Halloween Pumpkins, Ghosts, Thanksgiving, Fall Shopping, Leaves Changing….

What is not to Love about Fall?!

FALL IN LOVE WITH TAKING CARE OF YOUR BODY:  Sometimes it’s not enough to just take care of your body.  When you FALL in love with taking care of your mind and body it can be life changing.  It doesn’t matter where you are right now — if you are just starting, have been on program or returning…  wherever you are the most important thing to start with is to remind yourself daily how important it is to feel good about yourself and how happy it makes you when you are doing the right things —  and you are the only person that can make that happen.

DON’T JUST DO THE PROGRAM — LIVE THE PROGRAM

In the beginning of the program (the first couple of weeks) you just need to get through the weeks to get to your cheat day.  The Cheat Day is life saving as it helps you stay on program the other six weight loss days.  but after a couple of weeks and after seeing some really nice changes — it should start to become more than getting through your six clean days to get to your cheat day.  In fact, it should start to reverse.   You should start to live for the six clean days.  The Cheat Day is fun and always look forward to it, but your body and mind should begin to understand and take notice that you feel your very best on your six clean days.  Mentally you start to look forward to them — at the end of your Cheat Day you can’t wait to eat clean the next day.  You can’t wait for a couple of clean days to pass — so you can feel better and get back to the lighter and cleaner feeling you love.  You can’t wait to get back on the track of eating clean knowing that you are back to fueling your body with healthy and clean eating and in return it’s working your numbers in the right direction.  By mid week you should begin to get excited wondering what you will lose this week.  The closer you are to your menu the more weight you will lose.  Will you see a new number and will it be the lowest one you have seen in a long time?  It is so exciting to take care of yourself to the point of loving it.  Loving how you feel and loving how it’s changing you mentally and physically.  When you love feeling good, healthy, lighter, fitter and thinner there is truly no better feeling and no better way to live.  It’s a positive addiction that you should want and love.

TRUE STORY:  Clients literally text me all the time and say “I have to start sending my food again”, or “I have to get back on program.”  A client just texted me yesterday and said “I have to get back on program.  I don’t know why I go off program every time I am off program I am miserable and when I’m on program doing the right things and taking care of my body I am so happy.  My husband told me last night it’s time to get back to Josephine.  He didn’t say it because of the weight he said it because he knows how happy and good I feel when I am on program and he sees how miserable I am when I’m off.”   MY RESPONSE: YAY!!!! — that of course makes me so happy!  I never want anyone unhappy but it absolutely thrills me when clients realize that being on program is when they are the happiest.  They are the happiest because they feel the best.  So why do we go off program when being on makes us so happy?  The answer is simple — no matter how great being on program makes us feel we will always have little slip ups and hiccups because life gets in the way.  And once it’s in the way and we lose that control —  our brain takes over and it can take days, weeks and sometimes months to get back on path.  But the most important thing is that you do get back on path because you know that is when you feel the absolute best!

FOCUS:  This week try focusing on your six clean days instead of focusing on your Cheat Day.  Think about each  day and how good you feel when you go to bed because you followed the program and stayed 100%, and think about how amazing you feel when you wake up.  Whenever we do the right things for our body it changes us as people.  We are happier, and proud of ourself and how we are treating our bodies.  We are proud of the way we look and feel.  I don’t think anyone can say that they don’t feel anything but amazing when they get dressed in the morning and feel great in their clothes.  If you want that to be you then you need to work for it.  If you want to feel good all week then you need to stay focused and positive about your clean days.  Don’t focus on the one Cheat Day — focus on how you feel the six clean days…  you feel lighter, healthier, thinner — and how you feel when you followed all week and at the end of that week you step on the scale — so proud, super happy, like you want to jump around and tell the world you did it — you followed you lost weight and you feel great!!

FALLING IN LOVE WITH WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHAT IT’S DOING FOR YOU:  When you do the right things for your body, and make the right choices, and fuel your body with the right foods, you feel better.  Some weeks will always be harder than others but if you stay true to what you want and what makes you feel the best and keep positive everyday knowing this is what makes you happy — then you will start falling in love with what you are doing and what it’s doing for you.  When this happens you will never want to go back to treating your body unhealthy — because you know feeling like that makes you unhappy.  Why would you want to do anything that makes you unhappy or not feel good?  Stay positive and remember what makes you feel your best and what makes the changes in your body the best it can be.  Stay focused and positive on your six clean days and how they are changing your body and then you will truly enjoy your cheat day.

LOVE THE RESULTS:  As much as you love and enjoy the Cheat Day you realize that every consecutive six clean days that you complete is what is changing your body.  It’s changing how you look, it’s changing the scale and most important, it’s changing how you feel.  When you fall in love with taking care of our body and fall in love with feeling the very best that you can — it no longer is about the one Cheat Day a week.  It’s about the six clean days that you are fueling you body with healthy clean portioned foods that make you feel your best.

There is no better feeling than taking care of yourself.  There is no better feeling than doing the right thing for your body and your mind.  There is no better feeling than being the best you can be.

“LOVE YOURSELF INSIDE AND OUT”

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

This past weekend was pretty awesome.  We had so many clients losing weight and reaching numbers they thought they would never see.  Super super exciting!  I love that I can just see, hear, and feel the excitement in the clients.  Everyone is really working hard and in a “hardcore”state of mind to reverse the quarantine weight, and/or reach new goals or see numbers they have not seen in years.

For most of you, the Innovation Program is not a diet — it’s a way of life.  You live it and you love the way it makes you feel.  And this is the time of year — especially after quarantine that you know how important it is to give it that little extra hard work that really pulls it all together so you get the very best results every single week.  For others, this is all new and while you may be just starting or in it for a couple of weeks — it will come together and you all of a sudden realize how hard you have to work to lose weight but you also realize when you do work hard and stay on your path and eat clean 6 days at 110% consistency — that’s when you will get the best results.  I say it all the time… in all aspects of life if you work hard you will get the results.  Weight loss is something you should not mind working hard at because it’s for your health both mentally and physically.  — My clients love to send me pics (and I absolutely love getting them) and I can’t begin to describe the changes in clients when they lose weight and eat clean — and how it gives them an extra bounce in their step and personality — it’s sheer happiness that is beaming from their healthy hydrated skin.

It’s mid – July  and everyone is just so excited to be losing weight and really excited to be feeling great and doing the right thing.  It’s truly when you can enjoy the most is when you feel great.  So if you want to enjoy the vacation out east or the extra drinks throughout the week you must stay on program because you can enjoy and lose weight — and when you do both that is when you feel great.  When you feel great is when you truly enjoy everything you are doing.  You ever notice when you feel great how contagious it is — everyone wants to be a part of feeling great.  There is so much sadness is the world — today you have to make sure you appreciate and enjoy every bit of happiness that comes your way.  Most important is to make sure you are creating your own happiness everyday.  That’s what you do on the Program — you do the right thing and lose weight and feel great and it gives you happiness that you have 100% control over.

If you want to be that happy person and you want to put your clothes on and feel good and go out and feel amazing, if you want that happy feeling of control in what you are doing — then you need to be 110% committed to the program and to yourself.  If you are, I promise you that you will feel the best and you will l look the best you every thought possible.

My last thought for you on this beautiful day …. IT’S HARD — weight loss is hard — BUT IT’S SO WORTH IT.  Will you feel hungry?  Yes, you will feel hungry but think about it — you feel hungry even on the days you are over eating.  So at least when you have a little hunger now you know that it’s because you are losing weight and getting results from it.  The clients that have done amazing and continue to do amazing know how tough it is and when it get’s tough they remind themselves how much they want this and how important it is to them.  If you want it then don’t let anything or anyone get in your way.  Don’t look back and wish you did better over quarantine – because it doesn’t matter that time has passed and the only thing you can do right now is stop making excuses and move on to a better today, tomorrow and week.  Don’t bother looking back — only look forward because that is what you have control over.  Don’t let another week go by without doing the right thing because it will only add up and the longer you delay it the harder it will be.  If you do it right now and focus on a better today, then tomorrow will be easier and by next week you will feel amazing and in control. If you want to feel great, happy, lighter and enjoy your summer feeling inspired, motivated and in control — then you have to put the work in starting today and you have to commit to yourself and live the program.  Eat clean 6 days a week and enjoy your once a week cheat day.  Before you know it  you will be the happy, excited, inspired person waking up, jumping out of bed and excited to get dressed.  Because you feel good and there is nothing better than feeling good about yourself especially when you know that YOU are the one who made it happen.

