I thought this was an interesting study to report from Boston College: “60% of the successful dieters had strong beliefs that they could handle uncomfortable situations. Their thoughts reflect a very positive and firm belief that they are in control of their eating.”
Whereas, two-thirds of the unsuccessful dieters reported worries about what other people were thinking of them.

You, too, can be a very successful eater. Work on these stategies:

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Well, the holidays are upon us and it’s that time of year of family gatherings, wonderful memories, and, of course, lots of scruptuous food!

Do you already have the thoughts that…”Ya, maybe I’ll just wait until the New Year to begin my diet program.” Or, “There is no point in trying to stick to my plan during the holidays since I HAVE TO eat Aunt Pat’s homemade apple pie or I just HAVE TO eat one of her delicious brownies.”

If you are already succumbing to this kind of ‘all or none thinking’ you are setting yourself up to loosen your belt another notch. This is obviously not the direction you want.

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Hello! This is a concern worldwide. How much mercury is in the fish? How many portions should I consume in a week? Where did the fish come from - ocean or farm raised? What does this mean?

From the recent research I did, this is what I can share with you:

1. Sardines and Herring - have the highest levels of omega 3 fats of all fish. A 3 oz. portion equals 1.3-2 g. of omega -3 fats.

2. Mackeral - choose a smaller fish, this will equal less mercury in it. Your best buy will be from sources: Atlantic (Boston), Pacific (Jack), and Spanish (Mack) because of the high levels of omega 3 fats and lowest levels of mercury. A 3 oz. portion = 1.1 to 1.7 g. of omega 3.

3. Salmon - 3 oz. portion = 0.9- 1.8 g. omega 3 fats. Choose from either WILD salmon or better yet, ALASKAN salmon which has cleaner water. A trustworthy farming company that has ‘raised salmon’ is the Atlantic Salmon of Maine.

4. Trout - MOST (use caution) trout farmers use vaccines instead of antibiotics in their fish. Which is better for us, the consumer, since we are not exposed to the antibiotics. Ask questions before you buy.

5. Tuna - canned tuna in water is best because it has less mercury compared to tuna steaks. Also less calories than canned tuna in oil.

Also, tuna steaks are NOT a good choice. They are very high in mercury because they come from older fish and have low levels of omega 3 fats.

Personally, we have at least 2 portions of fish per week. Usually, a trout and salmon. I have canned tuna once per week. If you are pregnant, you should consult your physician as to what is a safe amount of canned tuna to consume.

So why eat fish? Fish truly is ‘brain food.’ We need so much good fat in our diet for our bodies to function optimally. When you consume fish you are getting a your omega 3 fats from a ‘natural’ source. Researchers have discovered that eating 2 servings of fish per week will lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels will drop. You will also be less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Another researcher found that if you eat fish on a regular basis ( 2 servings/week) you are 30% less likely to suffer from dementia.

I hope that this helps you to not only make wise fish choices but to also find the fish that you enjoy. The omega 3 fats found in fish are full of so many health benefits!

Cheers to health,

Angie
ISSA-C.P.T.

We truly want everyone to get the most from their workouts. Eating the proper food will give you the energy and stamina you need to prepare your body for the workout and to replenish it afterward.

During our morning walk today we recorded a video of a typical meal plan for the day. Check it out…

Here are some of the meals I eat to help me to SOAR through my Fit Chic Workouts:

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Hello everyone…I just want to check in on my first day. I am once again following The Fit Chic Year of Workouts. I will be doing the 10 minute express workouts from my home. I have taken a much needed vacation from my program and feel ready to get back in a routine!

I will also be following Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet - Lifestyle Plan as a guide to my food choices. I know that my eating is my biggest challenge so I am looking forward to seeing the great results I have accomplished in the past from his eating plan.

This is what I have eaten today…

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Hello everyone…wow, what a summer vacation! First, I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by. Secondly, I cannot believe how much I am looking forward to ‘September’ and ‘new beginnings.’

We had a few vacations planned and, yes, I did get a bit ‘too relaxed’ about my workout schedule. However, I now feel SO READY to get focused on an action plan and stick to it. I have been working out very hard following Nick Nillson’s, “Gluteus to the Maximus” program. I was also doing the Fit Chic 10 minute Express Workouts. I really noticed more muscle definition in my legs! I am getting compliments on how toned and lean they look. I love that. There are times when I think that my body is ‘used to’ being the kind of shape that it is and I’ve always found it very tough to firm up my legs. However, Nick’s INTENSE leg exercises did bring me to the next level that I needed.

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I’m going to be blunt and honest with you here. If you want to burn fat, discard several pounds, and get into better shape and health, I’ve got some news for you. Looking for a nutrition and workout program that you can follow for life will not do you any good at all. In fact, I believe that the traditional lifestyle approach to fat loss is a bunch of crap. I’ll share my Non-Traditional Lifestyle Approach to fat loss in a moment, but first, here’s why I believe lifestyle plans suck…

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Hello everyone!! We are back from our family vacation! We went on a Carribean Cruise. It was so beautiful to experience the different Islands and just stare at the sea…endless sea…it was truly mesmerizing. Now I feel so refreshed and ready to help you out in any way that I can! I really mean this, if there is anything I can do to help you to achieve a healthy lifestyle - I am listening. I am anxious to get working to meet all of your needs.

I hope you are all starting your “New Year” out right with great, healthy intentions! I also want to mention that while we were away, Scott and I still found the time to get to the fitness centre on the ship and get in an intense workout. It was actually very enjoyable because it was a different environment and I was surrounded by other like-minded people. Although we were on ‘vacation’ we all still held the same mentality that ‘exercise is part of our lifestyle.’ When you truly reach this way of thinking, nothing gets in your way! You wouldn’t walk out the door to work in your underwear, right? (well, I hope not!) You get dressed in the morning…it’s part of your routine. Look at your exercise and eating habits in the same context and just make it part of your everyday routine. Schedule it in. There are no excuses.

