Our first week has come and gone and below are the first WEIGHT LOSS numbers of the Thanksgiving Challenge. Because of scheduling there are some clients who only weigh in every two weeks so they are marked as 0. It will catch up with their 2 week weigh in this coming weekend. But this gives us a good idea of where we are all moving into week 2. Whether you are doing the challenge or not, what I want you to realize and recognize more than anything is how fast the weeks fly by. Really think about it – if you are not losing then you are most likely maintaining or gaining. So if you are having a positive week it’s because that’s what you want and are working to have it. If you are having a negative week you are letting it in and letting the outside negative take control of you and what you really want. You are the only person who controls that. Yes, positives and negatives are everywhere but you are the only one who can let them in to your life and your body and your home. You need to set your mind to what you want and take control and do it. YOU have the control to make the right decisions and keep your life in a positive state. If you stay positive you are much more likely to lose weight. If you keep the negative in and around you then you will most likely go off program and gain weight. The choice is always yours – just remember everything you do doesn’t only affect you – it affects everyone around you. Especially those you love and love you.  

Harry:  10.3

Matt:  1.6

Rich:     0

Joseph:     4

Women:

Nicole:  6

Jessica:  1.6

Rhonda:  3.8

Heather:    0

Sue:    0

Marnie:    0

Tara: .   5

Kristy:   .6

Loretta:   1

Leslie:   3

Suzanne:   0

Julie: .  6

Mindy:  1.2

Jessica:   0

Danielle:  2.7

Leslie:  1.6

Deirdre:  .6

Michelle:  3.7

Dena:  2.5

Lauren:  0

Tracy:  .4

Rosa:  0

Kami:  2.2

Becky:  0

Jessica:  0

Margery:  1.8

Elizabeth:  3.8

Michelle:  0

Alyssa:  0

Donna:  1.6

Alyssa:  0

Corinna:  0

Robyn:  1

Stacey:  1.8

Tara:  1

Katherine:  0

Ginger:  1

Julie:  2.7

Carolyn:  .4

Stacey:  0

Jill:  0

Kathy:  4.4

Dawn:  5.2

Jill:  1.8

Michelle:  0

Alyssa:  0

Rosa:  0

Sherri:  .6

Jamie:  1

Jillian:  0

Ellie:  1

Debby:  0

JoAnn:  0

Maria:  .8

Linda:  0

Heather:  7.1

Valerie:  5.4

Valerie:  1.7

Theresa:  1.4

Debra:  1.2

Beth:  2.4

With cold and flu season upon us, these natural alternatives to popular treatments and remedies can help you recover in the healthiest way possible. 

Spices, Herbs and Plants 

Ginger

When faced with an upset stomach, a common response is to reach for ginger ale. The carbonation in ginger ale can help comfort your stomach, but the sugar and artificial ingredients that often come with it can be avoided. Try ginger tea (make sure it’s caffeine free) instead, or add fresh ginger while cooking to get its affects. Ginger will help you when you are not feeling well in many ways, the first being that it is an anti-inflammatory so it will help calm you insides when you are feeling nauseous, and it also helps with digestion so you can get relief from what is making your stomach upset. It also helps relax the intestinal tract which will give you even more relief. Ginger also helps you relax overall by easing tension in your muscles that might cause cramps and blockage. 

Garlic

If you can stomach it, fresh garlic has incredible benefits. You can also use it in cooking and still receive the benefits. It can help prevent sickness before it comes, and boost your immune system when you become ill. It has powerful antibacterial, antiviral and anti fungal properties.

Tumeric, cloves and cinnamon are also packed with antioxidants that help boost your immune system. 

Tea

Any type of tea, as long as it is caffeine free, is great for when we have a chill or are feeling under the weather. Tea flavored with lemon and ginger are most popular. Chamomile is also great, especially in the evening to help calm and bring on sleep. Peppermint is another great option known for helping to ease upset stomachs. Elderberry is a little less common, but is a strong natural remedy. Elderberry is known as an anti-inflammatory, and it is also said that it can help you fight off sickness faster. It has a positive affect on lung health so it is commonly used for people with severe cough and bronchitis. Lastly, it is a body cleanser that will help prevent disease and flush out toxins.

Sinus Relief Drink

This drink it great for opening up your sinuses and relieving many internal symptoms. The cayenne pepper is also a strong anti-inflammatory, and the spicy kick will clear you up just by smelling it. Apple cider vinegar is an amazing drink with a long list of benefits, one of the best in this situation being that it boosts your immune system to help you recover. Lemon also has a long list of benefits, the most important being that it will help with bloating and queasiness, and because of its high levels of vitamin C it will boost your immune system and it also has antiviral and antibacterial properties. Even just a normal glass of warm lemon water can help immensely with chest congestion, sore throat and cough – but these added ingredients will give you even more benefits. 

To make it, mix all ingredients in a mug:

1/4 cup hot water

1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar 

1 teaspoon honey

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon lemon juice 

Soup 

Chicken soup is usually the first meal we think of when we are sick. It’s great because the broth helps soothe sore throats and helps us stay hydrated, and the chicken and vegetables give us protein, vitamins and minerals we need to get better. Any low sodium, broth based soup is great for cold and flu season. 

Remember to always drink plenty of fluids and get the rest and sleep you need when you are under the weather, and visit a doctor when needed. Always make your health a priority, but don’t use a runny nose or minor cough as an excuse to backtrack. Be strong, stay in control as much as you can and take care.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018

– YOU HAVE TO USE THE SAME SCALE EVERY WEEK. Whether it’s your scale or ours it has to be the same scale every week.  
 
– YOU HAVE TO WEIGH IN OR BE WEIGHED EVERY WEEK. If you skip a week you will be eliminated 🙁 
 
– IF YOU ARE ONLINE SEND YOUR WEIGHT TO THEA and JOSEPHINE innovationthea@gmail.com and  innovationjosephine@gmail.com  or you can put us in a group text.  
 
– IF YOU ARE IN STUDIO and do not have a weekly appointment you must still weigh at the studio and your numbers will be forwarded to us.  
 
– IF YOU ARE going away then you will weigh before you leave. It doesn’t matter what day you weigh as long as we get a weight from you by the end of the week (Sunday marks the end of the week). So everyone in the contest should have a weigh in number to us no later than Sunday of each week.  
 
– EVERY MONDAY THE CONTESTANTS WEIGHT LOSSES WILL BE EMAILED: For example, this Monday I will email ONLY THE FIRST NAME of each contestant AND how much they lost each week (no last names and no weights will ever be posted).

– CHECK WITH THEA innovationthea@gmail.com MAKE SURE SHE HAS YOUR NAME AND STARTING WEIGHT.   
 
 
– THERE IS NO ADDITIONAL FEE TO JOIN THE CHALLENGE BUT YOU MUST BE AN ACTIVE CLIENT.  YOUR MEMBERSHIP MUST BE ACTIVE THE ENTIRE 5 WEEKS OF THE CHALLENGE.  IF YOUR MEMBERSHIP EXPIRES BEFORE THE 5 WEEKS YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED AND THE NEXT PERSON WILL RECEIVE THE PRIZE. 

• Your weight loss days have to be consecutive days. 6 straight days of weight loss
• If you throw a couple of maintain days in there then your number at the end of the week will be less of a weight loss or none at all
• Make sure your food combinations are on program

• SHARKS: For the next 5 weeks will lose the most weight by following 3 clean meals and 1 clean snack. You will follow 110% 6 days straight every week with one cheat day a week. That’s when you will see the very best weight loss numbers by Thanksgiving.  

• SNAILS: If you want to be a snail (we love our snails too) and you want to go a little slower but still see a nice loss then you will do 3 clean meals and 2-3 snacks a day. You will eat clean 6 consecutive days every week with 1 cheat day a week for the next 5 week. You will see at least 1 pound a week.  

It’s a phrase we have all heard since we were kids – “You are what you eat”. It’s a warning, a proverb and sometimes a joke. But it’s also holds a lot of truth. Every day our bodies are working hard to create new cells, a process called Cellular Regeneration. The human body contains trillions of cells and our bodies are constantly repairing and healing them – and they get the building blocks from the nutrients we absorb. From head to toe, the food and drinks we consume affect us hours, days and months after the meal is over. Whether we are creating new cells or repairing existing ones, our bodies are constantly at work.

Different cells in the body have different “shelf life” – a stomach cell lives about a day or two, colon cells live about four days, a skin cell about a month, a red blood cell for about four months, liver cells for about five months and a white blood cell for more than a year and the list goes on. Bones, intestinal cells and certain muscle cells can take ten to fifteen years to completely regenerate. These cells are constantly being repaired or replaced, which is why every meal, snack and drink plays an important role in our physical health. Think of it this way – when building a house, wouldn’t you want to use the best possible materials?

For healthy skin, green tea is a great place to start. The antioxidants found in green tea increase blood flow and oxygen to the skin which helps deliver nutrients to keep it clear and healthy. Kale is a great food for the skin – it contains nutrients that absorb and neutralize free radicals created by UV light, including the wavelengths that can get through some sunscreen. It also has tons of Vitamin C and A which helps keep you skin firm. Walnuts are also a great food for your skin because of their Omega-3 content, which help keeps your skin moisturized and prevents dry skin. Replacing dairy milk with almond milk can help keep your skin clear of acne, wrinkles and rashes. Many of us are sensitive to dairy and it can cause inflammation.

The liver is an extremely important organ that is often overworked when we over eat, over drink and choose unhealthy options. And when the liver is overworked, it can’t process toxins and fat efficiently. Garlic actives liver enzymes that help your body flush out toxins. The antioxidants in green tea are also great for your liver. Greens like spinach and arugula as well as avocado are great for liver cleansing and can flush toxins out of the blood stream. Apples, cauliflower, broccoli, lemon, cabbage and walnuts are also all great for liver health.

Our muscles are constantly in use and being repaired, especially when we are exercising. Protein is always the go-to when it comes to muscle health – most of muscle tissue is made of protein so when we work out and move around in our day to day life we need to make sure that we consume protein to support and replenish our muscles. Some clean and health sources of protein are chicken, egg whites and seafood. These contain amino acids, the building blocks of protein that our bodies can’t make themselves. Healthy carbs like those found in whole wheat bread provide your body with a source of energy and fuel your muscles in any activity. Healthy fats such as those found in fish oil, walnuts and flax seed can help keep your muscle tissue fluid and strong.

Eating clean will not only help you look and feel great, but it will also help you stay healthy and fight disease by keeping your body fueled and working at its best. In general, it is said that most of our cells are completely replaced within seven years. The body you were born with is not the same body you have now. This is an intimidating and exciting concept – you have the power to build the most healthy body. So why not start now?

~ Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness 

8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797

469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018