Fit 170 Better Balance, End Bad Habits, Healthy Meats

In this episode….A few food prep tips can make a big difference on the scales! Improve your Balance with simple training tweaks! Six steps to end bad habits and reach your goals faster!

NEWS UPDATES

I’ll receive Draft 2 of “Mindset Makeover” next week, and see if any changes are needed before it goes for public consumption! This is also my guide for the Mindset Makeover Online course which I am working on too (of course!) Please take the poll on this blog page for the structure of the course you would prefer.

Been working on streamlining the websites. Clubfit, All-in-one-workouts, FitnessMakeover home page and the Proshop. This may take a while, but my goal is to make them easier to navigate. For Clubfit, I will be adding a library of video exercise instruction. Part one is adding this library of exercises so you can see how to do them correctly. Part two is adding “classes” that you can link together for a full body workout or body part workouts. The videos are mostly done, just working on the site. The new improved Clubfit will be member only. You can still access the podcasts and articles for free, but the new content including diet calculations, meal plans, mini workshops and more will be member only. I have redone the All-in-one-workout site, which supports the dvd workouts I have available. These workouts are available on amazon.com. Ball, bands, weights, no equipment, All-in-one-workout format is 30-60 minutes workout for entire body, warmup, workout, abs, stretch. You can watch clips from each dvd workout at the new All-in-one-workout site, and get a description of what is in each workout. Order securely via amazon. They also feature discounts for purchasing sets, such as-both Resistance Band Workouts DVDs or both ball etc.

NUTRITION
A few subtle adjustments in your food preparation can make a big difference on the scales while creating healthy family meals. For those of you that eat meat, don’t think you have to abandon it to lose weight! Just make better choices. You can find lean meat easily if you know where to look! Beef labeled as “loin”, “round” and “extra lean” are your best choices. According to The Wisconsin Beef Council, cuts like top round, tenderloin or sirloin qualify as lean, healthy selections. The best cooking methods for any meat, chicken or beef, is always roasting, baking, grilling, braising and broiling. Non-stick pans and cooking sprays will lower the calorie content. If you are losing weight, you can still use olive oil to cook, just be sure to measure it for accuracy. We do need fats in our diet plan, and adding healthy ones during preparation is a great way to do this! Another way to reduce fat is to strain cooked ground beef, or even turkey or chicken, and rinse it with hot water. Drain it well before you continue whatever recipe you are making.

We all think of chicken as the most lean of meats, and the white meat is very lean. However, the dark meat contains about twice as much fat as white meat. You probably know that the skin is full of fat. It also adds flavor! Putting seasonings between the meat and skin is a great way to maximize flavor! Just remember to remove the skin before you eat it. To avoid temptation, throw the skin away before plating you meal. Speaking of adding flavor, veggies can be served raw, steamed or microwaved with lemon juice, herbs, or vinegar. You can also sautee them with olive oil, or any healthy oil, broth again be sure to measure so you can determine the amount of fat you are taking. If you are in maintenance mode, then you don’t have to be so specific with your measurements. That’s one of the benefits of the permanent weight loss you achieve with weight training! Less fuss in the kitchen!

MOTIVATION
Six steps to ending bad habits! Whatever habit you want to change, you must start with knowing what your goal is in changing this habit. What outcome do you desire? Then you can consider any obstacles that may get in your way, in advance, in order to prevent them from becoming obstacles that take you away from your goal.

First, lets remember that everything begins with a goal. A “SMART” goal: specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely. Once you know your goal, and that it fits the criteria, you can consider what else will change in your life or how your life may be different when this goal is accomplished. Have you ever noticed that saying you’re not going to do something any more rarely works. Just saying it doesn’t change your habits. Your actions change your habits! Determine what might stand in the way of achieving your goals and find a way around these obstacles. Have an obstacle plan, or a “detour” plan! Just like when driving somewhere, you may get off course, but with a detour you know you can get back on course as soon as possible. With your plan, you’re much more likely to actually achieve!

Avoid “If / Then” statements! You know, the “if this one thing were handled, then everything else would fall into place” statements! “If / Then” statements cause trouble because a strong belief that one single thing, person or event is the problem, sets you up to fail. For example, getting a handle on your cravings is not an all-or-nothing proposition. You must leave room for occasional deviations. It’s not the occasional side trip that causes weight trouble, it’s the road we usually travel. The detour doesn’t cause the problem, it’s not getting back to the path you have made that ruins good intentions! Yes, you need to create goals that are “SMART” and you need to know your expectations, your outcome. Have a clear picture of your end result!

Follow these six steps to create a well formed outcome and Get What You Want!

Step 1- State what you want (not what you do not want). Remember, positive, present tense statements! For example, “I want to weigh 135 pounds.” “I want to fit into that dress.” “I want to bench press 100 pounds.”
Step 2- Determine whether you can achieve it, do you believe it is truly possible. Review your SMART goal! A goal of “I want to climb to the moon.” is not truly possible for you or anyone else!
Step 3- Determine the resources you have available and what you may need to make this goal a reality. For example, will it take time, money, gear, clothes, equipment, or coaching? Think this through because it is an important part of your plan!
Step 4-Is anyone else involved? Does your goal require the assistance or reliability of another person? If so, think of any potential obstacles that may come up regarding others. Think of everyone involved in your day-to-day life and those involved with or who may be affected by your new habit or goal.
Step 5- Visualize! Picture yourself in the winner zone! See yourself “as if” you’ve obtained your goal. How does it feel? Do you like what you see or the person you have become?
Step 6-Create your plan of action for the achievement of your outcome.

While it may seem like a lot of effort simply to decide what you really want, going through these steps at the beginning gives you the path you need to reach your goal or create a new habit. These steps help you find potential obstacles. The obstacles which stopped you from moving forward in the past. Now you will be armed with a plan and options to blast past those obstacles!

TRAINING

Balance training is essential to reducing injuries! Balance is the ability to maintain stability when stationary or moving through the body’s coordinated actions of the sensory functions (eyes, ears, joints). It is a basic skill needed for sports and daily activities.

Here are a few Training Tweaks to help improve your balance:

1. Change the surface of your balance workout. Do biceps curls or lateral raises on a BOSU or a Stability Ball.

2. Change the sensory perception. Repetitions of an exercise with eyes shut, turning head to one side or shaking the head can intensify the effects of training and balance.

People of all ages should keep a healthy balance system to avoid injuries and avoid problems that can occur to joint pain, weakness, or dizziness. Keeping a healthy balance system is essential in improving overall health and well-being.

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