Are you losing the right type of weight?

Muscle Versus Fat

All weight loss is not considered equal.  This is a mantra to live by as you embark on your weight management program.  Though we all are conditioned to determine our success solely by the weight loss shown by the scale, it is much more important to judge our achievements based on our changes in body composition.

All weight loss is not GOOD Weight loss. All weight gain is not bade weight gain.  -R. DeVito

Body Tissues

The human body consists of a variety of different types of tissues, lean tissue and fat tissue.  The lean tissues include bone, muscle and organs.  Muscle and organs are considered metabolically active, whereas fat is metabolically much less active.  This means that muscle and organs help to increase your metabolism and burn fat and calories, while fat tissue does almost nothing.  Therefore, it is essential to maintain muscle tissue while losing fat, thus the additional movement will increase your metabolism.  

Muscle dose not weigh more than fat. It just takes up less space.

Weight

It is important to realize that a pound of muscle is denser and more compact than a pound of fat.  It is helpful to think of a pound of fat as a pound of feathers, and a pound of muscle as a pound of iron.  The pound of feathers would clearly take up a lot more space than that same pound of iron.   By gaining lean body mass (water, bone and muscle) while losing body fat, you will look and feel lighter, your clothes will fit better and your overall sense of well being will improve.  In summary, body weight is only one of the many determining factors of success.   

Changing your Body Composition

To decrease your percent of body fat, you need to create the right balance between the calories you consume and the calories you expend.  The most effective way to do this is to decrease your consumption of calories and increase your activity level.

General Body Fat Percentage Categories*

Classification	Female  % of Body Fat	Male % of Body Fat
Essential Fat	10-12%	2-4%
Athletes	14-20%	6-13%
Fitness	21-24%	14-17%
Acceptable	25-31%	18-25%
Obese/Undesirable	32% +	25% +

* American Council Exercise

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Better Bad Food Choices 

Dieting is hard so we recommend that you do not do it! 

Most diets are focused on restrictive methods of calorie control, or tout eliminating certain foods or food groups to achieve desired weight loss.  Most individuals cannot be successful with these methods long-term. The “Better Bad” system is designed to enable you to make better (relatively) food choices and control your food intake in a Realistic, Progressive and Maintainable way.

Trimming a little bit of calories here and there can do wonders for your weight and health.  It is not always about eating less; sometimes it is about eating smarter.  Skimming off calories is easier than you think.  Challenge yourself to implement one new strategy everyday for eating and one for exercise. All it takes are several small efforts to help trim excess calories. Choose a few strategies and you will eat approximately 100 calories less daily. Burn 100 calories more daily by walking for 20 minutes and that adds up to ½ pound per week.  This may not sound like much, but, it all adds up to 20 pounds in a year.

The more BBFC’s you incorporate the more calories (pounds) you will lose.  Small changes will yield HUGE results.

A few methods of a BBFC are:

Portion Control – Eat the same foods that you have been but reduce the amount by 10%

Food Switch – While at a restaurant or fast food establishment make a different selection based on taste, health needs and calorie needs.   A great example would be if you are in the habit of choosing an 800 calories Double Cheeseburger, your choice would be a Fried Chicken Sandwich at 600 calories.  This is not a perfect choice, but it is BETTER by 200 calories and most likely lower in sodium and Total Fat.

Food Frequency - Track the poor food choices you make and the frequency that you eat them.  Your goal is to eat fewer poor choices and decrease the frequency of their consumption.

This can be performed for liquids too.

Application: What can you choose differently while eating away from home this week?

Better Bad Food Choices

Surprise Exercise

Minimize Damage

90 Days to a New You 2012 - Includes the BBFC System.

If you think like this - you WILL NOT succeed.

Critical Thinking or Thinking “Critically”

I have found that most of the successful people that I know are

critical thinkers, while most of the people that consistently struggle for success think critically of themselves, others and circumstances.

Critical thinking is using your Knowledge, Experience and Common Sense to create a SOLUTION for challenges and obstacles. Thinking Critically is the opposite.  The type of person that consistently finds the challenge in the challenge and always seems to find him or herself embroiled in controversy at home, with friends and at work is Thinking Critically.  They have trained themselves to find the worst in people. Chances are high that this person spends a great deal of time trying to convince people, that their way is best and that everyone else is either bad or wrong.  You cannot be focused on the issue and the solution simultaneously.

Begin to notice when you are Thinking Critically and then apply critical thinking to the situation.  Discover your patterns and obstacles and break them.  Critical Thinking delivers solutions from a logical standpoint.  

Critical Thinking allows you to view a situation of its own accord, without interference from past feelings or biases. 

If you are the type (or know the type) of person who is exceedingly difficult to please, that never can find the positive in what they have done, that always belittles everything and everyone (finding fault), and generally is unpleasant and dissatisfied with life then THIS person is THINKING CRITICALLY.

If they are emotional, reactive, persist in unhealthy behaviors and generally just are a real downer - then THIS person is THINKING CRITICALLY.
In nearly 20 years of practice, I have not know many people that are able to attain and maintain any type of progress and satisfaction in their lives.

The type of person that is successful in achieving and maintaining success and happiness are those that do find the progress in the progress, that are process driven (not outcome driven), that set high standards for themselves but also understand the necessity of flexibility and that setbacks exist. The type of person that is truly successful long-term is persistent and tends to FIND reasons to smile.

The person who stops to think of the path to the outcome they desire and sets off on that path is the person that succeeds.

How are you behaving?  Which behaviors need to be continued and which need to be discontinued?

(excerpt from Personal Development Made Simple)

Critical Thinking is Solution Based Thinking.  
 Clear thinking = Good Outcomes.

Personal Development Made Simple

Stress reduction kit

Stress is a killer. 

It can create havoc in your weight loss efforts and it creates a host of health trouble.
Utilize these steps to gain back control.


To get out of feeling overwhelmed:

1. Acknowledge it.

2. Take a moment to breath.

3. Notice that of the things causing the feeling, some are more urgent or important than others.

4. Notice which elements you have control or influence over and which ones you don’t.

5. List some things that can be put off for now, or may not even be necessary.

6. Pick one thing to do right now. Doing one thing at a time is calming and is the most effective way to make progress.

If these do not work, then turn to coaching or come to one of our Fitness Classes.  We'll BEAT the stress out of you!