For many of us, one of the reasons why we want to lose weight is to live longer and healthier. We want to look and feel amazing at any age, see our children and grandchild grow, enjoy retirement and much more – all while living life to the fullest. Though there is no way to guarantee health and a long life, there are steps we can take to ensure we are doing everything we can to take care of ourselves. In this case, we mean “steps” literally – there is an ancient Chinese proverb that says if you take 100 steps after each meal, you will live to be 99 years old. Basically, it is the idea that if you take a short walk after a meal it’s good for you.

It’s something that many of us may have felt before – you eat a big meal and then you want to walk it off. Or sleep it off. One option makes you feel better, one makes you feel worse. When you get in the car, then drive to the restaurant, sit and eat a big meal, get back in the car and drive home then sit on the couch – there’s no question why it doesn’t sit well. As soon as we finish a meal our body gets to work digesting what we just consumed. Walking helps your body regulate blood sugar and will increase your gastric fluids to help you digest. This is especially good news for people with diabetes as it can help regulate blood sugar numbers. On the other hand, staying stationary or even lounging or laying back not only make us feel like sick, but it can even trigger physical pain and discomfort and acid reflux. For those of us who have a sedentary job where we spend a lot of our time at a desk or sitting we also know this feeling. We find ourselves snacking and feeling heavier and heavier in our chairs. Taking the time to walk around the block, to the car, or around the office, or house or up and down the stairs will give you that boost to make you feel better.

Even this short walk will help you with weight loss, even if you don’t participate in any other exercise. It kicks starts not only your digestion but also your metabolism. You can’t walk off a bad meal or snack, but when you are doing the right things and making smart choices it can only help. Walking after a meal also helps suppress the increase of triglyceride concentration – triglycerides are unhealthy fat particles that can lead to cardiovascular problems. We have explored how sleep is connected to weight loss in previous blogs – and walking can help with sleep as well. Walking after a meal can help reduce stress and promote circulation which are both important to having a good night’s sleep.

Overall, walking after a meal is a great habit to get into, especially for many of us who were stuck inside these past few days because of the snow. It benefits your body in so many ways and promotes a healthy lifestyle. It’s something that everyone in the family can enjoy and can even become a family tradition and a way to spend time together.

I hope you don’t think we forgot about the challenge! We didn’t! We were just trying to give everyone a chance to settle back into the routine again after the Winter Break! Looks like everyone is back on track and moving along nicely. With only 3 weeks until Spring and 2 weeks left of the challenge it’s a great time to think about where you are today and where you thought you would be.

Whether you are in the challenge or not take a moment to reflect on how you have been doing – and where you are today. Is it where you thought you would be? Think back to when the Challenge started in January. You thought by March you would have lost at least 5 or 10 lbs, and many of you hoping for more! If you didn’t start or you keep yo-yoing back and forth, you better start taking it serious because it’s only going to get harder as the nicer weather approaches.

I can tell you the very first thing you have to stop doing – STOP MAKING EXCUSES and just DO IT ALREADY! Seriously, it’s something you want and something that’s going to make you happy so why are you not doing it? The time is now…It’s not tomorrow, it’s not next week and it’s definitely not next month. The only way you are going to get your life, your health and your happiness in a good place is if you start with your weight. Because it’s the first thing you think of when you wake up and it’s the last thing you think of before you go to sleep. So start making your days happy and stop putting off what needs to be done. You are the only person who has control of this. You see your friends, neighbors, co-workers all on plan and losing weight. You should be losing it too! There are no excuses except the ones that you give yourself.

CONGRATULATIONS – 2 WEEKS TO GO….

