Wednesday's Workout

I pretty much have fallen off the wagon. My son went to the hospital a week ago and I really haven't done much of anything since. Monday evening, I kicked a child's car seat and did a number on my leg, however today I will get back on the wagon, irregardless of how I feel. I am healthy enough to workout, just not 100% pain free. I think right now it is not so much of how much I do, it is simply doing something.

A Study on Love: Part XLV

Mack ate up some coins on Wednesday, so I didn't get to do the workout I wanted. So, I am doing that workout today. Rock on.Mark 7:14-23
Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a man can make him 'unclean' by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him 'unclean.' "

After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. "Are you so dull?" he asked. "Don't you see that nothing that enters a man from the outside can make him 'unclean'? For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

He went on: "What comes out of a man is what makes him 'unclean.' For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.' "

-What does this have to do with love? Well, it is rather simple. What is the opposite of sexual immortality? Purity. What is the opposite of evil thoughts? Godly thoughts. Opposite of deceit? Honesty. These things are the heavenly things. These things are the things that become expressions of love. That's important, since the evil things listed about are not expressions of love. And if they are not expressions of love, then they become expressions of a self-centered personality. The opposite of love, which is an outward focus, is selfishness, which is an inward focus. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XLIV

Today, I just will do some cardio. I have learned that I have lost an inch on my waist. That encourages me to continue to workout, even though I am not dropping the pounds, I am still getting results.
Proverbs 14:29
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly.

Proverbs 15:18,20

A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.

Proverbs 16:28,32

A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.

-Patience is an expression of love. God is patient. I lack patience. I know I do. I can be very hasty and very ill-tempered. I am grown in this area, but I still have a long way to go. Just a nugget for today.

A Study on Love: Part XLI

The weigh in wasn't good. I was up 3 pounds from 3 weeks ago and up one pound overall. Something has to give. I do not know what I am doing wrong, so I do not know what to change. I do need to stay consistent in working out. Here's my workout for Monday:
Matthew 6:16-18
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

-This scripture talks about two expressions of love. First, there is fasting. To fast for someone, as I have learned, is an expression of love for another person. Telling the truth is also an expression of love. In 1st Corinthians 13 it says that "love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth." Loving someone is telling them the truth.

Telling someone the truth is a hard lesson to be grasped for me. I find it easy to lie to someone when a situation is difficult. I have make a major headway in telling the truth all the time, but I am not perfect in this. Telling the truth feels like an inconvenience to me. It feels easier to simply lie and not have to deal with repercussions. I do not know if it makes sense or not... but that is how I feel about the whole thing. It is worth it, telling the truth. It is good to tell the truth, no matter how hard it may be. It is one of the things that gets you to heaven to be with God. And anything that accomplishes that is definitely worth it. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XXXVII

I hope you like the new logo. My wife did this one, with me adding the word bubble and text. Outside of that, it was all her. Anyway, if you want to guess the famous couple, go ahead and try. My workout today will consist of some cardio if I am lucky and the workout below. Being that it is a Thursday, it is tough to say if I will be able to get into the gym and workout. But I can at least do the workout below at home.

Get Killer Abs: Everybody wants defined abs. Good thing there are so many different abdominal exercises to choose from — you'll never get bored as you work your way toward washboard abs!

Here are three versions of the plank, a move that works the lower back, chest, and shoulders in addition to the rectus abdominis.

Basic Plank (beginner): Start in a push-up position, but keep your hands directly under your shoulders instead of outside your chest. Legs are extended straight behind you, with feet together. You are balancing on your palms and the balls of your feet. Hold this position for as long as you can, working your way up to 1 minute. It's a lot harder than it sounds!

Plank Twists (intermediate): Start in plank position. Maintaining this position, exhale and rotate your torso by bringing your right knee in toward your left armpit. Return to the starting position, then repeat, bringing the left knee toward the right armpit. Plank twists work not only the rectus abdominis but also the internal obliques.

