I'm feeling pretty good about how the last couple of days have gone with journaling and photographing my food, and now I can be positive about a third day in a row of following this plan. With today being a work day I was a little nervous that I wasn't going to be able to keep my weekend momentum going but I really didn't have any problems, except for when I got home when I was just famished and needed some energy before snowblowing 4-5 inches of snow from our driveway.

A little more than I have eaten the last couple of days, but still within my target calorie zone (I'm shooting for 2250 per day to allow for a steady weight loss at my current weight) with a total of 2,227 calories.

For breakfast I had a couple of over-easy eggs (cooked in butter, and yes I remember to include this in the calorie count – easy to forget!) on dry english muffin bread, a small ramekin of pineapple, a 100 calorie yogurt and a banana.

I didn't get a chance to have a morning snack, first because I was very busy and second, because I didn't pack anything anyway. My bad. Lunch was a foot long turkey sandwich at Subway, with only lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, vinegar and salt and pepper. No mayo, no oil, no cheese. All in all a pretty healthy sandwich – way better than the Subway Tuna Sandwich I've been known to eat. I also had apple slices instead of chips.

Again, I was very busy in the afternoon and didn't pack a snack anyway, so I didn't get to eat anything else until I got home from work, and I really needed something before starting in on the driveway so I had a cup of pineapple and a protein bar. That got me through to dinner.

For dinner I had a can of Progresso Split Pea Soup (300 total calories, a little richer than my normal fare but I felt like I needed it after working outside), served with a squirt of Sriracha, a piece of english muffin bread covered with a whole avocado (whoops, I forgot how many calories avocados have – another 300 or so!), a handful of chips and some radishes. For dessert I had a couple of Crystal Light Frozen pops (still working my way through the great product sample pack I got from them).

Just 1 piece of gum and not enough water as I was too busy (I know, I know…)

So how do you think I did?

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Rate my Meals – 2010-02-08

I'm really liking the discipline that taking pictures of my meals is giving me. More than that, I've actually journaled two days in a row on The Daily Plate which I think is a record for me. There is no question in my mind that I would be eating more, and not as balanced, if I wasn't doing this. Most interestingly I almost feel compelled to compose a nice plate full of food but in reality it would normally be grab a bite of this and a bunch of that, adding up to who knows how many calories. So this gives me some structure which is helping.

Of course the last two days where also a weekend, and I was home both days. Let's see if I can keep it going during a work week.

Let's take a look at my meals for today – 1,947 calories worth:

Breakfast is the same picture you would have seen yesterday if I hadn't had that technical problem – oatmeal, a banana, a couple of clementines and a yogurt. Mid morning snack was fresh pineapple which I chopped up just for the occasion (of course there is much more left, not only in the fridge now but still on the countertop. Pineapples were on sale at Sam's Club for $2.98 each so I bought a couple.

Lunch was a bowl of Campbell's Select Harvest Savory Sausage and Vegetables soup, some tortilla chips, a few radishes, some celery and an apple. Had a protein bar and a kohlrabi for later afternoon snack.

Dinner was a 2 egg omelet with shallots and provolone cheese, a few slices of fried polenta with cayenne pepper, celery and more of that fresh pineapple. I also had a couple of beers while I watched the Super Bowl.

Had 2 pieces of gum throughout the day, drank 5-6 glasses of water.

So how do you think I did?

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Rate my Meals – 2010-02-07

Disclaimer: Equmen sent me these product samples to review, however I am under no obligation to do so nor to make the review positive. This review reflects my personal opinion about these products.

When I was in Vegas last year I had a $200 haircut. For those of you who know me, that's pretty funny. It's not like I have any hair. So what does a guy who normally cuts his own hair with an electric clipper set to the lowest setting get for $200? Well it did include a shave, new-age music, oil, hot stones, heck I forget everything it included. But suffice it to say a $200 haircut is overkill for a guy like me.

I sort of feel the same way about the Equmen undergarments I am writing about here. These things are bad ass. And by that I mean they are meant for athletes who need to wear compression tights to gain an edge, not a fat old couch potato like me.

Or are they? Read on!

Equmen Precision Underwear

As I've written about before I sometimes let product reviews pile up before I get around to them, but when I got the package from Equmen I pretty much set out to try them out right away. So one day this week when I was getting ready for work I started by putting on a new pair of Equmen Precision Underwear Trunks. The picture here is pretty accurate for how it looked on me, I think.

I was given size XXL, which is the largest size they make – meant for waist sizes 39-42 – so I was thinking they might be way too tight for me, but they really weren't. As you might expect from clothing made of polyester, nylon and spandex these had a lot of give. Which was a good thing. I'm used to baggy boxers and it's been many years since I wore tight briefs, but these were a unique experience for me.

And they felt really good. Slipping my dress pants on I just had a different feeling than I normally would with the cotton boxers. I really did feel trimmer, and my pants just slid on.

Here is a bit of the marketing speak for the product description:

High-performance trunks designed with HELIX-MAPPING athletic support technology. Seamless body enhancing fit supports gluteal muscles for improved body mechanics. Ventilated, precision-fit pouch and moisture-wicking fabric for ultimate comfort.

All in all, I was very pleased with the underwear and they are for sure going in the underwear drawer. At $52 a pair, these might not be for everyone but if you have the cash I would take a look.

Equmen Core Precision Undershirt

The other item I got to try was the Equmen Core Precision Undershirt. This thing scared me when I took it out of the box. Despite being the largest size they make, XL, it was tiny. I mean really, really small. Like about the size of an infant onesie. Yes it had a lot of stretch just like the underwear but whoa nelly it took some work to put on. Once I had it in position I felt like a stuffed sausage ready to burst out of it's skin. I knew it would be about 12 hours before I would be able to take it off so for a moment I thought I had better take it off but I ended up deciding to jump in with both feet and give it a go.

I found a couple of real benefits to wearing this super-girdle like undershirt. First, no t-shirt riding up. This things gets into place and it stays in place. Second, I definitely felt trimmer. Considering that it was pressing all my fat into my insides that isn't surprising. I didn't do much activity throughout the day but I would say it stayed feeling pretty comfortable once I got used to it.

Here someone does a better job than I extolling it's benefits:

Engineered with HELIX-MAPPING™technology, the CORE PRECISION™UNDERSHIRT builds-in physiotherapy taping techniques to sculpt, tone and improve body mechanics. With seamless stitching and targeted ventilation, they fit like a second skin, delivering the ultimate fusion of fashion and function. Ideal for tailoring your body under clothes to providing everyday ergonomic support to improving form during sport.

In addition to the v-neck which I tried it also comes in long sleeve and tank top varieties – all of which retail for $99 each. Again, these are not made for those of us who like to buy a 10-pack of tidy whities at Sam's Club every once in a while. This is serious stuff. For $10 more you can get Extra-High compression. Extra-high?? Wow, I can't even imagine.

All in all I was very impressed with the quality of the Equmen Precision Underwear and Undershirt that I was able to try out. If you have the money to pay for good quality and you could benefit from the support you get from these then I say "go for it!"

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Equmen Precision Underwear and Undershirt

After seeing Andrew's recent post This is what I eat I realized how helpful it would be to my own habits if I forced myself to record everything I ate during the day. I've tried journaling my meals before and failed miserably but I'm hoping that taking pictures will help the process. My camera phone isn't the best, particularly in low light, but it is serviceable.

You can also join in the action by rating how you think I did, using whatever criteria you wish, by assigning my meals between 1 and 10 stars. Feel free to add some commentary in the comments too if you wish.

As I tweeted this morning, I got off to a bad start by not capturing my breakfast correctly. I took the picture and mailed it to myself but then I deleted it from my camera and then I realized I never got the email. So that wasn't good. I had a nice breakfast too – single portion of hot oatmeal with raisins and a splash of skim milk, a banana, two clementines and a yogurt.

Don't look too close at the grapes I had for a mid-morning snack – they were the dregs of the bowl and were almost ready to start making wine. But I rescued them.

Lunch was a bowl of Progresso tomato soup (220 cals), 11 tortilla chips (150 cal – you don't even want to know how many I normally would eat), a few radishes, a carrot and some yogurt.

Two afternoon snacks, one was a protein bar and the other a kohlrabi, one of my all-time favorite vegetables.

For dinner I had a 2 egg omelet with shallots and a slice of provolone, a dry slice of English Muffin bread and a bunch of red grapes (the ones I had earlier were purple grapes).

Had about 5 pieces of gum throughout the day, drank 5-6 glasses of water.

So how do you think I did?

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Rate my Meals – 2010-02-06

This is a guest post by Janette, a weight loss industry professional.

A well-balanced diet is an essential part of leading a healthy life. In order to have a good diet, one needs to include a variety of foods to ensure you are getting the nutrients that each food group has to offer. Healthy diets almost always contain fish, a protein food with fewer calories than other meat sources. In addition, many weight loss programs recommend increasing the amount of fish in your diet because it's lower in saturated fat than red meat. Fish contains healthy fats that will reduce your cholesterol and improve your health. Fish also contain Omega-3 fatty acids that help keep your heart healthy and fish have been shown to be an important part of healthy diets around the world.