Andrew S:    19

Aaron T:       17

Beth M:        16.6

Joann B:      14.6

Mike R:        14

Alison A:      12.2

Steve K:       12

Sheryl G:      9.6

Troy M:         9

Mike N:         9

Sandra W:    8.8

Raquel R:     8.7

Marlie G:      8.5

Dorey K:       8.5

SEO:            8.4

Paul N:         8

Scott S:        8

Amanda C:   8

Lauren G:     7.4

Kimberly S:   7

Cara B:         6.4

Dena E:        6.1

Samantha M:   5.8

Donna F:        5.5

Shari K:          5.3

Jamie K:         5

Melanie B:      5

Bonnie K:       5

Alyssa M:       5

Dawn S:         4.6

Lori N:            4.6

Emily D:         4.4

Theresa G:    4.2

Leslie O:        4

Dana S:          3.6

Deirdre C:       3.6

Jamie H:         3.5

Beth F:            3.4

Robyn M:        3.3

Heather C:      3.2

Ann C:            3.1

Jillian G:         3

Stacey B:        3

Jessica M:       2.4

SS:                  1.5

 1) BANANA PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM

It’s March 1st, and after most of you were on vacation last week, and some really beautiful days here on Long Island, you have to wonder are you ready for spring? Because I think we can all agree – Spring is coming early this year. Whether you were off program last week for vacation or kept it together and ate clean – what is most important today is that you are right back on track and doing all the right things to get you where you want to be. Because once summer is here – your chances of losing are a lot less than they are today. Right now is when you should be working hard everyday and staying on program and exercising and doing all the right things for your body so when your next vacation/spring/summer comes around you are ready. Don’t wait to get ready the week before – it’s now that you should have all your focus on where and who you want to be when the time arrives.

We go through different stages in different times of the year.  We have our months that are full of holidays and summer vacations and BBQ’s – They are full of maintain days.

Then we have days where there really isn’t much going on. We are on our regular schedule of work, kids, friends, family…These are the days we should be losing. These are the days we work hard and make a difference.

Of course there will always be temptation, but the weight loss days are the days that you have to make it happen. Right now coming off a week of vacation you would think the last thing you want to do is eat more. But unfortunately that is exactly what you want to do – is eat more! The reason is – whenever you feed your body unhealthy choices and you stuff it to the extreme – it gets use to it and it wants more. Your stomach has stretched out in more ways then one and it wants you to keep filling it. The more you stretch it the more hungry you will be. The more unhealthy food choices you put in your body the more hungry it makes you.

Whenever it is that you return from vacation always remember this – it will take one week to get right back to feeling good and two weeks to feel great! Consistency is the most important part of your program. Continue to keep choosing the right foods and stay on your program meals and snacks – stick to your menu. Before you know it, by the end of the first week you have all the bloat gone and by the end of the second week you are back to losing. We all pay a price when we go away but you can keep it a positive by enjoying while you are there and getting right back to a healthy place when you return. This is life and while it’s meant to be enjoyed it can only be enjoyed when you put your hard work in. That goes for weight loss, jobs, family and friends. There is and should always be a time that you enjoy your hard work. But it’s only enjoyable when you work hard for it. If it came easy it wouldn’t be as much fun. And if it’s important enough to you then it should be worth the work! Health, family, friends, your career. They are and should all be amazing and the harder you work them the more satisfaction it will bring.

CONGRATULATIONS LYNN!!

WE ARE ALL SO PROUD OF YOU!!

LYNNE CONTINUES TO LOVE THE LIFE SHE LIVES AND LIVES THE LIFE SHE LOVES

~Love To Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

211 E 43rd Street Manhattan, NY 10019

• One meal and dessert off OR alcohol but not both. So if you are a foodie then you will eat clean all day and choose one meal a day and one snack/dessert and have that as an off program choice. OR if you are over the age of 21 and like your alcoholic beverages on vacation then you can do clean meals and snacks and have your drinks when you want them.
• Stay away from the nachos! When you are at the pool or the beach or after the slopes – you will order fresh raw veggies with hummus or light ranch. These veggies will help keep you munching and maintaining while you are laying around enjoying the sunshine or relaxing at the lodge after you ski.
• If you choose to have one meal a day off program then you do not get a Cheat Day at the end of the week. Remember, the Cheat Day only works when the other 6 days are 110% on program. So if you know you are “off” each day then you are using that and not your Cheat Day. You can’t do both because if you do you won’t maintain you will gain.
• You can’t run, exercise or ski off a bad food day so any exercise you do, make it in addition to your controlled food day.

   

  The most important thing to remember is how hard you have worked to get to where you are today. You have sacrificed and have gotten yourself to a place where many of you no longer have cravings through the week. When you work so hard to get here you want to be able to enjoy it. Just because you are on vacation or a “stay-cation” doesn’t mean you just go back to your old habits – and trust me they will want to come back. It’s up to you to remember how AMAZING you feel when you are doing the right things. It’s up to you to think about how hard you worked to get to this amazing place.

   

  DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN: Most people start vacation feeling amazing. You work hard and you do all the right things to get there and then all of a sudden by mid vacation you start to think “I can have that – I’m on vacation” and  “I can have that – everyone keeps telling me how great I look” and “I feel soooo good – I’m just gonna have it this one time.” And then slowly you start incorporating more and more and throughout the day you are picking and tasting and sharing…before you know it you are bloated and your clothes are starting to tighten. And if that’s the worst of it that would be enough but it’s not. Because then all of a sudden your mood starts to change. You went from starting the vacation so happy to now you are slowly becoming miserable. You can’t believe you let it get you again. You are starting to feel that heaviness. And you were so happy when you were lighter why did you let it happen…now your whole mood has shifted. You think the kids are driving you crazy but the truth is you are driving them crazy! You are feeling bloated and you are upset and short tempered. All because you feel bigger and bloated because you are no longer in control. When you are not feeling your best everything starts to bother you. And you keep thinking I was just so happy. I shouldn’t be doing this we are on vacation – but you can’t help yourself because your sugar levels are dipping and rising with every unhealthy meal you have. Then you have a drink or a bad meal to numb out the fact that you did it again and the drinks / unhealthy meals just make you eat more and before you know it you are waking up even worse then the day before! Then you start thinking you just can’t wait to get home! But wait it was only a couple of days ago you couldn’t wait to get here!  – DON’T DO THIS TO YOURSELF!  There is no food or alcohol that is worth this. Stay in control and think about what you are eating and putting in your mouth before you do it.  Have a plan everyday so you can enjoy your vacation.  

   

  I’m telling you this today before it happens. Choose your battles –  I want you to read this on the plane. I want you to read it on the beach or in the lodge. You are not there to eat out of control. It’s okay that staying in control and on plan makes you happy. Don’t get in the mindset that you need to eat everything because you are on vacation. Because that will make you unhappy not happy! You are not there to be unhappy. You are on this beautiful trip with your family and/or friends and you are there to have an amazing time that should not revolve around food. It should include food but not revolve around it. There is always a healthy choice – MAKE IT! You can’t have the whole cake but you can have a slice everyday and that should be enough. Your “slice” might be dessert, meal, alcohol etc. but choose it and have it everyday – but the rest of the day must be clean. Because you will feel so much better THE WHOLE VACATION if you do. You can have your cake and eat it too you just can’t have it morning noon and night everyday. Choose your battles and know what is important to you. If it’s your alcohol then make a place for it in your snacks. If it’s your desserts then that is what you have each night with the rest of the day clean. If it’s your food then you choose which meal each day you are going off on. You should have an amazing time and you should enjoy everything you want – but that doesn’t mean you go there and you treat everyday like a Cheat Day and it doesn’t mean you go there and lose even a little control because you know better where that will lead. Staying in control makes you happy and makes you feel good. That’s what your vacation should be about – feeling good! When you go on vacation you are supposed to come home feeling better than when you left – make sure you are doing what it takes to feel that. I always tell you that when you come home I will get you back to feeling amazing. But the truth is, you want to be away and feeling amazing. So think about your choices and make sure they are worth it. Because at the end of the day – In the reality of it all, it’s not very hard – IT’S TEMPTING. BUT YOU ARE STRONGER THAN ANY TEMPTATION.<

   

  CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES AND YOU CHOOSE YOUR HAPPINESS.

   

  ~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Yay! It’s Monday!!! It’s the start of another healthy week. Another week where you can see a new low by the end of it. Another week where you can make all the right choices and feel amazing! Don’t look at Monday like it’s the start of just a boring work week – look at it like it’s the beginning of another week where you are learning to love to live healthy!!!! Everything in life is a cycle. When we ride it the right way we can live it the best way. You start your week off amazing and you continue on that path regardless of what gets in your way. You need to make the right choices so that by the end of the week you accomplished another healthy, happy week where you know your numbers will reflect your hard work. Every day is an opportunity to do the right thing for yourself, your mind and your body. Only you can make today a GREAT DAY! Only you can make today a HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS DAY! Only you can do the RIGHT THINGS AND STAY ON YOUR PATH TO REACH YOUR GOALS! Remind yourself how important it is to you and remind yourself how much you want it. How you look at the day and the week will reflect on how your results will be.