1. [dt_sc_hr_invisible_small]Stay on program and follow your 6 clean days and 1 cheat day. If you do this you will of course lose weight and feel great. Plan your food and snacks in advance each day. If you are drinking count it as your snacks.
2. Split the Holidays. We have Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and New Years Eve and New Years Day. If you split them and stay on program all day and only off at night – Dinner and Drinks or Dinner and Dessert. You do it for both Holidays with on program days in between. You will absolutely maintain but for many will still have a great chance of losing if you have SHARK DAYS in between.
3. Home or Away – Maintain your Vacation– If you feel you need the break from the everyday mindset vacation is a good time to take advantage of it. Whether you are home or away you will choose one meal and one dessert/drinks each day. The remainder of the day keep on program. So for example you might do Muffin Breakfast, and light chicken salad for Lunch – and then cheat dinner and dessert/drinks. Then the next day you might want to do a Cheat Breakfast – and then on program remainder of the day with a cheat dessert .  You can choose how you want to do it but each day it’s one cheat meal with dessert or drinks (your drinks count as your desserts). If you do this you do not have a full cheat day before or after because you are cheating a little each day. At the end of the holiday week go right back on program for a week and then get on the scale because it will take a full clean week before you see the maintenance of that week. So if you choose this option don’t weigh at the end of the week after having a cheat meal and dessert every day and expect to be the same weight you were at the beginning of the week. Im telling you now that won’t happen. But after the holiday week if you give yourself a solid on program week you will go right back to the pre-holiday weight.[dt_sc_hr_invisible_small]

HAPPINESS LOOKS AMAZING ON EVERYONE!

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

SCALE NOT MOVING?

If the scale stopped moving it’s most likely because you stopped moving too!  Rainy days and quarantines can make for a very unhealthy lifestyle for weight loss and health!

DID YOU KNOW…. Based on a study of more than 220,000 people, researchers found that the longer you spend sitting down every day, the higher your risk of dying prematurely, even if you engage in regular exercise.  And if that isn’t scary enough then you should know sitting down for long periods of time isn’t just bad for your metabolism, it can also make you age quicker too.  New research has found that sitting down for long periods of time even with regular exercise can make a person’s cells age prematurely.  Yikes!

Why does this happen?…  Because you are not meant to sit you are built to stand upright.  Your heart and cardiovascular system work more effectively that way.  Your bowel system also functions more efficiently when you are upright.  You are also meant to move!  When you are moving, your overall energy levels and endurance improve, and your bones maintain strength.  Moving your muscles helps your body digest the fats and sugars you eat.  If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body.  — Yikes again!

Interesting fact…. Your legs and gluteals, are the biggest muscles in your body and when used they burn the most calories.  That’s why runners, long distance walkers, and lower body training will always have and create leaner bodies because they are working their legs and gluteals, and burning the most calories. These large muscles are important for weight loss and overall strength to help stabilize the body.  Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg muscle and gluteal muscles.  What happens when your leg muscles waste away?…  you don’t burn as many calories because you no longer have the biggest muscles in your body and if that isn’t bad enough you end up with all fat and cellulite.  Because prolonged periods of sitting reduce blood flow and that creates fat and cellulite.  Just another big reason to get up and go…..

Live Longer!… Physical inactivity contributes to over three million preventable deaths worldwide each year. It is the fourth leading cause of death due to non-communicable diseases.  It’s also the cause of approx. 30  per cent of breast, colon cancers, diabetes and heart disease.   So next time you are at your desk and working 8 hours straight think about the damage you can be doing to your body.  Set the timer and make sure you are moving.  It’s something you have complete control over to change.

Feeling Sad?…  We don’t really understand the links between sitting and mental health as much as we do the links between sitting and physical health.  But we do know that the risk of both anxiety and depression is much higher in people that sit more.

Have I made my point yet?…  if not, let me make it clear — it’s time to stop sitting and start moving! And walking your plate to the sink doesn’t count.

Move More In Quarantine…..  An hour of exercise a day is just not enough in quarantine.  Before quarantine you were exercising an hour a day and then you were running errands, work, sports, shopping, kids etc…  Now you exercise and hour a day and you sit a lot more than you used too.

