Hello, I don’t know where you live but we are close to Windsor, Ontario, Canada and it is cold!! We are suppose to get a winter storm tomorrow, about 15cm of snow! I love snow! I find most people do not like the cold weather and they just want to stay inside.

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I had a great conversation with Tom Venuto last week about music and how the right type of music will trigger a response in your brain which will lead to an intense workout. Music inspires you to take action and put forth your very best efforts during your workout sessions and can totally keep you focused on your fat loss goals. I’ve had some of my very best workouts this week all because of the music I chose to have playing in my headphones during my workouts. It also triggered some pretty amazing experiences as I’m about to share…

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Hello ladies…I just want to share with you today the POWER behind our intentions. How motivated are you to achieve fat loss success? This is what I have been experiencing lately: I am voicing and writing down what I want to happen and it is slowly becoming a reality!

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Hello, I am bummed out today because I stepped on the ’scale’ in excitement, thinking that I had lost my .5% of body fat. However, ‘IT’ said that I gained 3% B.F. and 2lbs!! I was so mad at myself for getting as upset that I did. I know that it’s not always accurate and that many factors play into that number but I just could not believe what I was seeing! Now I feel that my day has started out so sour and I do not feel as disciplined about my eating today!

I now have a question for all of you: Do you find that the scale is a source of motivation for you or does the number not affect your motivation either way? Or, are you like me, and it’s a double-edged sword? (if the number is right, you are motivated…if the number is not what you want, it decreases your motivation)

I do not like going onto the scale for this reason. I like to go by HOW I FEEL. I know when I’ve been snacking too much…I don’t need a scale to show me this!

Anyway I just needed to vent to all of you…thanks! I’d love to hear some feedback on this too.

I know I’ll get over this anger, and move on…actually I think I’ll take it out on the weight today! I am still doing 8 sets of 8 from the Fit Chic Year of Workouts. I have been following everything so perfectly….another reason why I am so mad! Yes, I know, let it go!!

Have a great day!

Cheers to health,

Angie

C.P.T.
B.ED.

I wanted to share some very valuable information with all of you. I was reading an article today from Tom Venuto’s ‘Burn the Fat Inner Circle’ about cravings. Research shows that at least 94% of the population has food cravings. So you are completely normal! It is how we REACT to them that divides the ‘winners’ from the ‘defeaters.’ Before I go on Tom has given Scott and I permission to allow you a month trial of his exclusive membership site for only $1. Simply visit www.unstoppablefatloss.com/BFFMICspecial.

The bottom line is this: allow yourself to have that food (chocolate is the number one food craved by women!), but only occasionally and in small amounts. The more you deny yourself the food, the more you will crave it and will likely not be able to control yourself when you do finally give in. Just don’t be eating it everyday! Another interesting finding was that your ‘portion size‘ is the highest predictor of overweight and obesity-NOT the frequency of cravings or the frequency of giving in.

So your goal should be to MASTER the challenge to have your favourite craved food, but in small quantities and occasionally. You need to avoid a calorie surplus! To lose weight you need to be expending more calories than you consume. Understanding this will lead you to long term success. Which is what we all want.

I just want to leave you with this awesome quote:

“You can either make excuses, or set results, but you can’t do both.”

Cheers to health,

Angie

C.P.T.
B.ED

Have any of you ever kept a food journal? The reason I am asking is because I highly recommend that you do this for at least one week. It is not very realistic to say you need to do this for the rest of your life. However, it will allow you to truly see for yourself just what you are feeding your body! It’s so easy to ‘forget’ those two or three cookies that you ate after breakfast at the end of the day! I also recommend that you jot it down as soon as you eat it so that you don’t have to try to ‘remember’ everything at the end of the day.

The benefits of doing this are incredible! For myself, I find that I eat a TON better. I am more accountable to myself. I eat so much more healthier because I can ’see’ for myself (it’s all on paper) that I may need more protein or carb. I also find that I eat smaller meals and more of them. You should try to eat 5-6 small meals each day. Eat just enough to feel ’satisfied’ Eating this way will also increase your metabolism. Your body does not have to guess when it will get its next meal.

