SUMMER ADVICE
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Tag: healthy choices
EASTER & PASSOVER – WHEN AM I CHEATING?
PREPARE FOR THE HOLDIAYS
Whether you are celebrating Passover – Easter or both! – you want to incorporate your Cheat day into your celebrations. Here are some helpful tips:
CHEATING MORE THAN ONE DAY: Split your Cheat day and do Cheat Meals. Instead of having Saturday as your Cheat Day – do Friday night and Saturday night – back on program Sunday. Or you can do Saturday night and Sunday night back on program Monday. Any two nights you want to do cheat meals instead of a whole day. You want to have cheat meal dessert and drinks (optional). Remember when you split your cheat day it’s one less day of the week you have to lose weight.
CHEATING ONE DAY: If you know you are cheating only one day you always have the option to keep your Cheat Day to one day. One cheat day a week will always give you the best results. But only do this if you are certain that you are not going to be tempted at other holiday celebrations.
VACATION: If you are going on vacation – do not cheat before you go. Stay on program and pick one cheat each day to enjoy while on vacation. Any meal – dessert or drinks. You choose each day one thing that you want to indulge and enjoy. This will help you maintain the week. If you want to lose while on vacation then you must stick to your One Cheat day a week and stay on program on Vacation. Sounds hard? It’s not as hard as you think
EXAMPLE:
- Egg whites for Breakfast
- Grilled chicken salad for lunch
- veggies and hummus at the pool or beach
- Fish and veggies for dinner
- choose your dessert whether it’s a drink or fruit
If you want more than this then you should be prepared to maintain or possibly gain. Remember your actions = results.
PASSOVER CHOICES:
INCORPORATE PASSOVER CHOICES IN YOUR DAY
BREAKFAST & LUNCH CHOICES YOU CAN INCORPORATE PASSOVER WEEK:
• MATZAH-2 Matzah with 1tbsp of peanut, almondor SunButter, or 1/2avocado
• MATZAH AND FRUIT: 1 Matzah with 1 tsp of pb or sunbather with 1 piece of fruit
• MATZAH AND EGGS- one Matzah with 3-4 egg whites and 1 cup of veggies
• ANY Kosher Meat no sauce no marinate no butter
• Light tuna or chicken salad or egg white salad with 1 matzah
• Chubby Potato: 1 large white potato or sweet potato with 1 cup of veggies on top and 1/4 cup of cheese and bake 🙂
• 1/2 cup park skim Cottage cheese with 1 cup of fruit
• Popcorn
• 15-20 Any nuts
• Think Thin Bar
• Matzoh ball soup without the Matzoh ball
• 2 slices of low fat cheese or 1 light part skim cheese stick with 1 Matzah
• non fat greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of berries
• 1 cup of any berries with 2 tbsp of cool whip
INNOVATION FOOD AND PASSOVER:
1) IF YOU are NOT STRICT and ALLOW FLOUR FROM OUR VEGETABLE PROTEIN you can have anything in the store
2) STRICT – NO WHEAT OR ANY KIND OF FLOUR
— All our Gluten Free Muffins, GF Cookies and GF Bagels
— Our Entire Ketovation line contains no wheat or flour
Cauliflower Pizza
Turkey Taco
Chicken Salad
Tuna Salad
Sweet potato fries
Tomato Soup
Broccoli cheddar soup
Bisque Soup
Pudding
Rice Sticks and Hockey Puck Rounds
Chocolate mousse cake, & Cheese Cake & Gummy Bites
All Innovation nuts regular, chocolate and mixed
Popcorn
Licorice
Detox
The Staff of Innovation wishes everyone a healthy happy Holiday
~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
FEBRUARY GOALS
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HELLO FEBRUARY: February is one of those months that arrive fast and exit even faster. And yet so much is going on in such a short month. We have Valentines day and President’s day weekend and Winter Break. So much fun so little time! LET’S TALK ABOUT GOALS: The beginning of the month is the best time to plan for your goals. Take a look back at January – did you accomplish all you wanted? If not – why? Be honest with yourself because at the end of the day you are only hurting yourself with excuses. FEBRUARY GOALS: Before you make your February goals – make sure whatever goals you choose they include what is going to make you happy. Make sure you are making them for the right reasons. Because in order for you to reach your goals they have to mean something to you. Because when they mean something to you that is when you will do everything you possibly can to reach them. Start by deciding what your goals are and then think about how much do they mean to you. How hard are you going to work for them. Always remember making goals is the easy part – putting the action and work into achieving them is the hard part. We all want success – but actually doing the work is what creates the success. And when it comes to weight loss it’s as much mental work as it is physical. When you make those goals you have to include being willing to with walk away from temptation and being okay with eating less and dealing with those little hunger pangs. It’s not just “I want to lose weight” it’s about everything that goes along with losing weight. It’s hard work. But if you really put 100% thought into this and you tell yourself everyday how important it is to you – then you will achieve it. Because our mind is so powerful we can believe anything we tell it to – but of course that road goes both ways. Always remember it takes just as much energy to be negative as it does to be positive. CLIENT STORY: I would like to tell you about one of my clients. She is a young mom of 3 who was overweight at 180 pounds. When she first came to me she was sure she wasn’t going to be able to lose weight. She was very depressed. She tried every quick fix diet and felt completely defeated. I explained none of that mattered – what was important right at that moment was that I was going to hold her hand throughout the program – all she had to do was trust me and trust herself and if she was really willing to work for this as much as she said she was – then we would do great. She started in September and now February 1 she is down 52lbs. Some months she lost more than others but even through holiday months she always had weight loss. What was most amazing was she never gave up. She worked so hard every week to stay on program – even with the temptations that were in front of her everyday. She always remembered what was important to her and what she wanted most of all was to feel great by Winter Break because her family was going away and she said her last trip she was so miserable and insecure and wore cover – ups the whole time. She said it ruined her trip and she ended up comforting herself with food the whole time. She was so tired of that feeling. One of the reasons I am telling you this story is because I think it’s so important to understand and really think about goals. She didn’t just WANT this she was willing to put the work in day after day and week after week. This trip kept her motivated throughout. For her It was more than just the weight loss. She said she avoided stores and places to go to because she didn’t feel good about herself. She was upset with herself because she felt 20 years older than her age and she didn’t know what to do about it. For her it was so much more about her confidence and this winter break all she wanted was to walk on the beach in her bathing suit and feel confident. We recently did a phone call and she cried and said to me — she never really understood how unhappy she was in her body until the weight loss. She said she knew she wasn’t comfortable in her body but didn’t realize how unhappy it made her. And only when she lost the weight and became really comfortable in her skin again — was when she knew how much this all really meant to her. She felt truly happy. — and that is something we forget. Happiness isn’t a thing – it’s a feeling. And maybe her goal wasn’t really about weight loss it was about feeling happy again. I think one of the most important points of this story is it’s not just about the number on the scale. It’s not about a size of clothes. This is about not settling for less than what you deserve because it’s easy. This is about not telling yourself that you did your best if you really didn’t or that you are happy if you know deep down that you are not. This is about digging down deep and working extra hard for something that means everything and that could even be potentially life changing for you. Yes im talking about weight loss but this can apply to anything in your life that you know you haven’t worked hard enough for. And while it may sound silly to some – I mean how can weight loss be life changing? Well waking up and going from feeling unhappy to feeling happy everyday is life changing. Those of you who have gained and lost weight know exactly what I am talking about. It’s life changing when you feel comfortable in your body and how much confidence you suddenly have because you feel good in everything you put on. When you feel good in your body everything changes for you. You feel healthy, energetic, you love to get up and get dressed. It can make the smallest things in life feel exciting. All because you are taking care of yourself and doing the right things. When you think about it. It’s really not too much to ask of yourself. I mean just by doing the right things and making the right choices you get to live a life in a body that makes you feel HAPPY everyday. And that is life changing to a lot of people. Whatever your goals for February are – make sure they = happiness |
| Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick |
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Choose Your Week
Don’t Just Do The Program – Live It!
Just when you think you have it all under control – a busy end of the week comes along and throws you right off your path. Don’t worry, you are not alone. This is such a busy time of year with camp, proms, graduations. There is celebration after celebration and you are trying to be so good but feel the weakness of the struggle. This is when you really need to be your strongest because if you give in there may be no return and that is simply not an option before summer begins. When you live the program, you learn that you can have maintain weeks when it’s busy. That doesn’t mean you treat every day like a Cheat Day or even have a Cheat meal. It means that maybe you had an extra on program snack or two? A little hungrier day and you had an extra mini meal or maybe your food wasn’t as clean as you would have liked but you did your best. We all have busy times and we have to allow for them and learn that the best way to get through them is to not just do the program but learn to live the program and be okay with maintain days when you need them. Sometimes just being okay with it and giving yourself permission is all you really need to stay on program.
1. LIVE THE PROGRAM: Don’t get into the habit of going off and on program, you will end up with more Cheat Days then clean days. In order to live the program there are no “do overs” or “starting fresh” it’s just a continuation of your life. You had an unexpected Cheat Day? Then that becomes your Cheat Day, you don’t just start again. If you eat extra in a day but still keep to on program foods then you call it a Maintain Day. When you get to a great number you don’t just start going back to your old habits, you continue on with the program. Six days clean and one day to indulge should be your way of life.
2. PLAN PLAN PLAN: I can’t say it enough but if you plan your days before you start them you have a 99% chance of sticking to them. Don’t go through the day just not eating or trying to wing it – because once you start eating you won’t stop. If you feel that you can get through the day okay but your nights are sabotaging you? Then save your snacks for night time when you need them. Remember to plan what you are doing when you get home. If you know that you come home and raid the pantry then plan a different routine when you get home. Come home and go for a walk, jump in the pool or take a shower! It may sound silly but once you break your habit that sabotages you, that is all it takes to have better results. Do anything other than your usual walk in the door head and for the pantry.
Don’t Get Derailed
When trying to make a change and push for healthy decisions and a healthy lifestyle, following through on those choices can be a daily battle. At the beginning of the day or the beginning of the week we feel motivated and positive, but as time goes on there are many obstacles and challenges that can derail us. The most common ways that we struggle can pop up at any time but with a little preparation and planning we can set ourselves up for success.
Between families, work, long days, busy schedules and social events, most of us would say that we usually feel tired during the week. We all know that mid afternoon slow down where we look for something to pick us up. But what does being tired have to do with weight loss? When we are slowing down we look for caffeine and sugar to give us a boost – which usually comes in the form of coffee, soda and snacks. It is possible to satisfy that afternoon craving while staying on plan but we usually crave something sugary, salty or fatty to fill us up. Make sure you have a healthy snack or plan that you can turn to when you reach a low. When we are tired we also feel unmotivated and vulnerable so we just want to eat whatever is quick and easy – even if it isn’t healthy – which is another reason to have a healthy plan that is easily accessible. Doing that little bit of planning and prep work when you have the time and energy will save you later when you are tired or in a rush. We all want to do the right thing, so make it easier for yourself to follow through.
In our daily lives we are constantly tempted to eat and drink things that we know aren’t healthy but sometimes when we are at a social event or special occasion we want to give in. Birthdays, parties, anniversaries, celebrations, holidays and other special events can happen any day of the year and even when we do our best to plan ahead they can still pop up unexpectedly. During any of these happy occasions we are faced with cake, drinks and special meals and treats and it’s up to you to decide if it’s really worth it to indulge. If you can plan ahead, you can always bring a healthy dish to a dinner or party, or you can look at a menu ahead of time to pick a healthy meal to order if you are going out. But sometimes plans are made last minute and we find ourselves in a tricky situation. We can feel like we don’t have control when this happens, but you always have the power to make the right choices. Take it slow and don’t just give in to a craving or indulgence because it is right in front of you. Take your time and think about what really matters to you – indulging in the moment or reaching a healthy goal.
Feeling like we don’t have options is a common reason why we sometimes make the wrong decisions. We think we are backed into a corner so we make a choice and then later we regret it. Sometimes we have to put in the extra effort to plan and prep to make sure we have the healthy options we need, or sometimes we just have to say no. Sometimes we want to tell ourselves that we didn’t have a choice but we always do. We have to own our decisions so we make sure they are right for us.
No one is perfect and we all struggle, but fighting through the ups and downs to reach a goal makes it that much more of a satisfying accomplishment.
~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness
8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018