As we approach Passover, Easter and Vacations – there are a few things I want you to think about when it comes to your Weight Loss, Health and Feeling your best.  

Let’s start with remembering that the Holidays are about celebrations with two beautiful meanings behind them:  Freedom and the Resurrection of Life.  We never want to forget why we are celebrating and spending time with family, friends and loved ones.  It’s about the celebration and the people – not the food.  It’s not about who has what or what you are eating, or how much you can eat.   Sometimes we take the wrong perspective on what is really important.   Like we forget to think about how lucky we all are to have this time together and to share in the family togetherness, traditions and memories we are making today and remembering those who passed.  This holiday make it about new and old memories shared with laughs, stories and always about the love that is around you.  We live in a rush -rush world that we easily get tied up in negative stress instead of all the amazing positives we work so hard for everyday.  Keep your holidays and vacations about the positive.  Because it’s the happy positive times in life that get us through the stress and negative times.

Start with knowing what you are doing and have your plans going in so you can feel great from the start of your positive Holiday/Vacation to the finish of it.  Sometimes when we go in with our focus in the right place – we stay on path and really celebrate and enjoy what we should.

Here are some choices to follow to keep your Holidays and Vacation on Path:  

1. Celebrating Easter:  This is an easy one.  Clean all week and use your Cheat Day  to eat all your Chocolate Bunnies and feast on Easter Day.
2. Passover Celebrating Friday /Saturday:  Eat Clean all day (on program) and only cheat at dinner – make sure you know what you are cheating with.  You don’t want to eat a whole days worth of food in one sitting.  Plan where you are going – what they are serving and what your cheating with and include drinks/or dessert.

VACATIONS:  This is where it can get a little tricky.  If you are going on Vacation following the Weekend Holiday(s) or you are celebrating the holidays on Vacation – you have a couple of choices.

• Leaving for Vacation after Holidays:  You have the choice of Cheating Friday and Saturday holiday dinners and continue this through vacation with one Cheat meal a day (breakfast, lunch, or dinner & drinks or dessert).  You eat clean all day and only one cheat of choice each day.    If you do this you will maintain your week.  — you do not have one full cheat day when you have a cheat everyday.
• Stay Clean Friday and Saturday and make sure there is chicken / and or clean fish at your holiday dinners and allow yourself a drink of wine, vodka or tequila (if you drink).  Stay on program so you can enjoy but go into your vacation feeling your very best.  Once you are on vacation you will follow the one Cheat Meal a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner or drinks/dessert).  You eat clean all day and only one cheat of choice each day.  — you will maintain the week.
• Cheat Meal every other day.  When it comes to weight loss – less is always best.  So if you don’t have to cheat everyday – don’t.  Pick a cheat meal every other day or whenever you really need it.  Remember you feel so much better when you are eating clean so if you can do less cheat meals through the week – do it.
• Cheat Day.  If you choose to stick to the one cheat day a week and stay on 110% clean the rest of the week home or on vacation – that will make you feel your very best and give you the best weight loss results.  If you choose this – try and have your cheat day more toward the end of the vacation.  Once you cheat you are more likely to cheat again.  If you can hold out until the end of the vacation you will more likely only have one cheat day – and come home feeling as good as you left.

Regardless of which one you choose – your body needs time to adjust. No scale until after you come home and get right back on program and have a solid 110% week and then go on the scale.

Whether you are home or away incorporate some exercise.  Get out and walk.  Do it before breakfast and again before dinner.  Play miniature golf; swim; hike; row; play tag or “I got you last” (our favorite:). ;

When you are 100% all week you really enjoy your cheat treats.  You enjoy it because you are not cheating everyday and everything taste so much better when you don’t do it all the time.  Same goes for vacation.  Enjoy it and all that comes with it.  We don’t have them every day so you want to feel the best  and live the happiest you.  Don’t do anything or make any choices that you know is going to make you feel uncomfortable or take you out of that happy vacation feeling.  Think things through and make the right choices that keep you in a happy place.  You are the only person in charge of your happiness.   Keep yourself feeling good – because how you feel will determine your day.

