What is Healthy Weight Loss?

This is a simple but tricky question.

WHAT is Healthy Weight Loss?  It is a method of reducing the amount of fat stores on your body while preserving your lean tissues. It is a slow and sustained process of altering your thinking and your choices to align with your new goals and values.

A Healthy Weight Loss plan provides nutrition for your body and movement to energize you to feel your best. It is a diet rich in grains, fruits, veggies and healthy fats. It is an eating style that includes foods, not eliminates them. It is an active lifestyle that gives you fuel and energy to live your best life.



 Who should you trust to give you Fitness Advice?

HOW do you achieve Healthy Weight Loss?

• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on... healthy patterns.
• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on the long-term outcomes, not instant gratification.
• Healthy Weight Loss allows you to be flexible, not rigid in your food and exercise selections.
• Healthy Weight Loss allows for setbacks and does not provide punishment for a poor choice or temporary loss of focus.
• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on caring for your physical, mental and emotional needs, not punishing yourself for not being perfect.
• Healthy Weight Loss is slow and steady.
• Healthy Weight Loss is allows you to eat out at restaurants, not sit home alone obsessed with following a "diet".
• Healthy Weight Loss allows you to feel good about yourself and know that you are making great changes for your life, not that you are sacrificing and restricting your choices.
• Healthy Weight Loss includes all foods, not limiting the "magical fattening" foods or avoiding entire food groups (Dairy, Wheat, Carbohydrates etc…).
• Healthy Weight Loss includes strength training to boost your metabolism, help your posture and allow you to enjoy more food.
• Healthy Weight Loss is balanced.
• Healthy Weight Loss is intelligent and planned, it avoids fads and falling for "miracles".
• Healthy Weight Loss is a way of life. Your new life.

In this new life, you would:

• Know that you have control over many things but do not have control over everything.
• Focus on obtaining fruits, veggies, fiber and protein from your food choices.
• Focus on moving more simply for the sake of moving.
• Focus on reading and learning to build your "brain muscle".
• Focus on trying new recipes and finding activities to do with your family and friends.
• Focus on your relationship with yourself and with others.

Healthy Weight Loss is a journey to a new lifestyle. Enjoy it.

To your Health,

Robert

Follow these tips to begin eating better 

What is the correct percentages of Proteins, Carbs and Fats to eat?

What is the correct percentage of protein, fat, and carbohydrate that I should be consuming?

There isn’t a “perfect” ratio for everyone. This, like your caloric requirements are different for each individual.  More important are the recommendations or ranges set forth by The American Dietetic Association.  The recommendations for each of the macronutrients of total calorie intake are as follows:

                   ● Carbohydrates: 45-65%

                   ● Protein: 15-25%

                   ● Fat: 10-30%

Your Weight Loss Coach will specify where you end up in the range based on your caloric needs, appetite and type/amount of movement.

These %’s may differ slightly day to day and on training and non-training days.  There is no one magical formula.

Resolve to achieve your New Years Goals

I am going to take a wild guess and say that you may have made a few New Years' Resolutions before.  I will also go out on a limb and say that they are probably eerily similar year after year after year...

Well, 2012 can be different.  As Einstein said - "You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it."

This means that if you are creating the same Resolutions and are going to go about your Resolutions in the same manner that you always have... well... you will most likely get the same result.

Insanity - Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.

Change is hard.  Do not fool yourself into thinking that because you made a decision to change that you will not sabotage yourself or that massive, long lasting changes will come to you without discipline and consistency.  You will only end up dissapointed again.
Here are 5 tips to insure you can break your failure cycle and begin to reach your goals:


Get Specific and avoid "vague" goals.
Weight loss is a very poor goal. Stop smoking is a poor goal.  These are too general and lack passion.
The more specific you get with your goals the more likely you will be to reach them.
How much weight loss?  What is your time frame for reaching these milestones? What are you absolutley willing to do to achieve these results?


Focus on what you are gaining, not on what you are giving up.
If you are focused on restricting items from your day or life and viewing improving fitness levels/exercise as a chore, or, you are focused on eliminating foods from your life - how long do you think you will have the willpower to hold out?
A better strategy is to list out all of the things you will gain by slowly and systematically making changes to your habits.  Improved energy and self-confidence would most likely happen first.  Self-pride and the ability to stick with your goals and plans would surely follow.


Get into the process and out of the outcome.
Change takes time. Be patient with yourself.  No one makes a decision and magically changes.  Everyone makes mistakes and takes missteps.  Understand that a mistake is not the end.  Get right back on track and get going.  An "IFSism" that I use all of the time is -

Habits X Time = Results

Improved Fitness and Reduced Weight of any substantial sum is most likely a 12-18 month process.  There will be plateuas and setbacks.  How you plan for and deal with these setbacks will make all of the difference in your success.  You WILL NOT experience smooth sailing.  And, if you do, you will not maintain it for long.
Use history as a teacher - if you were losing weight and as soon as something derailed you, you gave up because progress stopped - I would challenge you to alter your perception of what is actually happening.

Focus on your schedule.  If you schedule it, you will do it.
This seems pretty simple, but, for many people sticking to a schedule is difficult.  The habit of procrastination sets in and what I refer to as "The Tomorrow Syndrome" becomes a rally cry. If you will always start tomorrow and you justify your lack of commitment to your health and goals you certainly will never reach the goals that you set.
Schedule your exercise and stick to your schedule.  Make your Fitness a non-negotiable priority.  If you do not you will not achieve the desired results.


Avoid "All or None" thinking.
Focus on Progress, not perfection.  If you are moving more than you have been before and eating better than you have been then you are making progress!  Congratulate yourself.  You are doing great.
All or none thinking (as in - I need to eat perfectly and exercise everyday or IT is not working) only derails success and makes happiness unattainable.  NO ONE eats perfectly and exercises everyday.

There you have it.  An altered perception of your goals and how to reach them can help to make 2012 your most productive year to date.

Get the help that you need here - My Dynamic Life

90 Days to a New You. - Weight Loss Day by Day

Yours in Health,
Robert J DeVito

Back to the Business of Losing

Post Holiday "Back to Business" Strategy

We know that the average Thanksgiving meal alone (reported at approx 4,000cal+) can do some serious damage. The holiday, combined with a long weekend can throw even the most committed and dedicated of us off track. Here are some no-nonsense tips to get back to business NOW:   Think short-term. Commit to one week of cleaner eating to rebound from the holiday splurge. Start TODAY. Be sure to maintain your food log for one week to reset healthy habits.  Increase your water intake. MOVE MORE - be sure to get your Strength Training in 3x this week. NO EXCUSES. Plus, increase your cardio by at least an hour over the course of the week. Clean out your kitchen cabinets and fridge! Give away or throw out all of the unhealthy leftovers in the house. No one in your family needs them and if they're not there you won't be tempted by them.  Eat more fruits and veggies.  You will feel better and feel better about yourself. Follow these tips and you'll be back to feeling like your healthy, motivated self in no time! Even Santa is PRE-Burning a few Holiday Calories.  he knows that cookies are coming.

AVOID Holiday Self-Sabotage

Prepare for a Healthy Thanksgiving

Before you go shopping for your Thanksgiving meal, plan ahead with these substitutions: 1. Instead of sugar, use cinnamon and vanilla. 2. Skip canned cranberries and prepare fresh with orange juice. 3. Use low fat broth instead of cream in soups. 4. For casseroles use skim milk and low fat cheese instead of cream and  high fat cheese. 5. Make a stuffing using whole grain bread and turkey sausage. 6. Serve fresh vegetables or fruit as appetizers and skip the fatty chips and dip spread. 7. Use as many fresh vegetables and fresh fruit as possible. 8. Bake sweet potatoes instead of sweet potato pie. 9. Be sure to complete 30-minutes of Movement/Exercise in the morning so you feel good about yourself and sticking to your Exercise Regimen. 10. If you are going to cheat - CHEAT WELL.  Don't just grab based on temptation and impulse. Decide if you really want what you are about to eat. You can be stronger than the holiday "bingefest" that usually occurs.  You control your choices.  Have fun, make great choices, enjoy your food and feel great about yourself! Yours in health, Robert

Measuring Fitness and Weight Loss Success

How can I measure my fitness success?

The most successful people I have seen in fitness and weight loss plans fully understand that weight loss is a slow process and that their patience muscle must be flexed regularly.  Inevitably, weight loss will slow down and/or stop.  It will always happen at a slower pace than you wish it to and if you do not have numerous methods to gauge progress you will end up frustrated, demotivated and even potentially give up before you achieve your success. Also, I have found that most people are successful when the focus is not fat/weight loss but complete wellness/fitness improvement.  Weight loss can be part of the goal, but, if it is the sole focus, failure is imminent.

There are multiple ways to measure success. The more way someone uses to recognize progress the better.

• The physical methods will be:
• body weight and body weight range
• body fat percentage
• circumference measurements
• how your clothes are fitting 
• your ability to perform your workout activities 
• more efficient activities of daily living.

• The psychological measures will be:
• how much better and more confident you are feeling about yourself
• the improvements to your self esteem and your quality of life are endless when proper eating and exercise become a part of your life.

• I would strongly urge you to take ‘Before and After' photos. Photos can be an extremely positive way to provide positive feedback. The day to day changes are incrementally small but when seen over the course of 1, 2 or more months, the visual aid can be staggering.

The improvements to your self esteem and your quality of life are endless when proper eating and exercise become a part of your life.

How long will it take before I start to see results (i.e., changes in my body composition)?

• You should begin to feel better and more energetic within a week or two.
• You should begin to see results in the way your clothes fit and measurement changes within a month.
• Each pound of body fat is 3500 stored calories. If you create a deficit of 500 calories daily, you will lose about 4-5 lbs. monthly for the first few months.

Create your "success" list.  Your motivation and commitment will be much greater.

If you need one, grab it here:

90-Days-New-You-Transform

Are you a Scale Watcher?

Scale Watching

Many people are guilty of watching the scale every day, or even a couple of times a day, when they are following a diet and exercise regimen because they want to see immediate results. However, the effects of changing your eating habits and being more active are not instantaneous. It usually takes a couple of days or weeks before you can see a significant drop in your weight if you follow a healthy diet plan. If you weigh in everyday, there is a big chance that you will be disheartened because of the slow progress when it comes to shedding pounds.

Additionally, most people do not have a steady weight but rather, a body weight range.  It is normal to fluctuate +/- 2-5 lbs every few days.  This is extremely important information  for a dieter to understand as you are in control of some of the factors that cause the fluctuation and not in control of many others.

Keep in mind that there is 3500 calories in 1- pound of body fat. So, if you gained or lost 2 pounds from day to day it is HIGHLY unlikely that you created a 7000 calorie surplus or deficit to achieve the weight fluctuation.

Scale usage should be utilized for watching your weight trend.  The best method is to begin by finding your body weight range.  To do this - weigh daily for 5 days and mark the lowest and highest weights.  This is your natural body weight range.

As an example if Monday you weigh 167 lbs, Tuesday 164 lbs, Wednesday 166 lbs, Thursday 167 lbs and Friday 165 Lbs. Your body weight Range is 164 - 167 lbs.  Every time you step on the scale you should expect to see a number in that range.

While creating better food and fitness habits you will lose weight slowly.  If your are losing 1 lb of fat per week your body weight range would shift at the end of 1 month.  That means it would go from 164 - 167 lbs down to  162 - 165 lbs.

If scale watching has you in a good mood because the scale moved down or worse... a bad mood because it rose, you need to recheck how you are defining success.  The scale will move regardless of how well you are eating or working out.  Put the #'s in perspective by understanding the components of body weight.
Be aware of your weight range and watch your BW trend for true. long-term results.

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