It’s not easy being uncomfortable.  One of the biggest things about weight loss and getting results is we have to be okay with being a little uncomfortable.  Both mentally and physically being uncomfortable takes getting used to.  Mentally it’s not easy to say NO to something we want.  Especially when the only one holding us back from it is us.  Physically we have to be okay with not having what our body physically feels it needs at the moment – reminding ourselves that we feel a little hungry because we have to eat less than what we currently need to have weight loss.  When your body is used to eating more of course you will feel little hungry.  Not all day but there will be times when your body realizes you are taking in less and it’s going to want you to feed it so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable.  Not an easy thing to get through – yet very doable.

We live in a society that prefers instant gratification and pleasure.   You see it and you want it.  We almost never think of the consequences until after we did it.  When we are uncomfortable we want to get rid of the feeling and we do what makes us immediately comfortable – regardless if the result is going to make us unhappy.

CHOOSE YOUR HARD:  UNHAPPY vs. UNCOMFORTABLE – What you have to remember is the uncomfortable is temporary.  It will be gone and you will get past it and the results of it are what makes you happy.  If you choose the easier path and grab without thinking or caring you will be unhappy and bloated and that’s a whole different kind of uncomfortable.  So which is it?  You want to be uncomfortable a little hungry or uncomfortable in your clothes?

Here are some things to remind you why it’s okay to be uncomfortable:

• Nearly everything that generates any kind of value requires effort, focus and discomfort.
• It’s the fear of discomfort that drives us away from our goals
• It’s this fear of discomfort that drives us to search for endless shortcuts.  How can we make this all easier. How can we achieve success without the hard work?
• The truth is the only real way to get comfortable is to realize discomfort is where your success is.  Follow it, embrace it and you will get it.

If you think about how society today is so terrified of pain and discomfort.  Many will do anything to avoid pain and suffering.  We have endless pills and alcohol to make all manner of discomfort go away.

• Don’t fall into the trap of becoming comfortable with simply existing. You must want and love putting the work in to get results. It’s okay to feel both the pain and pleasure from working hard for something. For example let’s take weight loss – It’s uncomfortable and there are days you have to walk away from what you really want. I think we can all agree there is pain involved. Both mental and physical pain. It’s not easy to walk away from something you want. But the results of doing it are beyond amazing. The feeling of waking up healthy, light and thin. Grabbing anything in your closet and it fits and feels good. Your confidence is high and your days are always great. You feel healthy. You feel like you can face anything and get through it. And you feel this way all because your body and mind feel good. When your body is in a good place your mind is in a happy place. When you feel good you are happy and when you are happy you always look amazing. There is nothing more beautiful then a happy confident person. When you are comfortable in your own skin – it makes all the little uncomfortable times worth it.  Who wouldn’t want this.  We see people all the time that have it and we want it.  But in order to get to this amazing feeling you need to work hard and feel the little pains of being uncomfortable.  When you are willing to do that you will get the results.

What I want you to think about for the remainder of January and into February – is becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable.  It’s okay to be a little hungry – you won’t starve.  It’s okay to go to a party and not indulge .  It’s okay to feel a little mental pain without having to numb it. Face your fears and embrace them – it’s the only way to get through them.   I want you to embrace it and be happy that you can embrace it and happy that you can work for what you want.   Nothing in life comes free.  You must put the work in.   Don’t wait for the perfect time – it doesn’t exist.  There is always going to be something – it’s all part of the uncomfortable.    You have to get past it.   It’s not always going to be a perfect day or situation – but you  keep moving forward and keep working hard.   Do what you need to and get to where you want to be.  Think about it -if you don’t do it now -when?   Start now and make it happen.  You will feel the joy of being uncomfortable because you will see the results it brings.   Remind yourself that uncomfortable is where your success is!!  When you work at it and embrace it – the toughness of being uncomfortable passes and you find yourself in a place of control and happiness.

It's only when you see the positive changes in your mind and body 

is when you feel the most comfortable and genuinely alive


~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Hi Everyone!

Welcome back from 2018 and welcome into the beginnings of 2019.  It is a time of reality and sometimes that doesn’t feel so great.  While so many did wonderful over vacations so many didn’t.  Either way getting back to real life is never easy – but it’s so beyond important.

There is a time for work and a time for play.  Right now – it’s a time for work.  You have a straight run of putting the time in and reaching new goals.  Whether you are getting back to where you were or continuing on your successful road – Now is the time to do it.

Do not look back and don’t have regrets.  Move on and move forward.  For many of you know one week back on program and you will feel so much better.  Even if you are not back at pre-vacation weight you will be in a great place, back in control and in the direction you want to be.

Don’t sabotage yourself.  Getting back on program is going to make you feel so much better but it may take more than that to see numbers you want to see.  So even if you feel good in a couple of days I would wait a solid week on program before you go on the scale.

The importance of feeling good and doing the right things for your mind and body is so important.  Of course we all want to look good.  But we must remember looking good from the inside out is important too.

For example many of you know my hubby has started the program.   After turning 50 being in shape is not as easy as it used to be.  He absolutely loves to indulge with our boys and does it quite often.  Truth be told I always think he looks amazing.  He is such a great person.  But heart disease runs big in his family and he has been feeling the extra weight.  And quite honestly we have been together since I’m 16 and I don’t want to live without him over something he can control.  The reason I bring this up is because while we all want to look great – we also have to remember the importance of our health.  Mentally and physically being over weight will affect every area of your life and one way or another it will also affect all the people that love you.

We all get to a point where we look and say “wait a second, I am so out of control and not where I want to be.” For some it’s later than others but the most important thing is not that it happened but how you address it.  You get right back on program and feed yourself healthy and keep yourself happy.

Don’t over think it – no quick fixes. No starving yourself.  No self sabotaging.  None of it works.  Go back to your menu or reach out to us and we will guide you.  The only way to get your numbers down right now and to feel that lighter healthier feeling is to get the control back.  Follow your meals and snacks and nothing in between.  After a week you will feel great and two weeks back in the game and on your way to reaching new goals.

Embrace today and the New Year.  Be excited to reach your goals.  you can do this.  You know what you want and you have the tools to get you there.  Go with it and follow it through.  One day at a time and before you know it you will feel so good that  you will find your inner strength and that strength combined with how good you feel will bring excitement to jump start each day.  When you put the work in you are capable of everything and anything.

TODAY, THIS WEEK AND THIS YEAR BE EXCITED ABOUT EVERYTHING!

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

We all want to be happy around the Holidays.  But along with happiness, we also know the holidays can be filled with stress, laughter, drinking, over-eating, family fights and even tears!  Everyday can bring a mix of different emotions, and not just for you but for everyone around you.  There is however one way to feel your very best this holiday season….

Do you want to know the secret to having a happy Holiday Season this year?  The secret to a happy holiday season is not about how much you put on the table.  It’s not about how much money you have or what kind of car you drive.  It’s not about how expensive your outfit is and it’s not even about how many friends you have.  I mean these are all great things to have in your life but I can tell you for certain it’s not what is going to make your holiday season the happiest it can be.   The secret to a happy fulfilled holiday season is how you are going to feel about yourself throughout the holidays.  The happier YOU are and the better YOU feel in your own skin is going to be a game changer on how you feel through the holidays and how you treat yourself and everyone around you.

Many of you know exactly what I am talking about.  You know that feeling good about yourself is more than just what you have or what you can buy – it’s about how you feel mentally and physically.  Let’s face it putting on an $800 outfit is amazing but putting on $100 outfit on the body you love and feel great in will make you feel like you are wearing something that is priceless.

I know I am constantly reminding you that the better you feel the better you will live.  I am a true believer in if you are doing the right thing and feel good you  are more likely to choose the right options to keep you feeling that way.  When you are around a holiday dinner or party you will feel amazing and you will want to do everything you can to stay that way.  FACT:  when you feel good you want to continue to look good and when you don’t feel good you tend to throw in the towel a lot faster and fall prey to temptations  around you.

Between Thanksgiving and New Years you want to be able to go to a party, a holiday dinner and even a planned vacation and feel the very best you can feel because the better you feel the happier you will be and the better you are going to act and treat those you love around you.  You don’t want to put yourself in a position that you don’t want to get dressed and don’t want to see people.  We all kind of live in the same shoes.  When we are doing the right thing and feeling amazing – we don’t care who we run into.  In fact, sometimes we even seek out people.  When we are not doing the right things we want to avoid everything and everyone.  — Keep this holiday season simple.  When you are doing the right thing – you are happy.  So don’t make it complicated.  Follow your program and feel the best you can feel.  Always remember nothing is worth feeling uncomfortable in your own skin.

If you find that you are struggling at any time – you always remind yourself that you just need one clean week and you will feel like someone stuck a pin in you and you deflated.  One clean week is all it takes and you will start to feel the lighter version of YOU!  You want to spend this holiday season starting off on the right path.  But if somewhere in between you fall off you just get right back on and 6 clean days you will feel great again.  Everyone can be a shark when they want to be.  Head strong you will go into the holidays on program and enjoy your cheats when its you cheat day and not just cheat because it’s the holiday’s .  Because we all know when you start cheating just to cheat or because there are parties week after week – before you know it you will be squeezing into clothes and the happy face will turn into a frown very quickly.  And no one needs to see you frown around the holidays.  Especially when it’s something you have absolutely control over.

They say nothing in life is given to you.  But that’s actually not true.  The most precious thing in the world has been given to you – It’s called LIFE!  What you do with it, and how you take care of it will determine how happy you live it.  

HAPPY HOLIDAYS START WITH A HAPPY YOU

Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

April is finally going to bring spring! By mid week we will be in the 50’s and by the end of the week 60’s!!!!! And before you know it, 70 and 80 degrees will be quickly following.  The weather has really thrown so many for a loop this year. It felt like the ever lasting winter, especially if you didn’t get the chance to fly away from the cold for a spring break. And on the flip side, if you did go away it’s not always easy to go from beautiful weather back to this very unpleasant cold. Either way, I just want you to know that if you are struggling because you just came back from vacation or struggling from the tough winter – you are not alone. But I also want you to know that you have to snap out of it because once it gets warm – it’s going to just get warmer and warmer.

Well, another snow day in New York. For those of you that are traveling you know what to do, and for those of you that are home with another snow day – try not to let your good intentions to start Monday on the right foot be hindered by the beautiful white falling snow. While it can give you that cozy “I want to eat” feeling it will also give you that “why are my clothes so tight” results. Don’t look at it as a road block but rather a challenge. One that you know you can get through and will feel so much better doing. Follow your program and stay on your path because wherever you are and whatever you may be dealing with – vacation – snow days – kids home etc… you will feel better, enjoy it more and have the best results if you do the right thing and stay on program.