• With Thanksgiving so close – if you are even thinking of pausing your weight loss or pushing off your weight loss for another day or week you need to refocus right now and realize that life is never going to stop for you to lose weight. Start now and make it happen. You will always have an occasion, an event, a holiday, and/or dinners out. You need to make this a way of life and the only way to do that is to incorporate your busy life with your weight loss goals. You can do anything and go anywhere and stay on program.
• Stop making deals:  If you cheated extra during the week you don’t make the deal to starve yourself the next two days. If you have a lunch or dinner out and it’s not your Cheat Day – You should never be thinking…“Should I stay on program or go off?” – There is no should I or could I. There are no deals to be made with yourself. You have done plenty of that and look at where it has gotten you. You need to be in SHARK mode — keep it all very simple — if it’s not your Cheat Day then you are on program regardless of where you are or what you have going on in your life.
• Make it a priority: Yes unfortunately you need to be little obsessive about your weight loss. Not in the sense that you have to be extreme but you do have to think about it and it has to be a priority – weight loss is hard and it takes commitment and you have to be willing to feel that little hunger. You can’t get distracted and mindlessly eat —With so much temptation around (and with the holidays it will only get worse) you have to be focused, committed and a little obsessive about staying on program. The more you make it a priority in your life the better the results and the easier the weight loss will be.
• If you are feeling a little mentally weak – Take out your skinny pants and try them on. Try on your shorts. Look online for a bathing suit you want to be in. Shorts and/or sun dresses – because the next vacation along with spring will be here before you know it. With the weather we are having in NY these days it might be here even sooner than we think. While quarantine was a great time to be the best you can be and even get yourself to a better place — many did not use the time wisely. So now this is the time for you to do it. Start now – you don’t wait for warm weather to be here and then try and start. You do it now so when vacations return and warm weather arrive you are ready.
• Extra weight makes you unhappy –  studies show that unhealthy and over weight people get angrier over unimportant issues 5x faster than healthy fit people. Most likely the reason is because unhealthy and overweight people tend to start their day unhappy and frustrated to begin with. So as the day goes on so does their temper. So next time you think “should I eat it or should I stay on program?” Remind yourself it’s not just extra food or unhealthy food that you are debating about – What you really are debating is do you want to add another unhappy day to your life and to the life of those around you. Do you want to continue to feel unsettled and out of control with your unhealthy eating habits and more importantly unhappy with who you are and who you have become. Is it really worth what you will be going off program for. [dt_sc_hr_invisible_small]

How often we say it.  How often we promise to do it.  Yet, how rarely do we actually do the best we can? When we do — when we use all our efforts, when we push through old and new boundaries — the satisfaction is enormous and the rewards are sweeter because we earned them.  But the first thing you have to come to terms with is your best really your best?  Mindset is everything when it comes to weight loss.  When you wake up in the morning and tell yourself —  “That’s it!” — You are tired of giving every one else your best,  NOW you are going to give yourself your best too!!  You are going to put yourself in a place that no matter what —  you will do the right thing.  You will make sure you walk away when you have to and you will plan, prepare and follow through each day.  You not only promise yourself — but you fight through the tough times and you don’t let anything  or anyone set you back.  So don’t just SAY you are going to try your best THINK IT, BELIEVE IT AND DO IT.  Because if you believe that you are going to be amazing then you will be amazing and if you think it’s too hard you can’t do it — you won’t do it.

Halloween Pumpkins, Ghosts, Thanksgiving, Fall Shopping, Leaves Changing….

What is not to Love about Fall?!

FALL IN LOVE WITH TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY:  Sometimes it’s not enough to just take care of your body.  When you FALL in love with taking care of your mind and body it can be life changing.  It doesn’t matter where you are right now — if you are just starting, have been on program or returning…  wherever you are the most important thing to start with is to remind yourself daily how important it is to feel good about yourself and how happy it makes you when you are doing the right things —  and you are the only person that can make that happen.