Extended Plank (advanced): Start in a basic plank position, but instead of placing your hands under your shoulders, bring your hands together and place them on the floor in front of you (about 3 inches in front of your head). This variation places much greater emphasis and intensity on the rectus abdominis because you're not able to use your arms as pillars to support your body weight.

John 11:32-44
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.

Jesus wept.

Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"

Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."

When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

-I love this passage. Not because of the easiest memory verse (that would be John 11:35 "Jesus wept."), but because it really shows how much Jesus loves me. Jesus wept when he didn't have to weep. He wept because he loved. And in 1st John 4:8 it says that God is love. It also says it in verse 16. If you live in love, you live in God and God lives in you. Jesus was the full expression of love. He died for me. He died because he loves me. I have to die for others to express my love. And I don't necessarily mean a physical death, although that could be the ultimate expression of my love for others. No, I mean a metaphorical death. Dieing to self to help others is the death I am talking about and I really do not do it enough. That is a strong expression of love is serving others, putting everyone else's needs before my own. It's not easy. It really isn't all that attractive, either. But that is the calling. Johnny Out.

A Study on Love: Part XXXVI

Today, I am only going to have two workouts. Yesterday, I did accomplish three workouts. I have that feeling of "I lost weight" from yesterday's efforts. I Hope the scale will agree on Saturday. Today, I am going to do an hour of cardio in the morning and in the afternoon, I will do the workout below.
Luke 19:41-44

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

-How about this? Jesus wept over seeing Jerusalem. Why? Why cry over looking at a city? I believe Jesus was crying over the lost. He wanted to badly for them to repent. And here he is, going into the city to celebrate the Passover, knowing good and well that he would die because of them. And still he cries. Like I said yesterday, crying isn't a sign of weekness as it is a sign of love. I also believe that Jesus was sad for what would become of this city. I think it was really a mixture of emotions, all of them being led by love. I'll admit, I have cried over others who would not come to Jesus. It is a complex, yet so simple an emotion. When was the last time you wept because of the lost?

Really, that is a tough question. Weeping or crying just isn't something guys do. Jesus did it a good deal. And I believe he did it way more than the Bible tells us. I believe that Jesus overflowed with love to the point of tears and that I need to be more like that. I have to admit, I am not anywhere near in touch with my feelings and emotions like Jesus was. Prayerfully, I will get there someday. I would like it to be sooner than later. Johnny Out.

Today's Workout

I am at a desperate moment right now in my life. I have done what I believe to be everything that I can do loose weight... and haven't. Outside of getting a personal trainer (which I can not afford right now), I really do not know what to do. So this week, I am not going to pull any punches. I am going to loose weight. It will happen. I do not know that come to Saturday's weigh in if I will loose 10 or more pounds, but I want to be able to say that I did everything I could to get there. This is my workout today. I already did over 30 minutes in the gym this morning and I will go back to the gym tonight. I am also going to do this workout. We'll see what happens.

Tips to Weight Loss

4 Keys to Weight Loss Success

Eat a Low-Fat, High-Carbohydrate Diet

Although a lot of people may think of only pasta and bread when they hear the word "carbohydrates," complex carbohydrates are in many foods, not only grains but also in beans and many vegetables. People in the Registry say they get about 56% of their calories from such carbohydrates, and only about 19% of calories from protein. Fat makes up about 25% of their diet. People in the Registry also say they consume 1,300 to 1,400 calories a day on average, but that number is probably lower than what they actually eat.

Remember that a good diet probably isn't one that makes you outlaw certain types of food. Being too strict can make it hard to stick to a healthy eating plan. The problem for most people is not so much that they're eating the wrong things, but that they're eating too much. Moderation is important.

But what about protein diets? People using protein diets can and often do lose weight. The fact is that you can probably lose weight on any of the major diet plans, and Registry members slimmed down employing all sorts of different approaches.

However, what we've found is that people who are successful at maintaining their weight loss eat a low-fat and high-carbohydrate diet. So while a protein diet may be good for losing weight, it may not be the best for long-term weight maintenance.

Exercise Every Day

Exercise is key to maintaining your weight loss and it's probably more important than diet. On average, people in the Registry exercise between an hour and an hour and a half a day. Yes, that's a lot. But before you despair, it's not as bad as it sounds.

First, many of the people break up their exercise throughout the day instead of doing a single, marathon work-out session. Second, one of the most common methods of exercise is walking, which is easy to incorporate into your day.

If you're just starting out, it's important to begin slowly. Starting too fast can cause pulled muscles and discouragement. Instead, gradually work up to a full hour. Alternatively, you can increase your number of steps. Get a pedometer, or step counter, and record the number of steps you take in an average day. Then slowly increase them.

An hour or an hour and a half every day is a lot of time. But look at it this way: if you could lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life with just an hour or so of exercise a day, would it be worth it? A lot of people say yes.

Eat Breakfast Every Day

Although some people try to lose weight by cutting down on the number of meals they eat, that really isn't a good strategy. Skipping meals often just means that you'll be starving later and wind up overeating. Starting the day with breakfast can help prevent that, and on average, members of the Registry eat breakfast every day. A daily breakfast may also be a sign of the discipline that Registry members bring to how they eat. Being careful about when you eat may also help make you conscious of what you eat.

Keep Track of Your Weight and Eating

This is a behavior shared by weight maintainers that runs against common wisdom. Many people have argued that weighing yourself regularly can put too much emphasis on weight rather than fitness.

We don't know exactly why regular weighing is a common characteristic of people who've been successful at maintaining their weight, but we speculate that people use their scales as an early warning system. People who weigh themselves regularly will notice quickly if they have gained a few pounds and can then implement some strategies to prevent gaining more.

Checking your weight less often can mean that you might wake up one morning and discover that you gained 10 pounds. That can be pretty discouraging, and it might cause you to just give up.

The Myth of Painless Weight Loss

One thing that people in the Registry tell us again and again is that weight loss and weight maintenance is not easy: it's hard work. Diet programs that advertise easy or painless weight loss and weight maintenance tend to fail in the long run. A lot of the people in the Registry tell us that they only lost their weight after they gave up on the "painless" methods.

The problem for many people is that they work hard at losing weight but then don't have the skills to maintain that weight loss. We've found that the best way to do that is to exercise and eat carefully for the rest of your life.

That may sound tough, and it is. But when we ask people on the Registry, they say losing the weight was worth it, and that it actually got easier over time. Getting to a lower weight has made their lives better, and it can make yours better, too.

People are always asking me, "How do I get motivated to start exercising and stick with it?" My answer is usually the same: You already are motivated. You know it's good for you and you believe it works. All you need is some organization and sensible goals.

Still not sure what to do? Check with your doctor before starting a new fitness plan and get going with these five tips:

Write it down. Buy a weekly calendar, or use what's already handy and turn it into your own personal fitness coach. On Monday, set goals for the entire week. Write down the activity you'll do, the time of day you'll do it, how many minutes it will take, and where you'll work out.

Keep it simple. Pick only one or two activities and save variety for later. Worried you'll get bored? If you need a little inspiration, listen to music or books on tape, or pick a movie and allow yourself to watch it only while you're on the treadmill or stationary bike.

Do it first. Exercise in the morning. That way, it won't hang over you all day. Morning typically has fewer distractions. But don't trust your groggy self to decide if you'll exercise when the alarm goes off. Prepare the night before by laying out your exercise clothes next to your bed-or, if you must, sleep in them. Then all you need to do is roll out of bed, put on your exercise shoes, and go.