HDL cholesterol is often called the good cholesterol, as it has been found to be protective of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, substituting fish for meat is one of the best dietary changes you can make for everyone in your family. The term "fatty fish" may sound unappealing, but actually fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, and trout are full of Omega-3 fatty acids which are good fats, as opposed to the bad saturated fat you find in most meats. In fact, fish is the only food that directly supplies large amounts of the Omega-3s that have been shown to cut the risk of heart attack and stroke. Omega-3s may also help prevent certain cancers, cognitive decline, and eye disease. Just why it happens is still being studied, but the American Heart Association says research has shown that omega-3 fatty acids contribute to a decreased risk of sudden death and arrhythmia; decreased thrombosis (blood clots); and lower blood pressure. And Omega-3s also show promise for reducing the risk of dementia, arthritis, asthma and kidney disease. It’s clear why these fish should be a staple of everyone's heart-healthy diet.

Studies have shown that fish also alleviates other ailments like prostate cancer, depression and inflammation. A Swedish study shows that men who did not eat fish doubled their risk of developing prostate cancer compared to those that did. Fish also contains selenium, thought to have cancer-fighting properties. The omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish are believed to raise levels of the brain chemical serotonin, which aids in reducing depression and the omega 3s, also regulate the body's inflammation cycle, which prevents and relieves painful conditions like arthritis and cystitis.

The facts are clear. If you want to be healthier, make sure you eat a lot of fish. So, the next time you're passing your local fish market, get out of the car and take home some fish…you'll live longer than those people who've driven by without stopping. Bake, poach, grill or steam your fish, but don't fry it. Both pan-frying and deep-frying fish can destroy those beneficial Omega-3s. So, cook the fish yourself at home, perhaps with some freshly squeezed lemon (and maybe even serve it with a bottle of white wine). Your body will thank you!

John says, "my kids loved baked salmon so I do get a chance to make that every once in a while, but my wife isn't a huge fish fan so that makes it harder. But I love a simple baked fish!"

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

The Dietary Benefits of Eating Fish

Read below to learn how you can easily win one of these gift boxes too!

Disclaimer: A representative for the California Raisin Marketing Board provided this gift pack, however the opinions shared are purely my own.

The Super Bowl is coming up next week and I'm planning to do better than I did eating-wise last year, where the super bowl snacks were downed early and often. Liz, a representative for the California Raisin Marketing Board, read that post and had a suggestion for me: Try a new, healthier recipe that might go over well at this year's party.

And she offered more than the recipe, she actually ended up sending all of the fixings and then some:

In addition to the food items she included a giant football bowl, a raisin hat and a cute little raisin guy that my daughter called dibs on.

According to the California Raisin Marketing Board here are three reasons why California Raisins are a wise choice for game-day snacking:

• Just 1/4 cup of raisins equals a serving of fruit for adults
• California Raisins are fat- and cholesterol-free.
• Raisins deliver important health components, such as fiber, potassium and antioxidants

Here is the recipe for California Raisins Five-Spice Popcorn Snack Mix:

Ingredients:
1 bag (97% fat-free) microwave popcorn, popped
1/4 cup sesame sticks
1/2 teaspoon each: garlic powder and onion powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
1/2 cup crisp chow main noodles
Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup California Raisins

Directions:
Stir together all ingredients except raisins in a large bowl. Spray mixture liberally with cooking spray and toss with your hands, repeating until popcorn is well coated with spices; stir in raisins.

I have to admit the results were pretty tasty. I especially like the combination of the Chinese 5-Spice and the Cayenne pepper. One thing I didn't like is that everything except the popcorn went to the bottom of the bowl (I had to stage the picture!), meaning you really had to dig to get some of the goodies like the raisins. It felt more like a popcorn snack than a raisin snack, although I'm sure it wasn't their intention to have the raisins be the star of this show. Check out their original Five-Spice Snack Mix recipe.

Now, want to hear the best part? You too can get one of these boxes full of all the ingredients to make this recipe and then some. All you need to do is comment on this post, link to this post, tweet about this post or re-tweet my tweet about this article (1 entry for each method), and I'll enter you in a random drawing. I will not be accepting entrants from contest blogs. This is going to be a short contest period so your odds of winning should be very good. Contest closes at 9:00PM CST, Monday, February 1st. That's tomorrow. That way we should have enough time to get the box sent out to you in time for your Super Bowl Party.

Good luck!

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Super Bowl Snack – California Raisins Five-Spice Popcorn Snack Mix

Where did January go?! Can't believe that this Monday is already February. That's another month gone that I won't be getting back. I'm in a weight loss contest at work that started on the 11th (why not start on January 1st??) and goes for six months. It hasn't motivated me like I thought it would, yet, but I'm going to try to focus today and see how it goes. Read an inspiring post by Tony this morning. Got a DM Tweet from Andrew reminding me to stick with it. Thanks guys. Shedding weight is hard work. Everyone once in a while it pays to focus on shedding weight in a variety of forms and here today I'm going to do some shedding of weight that has been building up by my own accord.

People send me stuff. This is one of the benefits of having a blog where I occasionally write about products. People send me stuff, and they hope I will write about their stuff. Of course I am sure they hope I write positively about their stuff. Sometimes that works out (I still use my Sansa Clip, love it) and sometimes it doesn't (thank you for your samples POM Wonderful people, but that stuff is just nasty).

Alas, my posting schedule has been slower than the pace at which products to review have piled up. I'm under no obligation to write about any of these products, yet I really should. I appreciate the opportunities I have had to eat, play or test these products and I should have done a full-blown review of each and every one of them. And I hope I can do more of that in the future. But for now I have to shed the weight of responsibilty I am currently feeling by having a chestfull of products that I haven't written about that I should mention in some way.

So, please indulge me as I lighten the load.

Bill from EatSmart sent me a simple but really cool Digital Kitchen Scale. I have a really lame old mechanical postage scale at home that gets occasional use (think pinewood derby car weighing rather than food), and this morning that's going in the garbage. Digital is the way to go, baby! EatSmart offers a variety of different scales including a higher end food scale that would probably be of interest to some of you. I've never been able to get into weighing my food. Here is how simple this scale is to use. Click the on button. Boom, shows 0g. Not wanting to risk scratching the gorgeous chrome plate I put a piece of paper on it to protect it. Whoops, now it says 2g. Hit the on button again to zero it out to 0g. Now I can put a quarter on there safely and see that it weighs 6g. Well what do you know! Simple example. but it really is that simple. I like this scale and it goes into the workshop for a proper duty weighing things instead of sitting in it's box on a shelf.

Dennis from Aurorae Yoga Mats sent me a yoga mat. Now, when he first offered to send me one I made it pretty clear I wasn't a yoga guy, but he sent it anyway. And I'm glad he did because it's pretty handy. But I pretty much just use it for stretching, when I do such a thing, and not for yoga but who knows maybe I will turn into a yoga guy. Aurorae offers a variety of different colored mats that "define your inner self" – I have an infinity mat which means "Strength, Sophistication, Professionalism, Potential of Endless Possibilities". The Aurorae yoga mat is an extra long yoga mat at 72"x24"x1/4" (although I'll have to take them at their word that is extra large compared to other yoga mats as this is my only one) and it looks good and doesn't smell funny, two things I suspect are important in a mat you may be schlepping around to yoga class. It unrolled and stayed unrolled very quickly and easily and it only took about 2 minutes for one of our cats to decide it was a great place for her yoga – and I couldn't keep her off of it for awhile. If yoga is your thing, check out Aurorae Yoga Mats.

The kind folks at Kraft sent me a huge box stuffed with a variety of Crystal Light Frozen Pops and Lemon Ices. The kids were excited about the shipment not just because they got to sample the treats but because it came shipped with a big block of dry ice. Who doesn't like dry ice? Good thing it came that way too because our freezer was full. Oh wait, we live in Minnesota. OK, just throw the box on the deck outside, that will work. The box actually helped insulate the frozen pops from the cold. That's life in Minnesota where you need to worry about your frozen pops getting too cold. My car thermometer read -12F yesterday morning as an example. Yeah, it's cold here. But let me tell you those Crystal Light frozen pops are low calorie but very delicious. Go to the website to request a coupon – I just did even though I still have some samples left. Good stuff.

Anna from Authors On The Web sent me a copy of Power Up: Unleash Your Natural Energy, Revitalize Your Health, and Feel 10 Years Younger, although interestingly enough when she sent it to me it was actually called "The Source" instead of "Power Up" although it is the same book. I suspect some marketing person decided that was a better name. According to the inner sleeve "The Source is the most comprehenisive., authoritative , and cutting-edge health guide avaiable on how to power up your energy, your health and your life." As I started to write this paragraph I skimmed through the book for the first time and I have to say it was compelling reading. I don't make time to read much these days like I should, hence one reason for this book having sat on the shelf, yet now that I have taken a peek at it I think I may be doing some more things with this book so stay tuned for that. The ideas presented look promising and I could see how it could help me.

Last but not least is the Mio Stride Heart Rate Monitor Watch. The selling point of this heartrate monitor watch is that it doesn't recquire a chest strap, which I know will appeal to some people. I actually like putting on the strap and my current monitor works well, so I really don't want to crack open the box on this thing. Rather, I'm going to give it away. So, if you are still with me at this point, you live in the US (sorry Andrew!) and you would like a brand spanking new heart rate watch that has never been opened, be the first commenter to say "I'll take that watch!" and I'll contact you privately to arrange shipment.

There, a little weight shed and I feel better. Now on to the real stuff.

Check out this list of fitness gadgets John is Fit readers have been buying this quarter.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

It's a New Year – Time to Shed Some Weight

2009 was definitely a tough year for me on the health front but I've stayed with it and am committed to finding a way to be successful – and this blog and you my great readers are a couple of those things that are going to get me there. I thought it would be interesting to recap which posts were the most popular over 2009 as rated by a plugin I use on here called Popularity Contest. Popularity Contest keeps a count of the post, category and archive views, comments, trackbacks, etc. and uses them to determine which posts are most popular. There are numerical values assigned to each type of view and feedback; these are used to create a 'popularity score' for each post.

Here are my most popular articles written in 2009:

#10 – Successfully Losing Weight in Your Forties
Featured a video from The Today Show featuring Grandma Brenda Willis who lost 140 pounds in her forties. What I liked most about her story, other than her age, was that she dropped all of that weight (248 to 108!) by starting with a slow and steady approach of "starting to eliminate things from her diet one at a time" and adding exercise "one step at a time."

#9 – On Tour With a Weight Loss Rock Star
This post was part of a virtual blog tour being conducted by Jennette Fulda, author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir. Later in the year I would meet the woman known as PastaQueen at a Nutrilite Bloggers event. Oh, and she did my website redesign. Thanks Jennette!

#8 – Do You Binge Eat Like Me?
I claimed my method of binge eating was different than others but all the great comments seem to say that there are a lot of people struggling in a similar way.

#7 – Eating at a Super Bowl Party
In the interest of full disclosure I recapped everything I ate at this year's Super Bowl party – and the results weren't pretty.

#6 – 5 Things I Have Learned Since Gaining The Weight Back
I summed up this post by asking: So that's some things I have learned. But will I take them to heart? Unfortunately at this point I would say the answer is no.

#5 – I Am The World's Worst Weight Loss Blogger
I wrote: Not only have I been ignoring my blog and my health but I have been ignoring my fellow weight loss bloggers out there. I haven't been reading about your progress or your struggles and I have not been joining in on the conversation. I feel bad about that. I'm not providing support in any way and that's what this community is about. I'm still not doing a great job with that and I am hoping I can do more of it in 2010.

#4 – Music Infused Headband by i360
This was a product review for a pretty cool headband that let you plug your iPod right into it. I haven't been using it much since well, I haven't been running but then even when I was it was indoors and this was too hot. But I think it would be great out in the winter and maybe I still have a chance to use mine. I held a contest for a free one and MizFit won it.

#3 – Weekly Update – 2/22/2009
I hadn't been doping updates for awhile so this was the first one in many moons and I was hoping it would lead to doing them regularly in 2009 but it didn't happen. Really need to do this in 2010.

#2 – 9 Weight Loss Bloggers' Favorite Fitness Gadget
I thought it would be interesting to hear from other weight loss bloggers what gadgets they use in their journey, so I asked a handful of bloggers from my blogroll "What is your favorite fitness gadget and why?" Leave it to Shauna from The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl to pick the Enell Sports Bra – I didn't see that one coming!

#1 – Whey Protein and Weight Loss
I published 13 guest posts in 2009 and as it happens one of them, this one, was the most popular post of 2009 on my blog. David Stanhope from Whey Protein King shared his knowledge of whey protein.

While a challenging year on many fronts I did have fun finding creative ways to learn and share about health and fitness and I just want to thank all of you have stuck with me despite my complete and utter failure as the weight loss role model I really wanted to be. It isn't too late for me though, so here's to a great and successful 2010 to all of us.

Happy New Year!

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

2009 Popular Posts

A little post-Christmas, pre-New Years reflecting:

When I make peanut butter toast for my kids I spread a very thin dollop of peanut butter on one slice of bread. When I make peanut butter toast for myself I spread as much peanut butter as my knife will hold and I slather on it two slices of bread, usually just making a sandwich out of it, maybe even slicing some bananas on to it or if I am feeling particularly rambunctious – some bacon. Why do I do that?

Sometimes when I am hungry I'll find myself grazing in the pantry. I'll have some crunchy chips, then contrast that with some yogurt. At some point I'll send up with something sweet like chocolate. You would think that would be the end of it, right? Sweet to end the grazing run? But no – I'll often start the cycle right back up with salty again. Why do I do that?

Monday's are a great day to start a new routine. I can't tell you how many times I have done a nice amount of exercise on a Monday, or limited my food very well on a Monday, or did just about whatever I said I was going to do each day of the week on a Monday. Yet on Tuesday I'm back to my old habits. Why do I do that?

I know there is no reason to wait until January 1st to start being healthy, that I should just start whenever it is I get to thinking that I should start. I know that I shouldn't have a "last good meal" before starting to eat better. I know that I shouldn't wait to start my diet until the weight loss contest at work starts. I know all these things yet I tend to do them anyway. Why do I do that?

I know that I eat too fast and that when I eat too fast I tend to eat too much. I know that buffets are terrible for me. I know that I'll get full eating appetizers at a party yet I'll have a full dinner anyway. Why do I do that?

I know how good I feel when I exercise, yet I don't.

I know how good I feel when I fit into my clothes, yet I'm not doing anything about it.

I know how good it feels to have people complement me when I have lost weight, yet I can't use that to inspire me.

I know I need to get healthy to be here for my family, yet I'm not making the changes I need to make.

Why don't I do that?

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Why Do I Do The Things That I Do?

This is a guest post by Shaun Connell.

A pull up bar is an excellent purchase option for anyone looking to buy some home exercise equipment with a small budget and minimal work out space. A pull up bar can be purchased for as little as $30 and can be installed easily in your door frame. A great benefit of using a pull up bar for exercising is that several different exercises which focus on all areas of the body can be completed on the pull up bar and require little additional equipment to be purchased. This article focuses on several exercises which can be combined into a fully body workout.

The first exercise to be completed with the pull up bar is the standard pull up. To perform a pull up you will need to place your hands on the pull up bar, with your palms facing away. While hanging on the bar, allow yourself to lower and if necessary bend your knees so you are hanging freely by your arms from the bar. Once you arms are straightened, pull yourself up until your chin is at the same level as the bar, then lower yourself and repeat until you tire. If you would like to add resistance, you can add either ankle weights or a weight belt. A pull up is an excellent exercise and strengthens both your upper back muscles and your biceps. By alternating the locations of your hands on the pull up bar, you will work slightly different muscles in your back and arms and get an even better workout.

The next exercise to be completed with the pull up bar is the hanging hip raise. To perform a hanging hip raise, you will want to place your hands on the pull up bar, and allow yourself to hang freely with your arms straightened (similar to the first step of a pull up). For the hanging hip raise, instead of pulling yourself up with your arms, you will want to keep your legs together and raise your bended knees as high as you can. Then lower your legs and repeat until you tire. The hanging hip raise will exercise both your hips and your abdomen. To increase resistance, you can add ankle weights.

The next exercise which can be performed with the use of a pull up bar is a standing cable chest fly. To perform this exercise, you will need two resistance cables with hand grips. These cables can be purchased for less than $20 and can be found with a variety of resistance levels. To perform the cable chest fly, you will need to tie the end of the cables without the hand grip to the pull up bar. The cables should be tied at least a foot more than shoulder width apart.

Once the cables are installed, you will want to stand with your back to the pull up bar and with a cable grip in each hand. Then while leaning forward attempt to push your arms forward and extend the cables. Once your arms are extended, slowly bring your hands back, and then repeat until you tire. This exercise will strengthen your back and pectoral muscles. This exercise can't be used with a doorway chin up bar, of course.

The last exercise which can be completed with a pull up bar is vertical jump. This exercise simply requires you to stand underneath the pull up bar, and attempt to jump high enough to touch the bar. Repeat the vertical jump until you tire. This exercise would be better if the pull up bar is at least 9 fee high off the ground. The vertical jump exercise will strengthen most of your leg muscles, while also providing an excellent cardiovascular option. To make the exercise more difficult, you can either raise the pull up bar, or add ankle or belt weights.

Incorporating these exercises into your workout routine will help ensure that you truly get a full body workout.

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

The Pull-Up Bar Workout

So as you have probably noticed, this was the week of the guest post. Not sure exactly how it happened to be honest since I never really went out there recruiting for them, it just sort of happened. But I am glad that it did as I think it's fun to see other perspectives and topics that I wouldn't normally write about.

Here is a recap of the week:

Monday
Isagenix Nutritional Cleanse and Replenishment Program
Mike O'Donnell is a former Naval Officer and a college English professor. After a dramatic body and life transformation with IsAgenix last year, in which he shed 40 pounds, he is now a Nutritional Cleansing Coach. In this article Mike writes about his experiences with Isagenix.

Tuesday
It's All About The Belly Fat
Kalvin C. Chinyere, M.D. is a physician who lost 140 pounds naturally. He has two sites. One discusses Visceral Fat and the other discusses Obesity in America. In this article Kal writes about the evil that is belly fat.

Wednesday
The Importance of Mindset in Losing Weight
Michael Berton is the developer of SubliminalWeightPro™ – a software that automatically programs your mind to lose weight. SubliminalWeightPro™ works on the background and sends subliminal messages that are designed to instill positive mindset, create positive beliefs, destroy bad habits and eventually lead to a natural weight loss. In this article Michael writes about the importance of mindset in losing weight.

Thursday
Bye-Bye Big Guy’s Lucky 7 Holiday Party Eating Tips
The “Bye Bye Big Guy” movement is the brainchild of fitness advocate Freddy McCloud. Freddy realized that he had much to give and share by creating a site to help encourage others to achieve their fitness goals and live a healthier lifestyle. He has lost over a hundred pounds and continues his journey. Follow him at byebyebigguy.com. In this article Freddy shares 7 holiday party eating tips to help get you through the holiday season.

Friday
Find a Personal Trainer That's Custom-Made For Your Needs
Scott Gray is currently a fitness enthusiast who enjoys providing health and fitness tips. He maintains a fitness web site where you can find tips on how to lose belly fat and how to get and stay in shape. In this article Scott writes about the importance of finding that perfect trainer.

Saturday
Losing Fat The Engineered Way; My Weight Loss Story
Greg is a software engineer who tries to apply quantitative methodology in his transformation from fat to fit while showcasing his experience for public accountability and mutual support. You can read more about his transformation progress at his blog, www.gregstransformation.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/gregstransform. In this article Greg shares his personal weight loss story.

Sunday
Don't Procrastinate On Weight Loss, Take Small Steps Now
Mary writes her own healthy living and weight loss blog where she has proven small bits of forward progress add up to weight loss, since she has managed to lose 30 pounds. In this article Mary gives tips on taking those small little steps that will help move your weight loss program forward.

What a diverse bunch of posts! Which was your favorite?

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Recapping a Week of Guest Posts

This is a guest post by Mary from A Merry Life.

I love John's blog because he has so much great information from his old posts and from his latest guest posts. But one thing that is missing? Action.

John even mentioned it himself when he wrote about his new blog design. He has been putting off the weight loss in favor of other things. I don't mean to be calling him out, especially in a guest post on his blog (how rude!), but I used to be just like this and hate seeing it happen to other people.

It is very easy to procrastinate and put other things in front of your weight loss. I know how easy it is because we all have things in our life that are important and need attention besides weight loss. In fact, losing weight usually ends up being one of those annoying things that takes more effort and time than we want to give it. We have to spend time preparing food, getting ready for the gym, working out, reading up on nutrition and other health related topics. Sometimes it just seems like so much work that it is best to save it for later when we have more time.

But that plan of attack rarely works. When we put off making a healthy lifestyle change we lose time that we can't get back. Our weight keeps creeping up and we
create a larger problem to fix when we finally "get around to it."

Instead, I say we take baby steps toward weight loss. If you don't do anything healthy at all, commit to making just one healthy choice a day. Just one! And then do it again the next day. And the next. And then, when you are used to making one healthy choice a day, add another. And so on.

You don't have to change your entire life now and completely abandon everything to start losing weight. You can take baby steps that will add up to great weight loss progress over time. I know it works because that's what I did. Step after step I learned how to eat healthy foods, exercise, and treat my body well. It didn't happen overnight. It happened because instead of procrastinating I made a couple healthy changes over and over again.

So if you are still out there putting off being healthy, stop now and do one healthy thing. Drink a glass of water. Eat a salad. Go walk for 10 minutes. Just choose one thing today and take that first baby step. Chances are you will build a better foundation for living a healthy life and weight loss than if you keep putting everything off until later.

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Don't Procrastinate On Weight Loss, Take Small Steps Now

This is a guest post by Greg from gregstransformation.com

Losing fat, and I purposely use the word fat not weight, is not an easy task. If it was easy everyone would be in great shape. The weight loss/fat loss industry is a multi-billion dollar business to help people in the task of weight loss. It is also an industry that is full of misrepresentation and misinformation. When I started my transformation progress I tried to cut through the bull and find what really matters. Here is what I came up with so far on my journey from fat to fit.

Early Days

I wasn't always fat. I was actually a pretty healthy skinny kid growing up who spent a lot of time outdoors with friends just roaming our neighborhood on our bicycles. I was actively involved in sports by the time I was 10 and I have continued to excel in long distance and cross country running throughout the years. By age 14 I could run 5-minute miles and finish a 10k race under 35 minutes. I also ran my first, and only, marathon at age 13 and finished in 3 hours and 26 minutes. I ran five days a week and swam three times a week for an hour. I felt like I was invincible and on the top of the world.

Transformation From Fit To Fat

My problems started in high school. I quit athletics completely, I had started spending time in front of my computer instead of outside on my bicycle. The only thing that didn't change was my eating habits and appetite. I could still eat incredible amounts of food but I was no longer burning them off. Slowly but surely I gained weight. My classmates noticed it and started calling me fatty even though I was still well under the 200 lbs mark. Some would still have considered me fit but I was far cry from my lean athlete physique I once held. I knew that things were heading in the wrong direction.

By the time I started college I was already pegging the scale at 200 lbs and I managed to add a "freshman 20" to that number. I was up to 220 lbs by my sophomore year. I reached my all time high of 240 lbs right at graduation which has also coincided with my wedding. My graduation and wedding pictures were ruined by the terrible blob I had become. But it wasn't enough to get me to change.

First Try And Failure

In 2002, I had finally decided things could not go this way any longer. I started walking around the block every night and joined a gym. I managed to drop my weight in 6 months to around 210 lbs and by the time my wife graduated from college I felt a lot better. But this transformation was a failure. I failed because I only changed one thing and I only changed it temporarily. The only thing I changed was that I walked in the evenings and after I lost 30 lbs I quit exercising and went back to my original sedentary lifestyle. I never bothered to look at the other side of the equation — diet and nutrition.

Second Chance

By October, 2009 I was pegging the scale close to the 240 lbs mark again which seems to be my deadly threshold where I say "enough is enough". One day in October I went on-line and stumbled upon a message board thread about fat to fit transformations. It had numerous photos of men and women losing tremendous amounts of weight and transforming themselves from obese to lean and mean. I thought to myself "What is different about them, why can they do it and why can't I?" And I have realized there was really no difference, they just did it and so could I. I have also witnessed two co-workers transform from fat to fit in the last couple of years and I thought "if they can do it, I can do it too!" So I started my adventure!

Doing My Homework

I'm the kind of person who when they get something in their head they really go after it. I'm a perfectionist. I like to know everything about how things work and why they work that way. I'm an engineer with an engineer mind. When I started paintball I had to know about all the equipment that was available, who made the best equipment, what made it the best, was it really justified to spend thousands of dollars on paintball equipment or was it just marketing hype? When I was involved in remote control car racing I would constantly research the best modifications and the latest parts that you could use to make your race car better. I am no different with my fat loss program.

I knew for me to succeed I had to find what works and what doesn't. What is myth and what is truth. What is important and what isn't. So I did some research. The Internet has helped me tremendously in finding out about proper nutrition, diet and exercise. I also knew that I would have to have quantitative, objective goals and results. I couldn't just wing it; I had to go all in. This might have been a mighty long introduction for a short set of tips but I wanted you to know where I was coming from and how I got where I did. I have tried to condense all the research that I have done into a basic, easily digestible and followable plan. I'm not saying the things on the list are easy to do, I'm just saying they're easy to follow.

1. Eat Less Than You Burn

This is the number one rule of fat loss. If you eat fewer calories than your body needs, you will lose weight. No "ifs" or "buts" about it. If you eat more calories than you need you will gain weight. Period. Keeping this very simple rule in front of you will make or break your fat loss goal.

