Do you dream of having a great body but you don't create and stick to your plan?

Here are some to successfully lose weight and keep it off.

Typical weight loss plans include diet and exercise. But what really is a diet? It is a way to monitor the calories we are putting in our bodies. Some need it for health reasons, and some do it just to look good. Sometimes it is a way to ensure we are getting the right amount and servings of fruits, vegetables, and fiber. It's a way to consciously watch what you are putting in your mouth.  Sound familiar?  Dieting is also a temporary fix to an eating habit that you need to take a serious look at. 

Exercise is another way to eliminate calories. Cardio can expend a great deal of calories. Also, strength training increases lean mass, helping to keep our fat burning furnace firing at optimal levels.

Combining healthy eating and exercise is great for helping us lose weight. But what happens when it stops working? What happens when the original motivating factor goes away, like you wanted to lose weight for vacation or you had a wedding to attend.  What happens when we resort back to our old ways?

There are different reasons why diet and exercise stop working: the restriction of calories, all the healthy food can be more expensive, boredom, and depriving yourself of what you love. These can be the downfall to any good program that lacks one step: a plan.

That’s right, developing a plan is the key to losing weight and keeping it off. People go to dietitians, personal trainers, and group exercise classes because of one central component: they have a format or a plan. Each aerobics class or Get Fit class http://www.getfitcamp.net/ is choreographed with a routine of exercises, which help people from one level to another. A personal trainer designs an exercise program with increasing intensity to help you lose more weight. A dietitian develops a sound nutrition plan which includes when to eat, what to eat and the amount to eat.

Each one gives you a PLAN. So how can a plan help?

Having a plan can help you lose weight and keep it off, and help in other areas of life. You can plan for retirement, how to send your kids to college, and to change certain behavior hindering your weight loss.

Here are the components of a plan:

• Recognizing the need to change some aspect in your life (always doing the same thing will get same results)
• Establishing short- and long-term SMART goals (in the business world we have all heard of this)
• A proper support system (having this support can make or break your plan)
• Rewarding your successes and acknowledging your failures (and learning from them)

The biggest shift in the health industry is listening and assisting, and not prescribing. A dietitian gives a plan and you are told what to eat. There is nothing wrong with this, and this approach can work for some. However, some people, when told to do something, a little rebellion happens resulting in lack of adherence to the program. Does this sound familiar?

If I have to cancel a session for a particular reason, I have given a workout that the client could do on her own and 90% of the time that client does not do it.  They are not accountable to themselves and need to recognize it.

Recognizing the need to change - everyone has something in their life they need or want to change. It could be weight loss, losing stubborn belly fat, living a healthy life, or financial freedom. Whatever the goal is, figure it out and write it down. You can even tell someone else about your goal and what you think you need to change. Now you have what you want to change so you….

Establish short- and long-term goals - This is the most important step in the process. You want to think long range - three months - and develop goals around what you want to change. Develop three to four goals you want to work on and write them down. Then break down those three or four goals into smaller, more manageable goals. 

When developing goals, you want SMART goals. You may already know what they are or may be asking yourself, "What are SMART goals?"

Specific - the more specific the goals, the more apt you are to accomplish your goals. Just saying you want to lose weight is a vague statement, but saying “I want to lose five pounds over three months,” makes the goal more specific. Making specific goals provides a timeline to accomplishing the goal(s). This increases success for reaching the goals. They also must be…

Measurable - you should be able to track the goals. This way you can see when you complete the goal or the level of success at the end of three months. Goals should also be…

Attainable - you should never set goals out of reach or unattainable. Each goal you set should be difficult, but accomplishable, with hard work and dedication. This builds self-confidence and self-esteem, and shows you have the ability to accomplish what you set out to do. If they are not attainable, you may feel like a failure and never reach your goal.  Goals should also be….

Realistic - attainable and realistic go hand-in-hand. Your goals should be realistic to what you want to accomplish. Saying you want to lose 100 pounds in 3 months can set you up for failure. It might not be realistic, unless you take drastic measures. Set goals that are realistic to your situation - goals you know you are able to accomplish and you know you CAN & WILL accomplish. Leading to…

Time-based - make sure you set an end time to your goals. This creates a sense of urgency in completing them, adding to the difficulty. This holds you accountable for your success and gives you direction for accomplishing your goals. It motivates you every day to look at your goals and work hard on them.

A proper support system - now that you have your SMART goals in place, share them with someone else. Confide in a friend, a relative, your personal trainer, or dietitian. This holds you accountable because someone else is watching. They hold you as accountable as you hold yourself. This motivates you to succeed since you do not want to let them down. Why is Weight Watchers successful? By sharing experiences with others who can relate, they are held accountable by everyone in the program.

The reward system - you always want to reward your successes and recognize your failures. Rewarding your successes gives the opportunity to acknowledge when a change has been made or a goal has been accomplished. It provides positive reinforcement which builds more confidence!

Recognizing your failures is also important. It is just as hard to change behaviors as it is to fail. Failure can devastate success. Recognizing you did not meet your goals and then letting it go. Letting go helps you understand there are challenges and bumps along the way, however, you can overcome them and move forward. We do not want to move backwards, but always forward. Dwelling on failures prevents forward movement which destroys momentum. So stop dwelling on the failure, and move in leaps and bounds forward in a positive way.

Changing behaviors does not come easy. Behaviors are deeply ingrained in us, sometimes making it hard to see the forest through the trees. Admitting when a change is needed, you set the stage for success. Including short- and long-term weight-loss goals, a reward system for the little and big successes, and a great support system will help in developing a plan for losing weight and keeping it off.

I am creating a pilot program called Roadmap To Change and will limit the group to 4 participants, if you are interested please email me wanda@perfectfitpersonaltraining.com

Turn Back The Clock While Sitting At Your Kitchen Table

Folgers makes it. Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts do too. What am I talking about? Coffee of course! There is nothing better than waking up to a freshly brewed cup of coffee. Coffee wakes you up due to the healthy amount of caffeine found in coffee. However, today there are new ways coffee is being used, and it could just help you fight off the aging process.


Coffee has always been a way to rev our engines in the morning or late afternoon. Did you know there are 150 billion coffee drinkers in the US, and they drink an average of 3.1 cups of coffee per day? Also, did you know coffee shops exceed 12 billion in yearly sales? Pretty impressive numbers, for a product which comes from a simple seed!

Those numbers are impressive, but what is even more impressive is the effect coffee has on the body. Coffee has been shown to prevent strokes, heart disease, type 2 Diabetes, and helps to prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease. The reason: coffee is full of phenolic nutrients which are antioxidants that help fight off oxidative stress and damage to cells in the body.

So what are phenolic nutrients?

Phenolic nutrients are antioxidants found in certain foods which can help reverse damage created by free radicals in the body. Oxidative stress and damage is a common reaction in the body due to metabolic processes. This can lead to inflammation, degenerative(s) disease, and can lead to heart disease. Oh yeah and one more: aging.

We want to clean up and rid our bodies of free radicals from oxidative stress. But how?

Coffee to the rescue.

Coffee has high levels of phenolic acid. One cup of coffee has 350 milligrams of phenolic nutrients, and 12% of the coffee bean itself is full of chlorogenic acids! Out of all foods tested, adults get more antioxidants from coffee than from other phenolic-rich foods. But what if you do not like coffee?

No problem! We have the answer for you!

Coffee comes from a berry, and this berry is undergoing research to determine its effectiveness in the body. One study has found that 1g of coffeeberry has the same ratio of phenolic nutrients as one cup of coffee. Do not like the caffeine rush from coffee? Coffeeberry only has 1.5% of the daily caffeine intake recommended. Much lower than a cup of coffee!
Not only do you get the same benefit from a single coffeeberry as a full cup of coffee, you get less caffeine, which will put you at ease. Not only can caffeine clear your mind and wake you up in the morning, it can also lead to increased blood pressure and heart rate.

Caffeine is a stimulant in the body. Drinking coffee stimulates our fight or flight system to release a hormone called adrenaline. Extra levels of adrenaline lead to the brain closing blood vessels. This raises the amount of dopamine in the body, which helps us stay alert and ready to go. Having too much caffeine can be a drain, since it causes us to stay awake.

One more thing: coffee can help prevent Diabetes!

I know, crazy to think that drinking coffee decreases your risk for developing Diabetes, especially type 2 Diabetes. The reason: minerals found in coffee help to regulate insulin.

Coffee has two minerals shown to help regulate insulin levels and help shuttle blood sugar into the cells. In type 2 Diabetes, the body becomes resistant to insulin, limiting the amount of sugar from the bloodstream we can use as energy. Magnesium and chromium found in coffee can help insulin do its job: shuttle sugar into the working cells!

Caffeine found in coffee can be a useful tool in the fight against Diabetes. Research done by Wedick et al. has found caffeine to be effective in fighting the development of Diabetes. Through research, they determined caffeine to have an effect on a hormone found in fat cells. Adiponectin decreases, helping the body to regulate insulin more effectively.

Guess what? You do not have to drink just regular coffee! You can get the same benefits from drinking de-caffeinated coffee.
WOW, who could imagine coffee can have such tremendous effects on the body! How can coffee help slow the aging process?

When the body is exposed to high levels of oxidative stress, this speeds up the aging process. Oxidative stress can lead to damage of our DNA, protein, and lipids in the body. Once again, here comes coffee to the rescue!

Coffee and coffeeberries have higher levels of phenolic nutrients, which can help reduce the effects oxidative stress has on the body. By reducing the high concentration of free radicals, you are saving the cells of the body from aging. This slows the aging process considerably.

Coffee is amazing! Coffee contains high levels of phenolic nutrients, which are another class of antioxidants that the body uses to slow the aging process. These antioxidants also help reduce the chance of heart attacks, stroke, and your chance of developing type 2 Diabetes. The Coffeeberry is a little powerhouse of nutrition, carrying the same level of phenolic acid in a small amount, compared to levels you would find in one cup of coffee! Amazing little fruit!

Next time you reach for your next cup of coffee, know you are making a wise decision for the health of your body.
By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES