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Open for Inspiration

posted by: Gary

There’s nothing quite as inspiring as a truly jaw-dropping before and after picture. I’m talking about a 50+ pound weight loss where they look like an entirely new person.

It’s striking how much younger people look when the extra fat comes off. An attractive, happy, energetic person was inside of them all along.

Many popular magazines showcase transformation success stories like this at the beginning of a new year. Flip through the pages of before and after photos and it’s hard not to feel inspired to make healthy changes in your own life.

It’s also interesting to read how each person managed to lose all the weight. What was their exercise routine? What diet plan did they follow? The truth is that there are many routines and plans that bring success.

The key is to choose your plan and stick with it.

Of course, this is where things get tricky, during the stick with it period. This is when life tempts you to lose your focus and get lazy. This is when even the best intentions don’t help you win.

Below I have compiled a list of Best Transformation Tips that came from the mouths of those who have actually done it. Every tip below is from a fat loss champion who lost 50+ pounds and some even half of their body weight.

  • Fat loss is 80% mental and only 20% physical. Get your mind right if you want to succeed.
  • Focus on non-scale victories like how your clothes fit, how you feel, and how much healthier you are.
  • Fix what’s going on inside before you attempt to fix what’s going on outside. The mind is a powerful part of your transformation.
  • Don’t stress as much on what you are eating, but instead on how much you are eating. Keep calories under control.
  • Find a workout routine that you won’t be bored with, so that you’ll stick with it.
  • Stick to your workout plan no matter how tired you’re feeling that day. Push your body through the motions even if you’re tired.
  • Don’t be afraid to make healthy changes. You have nothing to lose and so much life to gain.
  • Use a slow cooker to have healthy meals on hand to avoid unhealthy meals. (See the recipe below!)
  • Use a fitness app to log your meals, workouts and water consumption. This helps to stay on track on those days when you aren’t feeling it.
  • Try eating leafy vegetables and protein throughout the day to increase your energy. As a bonus this also increase the speed of your results.
  • Find a plan and stick with it. Jumping from diet to diet never works in the long run.
  • Get creative with your healthy eating by trying out new recipes. This helps prevent boredom from creeping in.
  • Find and accountability partner who will keep you going strong with temptation hits.
  • Make healthy changes gradually. If you ate a whole pizza yesterday then don’t swear pizza off completely. Just eat one slice today.
  • Don’t give yourself the option of giving up. If you messed up then pick yourself back up and keep moving forward.
  • Remember that the best part of getting into shape is not the six pack. It’s about improvements to your self-confidence and overall outlook on life.
  • Be willing to ask for help. Seeking the help of a knowledgeable fitness professional is to ensure that your efforts are safe, effective and successful.

Are you ready to unleash that attractive, happy, energetic person that’s hiding inside of you? I’m here to help you do it. Call or email me today and we will get your own stunning transformation started!

How to Achieve Your Fitness Goals

posted by: Gary

Do you have a specific fitness goal that you are hoping to achieve? This goal could be a number on the scale, or a clothing size. Or maybe you are hoping to wear a certain cut or style of clothes like strappy tank tops, shorts, or a bathing suit.

While having this goal is great, it will NOT guarantee success.

You knew that, though, because this isn’t the first time that you’ve had a fitness goal. A goal that you didn’t meet. In fact, you probably know dozens of other people who also have struggled to meet their fitness goals.

Here’s the typical scenario: you get all pumped up to lose weight and get into shape by starting out completely gung-ho. Your enthusiasm lasts about two weeks, before old habits and routine slide back into place, cutting your results off before reaching your goal. Then your goal begins to fade from your mind, and life goes on.

The problem, my friend, was your initial focus on the result rather than a sustained focus on the process. Let me break this down for you…

Fitness success is not about focusing on your goal. It’s about making the fit lifestyle stick.

Of course, once you’ve gotten a fit lifestyle to stick you’ll end up meeting that goal!

This may go against everything you’ve come to believe about achieving a goal, but then, your techniques haven’t exactly been working. The number that you’re hoping to magically be one day doesn’t matter one bit, and here’s why…

IT’S ABOUT LIVING IN THE MOMENTUM.

Can you remember how it felt the last time that you ate clean, exercised hard and got adequate sleep for a few consecutive days? A feeling of momentum came over you, didn’t it? There was a buzzing in your cells and a rhythm in your pace. You felt alive, you felt sexy, and you felt empowered. Never mind that you weren’t yet at your goal number, you were headed there!

Getting down to your goal weight, and fitting into your goal size, is the direct result of living in that state of momentum for an extended period of time. You see, the momentum can be felt immediately, once you start eating clean, exercising hard and taking care of your health, whereas that “goal number” simply can’t be felt until it is achieved, and so it’s not as powerful a motivator.

My challenge and advice to you is to find the joy of living in the momentum, and keep that momentum going until your goal number is achieved. Focus only on the momentum, not on the number.

Fitness is a way of life. Being lean is a lifestyle. Neither of which can be had by going about it halfheartedly.

You have to become the momentum.

Call or email me today and we will get your momentum started on the exercise program that will reshape your body once and for all!

Why Intensity Matters

posted by: Gary

Have you ever noticed how two people can do the exact same fitness routine for a period of time and one will have breathtaking results while the other looks the same as when they started?

Why is that?

It’s frustrating when you are the person going through a fitness routine without seeing dramatic results. Might make you look for a reason outside of yourself to blame, such as genetics.

In reality, the thing holding you back is something that you have complete control over: it’s the intensity with which you exercise.

Intensity is something that’s difficult for the outside observer to measure but is felt within your body as you go through the motions of an exercise.

  • It’s how hard you push yourself to go as heavy and as quickly as possible.
  • It’s picking up a weight that feels hard to handle.
  • It’s putting a boost behind each stride as you run.
  • It’s resisting the urge to simply go through the motions.
  • It’s outdoing your efforts from last time.

Now I understand the urge to put out token effort in your workout, going through the motions while cutting corners along the way. We all have days when the weights feel extra heavy and our energy stores feel depleted, and those days will naturally be less intense.

However, when low intensity workouts are your norm, you simply won’t ever achieve the results that you’re hoping for. And this is something that you completely control.

So, as you go into your next workout, think about the intensity that you’re bringing. Are you pushing yourself with each rep? Could you go heavier? Could you be faster?

Fight the urge to be comfortable while you exercise. There’s plenty of time throughout your day to feel comfortable, just not while you’re working out.

Does this make sense?

Attack your next workout with 100% intensity and set a new standard for yourself to continuously push to become stronger, faster, leaner and more fit.

You’ve got this!

And if you’re not yet one of my awesome clients then call or email today to join the family. Together we will get you into your best shape yet!

Ready to feel your best?