Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Part X

Part XI

Part XII

WOW! You are truly amazing!  Look how far you’ve come!

You have achieved extraordinary success!

Know that the process of self improvement does not end here! This is merely a time to review and find some new areas where you can focus your attention and continue to achieve.

Reassessment Exercise:
Achieving your Short-Term Goal: Review your Goal Setting sheet, Session 6 Reassessment and Weekly Reflection activities. How well have you done in tackling your goal. How have the new and revised strategies you laid out to overcome these obstacles, worked for you? Have you mastered the initial areas of development? If your answer is yes, it’s time to move on and create some new goals.

If your answer is no, read on….If you’re still having a tough time tackling your initial short-term goals, it’s time again to take a look at the strategies you’ve laid out to accomplish these goals. Once again, you can use the Solution Discovery Worksheet in your Fitness Toolbox to assist you in assessing areas of development.

Be honest as you ask yourself if you’ve done well in making progress towards your goal. Have the strategies you laid out to overcome obstacles worked well for you?
What are you doing that works?

What is NOT working? What strategies are working against you?

What are you doing that you should stop? Identify at least 2-3 areas of development with a brief strategy to master each one.

1. Exercise obstacle(s):

Plan of Action:

2. Nutrition obstacle(s):

Plan of Action:

3. Attitude obstacle(s):

Plan of Action:

Choose 2-3 NEW areas of development to begin focusing on
1. Exercise problem(s):

Short-term goals:

2. Nutrition problem(s):

Short-term goals:

3. Attitude problem(s):

Short-term goals:

The Basic Plan: Persistence
All successful weight controllers persist. They exercise despite the usual excuses of time, effort money and aches and pains. They persist even though they live in the age of fast food and….they persist after a vacation full of deviations or a holiday full of unresisted temptations.

The Choice of Acceptance
Have you reached this stage? In the acceptance stage, people settle in for the long haul. They experience a peaceful sense of resolve about the composition of their body. They feel comfortable and have a clear direction for handling their challenging biology’s. They also refine their knowledge of nutrition in this stage. Their understanding of factors that affect fat loss and metabolism becomes clear as well. They recognize and even expect that their will at times struggle with their ability to focus or stay committed. This most likely happens when they go on vacations or when their schedules are disrupted by illness or travel. You will know you are in this stage when you can view exercise as either enjoyable or at least acceptable. You exercise on a consistent basis. You consistently monitor your intake of supportive foods. You actually prefer to eat supportively and you are willing to exert yourself effectively in restaurants and other social situations to ensure that your food works for you. You are unwilling to put yourself in a position where you would be mindless again about your eating, exercise and body composition. You have made a very active choice to pursue the life of a lean, fit, healthy person.

What is your plan to continue your progress or to maintain your new body?

What would you do if you found yourself 8 pounds heavier than usual?

Maintaining lost weight can often be exciting and challenging. It is important look at lifestyle changes as permanent, not temporary actions. You must continue to apply these healthy habits even after you lose the body fat.

Focus on the importance of continuing with the same principles you’ve learned and lived in the past 11 sessions — for life. You’ve acquired time-tested strategies people have successfully used to lose weight permanently. You’ve also learned effective tactics for coping with weight loss plateaus and those times when you have difficulty meeting your goals.

Tips to help you stay motivated on your journey towards permanent weight loss.

• Practice continuous self-monitoring with your Fitness Journal.
• Make regular and frequent contacts with an outside source of support.
• Include daily physical activity (resistance training and cardio) for at least 30-45 minutes, three to five days a week.
• Make regular exercise a PRIORITY, a scheduled appointment, NOT an option.
• Stay focused on improving health and energy, with fat loss being a nice accompaniment.
• Set small daily/weekly goals
• Replace fatty and sugary foods with more healthy substitutions like fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, and other high-fiber foods.
• Frequently monitor portion sizes and hunger — this is important in today’s world of “super-size” restaurant portions.
• Find ways to make fitness fun. For example, join a walking or hiking group, a soccer league, or take dance classes. Don’t fear trying new activities.
• Eat at least 4-6 meals a day and do not skip meals.
• Use Solution Discovery strategies when old behaviors return to haunt you. Make an effort to succeed at creating and re-assessing goals.
• Recognize that it is a continuous, life-long journey to pursue better health, not a temporary “diet”.
• Never give up! Do not allow occasional slip-ups to end your progress.
• Accept that the time-tested principles of weight loss, while not always exciting, are the only ones that work permanently.
• Separate your body size from your self-worth. Recognize that your value is about a lot more than a number. When your attitude shifts to self-acceptance at any size, weight loss and maintaining it becomes more natural, and much easier.
• Develop passions, interests, and hobbies to help you focus on things other than food.
• Find and develop creative ways to manage stress effectively.
• Ban the words “never” and “always” from your health vocabulary. That is, everything in moderation. It’s not realistic to say you’ll never eat ice cream again or that you will always exercise every day. In short, you must give up perfection, but remain focused without it
• Reflect daily. Learn and relearn these tools and strategies and continually reinforce them. It takes many years to learn behaviors that lead to weight gain, yet it usually takes only a short time to lose weight. Therefore, you can expect that from time to time, destructive eating patterns will resurface. Seeking outside sources of support, developing interests, forgiving yourself, and reassessing goals greatly helps to conquer these times.

The overwhelming majority of successful weight maintainers don’t report highly restrictive diets and fad diets as factors they used to achieve permanent weight loss. Despite the fact that dietary change is the most commonly reported method to lose weight, the greatest predictors of permanent weight loss have more to do with regular exercise, changing behaviors, positive mindset, continuous self-assessment, and seeking outside support.

The take home message is that the majority of successful weight maintainers have been highly creative and persistent about finding and applying what works for them. You must learn constantly about what works for you and develop your own personal tricks and put them into action.

Commitment is the ultimate decider of permanent physical change. It takes commitment to stick to your new, healthy lifestyle. When you are committed, you will do anything to reach your goal, no matter how hard, tedious, boring, scary…you will do whatever it takes to get where you want to go.

We would love to hear how great you did on your “Metabolic Makeover”!

Drop us a line at getfitnh@gmail.com - Don’t hide your success!

