Proper Neck Position

Most of us are under the misconception that fit people work hard and spend most of their lives deprived in order to achieve their amazing bodies.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

I’ll let you in on a little secret … It’s not hard to get and stay fit. It’s not about hard work and deprivation.

It’s all about boundaries.

Let me explain…

When you were a child your parents set boundaries around you. They were the authority on what was or wasn’t acceptable behavior. You had to complete your chores before dinner. You had to finish your homework before going out to play. You had to eat all your vegetables before dessert.

If you failed to comply with these boundaries then you knew that there would be consequences.

As an adult you, and only you, are the authority on what is or isn’t acceptable behavior. You are in the position to set boundaries around yourself. These boundaries serve as a framework of order around you – a rock of support in an otherwise chaotic world.

With self-imposed boundaries you can assure your success in anything…specifically with weight loss.

Your fitness boundaries have to be self-imposed—no one is going to do it for you. Don’t look at this as a bad thing! Self-imposed boundaries are self-empowering.

Let’s face it, you’ve been living life without fitness boundaries.

* You eat whatever you want, whenever you want it.
* You use any excuse to avoid exercise.
* You indulge whenever it feels good.

Your Fitness Boundaries

It’s time to introduce boundaries back into your life. These boundaries are the key to unleashing your ideal fit and healthy body.

1. Fitness Boundary One: What you eat

If you were to be perfectly honest with me, you could list off the foods that are unhealthy and fattening. So why are you still eating them? You know that refined, fried, processed and sugary foods are not good for you.

Place boundaries around what you will allow yourself to eat. Acceptable food items include vegetables, fruits, and lean meats.

2. Fitness Boundary Two: How you exercise

I know that you’re not an Olympic athlete, but that doesn’t mean that you can simply pass on exercise.

By now you are well aware of the host of benefits that exercise provides. With regular exercise you’ll look great, feel amazing and have more energy than ever.

Place boundaries around how often you must exercise. Choose exercise that is challenging – don’t be afraid to put in the effort to learn activities that improve your strength and endurance.

3. Fitness Boundary Three: When you indulge

Let’s face it, we live in a world where indulging has become the norm, rather than the exception.

When you live life without fitness boundaries, everyday is an opportunity to indulge. These indulgences all add up quickly, causing your clothes to become tight and your energy levels to drop.

Different people can get away with different degrees of indulgence.

By knowing your body, and what results you want, you can commit to boundaries that make sense around when you can indulge. And you’ll probably find that by limiting your indulgences you’ll end up enjoying them even more.

Putting It In Action

Sit down and take a long, hard look at your lifestyle. Are you eating as healthy as you could be? Are you consistently exercising at least once each week (yes, that will accomplish a lot if it is consistent and high-quality exercise)? Are you indulging too often? Answer the following questions:

1. What 3 food items can I eliminate from my regular, daily diet, and move to my occasional exception category? (These should be nutritionally void items like high-calories beverages, high-sugar packaged snacks, high-carbohydrate density foods, and candy or desserts.)
2. When can I schedule exercise into my week? (Pick 1-2 days, and select a specific time frame. Example: I’m going to exercise on Mondays and Fridays from 6:00-6:30am, NO MATTER WHAT.)
3. When will I allow myself to indulge? Don’t go overboard here, especially if you need to lose weight. Enjoy a treat a couple times each month, and do so guilt-free knowing that you’ve maintained healthy food boundaries the rest of the time.

Remember that self-imposed boundaries are self-empowering.

Fitness boundaries put your fitness results on autopilot. If you know what constitutes an acceptable meal, then choosing what to eat just got a whole lot easier. If you’re committed to exercising at specific times, soon it becomes second nature.

Need help setting up your fitness boundaries? I am here to help for personal training in Los Angeles – call or email me now!

Confidence Booster

Have you ever wished that you had more confidence? People who set fitness boundaries report experiencing a boost of confidence.

Think about it: when you set a higher standard for yourself confidence grows naturally.

As you lose weight and feel better than ever your confidence will skyrocket.

If you’ve ever wished that you were more motivated to experience life at your full potential then this is for you.

Most of us set goals and work hard only to find our motivation fizzle out after a couple of weeks.

But there are little tricks that will help you harness the power of your mind and propel you toward achieving your goal.

The Two Motivators
When you boil it down, you’re motivated by two simple things:

1. To avoid pain (fear of failure)
2. To gain pleasure (promise of reward)

To figure out which motivates you more, think of the last time you accomplished a task and then ask yourself the following: while doing the task were you thinking about what would happen if you failed to finish, or were you thinking about what you would gain when you finished?

Take note as to which motivator works for you – fear of failure, or promise of reward.

Set Your Goal: The first step towards unstoppable motivation is to determine your goal. You know you’re unsatisfied with your body, but what exactly do you want to change? Why is it important to you?

Perhaps you can relate to one of the following goals:

* You need to lose weight for your health. Your doctor scared you straight or maybe you’ve had a recent health problem that landed you in the hospital. Your goal is to move away from the pain of sickness.

* You want to look and feel incredible. You’ve always wanted to feel vibrant and attractive. The idea of having more energy really excites you. Your goal is to move toward the pleasure and reward of a fit body.

* You’re worried about your kids. They don’t eat enough vegetables, they drink more soda pop than water and they play video games constantly. You have decided to model a healthier lifestyle and to encourage your kids to participate. Your goal is to move away from the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and to propel your kids toward a healthy future.

Train Your Mind for Weight Loss: With your clear and important goal in mind, let’s take a few minutes to train your mind to achieve it. You know that weight loss comes as a result of eating right and regular challenging exercise, so let’s use your mind to conquer both.

Eating Right: Use this exercise to distance yourself from the self-sabotaging foods you really wish you didn’t eat, and to naturally begin selecting healthy foods.

Take a moment to review your current eating habits. Identify the foods that you should stop eating (hint: sweets, anything fried, refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks). Identify the worst food that you eat regularly but know you shouldn’t.

Now imagine the healthy foods that you should eat (hint: vegetables, fruits, lean protein). Identify the healthiest food that you know you should eat regularly.

Now with the image of these two foods in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise (seriously this stuff works):

* Draw up the image of your unhealthy food item. This image will likely be quite vivid, with smell, taste and bright color. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
* Draw up the image of your healthy food item. This image will likely be fuzzy and faded. In your mind, bring this picture to life with smell, taste, sound and bright color.

Regular Exercise: This technique can be applied in a way that encourages you to crave exercise rather than avoid it.

Take a moment to imagine how you feel after a great workout (notice the emphasis on the word after). Remember the physical satisfaction as well as the sweet feeling of accomplishment.

Now bring to your mind the aspects of exercise that you dislike. What is your biggest reason for avoiding exercise? Are you too tired? Do you not have enough time? Is physical exertion too much of a hassle? Pinpoint your greatest complaint about exercise.

Now with the image of these two aspects of exercise in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise:

* Draw up the image of your exercise complaint. The image is likely to be clear and accompanied by the sounds, smells and sensations. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
* Draw up the image of the wonderful feeling you have after accomplishing a great workout. Magnify this image in your mind. Fixate on how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. View the experience in bright colors and add a sound track of inspirational music.

Why It Works

If this was your first experience with training your mind it may have felt a little odd. Many of the world’s top achievers regularly use visualization techniques like these to accomplish astounding goals.

The techniques above work because they train your mind to bring your behavior in line with your values. Think about it, you value health, you desire to be fit and attractive and you want to instill healthy habits in your kids.

These techniques encourage you to avoid self-sabotage and to make choices that line up with what you truly value.

Now that you are ready to accomplish your goals, call or email me today to start your fitness program that will greatly improve your life.

The Rocking Chair Test

Need another boost of motivation?

* Imagine yourself at 90 years old, sitting in a rocking chair and looking back over your life.
* Imagine that you never took action and accomplished the goals that are important to you. Feel the pain of loss and regret.
* Now imagine that you took the steps to accomplish these important goals. Feel the pleasure of success and accomplishment.

Which scenario do you want to experience when you are 90?

Did you ever wonder how accurate the calorie information is that you read in calorie books, websites, and on food labels?

I have, and I’ve never before seen anyone quantify under what conditions, and to what extent, the calories you get from foods will be significantly different from the “tested” amount of calories.

I found this article fascinating, and thought you might, too:

New Scientist Article

-Chad

There’s a good chance that you’ll find yourself in a bathing suit sometime this month.

If you are like most people then that realization will 1) bring a grimace to your face and 2) will motivate you to lose some weight.

While I commend your desire to slim down before baring it all, I’m here to warn you of the 5 myths that most people fall for. Don’t waste your time on these:

Myth #1: Starve the pounds away.

Attempting to lose weight by starving yourself is not only ineffective, it’s also dangerous. It may seem that severe calorie restriction would deliver the quickest weight loss, but your body is complex and by doing so you’ll disrupt your metabolism and slow your results.

Tip: Don’t starve yourself – instead eat healthy small meals throughout the day.

Myth #2: Take diet pills to boost your effort.

The commercials make compelling claims about the power of diet pills, but don’t fall for it.
The ‘magic pill’ has yet to be discovered (it has been discovered – exercise. It’s just not in pill form…).
Diet pills are more likely to damage your health and burn your pocketbook than to slim you down.

Tip: Don’t pop a pill – instead burn fat and stay lean with exercise.

Myth #3: Do extra crunches to flatten your abs.

We all want our midsection to look toned as we stroll down the beach, but excessive crunches aren’t the answer for tight abs.
In order to achieve a lean look you’ll have to focus on burning off the layer of fat that is covering up your abs.

Tip: Don’t obsess about crunches – instead focus on fat burning. Do large, compound exercises with someone else to challenge you and make sure you’re working intensely enough.

Myth #4: Eat packaged diet foods for speedy results.

It is amazing to see the kinds of foods that are packaged as ‘diet’ or ‘weight loss’ aids. More often than not these products are packed with refined sugar and other ingredients that your body doesn’t need.

Tip: Don’t eat packaged diet foods – instead stick with nutritious whole foods.

Myth #5: Avoid all carbohydrates in order to slim down.

Carbohydrates have been given a bad rap, which is unfortunate because you can (and should) eat carbs while losing weight. In fact, you should eat lots of the right vegetables and some fruits. Just not high-glycemic carbs.

Tip: Don’t swear off all carbohydrates – instead stick with wholesome carbs.

Now that you know what not to do in order to look great this summer, it’s time to go over your beach ready game plan. Here’s what you need to know in 3 simple steps:

* Step One: Cut out the junk.

The best way to do this is to start by purging your kitchen. Get rid of sugary, processed and fat-filled foods. Once the junk has been cleared out don’t buy any more of it. Remember that your beach ready abs depend on what you eat – don’t eat junk!

* Step Two: Focus on whole foods.

Replace the junk food in your life with plenty of the following: cooked and raw vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, moderate amounts of seeds and nuts, healthy meats and dairy. Clean eating really is that simple.

* Step Three: Come train with us.

This is the most obvious step. You’re ready to get into great shape and We’re in a unique position to make that happen for you. Call or reply to this email to get started on an exercise plan with a personal trainer in Los Angeles that will make you look great on the beach, and all year round. In fact, just fill out the web form at http://www.myogenics.com/#introductory-workout and we will call you back to discuss how we might work together.

It’s Grill Time!

Looking for something delicious to grill that won’t derail your weight loss goals? Look no further than the produce section. Onions, bell peppers, eggplant, asparagus and zucchini are all great options to throw on the grill – and they can all be eaten guilt free.