I was impressed with the variety of healthy food choices while we were away. So many fruits and vegetables! We ate so well…a lot of fish too. Of course, we treated ourselves to dessert! However, what I’m trying to get across is that we chose the healthier foods each day. We had our share of ‘not so healthy’ foods, but they were limited. When you know the real reason why you want to lose body fat, you have a stronger drive to achieve it. Do you know your powerful WHY? A hint: it’s a more powerful reason than just what the number on the scale says.

If you have not listened to Scott’s audio series: Unstoppable Fat Loss, I highly encourage you to take the plunge and check out this incredibly motivating product. You will learn the reasons why you are not achieving your fitness goals and how you can become more motivated and UNSTOPPABLE when it comes to achieving success. It really is so uplifting and filled with 21 amazing stories of people around the world that have finally found that motivating factor in their life and they want to share it with all of you.

Listening to this while you are walking and/or jogging along with following Jon Benson’s Every Other Day Diet - Lifestyle Plan (what I follow) will get you started on the correct path to success. I guarantee you will see results. Of course you are missing one more piece of the puzzle and that is weight training. I am a busy mom and I always find the time to spend 20 minutes on weight training 4x/week. That is not much time ladies! That is a total of 80 minutes a week! These are quick, but very intense workouts. I do them in the comfort of my own home with a stability ball and some free weights. You can too! Check me out at: The Fit Chic’s Year of Workouts. I savour this time to work my muscles like gold. I feel like a million bucks afterwards.

Today, I plan on getting my workout in before dinner. I usually try to get it done in the a.m. , however I still feel really groggy and dizzy from the cruise ship. I guess it was a little rocky! This is the bonus of working out at home though. It is just easier to find that 20 minutes to spare…my kids are sometimes running around me…oh well…as long as no one gets hurt! They are cute, they are usually imitating what I’m doing. (or trying to!)

I suggest you write out your goals for the next two months. What do you want your weight to be? What size do you want to fit into? Go try on that dress at the mall that you want to fit into! See yourself already fitting into it…listen to the unstoppable fat loss audio…empower yourself girls! You have all the power within you. Take action today!

Cheers to health,

Angie

Hello there! I just to share with you the wonderful evening Scott and I had with our neighbourhood friends. We decided to meet up at a restaurant for dinner. There was not much variety on the menu and I was feeling so stuffed from eating cheese and potatoes the last few days…however, there was something called “SoHo Chicken Salad” Wow, it was so delicious!

There was a lot of chicken, red onions, mandarin oranges, chinese noodles, and poppy seeds. As we were waiting for our food everyone was asking each other what they ordered. When I told them what I ordered, most of the responses were, ‘that’s it’ and ‘aren’t you hungry?’ The funny thing was that when they saw my plate they were all drooling over how good it looked and how large the salad was. I was so full afterward! I am following the Every Other Day Diet - Lifestyle Plan and it truly was the perfect meal for me.

I was totally satisfied and energized afterward. I wanted to share this with you because I know some of you may think that it is difficult to eat a healthy meal when you are at a restaurant. Or, you may feel that you have to order a full size meal when the rest of your party is. I am here to tell you to be a leader! Be the healthy role model in your group of friends! Find friends that support your healthy food choices and choose to live the lifestyle of champions.

Okay, so that was the first part of our evening. Then we all went to Rock N’ Bowl and had a blast! The lights were dimmed and awesome dance music was blaring in our ears! It was so much fun! My bowling score was humiliating, but the laughs were endless!

The final and most hilarious part of our night ended with two couples coming back to our home to participate in a DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) challenge! For those of you whom have Playstation 2 may know what I’m talking about. If you do not, it is a game where you have a mat on the floor in front of you and it has arrows where your feet will go. You watch the t.v. screen and you try to match up the arrows on the screen with your foot movement. Basically, you are doing dance moves and you can make choose a ‘beginner’ all the way up to an ‘elite’ level. I have yet to conquer the ‘difficult’ level. I always get booted off!

Do you sweat? Is your heart rate through the roof? Is it addictive? Is it fun? The answer to all of this is OMG , YES! It is an amazing fun cardio workout! We had such a blast with our friends! It’s just as much fun to watch them as to do it yourself. I have been practicing it on the ‘workout mode’ and I am breaking out in such a sweat! It’s fantastic! So if you need some spice to your cardio routine, or worse yet, if you do not have a cardio routine…look into this DDR. It really is a blast. The funniest part is that Scott and I are the only ones using it! We bought it for our 4 and 6 year old. They are not interested in it - YET. I know the time will come.

We will post a video soon of what exactly it is. I love it because its another dimension to add to my Fit Chic Year of Workouts that I follow each day. A couple of days in the week, I only do cardio. So I can choose DDR now and its so much fun. I’m sure once my daughter sees how much fun I am having, she will hope right on. For the girls who are already following the Fit Chic Year of Workouts you can choose DDR on two days and then walk for at least 30 minutes the other two days.

Remember,too, if you need some extra motivation during your walk just listen to the Unstoppable Fat Loss audio series. You can download it right to your MP3 player or ipod. Trust me, it’ll give you that extra skip in your step that you’ve been lacking. It will totally get your mind opened up to the possibilities that you can attain by simply controlling your thoughts. I know I’ve said it before, but yes I cannot stress it enough…IT IS POWERFUL. It’s all about real people, real life stories, real change.

I hope I’ve enlightened you in some way today…

Cheers to health,

Angie