To your best health,
Dean

http://Cr8Health.com

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Part X

Part XI

Everything works, but nothing works forever

Hitting a plateau is a common experience. It can be one of the most de-motivating things to happen.  Plateaus are the number one reason why people abandon exercise.  They bring on feelings of discouragement, confusion, and utter frustration. Thankfully, overcoming it is easy… all you need to do is prepare for it to happen and know the steps to take to overcome it.

What is a plateau?
The human body has a regulatory mechanism that works to keep the amount of energy you consume in balance with the amount of energy you use. In other words, the body does not like to lose weight, thus the slowing or halt of fat/weight loss in spite of exercise consistency and consistent, proper food intake.

Look at the experience of a plateau as a good thing!  Your body telling you “I am ready for the next stage”- “I have conquered this current routine” – “Give me something new!!”  This is when fitness gets fun and you can add creativity to your routine.

The human body is amazingly adaptable for a variety of reasons.  What you first need to do is identify the reason for the adaptation and make then proceed with the proper changes.  

Plateaus: The Reasons & The Solutions

Lowering calories too far…
“It takes calories to burn calories,” which is true both internally and externally.  Internally, the body simply slows its metabolic rate (burns fewer calories) when it senses a decrease in food intake.  The body still functions correctly, but requires fewer calories, creating hunger and preventing fat loss.  Externally, the body is tricked into doing less,(i.e., you get lazy, tired and therefore, move less and more economically).

What to do…
To prevent a plateau, keep your calories slightly below the amount recommended for maintenance to keep your metabolism and energy levels high during exercise and daily activities.  A deficit greater than 500 to 700 calories makes it much more difficult to maintain lean muscle.

Loss of lean body mass
Lean body mass uses up to eight times the calories as fat does. Therefore, loss of enough of this fat burning commodity (muscle) dramatically lowers metabolism and brings fat loss to a screeching halt.

What to do…
Keep your body nourished with supportive foods and a quality multivitamin. Follow your exercise recommendations; resistance training at least 3 times a week, no more than 20-30 minutes of cardio.

Net weight loss
The less you weigh the fewer calories it takes to move your body, even during exercise.

What to do…
Concentrate on increasing lean muscle through resistance training. This is an ideal way to compensate for the fat loss of calories, due to net weight loss, and enhance your look.

Body becomes Efficient
The body is required to make hundreds of internal changes to adjust to different workloads. Each of these reactions consumes calories. Therefore, once the body stops repairing muscle from exercise or adding new cellular machinery, the calories burned to make these changes are no longer spent and the amount of energy your body uses decreases.

What to do…
Never let your body get used to exercise.  Keep it guessing by changing frequency, intensity, type or time of exercise.

Overtraining
More exercise is not always better. Just as in under-eating, overtraining may decrease the amount of calories you burn. This is partially due to adaptive thermogenesis, (a survival mechanism). In other words, there may be a point of diminishing returns, when an increase in exercise energy expenditure is negated by an equal decrease in non-exercise energy expenditure.  This negates the additional work, at least until expenditure is dramatically increased and/or calories decreased.

What to do…
Take at least seven days off from your regular exercise routine (this should be done every 12 weeks, regardless).  Start back with less and a different type of work and increase only as necessary (e.g., the least amount of specific work to initiate change).  Your metabolism and daily activities will reset and increase again.

Enhanced physical condition
When you are in overall better shape, your system is more efficient - burns fewer calories to operate. The primary benefit of exercise is to improve health through an appropriate regime.  Improved health can cause a slower resting metabolic rate.  In other words, fewer calories are burned during normal daily activities.  This is partially due to an increase in cardiopulmonary efficiency (e.g., lower resting heart rate).

What to do…
Stick with your goal of staying healthy.  Concentrate on exercise intensity and type changes for a longer “after-burn” (calories burned above the normal resting metabolic rate after exercise).

Just as a well-tuned car gets better fuel economy, a well-tuned body can also thrive on less fuel (calories) when consistently challenged.  By making a few changes, you can jumpstart your routine and see positive results in no time.

Remember, the best ways to stave off a weight loss plateau involve boosting your metabolism, not decreasing your calories. Consider the following Plateau Busters:

• Reassess exercise time and intensity. If you’ve walked 30 minutes, three times a week for a few weeks, that’s great! But it’s time to add small bouts of extra intensity so 20 minutes now feels challenging. Do the extra rep or two, increase your range of motion, and increase resistance as you get stronger.
• Reassess exercise activities. Try new activities to cause muscles to be challenged and burn more calories.
• Consistency. Improvement and change occur when you do things often. Stopping and starting all the time will kill any momentum you need to succeed. You must find ways to stay in the game. Moderate forms of exercise, done consistently, provide far better results than the occasional full-body pummeling. A lifestyle that includes multiple forms of exercise five to six days a week guarantees results.
• Avoid the scale. Focus on inches lost and the leaner you are becoming.  Your body fat percentage will decrease significantly over time.
• Make sure you are eating smaller, more frequent meals. Every time you eat the right amount and type of foods, you give your metabolism a small boost.
• Reassess the short-term goals that you made in Session Two to be sure you’ve selected the right strategies. Perhaps you need to re-evaluate the goals you made and come up with new solutions.
• Use your Fitness Journal to track and view how far you’ve come and how well you’ve done. This positive feedback will hold you accountable and help you stay motivated.

It has a little bit of everything - quality protein, complex carbs and healthy fats.

Mix one up today and enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Banana
1 Tsp Ground Flax Seed
1 Tbsp Almonds or Pecans
1 Scoop Vanilla Ultimate Muscle Protein
10-12 Ounces of Water (Sorry Danno, milk rots)
Ice

Put it all in a blender, mix and enjoy!

When you use the word “can’t”, you are not only setting yourself up to fail, but you are practically assuring it.

I mean really, what is the point of telling yourself over and over - “I can’t do ____________”?

I think it’s an ego thing. After all if I don’t try, I won’t (can’t) fail. I mean who wants to be a failure?

Sometimes I wonder which takes more effort - Thinking of yet another excuse why something isn’t possible, or scraping myself off the ground and attacking it again.

Now maybe you are saying to yourself - “But I really can’t do that chinup you asked me to, I am not physically able”.

And I ask in return “Does that mean you never will be able to do it? Are you willing to put in the effort to make it happen?” Because if you have two arms (or even one) it can happen!

That’s just one example - The principle applies to training, eating, working, anything!

And I’m not talking about any secret, or laws, or anything else.

It is just a fact - make it happen in your mind first, then take daily action.

I leave you with a poem, one of my favorite pieces of literary art. Don’t just read it - Live It!

You Can if You Think You Can!

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But sooner or later the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

—C. W. Longenecker

Make It Happen!
Dean

One  0.0%
Two  0.0%
Three  15.4%
Four  11.5%
Five  46.2% 
Six or more 26.9%

Five to Six a day is what we are looking for.

2. At how many meals do you eat protein?

One  0.0%
Two  15.4%
Three  34.6%
Four  19.2%
Five  23.1% 
Six or more 7.7% 

Three is the minimum, every time you eat is best.

3. At how many meals do you eat green vegetables?

One  19.2%
Two  23.1%
Three  34.6%
Four  19.2%
Five  3.8% 
Six or more 0.0%

Again, Three is the minimum, every time you eat is best.

4. At how many meals a day do you eat grains or starches? (bread, pasta, cereal, potatoes, granola bars, etc.)

One  36.4%
Two  31.8%
Three  22.7%
Four  4.5%
Five  4.5% 
Six or more 0.0%

For those looking to optimize fat loss, keeping starches/grains to morning and after training is a great strategy.

5. What beverages do you drink on a daily/weekly basis? (Choose one or more)

Coffee  53.8%
Fruit Juice 3.8%
Regular Soda 0.0%
Water  100.0%
Tea  42.3%
Milk  19.2%

One of my clients pointed out I did not have alcohol on this list, which is a great point. As we have discussed your body cannot burn fat when you have alcohol in your system - you draw your own conclusion.

6. How many times a week do you eat breakfast (defined as a protein/vegetable/optional grain)?

One  0.0%
Two  7.7%
Three  3.8%
Four  3.8%
Five  0.0% 
Six  11.5%
seven  73.1%

Seven is absolutely critical if you want to make optimal progress.

7. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? (What?! - I always wanted to know!)

One Cord 29.2%
Two Cords 4.2%
Three Cords 4.2%
Four Cords 16.7%
Five Cords 0.0%
Six or More  45.8%

Now I Know!

Thank-you to all who participated in the survey. As always your feedback and comments are welcome!

You see Petra is a cancer survivor. Surgery caused some challenges with training her upper body, she wanted to gain strength, and she was unsure of her limitations.

She recently discovered those limitations - she doesn’t have any!

This is what she wrote:

Oh, I wanted to tell you how great I thought last night’s session was.  I haven’t exercised that hard in a long time. It was great… This is the absolute perfect exercise setting I need.

You know, I wonder how much of my not having upper body strength was actually just psychological?  Just simply being totally afraid to even try anything and then to put any pressure on it …. cancer can do that to you.  Well, whatever it was - and it was - it is no more.  I can put pressure on my right side.  I won’t break.  Yeah!

Thanks so much for the opportunity to come.  This is really, really great.

Best regards,

Petra

How many of our “limitations” are self-imposed?

How do you know you “can’t” do it if you don’t try?

Is the fear of failure - or the fear of success - holding you back?

It’s time to throw off the shackles of fear, self-doubt, and anger.

It’s time to attack each new day as if it were your last.

Petra, I thank you for being an inspiration to us all.

It is our privilege to work with you.

And thank-you for making my day!

Now the rest of you (and me)….

Make It Happen!
Dean

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Part X

If the “why” is big enough then we can always find the “how.”

Motivation is a powerful tool for success. The degree to which you can remain motivated and continue to make forward progress determines whether you realize the goals that you establish. But the reward for being motivated isn’t just raw goal accomplishment. The following benefits of being motivated are numerous - and they can change your life.

Creativity: Motivated people think more clearly. They focus more intellectual resources on their current project, and the result is more creativity.

Energy: People who are motivated actually need less sleep - not because they’re on a constant adrenaline rush but because they possess a genuine, energizing excitement.

Flexibility: Motivated folks have discovered that flexibility is a developed skill that doesn’t depend on circumstances. When their circumstances change, they’re more open to bending to deal with the situation rather than being rigid about an outcome.

Health: People who have a positive feeling about their life and its potential have reason to get and stay healthy. They have experienced the difference in energy and healthfulness during non-motivated times, and they prefer the motivated lifestyle.

Magnetism: A motivated lifestyle is attractive, and motivated people have a certain magnetism. Others are naturally drawn to winners who are energizing by nature and habit.

Momentum: Motivation is self-perpetuating. It gathers speed as it rolls along. Living out your motivation gets easier because it becomes a habit.

Multiplication: Motivation is contagious - it spreads and multiplies. The people around the one who is motivated “catch” that motivation.

Recognition: When people live out a motivated lifestyle, they stand out. Others respect them for their achievements, admire their spunk, and, because they want to be associated with winners, offer their assistance.

Optimism: Motivated individuals have found out that optimism opens more doors than negativity. They have discovered a life pattern of finding the silver lining or the potential in any turn of events. They aren’t thrown off course by change. They find the good in everything.

Productivity: Motivated people get more done. They move with a spring in their step, and they attack tasks with enthusiasm. They move quickly, deliberately, and with a concern for maintaining a can-do attitude along the way.

Stability: Folks with motivation are focused and are not easily distracted or dissuaded from their destinations. They are tuned in to the object of their motivation.

Incentive: The Mother of Motivation

The fact is, however, that motivation just doesn’t last very long. Motivation tends to be kind of an exterior thing. Inspiration, on the other hand, is more INTERNAL—it has more staying power. It needs stimulation from time to time, but it’s something we draw forth from WITHIN rather than pasted on the outside.

It is our mission to inform, inspire and empower people to be the very best version of their self—physically and personally. Everything we do is with this mission in mind. In class, we share new ideas and sometimes we remind you of things you already know. We do our best to keep the fire of inspiration burning by keeping what you know and what you care about in the forefront of your mind.

We don’t try to motivate you as much as we strive to inspire you and help you draw forth your own inspiration—inspiration that leads to action.

Motivation — and passion — begins and ends with incentive. You have to know what you want and why you want it, and achieving it may be reward in and of itself. This is called “intrinsic” reward. “Extrinsic” rewards are such things as money, prizes or numbers on a scale. In both cases, the rewards serve as incentive to continue.

Recognize incentive as a powerful motivating force. What is your reason, your incentive?

If you find yourself lacking motivation, it may be that your incentive lacks passion or emotion. If you decide to create powerful, passion filled goals, you will probably need to make changes in yourself in order to achieve them.
How has it changed as you have progressed through this course?

How can you add more passion or emotion to this incentive to prevent your motivation from waning?

To your best health,

Dean

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Americans are spending HALF of their food dollars on meals purchased outside of the home. This fact makes the art of making healthy fast food choices a necessary survival skill in order for you to stay within your calorie guidelines and five percent of your recommended percentages of protein, carbohydrate and fat.  With the popularity of fast food and the number of new restaurants on the rise, there are more food choices than ever.  But you still need information about food other than what is on the menu.

The term “Fast Food” is commonly associated with hamburgers, greasy french fries, and cola.  However, popular family restaurant menu items can be ordered “to go” without waiting for their preparation or standing in a long line.  You can even pay with a credit card over the phone if you’re in a real hurry. Overall, fast food does not have to be high-calorie and high-fat food.

May I take your order, please?
What you order is the key.  It’s very easy to eat an entire day’s worth of fat, salt, and calories in just one fast food meal.  But it’s also possible to make wise choices and eat a fairly healthy meal.

Tips to help you choose well

• Know that an average fast-food meal can run as high as 1800 calories or more
• Know the nutritional value of the foods you order.  Sometimes “good choices”, are higher in the nutrients or calories. Fat-free or Low-Fat items may have plenty of sugar or salt.
• If you’re having fast-food for one meal, make all the other meals that day contain the right portion of lean protein, starchy carb and fibrous carb.
• Know your food is cooked. Chicken and fish can be good choices - but not if they are breaded and deep fried.
• Avoid jumbo, giant, deluxe, biggie-sized or super-sized.  Larger portions mean more calories, fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt.

When Dining Out

Tempting menus, extra large portions and festive atmospheres make it easy to overlook supportive eating. Splurging once in awhile is okay, but you’ll begin to pack on pounds if you make it a habit. It is possible to enjoy yourself and still make supportive choices. Following a few simple rules when eating out can make it possible to maintain your nutrition plan.

1. Order food to go – Studies show that people tend to consume more food when they are not eating at their own kitchen tables. Take home and have the option of providing a healthier side dish such as fruit or vegetables.
2. KNOW where you will go and what you will eat ahead of time
3. EAT before you GO
4. Avoid buffets – They are invitations to OVEREATING
5. CHOOSE Wisely  - use the guidelines of Supportive Menu Design
6. Avoid the BREAD Basket
7. ASK how food is prepared – ask for baked, broiled, roasted, poached or steamed
8. Don’t be afraid to special order – Ask for your vegetables and main dishes to be served without the sauces.
9. Watch portion size – Servings can be 3-5 times more than what you need.
10. Share –Sample what you want while avoiding the temptation to overindulge.
11. WATER - Drink at least one full-glass of water before eating. You’ll feel full sooner, you will eat less.
12. Order an appetizer and a salad as your meal.
13. Front Load your meal with a nutritious salad or bowl of soup to take the edge off your appetite
14. Order sauce and dressing on the side –Control calories and enjoy the taste
15. Order first. You’re less likely to be influenced by the choices of your companions
16. Take the time to enjoy your meal. Savor the flavors and textures of your food, and enjoy the company you’re with. When you eat slowly, you give your body’s internal clock the time it needs to know when you’ve had enough. When you’re full, stop eating.
17. Save dessert for later – A great trick to play is instead of ordering dessert at a restaurant, go somewhere else. By the time you get there, you will not be as hungry and will end up eating half or even skipping dessert entirely.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

Part IX

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Part VII

Part VIII

1.) A Foam Roller

If you’re like most people, you spend a lot of your day nailed to a desk. And when you actually do make the time to workout, you probably aren’t spending a lot of time keeping stretching.

Well that’s where a foam roller comes in. It’s a phenomenal corrective self-massage tool that will dramatically bolster injury prevention and improve performance. It’s ideal to use for at least five minutes post-workout to promote healing of the small micro-tears in your muscles that result from high-intensity training, which is a huge help to recovery. Plus, a foam roller both kneads out and lengthens your muscle and connective tissues thus alleviating, if not eliminating, nagging aches and pains in your back, knees, hips, shoulders, and elbows.

If you’re going to get a foam roller, get a good one. The cheaper options tend to wear down into a limp noodle for larger individuals after just a couple of months. I have had great success with the foam rollers from Perform Better. My brand of choice is The EVA Premium Foam Roller (about $30), it has stood up to regular use for a long time! You can get it here http://www.performbetter.com?kbid=2610.

2.) Resistance Bands

Resistance bands are by far the most simple, convenient, and affordable equipment option in the fitness industry. They supply total portability for killer workouts that can be done anywhere. If you are a busy professional who does a lot of traveling, bands are the perfect lightweight training tool to take your workouts with you on the road as they can fit in the smallest of bags without a problem. If you are a busy Mom looking to workout in the comfort of your own home, bands can make this happen too. Bands provide the perfect compliment to your body weight circuit training workouts for added variety, allow for multiple levels of resistance with practically zero transition and set-up time, are easy on the joints, and are fun to use!

Dave “The Mighty Band Man” Schmitz is the world’s premier resistance band training expert. This guy is an unbelievable coach  who creates the most innovative workouts with bands that you’ll ever see. He has his own line of resistance bands that are virtually indestructible and I use them year round to crank it at home or on the road. To get the best bands in the business check out www.resistancebandtraining.com

3.) A Gift Card to a Sporting Goods Store

You can’t beat a sporting goods store like Dick’s Sporting Goods to get some great fitness equipment and clothing.. I always recommend going with a gift card here because everybody has their own preferences, particularly when it comes to clothing sizes and styles.

4.) A Gift Card to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, or Other Premium Grocery Stores

Rather then another gift certificate to an overpriced restaurant, why not give a week’s worth of groceries to a an organic grocer like Trader Joe’s? After all, everybody’s got to eat, but how many of us actually eat the right stuff to support our fitness goals? You’ll be doing your loved ones a huge favor by introducing them to the wonderful world of a quality supermarket

5.) A Gift Card to a Massage Therapist

Most of us are crazy busy and super stressed out during the holiday season and nothing eases the tension like a good massage. This is about as can’t miss of a gift as it gets, unless you know someone who doesn’t like to be touched. It’s nice to be pampered on occasion, and though the foam roller I mentioned above can do wonders for the majority of your body, nothing can alleviate tension in your upper back, neck, and head like a good massage therapist! If you are in our local area, give Amy a ring over at http://chichestermassage.com/

6.) Supplements that Work: Protein Powders, Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamin

Forget the fat burners and wonder pills!  In my journey, I have found only three supplements to be a mandatory part of the optimal fat loss program: protein powders, fish oil, and multi-vitamin supplements.

Protein powders provide great liquid workout nutrition and a convenient meat alternative for on-the-go snacking. For a protein powder, look for a brand low in sugar and carbohydrates and with a mix of both whey and casein (fast and slow absorbing proteins). In my opinion, the best protein powder out there is made by Beverly International. You can get more info on this great company here: http://www.cr8health.com/beverly-international/

Fish oil, or more appropriately entitled an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement, is critical to providing key omega 3’s to maximize overall health, performance, and body composition. Studies show that krill oil provides the most effective dosing of EFA’s.

A multi-vitamin provides keys vitamins and minerals that are tough to obtain unless your diet is near picture perfect. I don’t know about you, but I like to cover my bases when it comes to my health. Be sure to choose a multi-vitamin supplement that is made from whole foods rather than synthetic materials, in addition to being made specifically for your gender.

Check out VGF+25 and EFA Icon, both included in Prograde’s Health+ Package available at www.getprograde.com

7.) Sport-Specific Gift

This one’s pretty basic: if you want to give a great gift to an athlete then get them something unique that compliments their sport, whether it be fitness equipment, clothing, or both.

8.) A Gift Card to a Fitness Boot Camp

Boot camps provide a fun and exciting team environment that guarantee better results than one-on-one personal training for only a third of the cost… it’s a total no-brainer.

Look for a local fitness boot camp who wants you to take to current clients to be sure they have a solid reputation and a bunch of raving fans of people just like you. Plus, any good boot camp worth its weight offers free trials to all newcomers because they are so confident their program works that you’ll more than likely continue after a test-drive, This way there is typically no risk on your part… besides getting your butt kicked, in a good way.

So join a fitness boot camp with at least one other friend or family member or buy a boot camp gift card to give to your loved ones. As a boot camp instructor myself, I know firsthand that clients always get better results when they embark on a fitness journey with others.

And if you live in the local Concord area, come work with us for the best personal training in New Hampshire by visiting http://GetFitNHbootcamp.com. You’ll get the most effective, addictive, and fun workout you’ve ever had!

Have a safe and happy Christmas season, and make it your best year ever!

Fat Loss Forever,

Nancy

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

You can find the past installments of “Weight Management 101″ here:

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Part VI

Making supportive food choices is your secret weapon in the quest to achieve a toned and sculpted body. Eating supportive foods frequently will help you lose fat and increase your energy dramatically.

- Protein provides four calories per gram. Thermic Effect: for every 100 cal = 20 cal are burned
- Besides water, protein is the most plentiful substance in the body. Made up of structural units or chains called amino acids

-  In the absence of sufficient carbohydrates, protein is used as an energy source.
-  Protein is the primary component of building material for muscles, blood, skin, hair and internal
organs such as the heart and the brain. Used in the formation of hormones, enzymes and antibodies
-  Protein is vital for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissue.

-  Complete Proteins:  Complete proteins contain all the essential amino acids (not made by the body) Sources include:  Animal products such as beef, chicken, fish, milk and cheese.
-  Incomplete Proteins:  Incomplete proteins do not contain the adequate of essential amino acids. Sources include:  Plant products such as grains, legumes, cereals, nuts and starchy vegetables.

-Carbohydrates provide four calories per gram. Thermic Effect: for every 100 cal = 10 cal are burned

- Your body’s main source of fuel
- Carbohydrates are converted to glucose (blood sugar), your body’s primary energy source.
- Glucose is used to help burn fat for a fuel.

********* SIMPLE CARBS have NO Thermic Effect**************

-  Fat provides nine calories per gram. Thermic Effect: for every 100 cal = 5 cal are burned
-  There are three classifications of fats

- Fat provides energy for aerobic energy metabolism (sitting, walking, jogging)
- Fat assists in membrane cell structure, function and hormone production
- Fat transports and mobilized fat soluble vitamins in the body.
- Fat contributes to satiety

- Saturated sources:  meats such as ribs, chicken with skin, dairy foods, butter, most fast food, etc.
- Unsaturated sources: salad dressing, oil, margarine, mayonnaise, nuts, avocados, etc.

So what determines which sort of weight you will lose? The types of foods that you eat along with how big of a caloric deficit you create will be the main factors in determining your body’s ability shed fat. A supportive nutrition plan includes whole foods: lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, veggies and healthy fats.

Each time you eat, your body must expend some energy to digest food. Each type of food creates different demands for energy expenditure - Thermic Effect of Food. This is what sets each of these nutrients apart and divide them into smaller versions to absorb them into your bloodstream to perform a variety of tasks – some are used to help burn fat and build muscle.

When foods are processed, much of this work is done for you. For example, processed flour is ground into small pieces that the body can digest more quickly. This means your blood sugar rises faster and your body expends fewer calories processing the flour.  Whole foods, on the other hand, pack more nutrients, are higher in fiber, and force the body to work harder to use them as energy.

Consuming food triggers digestion, and digestion requires calories. By eating more frequent, smaller meals, you continuously supply your body with nutrients while forcing it to digest and break down the foods. This, in turn, can have the net effect of raising your metabolism.

Ideally, you want to eat a supportive meal every 3 hours. Eating frequently stabilizes your blood sugar levels, providing a steady flow of quality fuel to your muscles and brain. This helps to steady your mood and boost your energy. Besides making you feel better, this increased energy can help further fat loss because you will naturally want to be more active. Another benefit of a stable blood sugar levels is a suppressed appetite. By eating a supportive meal, frequently, you are reprogramming your appetite. You will begin to have fewer cravings and binge less often because you no longer experience the pain of hunger.

When you constantly give your body food with small meals your body does not feel the need to store fat. On the contrary when eating large, infrequent meals your body feels the need to store some food as fat for it is unsure as to when it will be fed again.

Eating frequently throughout the day can also help you stay energized and avoid making poor food choices.  Eating smaller balanced meals often helps to reduce blood sugar fluctuations and leads to stronger compliance in making supportive food choices and long term success.

You will not receive an individualized menu or the perfect calorie count. That’s right, we gave up telling you exactly what to eat. First, there is no “magic” number. One of the main problems with other diet programs is that they focus on – or emphasize –the numbers. Remember that food is fuel.  But food should also be pleasurable.

Secondly, we could create the perfect menu plan, but you won’t follow it – at least not the majority of the time. This was our protocol in the past. Our Fitness Professionals would spend hours creating the perfect menu plans for clients. But time after time, clients reported their frustration and inability to follow such an idealistic menu plan. However, these same clients experienced amazing results. Our conclusion; as long as you make an effort to change the way you eat each day, you will achieve results.

For those of you who need more numbers, you can figure out what percentage of your meal should be protein, carbs and fat.  The numbers here can only be very general and educated guesses.  You are going to have to do some trial and error to see what is best for you.

These are numbers based upon averages, based upon what tends to work for most people.  You may find that you’ll have to change it around just a little bit.

Of the calories in each meal, approximately:
40% from carbohydrates
30% from lean proteins
30% from fats (with as little of that as possible coming from saturated and hydrogenated sources)

~Cheat Meals~
Everyone loves their Cheat Meals! Simply having something to look forward to is extremely motivational. It makes it much easier to avoid temptation in the short term. On the other hand, the fundamentals of successful fat loss remain constant…If you make a point of eating cheat meals often enough, you reduce the chances of successful fat loss.

As you apply these supportive nutrition habits, you make your body very efficient at burning through calories.  And then, on occasion, you can put a not-so-supportive into your body because it is going to be quite good at burning through it.  You’re going to enjoy that favorite food even more, because it’s become a special treat.

A general rule on cheating: make sure that no more than 10% of your meals are missed or cheat meals. So if you’re eating six meals a day, seven days a week (for a total of 42 meals per week), then no more than four of those meals should be misses or cheats. If you can achieve 90% adherence you will without a doubt get the results you want.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

Part V

Do you know how MUCH you are eating?
One of the key  ways to promote fat loss is to control your portion sizes. Research has shown that Americans often underestimate how many calories they are consuming each day by as much as 25%. If you are a healthy eater, it is possible to sabotage your efforts by eating more than the recommended amount of food. If nutrients are available at proper times and in the proper quantities, your body can use them for energy to keep you feeling full, promote muscle growth and burn fat.

Importance of accuracy
Under eating or overeating may cause muscle tissue loss or fat gain. A serving isn’t what you happen to put on your plate. It’s a specific amount of food defined by common measurements, such as cups, ounces or pieces.

How to Estimate Portion Sizes
Learn food weights, measurements and portions by using the examples below and by using a food scale, measuring cups and spoons in your kitchen.

Typical Portion Sizes:

• 1 ounce of cheese is about the size of 4 dice
• 1 fruit serving is about the size of a baseball
• 1 serving (½ cup) of vegetables, pasta or rice ½ of a baseball
• 3 ounces of cooked meat, fish, or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is about the size of a large marshmallow
• 1 serving (1 cup) of milk, yogurt or fresh chopped greens is a fist

Tips:
Take time to “eyeball” the serving sizes of your favorite foods.
Measure out single servings onto your plates and bowls, and remember what they look like.
Avoid serving food “family style.” Prepare plates with appropriate portions in the kitchen, and don’t go back for seconds.
Never eat out of the bag or carton.

What gets Measured, Gets Managed
One of the most powerful ways you learn is from yourself, keeping a journal will teach you more about you than any book you read or course you take. Many people are unaware of their unsupportive habits. Denial and vague ideas are of no use in the process of achieving results. You need to be in control of the way you eat and move and all the variables and you can’t control something you’ve never measured! ENTER – The Fitness Journal

Your goal is to keep a journal for at least 3 days. You get to choose three days that are a typical representation of your general eating and exercise habits (one work day, one training day, and one weekend day, for example) and on those days record everything you eat and the workouts that you perform. There are two reasons do this as soon as you get started.

One, you need to see how “off” your nutrition is. Two, you to see how “off” your nutrition is. Even if you don’t record your foods accurately, you’ll have to make a conscious choice to guess or omit – which is an admission to yourself (though not to your Fitness Professional) that your nutrition and exercise habits need improvement.

It is inevitable that there will be some of you who are simply lazy and forget to record, while still others are so deep in denial that they’ll lie outright with no regrets. For both types, sticking to an integrated fitness program will be either extremely difficult or impossible. For most people, journals are excellent motivational tool and will help them commit to new, supportive habits.

FYI: Tracking your daily food intake and exercise habits is a great way to take action and prove to yourself that you are serious about your achieving your goals! Don’t worry about the occasional setback – you are only human! Instead of giving up entirely, simply start fresh the next day. Make an effort to do better than you did the day before. Keep in mind that lifestyle changes won’t happen overnight. Be patient, make small changes and gradually add new supportive habits.

Journal Guidelines:

Time: Write the time of day you ate the food.

What kind: Write down the type of food you ate. Be as specific as you can. Don’t skip the “extras,” such as soda pop, salad dressing, mayonnaise, butter, sour cream, sugar and ketchup.

How much: Record the amount and calories of the particular food item you ate.

Where: Write what room or part of the house you were in when you ate. If you ate in a restaurant, fast-food chain or your car, write that location down.

Helpful Hints:

1. Be Honest. There’s nothing to be gained by trying to look good in your journal. Your Fit Pro can help only if you record what you really eat.
2. Record what you eat each day. Keep your journal with you all day, and write down everything you eat or drink.
3. Do it now. Don’t depend on your memory at the end of the day. Record your eating as you go. Be Specific. Make sure you include “extras,” such as gravy on your meat or cheese on your vegetables.

By keeping records of your past, you will shape your future. See something you like in your past? Work to replicate it. See something you don’t like? Work to re-shape it.

I read an interesting, and important, quote recently.

“If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”

- Alan Simpson

What does this have to do with weight management?

The first person you need to be honest with (your food log perhaps?) and show integrity towards, is yourself.

Are you following the steps necessary to reach your goals, or are you just reading this series in hopes of some “magic bullet” that will help you avoid what is hard?

Do you have integrity?

To Your Best Health,

Dean

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

How do YOU measure success?

Do you measure at all?

Today we will discover strategies that help “Set Yourself Up To Succeed!”

It’s not enough to eat supportive foods and exercise for only a few weeks or even a couple months. You must incorporate these behaviors into your life to achieve lasting results. Lifestyle changes start with taking an honest look at your eating habits and daily routine.

When you combine the Five Factors of Fat Loss, you take total control of that word we talked about earlier… metabolism.  And it is your metabolism that defines the composition of your body. As you begin to change the way you eat and move, your appetite will change, your energy levels will change and then you will find, in a very short time, that if you go more than three hours without eating or skip your regularly scheduled workout, you will be affected!

You’ve made it clear that you’re not happy living in the body that you are in. It’s time to take responsibility for creating the body you desire.  You have to start creating new habits.

This may be quite a change for some, and change is not always easy.  Our promise to you is that if you apply the Five Factors of Fat Loss and make the commitment for just one week, and really stick with it, you will find it very difficult to go back to your old way of living.

Success and failure are simply habits, and the good news is that good habits are just as difficult to break as bad ones. Motivation gets us started on the road to success and good habits are the fuel that keeps us making progress. Just as bad habits can lead to a downward spiral, good habits escalate and lead to an upward spiral.

Welcome the challenges that face you. With effort and patience you have the full potential to create a positive change with your physique and your quality of life. There are only three conditions necessary for the acquisition of any new habit or skill. The COURAGE to try something you do not know how to do, the PATIENCE to try again once you have discovered that you don’t know how to do it and the PERSEVERANCE to keep trying, as many times as necessary, until you do know how to do it.

The first thing most people inevitably notice when they apply the Five Factors of Fat Loss is a dramatic change in their energy level.  You will wake up in the morning and be surprised that you actually have energy!

As you put quality fuel into your body – regularly – and when you optimize the way your body functions through a combination of smart cardio and resistance training, you will start to appreciate what energy REALLY is!

When you change your habits and apply a formula that guarantees results, you will begin to feel a change in your energy levels as quickly as three to four days.  So, within a couple of weeks, typically, you will probably start noticing your clothing fits differently – perhaps a little looser.  That doesn’t mean you should jump on the scale if weight loss is a goal. You will soon discover why the scale is EVIL.  It can’t tell the difference between water weight, adipose (stored body fat) weight, and muscle weight.   So, when your clothes start to feel looser, realize that something good is happening.  Fat is leaving your body.

As you change your habits and consistently apply the Five Factors of Fat Loss, others will notice a change before you ever do. Someone who hasn’t seen you in a couple weeks may suddenly say “Wow!  You look great?”  You can count on the next question they’ll ask to be something like, “Are you on a diet?”  And you can quickly reply “No!  I’m just eating more and exercising less.”  You will leave them feeling stunned!  But eventually they’ll ask you how you did it – and they may end up applying the same factors themselves!

Before you begin this life-changing journey, you must accept and live by the basic understanding that this course is built around the premise of “progress, not perfection.” By developing awareness that improvement is measured by your daily progress, you can save yourself a lot of grief and frustration from the get go. Simply focusing on small, positive steps in everything you do is a vital component to a permanent physical change. With time, commitment and a willingness to continue to take those small steps, failure is not an option.

The following steps will ensure that you receive the maximum benefit from your experiences. They will play an essential role in helping you achieve your goals of ultimate leanness and energy. Improvement will become apparent in a matter of weeks.

I will…

1. Decide on what I want to achieve – Have a clear vision of the end result. Close your eyes and visualize your ideal body. Picture exactly how you look, size and shape you are and how you feel.
2. Know and feel my REASON for wanting to achieve these particular results – Continue to ask yourself “why” until you elicit an emotional response.
3. Believe I am capable and deserving of reaching this goal – If others can do it, why can’t you?
4. Make this a priority in my life, every day – “We do not set out to fail, we simply fail to plan” - Schedule workouts, schedule your meals, keep kitchen stocked…
5. Start taking actions that bring results – each day strive to do something a little better than the day before. “I am making progress if I am better today than I was yesterday” ~Dr. Wayne Dyer.
6. Be grateful - understand that the quickest way to achieve my goals is to be happy NOW. When you look to the future for your happiness, you can guarantee you’ll never be happy. Focus on the present. Life shouldn’t be something to be endured until the future arrives. Your present should be thrilling, exhilarating and inspiring.
7. Be forgiving -  I will not beat myself up when I haven’t done everything perfectly. If I slip, I will quickly return to my plan. I won’t feel guilty, but will remain enthusiastic about the process and with myself.

You can begin, right now, by taking a different, more positive course of action. Take a chance, have faith and proceed with confidence. You are about to become yet another success story; joining hundreds who have successfully learned how to eat, how to move and how to believe in themselves once again. They are experiencing the joy of living life to the fullest. So will you.

Part I

Part II

Part III

Setting healthy and realistic goals is an overlooked but crucial component to achieving healthy and lasting weight management.

Today we will outline specific steps you will take to set goals. Don’t skip this step! This simple exercise is foundational to your success.

So grab a piece of paper and pencil, and let’s get started.

Setting Healthy Goals

The first step to achieving results is setting a realistic goal. No matter what the reason, successful and healthy weight management depends on sensible goals and expectations. If you set sensible goals for yourself, chances are you’ll be more likely to meet them and have a better chance of managing your weight long term.

Setting healthy goals at the start of an ongoing program can help you change and improve your physical activity and eating habits. To set goals that are right for you, think about what you want to change and why, and what steps you can take to reach your goal. These changes don’t have to be big. Even small steps can make a difference. Also, think about who can help you, and how you’ll reward yourself for making these changes.

5 Steps to Setting Goals

1. Make a choice - Look at your body, your quality of life. What do you really want to have?
2. Be specific - Leave no detail left behind.
3. Find Your Reason – Now that you know what you want to change, ask yourself WHY?
4. Form your plan – What is it going to take to get there? What are you going to have to do?
5. Take action - Do you know what the number one cause of failure is in most people’s lives? Never taking action. We develop these comfort zones and become afraid to step out of those boundaries and really go after our goals. We know that we must change; we know that we have to follow our plan to be happy, but seldom do. Do not let your written plan of action go to waste. Start immediately on working towards your goals!

Realistic expectations are based on the fact that – safe and long term weight loss is 1-2 pounds of fat per week, 2-3 months to drop one size or 2 inches off a belt size.

—

All actions start with a change — no matter how small. This is the first step toward making that change: an inventory of exactly how you really feel about losing weight and exactly what you are willing (and in many cases, not willing) to do.

List 3 Things you want to change about your body.

Why is this so important to you? What is your Reason?

List the habits or actions that have contributed to why your body is the way it is today. (What are you doing right now that allows you to keep this body?)

List 3 things you could do right now that will make a difference today (an action, no matter how small, that will bring you closer to your goal).

List at least 2 things that you are giving up by not being more fit or having a body you can be happy in. What is it costing you? (If you’re really ambitious and want some extra credit, try tackling this one as well: What do you gain by keeping things the way they are? What’s the hidden payoff?)

Now I want you to take the sheet of paper that you wrote your answers on and post it where you can see it - Every Day! Keep yourself accountable and take action Every Day!

___

Did you complete the exercise?

If not, why not?

Most people reading this will not take the time, and they will fail - again.

Don’t let that be you!

To your best health,

Dean

http://Cr8Health.com

http://GetFitNHbootcamp .com

It was a lot of fun to change things up for a day, get a little creative, have some fun and best of all - get a great workout - all using a pumpkin!

Many thanks to all of you who came to visit that day - we appreciate getting to meet you and show you why so many people choose “Get Fit NH” bootcamps to train.

Here are a few shots from the days activities:

Resistance training is the superior method of exercise for reshaping your body and shedding unwanted fat. Want to raise your metabolism? Start by understanding that the main tissue that burns calories is muscle, even at rest. Muscle is in essence, your fat burning machinery. The surest way to raise your metabolism and burn fat is to build and maintain muscle.

Resistance training is performed by using weights, machines and even your own body weight to effectively work your muscles. The goal of resistance training is to gradually and progressively overload your muscles so they grow stronger. This signals your body that it’s growing and healthy, not deprived and starving.

As you increase your lean body mass, you increase your metabolic rate and this makes it easier to lose fat. With a faster metabolism, you’ll burn more fat all day long - even while you’re sleeping! Fat doesn’t require any energy at all to maintain - it just sits there.  That’s why resistance training takes priority over cardio based exercise for people who want to lose body fat. Resistance training addresses the core of the problem – the rate at which the body uses energy, 24-7.

There are numerous reasons for increasing muscle beyond making clothes fit better. One of the major benefits is in the possible prevention and rehabilitation of bone injuries. Since proper resistance training strengthens the muscles as well as the supporting structures around the joint, this form of exercise will protect our joints from the stresses of an active lifestyle.

Another benefit of resistance training is improving the ability to perform daily activities. By increasing strength through resistance training, you move more efficiently with daily activities such as; lifting your children, carrying groceries, playing sports, moving furniture, taking out the trash etc.

The most important aspect of resistance training is correct performance of the exercise. Too many people become concerned with how fast an exercise is performed or how heavy a weight is being used. This means that the exercise is done incorrectly. This can cause injury and most often results in endless resistance training without benefit or results.

The Benefits of Resistance Training

• Increased Bone Density
• Improved Posture
• Increased Lean Muscle Mass
• Improved Work Capacity
• Increased Metabolism
• Reduces Depression
• Increased Self-Esteem
• Increased Strength

Factor Four: Smart Cardio

Cardiorespiratory exercise is a term that best describes the health and function of the heart, lungs and circulatory system.  This system is considered the body’s transportation network for it functions by circulating blood throughout the body. The goal of any cardio workout should be to get as many large muscles working as possible.  They not only need to work hard, but continuously, in order to burn the greatest amount of calories during and after exercise.

How much is too much? The Concept of “Smart Cardio”:
It is important to perform “smart cardio” for your body quickly adapts to cardio-based workouts. The more you do, the more efficient your body becomes, causing you to burn fewer calories from your fat stores each time you exercise.

Because your body adapts so quickly, cardio-lovers are forced to adjust their workouts to last increasingly longer in order to provide the same calorie burn. This not only increases the amount of time you have to spend in the gym but also increases the odds that your body may start breaking down muscle instead of fat for fuel.

Additionally, the benefits are temporary. Aerobic activity doesn’t increase the amount of fat you burn after your workout like resistance training. Your metabolism returns to normal shortly after stepping off the treadmill.

Smart Cardio will greatly enhance the rate at which your body burns calories. The most effective Cardio programs are designed around the HIIT principles - High Intensity Interval Training.

Factor Five: Personal Assistance

When you combine an effective fitness program with proper nutrition, supplementation and accountability, you can make incredible changes.

It is the job of your Fitness Professional to give you the right amount and type of work for your goal and ability. However, your body is naturally driven to adapt to this workload (i.e. plateau). A plateau occurs when the body adjusts to changes in internal and/or external conditions or circumstances. Science is still unable to predict when a person will plateau, but one thing is for certain – it will happen..

Doing the same type of exercise without variation or failing to increase the challenge when your body “adapts” to the present workload, are just two examples of conditions that will steer your results to a complete halt. In order to avoid a plateau during your transformation, your Fitness Professional will make changes in your exercise routine or eating habits to help you reach the next level. The best way is not to do more of the same, but try new exercises or change the frequency, intensity, or duration of the routine.

Even though your Fitness Professional individualizes each of the components necessary to begin the journey toward your goal, it does not end there. There are many factors that may affect when and how significantly the other four components will need to be manipulated to keep you on the path to success.