This is why I find it so easy to follow the Every Other Day Diet- Lifestyle Plan. This plan allows for me to eat every 2-3 hours and I can eat a variety of foods.

I was at a baby shower yesterday and there was so much dessert! This is what I did: I tried a tiny bite of cheese cake. It was actually made in ‘bite size’ amounts. I baked the cake so I did try a piece. It was delicious! Okay, I know I’m being biased here. That was it! I did not need to eat the chocolate cookies, brownies, or cupcakes! I’ve had all of that before…and I have my GOAL in mind. I do my weigh-in on Tuesday. I really want to reach my goal.

So eating healthy does not need to be about denying yourself! Be AWARE of what you eat- JOURNAL! I guarantee you will eat healthier.

Go after those goals!!

Cheers to health,

Angie

Hello, I was talking with my friend the other day and she was complaining that she had reached a ‘plateau’ and was not getting results at the gym anymore.

I asked her how long she was at the gym and she replied, “An hour and a half.” Wow, I was stunned! No wonder she plateaued! If she is there that long, than she is obviously not working herself hard enough. She said she does an hour of cardio. This is too much. If you can do cardio for an entire hour than you are going at it too easy. The machines are moving you, instead of you moving the machine. Think about that.

I told her to do short bursts of intense cardio such as 30 sec. fast (I mean burn out!) on the bike and followed by 30 sec. slow. Interval like this for 10 minutes with not only burn you right out, but will keep up your metabolism afterwards for hours! She is now going to do this for 2 days of the week and walk at a brisk pace on the treadmill twice a week.

If some of you have experienced at plateau, please let me know. You may need more variety in your workouts, you may need to lift heavier weights. Worse yet, you may have fallen into the wrong thinking that ‘weight lifting will make you look huge.’ If you are not doing any resistance training, you are lacking what is at the fundamental core to achieve a lean, healthy, sexy, body.

You NEED TO DO RESISTANCE TRAINING! No, you do not need to spend an hour doing this either. I follow The Fit Chic Year of Workouts and this component is only 20 minutes for me! I get a great pump to my muscles and it feels awesome. You really can REDUCE your workout time, and still get an effective workout or BETTER!

Another critical component when it comes to cardio is doing something that you love. You may not enjoy jogging. Then don’t jog! I love to spice up my cardio. So sometimes I skip, bike, jog…all at the same time. (as an interval) I also love to put on some dance music and just MOVE with my kids. This is the best! We all have a blast…so find what you like to do and just ….you know the saying…DO IT!

Have a great day!

Cheers to health,

Angie

C.P.T.
B.Ed.

A close friend of mine opted for gastric bypass surgery 5 months ago. Although I didn’t agree with her decision I respected that it was her decision to make and I have to admit that I’ve learned a lot by observing the changes that she’s gone through. Some of the biggest insights have been in regards to comfort foods.

This close friend of mine was a serious emotional eater prior to the surgery. Whenever there was any stress in her life she would deal with it by eating large amounts of junk. So I asked her what she was doing to deal with these emotions now that she couldn’t eat food for comfort.

Since she can just now start to eat solid foods and the most she can keep down in one sitting is a meatball or very small portion of scrambled eggs there’s no way that she can do what she used to do and binge on junk.

Her response to me hit me like a tonne of bricks. It was so simple and so obvious. But aren’t most answers right in front of our face?

She said, “I now have to face my problems.” The holidays can be a difficult time for her since her parents passed away and this was the first year that she couldn’t use food as an escape. She had to deal with the thoughts and emotions that she was going through.

If only she would have realized this prior to the surgery she wouldn’t have had to take such drastic measures to lose weight. Things are actually going pretty well for her. She’s lost 75 pounds and feels great about herself. I can’t really argue with that, but I still don’t like the method. Basically it’s like she’s forced to starve herself right now because of the surgery. But to each their own. I guess the doctors were more convincing than I was.

I guess that the point I’m trying to make here is that eating comfort foods to try to cope with certain situations in your life will not solve your problems. It only temporarily buries those problems and creates more problems in addition to your original problem.

The simple in your face solution to avoid emotional eating is to take responsibility and face your problems head on. Find constructive ways to come up with a solution. Write down your problem on a piece of paper and make a list of what you can do to solve that problem. Create a plan of action. Ask your friends and family for advice, (and it doesn’t have to be over a bowl of ice cream.)

When I went through a bout of depression prior to closing my gym I didn’t want to face my problems. I gained 30 pounds because I was emotionally eating and the stress was forcing me to keep that weight on.

It wasn’t until after a couple sessions with a therapist that I was able to take responsibility for my situation and come up with an action plan to overcome my obstacles. I faced my problems and no longer needed food to help me bury them.

The therapist really didn’t do anything other than listen and let me vocalize my problems and actually create my own plan of action. She just agreed with what I was saying. Basically I could have done it all on my own, but being in that room forced things to come out into the open.

So deal with life’s problems by coming up with your own action plans. Don’t bury them and try to find happiness in a bowl of ice cream or in a candy bar. That will only lead to more worries and more emotional eating.

Easier said then done? Maybe in the beginning. Like anything else, after doing it a couple of times it begins to become automatic.

Are you ready to face life’s problems and not bury them by emotionally eating?

I would love to here from you. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Have a totally amazing day!

Scott Tousignant

So…did you hear the important news of the today? An algorithm was used to somehow ‘measure’ that today - Janurary 21 is the ‘most depressing day of the year.’

I kinda laughed to myself when I heard this because I thought why would anyone make such an issue of it? Why bring it to our attention? All this did for me was make me think, ‘Oh, ya it is really cloudy and dull today’, ‘ my bills need to be paid,’ ‘winter is still a long few months’

I seriously just thought about depressing things! I have had the radio on for most of the day and I must have heard the same thing that today was the most depressing day of the year- at least 5 times!! Who cares?!

All I know is that I got out for a good 40 minute walk and it felt FANTASTIC! I came home and ate really healthy. My husband and I laughed a lot about the topic, but could not believe how much it really did bring depressing thoughts into our minds!

MY QUESTION TO YOU: Did this headline affect your mood today? If it did, in what way? If not, why?

Related to the same topic - What are some good tips that you can share that help to boost your mood?

In answering my own question, whenever I am ‘down’ or ‘irritable’ or ‘anxious’ …I ALWAYS turn to exercise! I feel blessed to understand my body that way…I am totally a NEW PERSON afterwards. I feel happier, more energetic, clear-minded, and focused. This really works for me.
As some of you may know, exercise releases seratonin and endorphins that create a ‘natural high’ physiologically.

My advice: Shut the T.V. off, put the paper down, and don’t listen to the radio today! Go for a walk and listen to some uplifting music!

Cheers to health,

Angie

Aren’t you supposed to gain 10 pounds of fat when you go on a cruise? Everyone that I know who has been on a cruise has come back with a lot more belly fat. Even a personal trainer friend of mine recently gained weight during a recent cruise. So how is it that I returned from a Caribbean cruise having burned over a pound of fat in the process?

Upon my return from the cruise the #1 question that I was asked was, “How did you enjoy all that food?” Not, “How were the islands? What exciting things did you see? Or what were your favorite excursions?”

The entire focus was on food and the large quantities of it. Is this really why people choose to go on cruises? Is gorging yourself more fun and exciting than visiting beautiful places? Is stuffing yourself silly 24 hours out of the day the only way that you feel like you’ve gotten your money’s worth out of the cruise?

So how did I overcome this challenge?

Answer: I challenged it!

I said to myself and every person that I met the first day on the cruise that I would walk off of the ship in better shape then when I walked on, and I would have a lot of fun in the process as well as not restrict myself.

Prior to leaving for the cruise Angie and I set our fat loss goals for the next 3 months and we committed ourselves to following The Every Other Day Diet Plan. Most important, we committed ourselves to supporting each other during our fat loss journey.

This was actually a really big test for The Every Other Day Diet and it’s tag line “The Easiest Diet In The World”. After all, many diets claim to be easy, but once life gets in the way forget about it.

To be 100% honest with you it was actually easier to follow The Every Other Day Diet Plan during the cruise than it is at home. From my experience it’s easier to eat healthy on a cruise than it is at home.

One of the things that holds people back from eating healthy is the amount of time that it takes to prepare healthy meals. On the cruise ship all the vegetables were diced up nice and fresh so all you had to do was decide which of the endless amount of veggies you were going to pile on your plate today.

I started off each day with an omelet that was loaded with vegetables. For each and every meal after that I began by filling half my plate with Romaine lettuce and then loaded on cucumber’s, carrots, red peppers, green peppers, tomatoes, raisins, sunflower seeds, almonds, kidney beans, chic peas, and a teaspoon of raspberry vinegar.

Then I would fill a quarter of my plate with steamed veggies like string beans, broccoli, and cauliflower. For the last quarter of my plate I chose from a variety of fish or chicken. It was great because the vegetables were always prepared different and the fish and chicken were prepared in a large variety of ways.

Angie and I still talk about how easy it was to eat well and wish that we could have it that easy at home. But still it really isn’t even that difficult at home.

I even indulged in desert a couple of times. The desert was always laid out on it’s own individual plate and the portions were just right. I had a nice small piece of chocolate fudge cake one night and a small bowl of melting chocolate cake another night. I enjoyed every second of it and was definitely satisfied.

I really don’t drink alcohol normally so avoiding it on the cruise was pretty easy. There were 2 days where I had on fruity island drink in a small glass.

I also worked out 6 of the 8 days. I spent 15 minutes doing interval training on the stationary bike or treadmill, and 15 minutes of incredibly intense weight training. So I didn’t feel like my workouts were taking away from my vacation, they actually enhanced it.

Here’s the interesting thing. I saw the exact same people in the gym each day and all of them were in great shape. I also saw these same people during meal time and they were doing the same thing that I was with loading my plate full of veggies and lean protein. Even more important, we were all having a blast and didn’t feel restricted.

Now let’s take a moment to discus what I noticed with the people who I’m sure gained 10 pounds during this 8 day cruise…

They would make several trips to one of the many ice cream stations throughout the day. They would consume a burger and fries or pizza one hour prior to lunch or dinner. The only activity that they did was lifting their alcoholic beverage from the table to their mouth or pulling the bar on the slot machine.

This was the perfect case study for role modeling. If you want to gain 10 pounds on a cruise then do what these people that I just described did. If you want to get in better shape while cruising, do what myself and the many other fit individuals did on the cruise.

Now you may be thinking that when you go on vacation you want to relax and enjoy yourself. I guarantee that all of us who ate well and exercised regularly on the cruise had a better time than those that didn’t.

It was obvious to me during excursions. The people who where out of shape and had stuffed themselves throughout the vacation were fatigued and couldn’t participate in many activities because of their weight, lack of energy, lack of strength, or lack of self-esteem.

This wasn’t a problem for those of us who were active.

It was even a bit upsetting to see people who were overweight laying out in the sun fully clothed because they were ashamed to show their bodies. And yes some people even told me this was how they felt. It upset me because I felt bad for them. I could only imagine what was going through their minds and how their entire life is effected by their weight.

This encouraged me to continue to do what I do and try to make this world a healthier place. It’s not fair that people have to feel this way when the tools to live a better life are readily available.

The mental boost that I received from getting in better shape during a cruise has been tremendous. I have taken the momentum from this success and riding it now that we are back home. From now on any so called obstacle that presents itself I will challenge. If someone tells me that something can’t be done. I will challenge them.

If you have a vacation or cruise coming up I encourage you to end the vacation in better shape then when you begin it. Model yourself after what the successful people do. You don’t have to gain weight like the majority of people tell you. You can decide that your health and body are worth the effort and attention necessary to be the best that you can be.

No matter what obstacle or challenge you are faced with during your fat loss journey, you can and will overcome it. Others have before you and you can do it now.

Have a totally awesome day!