You’ve decided to lose weight. You’ve changed your diet to rid the junk. And you’ve started exercising to your limits. You’re losing weight and feeling great. You’re doing everything right possible, and BAM! You start to feel terrible. Why would you continue on a path that is making you feel like shit? Well, let me tell you this.

It’s not the new diet that is making you sick, it’s the old one.

Sugary sodas, fatty chips, cheesy crackers, candy, flavored sweets, cakes, cookies, and pops. Jelly, pork and beans, white bread, ice cream, frozen yogurt, fluffy pancakes, bacon, sausage, processed lunch meats and cheeses, muffins, pie, pudding, and cheese puffs.  You love them and you can’t get enough of them.

They store toxins in your body…in your fat cells to be exact. When you change your diet and start exercising, you are emptying those fat cells, and releasing those toxins. Where do they go? They get released into your blood. Your blood reaches every part of your body, which means so do these toxins. And that is what makes you feel like throwing up, sleeping, and not caring about salads.

Also, when you’re making drastic changes, your stress hormones rise, making you feel even worse. This is why in my Weight Loss Journey Behavior Steps, I give you time to change. One a week! Therefore, your body has time to adapt to the changes, keeping your hormones level, and detoxing slowly. When you do it quickly, your body will feel like crap for a couple days. You’ll need to rest up, clean out your liver (where toxins go through), and drink so much water that you have to pee every 20 minutes. Seriously.

Flush it out! This herbal detox tea that will clean your liver and other organs. Yes, herbs work. What do you think people used before medicine? Do NOT eat the junk food because it will reverse the detox process and put you back where you started. I know how bad you want to quit and how badly this is making you feel, but that’s your past haunting you. It’s torturing you for all that torture you did to it.

The other ways to release toxins are by having bowel movements (poop!), sweating, and breathing. Eat lots of greens (a huge bowl of steamed brocoli, kale, or spinach each night) so you will release toxins when you wake up.  Engage in aerobic activities that make you breath heavily and sweat lots. Running, dancing vigorously, cycling, plyometrics, jump roping, kickboxing, and other types of cardio are great.

Hint: If you have access to a sauna, use it. Your skin is your largest organ that has pores to release toxins. Sweat. It. Out! Just make sure you drink lots of water so you don’t get dehydrated. 

Bottom Line: You will feel like crap when your toxins are being released. You’ll drink so much water you’ll want to just pee your pants. And you’ll sweat so much you’ll need a towel. It won’t last forever. Soon you will be right back on your feet and feeling the burn, tasting the greens, and smiling through it. You’ll see amazing results, feel like a million bucks, and never go back to your old ways. Good luck!

Best Health,

Nicole

S.M.A.R.T Goals

I’m sure you’ve made goals before. A goal to lose 5lbs, a goal to get an A on a test, a goal to graduate. Those are simple goals; let me introduce you to SMART goals. They will help you accomplish your weight loss goal and assist you through your journey so you know what to do, how to do it, and when it should be done.

Specific – A specific goal is one that is clearly defined in such a way that anyone could understand what the intended outcome is. Goals should contain a detailed description of what is to be accomplished; when you want wants to accomplish it by; and the action(s) that will be taken to accomplish it.

Example: I want to lose 35 pounds by March 1st, 2013 by exercising daily and eating clean and healthy.

Measurable – Your goal needs to be quantifiable. Establish a way to assess the progress toward each goal. If a goal cannot be measured, a client cannot manage it. You need: Scale for pounds and body fat %. Measuring tape for inches.

Example, “I want to look better” is not measurable, but “to reduce body fat by 5% in 12 weeks” is measurable.

Attainable – Attainable goals are the right mix of goals that are challenging, but not extreme. Goals that are too easily accomplished do not stretch a client or make him or her grow as a person because they are not challenging enough.

Example: Instead of aiming to lose 20 pounds, try for 7-10lbs, if overweight or obese. Obese means 30+ pounds over the healthy range.

Realistic – To be realistic, a goal must represent an objective toward which an individual is both willing and able to work. A goal is probably realistic if the individual truly believes that it can be accomplished. Additional ways to know whether a goal is realistic is to determine whether a client has accomplished anything similar in the past or to ask what conditions would have to exist to accomplish this goal.

Example: I have lost weight before by eating healthy and exercising so I know I can do it again, but make it permanent this time. 

Timely – A goal should always have a specific date of completion. The date should be realistic, but not too distant in the future. For example, set goals that can be achieved tomorrow and in 3 months.

Example: I will lose 35 pounds and 10% of body fat by March 1st, 2013.

Total Goal: I will lose 35 pounds and 10% of body fat by March 1st, 2013 by exercising 60 minutes of cardio and 30 minutes of strength training at least 5 days a week. I will also avoid processed foods, sugary foods, and eat clean and healthy. I will lose 5-7 pounds per week and measure this by weighing myself on Sunday morning before breakfast.

Bonus: I will check in with my trainer daily to make sure I am on the right track, and to express how I am feeling. I will post a monthly picture of myself on Facebook or Twitter for social responsibility.  

A great way to start your weight loss journey, to start your full commitment is to start with a SMART goal. Write it down and put it somewhere you will see everyday, like the fridge, your desktop, and phone wallpaper. Do not skip this part! If you’ve been following the behavior changes, you should be fully ready to write this goal and begin it now. Today. Tonight. Whatever time you are reading this, start now. 

You should make a short term goal and a couple long term goals, one for 3 months, 6 months, and one-year. Write yours in the comment below. Don’t skip any steps! Displaying your goal in public holds you to a higher responsibility, so express your goal everywhere and you will have a higher chance of accomplishing it.

Action Plan 

You must make an action plan to meet your goal. Here are the steps. By the way, I’m explaining all the secrets of being a personal trainer FOR FREE! If you want to help me back, please LIKE my facebook, FOLLOW my twitter, and DONATE to my paypal so I can keep helping you for free.

1. What is my objective (goal)?
2. What is the target date to complete my goal?
3. What resources are needed to accomplish my goal (money, time, equipment,  people)?
4. What do I need to accomplish on a daily basis to reach my goal?
5. What is the current status of my goal?
6. What are some possible difficulties I may have to overcome to reach my objective?
7. What is my total goal?

Feel free to take advantage of the Limited Time Offer to receive full 1-1 personal services.

Thanks for reading and good luck with your Weight Loss Journey.

Best Health,

Nicole

“Eat food, not food-like substances.” 

Behavior change number one was to start reading labels. Now let’s move on to something tangible.

Behavior change number two is to add in organic produce. Organic produce doesn’t have pesticides and is not genetically modified like conventional produce. Organic produce will fight diseases; conventional produce will feed them.

By adding in good stuff, your body will start to get used to the amount of vitamins and nutrients you are feeding it, and it will crave more.

Let me tell you a personal story that proves this. When my boyfriend and I moved in together, we had huge differences in our eating habits.  He didn’t eat breakfast, ate Boar’s Head sandwiches for lunch, and had a Lean Cuisine for dinner. He was definitely in shape and seemed perfectly healthy, but I slowly showed him the “problems” in his ways.

Instead of banning his types of food from the house, I started cooking for him and offering healthy, organic meals. I would make my healthy french toast or chick’n and waffles for breakfast. Lunch included pita pizzas and hummus wraps. Snacks were chopped veggies and fruit. For dinner, I made salads into meals by adding grilled chicken. Dessert was soy vanilla ice cream in stevia-sweetened root beer. By the first week’s end, he started craving my salads and asked if I could please make them. He wanted to know where the chopped veggies were, and asked for more celery. I never thought I could get that freezer empty from those sodium-filled tiny trays, but I did! And if I’m not home, or feeling too lazy to make dinner, he’ll enjoy a low-cal one by himself that is full of lean proteins and veggies.

The moral of the story here is that, even a manly-man, who played lacrosse throughout high school, can now love a salad for dinner. (As long as I add in a tablespoon of dried cranberries, he’ll devour my grilled protein salads!) So even though he was perfectly healthy before, he now sees food in a different light, knows how to read labels, and has hopped on the organic train with me. We are fighting disease together by eating together. It’s simple additions that lead to an overall lifestyle change. And now we get to bond over meals and feel great together, knowing we are extending our lives and avoiding disease.

Head to the store, fill up your cart with all your favorite seasonal fruits and veggies, and get your weight loss journey off to a great start. It’s the first day of Fall, and a great time to start getting healthy.

If you need any help getting started,  you can head on over to check out my meal plan.  If you need recipe help, just email me. Give me your ingredients, and I’ll  give you a healthy recipe. It’s all included!

Bonus: These changes are not just for weight loss, because you could do that in numerous ways. But this plan is to increase your overall health, fight the top five fatal diseases, and cure your ailments you are currently taking medications for. Say goodbye to that handful of pills once and for all.  High blood pressure, cholesterol meds, and heartburn will be a thing of the past. Just follow my blogs, read my daily tips, and sign up for my membership. You will not regret it.

Boars Head: Isn’t it natural? No. Processed meats, lunch meats, cured meats, and sausages are cancer-causing. The way they are processed into their final products means adding in carcinogenic dyes, preservatives, and nitrates. If you like to eat meat, choose local, organic sources. Eat lean meats that are right off the bone, such as boneless, skinless, chicken breast, wild or sustainably farmed salmon, and grass-fed organic beef.  Try a farmer’s market, health food store, or Trader Joe’s for these options.