It’s not something you can wish for — it’s something you have to WORK for.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

4TH OF July Weekend has arrived — it’s time to make your choice and stick to it.

As many of your know it doesn’t take much to gain weight.  All it takes is not thinking, not planning, and frequently over indulging — very easy to do any time of the year but especially over a long holiday weekend.

THIS WEEKEND

you have 3 choices — Lose, Maintain, or Gain

WEIGHT LOSS:  If you are really motivated and the weight loss means everything to you and you don’t want anything in your way of reaching your goals then you will continue to stick to your menu and ONLY HAVE ONE CHEAT DAY THIS WEEKEND.  That means no extras at all.  Simply stick to your meals and snacks and only cheat the ONE cheat day.  If you do this and treat this weekend like any other weekend you will continue to stay on your path and lose weight.  Will it be easy — that depends on how much you have going on  — it also depends on what is most important to you.  While some can go to a BBQ and focus more on how they feel others are challenged by what is around them.  These are choices only you can make.  There are always options — if you are going out make sure you bring what you need or make sure they will have what you need available to you.  Plan before not after.  Don’t give yourself reasons to do the wrong thing.  If you want to stay on program and feel your best then follow your plan and stick to your clean meals and snacks.  The most important thing is to make your choice before you go and stick with what you plan.

MAINTAINING:  If you have a lot going on this weekend and you feel really good about where you are and you want to enjoy a little extra then you will split your days.  You pick 2 out of the 3 days and you stay on program for breakfast and lunch and cheat dinner, drinks and/or desserts; and you do it Friday and Saturday OR Saturday and Sunday or Friday and Sunday (you choose 2 days of the long weekend and cheat any one meal, drinks and/or desserts and the rest of the day you are 100% on program).  If you follow this you will maintain your weight through the holiday weekend — very doable.  But again the most important thing is to make a choice, plan for it and then stick to it.

WEIGHT GAIN:  Very easy to do but NEVER an option!

We always talk about planning and how important it is. But what is more important is following through on the planning.  Do the right things and make sure that if you planned on being 110% today — then you are 100%.  If you planned on cheating for dinner and dessert and then right back on the next day — make sure you go right back on the next day — no excuses.  If you planned on being off program 2 nights but clean all day then make sure you do it.  Always think things through — what is tomorrow going to feel like, and what the end result of your choices will be.  Will it make you happy? Is it worth it? Think about where you are today and where do you want to be come Monday.  Learn to live and enjoy today but plan for what you want and where you want to be tomorrow.

ALCOHOL – THINK BEFORE YOU DRINK:  One drink you are okay — TWO drinks you are forgetting what is important to you — THREE drinks you are done. It’s not the alcohol that is the issue it’s what the alcohol makes you do and what it makes you forget.  It’s fun to have but it can be very damaging on so many levels.  Remember to think before you drink.  Like everything else have a plan and know how many you are having and stick to what you plan.  Drink water throughout it’s hydrating and it keeps your hands busy.

FINAL THOUGHTS…. whether you want to lose weight this weekend or maintain you can do it.  You follow your plan and decide before so you know what you are doing and what the outcome will be.  Think things through and always remember that just because it’s a holiday weekend that you want to enjoy and celebrate doesn’t mean that you need to cheat at everything you go to or everyday of the weekend.  You can enjoy and celebrate everything without constantly indulging unhealthy weight gaining foods.  We know you will feel better mentally and physically and have a happier time staying on program.  When you can be amazing and on program do it because every good healthy clean choice can make the difference between maintaining and gaining.  And all the choices you make as the weekend progresses will make the difference in how you look and feel each day.

You are the only person who can make the excuse of why you are going off program and you are the only person who can give yourself a better excuse of why you are staying on program.  Monday is only 4 days away — think about how you want to wake up and feel when the weekend is behind you.

Make good choices today so you don’t have regrets tomorrow

Innovation Wishes everyone a Happy, Healthy and Safe 4th of July

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick 

Ready or not here it comes…. 4th of July is exactly 5 weeks away.  It’s hard to believe with this crazy 2020 that we are approaching the beginning of summer.  But after the beautiful weather this past weekend in NY we also know how quickly spring turns into summer weather.  So what can you do in 5 weeks?  If you put your mind to it and really focus, you can get a lot accomplished.

4th OF JULY WEEKEND IS EXACTLY 5 WEEKS AWAY

1 POUND A WEEK = 5 LBS  

(very doable)

2 POUNDS A WEEK = 10 LBS

(doable)

3 POUNDS A WEEK = 15 LBS

(hard but doable)

These are all doable.  You just have to want it and be persistent.

Make it a priority and work toward it everyday.

1.  Start with your menu.  Follow it 110% and you will see the weight loss every week.  Give up a snack when you can and you will see it even faster (less is always better when trying to lose weight).
2. Exercise is always great because it helps you look and feel better – and it also get you out of the house and away from the kitchen.  Exercise doesn’t always have to be hardcore.  It can be something you like to do…shoot hoops, dance, walk, bike ride, golf, tennis…  anything that will keep you moving out of the house and in a healthy state while having fun.
3. Think about what you want going into the summer.  Even if you are not happy where you are right now it will only get better if you continue to do the right things… and if you don’t do the right things it will continue to get worse.
4. Summer is social — even virtual or in smaller groups it’s still going to be social.  If you know you will be drinking more than usual it’s important to keep an eye on how much you are drinking.  It’s a trigger and will make you start reaching for the wrong choices.  While it can be used as a snack, try and keep it for the weekends.  When possible, fuel your body through the week with weight loss choices and keep the alcohol for weekend snacks and Cheat Day only.

This is such an important time to really concentrate and be as consistent as you can with your meals and snacks.  The reason is because the closer it gets to the 4th of July the more drastic you will be willing to try a Fad Diet that will put you in the wrong direction.  There are no miracle pills or potions.  The only thing that is going to get you to a good place and where you want to be is HARD WORK, BEING PERSISTENT AND CONSISTENT.  Just like everything else in life you have to put the work in to get the results.  So if you are feeling like, “Oh No! I only have 5 weeks what pills or potions are out there” — I’m telling you right now to put your efforts into your menu because you know it always works for you.  Have your one Cheat Day a week and follow your meals and snacks 6 days a week.  Remember:  you can’t cheat during the week and then cheat on the weekend.  You can’t cheat during the week and still have a Cheat Day and you can’t cheat for 5 days and then be good for 5 days and expect a miracle.  It doesn’t work like that.  KEEP IT SIMPLE:  take the next 5 weeks and follow your menu 100%.  Stick to your meals and snacks and include any fun exercise.  Have ONE Cheat Day a week and I promise you by 4th of July you will be in such a great place you will be so happy that you did it.  Even if you have more weight to lose you will be so much happier, lighter and thinner than you are today.

This is a game.  It’s how you play it that will determine your outcome.  If you follow the rules you will have the best success.  If you cheat when you shouldn’t be cheating, then you will be less successful.  It’s not much different than how you should view anything in your life.  If you want to be the best, and feel the best then you have to act it.  Be amazing and give everything that matters in your life 110%.  Fight for it and be persistent!  … and let go and give the nonsense, the gossip, and all the other unimportant things 0% of your time and effort.  Use your energy and your efforts toward the things that make you happy — and YOU should be at the top of that happy list.  Firmly believing when you feel good, your weight is good, and your clothes fit — you are a happier person.

How happy do you want to be this Summer?

We say it all the time, weight loss is hard

but being over weight and unhappy is harder.

It’s always your choice.

If you are persistent you will get what you want

If you are consistent you will keep it.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

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

SCALE NOT MOVING?

If the scale stopped moving it’s most likely because you stopped moving too!  Rainy days and quarantines can make for a very unhealthy lifestyle for weight loss and health!

DID YOU KNOW…. Based on a study of more than 220,000 people, researchers found that the longer you spend sitting down every day, the higher your risk of dying prematurely, even if you engage in regular exercise.  And if that isn’t scary enough then you should know sitting down for long periods of time isn’t just bad for your metabolism, it can also make you age quicker too.  New research has found that sitting down for long periods of time even with regular exercise can make a person’s cells age prematurely.  Yikes!

Why does this happen?…  Because you are not meant to sit you are built to stand upright.  Your heart and cardiovascular system work more effectively that way.  Your bowel system also functions more efficiently when you are upright.  You are also meant to move!  When you are moving, your overall energy levels and endurance improve, and your bones maintain strength.  Moving your muscles helps your body digest the fats and sugars you eat.  If you spend a lot of time sitting, digestion is not as efficient, so you retain those fats and sugars as fat in your body.  — Yikes again!

Interesting fact…. Your legs and gluteals, are the biggest muscles in your body and when used they burn the most calories.  That’s why runners, long distance walkers, and lower body training will always have and create leaner bodies because they are working their legs and gluteals, and burning the most calories. These large muscles are important for weight loss and overall strength to help stabilize the body.  Sitting for long periods can lead to weakening and wasting away of the large leg muscle and gluteal muscles.  What happens when your leg muscles waste away?…  you don’t burn as many calories because you no longer have the biggest muscles in your body and if that isn’t bad enough you end up with all fat and cellulite.  Because prolonged periods of sitting reduce blood flow and that creates fat and cellulite.  Just another big reason to get up and go…..

Live Longer!… Physical inactivity contributes to over three million preventable deaths worldwide each year. It is the fourth leading cause of death due to non-communicable diseases.  It’s also the cause of approx. 30  per cent of breast, colon cancers, diabetes and heart disease.   So next time you are at your desk and working 8 hours straight think about the damage you can be doing to your body.  Set the timer and make sure you are moving.  It’s something you have complete control over to change.

Feeling Sad?…  We don’t really understand the links between sitting and mental health as much as we do the links between sitting and physical health.  But we do know that the risk of both anxiety and depression is much higher in people that sit more.

Have I made my point yet?…  if not, let me make it clear — it’s time to stop sitting and start moving! And walking your plate to the sink doesn’t count.

Move More In Quarantine…..  An hour of exercise a day is just not enough in quarantine.  Before quarantine you were exercising an hour a day and then you were running errands, work, sports, shopping, kids etc…  Now you exercise and hour a day and you sit a lot more than you used too.

A SIMPLE FIX:

1. Add one extra hour a of exercise a day (walk, bike, hike, HIIT workouts, or just dance with your family around the house for an hour — so much fun and good for everyone!).  If you do it consistently for 7 days along with your current one hour you will see a big difference in your body and the scale.
2. Don’t sit for longer than 30 minutes at a time.  Get up do jumping jacks or jog in place.  Do anything to get the blood flowing and the body moving.  Just keep thinking sitting too long = loss of muscle, and lots of fat and cellulite.

Today is more challenging than ever because you are not always on the go.  Being sedentary is definitely going to play a part in how your body looks and functions. So whether you are cleaning, playing with the kids, walking, biking, jogging, …. find the time to move and make the excuses to keep moving as much as you can.  It will help you mentally and physically feel so much better today, tomorrow, next week and next month.

IT’S NEVER ABOUT HAVING THE TIME — IT’S ABOUT MAKING THE TIME

~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

March has arrived with weather that is a great reminder that Spring and Summer are around the corner!

We have a beautiful 5 weeks of weight loss right in front of us.  Do not waste it.  Do not look back and say why didn’t I do it.  Think about it — 2 lbs a week is so doable and that would be a fabulous 10 lb weight loss in one month!  Yes sometimes it requires getting out of our own way.  For example:  Stop the alcohol on non-cheat days; Make sure your cheat day is 1 day and not 1 1/2 or 2; — It’s so easy to sit and cry and think nothing works for me,  but i’m telling you that is absolutely not true.  The program will work for you  — but only if you put the work in.  You have to put the time in and you have to be consistent.  You have to be mentally prepared to give it 110% and stick to your 6 days of weight loss with 1 cheat day.  When you do that I promise you that you will see the same weight loss as everyone else that is on program.

If you have not been doing the right thing and are walking around miserable or are miserable inside your head — you know that you are the only person who can change it.  I can give you all the tools and I can show you thousands of clients who have done it and continue to do it and look and feel amazing.  And I can tell you 100% that you are no different than any of them.  If you want it you can have it.  But first you have to stop playing mind games with yourself, stop making deals with yourself, and no more excuses.  If you really want the 10 lbs in March then start working had for it everyday.  Follow your program and don’t let anything or anyone get in your way – including yourself.

Clients already have had a successful 2020 and it’s only March.  Clients from all over Chicago, California, Arizona, Alabama,  Boston, Florida, Georgia, and right here in New York — amazing amazing results.  Why?  It’s not because they all just jumped on program and did the right thing — although many have done just that.  But majority have been on and they struggled their way through it.  They have hiccups but they hold their breath and get past them.  Sometimes it’s a day and sometimes it’s a week but they get past them.  The reason I am telling you this is so you realize you are not the only one who struggles.  Weight loss is hard.  But if you want to see the weight loss you have to be willing to put the work in every day.  You have to be consistent and always continue to move forward.  You have to push yourself when you don’t want to be pushed and you have to be okay with walking away from temptation that will always be there.  But most important is you have to really decide what it is you want and how important it is to you to get there.  It’s not easy to eat less than your body needs…. it’s not easy to deal with the hunger that you feel when you are eating less… and it’s not easy to walk away from temptation when you are hungry.  But it’s even harder to step on the scale and feel uncomfortable in your own skin.

This month be willing to embrace the challenge.  Get through the little hunger, the temptation and the hiccups.  Pass on the drink and be okay with it.  When you are out to dinner order on program.  Walk away from the temptation and be excited about it!  Promise yourself that no matter what or who is on your path you will continue to do the right thing.  Because when you do that is when April 1st will come and you will be 10 lbs lighter than you are today and you will be so so happy that you are back in control, and back on your happy path where you always feel amazing.

THINK ABOUT IT:  In 5 very quick weeks you are either going to be super happy that you put the work in and feel amazing and on your way to being the best you for Spring and Summer OR you will look back and think “I should have… I could have… I wish I did it… ugh why didn’t I do it.”  ~choose your hard.

EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE

~It’s the challenges that make life interesting

Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful~

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Can you believe January has come and gone?  For those of you who have remained true to your goals (and there are soooo many of you) I am beyond thrilled and excited for you.  It’s a tough time of  year but it’s also the most important when it comes to weight loss.  In a blink, February has arrived and Winter Break is 2 weeks away … which means Spring Break is 6 weeks and Summer is literally just around the corner.   For those of you who have not stayed true to your goals I think it’s time you pull yourself together and start making things happen.  Because before you know it you will be saying “What was I thinking?”  — “Why didn’t I do it?”  and  “How did this happen?”  I think it’s fair to say  — life has proved that it can happen so quickly and if you are not moving and thinking and planning, it will pass you by and you won’t even know what you did in the time it was passing.

If it makes you feel better — it’s not just you.  Life happens quickly for everyone.  That’s all we ever hear and say:  “I can’t believe it!”  and “Where did the time go?!”  The day, the weeks, the months went so fast.  You had planned to do this and/or that — and you never did it.  But the truth is you didn’t plan. You merely thought about it or talked about it because if you planned for it you would have accomplished it.  When it comes to life and time we are all the same — it happens quickly and the days, the weeks, and the months go by all at the same 24 hour pace.  No one has more minutes or hours in a day or week than the rest of us.  So what is the difference between those who are successful and those who aren’t?

Successful people plan.  They have a focus and a vision and they plan for it and they keep planning until they reach that goal.  If it’s a big goal then they make little goals to achieve along the way until they reach the big goal.  When they reach that big goal they make another goal.  It’s mental strength that everyone can have if they put their minds to it.  Yes, some are stronger than others, and some may want it more than others.  But at the end of the day you either have a goal that you are really truly working hard toward or you are just talking about it and make excuses for why you haven’t achieved it.

There are no excuses when it comes to reaching a goal.  Even the weakest person can be a doer at their own pace.  Every excuse you make puts you further behind and farther back from where you are trying to be. But if you plan and focus and keep reminding yourself what you want — then there will be no stopping you.  Even if you are moving at a snail’s pace you can still be in the same positive direction and moving toward your positive goals.  So stop floating around waiting for it to happen and put your feet on the ground and start moving in the right direction and don’t stop until you get there.

YOUR FOCUS DETERMINES YOUR REALITY 

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick

Im sure you already listed your resolutions and wrote down your goals.  What you have to decide now is are they something you just wrote down or are they something you are going to follow.  After a week already into 2020 you may have realized writing that list is super easy — following it is a whole different story.

Regardless of where you are right this moment or where your vacation took you— this year you know and believe that you are ready.  This year we are going to make 2020 a year of health, happiness, love, joy, and healthy eating. If we are going to be honest we know they all go hand in hand.  You can not have one without the other.  Most of the time when you are eating clean and healthy you are happy and when you are happy you are eating clean and healthy.   All of these put you in a place of loving yourself from the inside out — they are of the important things for a healthy mind and body.  2020 is a time to appreciate what you have and still strive to want more.  It’s  year to do the right thing even in the most difficult circumstances.  Many times when we set out to do the right thing everything else works out and falls into place.  It’s only when we are taking the time to try and figure out how to do the wrong thing is when we get into trouble.

2020 MANTRA!

• Don’t think about it just do it.  Sometimes we sit and think over and over and try to make deals with our self how we can somehow fool our weight loss.  If I eat this now I won’t count it because I will skip lunch.  But you don’t skip lunch and even if you do it never evens out the way you want it too.  Stop over thinking it and just do what you are supposed to be doing.  Every time that little voice comes into your head and tries to give you a reason to NOT do the right thing — you will say — “No I’m not going there — I am following my program because that is what makes me happy and makes me feel good”.  Give yourself NO ALTERNATIVE – NO DEALS – NO BARGAINS.  Sometimes it’s just so much easier to do the right thing then taking the time to figure out how to do the wrong one.

Think about this new MANTRA and how it will change your life — because taking the time to not do the right thing actually takes more work then just doing the right thing.  What I mean is when you wake up and you commit to yourself and the program and you know that nothing is going to get in your way of doing the right thing — that’s when everything happens.  Week after week we have the consistency of weight loss.  Everything just gets easier  — it becomes easier to lose weight because your body goes into fat burning cycle that only happens when you have the consistency week after week.  Life gets easier because you are no longer trying to figure out how to make deals with yourself.   There is no extra time wasted because you are simply doing what you are supposed to be doing.  You don’t have to spend time thinking about if you should or shouldn’t or how to get around it.  This goes for everything in your life.  If you are supposed to be at work – go to work.  If you are planning to take an exercise class or go to the gym – then go.   If you are supposed to be at a family party that you really don’t want to go to — go anyway.  Just continue everyday to do what you are supposed to be doing — eat what you are supposed to be eating — and cheat when it’s your cheat day.  Life is so much simpler when we are not trying to get out of what we should be doing and JUST DO IT.

There will always be temptation — there will always be a party or celebrations or vacation that will want give you the excuse.  You will learn that when you simply follow your program and go into everything with the right attitude knowing you will follow and do what you are supposed to be doing — you will have a great time that night and also have a great morning after.  If you want to feel good and see the results you have to start by committing to yourself and the program and trust yourself and the trust the program.  You see all the clients who lose weight on it.  You know when you do it how immediately better you feel.  Just commit to doing the right thing and following through with the right choices in 2020!  Because when you do — it won’t matter what you have on your path you will get through it and you will feel accomplished and proud of yourself for doing it.  You will enjoy every step of the journey because you will love to live the healthy balance of the program eating clean for health and weight loss 6 days a week and having your one cheat day that is all for you.  But this will never happen until you commit and move forward with the attitude that no matter what is going on you will not try to get out of anything you will just do what is right and do what you are supposed to — because that is what brings results!   And it’s not just in weight loss — When you do the right thing day after day  you get the best results in every area of your life.  Make 2020 about doing the right thing for you and for everyone that loves you.  Believe in yourself — you are no different than all the other clients who have amazing success on program — you can do this!

2020

Believe in yourself and Just do it.

~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick