Self-sabotage is one of the easiest ways to derail all your progress and all your hard work. People tend to be their own worse enemies. I have seen clients start to get really fit, feel healthy and then over-do their splurges because they think they "deserve" it. Everyone deserves a splurge and an indulgence, the problem lies in the thinking, "I have lost weight so I can eat whatever I want!" Let's go back to the philosophy of your new healthy and fit ways as being a lifestyle change, not a diet, not a temporary fix.

Granted there will be times during the month, the year, etc. that you will indulge more, just make sure you are keeping yourself honest and trying to make that 80-90% of your diet coming from whole, clean foods.

Another self-sabotaging move for people comes from when they don't indulge at all, they have labeled food as "bad" or "not allowed to have." What happens is there is only so much willpower people have and then they break, which leads to the vicious cycle of overeating and then feeling guilty and then berating yourself. It's okay to SPLURGE! It's encouraged! Don't beat yourself up if you had one to many pieces of pizza or too large a piece of cake, just commit to making healthier choices at the next meal. All self guilt does, is tear your self-esteem to shreds and that's not what being a healthy-fit person is all about!

Happy Wednesday, go and enjoy your day and keep focusing on those fat-burning workouts and staying on track with being the fit person you know you can be!

Way to go Whole Foods!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/fashion/15skin.html?_r=1

Enjoy the summer

As we start to enjoy summer and the layers of clothing lessen, I think we are all reminded of that perfect summer body we are working so hard to achieve. Summer is the time of lighter foods, more fruit, fresh vegetables, tighter clothing, so naturally summer is a smaller you, right?!?

I know, during the summer, many of my clients, including myself, tend to have more parties to attend, graduations, bbqs, and mid-week celebrations because "it's a perfect day!" Problem is you think well for sure I will have my eating under control when summer hits, except with summer comes more social gatherings, more drinking, more ways to get off track on your workout program.

So my suggestion is to lock yourself in your house, only eat fish and vegetables, never go out to eat, don't eat at social events and make sure to workout for at least an hour a day 5 days a week...Sound good? Heck no!

It's not realistic, you probably wouldn't be very happy, you definitely wouldn't be very social and it's not a long term solution. Most of the time when you continue to deprive yourself it only leads to overdoing it later and sabotaging your efforts even more!

A more realistic approach would be to look at the week as a whole, decide what events you are going to, how many times you will be going out to eat and how many days you will be able to fit in a workout. So if you won't be cooking at home all but 2 meals for a week, make sure they are filled with healthy proteins, carbs and fats in case your options out aren't the best choices.

When dining out, you can get a peak at the menu and the nutritional content online ahead of time for many restaurants. Take some time review what your better options are or when at a restaurant look for key words of grilled, steamed, baked and request sauces/dressings on the side.

With attending events or parties you are a little more limited to what your food options are, if there's something you really want to add to your plate (mayo-laden potato salad) take a smaller portion of that and fill the plate with greens and healthy proteins. Don't forget, it's okay to have splurges, enjoy a dessert, some wine, or whatever you are craving, just don't make one splurge or one meal turn into one week!

Happy 4th of July weekend, enjoy the parties, enjoy the fun, all while keeping your fitness goals in mind!

**I also wanted to add some of the workout I did last week at my semiar: take a look I am wearing all black and getting my butt kicked...now I know your pain!

http://www.iamoneup.com/blog/perform-better-summit-2010-chicago/

Perform Better Summit 2010 – Chicago | One Up Training

A little reminder what to eat for snacks

It's between meals, your stomach is growling, and the only thing you have on hand is mints and a bag of m&m's. Although this may be the norm for you, having snacks on hand or stashed away are great ways to stay on track with your diet.

I continually encourage my clients to plan ahead with their snacks, even packing them all on Sunday before the week starts. It's so important to not get to hungry and make sure when you go into lunch, dinner, etc you aren't ravenous, which will only lead to overeating! The best way to do that is have a sensible snack or two throughout the day. Snacks need to be re-thought, having a snack can boost your metabolism, stave off hunger and help you stay on track with your healthy lifestyle, it's just choosing the right ones.

Below I have a few suggestions for snacks with calories listed, ENJOY!

· -Small whole wheat pitas or cute up veggies with 1 TBS hummus: 130-175 calories

-7-10 organic tortilla chips with 1 TBS: homemade bean dip or hummus or mashed avocado: 220 calories

-Cut up apples with 1 TBS peanut butter, almond butter: 200 calories (try to get natural or organic PB or AB)

-Make your own Trail mix: dried cranberries, almonds crushed, high-fiber cereal (1/4 cup serving: 200 calories)

-Yogurt with some crushed nuts: 200 calories

-Cut up veggies with Greek yogurt mixed with spices: 175 calories

-Serving of cottage cheese and ¼ cut-up apple, add some cinnamon: 150 calories

-Serving of cottage cheese and cut up cherry tomatoes: 120 Calories

-Frozen grapes, bananas: 100-120 calories

-Kebobs of fruit and cheese or veggies and cheese: 1oz cheese and 1/2 cup fruit or veggies 225 cals

-Hard boiled eggs (1 egg, 1 white) (optional tomato slices): 80 Calories

-1/2 cup garbanzo beans: cook in 1 tsp olive oil, with a little sea salt and red pepper: let cook and enjoy: 150 calories

-Low-fat or fat-free Greek yogurt with berries 130-150 calories

Motivation

It's beautiful outside, the sun is shining, you feel completely rest, and you can't wait to go workout and enjoy this beautiful weather! Okay, that's the perfect scenario, but what about those other days when you have barely slept, it's gloomy out, and you feel like crap?!?

Getting motivation to workout is one of the hardest things to do. I know many of my clients say, "If you weren't working me out today, I wouldn't have worked out." Since it's not realistic to have a trainer everyday, what can you do to get your butt out of the house and workout?

I think one of the best things to do is schedule an appointment with yourself, just like you would any other meeting. Another great thing is plan to meet a friend for exercise before you meet for lunch or drinks.

When exercising isn't your idea of a good time, think about your exercise goal and why you want to achieve it. Yes, it may be easy to be "too tired" to workout, but it's those days when we don't feel like going and we push ourselves that take our fitness to the next level.

Instead of focusing on not wanting to exercise and dreading every minute of it, think about how you feel when you are done! How good to you feel at the end? Try to focus on that feeling and getting to it, instead of the actual workout itself! How many times have you not felt like working out? How many of those times did you drag yourself to the gym and feel better after? I'm guessing most of them! Now there are times when you just need a rest, so if you start working out and you aren't feeling better, maybe take a day off.

GO KICK SOME BUTT!

When there is no time...

I know you know, breakfast is a must if you want to start the day off right. You will not only eat less throughout the day, but you will rev up your metabolism after eating a healthy breakfast.

Unfortunately, we don't always have enough time to make breakfast, let alone buy food to make breakfast. So whether you didn't get groceries, you don't have time to make the groceries you bought, or you are on the road, I want you to feel comfortable making healthy breakfast choices.

Below I have listed 4 different fast food places and some healthy options as well as some less than healthy options so you can see what you are fueling your body with in a rush!

Starbucks

Food--Calories--Fat

Plain Bagel-300, 1 gram

Apple bran muffin- 350, 9 grams

Oatmeal with nuts and brown sugar- 300, 2 grams**

Turkey bacon, egg white sandwich- 340, 10 grams**

Greek yogurt with honey parfait- 290, 5 grams**

McDonalds

Food-calories-fat

Egg Mcmuffin- 300, 12 grams*

Sausage burritos- 300, 16 grams

Scrambled eggs- 170, 11 grams**

Fruit and yogurt parfait- 160, 2 grams**

Dunkin Donuts

Food-calories-fat

Egg and cheese on english muffin-320, 13 grams

EggWhite and cheese on english muffin-270, 5 grams**

Reduced fat blueberry muffin- 450, 10 grams

Multigrain bagel- 390, 8 grams

Eggwhite turkey sausage flatbread- 280, 6 grams**

Tim Hortons

Food-calories-fat

Everything bagel- 280, 2 grams

Low-fat vanilla yogurt with blueberries- 160, 3 grams**

Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich- 420, 23 grams

Egg and cheese wrap-220, 12 grams**

Mixed berry oatmeal- 210, 3 grams**

**Best choices

*Okay choices

When there is no time.

Cereal

Although I am not a fan of cold cereal for breakfast, this list is helpful to those of us who only have time for cereal. Better to eat cereal when in a rush, then nothing at all...

http://health.yahoo.com/experts/eatthis/50831/best-amp-worst-breakfast-cereals/

Don't drink all your calories!

The weather is starting to warmup, which means you will probably be spending more time outside. More outdoor happy hours, more backyard gatherings and definitely more enjoyment in the sun! What could make these social settings even more enjoyable, hmm, maybe a yummy, refreshing cocktail or two?

When it comes to summer and social settings it's easy to make one drink become two or three or...you get the point, it's a slippery slope. The more you tend to drink, the more your inhibitions go and the easier it is to not watch your nutrition.

Now, I am all for a few drinks to enjoy yourself, this goes back to that everything in moderation and those encouraged splurges! Just remember not every drink is created equal! Let's take a look at a few favorites to get an idea of just how much of our diet we may be drinking...

These are based on standard serving sizes in a restaurant:

Margaritas-375 cals

Cosmopolitian-267 cals

Bottle of beer-150 cals

Screwdriver-190cals

White Russian-360cals

Pina Colada-437cals

Rum and Coke-182 cals

Wine-127cals

Vodka and club soda-80cals

So if you are to imbibe in a libation, be safe and enjoy yourself, just make sure to be the savvy fit female/male I know you are and don't overdo it! Enjoy the nice weather!

How many reps should I do?

It has often been thought that to really lean out and get that perfect lean sculpted muscle lifting light weights with many reps will be best. More and more research is showing that lifting heavier weights with less reps is the way to achieve your most fit body!

Lifting a light weight several times will definitely increase the endurance of your muscle, but it won't make you stronger and won't make you look leaner either. Lifting heavier weights, fewer times will increase your strength and increase your metabolism, eventually decreasing your body fat surrounding the muscle, which will make you look more lean and toned.

The reason many people are fearful of lifting heavier, is they don't want to "bulk up," bulking up happens when you are lifting a heavy volume of weights, eating high calories and have the right amount of hormones (more in males then females) or use supplements. Don't be afraid to challenge your body a little more with an increase in weights! Instead of doing 15-20 reps, try 10-12, just don't do more than 3 sets of 2 different exercises for a particular muscle group if you are afraid of "bulking up!"

Please view link below, great article on lifting with different weights!

Really? - The Claim - For Better Muscle Tone, Go Lighter and Repeat - Question - NYTimes.com

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/health/06real.html?src=me&ref=general

Interesting nutrition article

http://alternityhealthcare.com/blog/?p=156

Willpower, why have you left me?!?

Have you ever thought, I won't eat that, I know it's not good for me and I am really "watching my diet" or maybe it's "I will only have a bite."

Whatever food you are trying to "stay away" from, can and will eventually break you down and decrease your willpower!

So I say, have strategies set in place to help you when your willpower leaves you. No one has unlimited willpower, at some point, yours will be shaken! Have a strategy in place to help you get past when willpower isn't enough.

It's okay to have those splurges but if they are continuous, that is not going to be good for your long-term fitness goals.

Having strategies set in place to not tempt you will be a great way to help that willpower!

Some good strategies:

1. Don't have foods that you typically overeat in the house if you aren't able to control yourself.

2. Don't let yourself get too hungry, this will definitely lead to overeating, keep healthy snacks on hand.

3. Let yourself have a splurge every once in awhile, remember that 90% rule!

4. Go for a walk to clear your head, most of the time these lapses of willpower have more to do with what's going on mentally than your physical need.

*So this week, set up some strategies to help you succeed! Good luck and go get fit!

A little bit about me...

My Fitness Philosophy

I have been interested in health and fitness ever since I

was grew up in Troy, Michigan. I grew up learning

the essentials of a healthy lifestyle and have embraced

it ever since.

After graduating from Michigan State

University, I received certifications from the National

Personal Training Institute in 2006. I have been training

people of all ages, genders and backgrounds ever since.

I also have certifications from the National Academy

of Sports Medicine as a Personal Trainer, Performance

Enhancement Specialist, and Pre/Post Natal Specialist.

I am certified in adult and child First Aid and CPR.

I believe the most effective way to live a happy,

productive life is through adopting a healthy lifestyle. I

want to help people take steps towards living a healthier,

fuller life. I strive to educate people on healthy ways

to lose weight without fad diets, have better body

image and on the basics of good nutrition.

I motivate

people to make healthy choices, focusing on health as

a whole.

It is not simply how you look on the outside

– it is how you feel on the inside as well!

I believe in

pushing people and helping them work towards their

goals.

My focus in our sessions will be on functional

fitness: improving core and full-body strength, weight

loss, improving balance, flexibility, endurance and

overall well-being.

I believe in taking a step every day

to improve your health.

"If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place." -Nora Roberts

Jackie The Trainer

Your Fitness Goals

Royal Oak, MI

Results

248-914-0588

jackiethetrainer@gmail.com

reachyourfitnessgoals.blogspot.com

90% to lose, 85% to maintain

So you have started a new "diet", which is a word I really don't like or maybe you have taken on a new healthy approach lifestyle (much better!) Good for you! But, oh no, it's Saturday night and you are meeting some friends for a birthday, you know there will be drinks involved, delicious appetizers, cake, ahhhh! What to do?!?

Don't make yourself crazy over splurges, it's okay if you are trying to lose weight to have a few splurges throughout the week. Just make sure you chose carefully! Maybe you want a drink and a piece of dessert, but skip the appetizer and instead order some broth based soup or a small salad with dressing on the side. You have to make any "diet" or "lifestyle" fit into your lifestyle, it isn't realistic to think you will have control over exactly what you will eat all the time.

More importantly don't beat yourself up if you do have a splurge, it's good to indulge a little, just watch that over-indulging. Also, let's call these "treats" splurges instead of cheats, meaning they are a good and healthy part of a diet not something that shouldn't happen!

The best rule of thumb is to look at your food over the course of a week and think if I want to lose weight I can be 90% compliant and include 10% splurges and still lose weight. For example, if you are having 3 main meals a day with 2 healthy snacks, 35 meals a week, 10% would give you 3-4 splurges a week. Keep in mind that if you did have the drink, the appetizer and the dessert that might be considered 2 splurges for the week!

As for wanting to maintain your weight, you can play around with %15 splurges over the week and 85% adherence to your newly adopted healthy lifestyle, just be honest with yourself and if you need to cut it to less splurges, adjust accordingly.

Excuses, Excuses...

Excuses, excuses, let's be honest, we all have them! It doesn't matter where you are in a workout program, just getting started, thinking of starting one or you've been working out for years, you can always find an excuse to not workout. "I'm too tired", "I'm too busy", "I don't feel good", "I ate like crap, why workout?"

Please, please, stop with the excuses, I promise you, if you're tired, you will feel better when you are finished with your workout. If you are too busy, you will be able to manage your stress and work-load better after working out, Yea for those endorphins! As for the not feeling well, if you really are sick, take time to rest and get better, but if it's a low-energy or stomach issue, try a few minutes and see how you feel. After ten minutes of working out, asses how you feel! My favorite excuses, the unhealthy eating, so let's continue to be unhealthy. That attitude is one of the most destructive for both your mind and body! Everyone has an unhealthy meal, day, weekend, etc, the problem lies in the continuous destructive, unhealthy eating. It's okay to have dessert, a few drinks, indulge here and there, but you need to accept your indulgence (over-indulgence) and get right back on with your healthy lifestyle.

Have a great week, get some great workouts in and fuel those workouts with awesome nutrition!

One Month In...

I can't believe it's February already! One month of resolutions in, one month of good workouts in and really good nutrition...hopefully! Take a look at how the past month went, what did you feel good about, what do you wish would have gone better. Don't get down on yourself for that dessert or missing that workout, instead focus on how this month can be a better, healthier February!

If you have been doing the same cardio or weight workout for the past month or months, now is the time to change it up. Cardio is great, but your body adapts really quickly if you continue to do the same program day after day. My advice is to add in some additional intervals to your cardio program for 30 seconds to a minute to make it harder. For example, up the resistance or incline for 60 seconds and run/bike/stride as fast as you can for that minute and then return to the lower intensity. Adding bursts of intensity to a cardio program is one of the best ways to change it up and burn fat! Have fun and don't be afraid to push your cardio to the next level!

Just when you think you're eating right...

Topic is:

Eating fruit and going for the "healthier" sugar may seem like a good thing, once again that darn "everything in moderation kicks in..."

http://figureathlete.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/diet_and_nutrition/the_low_fructose_diet

2010 Happy New Rear

2010 is here already which means so are new rear resolutions, I mean year, no I do mean rear. Isn't that always our New Year's resolution, to be healthier, stronger, smaller, happier?!? Well, this year I want to help you do all those things. I will be blogging about anything and everything fitness related, feel free to comment or just enjoy the postings! Also, new this year are the jacktoids, fun little fitness tidbits you can tune into weekly! Let's get serious about our fitness goals in 2010!