Now that Quarantine is almost over we are feeling many different emotions.  While we couldn’t wait for it to end— many of you now wish you had more time.  Quarantine and May has brought an internal battle that for many of you were not expecting and quite possibly not ready for.  What I mean is that while we weren’t quite sure when quarantine would end — you did know June and warmer weather were around the corner with the tank tops, shorts, sundresses and bathing suits — but with each quarantine day you felt like you had more time.  While many have taken charge and became instant sharks  —  others are struggling with the “why didn’t I do it when I had the time”  and  “I’m just not ready for this.”  It’s the internal battle of emotions that are telling you now you have no choice. It has come and you are panicking because you are not ready.  Regardless of where you are or where you wish you were you need to fight through these emotions and get past it.  Here are some suggestions if you are struggling:

DON’T LOOK FOR EXCUSES…  Focus on staying on your path and following your program.  It works and you will do it and see the results.  It just takes time and you are going to feel hungry and it’s not always the best feeling starting again but it will get better.  Weight Loss is hard for everyone.  The longer you do it and live it the easier it will be.  When you stay on your program six days and cheat one day you will lose the weight.

KEEP YOUR FOCUS IN THE RIGHT PLACE…  Should I skip my cheat day?  Should I not have snacks? I can’t tell you how many times people say I think I should skip the Cheat Day.  Before you ask yourself if you should skip it — let’s ask is that even possible?  You are struggling enough having one cheat day so why are you even contemplating having none?  For every client who has reached their goal they did it with a cheat day every week.  There is no reason to give it up — just don’t have two in one week.

SNACKS…  If you are struggling don’t give up snacks.  It’s important to have your 3 snacks to keep your day in control.  Once you are back in control then you can always go to 2 snack or 1 depending on where you are and where you want to be.

PUT THE TIME IN BECAUSE THERE IS NO QUICK FIX… I promise you regardless what you try to do quick you will end up right back here at the beginning and hopefully with not more weight than you started with.  The only way to lose the weight is slow and steady.  You have to put the work in like everyone else.  Fat doesn’t come on or off overnight.  Put the time in and focus on losing 1-3 lbs a week.  Week after week the weight loss adds up and it add up fast.

IT’S NEVER TOO LATE…  Even if you have been horrible in quarantine and feel like it will be forever before you lose the weight… just remember that it’s not about the end result it’s about every week feeling better and better.  After 5 pounds you will feel great and after 10 pounds you will feel amazing.  Going into the summer losing is going to feel a whole lot better than staying the same and/or gaining.

CONSISTENCY = FAT BURN…  I know I have said this over and over but there is a reason I say it.  To get the best results in weight loss you need to be consistent.  The consistency puts your body in a “fat burn process” and your body will run like a weight loss machine.  The longer you are in and the more consistent you are the better the results.  If you keep turning the machine on and off it will continually shut down and you will have to restart it all over again.  It’s very simple — the more time you put in the better the results. The more consistent you are the more consistent the results.  Every time you take yourself out of the “fat burn process” then you have to make up that time to get your body back into the process.  So basically every time you decide to do cheat weekends instead of a cheat day — you are taking yourself out of the process and it will take you days to get back in it and have your body start losing again from where it left off.  ** Make sure if you are doing cheat weekend they are worth it.

THE SCALE…  Whatever you do don’t get overwhelmed with the number — it’s a very simple process and if you do the right thing the number will go down.  If you follow your program — it will go down. Some weeks it may not be as much as you want and others it will be more than you expected.   When you are losing body fat the key is to keep moving forward in the right direction and your body will follow and get smaller every week.