2. Do The Math Right

People tend to overestimate the calories they burn while exercising and they tend to underestimate the calories they eat. My favorite tools are a Polar Heart Rate Monitor that uses VO2 estimation to measure my caloric expenditure while exercising and NutritionData along with a kitchen scale to know exactly how many calories I eat in a day. My heart rate monitor constantly reads much lower than the elliptical machine or treadmill when it comes to calories burned and I'm constantly surprised just how small a pile 1 oz of almonds really is; it's 28 pieces, yet packs 210 calories. Without doing the math right you're shooting in the dark. People also fail to calculate their true basal metabolic rate correctly. Just because you go to the gym and lift weights 3 times a week does not mean you can eat another 500 calories every day. I recommend this website to calculate your BMR/RMR. I also recommend estimating your BMR/RMR at a sedentary rate even if you work out and would consider yourself active. If you are overweight, you are not active enough to make a difference, trust me.

3. Fend Off Hunger By Eating Vegetables

The biggest problem people face on a low calorie diet is that they're constantly hungry. They're constantly hungry because they don't eat enough. They don't eat enough because they can't eat so much of the calorie dense foods they have been eating and still maintain a caloric deficit. What people tend to do is cut their portions in half but eat the same thing as before. Now they feel hungry because their stomach is no longer full. To solve this dilemma the best solution is vegetables. Instead of eating two cups of rice with your 8 oz steak, eat a half a cup of rice, a cup of green beans and a cup of broccoli with 4oz of steak. I guarantee you will be just as full as before yet with the fraction of calories. I am eating 1,700 calories in a day and I walk away full every time from the table. A cup of green beans has 30 calories while a cup of rice has 200 yet they fill you up about the same.

4. Strength Exercise Retains Muscles

When you're on a diet your body is in a deprived state. It would like to turn whatever it can into energy. It will turn your muscles into energy and make them disappear making you skinny-fat. That is unless you use them. Every time you exercise you're sending signals to your body saying "hey, I need these muscles, please don't turn them into energy!". And your body will comply. It will use fat and retain your muscle weight. You want to lose fat, not weight. And when I say work your muscles I don't mean spending hours upon hours at the gym. Do some squats, lunges, push-ups and invest in a Chin-up bar. Squats and lunges will work your your legs, push-ups will work your chest and triceps, a chin-up bar will work your back and biceps. If you have access to a gym, you should still only concentrate on what they call compound movements; exercises that move multiple muscle groups instead of a small isolated set. You don't need to do preacher curls and wrist rollers to keep your muscles during your fat loss progress. Leave those exercises alone, they are a waste of your precious time at this point.

5. Protein Is Your Friend

A big problem with living on a caloric deficit is that your body does not get enough protein. USDA recommends your nutrition should come from 15%-30% protein. If you already ate protein at the 15% rate while eating 2,400 calories you're eating very little protein by the time you reduce your calories to 1,700 or even below. You need to eat protein. You can get it from egg whites, nuts, peanut butter, chicken, turkey. My problem has been that I can only eat so much of those before I get sick of them. So I started drinking protein shakes once a day adding 40-50g protein to my diet. 50 grams of pure protein is 200 calories. Any kind of protein shake will do as long as you can stomach the taste and it's low in carbohydrates and fats. If you don't eat enough protein to maintain your muscles your body will shed them and you will lose them along with fat. How much protein is enough? I'd recommend around 1 gram per lean body mass pound per day. For example if you weigh 250 lbs and your body fat percentage is 35% your lean body mass is 250 * (100%-35%)= 162.5 lbs. You should probably eat about 160 g of protein every day. Since protein contains 4 grams of calories per gram that is 640 calories from protein in a day. The rest of your calories can come from any of the other two sources, fat or carbohydrates.

6. Macronutrients Matter

Macronutrients, the caloric distribution of fats, carbohydrates and protein in your diet, play a role in how easily you can maintain your diet. I have already mentioned proteins and the minimum you should be consuming. The benefit of eating less fat and more carbohydrates for the rest of your calories is going to be volume. While 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories carbohydrates only contain 4 calories per gram. It means you can eat twice as much sugar than lard to get the same caloric intake. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying you should eat sugar and lard! Quite the opposite. You should eat plenty of complex carbohydrates that can be found in vegetables and whole grains such as brown rice and eat healthy unsaturated fats that can be found in nuts and fish. The reason is volume. You can eat a lot more of these foods than sugar cookies for the same amount of caloric intake.

7. Cardio Is Not A Must But Helps

A lot of people start their weight loss endeavor by getting on a treadmill or elliptical machine or walk around the block and assume that will solve all their weight problems. Unfortunately it will not work by itself unless it's part of a complete lifestyle change which includes proper diet and strength training. If you need to give up one of these three pillars of fat loss, diet, strength training and cardio, the first should be cardio exercise and the last should be diet. To make my point I'm just going to ask one question: Which is easier or fits better into any schedule? Not eating a Snicker's bar or walking for 30 minutes? Both make a 270 calorie difference. I'd rather give up the Snicker's bar than have to get on the elliptical for half an hour. If your diet is in order and you are on a steady weight loss pace you can certainly accelerate it by doing some cardio exercise. However, cardio workouts have benefits besides weight loss and they should be part of a complete healthy lifestyle.

8. Don't Sweat The Petty Things

While the previous list of advice might seem very strict and detailed it only scratches the surface when it comes to diet and fat loss myths and methods. With nutrition you can get involved in discussions around saturated fats, sodium intake, whether refined sugars are the root of all evil, whether carbs should be banned from any diet, or whether refined grains are the "white death". With strength exercise you can worry about how many reps and how many sets of each exercise you should do. Do I lift heavy weights or do I do more reps? Do I exercise my muscle groups once a week to give them time to recover or do I exercise everything every day? On the cardio front you can argue whether low intensity steady speed (LISS) or high intensity interval training (HIIT) is the way to go. Should I stay in the fat burning zone or should I try to get a real cardiovascular workout at a higher heart rate? Is it better to exercise on an empty stomach first thing in the morning or should you eat some carbs and protein before exercise? While all these things sound important and can make a difference they are insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Concentrate on the basics and stick with those.

If bedtime LISS cardio fits your schedule the best what does it matter that a morning fasted HIIT one might give you marginally better results? If one doesn't fit your lifestyle but the other one does, do that one! It's still a lot better to walk around the block every night for 45 minutes than forcing yourself to get up in the morning twice a week and try to hit the gym and get worn out and tired of it. Do what works for you!

9. Try New Things

Since I have started my transformation I have tried more new food items than I have tried in the past decade. I never thought I would enjoy eating 7 cups of raw baby spinach in one sitting. I never imagined that non-fat plain yogurt can be so refreshing in the morning with a couple of almonds and strawberries. I didn't know that farm raised salmon tastes fatty and yucky when you eat it right after you ate some Alaskan king salmon from the wild just a week prior. I didn't know that shrimp has nothing but pure protein in it and it's very calorie scarce meaning you can eat a bucket load of it guilt free as long as you grill it instead of batter frying it. I didn't know Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) was an Aztec power food that contains all essential amino acids and tastes great. I never would have thought that you can buy the frozen vegetables at the store, zap them in the microwave in 3 minutes and they're ready to eat. I recommend for you to experiment and try new foods, you might actually like broccoli after all.

My Success

At this point you might think this sound way too complicated plus I want to see some results. I have been taking my own advice to heart and went at it full steam for the past 8 weeks. I'm not going to lie and tell you it was easy. It wasn't. It takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice. But something that looks like a sacrifice at first will become second nature and a new good habit as time goes on. Who would have thought that I can watch TV while doing cardio on the elliptical instead of laying in bed with a bag of chips? My transformation progress is an open book. I keep a public record of all my nutritional and exercise choices on my blog. There are no magic pills or secret elixirs involved but a lot of dedicated time and effort. While a lot of people would consider losing 27 lbs in 8 weeks a success, I only consider it the tip of the iceberg. Since the beginning of my transformation I went from 237 lbs to 210 lbs. My body fat % dropped from 38.7% to 31.2% which means I have retained all my lean muscle mass in the process and I have lost almost 4.5" off my waist. I feel excellent and I skip on the stairs at work. People walk up to me and ask me if I had lost weight. It is a great feeling. But I would not consider it success. I think I'm far from it. I need to lose another 50 lbs to be where I want to be in terms of body composition and I need to maintain it for the rest of my life. Based on my 8 week ride I know I can do it. You'll just have to tag along and do it with me.

Greg is a software engineer who tries to apply quantitative methodology in his transformation from fat to fit while showcasing his experience for public accountability and mutual support. You can read more about his transformation progress at his blog, www.gregstransformation.com or his Twitter page at twitter.com/gregstransform

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Losing Fat The Engineered Way; My Weight Loss Story

This is a guest post by Scott Gray from FitnessTips101.com.

If you've been struggling for a long time in your goal of losing weight and reducing belly fat, it may be time for you to find a personal trainer. People hire personal trainers for a number of reasons, but the main reason is to help them get the most out of their work out and give them the motivation and support they need to continue.

Many people try to exercise on their own at home, but get discouraged because they don't see instant results or results as quickly as they'd expect. A personal trainer may be able to see results that you can't see and, therefore, will help you get further results with their recommendations. They can also give you tips for what exercises will work best for you, as well as what equipment you may need. If you cannot go to a gym or work station, a good personal trainer can come to your home for sessions.

A trainer can set up a program for you based on a number of things. These things will include your personal goals, the time you have to dedicate to training, the money you can spend and any special needs you may have, such as health problems. If you decide to find a personal trainer, you apparently have specific goals in mind, whether it's losing weight, getting in shape for an event or just improving your overall fitness.

Regardless of your reasons, your decision to find a personal trainer should be your dedication to getting the best possible help in your fitness program. If you're not completely dedicated or unsure of your goals and can't commit 100%, a fitness trainer is not a good choice. You'll just be wasting the trainer's time, as well as your own time – and money.

Once you've decided to find a trainer, you'll need to find the one that best fits into your schedule and pocketbook. You want a personal trainer that's affordable yet will be effective. The old saying, "you get what you pay for" will really ring true when searching for the right personal trainer. There are many ways you can find trainers in your area.

Your local YMCA or YWCA, school or Chamber of Commerce can often give you names of personal trainers in your area. They will not only give you a list of personal trainers, but also list any certifications they may have. When choosing a trainer, it's important to not only find one that's certified in his field, but also experienced. The Internet is also a great source of information and an excellent tool for helping you find a fitness trainer.

Some of the things you'll want to look for in a quality personal trainer may include:

• Certification in one or more areas of training
• Fees that are within the normal range for their education and experience
• A good rapport with you and other clients
• A willingness and flexibility to work with you on your goals
• Good reviews and recommendations from other clients

When you meet with your trainer, you'll want to learn as much about them as possible and what they can do to help you achieve your fitness goals. You also need to be a good client and be willing to work on the program the personal trainer sets for you. You should know from your first visit if the personal trainer is right for you by the way the two of you connect on your short- and long-term goals. These factors can help you find the right trainer. Then you’ll be well on your way towards getting in great shape and losing belly fat.

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Find a Personal Trainer That's Custom-Made For Your Needs

This is a guest post by Freddy McCloud from Bye Bye Big Guy.

Are you dreading the holiday season because of all the fattening treats that will be lurking at those holiday parties? Are you worried that those months of hard work will be sabotaged in just a few short weeks, as the shortbread cookies and eggnog litter the break rooms and kitchens this holiday season? Well not to worry, we here at byebyebigguy.com have got you covered. Below are 7 sure fire ways to ensure that you avoid the holiday pounds and not look like a heel while doing so. We have provided some tactful ways to avoid overeating even if your host insists you eat something.

1. Holiday tip number one – eat before you attend the party. If you're full already the chance of you over eating aren't as great. Have a light snack right before or munch on something on the way to the venue.
2. Earn it! If you know a holiday is coming make sure you are doing the work prior to the event, to be able to afford one bad day. And workout the day after as you would if it wasn't a holiday – heck you should train even HARDER!
3. Eat the good stuff! At every party there is something that is better than something else. Instead of reaching for that piece of cake opt for the deviled eggs. Instead of that hand full of candy opt for a hand full of nuts.
4. If alcohol is the problem, voluntary to be the designated driver. Nobody can get upset if you don’t drink because you’re the designated driver. So be the responsible one!
5. Plan! Make a plan, know who you're going with, what that atmosphere will be like, and if you can find out know what is on the menu. This way you can mentally prepare yourself for the temptations that you are facing.
6. Practice moderation. Pick the one thing you want the most and have it! If you practice moderation you can have the food you crave and not go too far of your diet.
7. If you are the one hosting the party try low fat or low sugar recipes. If you're attending a party suggests low ft recipes to the host or offer to bring a dish. Who knows the sugar-free potato pie might be the big hit of the party.

Bonus: If your host still insists that you eat something, take the food home. Give to someone who will enjoy the food. You can even give it to a homeless person, or the dog or cat. Worst case scenario you throw it away. But you won’t offend your host and you won't eat junk! I think these tips will help you have a fun holiday season without too much guilt. These tips aren't just for the holiday either they can be applied to any situation where party food or junk food might be the main course. The most important thing to remember is even if you do "fall off the wagon" pick yourself right back up and get right back on track. I firmly believe in the 80/20 rule, if you're good 80 percent of the time you will be successful at achieving your weight-loss.

Good luck in your journey and we are here to support you.

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Bye-Bye Big Guy’s Lucky 7 Holiday Party Eating Tips

This is a guest post by Michael Berton from SubliminalWeightPro™.

A proper and positive mindset is essential to almost all endeavors – and any professional athlete or businessman will agree. However, in diets and weight loss it is even more crucial – even all the knowledge about weight loss and workouts is useless without the proper mindset and attitude.

Most people focus more on the physical aspect of losing weight – exercise, proper eating and a balanced diet and they underestimate the need for a strong mindset. A proper attitude is not an extra but a crucial part, as it gives you great motivation, commitment and helps you achieve your goals of losing weight.

Losing weight is not easy. When sticking to a diet we are faced with constant temptations and distractions that have the potential of blocking us from achieving our goals and make ourselves healthier. A proper mindset makes this process easier and strengthens your self-discipline, and positive beliefs. It can also make the process fun and enjoyable, rather than hard and painful.

How to create a positive mindset? Start by setting a goal. Decide that in X months, you will weigh Y pounds. Your goal has to be set in a positive form ("I weigh 140 pounds" rather than "I am not over 140 pounds"), and to be specific. Specify an exact weight you wish to get to, and when you will reach this weight. Share your goals with your friends – this will make you committed to achieving it.

After settings goals, one needs to create a plan – a daily or weekly routine of actions designed to push towards ones goals. Another crucial part is building and maintaining new habits – both eating and exercising – and destroying the bad habits which are negative for our body and self-esteem. This is done by closely monitoring one's actions, identifying the habits which are not helpful and replacing them by good and healthy habits. First, it will be through conscious effort but after a while the new habits will become a integral part of ones behavior.

An important aspect of a strong mindset is proper associations. Usually, people attempting diets are treating it as a burden rather than a enjoyable journey to making themselves healthier. By changing the feelings that are associated to the process of losing weight, we can make it an enjoyable and easy task. A trick you can do at home, to create positive associations is to think of all the positive consequences that are the result of losing weight, and write them down. For example: "After losing weight, I will have a greater self-esteem", "After losing weight, I will have a greater confidence", "After losing weight, I will be healthier and live longer". Read the list every morning – soon, the positive feelings will be automatically associated with the process of losing weight and you will approach it with much positive attitude.

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The Importance of Mindset in Losing Weight

This is a guest post by Dr. Kal from Dr. Kal's Weight Loss Tips.

Photo credit: Paul Keleher

I often read many of the blogs in the Fatosphere. Fatosphere blogs typically address issues such as fat acceptance, discrimination against overweight people, and obesity health care policy. I read these blogs because I once weighed almost 340 pounds and I can relate to their concerns.

I read the posts and the articles, but I never comment because most of the authors do not want comments from weight loss doctors or any one who believes all overweight people should lose weight. Most Fatosphere bloggers believe that you can be healthy and overweight. That is true. However, healthy and normal weight is better long-term than healthy and overweight.

How Can You Be Healthy And Overweight?

Initially overweight people were placed in two different categories, those who were overweight because they had extra muscle and those who were overweight because they had extra fat. The overweight individuals carrying extra muscle would qualify as “healthy overweight.” Most overweight people fall into the overfat category.

The overfat people can be further divided into two sub-categories, those with normal waist sizes and those with large waist sizes. The overfat individuals with normal waist sizes would also qualify as “healthy overweight.” That leaves the unhealthy overweight people.

What about Normal Weight People?

Normal weight people are not off the hook. You can actually have a body mass index or BMI within normal limits and still be overfat. These “skinny-fat” people are not too heavy, but their waist sizes are too large.

The fact that we have “healthy overweight” people and “skinny fat” people have made scales almost obsolete. The numbers on the scale are not as helpful as we once thought. What’s more important is the size of your waist. So, instead of focusing on weight reduction, we should be focusing on waist reduction.

Visceral Fat

Your waist size is more important than your weight because “belly fat” is more dangerous than the fat found at other parts of your body. Belly fat is also known as organ fat, intra-abdominal fat, abdominal fat, omental fat, and visceral fat.

Visceral fat has terrible effects on the body. It also increases your chances of getting many chronic diseases including, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, sleep apnea, and many types of cancer.

Am I Healthy or Not?

To find out if you are carrying too much visceral fat, the most accurate method would involve a CT scan or a MRI. However, those tests would be very expensive, especially if you’d like to regularly check your progress.

Instead, obtain an accurate measurement of your height in inches. Get the measurement with your shoes and socks off.

Also obtain an accurate measurement of your waist in inches. Get the measurement at the level of where your belly button is, not where you would like it to be. Do not use the waist measurement on your clothing. They are not accurate.

Then, divide your height measurement by two. If that number is smaller than your waist measurement, then your waist is too big and you need to lose some visceral fat.

For example: I am 6 feet tall. That is 72 inches. 72 divide by 2 is 36. My waist size should be less than 36.

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It's All About The Belly Fat

This is a guest post by Mike O'Donnell.

Note from John – I don't intend to turn this blog into an Isagenix website, however the discussion following my last post was so fascinating and divisive that I thought it would be interesting to see yet another perspective on this product. If you would like to know more about Isagenix please contact me and I will put you in touch with an Isagenix consultant who can answer any questions you may have.

Hello readers of John is Fit. My name is Mike O'Donnell, and John has been gracious enough to allow me to contribute a guest post to his blog. I'm writing to you today regarding Isagenix and in response to John's Isagenix experience post. But before I get into the meat of my post, I want to tell you a little about myself.

I'm from Brooklyn, NY. I'm a former Naval Aviator and have been teaching College English in New York for the past five years. I'm in my mid-thirties. I'm 6'3 and was stuck at 240 lbs for several years, and all the running and dieting in the world couldn't help me get below 235…

I first put Isagenix in my body exactly one year ago last week. But my story actually started a little before that. I suffered an awful bike accident in 2007. I went over my handlebars on the Brooklyn Bridge and shattered both wrists and broke both elbows. I had multiple surgeries and many months of therapy to regain the use of my hands. And then I fell into a severe depression. After several months of therapy, I emerged from my depression, but I had been forever changed, or so I thought. I went through a year of life with a cloud over my head, just feeling generally "off" and accepting the fact that I wasn't the person I used to be, that I wouldn't enjoy life the way I used to. Thankfully, my sister Sharon would not accept that.

My older sister's a single mom who tried Isagenix and absolutely loved it. After eight years of struggling with different exercise routines and diets to shed the pregnancy weight, she finally started shedding dress sizes with Isagenix and announced that she felt like a Rock Star. She begged me to try the program. I said "no way" for three months; it just sounded too strange.

When I finally caved and skeptically tried it, I was AMAZED at how great I felt and at how easy I found the program. Within days of putting Isagenix into my body, my entire outlook changed. I felt like myself again. I was happy and smiling. Whatever was inside me pulling me down, however imbalanced chemically I had become because of my painkillers or whatever, was flushed out of my system. It was literally an amazingly dramatic experience that I have difficulty explaining. My sleep improved,my mental clarity became sharper, my mood became sunnier, my energy level went through the roof, my acne cleared up, and I lost 17 pounds in 9 days! I kept going with Isagenix and lost 30 pounds in under 6 weeks (and I did cheat a bit, as it was over Christmas and New Years). I reached my goal weight for 2009 of 210 pounds before January even ended!

I switched to Maintenance, which is just drinking a shake for breakfast every day, eating normal foods (mostly healthy, but not all the time), and cleansing 1 or 2 days a month. Doing that, I slowly dropped another 10 pounds without really trying to. And it's stayed off all this time! This is the first year in longer than I can remember that I don't have a weight loss goal as part of my New Year's resolutions.

I have since started sharing Isagenix with everyone I know, which is why I am writing this today. The first thing that I want to do is congratulate John for seeing an opportunity and trying something that might seem a little strange. But even more importantly, I want to congratulate him for losing 5 pounds so far–the first few pounds are the hardest!

Some other brief success stories of people who I know personally:

• My sister Sharon dropped from a size 12 to a size 4 over a year ago. None of the weight has returned.
• My brother Chris lost over 30 pounds over a year ago and none of the weight has returned. Since starting Isagenix, he took up road races for the first time in his life. He's in his forties and says he's the fittest he's ever been; he recently won a 5K fundraiser run.
• My 73-year-old father, a retired New York city firefighter, drinks an IsaLean shake every day and says he feels better that he has in over 10 years.
• My friend Pat lost 70 pounds in 5 months and cured himself of type 2 diabetes.
• My uncle came off his blood pressure meds in just three months.
• A couple tried unsuccessfully to become pregnant for over two years; they turned to IsAgenix, and within two months, she was pregnant.
• My friend Yanick lost 45 pounds in two months and her doctor canceled her double knee surgery; she went from having to be wheeled to her car in a wheelchair at the end of her nursing shift to getting up early to meet me in the park for aerobics before work.
• My friend's son has ADHD. He's been drinking the shakes for two months and is doing great. She says that it's too early to really tell, but she's convinced that the shakes are doing wonders for him.
• My friend Aida is doing her first 9 Day right now. By day 4, she had lost 10 pounds. She'd struggled with her weight her whole life, and is loving Isagenix. For the first time in her life, she feels like she has a program she can follow, a product that makes her feel healthy and curbs her unhealthy cravings, and the faith that she will finally be in control of her weight.
• My friend Frada's mother and grandmother are diabetic. Frada herself has always struggled with her sugar levels. In two months with Isagenix, she's lost 20 pounds and now reports better sugar levels than she's had in a decade. She told me, "I don't just feel healthy, I feel young."

I've shared Isagenix with over 80 people and I can keep going with such successes, but I'll cut it there for length…

An important thing to remember is that Isagenix is NOT only about weight loss. It is a nutritional cleanse, meaning that it is a package of nutrient-packed foods, designed to eliminate toxins from your body and thereby allow your body to operate as it is meant to do so. Most of the foods that we eat, most of the household cleaners that we use, and most of today’s modern lifestyle bombards you with toxins that slowly build up in your body and cause it to malfunction. By flushing those toxins out of your system, Isagenix helps your body to operate better, you gain numerous benefits, AND you lose weight. This is what makes Isagenix different from everything else out there.

What exactly does Isagenix do? It quite simply helps your body function like the miracle that it is! It gets the junk out and puts the good stuff in. The organic cleanse drink, a blend of aloe vera, green teas, and minerals, fuels your cleanse organs (kidneys, liver, lymphatic system) so that they properly do their job and flush toxins out of your body; the IsaLean shake floods your body with perfect organic nutrition, including 23 grams of undenatured whey protein (from cows in New Zealand that will never be touched by hormones or steroids who eat grass that will never be touches by pesticides or herbicides), all 18 essential amino acids that your body cannot produce itself, and live digestive enzymes. Not only does Isagenix put every vitamin and mineral into your body that your body needs, but it does so in easily-absorbable organic form and along with the delivery system that allows your body to actually absorb, metabolize, and use these nutrients. Isagenix is not about depriving the body of anything; just the opposite, it's about finally giving your body everything it needs to function properly. In the process, you lose weight if you need to lose weight,
and you feel absolutely amazing.

The second thing that I really wanted to do is comment on John’s experiences so far. With respect to the difficulties that he is having during his cleanse days, I attribute this to the fact that he is not eating the snacks that are part of the plan. The purpose of those snacks is to keep your blood sugar levels up to prevent hunger and keep you from getting tired. Without them, it is no wonder that he finds the cleanse days difficult. (And contrary to one of the readers who stated that he’s hungry because he’s only drinking shakes on his cleanse days, that’s actually not true, as you do NOT drink shakes on cleanse days.) The program was designed by a diabetic, and the system is very mindful of blood sugar levels. You are meant to ingest something every two hours during the day. By skipping the snacks, John is sabotaging himself.

The one other comment that I want to make is this: Don't you think that Isagenix is worth trying if John has been able to lose five pounds in four days without following the plan as it is meant to be followed?

To all of you who are working to lose weight, good luck, enjoy life, and I hope to write again soon!

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Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Isagenix Nutritional Cleanse and Replenishment Program

Disclaimer: An Isagenix consultant paid for my 9 day cleanse program, however the results and opinions shared are purely my own and I am under no obligation to report on the results one way or another.

Shortly after returning from my Nutrilite trip I was contacted by an Isagenix consultant who believed that I could benefit from the health benefits of Isagenix nutritional cleansing. I initially ignored the request but eventually after numerous emails I decided it was worth giving it a try. Skeptical but intrigued not only in the possibility for actually losing weight but also for trying to use this as a means to shake lose the dicipline I have been lacking lately I decided to give it a shot and document here the results.

Here is how they describe the program:

The Isagenix Cleansing and Fat Burning System is a comprehensive system packed with life-enriching nutrients to strengthen your body's ability to cleanse and replenish naturally. Each product plays an essential role in the cleaning and replenishing process to help you discover your body's true health potential.

The schedule for the 9 Day System is actually an 11 day process because it includes a couple of "pre-cleanse" days to prepare you. So overall the program is 2 pre-cleanse days, 2 cleanse days, 5 shake days and finally 2 more cleanse days.

I'm tracking my progress through the program which I will publish in a couple of parts. Here's Part 1:

Pre-Cleanse Day #1
A pre-cleanse day is basically the same as a shake day so I started the day off replacing breakfast with an IsaLean Chocolate shake. The instructions called for 8 ounces of purified water and ice and two scoops of the shake mix to be blended together. I don't know what purified water is but I figured the filtered water from my refrigerator would be good enough so I used that. And 8 ounces of water didn't seem like it would make a big enough shake so I used more like 12, which I was later regretting when I couldn't drink the whole shake! The IsaShake tastes pretty similar to other whey protein shakes I have had although since I make those with skim milk this one had a little different consistency and taste. It was actually pretty good, very rich and filling and like I said, I couldn't even drink it all. 8 ounces for me next time! I also had a Natural Accelerator capsule.

There are a number of snack options available but I was so busy this day that I got right to lunch without worrying about hunger. For lunch I had a turkey sub at Subway, had mustard instead of mayo, with no olive oil. I did have cheese, which is something I should cut out. Much better than my normal Subway Tuna Sandwich. I did try a snack later in the day and one of the snack options are something included in the program which is called IsaDelight, which are small chocolate pills (they call them wafers, but wafers imply something thin and light, and these are no wafers). They were simply nasty. My IsaGenix consultant has suggested that I have to eat them no matter how nasty they are, but I am going to take a pass. Just not going to work for me.

I had a long drive home so I did have a protein bar for a snack during the drive, then when I got home I had some celery and some fruit, but I did not have another IsaLean shake like the program called for. Still, I felt overall like it was a good day.

Pre-Cleanse Day #2
On this day I really didn't follow the program at all, however I did eat sensibly throughout the day, which after all is my ultimate goal. For breakfast I had a banana and some yogurt, for lunch I had a turkey wrap with a small side salad and for a snack I had a protein bar. Luckily for me when I got home my wife had made dinner but my son had some friends over so there really wasn't too much left for me – but it was enough to satisfy me. I also ate a reasonable amount of pineapple, celery and orange peppers. I also had a Natural Accelerator capsule in the morning.

Cleanse Day #1
Cleansing days are tough. The plan calls for having 4 eight ounce glasses of water each mixed with four ounces of Cleanse for Life liquid (a powder is also available but my plan came with the liquid), another 8 or more glasses of water throughout the day, and up to 6 snacks which as you already know I will not be using the IsaDelights. What is a snack on a cleanse day? A raw organic almond. A single almond. Oh man!

I was up pretty early in the morning and had a couple of glasses of water, then later I had a Natural Accelerator capsule and then had my first glass of water mixed with the Cleanse for Life. It was actually really tasty! I was sure it was going to be nasty but it wasn't – this is something I wouldn't mind drinking, which is good because I'm supposed to have 4 glasses of the stuff today.

My wife and I ran a number of errands and at one point when I was getting a little hungry we were at Sam's Club and one of the food samples was almonds, so I took the 5-6 they were offering and ate them for a snack. OK – so they were dusted with cocoa powder, but still – I thought I was still being good.

We got home about 2:00 and I had another Cleanse for Life which still tasted as good as it did in the morning. Then I start to feel pretty tired. The afternoon was tough. At about 6:00 I succumbed to my hunger and ate some leftover chicken we had in the fridge, then I had some crackers, then I had some cookies my daughter made. On a normal day not a bad dinner at all. On a cleanse day, not so good. So I almost made it.

Cleanse Day #2
I weighed 294 this morning, down 5 pounds from when I started the program and lower than I have been for some time. It's good to see progress, although I know this is just water weight. But down is good and I'll take it. I can't fully credit Isagenix since I have not been great at following the plan, but on the other hand I have to fully credit Isagenix because it has forced me to think carefully about what I am putting in my mouth and that is something I know I have to get better at.

My results for the second day of the cleanse were about equal to the first. Followed the plan well until late in the day when I succumbed to my hunger and possibility even my boredom – how much do we eat simply because we are bored? – and so once again I fell off plan around dinner time. It surely didn't help that this was NFL Sunday and my Vikings were playing the night game. Although in hindsight it turned out to be nothing good to watch.

Shake Day #1
I knew today was going to be a challenge for me because I had a team outing planned for dinner. I started the day well with a shake and a supplement, had a good Subway sandwich for lunch and then ended the day at a pizza buffet. Yep, I admit it. I tried to fill my plate with salad when I could, and fortunetly the pizza slices were small so I think all in all I handled that pretty well. No question that my calories for the day were way down from normal and more in line for where they needed to be.

At this point in the program I don't know that I would make a place for Isagenix beyond this test, however it has been a good wakeup call for me to think about my eating and ultimately I have seen more weight loss than I have seen in a long while so I am happy about that.

I'll report on the final 6 days in Part 2.

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

My Experience with the Isagenix Cleansing and Fat Burning 9 Day System – Part 1

I almost hesitate to write this post because my friend in weight loss Tony is going to rake me over the coals, in ways that only he can, for thinking about something other than exercising and eating properly. I deserve every bit of it Tony!

But I've been putting together this redesign for some time and I am pretty happy with how it turned out – and hoping I am close to focusing less on the site and more on weight loss. Yes, I know you are getting sick of hearing that. Trust me, I know.

But here's the thing, I have to find some way to balance all of my interests and frankly one such interest is building websites. However, I have my limitations. I'm no designer. The original theme I had used on here was getting long in the tooth and I was bored with it. And having discovered the Wordpress Thesis theme and how easy that made maintaining websites through theme upgrades (without that you'll probably end up just never upgrading your theme) I knew that at some point I wanted to convert this website to Thesis and if I was going to do that I wanted the site to be significantly different than what it was before and different than other Thesis sites. And I knew I wanted a "mascot" instead of my actual picture, which I had been using on here but that I wanted to get away from. I value my privacy.

Mascot Design

So, first things first I knew I needed a designer to draft a mascot. After some research I settled on The NetMen Corp. They have a very clear process documented on their website and it pretty much worked exactly as they said. I completed a form describing some details about what I thought I wanted, and then they presented a couple of different artists concepts. I chose the artist that was closest to my vision and then we engaged in back and forth tweaking until I was satisfied with the look. Unfortunately I have lost the original drawings but let me tell you they couldn't have been any more different – the first artist took a more realistic approach while the second artist took a more cartoony approach. The real drawing scared me so I stayed away from that one!

That's the "mascot" in the upper right there. It's supposed to be me after I have lost my weight. See the outline? I thought it was a creative way to show that. The outline is the bigger me. Maybe I'm the only one that sees it though! Anyway, it works for me. I'm standing on a scale and looking sort of sporty. It captured the look I was going for.

There are tons of options out there for getting custom logos and mascots made, but I can recommend The NetMen Corp as a good group to work with. If I ever need one again, however, I'll probably give one of the contest sites a try where artists compete for prize money you put up. A very novel concept and having many artists work on your project means it is more likely you find exactly what you are looking for.

Website Design

After my mascot was in the bag I needed to get someone creative to design a new look for my website. I knew I couldn't do it justice. And as luck would have it fellow weight loss blogger Jennette "PastaQueen" Fulda had recently hung out a shingle as a website designer. How perfect! One of my original inspirations could help me design the very website she inspired in the first place. That's synergy. Or maybe syzygy. Nah, I just wrote that because it gives me an excuse to use one of my favorite words. Syzygy. How great a final Wheel of Fortune puzzle would that make? Anyway, more like synergy.

Jennette was great to work with. She took a similar approach to The NetMen Corp where I filled out a form responding to a bunch of questions, she came up with various looks and we hammered the look out back and forth until I had something I liked.

Looking to redesign your own website, weight loss blog or not? Check out Make My Blog Pretty – and tell her John sent you. You will be in good hands!

Now the original plan was that Jennette would do the coding and then I would take that coding and convert it into Thesis. But guess what? There is a reason most Thesis sites look the same. It can be tricky to code! I had done some minor coding with other Thesis sites but nothing like what I would need to do to take Jennette's design and plug into the Thesis theme. I needed help. I needed a Thesis Conversion wizard.

Thesis Conversion

To be honest before I started searching I didn't even know Thesis Conversion wizards existed, but before too long I found that it is becoming a popular niche. I quickly came to the conclusion that Greg Rickaby dESIGN was the Wizard I was looking for and Greg did not disappoint. He bills himself as "The Developer for Designers" which means he usually works directly with the designers, not the end customer like me. The process he goes through is very simple – you send the Photoshop file (PSD) of the design, and he works his magic and does all the coding to turn it into a Thesis skin. And some point he gives you admin access to the test site so that you can see exactly how the Theme is configured. Of course he is using the latest and greatest version of Thesis so that you can edit the custom files directly without having to need an FTP login, which makes it very nice.

Once we were ready for go-live I surprised Greg a bit I think by actually doing the port myself. I don't think the average designer is going to do that. But it was fun, and frankly it felt good to actually be doing some work on the site, putting in some sweat and tears, after having others do most of the work up until that point. Greg's coding made it easy because he did a very nice job of laying everything out.

I'm not 100% completed with the redesign yet as there are still some design elements I am working through – some in Jennette's original design and some not – but rest assured that if you find problems in the look of the site it is no doubt something I have done, and not something The NetMen Corp, Jennette or Greg did – they were a great team to work with.

Now back to weight loss!

Post from: John Is Fit - Personal Weight Loss Blog

Website Redesign – Finding New Ways to Procrastinate