Take the pressure off. Don't think too much about exercising-just do it, and let the details take care of themselves. One woman I know routinely did 20 minutes on her stationary bike, which she timed with an egg timer, but was nervous about setting it for 30. Her solution? She bought another timer, set the first one for 20 minutes, the second for 30, and let herself decide whether she'd keep going after the first timer went off. No kidding-the first time out she did the full 30 minutes, and after that it just got easier.

Do it for three months. Set your weekly goals every week for three months. After that, exercise (or any new activity) will start to feel like a habit-and that's exactly what you've done: established a new fitness habit.

Remember: It's always your decision to exercise. Decide to do it, list your weekly goals, and stick to your workout plan. Get set. Go! (WebMD)

Weight Loss Foods

What foods can you count on to go the extra mile, and which foods fall short? See what recent studies reveal before your next workout.

1. A Spoonful of Honey

Recent research suggests that carb blends (foods containing fructose and glucose) may be superior to straight glucose for boosting energy during endurance activities. But before you reach for a sports drink, consider honey: like sugar, it naturally has equal parts fructose and glucose, but it also contains a handful of antioxidants and vitamins. Upshot: While not exactly a “super food,” honey has plenty going for it besides being sweet. The darker the honey, the more disease-fighting compounds it contains.

2. A Cup of Joe

Studies that demonstrate performance-enhancing benefits of caffeine often imply that drinking coffee will give you a boost. Not so, according to the latest research. Scientists put nine endurance runners through five trials after ingesting either a capsule (caffeine or placebo) or coffee (decaffeinated, decaffeinated with caffeine added or regular coffee). Only the caffeine capsule increased endurance. Researchers think that other compounds in coffee may counteract some of the benefits of caffeine. Upshot: Have your cup of coffee if you need it to get moving, and your stomach can tolerate it, but don’t expect it to keep you going through a long workout.

3. A Glass of Chocolate Milk

A small 2006 study (partially funded by the dairy industry) found that chocolate milk might help tired athletes refuel as well or better than popular sports drinks. In the study, nine cyclists rode until exhaustion, rested for four hours, then biked again. During the rest period, they drank either low-fat chocolate milk, Gatorade (a fluid/electrolyte-replacement drink) or Endurox (a carbohydrate-replacement drink). The cyclists who refueled with chocolate milk were able to bike about 50 percent longer during the second bout of exercise than those who drank Endurox and about as long as those who drank Gatorade. Upshot: You don’t need a “sports drink” to refuel after a workout. Regular or chocolate milk—both of which contain a mix of carbohydrate and protein—may work just as well. Before or during a workout, however, stick with Gatorade or a similar carb/electrolyte drink.

4. A Bowl of Yogurt

Constant training takes a toll on your immune system, leaving athletes susceptible to upper respiratory tract infections, but new research suggests that probiotics—the live active cultures in yogurt—may help keep you healthy. A 2008 study of 20 endurance athletes (published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine) found that taking daily probiotic capsules enhanced the activity of the athletes’ immune-boosting T-cells and cut the length of time they experienced upper respiratory tract infection symptoms by more than half. Probiotics can also help calm a queasy stomach, which is great for nervous athletes. Upshot: You’d have to eat vats of yogurt to reach the levels of probiotics the athletes in these studies consumed. Still, yogurt has a balanced mix of carbs and protein, so it’s a great post-workout recovery fuel. (WebMD)

Goals Update: 2008

Spiritual Goals for 2008
1. Have consistent QTs (over 90%) for 2008
2. Pray consistently with family (again, 90%)
3. Help the church (either communion service, contribution, children's ministry... just need to serve)
4. BE AT CHURCH consistently. Do let excuses pull me down from going.

I know this is only four goals (not a perfect number, biblically speaking...) but these are goals with God in mind. I think the Lord will bless it.

So, how is the progress?

I have realized several things over the past month. First, I need to get back to reading books, spiritual books, or just reading period. I have lost that love over the last couple of years and I think now is a good time to get back in things. So, I am adding a new goal to the list:

5. Read a book a month for the remaining year (7 books)

I also feel this weight loss has got be in the mix as well. I am really going after this thing, and have realized a few mistakes along the way and have made the proper corrections. Adding another goal to the list:

6. Lose weight and get to my goal: 160-170 pounds.

I am going to have to make an adjustment to the graphic to reflect in my change in goal. I have recently read that for a person of my bone structure, it is best to be about 180, but I remember what I looked like at 180 pounds and it would benefit me to be less than that.

In addressing the first four goals, I can not clench 90% on my QTs this year. I do pray consistently with my family, depending on how you look at the numbers. Mack loves praying, and he can only get that heart from learning from me and my wife. So, somewhere we doing right by him in this area. I have to take a step back from helping the church right now, but I will be able to once I get the gears all oiled. That isn't an issue right now. And I am at church consistently. So, those target areas are all OK. I am going to make an amendment to the first goal and simply add to be over 90% the rest of the way out. I feel that is fair and it won't be discouraging every month when I do this update.

I have learned something about losing weight. I have learned that just a proper diet isn't going to be enough. Exercise is essential. I had lost some weight early on in the month, but then climbed up to 220 lbs. I then introduced exercise to the mix and the weight started to drop off of me.

I hope to make up for the weight I was supposed to lose in the next couple of months. These goals for my weight are not going to be amended at this time. Johnny Out.

Other Weightloss Posts:

• Weight Loss Tips from Jillian Michaels
• Helpful Health Tips
• A Weight Loss Plan

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Weight Loss Tips from Jillian Michaels

The Sumo Squat
Have you ever seen a Sumo match? These wrestlers may look funny (and flabby), but they're actually powerhouses of strength and balance. In the beginning of a match, the two opponents face off while performing a special type of squat in slow motion. Lifting one leg while leaning to the side, they use their full weight and power to strike the mat. After repeating this move with the other leg, the wrestlers then sink down into a deep, wide-leg squat.

You'll probably never have to intimidate a competitor in the ring, but doing this Sumo-inspired exercise will strengthen your inner and outer thighs. Best of all, there's no loincloth required!

Sumo Squat
1. Place your feet apart as wide possible while pointing toes outward.
2. Lower your body until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
3. Hold for a beat, exhale, press back up to starting position, and repeat.

Remember to keep your shoulders directly over your hips at all times. For best results, don't lean forward or let your knees come out over your toes. Keep your abs drawn in and don't arch your back.

Workout: Thursday

Warm-Up
Circuit 1: Dumbbell Chest Press, Squats, Jumping Rope
Circuit 2: Dumbbell Chest Fly, Wall Squat, Jumping Rope
Circuit 3: Bench Dip, Lying Leg Raises, Jumping Rope
Circuit 4: Military Shoulder Press, Basic Crunch, Jumping Rope
Circuit 5: Tricep Kickbacks, Reverse Crunches, Jumping Rope
Cool Down

Calorie Counting Made Easy
Counting the number of calories you consume daily is a must if you want to reach your goal weight. After all, how will the "calories in, calories out" weight-loss formula work if you have no idea how many you eat every day?

Getting an accurate calorie tally is easy on days when you can measure all the meals and snacks you prepare with the help of measuring cups and a scale. Once you've measured, you can get the right number by adding up the calories based on portion size. But, how can you estimate calories when you can't measure ahead of time?

If you find yourself in a situation where you can't measure your servings, here are some useful tips for assessing portion sizes using your hand:

• The size of your fist is roughly equal to a cup-size serving of cereal, wild rice, black beans, etc.
• The size of your thumb is roughly equal to an ounce-size serving of cheese.
• The center of your palm of your hand, without fingers, is roughly equal to a 3-ounce serving of fish, chicken, beef, and so on.

I told you it was easy! Now you have no excuse to blow your calorie limit for the day!

Avoiding Dangerous Situations
The key to success on any fitness program is having a game plan for any situation that might throw you off course. It isn't brain surgery — it's common sense. Think of yourself as being on a mission: If you take the time to think ahead, you can come up with ways to combat every situation. Here are a few surefire strategies:

Go through your kitchen and throw out all the junk food and processed garbage immediately. (Hey, you can't eat it if it's not there!) Don't buy these foods anymore — just eliminate them from your kitchen entirely. Even if you have to put up with a little whining from the kids or your spouse, they're better off not eating that crap (tell them I said so!). Reacquaint yourself with your local supermarket, find the healthy sections, and try to avoid the foods make you feel powerless.

If you run into trouble at the office, try to make an effort to avoid the high-voltage areas. If there is a vending machine in the kitchen or if the cafeteria features frightfully fattening foods, stay away from these places. Bring healthy snacks and meals from home to stash in your desk. Do whatever you can to steer clear of anything that might throw you off course and hamper your success.

How to Warm Up
Q: Jillian, what kind of exercises do you recommend for warm-up routines?
A: I'm so glad you asked! Warming up is important because it literally warms up your body and gets it ready for the tough workout ahead. If you have any cardio equipment at home — like a treadmill or a stationary bike — jump on there for five to ten minutes.

If you don't have equipment at home, you can still warm up effectively. No excuses! If you have limbs, you're good to go! If It's pretty simple — you can march in place, jump rope, or do jumping jacks for the same amount of time.

The trick is work up a light sweat. If you're not sweating, you're not working out hard enough!

Do What You Love
Doing your first cardio workout can be a little overwhelming, particularly if you're working out at the gym. There are rows and rows of different machines to choose from. So how do you know which kinds of cardio are best? Do you walk, row, step, or climb your way to fitness?

The answer is any of these. You should do whatever you enjoy the most — just make sure you're pushing yourself and keeping your heart rate at 85 percent. Sure, there are machines that are more effective than others. But, if you dread and avoid certain exercises, it will be harder to motivate yourself, right?

Make sure to keep it fresh — if you've been doing the treadmill for a while, switch to the stepper for a few weeks. If you only have access to one type of cardio machine, you can change the way you use it every once in a while so that you are avoiding the workout plateau and keeping yourself challenged and motivated.

When There's No Gym
Jumping rope and jumping jacks are excellent forms of cardio that you can do anywhere. It takes time to build up endurance for this form of exercise, so try it in intervals at first — jump one minute, rest the next, and so on. This is an outstanding form of cardio that burns calories and tones the quads, hamstrings, and calves. Try different types of jumps to target different leg muscles. When jumping rope, try kicking your butt (sounds funny, huh?) or bringing your knees up as high as you can in between jumps. The possibilities are endless with this simple activity.

Tune Into Your Body
Your body is trying to tell you something, but you're just not listening! To win at the weight-loss game, you've got to make some changes. One of the most important ones is to stop listening to anything but your body to establish a realistic weight for your specific build. Forget about what you see and hear from pop-culture sources.

Another thing not to rely on is the body mass index (BMI), which determines the amount of fat you have on your body according to your weight and height. Here's why you're not going to use it: It fails to distinguish between fat and muscle, so the BMI will ultimately give you an incomplete sense of the shape you're in.

Today, the medical industry has set its weight guidelines according to the waist-to-hip-ratio method, which is a much more accurate way of arriving at an ideal goal. Follow these steps to find yours:

• Get a tape measure and measure your waist right at the belly-button line.
• Standing with feet hip-width apart, measure your hips at their widest point.
• Now simply divide your waist measurement by your hip measurement. This is your waist-to-hip ratio.

The ideal waist-to-hip ratios are 0.80 for women and 0.95 for men.

Don't Be Another Number
No matter what number you've arrived at after checking your waist-to-hip ratio, don't be discouraged. Beating yourself up is never a solution. As you lose weight and get fit, you will reduce and redistribute your fat, both of which lower your waist-to-hip ratio. Use the information as a way to determine a realistic expectation for yourself, not as another means to judge yourself negatively. Let go of unrealistic notions of what you think you should look like. Start looking at yourself honestly and see what can be done to look and feel your personal best. Then, begin to embrace your unique self.

Retrain Yourself
A key element of changing your attitude is changing your self-talk or internal monologue. Your self-talk is that chattering conversation you have with yourself all day long, whether you are aware of it or not. It's the voice in your head that says, "I'm too fat" or "I'm not good enough." I don't need to go on, do I? You know what I'm talking about!

Well, it's this kind of useless negativity that's keeping you from being the best that you can be. Now it's time to turn it around once and for all. You need to retrain yourself to think positively!

Imagine what would happen if you changed the dialogue so that it sounded more like this: "I can lose weight and be healthy, exercise to the best of my ability, and get stronger and better at it every time I do it." Your self-talk can make the difference between happiness and despair, success and failure. I can promise you that if you start making your self-talk more “positive and affirming” and less “defeatist and self-depreciating” your whole life will change for the better.

Rewrite Your Thoughts
Now that you know how important it is to have the right attitude to reach your goals in life, pull out your journal again. Review what you wrote down last week. Doesn't it feel good to read the positive thoughts? Don't you just cringe when you read the negative ones? Start re-training yourself. Change all the negative thoughts into positive ones. For example, take "I feel so gross when I eat the whole bag of chips" and turn it into "When I eat healthy, I feel great. And when I feel great, I look great." Hang in there — before you know it, you'll be able to "rewrite" negative thoughts in your mind.

Getting Back on the Wagon
It happens — you miss a few workouts in a row because of a late night at the office and suddenly your weight-loss efforts seemed derailed. It's tempting to mentally slap yourself around, isn't it? Well, chill out! Being hard on yourself is the old you, remember?

Now, you know to take setbacks in stride and get right back on that wagon. You wouldn't think of wasting even a minute to beat up on yourself. After all, there are no mistakes, just learning experiences. Weight loss is a process and every process takes time. You will encounter small failures — everybody does! Remember, every pound you gain can be lost.

If you miss a workout, it's not the end of the world! Get to the gym the next day and continue to focus on your short-term goals. Just because you made bad choices today doesn't mean you can't start over tomorrow. I know it sounds trite, but every day is truly a new beginning.

Rescue Me
Let's face it, life throws curveballs. Most of the time we can dodge them, but other times they hit us right between the eyes. You can't avoid every curveball in life. For those moments when you feel one coming, create a "rescue me list." Make a list of healthy things that make you feel better, like taking a bubble bath, going for a walk, getting a massage, etc. The next time you're staring down a crisis, reach for that list, not a bag of chips.

Other Weightloss Posts:

• Helpful Health Tips
• A Weight Loss Plan

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Helpful Health Tips

I will be updating this graphic at the end of every month to track progess. The graphic is to provide accountability.

Q: Is it true that aerobic exercise for more than 45 minutes at a time can lead to inflammation and weight gain in the abdominal area?

A: This is not true — in fact, it's the opposite. Aerobic exercise for any amount of time can decrease inflammation and decrease weight gain in the abdominal area. Abdominal fat is the worst kind because it is associated with chronic inflammation and is more likely to lead to type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

All types and duration of exercise can benefit the upper body. Even walking at a moderate pace (as if you were late to work) can reduce fat storage in the abdominal area. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that people who exercise moderately all their lives do not gain as much weight as those who don't exercise and that they have lower rates of type 2 diabetes, which in turn can lead to heart disease. The message is clear — keep it moving for better health.

Other Weightloss Posts:

• A Weight Loss Plan

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A Weightloss Plan

Diet and Exercise

Models struggle with weight gain just as much as anyone else. And, like everyone else, once they hit 30 years old, it becomes progressively harder. Studies show that after 30, women lose ½ a pound of muscle every year and game the same amount in fat. If you want to go to castings, you need a way to stop this from happenings.

Obviously going to the gym and eating right are important, but you can also make your body work for you. Increasing your metabolism, by reducing your alcohol consumption for example, means that even when you are at rest, you are burning calories. Here are some great ideas that my friends in modeling have used.

1. Don’t Starve Yourself.
Make sure to eat breakfast. If you skip it, your body will enter its ‘starvation mode’ early in the day and it will be hard to break it out of it. To keep your metabolism working all through the day, eat small, low calorie snacks between meals.

2. Decrease Alcohol Consumption.
I am going to add to this: DECREASE SODA CONSUMPTION. Each 12 ounce can of soda is roughly 150 calories. And for each can, you need to offset it with a glass of water, just to flush out toxins. And for each low calorie diet soda, you still need the glass of water. Wouldn’t it just be easier to drink the water instead?

3. Black Pepper, Ginger, Chile Peppers.
Spicy food doesn’t just taste great, it actually increases your metabolism too. Black Pepper, Ginger, and Chile Peppers all raise your body temperature and help burn fat faster. Do be careful, though, the curries you find in restaurants are often oily and fatty, so cooking it on your own is always best.

4. Increase Muscle Mass.
Muscle burns 90% more calories than fat. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolism will be. Going to the gym is just not a one-off attack on your fat cells. Your new muscle will actually keep fighting that fat long after you leave the gym. Adding 5 pounds of muscle will help you burn another 250 calories a day!

5. Don’t Stress If You Blow It.
If you fall off the wagon and completely blow your diet one day, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Your body is expecting a certain amount of calories a day, so a good pig-out will rev up the metabolism motor. So if one day a week you lose control, it’s OK. Just forget about it and get back on track.

6. Drink More Water.

Speed up your metabolism by drinking more water. A healthy, well-hydrated body is important to flush out toxins and aid in metabolizing fats. A simple way to determine if you are consuming enough water is to take note of the colour of your urine. If it is colorless or light yellow you are on the right track, if it's any darker you need to increase your water intake. Drinking ice water also helps the body expend more calories by heating it up.

7. Increase Omega-3 Fatty Acids.

In recent studies it has been shown that an increased intake of Omega 3 fatty acids can help to balance blood sugar levels and control appetite. Good sources of this metabolism-boosting acid can be found in flax, hemp seeds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, salmon, mackerel and herring. Many people use flax oil as a supplement.

8. Increase Iodine Intake.

Increasing your Iodine intake can help stimulate thyroid gland function. The thyroid gland is responsible for regulating body metabolism and energy expenditure. Kelp extract supplements are a potent source of Iodine, as well as eating all different types of seaweeds and seafood.

9. DRINK GREEN TEA.

Green tea regulates blood sugar levels by reducing the amount of insulin produced. This prevents fat being stored and keeps your appetite under control. A 1999 study showed that Green Tea extract resulted in a significant increase in energy expenditure.

EGCG, the main polyphenol in green tea, is an effective thermogenic which increases the metabolism of fat. This is not just a result of the caffeine in the tea, because those who lose weight on Green Tea lose more than those who were given caffeine alone.

10. Vitamin B and Calcium.

The B-Vitamins give you more energy and increase your metabolism. Drinking coffee will increase your metabolism too, but Vitamin B is a much more healthy, sustainable way to do it. Make sure your daily supplement incorporates B-Vitamins and in particular B-12.

Recent research has found that 4 daily servings of low-fat dairy products can boost your body's fat-burning ability. Calcium actually increases your metabolism. So add some low-fat yogurts to your diet, maybe as a small snack between meals.

Now, I snagged this off a website called: The Model Diet Plan I mean, who else knows how to lose weight than models. They make $$$ from being skinny and knowing how to stay that way. Anyway, I am going to try to get some of this stuff going on in my life to lose the weight and keep it off. Johnny Out.

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