DON’T JUST DO THE PROGRAM — LIVE THE PROGRAM

In the beginning of the program (the first couple of weeks) you just need to get through the weeks to get to your cheat day.  The Cheat Day is life saving as it helps you stay on program the other six weight loss days.  but after a couple of weeks and after seeing some really nice changes — it should start to become more than getting through your six clean days to get to your cheat day.  In fact, it should start to reverse.   You should start to live for the six clean days.  The Cheat Day is fun and always look forward to it, but your body and mind should begin to understand and take notice that you feel your very best on your six clean days.  Mentally you start to look forward to them — at the end of your Cheat Day you can’t wait to eat clean the next day.  You can’t wait for a couple of clean days to pass — so you can feel better and get back to the lighter and cleaner feeling you love.  You can’t wait to get back on the track of eating clean knowing that you are back to fueling your body with healthy and clean eating and in return it’s working your numbers in the right direction.  By mid week you should begin to get excited wondering what you will lose this week.  The closer you are to your menu the more weight you will lose.  Will you see a new number and will it be the lowest one you have seen in a long time?  It is so exciting to take care of yourself to the point of loving it.  Loving how you feel and loving how it’s changing you mentally and physically.  When you love feeling good, healthy, lighter, fitter and thinner there is truly no better feeling and no better way to live.  It’s a positive addiction that you should want and love.

TRUE STORY:  Clients literally text me all the time and say “I have to start sending my food again”, or “I have to get back on program.”  A client just texted me yesterday and said “I have to get back on program.  I don’t know why I go off program every time I am off program I am miserable and when I’m on program doing the right things and taking care of my body I am so happy.  My husband told me last night it’s time to get back to Josephine.  He didn’t say it because of the weight he said it because he knows how happy and good I feel when I am on program and he sees how miserable I am when I’m off.”   MY RESPONSE: YAY!!!! — that of course makes me so happy!  I never want anyone unhappy but it absolutely thrills me when clients realize that being on program is when they are the happiest.  They are the happiest because they feel the best.  So why do we go off program when being on makes us so happy?  The answer is simple — no matter how great being on program makes us feel we will always have little slip ups and hiccups because life gets in the way.  And once it’s in the way and we lose that control —  our brain takes over and it can take days, weeks and sometimes months to get back on path.  But the most important thing is that you do get back on path because you know that is when you feel the absolute best!

FOCUS:  This week try focusing on your six clean days instead of focusing on your Cheat Day.  Think about each  day and how good you feel when you go to bed because you followed the program and stayed 100%, and think about how amazing you feel when you wake up.  Whenever we do the right things for our body it changes us as people.  We are happier, and proud of ourself and how we are treating our bodies.  We are proud of the way we look and feel.  I don’t think anyone can say that they don’t feel anything but amazing when they get dressed in the morning and feel great in their clothes.  If you want that to be you then you need to work for it.  If you want to feel good all week then you need to stay focused and positive about your clean days.  Don’t focus on the one Cheat Day — focus on how you feel the six clean days…  you feel lighter, healthier, thinner — and how you feel when you followed all week and at the end of that week you step on the scale — so proud, super happy, like you want to jump around and tell the world you did it — you followed you lost weight and you feel great!!

FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT IT’S DOING FOR YOU:  When you do the right things for your body, and make the right choices, and fuel your body with the right foods, you feel better.  Some weeks will always be harder than others but if you stay true to what you want and what makes you feel the best and keep positive everyday knowing this is what makes you happy — then you will start falling in love with what you are doing and what it’s doing for you.  When this happens you will never want to go back to treating your body unhealthy — because you know feeling like that makes you unhappy.  Why would you want to do anything that makes you unhappy or not feel good?  Stay positive and remember what makes you feel your best and what makes the changes in your body the best it can be.  Stay focused and positive on your six clean days and how they are changing your body and then you will truly enjoy your cheat day.

LOVE THE RESULTS:  As much as you love and enjoy the Cheat Day you realize that every consecutive six clean days that you complete is what is changing your body.  It’s changing how you look, it’s changing the scale and most important, it’s changing how you feel.  When you fall in love with taking care of our body and fall in love with feeling the very best that you can — it no longer is about the one Cheat Day a week.  It’s about the six clean days that you are fueling you body with healthy clean portioned foods that make you feel your best.

There is no better feeling than taking care of yourself.  There is no better feeling than doing the right thing for your body and your mind.  There is no better feeling than being the best you can be.

“LOVE YOURSELF INSIDE AND OUT”

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

This past weekend was pretty awesome.  We had so many clients losing weight and reaching numbers they thought they would never see.  Super super exciting!  I love that I can just see, hear, and feel the excitement in the clients.  Everyone is really working hard and in a “hardcore”state of mind to reverse the quarantine weight, and/or reach new goals or see numbers they have not seen in years.

For most of you, the Innovation Program is not a diet — it’s a way of life.  You live it and you love the way it makes you feel.  And this is the time of year — especially after quarantine that you know how important it is to give it that little extra hard work that really pulls it all together so you get the very best results every single week.  For others, this is all new and while you may be just starting or in it for a couple of weeks — it will come together and you all of a sudden realize how hard you have to work to lose weight but you also realize when you do work hard and stay on your path and eat clean 6 days at 110% consistency — that’s when you will get the best results.  I say it all the time… in all aspects of life if you work hard you will get the results.  Weight loss is something you should not mind working hard at because it’s for your health both mentally and physically.  — My clients love to send me pics (and I absolutely love getting them) and I can’t begin to describe the changes in clients when they lose weight and eat clean — and how it gives them an extra bounce in their step and personality — it’s sheer happiness that is beaming from their healthy hydrated skin.

It’s mid – July  and everyone is just so excited to be losing weight and really excited to be feeling great and doing the right thing.  It’s truly when you can enjoy the most is when you feel great.  So if you want to enjoy the vacation out east or the extra drinks throughout the week you must stay on program because you can enjoy and lose weight — and when you do both that is when you feel great.  When you feel great is when you truly enjoy everything you are doing.  You ever notice when you feel great how contagious it is — everyone wants to be a part of feeling great.  There is so much sadness is the world — today you have to make sure you appreciate and enjoy every bit of happiness that comes your way.  Most important is to make sure you are creating your own happiness everyday.  That’s what you do on the Program — you do the right thing and lose weight and feel great and it gives you happiness that you have 100% control over.

If you want to be that happy person and you want to put your clothes on and feel good and go out and feel amazing, if you want that happy feeling of control in what you are doing — then you need to be 110% committed to the program and to yourself.  If you are, I promise you that you will feel the best and you will l look the best you every thought possible.

My last thought for you on this beautiful day …. IT’S HARD — weight loss is hard — BUT IT’S SO WORTH IT.  Will you feel hungry?  Yes, you will feel hungry but think about it — you feel hungry even on the days you are over eating.  So at least when you have a little hunger now you know that it’s because you are losing weight and getting results from it.  The clients that have done amazing and continue to do amazing know how tough it is and when it get’s tough they remind themselves how much they want this and how important it is to them.  If you want it then don’t let anything or anyone get in your way.  Don’t look back and wish you did better over quarantine – because it doesn’t matter that time has passed and the only thing you can do right now is stop making excuses and move on to a better today, tomorrow and week.  Don’t bother looking back — only look forward because that is what you have control over.  Don’t let another week go by without doing the right thing because it will only add up and the longer you delay it the harder it will be.  If you do it right now and focus on a better today, then tomorrow will be easier and by next week you will feel amazing and in control. If you want to feel great, happy, lighter and enjoy your summer feeling inspired, motivated and in control — then you have to put the work in starting today and you have to commit to yourself and live the program.  Eat clean 6 days a week and enjoy your once a week cheat day.  Before you know it  you will be the happy, excited, inspired person waking up, jumping out of bed and excited to get dressed.  Because you feel good and there is nothing better than feeling good about yourself especially when you know that YOU are the one who made it happen.

It’s not something you can wish for — it’s something you have to WORK for.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

4TH OF July Weekend has arrived — it’s time to make your choice and stick to it.

As many of your know it doesn’t take much to gain weight.  All it takes is not thinking, not planning, and frequently over indulging — very easy to do any time of the year but especially over a long holiday weekend.

THIS WEEKEND

you have 3 choices — Lose, Maintain, or Gain

WEIGHT LOSS:  If you are really motivated and the weight loss means everything to you and you don’t want anything in your way of reaching your goals then you will continue to stick to your menu and ONLY HAVE ONE CHEAT DAY THIS WEEKEND.  That means no extras at all.  Simply stick to your meals and snacks and only cheat the ONE cheat day.  If you do this and treat this weekend like any other weekend you will continue to stay on your path and lose weight.  Will it be easy — that depends on how much you have going on  — it also depends on what is most important to you.  While some can go to a BBQ and focus more on how they feel others are challenged by what is around them.  These are choices only you can make.  There are always options — if you are going out make sure you bring what you need or make sure they will have what you need available to you.  Plan before not after.  Don’t give yourself reasons to do the wrong thing.  If you want to stay on program and feel your best then follow your plan and stick to your clean meals and snacks.  The most important thing is to make your choice before you go and stick with what you plan.

MAINTAINING:  If you have a lot going on this weekend and you feel really good about where you are and you want to enjoy a little extra then you will split your days.  You pick 2 out of the 3 days and you stay on program for breakfast and lunch and cheat dinner, drinks and/or desserts; and you do it Friday and Saturday OR Saturday and Sunday or Friday and Sunday (you choose 2 days of the long weekend and cheat any one meal, drinks and/or desserts and the rest of the day you are 100% on program).  If you follow this you will maintain your weight through the holiday weekend — very doable.  But again the most important thing is to make a choice, plan for it and then stick to it.

WEIGHT GAIN:  Very easy to do but NEVER an option!

We always talk about planning and how important it is. But what is more important is following through on the planning.  Do the right things and make sure that if you planned on being 110% today — then you are 100%.  If you planned on cheating for dinner and dessert and then right back on the next day — make sure you go right back on the next day — no excuses.  If you planned on being off program 2 nights but clean all day then make sure you do it.  Always think things through — what is tomorrow going to feel like, and what the end result of your choices will be.  Will it make you happy? Is it worth it? Think about where you are today and where do you want to be come Monday.  Learn to live and enjoy today but plan for what you want and where you want to be tomorrow.

ALCOHOL – THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK:  One drink you are okay — TWO drinks you are forgetting what is important to you — THREE drinks you are done. It’s not the alcohol that is the issue it’s what the alcohol makes you do and what it makes you forget.  It’s fun to have but it can be very damaging on so many levels.  Remember to think before you drink.  Like everything else have a plan and know how many you are having and stick to what you plan.  Drink water throughout it’s hydrating and it keeps your hands busy.

FINAL THOUGHTS…. whether you want to lose weight this weekend or maintain you can do it.  You follow your plan and decide before so you know what you are doing and what the outcome will be.  Think things through and always remember that just because it’s a holiday weekend that you want to enjoy and celebrate doesn’t mean that you need to cheat at everything you go to or everyday of the weekend.  You can enjoy and celebrate everything without constantly indulging unhealthy weight gaining foods.  We know you will feel better mentally and physically and have a happier time staying on program.  When you can be amazing and on program do it because every good healthy clean choice can make the difference between maintaining and gaining.  And all the choices you make as the weekend progresses will make the difference in how you look and feel each day.

You are the only person who can make the excuse of why you are going off program and you are the only person who can give yourself a better excuse of why you are staying on program.  Monday is only 4 days away — think about how you want to wake up and feel when the weekend is behind you.

Make good choices today so you don’t have regrets tomorrow

Innovation Wishes everyone a Happy, Healthy and Safe 4th of July

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick 

Now that Quarantine is almost over we are feeling many different emotions.  While we couldn’t wait for it to end— many of you now wish you had more time.  Quarantine and May has brought an internal battle that for many of you were not expecting and quite possibly not ready for.  What I mean is that while we weren’t quite sure when quarantine would end — you did know June and warmer weather were around the corner with the tank tops, shorts, sundresses and bathing suits — but with each quarantine day you felt like you had more time.  While many have taken charge and became instant sharks  —  others are struggling with the “why didn’t I do it when I had the time”  and  “I’m just not ready for this.”  It’s the internal battle of emotions that are telling you now you have no choice. It has come and you are panicking because you are not ready.  Regardless of where you are or where you wish you were you need to fight through these emotions and get past it.  Here are some suggestions if you are struggling:

DON’T LOOK FOR EXCUSES…  Focus on staying on your path and following your program.  It works and you will do it and see the results.  It just takes time and you are going to feel hungry and it’s not always the best feeling starting again but it will get better.  Weight Loss is hard for everyone.  The longer you do it and live it the easier it will be.  When you stay on your program six days and cheat one day you will lose the weight.

KEEP YOUR FOCUS IN THE RIGHT PLACE…  Should I skip my cheat day?  Should I not have snacks? I can’t tell you how many times people say I think I should skip the Cheat Day.  Before you ask yourself if you should skip it — let’s ask is that even possible?  You are struggling enough having one cheat day so why are you even contemplating having none?  For every client who has reached their goal they did it with a cheat day every week.  There is no reason to give it up — just don’t have two in one week.

SNACKS…  If you are struggling don’t give up snacks.  It’s important to have your 3 snacks to keep your day in control.  Once you are back in control then you can always go to 2 snack or 1 depending on where you are and where you want to be.

PUT THE TIME IN BECAUSE THERE IS NO QUICK FIX… I promise you regardless what you try to do quick you will end up right back here at the beginning and hopefully with not more weight than you started with.  The only way to lose the weight is slow and steady.  You have to put the work in like everyone else.  Fat doesn’t come on or off overnight.  Put the time in and focus on losing 1-3 lbs a week.  Week after week the weight loss adds up and it add up fast.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE…  Even if you have been horrible in quarantine and feel like it will be forever before you lose the weight… just remember that it’s not about the end result it’s about every week feeling better and better.  After 5 pounds you will feel great and after 10 pounds you will feel amazing.  Going into the summer losing is going to feel a whole lot better than staying the same and/or gaining.

CONSISTENCY = FAT BURN…  I know I have said this over and over but there is a reason I say it.  To get the best results in weight loss you need to be consistent.  The consistency puts your body in a “fat burn process” and your body will run like a weight loss machine.  The longer you are in and the more consistent you are the better the results.  If you keep turning the machine on and off it will continually shut down and you will have to restart it all over again.  It’s very simple — the more time you put in the better the results. The more consistent you are the more consistent the results.  Every time you take yourself out of the “fat burn process” then you have to make up that time to get your body back into the process.  So basically every time you decide to do cheat weekends instead of a cheat day — you are taking yourself out of the process and it will take you days to get back in it and have your body start losing again from where it left off.  ** Make sure if you are doing cheat weekend they are worth it.

THE SCALE…  Whatever you do don’t get overwhelmed with the number — it’s a very simple process and if you do the right thing the number will go down.  If you follow your program — it will go down. Some weeks it may not be as much as you want and others it will be more than you expected.   When you are losing body fat the key is to keep moving forward in the right direction and your body will follow and get smaller every week.

I always like to mention and address the clients who are doing absolutely amazing.  This past weekend even with the holiday we had record numbers who lost weight.  Many took the opportunity of the quarantine to do the right thing and stay on program and check in every week and it paid off.  What I can tell you is if you want this you can do it.  You have all the tools to keep you on your path… the Innovation food, the motivation, the accountability, and the idea of summer clothes are only weeks away.  The clients who stayed focused and motivated through quarantine are not all sharks, many were turtles and snails but throughout the quarantine they remained consistent.  So while I often address those who are struggling because they need it the most, I know it’s so important to celebrate and congratulate all of those who have done and continue to do amazing because they deserve and need it as well.  It’s always nice to hear praise and feel that accomplishment but let’s face it the true gift to them is the new body that they love and live in everyday.   There is no better feeling.

If you want to love the way you look and feel then you have to do the right things, you need to work hard put the time in and be consistent.  When summer comes your emotions will be happy, healthy, controlled and you will be so excited to see the sunshine and 80 degree weather even if it’s only in your own backyard.

If You Want To Feed Yourself Something

Feed it Happiness

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

I think it’s safe to say we all need a little extra motivation to do the right thing.  Between the quarantine and the weather – yikes! But Mondays are always a great day for motivation and a great day to be embraced.  Any mistakes you made last week you can change to positive this week.  Anything you wished you could have done better last week — you can do better this week.  Don’t waste another week, and another opportunity to be amazing.  These are the challenging days we all need to fight to get through.  Make this week your week that you will fight for what you want and what makes you happy.  — Not to mention freezing cold snow today is turning to 60 degrees tomorrow.

WHAT YOU DO TODAY WILL REFLECT YOUR TOMORROW:  It’s absolutely true that what you do today will reflect your tomorrow and what you do this week will reflect next week and this month next month and this year next year….   That’s why they say how you live in your 40s, has a lot to do with how you feel in your 50’s.

For so long I have heard so many of you say “I wish I wasn’t working I would have more time to take care of myself.”  OR “I have no time for myself because I am always in the car running around with my kids activities”.  Well…. be careful what you wish for — because now you all have time — plenty of time to do the right thing.  But as with everything in life your new found time comes with new challenges.  The challenge to be in the house around food 24/7.  The challenge to find activities to keep moving and stay motivated.  We are in a new world of less social and more “me time/ family time”.  And quite honestly how you use this time for yourself and your family will absolutely reflect on your tomorrow on so many levels.  So think and make the right decisions because you have more control in your home than anywhere else.  This can really be a positive life changing time of yourself and those you love.

I am truly so proud and  happy to say we had a lot of great weight loss numbers this past weekend.  Not that I ever doubt anyone but I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect as we have never been in this type of situation.  But so many of the clients felt they needed to be extra strict in fear of gaining.  So they gave up a snack and added a little more activity.  Others are so motivated because they feel this is their time to do the right thing knowing when they do emerge from the confines of their home they want to shine.  I have actually had many tell me in the VERY BOLD LETTERS and  with certainty that when the quarantine is over they want to be the butterfly emerging from the cocoon.  — motivating!

NEW AND OLD JOBS – JUST DIFFERENT LOCATIONS:  I was recently speaking with a client and we were talking about how important it is to follow your menu and really understand that anything over the amount on your menu is going to make a difference in your weight loss.  She said to me, ” I see so many of your clients who have lost so much weight and they are so thin but they act like it’s a job and they treat it like it’s a job — is that good?  I said you have to treat it like that.  But it doesn’t have to be a negative job — it should be a positive job.  It’s a job that you love to do.  You want to eat clean and be healthy and yes treat it like an important job in your life.  Today is no different we are just all working in this same job from home.  But if you keep doing the right thing regardless of where you are working from you will always get the best results.

IT NEEDS TO BE ABOUT YOU:  What we don’t always realize is weight loss is so much more than just the number on the scale.  Because everything in our life stems from how we feel and how well we take care of ourselves.  Feeling good or bad will result in having a good or bad day.  Feeling good and treating your body healthy — is going to result in how you approach life and all the good and bad obstacles that come with it.  If you are feeling happy, healthy, fit and strong you are going to get through the rough days a lot better than if you are feeling heavy, bloated, sick and depressed.  In fact, studies show that overweight people have an 80% higher rate of depression than people of a healthy weight.  Why? because you always feel better about yourself when you are taking care of yourself.  Sometimes just having the feeling of control over what you are and are not eating can change your day from bad to good.   You have to decide what is important to you.  Find a motivation to help you get you there and make a commitment to make your health and weight loss a priority.  Even though it’s not normal times it can still be a job that you are excited about doing — and that will give you normalcy and motivation.

I know you have heard this before from me but I need to repeat it — you need to start somewhere.  If you are already in a good place then I am super excited for you  to continue to be amazing!  If you are not feeling great and have no control then you need to get right back on program today.  I promise you, after one week you will feel good after two weeks you will feel great and a month — you will never want to go back to your old eating habits.  I can’t even begin to tell you how many people wrote to me that they were just so happy they started before the quarantine.  Trust me if you have not started do it now.  Whatever day you start it’s always going to be hard.  It was hard to start before the quarantine, it’s hard to start during the quarantine and it will be hard to start after the quarantine.  The longer you delay it the harder it will be.  Just do it — tomorrow you will be so happy you did.

DO IT NOW

SOMETIMES LATER BECOMES NEVER

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick