Is excess Protein stored as fat?

Is excess Protein stored as fat?

Should I consume a Protein Shake?

Should I consume a Protein Shake?

Which type of cardio training is best - High intensity or low intensity?

Which type of cardio training is best - High intensity or low intensity?

Does eating late cause weight gain?

Will eating past 7 p.m., especially carbohydrates, result in weight gain?

The body does not have an enzyme with a watch that after 7 p.m. preferentially stores items, especially carbohydrate, as fat. All of us have a certain number of calories we can consume without gaining weight. If you happen to change your daily schedule and end up eating a final meal or snack later in the evening without changing your calories, you are in no danger of accumulating weight as a result of that minor alteration. Ideally, however, you would spread your allotted number of calories throughout the day to prevent hunger and prevent wild fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which can sap your energy levels.

Eating late may make you feel sluggish and affect your digestion, however, this would happen on an individual basis.
Conversely, if you consume too many calories at 12:00PM you will be gaining weight from that point on.

Aim to increase your meal frequency to 4 meals daily WITHOUT increasing your calorie intake.

Yours in health,
Robert J DeVito
Innovation Fitness Solutions

How do I control food cravings?

Managing food cravings is a simple but difficult process.

In my experience, I have seen that most often when an individual makes a emotional judgment and gives into eating when they are not hungry it is often do to temporarily losing sight of their goal(s) and/or continuation of habits.

Try these tips for controlling food cravings:

1. Develop a mantra. Something like: "I feed my body and my needs, not my taste buds."  
2. Ask yourself questions like:  "Why am I going to eat this?  Is it because I actually want it and need it or am I re-actively responding to an immediate desire?"
3. Keep focused on your goal.  Post it in sight at work and at home and refer to it often.
4. Drink a glass of water to slow the decision making process down.  Water can make you feel a little fuller AND it will give you something to do while deciding if you are actually going to give in to your cravings.
5. Fully understand and "own" that you are in a learning process.  You learned to react in a certain way to cravings, now, you must UNlearn that method and replace it with something else.
6. Relax.  One poor decision does not make goal attainment impossible.  Give the decision its' proper weight (pun intended) and calm down, reset your thinking as to not compound your mistakes.
   

To your health,
Robert J DeVito
Innovation Fitness Solutions

90 Days to a New You Weight Loss Seminar

• Step by Step Instructions on achieving and maintaining Fitness, Weight Loss and Wellness for Life
• Dispel Diet and Fitness Myths. Get the Facts, Get Educated and Get Results.
• Learn Physical, Mental, Emotional and Environmental Strategies for Success.
• Gain access to the '90 Days' Coaching Program.

This is the one seminar you need to attend to insure a successful 2012!

Take action on your goals!

Setting Your Goals

This year, make a SMART goals resolution! No matter what your New Years Resolution is, make sure you follow the SMART Goal Setting parameters to increase your chances of success. SMART goals are:

Specific: Not just "be healthier" or "be thinner" but how specifically will you get there? Will it be a focus on Fitness, Food, or both?

Measurable: Instead of "exercise more" or "lose weight" - how many days will you exercise? How much weight will you lose?

Attainable/Achievable: Set yourself up for success! Make your first few goals of the year ones that you KNOW you can achieve with a little effort.

Realistic: If it's not realistic, it's not sustainable. Remember, when it comes to healthy weight loss, 1-2 lbs a week is IDEAL. Aiming for more than that is likely to either discourage you and/or create a yo-yo weight loss effect which does more damage than good.

Time-bound: Short term is best for getting started. Don't forget to promise yourself a (healthy) reward for when you make your deadline!


Set your goals and make your plan!
If you need help - check these resources out.


My Dynamic Life - Free Workout Programs and Education

90 Days to a New You - Transform Your Thinking - Transform Your Body

Personal Development Made Simple - Better Health, Fitness, Finances and Relationships

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

Measure and Reward your Success

Measure Your Success!  
Not by the scale! Weight loss is a slow and steady process. To truly achieve and maintain your ideal or goal weight it realistically could take months to a year. You must find alternate methods to measure your successes that are not scale related.  Pick some non-gym goals and keep track of how your exercise plan helps you increase your ability to succeed in multiple ways. Examples can be cutting strokes off of your golf game, running and chasing your children without becoming winded or carrying object(s) (laundry) upstairs or feeling better about yourself and having improved energy.

Reward Your Success
Give yourself nonfood rewards.  For example, buy yourself new clothes in smaller sizes or sign up for a massage.  You will soon realize that rewarding yourself with food is not necessary and oftentimes not as enjoyable as a lasting reward.

Yours in health,
-Robert

Slow and Steady

Steer clear of attempting to tackle everything at once.
Often, we take on too much and end up disappointed because we are unable to achieve all of our goals at once.
Change takes time.  It is a process.
Get Dieting Help Here
Choose 1-2 things that you can change in your eating patterns this week.

1. Perhaps, you can be sure to eat breakfast 2 more times than normal this week.
2. Maybe adding in 2-3 more glasses of water daily would help.
3. Reach for Fruit and Veggies before a treat.
4. Buy a Better BAD Version of your favorite treat(s).

Slow and Steady wins the race.