitness and Wellness, are there any changes you like to make? Chances are you answered yes to these questions, but then ask yourself, how many people do you know are actually being proactive about it? When I say proactive, how many people do you know are exercising, eating healthy, well balanced meals on a daily basis, drinking more water than soft drinks and taking a good quality multi-vitamin?

Obesity in this country is at an all time high and the numbers keep growing not only amongst adults, but amongst children as well. Diabetes and high blood pressure are common diseases. Health care costs are out of control.

How many people do you know, or perhaps yourself suffer from headaches, lack of energy, dizziness, are depressed or are mildly depressed? Some of these symptoms stem from nutritional issues and from leading a sedentary lifestyle. The human body was meant to be in motion, not sitting on the sofa glued to the TV with a bag of chips or ingesting all kinds of chemicals that make up the processed foods you eat. You go to the doctor because you want to feel better. The doctor says you are just getting older and it's a sign of aging so he prescribes you a pill? Does the doctor ask about your eating habits or your exercise habits? Probably not.

Complaints of physical ailments are really diet/nutritional issues as well as being sedentary, and being overweight is the obvious symptom. Being overweight or obese is not just too many calories, it is a nutritional imbalance. Symptoms associated with being obese or overweight are treated with over the counter remedies or prescription drugs.

Look, I'm not a doctor, but as a Fitness Consultant, one of the things I do with all my clients is ask for a food journal and it is obvious from all the food journals I have looked at over the years that people are eating too many processed foods, not enough fruits and vegetables and lean sources of protein. The average American knows that they don't eat healthy, but don't know how to change their habits. People want answers to diet and health.

There are two industries out there. You have the Sickness Industry and you have the Wellness Industry. As a fitness professional, I am in the Wellness Industry. People who are sick, are customers of the Sickness Industry. People who are customers of the Wellness Industry are avoiding being customers of the Sickness Industry.

Economic Causes of the Sickness Industry:
Let's take a look at the Food Industry because after all, most Americans are eating unhealthy, processed foods that are loaded with chemicals that the human body was not created to process. The food industry consists of fast food restaurants, Processed Foods (foods that are canned, frozen or in a wrapper), and Farmed Foods. The Processed Foods industry is 95% of our foods stemming from companies like the Golden Arches, Kraft, P&G. These companies will spare no expense on R&D to increase consumption of these foods. The more overweight you are, the more calories/product you consume.

They mix chemicals in the foods so that the consumer is never sated. The chemicals in every processed food has been altered, so that your taste buds don't get bored with the food. Hence, you consume more product, you gain more weight. You gain more weight, your caloric intake goes up. How many people do you know who are overweight are happy being overweight?

Trillions of dollars of lost productivity is due to health. Diabetes is up and never mind the cost for the shot. It is the 2-3 days someone is out of work because they are sick. One third of American children are diagnosed as being pre-diabetic all due to diet.

The Medical Industry
The Medical Industry targets the doctors. They have pharmaceutical reps visit doctors and get them to sing up to write Rx's for the latest drug to treat the SYMPTOMS of the newest ailment.

The Medical Industry treats SYMPTOMS, NOT DISEASES. Modern medicine is based on technology which is controlled by private companies looking to make money. Most of the drugs out there you end up taking the rest of your life because they don't cure, but treat the symptoms.

The medical industry is now the sickness industry because you become a customer when you get sick. One Seventh of our dollars are spent on treating sickness. Sickness is one of the largest causes of bankruptcy in the US.

Medical expenditures are going to sky rocket but nothing is being done to help a person lose weight or educate them on how to make better nutritional choices. When you see a doctor, do they sit you down and really talk to you about nutrition or seeing a fitness professional?

There is a need for a Wellness Revolution before the health and wellness of America becomes more out of control than it already is. Overweight and obesity is more than just a health crisis in this country, but it has become an economic crisis not only to the individual, but to Corporate America which will affect employment opportunities.

The Wellness Industry:
The Wellness Industry provides products and services pro-actively to healthy people who want to feel healthier, slow down the effects of aging or prevent diseases from developing in the first place. The Wellness Industry is what you do to keep from becoming a customer of the sickness industry.

There is a small percentage of Americans getting more fit and healthy as they age. They are early adopters for wellness. They are successful people looking to be fit and healthy and defy aging.

As I do my weekly trip to the grocery store, products that I used to purchase in a specialty market are now available in mainstream supermarkets. Publix Supermarkets, for example, now has a Greenwise Aisle where you can now buy Protein Bars, Protein Shakes, Protein Powder and Organic Foods. WalMart and Target are now selling supplements.

It is a shame that we have become a society of instant gratification. Everyone is looking for that quick fix from looking for that magic weight loss pill, the latest diet, plastic surgery, liposuction rather than just doing what you need to do. Be consistent about your diet, exercise and supplementation. You will improve your overall health, fitness and wellness, but it is hard work and it does not happen overnight, however, the results are PRICELESS.

The next time you go to the doctor and pay the bill for the doctor's visit, the lab bill for the blood work done on you and the prescription drugs, ask yourself if all of that could be avoided if you had a piece of fruit instead of the candy bar, if you went to the gym instead of sat on the sofa and if you took a good quality multi vitamin.

For those of you who have turned down the services of a fitness professional because you didn't want to spend the money on it, think of all the money you've wasted on fast foods, over the counter medications, doctor's visits, etc. What would you rather do, end up spending money on a visit to the doctor and the prescription drugs, or a few sessions with a qualified fitness professional. Where would you rather spend the money? “Procrastination gives Way to Consequences” - Winston Churchill