A SIMPLE FIX:

1. Add one extra hour a of exercise a day (walk, bike, hike, HIIT workouts, or just dance with your family around the house for an hour — so much fun and good for everyone!).  If you do it consistently for 7 days along with your current one hour you will see a big difference in your body and the scale.
2. Don’t sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time.  Get up do jumping jacks or jog in place.  Do anything to get the blood flowing and the body moving.  Just keep thinking sitting too long = loss of muscle, and lots of fat and cellulite.

Today is more challenging than ever because you are not always on the go.  Being sedentary is definitely going to play a part in how your body looks and functions. So whether you are cleaning, playing with the kids, walking, biking, jogging, …. find the time to move and make the excuses to keep moving as much as you can.  It will help you mentally and physically feel so much better today, tomorrow, next week and next month.

IT’S NEVER ABOUT HAVING THE TIME — IT’S ABOUT MAKING THE TIME

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

I think by this point we are all going a little Coronavirus Crazy!  I was waiting for things to settle down before sending a blog but I realized that might be a while so I decided to move forward and share my thoughts….

First of all I just want to say we have to remember to take everything in perspective.  For most of us if we get the virus we are going to be okay.  Remind yourself who you are protecting right now is the very young, the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.  For everyone else it’s going to be like having a bad cold.  So if you are sick stay in and protect our parents, grandparents, children, and those who are already compromised with their health.

COMPARE IT

THE FLU:  In the U.S. at least 18,000 people have died and 250,000 have already been hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – more than 26 million Americans have fallen ill with flu-like symptoms.  And this flu season has been especially hard on kids.

CORONA VIRUS:  World wide there are 145,000 cases, 5,411 people have died from it and 70,200 recovered.

There is a big difference when you compare the U.S. and World wide.  When you compare the flu and the Coronavirus you wonder why are they closing schools, and big events for the Corona and they never do for the flu, when the flu affects so many more people?  — Not understanding can create the panic.  — To shed some light on this….. one reason for the closings and quarantine is the Coronavirus is very contagious and while for most of you it will never be more than a cold — it spreads so quickly it can easily become devastation to a community with elderly, very young and comprised immune systems.  So while you may not be affected as bad you have to realize and understand the importance of the damages it can do to others.  That’s the whole reason for the quarantine that if we isolate the virus the hope is the virus will eventually die.   That’s why it’s really important if you are sick or have been exposed to someone sick —  stay home.

But with all the panic that is taking place people are going to end up killing each other before they ever even catch the virus.  So slow down and just take a moment to realize sometimes all we need is a little time to get to a better place.

Right now one of the most important things for you to do is stay healthy because if you do get it the healthier you are the more you will be able to fight it.  I am always preaching to you to make sure you are eating clean and exercising and doing all the right things for your mind and body because the healthier you are the better you can handle anything that comes your way.

Here are some things to think about and do:

1. Own your space — if you are at an event or any kind of gathering for personal or business give yourself some space when talking to others.  Remember it’s not only about the person you are talking too — it’s who that person was in contact with and the person before that person.  Protect yourself and give at least 6 feet between you and always give air hugs and blow kisses.
2. Wash all fruit and vegetables with vinegar — Washing with vinegar is the best way to remove bacteria.
3. Keep it positive! We are all in our own sense of quarantine so have some fun with it and spend some time with those you love and make some memories.  These will be the stories your children tell their children about how much fun they had when their family was quarantined 20 years ago.

• Young or old – play games, cards, monopoly, charades
• Get a jump on yard work.  Start pulling those weeds and raking the lawn
• Clean out the garage – the storage room or the closets for spring
• Take time away from the News and Social media and get outside in the fresh air and exercise.  Go to the park, or trails, walk, jog, hike, ride your bike, play tag, go to the beach and collect shells from the sand.  The recent weather has given us no excuse not to be outside getting some much needed vitamin D.
• While you are out at the park — one thing I love to do in my home on a nice cool day is shut the heat and spray the whole house with disinfectant and then open all the windows — and then leave for the day.  Let the house air out and sterilize.

Final Thoughts:  Live your life.  Don’t live in fear because that is absolutely not healthy.  DO NOT use this time as an excuse to go off program.  Because before you know it this will all be a memory and we will wake up and it will be an 80 degree day and there will be those of you that are taking off the coats feeling really good and excited to put on the jean shorts and t-shirts — while others who did not do the right thing will be dreading the 80 degree day more than they did the flu/virus.  I am already seeing it.  Weights are sent to me all day Friday, Saturdays and Sundays and I can already see who is staying strong through the craziness and who is not. Make the right choice.

Right now the one thing you can control is your food.  So you have to decide when the time comes where do you want to be and how do you want to feel.  Make the choice and choose your hard.  Is it harder to do the right thing now or will it be harder to squeeze into your summer clothes later.

AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU CAN ONLY CONTROL WHAT IS IN FRONT ON YOU

TAKE ONE DAY AT A TIME

DON’T FOUS ON THE “WHAT IF”

FOCUS ON THE HERE AND NOW

— MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL–

BE HAPPY – STAY HEALTHY

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

I was originally going to put this blog out on Tuesday but I really thought that you would and could relate to it more today since we are starting super bowl weekend.  Think before you grab before you eat :).  Everything has a result.

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL!  First I have to start off by giving compliments and credit to so many who had such amazing weight loss numbers this past week.  I was so so happy to hear that last weeks blog “Being Comfortable with being Uncomfortable” helped make a difference.  Actions create results and in this case you read the blog and followed it and it worked!  I was so beyond thrilled to see the results of it.  Thank you!  I know how difficult it is to walk away from temptation.   But you got to feel and see the amazing results this past weekend by walking away, and embracing the uncomfortable.  YAY!!!

EVERYONE HAS WEAK MOMENTS:  We all have weak moments.  Sometimes they are random, and other times they are specific.  You step on the scale mid week and it throws you into sabotage, or you have one glass of wine and it triggers you to have the bottle.   It could be at the end of the day at dinner or before bed when you are just so tired from the day and don’t have the same mental strength you had when you woke up.   Most of the time weak moments occur right before cheat day.  It’s the time of the week where you would think you would be the best but the truth is you are the most mentally and physically exhausted.

FUNNY STORY:   A good example is my husband John.  Last Saturday night out of the blue he says to me at 8pm – can I start my Cheat Day now?  When I gave him a blank look like –is he really asking me this right now?–   he went on to explain (as if I never heard this before) — I can start now and go 24hours and end my cheat day Sunday night at 8pm.  He was so proud of this new idea!  As he was saying it I was visualizing my clients text messages literally being printed in the air as he spoke the words – CAN I SPLIT MY CHEAT DAY AND START RIGHT NOW.—   It’s a text that we get minimum 20 times on a the weekend.  First I had to break it to him that he wasn’t the first person to think of this amazing idea.  Then I explained that this was a moment of weakness that so many clients have at random times and they usually are the day before the cheat day.    You made it all week long and now it’s the end of the week and you are tired and hungry and you are just done.  You are mentally and physically weak and it’s easy to give in.  But I explained it’s the night before cheat day and this is when you have to be your strongest because it’s when all the magic happens from all your hard work all week.  You don’t want to throw it all away for a slice of pizza.  But he clearly wasn’t feeling the same passion that I was expressing.

I said — I’m sorry but no you can’t do that.  You didn’t even weigh in and you won’t have the same results tomorrow if you cheat now.  You can wait until tomorrow.  I promise you will be happy if you wait–.

Needless to say he wasn’t happy waiting and he wasn’t happy with me or my response at that moment.  But I new he was just mentally weak and it was easy to just throw all his hard work away.  Instead I walked to the refrigerator and heated him up Innovation meatballs and a spring roll and some string beans.  He made it through the night and lucky he did because he ended up having a great weight loss week losing over 2lbs.  — he was so beyond happy with his weight loss Sunday morning.

What I did notice that helped a lot was once the meal was heated up and put in front of him he was fine.   Because of my crazy schedule John always heats up his own meals.  It’s always an Innovation meal and a side.  It’s simple, healthy and he loves it.  But because he was mentally weak Saturday night and his mind started taking over his thinking he became obsessed with the idea of Pizza.  So instead of heating up his dinner he was too busy thinking of a way he could start his cheat day early.  But once I saw his mental state and I heated it up and put it in front of him he was totally fine.  He was hungry and when he ate he was okay and was able to think more reasonably.  If I wasn’t there – who knows what would have happened- probably pizza!.  I was super proud of him for staying strong through it and a the same time I realized what so many of you go through.  Even the most perfect week it’s so easy to fold in a moment of weakness.

The point of this story is whether it’s food or alcohol –  it’s important to not let yourself get to the place where you have no control.  The place where you are past the point of thinking clearly.   Especially at the end of a day or the end of a week when we are most exhausted, tired and hungry it’s so easy to let our guard down.   In the begining of the week you have more mental and physical energy  and are more likely to get through the challenges.  But at the end of the week when you know you are both mentally and physically  exguasted is when you have to be stronger and more on your guard from sabotaging yourself.

THE CONVERSATION OF THE WEEK:  The funny thing through all of this which I know so many of your will relate is Sunday John didn’t even want the pizza.  In fact, he said he didn’t even want to cheat.  He was so excited with his weight loss and he felt so good that he couldn’t even think of what he wanted to cheat with.    — The conversation from clients in my office and on text is always

 “Why does everything look so good all week long except on Cheat Day?!”   During the week you want everything in sight.  But when it’s cheat day and you can have it – you don’t want any of it.  Why???  The answer is simple – it’s because it’s the mental part of the program that teaches – we always want what we can’t have.  But when we can have it we don’t always want it.  

I think that goes for a lot of things in life.  But when it comes to Cheat Day sometimes just knowing that you CAN have it is enough.  So next time you have the mental challenge and you feel a little weak minded – before you cheat ask yourself if it was cheat day would I eat this or do I just want it because I can’t have it.?  The answer might help you get through your next moment of weakness.

The struggle you feel today develops the strength you need for tomorrow 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

YIKES! is probably the best word to describe how you might be feeling right now.  With the long weekend behind you and any damages that might have been done are now in the past the only thing to do is to move forward.    Don’t waste anytime beating yourself up – it’s wasted energy.   Right now you start your hardcore 100% Shark week immediately.  We have a countdown of exactly 4 weeks until Holiday Break.  It’s super important that you enjoy when it’s time to enjoy and it’s even more important that you are amazing when it’s time to be amazing.  So regardless of the parties you might have coming up or any events that are taking place over the next couple of weeks it’s important you are a shark and stick to the 6 clean days and 1 cheat day.  The next 4 weeks is all about being amazing.

THE NEXT 4 WEEKS IS ALL ABOUT BEING A SHARK

I can’t even begin to tell you in the last two days how many text and email messages I received  -everyone was more than ready to start eating clean again.  Many of you even started yesterday.  YES it’s so enjoyable to cheat but it’s beyond amazing to start eating clean again after you cheat.  Think about it – we cheat to mentally comfort us.  Most of us will agree that as soon as we feed that mental comfort our physical comfort is compromised.  The more we cheat the worse we feel.  Not on purpose of course.  Mentally we want to be able to cheat the whole day but the longer  you are on program the less you are able to cheat the entire day.  Even when you can cheat the whole day you will notice how week after week you really are taking in less without even trying.  — All good things and all very relevant to where you are today.

The reason I bring this up is so you understand that even though you probably feel like you did a lot of damage the reality is you probably didn’t do as bad as you thought.  Yes you could have been better and I’m sure you could have been worse.  What is important if you get right back on program and give yourself a solid 6 clean days.  I promise regardless of how bad you feel right now, by mid week you will feel so much better and by next weigh in you will be so happy you have a Hardcore Shark Solid Clean week in.  And in 4 weeks you will be more than ready for your holiday and/or vacation.

The program is all about loving to live healthy and enjoying life.  We eat clean so we can cheat and when we cheat we can’t wait to eat clean again.  Living the program gives you the opportunity to enjoy it all.  Especially over a holiday week when we need a little more flexibility than just one cheat day.  Now that Thanksgiving Holiday is over and everyone enjoyed – now it’s time to get serious and put the work in so in 4 weeks you can BE, FEEL AND LOOK like the most amazing you and also have that flexibility again and enjoy the next holiday break.

LIFE

WORK HARD FOR IT 

LIVE IT- LOVE IT – ENJOY IT

Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

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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