I always like to mention and address the clients who are doing absolutely amazing.  This past weekend even with the holiday we had record numbers who lost weight.  Many took the opportunity of the quarantine to do the right thing and stay on program and check in every week and it paid off.  What I can tell you is if you want this you can do it.  You have all the tools to keep you on your path… the Innovation food, the motivation, the accountability, and the idea of summer clothes are only weeks away.  The clients who stayed focused and motivated through quarantine are not all sharks, many were turtles and snails but throughout the quarantine they remained consistent.  So while I often address those who are struggling because they need it the most, I know it’s so important to celebrate and congratulate all of those who have done and continue to do amazing because they deserve and need it as well.  It’s always nice to hear praise and feel that accomplishment but let’s face it the true gift to them is the new body that they love and live in everyday.   There is no better feeling.

If you want to love the way you look and feel then you have to do the right things, you need to work hard put the time in and be consistent.  When summer comes your emotions will be happy, healthy, controlled and you will be so excited to see the sunshine and 80 degree weather even if it’s only in your own backyard.

If You Want To Feed Yourself Something

Feed it Happiness

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Let’s start with the (sort of) good news:  Experiencing some amount of anxiety is an indication  that you are human.  “Just about all of us have some levels of anxiety and worry.  While it’s normal part of life to experience occasional anxiety  – especially under our current situation…. I see daily how it’s affecting so many of you in all different ways.  Some are drinking more, snacking more, and others eating less and some just completely overwhelmed.  For many anxiety is hitting daily and becoming worse by the day and others it’s randomly hitting out of the blue.  We are all out of our comfort zone.

I hope it will give you some comfort when I tell you that you are not alone in how you feel.  With all the clients that I deal with from all over the world and all levels of status the one thing everyone seems to be experiencing is anxiety.  Some more frequent than others and definitely different levels of anxiousness — but we are all feeling it.  And sometimes knowing that you not alone can help.

WHAT TO DO:

• One of the best things you can do when you feel the anxiety coming on is to accept it and recognize it… and face it head on.  Accept that you are scared and understand that it’s okay to be afraid.  But don’t let it control you.  Once it gets control that is when we lose our way.  Find healthy things that will help you with the anxiety like exercise – a bubble bath – playing with the kids or writing a journal about it.  Whatever takes you out of your present mind and takes you to a better place of relaxation.  Make sure whatever you choose you add it into your daily schedule.  For example:  watching too much News might start the anxiety.  Recognize it — shut the TV and go for a walk.  It’s simple but very effective.

• Another thing that I find so important is your food.  Do not let it get control of you.  The more you keep control of your food the better you will feel.  The more you can control your food will result in how you will feel mentally and physically.  Listen, we all know the scale right now should not be the most important thing in the world as a whole — but as a piece of your life when you know that too much snacking, too much drinking, and over eating and gaining weight is going to get you upset and give you more anxiety… that’s when the scale becomes important  — and it’s okay that it is important to you.  It should be important because it’s part of your health and when you do the right things it keeps you in a happy place.  There is a great big world with big problems and then we all have our own little world with our own problems.  You need to make sure you are doing all the right things that keep you happy and sane in your own little world so that you can deal with the things that are going on in the great big world.

There is no doubt about it when you are on program you feel good and when you are not on program it impacts your emotional state.

We shouldn’t give up on anything that keeps us happy because when you can stay in a happy positive place it will help with those moments of anxiety.  Right now we need to depend on our positive emotions.  Our emotions help us survive, thrive, and avoid danger.  When you are happy — then you can keep others happy and that is what the world thrives on together — human emotions of sharing the positive love, prayers, hope and happiness.  Change will always take place in our life and sometimes even though it’s from unfortunate circumstances we have to seek out the positive in it all.  The trees are blooming and the sun is shining so keep doing the right things, stay strong and remember that most of us all have some extra time right now — use it to your advantage.  Stay positive and think about what changes have you wanted to make in your life before the quarantine.  How you can use this time to emerge to become the very best version of yourself.  If you are lucky enough to be healthy right now it’s a great time to reflect and think about the changes you want to make.  Start by making those changes today.

Anyone who has grown mentally, physically, or spiritually

knows that growth is not found in comfort.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick