Category Archives: new year

Lose Weight Permanently through Lifestyle Change

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

What action plan will you implement this year to safely achieve your weight loss goal? And how will you successfully sustain the positive lifestyle change effort to see those results last long term?

The most common and desired fitness goal without a doubt is weight loss. Everyone I’ve ever talked to has a desire to keep excess weight off – feel better and be of good health. But to do it right requires more than applying a common fitness or weight loss program strategy to achieve sustainable results.

Aerobic exercise at low to mid-intensity efforts for 10-20 minutes activates the fat burning engine.

Before setting a fit healthy lifestyle change program in motion… One must be mindful of one very important ingredient that increases will power to stay the course. I.e., what activities of personal interest will motivate you to change your current lifestyle.

“Not only full of insights but also surprisingly funny. Read it to understand why the world became fat, how to reverse the epidemic—and how to stay thin yourself.”
Andreas Eenfeldt, MD Learn More Now!

All too often people have good intentions prior to setting a New Year’s Weight Loss Resolution… and repeatedly fail. Why? Mostly because the plan they put in place is not right for them. Following someone else’s weight loss or fitness plan, or lifestyle change course may motivate them. However it won’t likely provide the will power you need to continue the course independently long term.

Unhealthy waist size for men is 40″ and Women 35.” Healthy waist size for men 35″ and under and for women 32.5″

To determine a plan that’s right for you requires being honest with yourself. First of all confront your current lifestyle. Once you do you can target unhealthy, or sedentary habits that prevent losing weight and getting more fit. To develop a sustainable fitness plan and program requires targeting bad habits and behavior keeping you over weight and unfit.

Specially formulated for women. This fat burner supplement is a natural weight loss, flat tummy fat burner, formulated with the most effective ingredients in aiding weight loss for women.

Energy boost & weight loss support. BHB Formula acts as an appetite suppressant that supports fast weight loss by providing non-carb fuel for your brain, heart, and muscles so you can maintain energy and burn fat during low-carbohydrate intake.

Learn More Now!

I know many of you are conflicted with the daily grind that chips away at your will power to change course. But what I find most interesting… even after work and daily chores and taking care of the kids, etc., there’s always a way to begin squeezing in a window of fit healthy “me” time activity you’d take interest in.

How many sedentary or other unhealthy habits can you identify – then substitute that time for healthy activities?

There is always time to squeeze in a 15-30 min walk, or other exercise activity of interest to begin the healthy lifestyle change habit.

Let me help you identify a window of time. For example, how much time do you spend watching TV, searching the Internet, eating out after work, over sleep, go out for evening cocktails, or watch sports… You get the picture. Anyone can find time to squeeze in daily exercise activity… And if you can’t – you may need help targeting the obsessive behaviors keeping you overweight and unfit.

Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” is the coaching and positive lifestyle change information you need and want now to set and sustain positive lifestyle change long term.
Successful weight loss resolutions require identifying activities of interest that motivates you to stay the course.

Repeated failure in setting positive lifestyle change habits impacts how you see yourself and feel about life in general. And at some point not only will you gain more weight, you’ll feel more internal stress and anxiety – which could eventually lead to more unhealthy habits and behavior with connected ill-health symptoms and disease.

I’ve advised and programmed many clients throughout the years by arming them with customized fitness and
healthy lifestyle habit change programs of interest they’ve stuck with for life – Ultimately their success was dependent upon their activities of interests and passionate motivation to stay the course.

The following recommendations will help you achieve and sustain a positive fit healthy lifestyle course for life.

1) If you have repeated failures at losing weight or your health is at risk, you must seek help targeting and changing unhealthy habit(s) and behavior(s) [compulsive, obsessive, addiction, co-dependence on others, etc.]. If you are grossly obese, or have unhealthy habits or behavior keeping you sick – seek medical attention immediately. Behavior modification or nutritional expertise or pain management or other specialized medical referrals from your primary care physician will be of great service to you in changing your lifestyle course.

2) It is my belief the mind, body and spirit is dependent on sustainable fit healthy activities of interest – like balanced nutrition. Without some form of constant movement activity throughout the day, it becomes easy for sedentary habits to form. Our bodies are designed to move… NOT mostly sit.

Walking is our natural form of exercise and keeps the metabolism and all tissue cells and brain function in check. At a minimum everyone needs to work towards 30 -60 minutes of continuous daily walking or other exercise of interest activity. If you start out walking, or riding a bike, etc., 10-15 minutes per day – you can only advance upwards from there.

Exercise activity comes in all forms. Anytime you walk to a destination place – The fat burning engine is switched on.

3) Exercise activities of interest come in many forms. E.g., yoga, hiking, biking, skating,, treadmill, ballroom dance, stair stepping, rowing, Zumba dance, walking, pickleball, tennis, golf, yard work, jogging, etc. Basically anything that moves the body for a continuous period of time provides a fitness and health benefit. However, if you are just starting a walking program for example, do not start out walking at a brisk pace.

Gonex Portable Home Gym Workout Equipment with 10 Exercise Accessories illustrated in the image. Learn more about all the best home and mobile exercise equipment options now!

Work your way into greater duration, frequency and intensity within any activity of interest you begin participating in to become conditioned. Like any type of physical exertion activity – unless you’ve trained for the task or event, it’s best to ease your way into an exercise activity change habit until the encompassing being [mind, body and spirit] becomes conditioned to a new lifestyle change.

4) Our bodies regardless of age require whole food high-quality nutrients to boost metabolism, increase energy, mood, maintain weight and overall health, etc. Healthy diet occurs by consuming a balance of wholefood macronutrients (Carbs, Proteins and Dietary Fats). I also recommend dietary supplementation of high-quality vitamin-minerals as a health insurance policy. Why, because I know most don’t consume 3-4 servings of vegetables and fruits per day. The daily balance of macro and micro nutrients will help you achieve both weight loss and fitness and health goals.

Eat more natural whole foods and limit processed foods if you really want to loss excess body fat weight.

5) It is also true, exercise may add weight. That’s right, depending on body type and genetics and exercise program – strength training causes muscle mass to increase [muscle fiber is more dense and heavier than fat tissue].

Muscle building through strength training can increase body weight because of dense muscle fiber development… and offsets body fat weight gain – muscle requires more energy and burns additional calories daily.

When you exercise muscle in general – its mass and weight will increase relative to the effort you exert during exercise activity. Fitness programming adjustments to achieve a set fitness goal may require changing an exercise activity of interest to be more favorable toward fat burning activities that offset muscle weight gain.

Find an exercise activity you enjoy to burn more body fat weight. Better yet get a friend to take a zumba class with you.

Women’s Athletic Ankle Socks with Heel Tab, Premium Cotton, Soft Cushion, Reinforced Toe, Arch Support, Pack of 6. Learn more about this product and other aerobics clothing for women now!

6) It is important to measure your success weekly. If your losing weight safely and naturally, you’ll loss ~2lbs/week until you eventually achieve your ideal body weight. If you don’t measure fitness success periodically you may lose interest and motivation to sustain and achieve the set fitness goal.

Weight and Tape Weekly to Measure your Success.

A simple and convenient way to measure fitness goal success requires only a scale and tape measure and how your clothes fit. That’s it!

In home exercise activity only requires a little space and mat.

7) Analyzing the weight loss results… If your weight increases and waist band feels loose, this likely means body fat weight has decreased and muscle mass weight has increased. If your weight decreases and waist band feels tight, this likely means muscle mass has decreased and body fat weight has increased. If body weight has not increased and waist line feels the same but your getting stronger have more energy for exercise activity, your body is going through fat and muscle tissue weight change conversion. At this point it’s only a matter of time before positive weight loss and/or strength gain and/or endurance achieve the fit healthy lifestyle goal you set.

So what is the perfect weight loss exercise activity of interest strategy for you?

That depends, everyone works, lives and plays within different environments and is of varying age. We also have unique health histories, fitness goals and daily habits and activities of interests, etc.

Initially, the answer lies within targeting time available to begin implementing healthy exercise activities of interest that motivate and increase will power to stay a course to achieve a set fitness goal.

If your looking for information to help you achieve your weight loss and other fit healthy lifestyle and habit change goals once and for all… Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” is the coaching and lifestyle change guidance and recommended program information you need and want now.

Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” is the coaching and positive lifestyle change information you need and want now to set and sustain positive lifestyle change long term.

Learn how to program a successful New Year’s Resolution that’s safe, natural, right for you and can be sustained long-term. Now Get’er done!

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2014-19 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.

Enjoy Holiday Meals Without Weight Gain or Guilt

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

Updated, 27 November 2019, by Marc Woodard

I can’t believe how fast the end of year Holidays roll upon us.  And for some it can be a stressful time. Especially if you’ve had a hard time losing weight. For those of you who have had a tough time staying on weight loss course – I have an 8-Tip Holiday food strategy plan that may help you avoid weight gain, yet allow you to have your cake and eat it too.

The 8-Tip No Weight Gain Holiday Strategy has helped past clients stay on weight loss target not only through the festive season but throughout the year. Admittedly – most of my clients didn’t lose weight during this time of year, but most didn’t gain weight either while applying this strategy.

Ageless MirrorAthlete has weight loss proprietary information and programs and marketplace truths and flat out lies you won’t find anywhere else.

MirrorAthlete 8-Tip Holiday Meal Strategy

I was asked during a client consult if I could create a work around food strategy during the Holidays. One that allowed someone to eat favorite Holiday foods without derailing a weight loss goal.

I explained to the client there’s always a risk of falling off the wagon when overeating hyper-palatable [fatty, salty, sugary] foods – especially during the Holiday season. But for those looking to spend quality time with family, or attend a special event where food is the hero… If weight gain risk can be minimized through applying a food habit change plan… infrequent food indulgences can be enjoyed without gaining weight or feeling the guilt. With a properly programmed food plan, I find most people will stay on weight loss target. Admittedly, most clients I programmed didn’t gain weight during this time of year, but they didn’t lose weight either. Its basically a plan that puts weight loss on hold… then can be resumed thereafter.

Some have asked, “Can this 8-Tip No Weight Gain Holiday Food Strategy work long term?” Yes. “I believe certain habits and behavioral changes with an intermittent break in dietary routines will not be a weight loss goal deal breaker.”

Follow the tips below and you can have your cake and eat it to.

Tip#1Never!  Go to your mother, or mother-in-laws, or Grandmothers home for Holiday meals hungry!

The habit of starving ourselves prior to the Holiday meal seems to be ingrained within the American culture. I know my family like so many others during the Holidays have repeated this ritual. It’s no wonder we can’t stop ourselves from overeating. So, it stands to reason, you must eat something not less than 2-3 hours before you go over for a Holiday meal.

The way our digestion system processes food the stomach will not be empty for the next 4-6 hours depending on metabolism. This digestive function varies within each one of us.

Serve the foods you want to eat and don’t over load your plate. The point is… when you get to the table you won’t be as hungry or want to eat as much.

Tip#2Never, I repeat Never! Drink alcohol prior to going into the meal.

You don’t drink and drive do you? What makes you think you could drink without impact on will power to moderate calorie consumption? Especially while sitting in front of all those incredible dishes? Although I’m being facetious, I’m also serious in the way I want to make my point. Alcohol is a depressant, pain killer, relaxant, taste intensifier and social inhibitor all wrapped into one. This concept is easy to understand: eat and drink like Vikings… equates to calorie gain and falling of the wagon!

Limit yourself to two 8oz glasses of cheer after the meal (your choice). Remember alcohol also contains calories that add up fast.

Tip#3Drink plenty of water throughout the day prior, during and after Holiday meals.

Water is a natural solvent, absorbs well in the stomach and intestinal lining to assist the body’s digestive system and process food intake more efficiently while storing fewer calories as body fat. Plus, water will make you feel full faster and has no calories.

Tip#4Do not stay at the dinner table after eating.

This is where most of us fall prey to over eating indulgences. It is very difficult to resist picking at the Holiday turkey, cranberry, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, pies, olives, sipping on Champaign…  Ohhhhhh the dressing and gravy… Give me a break! I’m dying here. I think I just made myself hungry.

See how hard this is and I’m supposed to be giving you advice. Look, I never said I wasn’t human, or this would be easy. More so the reason to have a pre-meal battle plan strategy that moves one away from the table and out of the kitchen after the meal.

Tip 5#Take your first serving. After you consume it wait 20 minutes before you think about a second serving.

Take at least 20 minutes and enjoy the meal. Second servings is not recommended. This will be the hardest part of the plan. It takes your brain approximately this much time to register whether you’ve eaten enough or not.

Focus on satiety – not a feeling of fullness. But if you do decide you can’t resist a second helping focus on a favorite serving that doesn’t take up more than 1/2 the plate diameter. And no piling food on the plate.  Focus on 50% less than what you’d normally put on the plate for 1st’s and 2nd’s.

Tip#6Never eat dessert after you’ve eaten the main meal.

This will only add insult to injury. For many overweight people, the body simply can’t handle an additional blood sugar spike without storing more calories as body fat weight. Decadent foods are a villain to weight watchers and reason many fall off the wagon. Wait 1 hour to see how your body processes the feeling of what you already consumed. If you experience a feeling of satiety and not overfull after a period of time then do enjoy some a little dessert. But if you experience the feeling of near full anytime – back off and leave the remaining portion of dessert.

Tip#7 Never, I repeat never!  Take home left overs.

This can set you up for failure early on into the New Year. By continuing to eat these foods in succession leads to similar eating patterns days and months after the event. In this case total body weight can easily increase 8-10lbs within a 30 day period. Especially when one does not aerobically exercise daily.

Tip#8 – Perform Aerobic Exercise daily during the Holidays.

Low-impact aerobic exercise is very important to perform . Especially throughout the Holidays. When you consume excess calories on “any day,” you will need to mobilize the body to remove the unspent fat fuel. I highly recommend at a minimum… a daily walking program, or other low-impact aerobic activity, working up to at least 30 – 45 minutes daily. It is low impact aerobic exercise that stimulates the fat burning body furnace. Whereas body fat fuel is preferred by the body’s metabolism when performing low-impact aerobic exercise.

You’ve now learned how it’s possible to embrace Holiday and annual event foods that don’t add weight watcher pounds or guilt. And best of all, when applied correctly you won’t gain any weight. You may even surprise yourself and lose a little during those festive occasions.

Have a wonderful Holiday season and New Year with family and friends and don’t let your food fears and weight loss program prevent a great social and meal experience with loved ones.

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2017-19 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your free eNewsletter.

Fat Burning Puzzle Piece Changing Lifestyles

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

What many weight watchers and/or weight loss resolution plans have in common is an annual goal to lose body fat weight. But what people lose sight of who set these goals and New Year’s Resolution… finding a daily fat burning exercise activity [they enjoy] that motivates and compliments other healthy lifestyle changes necessary to stay the course. In my opinion, there’s one piece of the weight loss puzzle that’s more important than any other lifestyle change piece. Especially if one is to be successful at sustaining the weight loss change long-term.

Most of us know excess body fat increases the risk associated with diabetes, cardiovascular problems, stroke, gout, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer, etc. “So it stands to reason once the weight gain and increased health risk connection is understood, ‘it seems it would be easier to drum up the will power to stay and hold the weight loss course.” Although health literacy education is an important component of understanding how you will develop a weight loss plan based on current health status, and/or mitigate health risk… exercise and diet are almost-equally important puzzle pieces in consideration of developing a plan you’ll stick with. In my opinion, daily aerobic exercise is the most important habit change [puzzle piece] to focus on to achieve and sustain the weight loss goal.

To identify a fat burning aerobic exercise that motivates you to stay the exercise course – Simply think of an activity that keeps the body moving for extended periods of time. To help you find an activity that’s right for you… simply think of one you enjoyed as a child. As children we rode bikes, danced, hiked, walked to places and played intramural sports, etc., all aerobic-effort activities. Now hold onto this thought and we’ll get back to it.

If a daily fat burning exercise is not incorporated into the weight loss plan, it becomes very difficult to stay motivated and achieve the set weight loss goal and/or sustain the course once you’ve achieved it. Why? the will power to cut calories; and/or select healthier food choices; and/or change other unhealthy habits and behavior to achieve the goal is greatly dependent on daily activation of the fat burning engine. The fat burning engine also stimulates the brain-body chemicals that provide a sense of well-being [they are the natural feel-good chemicals that increase the will power that motivates us to move more and enjoy life to the fullest!]

Learn more about the brain-body chemicals by clicking on the Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More,” or click on book link below.

Healthy whole foods selection and total consumption are important puzzle pieces to weight loss. But what I’d like you to focus on is identifying and sustaining a year-around daily low-impact exercise activity you enjoy doing.

When you sustain a daily low-impact aerobics program [working-up-to: 20-40 min/daily], you’ll see weight loss results within weeks. Regardless of any other habit change. Eventually exercise activity will lead to other healthier lifestyle changes that compliment other puzzle piece weight loss components.

Reflecting back to my childhood [as I’m asking you to consider], simply identify an aerobics activity(s) you would enjoy doing daily … . As a child I walked everywhere. So it seemed natural for me to continue this low-impact fat burning exercise as an adult. Why do I ask you to reflect to your childhood? Because if you don’t have a favorite aerobics activity identified, you’ll likely recall one you enjoyed as a child. As opposed to following somebody else’s activity you may not stick with.

In my opinion, the most important piece of a successful weight loss plan is dependent on performing low-impact aerobics daily [ride a bike, walk, row, jog, hike, dance, site seeing, shadow box, jump rope, etc.]. However, those who live in changing weather and stressful work environments and with non-flexible schedules may feel it impossible to squeeze any more into a day.

Regardless of season, limited resources, inflexible schedule and/or seasonal activity interest… there is one fat burning exercise anyone can perform 365 days out of the year. That aerobics exercise is coincidentally my favorite childhood activity. Walking is an activity nearly everyone can participate in and can be performed year around anywhere and at anytime.

Walking is a very addictive form of low impact aerobics exercise and easy on load-bearing joints. It also activates the brain-body chemicals necessary to ignite the fat burning metabolism, which increases the mental and physical will power and well-being necessary to sustain other healthy lifestyle changes to stay on course.

If your looking for detailed information to help you achieve your weight loss and other fit healthy lifestyle goals/resolution and fully understand how brain-body [feel good] puzzle pieces work together and lead toward sustainable weight loss and healthier lifestyle. Ageless MirrorAthlete “Overweight and Unfit No More” is the coaching and lifestyle change guidance programming and planning information you need and want now.” It’s like having your very own Fitness and Healthy Lifestyle Coach in your corner without paying hundreds of dollars for a professional trainer. Learn more about the book by Clicking on the link now.

Ageless MirrorAthlete book includes all the permanent weight loss and annual fitness resolution truths you need and want now!

Learn more about Healthy Lifestyle Change at this website by reading another MirrorAthlete article titled: Lose Weight Permanently through Lifestyle Change,

Author: Marc T. Woodard, MBA, BS Exercise Science, ARNG, CPT, RET. 2014-19 Copyright. All rights reserved, Mirror Athlete Inc., www.mirrorathlete.org, Sign up for your Free eNewsletter.