Everyday you are in charge of your happiness

Before you make a choice make sure it’s one that will make you happy 

Happy Holidays

Much love and happiness from the staff of Innovation

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

MARCH IS THE MONTH OF TRANSITIONS

This week has been mentally tough for everyone.  With the threats of snow and the cold weather it can be challenging to remember why we are restricting ourselves from all the comforting foods we could be having.  but this is the time you have to constantly remind yourself that summer is going to sneak up on you and when it does you want to be ready.

In only a couple of short week we will be taking the coats off.  Think back to a time when you were not ready to reveal yourself.  It could have been last spring or last week on vacation.  When everyone is taking coats off and you wished you could keep yours on because you were not mentally or physically ready to reveal what was underneath.  March and April are transition months when the weather changes from Cold-to Warm – to Some very Hot Days.  Think of this as your transition months as well.  you want to take where you are right now and continue on with where you want to be.  When it’s hot you want to be ready for it and when coats come off and shorts go on you want to be following the same transition from winter to spring to summer.  you don’t want to be that one person walking around with a winter coat on or a long sweater because you didn’t do what was good for you right now.

Think about and motivate yourself for what you have coming up in the Spring and Summer.  Whether it’s Graduation parties, Vacations, Bar Mitzvah or Sweet 16.  Keep reminding yourself that you are preparing right now to be and feel the best you can for what’s ahead.  Shop online for spring and summer outfits and bathing suits.  It doesn’t always have to be a special occasion it can just be that you want to be prepared for the BBQ and Beach season that you love and want to be ready to enjoy.  When it’s 90 outside you don’t want to be in cover ups and long jeans.  You want to be feeling good and confident in your skin and your clothes.

Living the program makes you happy.  When you get through these tough weeks you will feel so much better and you will feel the mental strength that comes with staying strong and on your path.  When you follow your program and you get through these tougher weeks the results will be amazing.  The sun will be warmer and you feel better and you look better and act better.  We have had a lot of returning clients in the last two weeks. Some come back just to reboot – others may have let vacations and holidays get the best of the them  — some just feel better when they come in.  But what I have learned from all of them is one thing they all seem to say — Being on program feels so much better than being off program.  It doesn’t matter if they weren’t cheating everyday – it’s really not about that.  It’s about having the control, and that amazing feeling of lightness in your body that you feel when you live the program.  As soon as they had the feelings of being off for an extended period of time whether it be 2 weeks or 2 months they realized that they started to not feel well — feeling sluggish, out of control, and just not as happy as when they are on program.  It doesn’t take long both mentally and physically to learn that your body responds best to living the program.

When you don’t do the right thing by your body it takes away confidence and self control.  You quickly fall into sabotages and bad habits and before you know it you look back and think why did I do something that made me unhappy/  I was so happy on program and doing the right things for my body and mind.  Yes – just like this week – it may sometimes feel restricting but that is such a better and easier feeling than not being able to get your pants on or feeling the lack of confidence when you are walking into work or attending a party.  Or most important just feeling miserable in general because you just don’t feel good about yourself or your health.

The truth is feeling good about yourself and eating healthy is the most important thing you can do.  It sets up your day anyhow you perform in it.  From taking care of your family, to being productive at work.  When you don’t do the right things and you don’t feel good about yourself it affects everything including your confidence.  It’s not always easy but you must make it a priority to stay on your path.  I see you all and read the texts and I know when you are on and feeling good you are completely different from being off and not feeling good about yourself.  So while March may be challenging and difficult I can assure you that the challenge of staying on program is going to be a lot easier than the challenge of entering into Spring and Summer in a body that you don’t feel good in.

The First Step to Transitioning is Deciding that you are

Not Going to Stay Where you Are!

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

NEED A MIND, BODY, ENERGY and METABOLISM BOOST THAT WILL GET THE BODY WORKING AT 110% EFFICIENCY THROUGHOUT THE DAY?.

This time of year we can feel a little extra tired and stressed.  A lack of sunlight, shorter days and a change of weather all play a part .  When we don’t feel our best it’s even harder to do the right thing.  Because of all of your requests – I have been working hand in hand once again with my Naturopathic Doctor who is a specialist in Chinese Herbal Medicine.  We created and designed a 2oz shot that will increase energy, boost your metabolism and get your body working at 110% so you can feel your very best everyday.

NEW INNOVATION ALL NATURAL SHOTS

TANGY TURMERIC AND FIRE APPLE

Do a shot first thing in the morning and up to 3 times a day when needed.  Each shot is an immediate immune and energy booster that provides an increased metabolism, and blood flow.  They are also an excellent source of phytochemical to fight against aging, inflammation for a healthy all around immune system.

We used our special combinations to create our All Natural Energy Shots.  Both contain two Chinese medical herbs that together have been proven to stimulate the body and give you the most intense internal and external health benefits.  Along with our hand picked special blends both shots also include:

ELEUTHERA ROOT:  It has been proven to help the body boost metabolism handle stress and acts as a natural stimulant to increase blood flow throughout the body and nervous system.  It increases blood flow creating an energetic feeling throughout the day.

REHMANNIA ROOT:  Improves oxygen intake, reduces inflammation and helps pain and swelling. It improves allergies, and lowers blood sugar levels and helps diabetes or tired blood (anemia).  It also improves weakened bones (osteoporosis).

Two amazing Roots together are life changing in the way you feel and perform throughout your day.   So if  you need an energy boost or you need to increase your fitness levels, or you are just not feeling your best because of age, the lack of sunlight, change of weather, daily stress, allergies etc…   Give the shot a try.  It will give you an immediate internal all natural energy and health boost so you can enjoy your day and not drag yourself through it.

Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

A Positive State of mind is so important in so many areas of your life- family, work, school, friends, health.  We can literally talk our self into happiness and/or talk our self right into depression.  When you keep things positive and happy your life may not be perfect but it will be a lot better and a lot more positive than if you are living in a negative stare of mind.  When it comes to weight loss I would have to say more than 90% of it is mental.  We eat when we are not hungry, we feel pressured in social situations, we want the weight loss but we don’t want to put the work in that comes with it.  We can step on the scale and when it doesn’t say what we want we throw in the towel and over -eat.  We never even stop to think how much better we feel.  A great weight loss day can be as easy as walking away – but when you tell your mind that – it’s not so easy.

CHOOSE TO BE POSITIVE

How do you get to a positive state of mind.  There is no magic.  You accept where you are and you move forward to where you want to be.  When you are not in a great place it can be the hardest time to push yourself to get there- but it’s also when you need to push yourself the most.  Let’s face it you have two directions…

1. Do the right thing, fight through the hard and keep yourself in a positive place and feel good.
2. Continue to make excuses, blame everyone around you and self sabotage and stay in the negative.

Sometimes it will take you being laser focused to do the right things – planning ahead, reminding yourself over and over what you want, walking away from the temptations, and pushing aside all the negative feelings – focusing only on where you want to go.  Reminding yourself constantly that when you stay positive and on program – it is the only thing that will change the way you feel mentally and physically about yourself and about everything around you.  Keep it simple – when  you do the right things and you follow your menu you feel better.  When you feel better you act better and you even speak nicer to everyone around you – you think happier thoughts throughout the day and you let go of any negativity.  Every good decision leads to another one.  Even when the scale doesn’t move as much as you wanted it to you wills till say how much better you feel mentally and physically by following your menu.  Will it be hard- of course it will be.  But just focus on one solid week at a time.  You have to stay positive and know if you put the time in an you follow your menu and you stay true to 6 clean weight loss days with 1 Cheat Day.  It will only take one week to get to a place the you realize and remember makes you so so happy.

We know staying on program and feeling good are two very good ways to live positive.  Here are some more ways that will keep you living in a positive state of mind:

1. You must plan your days.  Know what you are doing and eating every day.  When you plan in advance and you know what you are eating you are taking the struggle out of your day.  When you take out the struggle you add in positivity.
2. Know what you are wearing so you don’t have to sabotage yourself with negative thoughts first thing in the morning when things do’t quite fit yet.  
3. Stay away from the scale for one week.  I know that will be the hardest challenge of all but I promise yo that by the end of the week not only will the number be in the right direction but you will feel mentally better all week.
4. PROMISE yourself one solid 110% week on program.  Follow your menu for 6 straight days.  The consistency is the key and putting yourself in the mindset that no matter what I am sticking to my menu of meals and snacks for one week – after one complete week you will feel like you did it and you are back in it!  It will be an empowering positive end to a successful week!
5. Change every  negative thought into a positive one.  As soon as those little negative thoughts come creeping into your mind you must immediately replace them with positive thoughts.  negative thinking will always win over positive if you let it.  Really make an effort to change your mindset when those little negative thoughts find their way in.  
6. make the decisions that will keep your results positive.  Stay away from sabotages.  Remind yourself that you really can do whatever you want.  Every decision you make is your own.  Don’t base them off what others want.  You know your feelings and how staying on or off program will affect you.  It’s up to you to make the right decisions.  It’s not what is going on in your life or in anyone else’s.  You make each decision – because good or bad you are the one who has to live with the results.

There are soooo many Innovation positive Sharks!  They are positive about what they are doing everyday.  I you are not one o them – YOU SHOULD BE! There is no reason that you are not doing the right thing for your mind and body everyday.  There is no reason that you shouldn’t look and feel like you BEST SELF every day!  Don’t even begin to say “I can’t or it’s too hard.”  Everyone can make the same excuses just like everyone can make the right choices.  You can do and achieve whatever you want to.  But you really need to want it and it has to be a priority to you.  There is no difference between you and the person next to you who has done amazing and continues to do so.  The only difference is THEY WANTED IT MORE.  You can give yourself every excuse in the book but I’m telling you that if you really want it, and you make it a priority, and you stay positive and follow your program – you will do it.  

It all starts with you.  Your choices – Your decisions, and Your positive mindset.  

OUR LIVES BEGIN TO CHANGE

THE DAY WE DECIE WE WANT IT TO

BEWARE OF AUGUST and THE END OF SUMMER

August is so dangerous for so many reasons. We start the Summer full of excitement and committed to do the right thing and stay on program. It is fresh in our mind in May/June and even July – how hard it was to get to the happy place we started when summer began. It’s that memory that keeps us true and dedicated to what we want, who we are and how we want to feel…..  But slowly as the summer sun gets weaker so do we. August arrives and you start to feel like it’s almost over – the summer is ending. And all of a sudden you have to fit in as much as you can. This is when you must stay strong, mindful and positive. When you stay mentally strong you will remind yourself that the end of summer doesn’t have to result in the end of you feeling good and gaining weight.

Fall Is In The Air: For many are scheduling camp pick-ups; preparing for the last vacations; for others it’s the end of freedom and the end of less demanding schedules. We will start to feel senses of Fall coming near. The faint smell in the air, the Sun changing, or recognizing one orange leaf that has matured early. For some will feel Fall when they walk in the stores and see all the back to school shopping, and Teachers will start preparing for class rooms. Many will be packing up college students (that will be me crying and packing). For each one of us something reminding us summer is slowly coming to an end and Fall is around the corner – leaving little time left for summer fun.  While it’s easy to want to give in, this is when you need to be your strongest and not let the mental override the physical. We tend to mentally think “the end is near Im just gonna do what I want and go back to 100% in September” – No don’t do it. Im warning you that way of thinking will add on 5-10 pounds in a blink of an eye. You have to keep reminding yourself that Fall is around the corner and the more days you stick to your meals and snacks the better you will feel as summer comes to an end.

Let’s Face It – The “END” of Anything is Hard. While you might think you are ready for it — I know some of you are already saying, “I can’t wait to get back to a September schedule” and “I am going to go full force – hardcore in September!” and all that’s great, but don’t let that mindset determine what you do right now. Sometimes when we know we are going to give it a full commitment in a couple of weeks – it’s like saying you can have a free for all now. But you can’t and you don’t want to. As summer ends you need to get into the mind set —it’s ending and it’s okay—. And for it to be okay you need to start slowing things down — not speeding them up.

Mindset Is Everything When It Comes to Weight Loss. If you believe that you are going to be amazing and stay strong then you will be. If you tell yourself that you can’t do it and it’s too hard then you will give yourself a reason to “ throw in the towel” and you will regret it. Because at the end of the day it’s very important for you and your mental well being to feel the best you can be. The only way you will do this is to stay mentally strong and continue to stay on your program. Fell off – get back on. Had a bad week — make the next week great. You must stay disciplined and mindful, and even though the end of summer is the hardest to be discipline doesn’t mean you can’t do it.  But if your mindset is to “throw in the towel — summer is almost over — I don’t want to work hard anymore — I need a break — I want to just enjoy the rest of the summer.” Well… that’s the results you are going to get. You will gain and depending on how much depends on how far off you go from your path and how long you stay there. And let’s face it after a couple of days you are no longer enjoying it and you are out of control wondering how you are going to get back on program. You are feeling fuller, thicker and sad and that is what you are doing not to just yourself but those that are spending the end of the summer with you. Stay on program and it will keep you happy and everyone you love happy.

Much of what I am telling you I am sure you already know.  What is important is to recognize that you are the one in control and how you think is absolutely going to affect your outcome. So if you keep it positive and stay strong and stay as close to program as possible those are the results you will get. It’s always up to you and it’s your choices that determine your results. While friends, family and work all play a part the decision – you must take responsibility for the choices you make. Make August fun and exciting. Prepare, stay mindful and enjoy friends, and family time. Keep positive thinking and remembering that just because we may soon be losing the shorts and tank tops doesn’t mean you want to fill out the jeans and sweaters. Stay healthy, stay happy, and stay in tune mentally and physically with where you are,what you want, and what makes you feel your best.

Stay positive and you will get positive results!

When you feel good it’s always easier to transition from one change to the next. Don’t give yourself an excuse to do the wrong thing. Give yourself excuses to do all the right things. Make the choices that make you feel lighter, thinner, happier, healthy, and strong, and makes everyone around you happy too. Only you have the power, the want and the need to make this happen.

“Whatever we make ourselves believe is what we will experience”

LOVE TO LIVE HEALTHY WITH JOSEPHINE FITZPATRICK

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BUSY BUSY BUSY….

For many of you when the end of June arrives the summer begins. The bus for camp leaves, the waves goodbye; the trips around the world; time off from work; and sometimes just enjoying the company of local friends and family. All fun things that you want to enjoy and be ready for… and these next two weeks are crucial to make sure you go into the sun and fun feeling happy and in control.

Right now you are saying “but I’m crazy busy. How do I get control?” If you are running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off ? You are not alone. Everyone around you is in their own same little chicken coop. It’s the time of year that never seems to end and yet flies by at the same time. And of course to top it all off you need to make sure you are doing all the right things with your food choices because you want to feel your best or at the very least end June feeling like you are in control.

So how do you do this with all that is going on around you…. Two simple words can change your whole week! Cooler & Plan! Have your meals and snacks ready to go- and have your cooler ready to every morning to pack. It’s really important to have a little cooler in your car at all times and pack it with snacks and bars and muffins and whatever else you need to get you through the day to stay in control and on program. Because let’s face it the better you feel the easier the next two weeks is going to be for you.

When you plan your day in advance it can be an easy to follow day regardless of where you are or where you are going. Whether you are on the field, graduations, proms, work …. We all have busy lives and this time of year it just gets a little busier which is all the more reason to plan more and have more control. We all have multiple to-go coolers around the house, the basement or in the garage. And if by chance you don’t have one you can easily pick one up at the local convenience store. Make sure you have an easy to carry cooler, and each night you pack yours with easy to go choices. Because all the clients that you see that have reached goal and stay there – I can assure you they have their coolers packed and are ready to go everyday regardless of what time of year it is or where they are heading.

Here are two examples of an on program packed cooler
that will take you until you get to dinner:

Muffin
Light Chicken salad
Chocolate nuts
Skinny popcorn
1 cup of grapes
water, water, water, – plastic fork and napkin, small packet of wipes

OR

Bar
PB Bites
light cheese stick
Peach
Pop chips
water water water – wipes, and napkins

This should be part of your daily routine to have your cooled packed and ready to go when you know you will not have time to stop and eat.

 
Very Important – don’t set yourself up for failure! Don’t leave the house with the intention of “Im not going to eat today because I will be busy and that will help me lose faster” No No No – because even if you do get through the day without eating- we both know as soon as you will get home you will go right to the cabinet and eat everything in sight and you will take in twice as much food as if you would have planned and packed your cooler. So plan your day and have your cooler packed with your on program foods.

In the morning our first intention is always to do our best for the day. The answer is NOT to starve yourself all day and not eat – The real focus needs to be to feed the body to keep it going and to keep it a weight loss day. It’s to have your on program food on hand so that you are ready for when the hunger hits and you can go on about your day knowing that you are staying focused and in control to continue to lose weight and feel great!

5 minutes of planning  can save you 5 pounds from binging

Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

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Whatever it takes!

Power of Now:  Today I do NOT want you to think about yesterday or worry about tomorrow. I want you to embrace the power of NOW – TODAY – THIS MOMENT – THIS DAY! What you have to focus on is following your program and do Whatever it takes to stay on it. Your Program is what makes you feel your best. It gives you the freedom to have your cheat day but it also gives you that lighter, healthier, thinner and fit feeling that you work so hard for. Sometimes we forget that we have the power to do whatever it takes to get us to where we really want to be. The truth is you have all the power that you need both mentally and physically to get to where you want to be. The reality is if you are willing to put the work in and use that power to keep yourself in a happy, healthy place.

Yes, we can all come up with excuses and reasons why other things are more important than eating clean – but when you look at it from the big picture what could possibly be more important than you staying on program and feeling your best? Seriously think about it for a moment. When you feel your best you are happy and you feel great and it makes everything in your life that much easier to get through. You make everyone around you happy. What could make you not want to feel like that? What reason or excuse could you possibly tell yourself to not want to be the very best you could be. Next time you know you are making an excuse – think it through and think about— is excuse worthy of the outcome?

Regardless of where you are or where you go – staying on program should be a part of your life. It should be something you want to do not something you have to do.

Today leave the Excuses Behind You : Try not to focus on how many times you will need to eat out this week or how many weekend parties, bbq and events you have. The truth is if you want to lose the weight and not have set backs then you have the power to do it. Like so many other clients who lose the weight and keep it off – you can go out and enjoy and be 110%, and you can go to parties on the weekend – as long as you have a plan and are doing whatever it takes to follow it. You want the best results then you plan and stick to that plan 110% . Don’t set yourself up and go into anything thinking you will figure it out. Because the only thing you will figure out is how much food and drink you can consume in the time you are there. If you are serious about losing the weight and making some real changes then it has to be you are on 110% unless it’s your cheat day and it doesn’t matter where you are going or what you are doing.

If you are following the “In-Between” that we recently BLOG and Podcast – then you are deciding to take the weight loss slowly and there is nothing wrong with that. Do it at your own pace. But don’t get upset with yourself when you weigh and you are the same number as the week before. Weight loss is hard and when you are not 110% you will most likely see very little loss or you will maintain. And that is totally fine if that’s what you planned. It may take you 3 weeks to lose what you could have lost in one week – but you are still very much in the right direction and feeling great. Living the “In-Between” is a good plan if you know you can’t be 110% all the time. You just continue to plan to take it slow and be the best you can on the days you can. The results always all come down to you. On program you know what works for you and you know what you can eat and how much to eat to lose the weight – everything else is in your power to stay on program and be the best you can be OR be the best you WANT to be. I am here always to guide you and help you through the struggles but you are the one who will make the final decision when the temptation is in front of you.

Whether you are a shark or a snail you will always end up at the same place – one is just slower than the other and that’s absolutely fine if you plan it that way.

Final thoughts… Do whatever it takes! Stop making excuses, and make sure when you do decide to go off program that it’s worth it. I can’t tell you how many times a client will say “I went off program and I shouldn’t have it was so not worth it”. Whether you fall into social pressure or a little weak mind – these are the times that I am reminding you to have a plan. Because you will be much stronger if you have a plan. The power of your happiness and your weight loss is always in your hands. Whether you are 110% six days a week or 80-20 OR 70-30 – it’s always up to you and how hard you are willing to work for the results. When it comes to weight loss it’s more than just wanting results . Everyone wants the results. But to get the results you must work hard, have a plan and do Whatever it takes to stay on program and get those results

An Attitude of “Whatever is Convenient” won’t Accomplish Very Much.
An Attitude of “Whatever it Takes” is Impossible to Stop.

Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

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