Pretty much everyone fails, but with this I figured it was as good a time as any to set a date to start after the excesses of the holidays – I am not calling this a new years resolution… As if to reinforce my – nont a new year resolution – theory a friend yesterday sent me an invitation to a Facebook group called “2010, new year, new me..” yeah yeah thats what u said in ‘09 ‘08 ‘07 ‘06“

I’m also planning on a gradual process rather than completely shock my body into submission with healthy living with one start date to change ALL my (bad) habits!

Stage one – beginning today – is to force a major cut in my alcohol intake. I drink far to much wine – and I drink at home… So, no alcohol at home now, and moderation socially and with friends. I don’t believe in entirely cutting out every pleasure so have allowed myself some ‘moderation’ on this one…

The dog is going to happy too – half an hours brisk walk a day to get my blood circulating again!

Should I drink wine?

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They cast a spell over the most well-meaning dieter, and cause logical people to overeat until their sides hurt.

They occupy your thoughts to the point of obsession as you try to ignore a plate of cookies.

And when it’s all said and done, they accumulate on your body in the most obtrusive way as a result of dozens of unused calories.

Why does food hold such power? And, most importantly, how can you control your eating?

The End of Overeating

David A. Kessler, MD set out to answer these pressing questions in his instant bestseller, The End of Overeating. Despite being a pediatrician, a former FDA commissioner, and former dean of the medical schools at Yale and the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Kessler struggles with his weight.

Observing the current obesity epidemic, he knew that he wasn’t alone.

Dr. Kessler, with the insight of some of the brightest minds in medicine and science, discovered the following three reasons that most of us are compelled to overeat.

1. An Irresistable Combination Rewires Your Brain: Think of your favorite treat – most likely it can be broken down into the basic building blocks of sugar, fat and salt. This combination is known of as the ‘three points of the compass’, a combination that has been shown to literally alter the biological circuitry of your brain.

Sugar, fat and salt give food a high hedonic value which gives you pleasure. This pleasure reinforces you to return to your favorite foods time and time again.

2. The Food Industry Targets You: Everywhere you go you’ll see the clever work of the food industry, tempting you with highly palatable creations. Food has become a science, and your taste preferences the guiding light.

The food industry has one goal – to get you hooked. By constructing food items that are high in sugar, fat and salt they know that you will come back time and time again.

3. Conditioned Hypereating Becomes a Way of Life: Humans are conditioned to seek more reward. When readily available, hyper palatable food become our reward a pattern of hypereating quickly emerges. Dr. Kessler describes the cycle:

Foods high in sugar, fat, and salt, and the cues that signal them, promote more of everything: more arousal…more thoughts of food…more urge to pursue food…more dopamine-stimulated approach behavior…more consumption…more opioid-driven reward…more overeating to feel better…more delay in feeling fulll…more loss of control…more preoccupation with food…more habit-driven behavior…and ultimately, more and more weight gain.

Breaking the Cycle

The good news is that you don’t have to remain trapped in a cycle of overeating. The following three tips will put you back in control.

1. Set Your Rules: In order to resist overeating in today’s tempting food environment, you must eat by a set of self-imposed rules. Predetermined rules take away the need to make food decisions in vulnerable moments.

Dr. Kessler thinks these rules should be, “simple enough to fit with your busy life, but specific enough to remove uncertainty from the food equation.”

For suggestions as to what rules you should adopt, let’s turn to another authority on eating, best-selling author of ‘In Defense of Food’, Michael Pollan:

• Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
• Pay more, eat less. Look for quality of food over quantity.
• Eat meals. Cut out snacking, stick with structured meals.
• Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does. Gas stations are great for fuelling your car, but the food they sell are not suited to fuel you.
• Try not to eat alone. Eating can become mindless when alone, leading to overeating.
• Eat slowly. Eat foods that have been prepared slowly – that means no fast food.

2. Make Negative Associations: When was the last time you peeled a lemon and ate it whole? Probably never. That’s because your taste buds have a negative association with the sour taste.

Our taste buds have traditionally been our guide when it comes to food selection, but this must change for you to successfully avoid overeating. Since the food industry purposely crafts food items to please your taste buds (not waistline) what tastes good can no longer dictate what you eat.

It’s up to you to create negative associations with unhealthy food – despite their pleasing taste. Here are some negatives to focus on:

• Those extra calories will accumulate around your waist.
• Your health will suffer.
• You will become more disspointed with your appearance.
• You’ll feel sluggish.

3. Give Yourself a Real Reward: The bottom line is that we eat unhealthy food as a reward, even though it causes more harm that good. It’s time to give yourself a truly benificial reward – exercise.

Exercise is a healthy reward that will not only release endorphins into your system, but will also give you the benefit of weight loss and improved health.

I truly believe that you can overcome your pattern of overeating with healthy eating and regular exercise. Call or email today to get started on a program that will truly change your life.

About the Author: David Cordor is an online personal fitness trainer and owner of Perfect Fit Wellness Center.

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If you go by what you hear in diet ads then you believe that it’s anyone’s fault but yours.

The big diet companies think that if they put the blame on you, then you wouldn’t buy their bogus pills. So they put the blame on your cortisol levels, your modern diet (ie fast food), or your busy schedule instead of where it belongs – which is squarely on your shoulders.

Sure, you have obstacles that get in your way – your schedule, your job, your kids, the weather, your knee injury from college…but ultimately you have the body that you accept.

I’m going to repeat that so it will really sink in.

You have the body that you accept.

Embracing the blame for your current weight is not a bad thing – it’s empowering. Think about it. If it really wasn’t your fault, if it really was due to a long list of variables that you have zero control over, then you’d be stuck. You’d have no way to change.

The Secret Behind ‘Before and After’ Pictures

Allow me to pull back the curtain for you on something that the diet industry doesn’t want you to know. You’ve seen countless before and after pictures documenting weight loss as a result of a diet product. Well, there is more involved than just the diet product, and it’s the same across the board.

Look into the eyes of any person in their before picture and you’ll see that they are disturbed. The body they have is no longer in sync with the body they can accept.

They changed the body that they accept.

Now look into their eyes in the after picture – see the sweet satisfaction? They now own the body that they decided they could accept. And what a great feeling that is.

Your Time To Transform

Whether you realize it or not, you already posses everything you need to transform your body, but it all starts with taking responsibility for the body that you have today. You have your current body because until this moment you’ve been OK with it.

Oh sure, you aren’t thrilled with it, and you even talk about losing weight and getting fit, but you haven’t changed what you’ll accept. Here’s how to transform your body in 3 steps:

Step One: Get Disturbed

You’ve heard it said that emotion creates motion. This is essential when it comes to losing weight. Just like those folks in the before pictures, to transform your body you must first decide that you can’t live another day in the body you currently have.

It’s time to get your emotions stirred up. Make a list of all the reasons that you must lose weight and get fit. Get disturbed!

Step Two: Get Focused

Without clarity it’s very hard to get where you want to go. Now that you’re disturbed with the body you have, it’s time to decide what the body you can accept looks like.

I want you to think in concrete and specific terms. Just like the captions under those before and after pictures – “Suzy lost 25 lbs”, “Mike lost 8 inches from his waist”, “Jenny went from a size 18 to a size 6″ .

Get a clear picture in your mind of what you’ll look like in your after picture and visualize what the caption will read.

Step Three: Get Moving

The time spent between your inspiration (now) and your action determines whether you will succeed or fail. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck between inspiration and action – there is always something that you can do right now.

Don’t you agree that you’ll be happier living life in a fit, healthy and attractive body, rather than the body you have today? Of course you’ll be happier.

I’ve helped scores of clients just like you finally lose their unwanted weight.

I am here to take you from your before picture to your after picture, however, you need to bring something to the table – you need to make up your mind about what you’ll accept of yourself.

About the Author: David Cordor is an online personal fitness trainer and owner of Perfect Fit Wellness Center.

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Maybe you saw great results when you first started to exercise, but now those results have come to a screeching halt.

Want to know why?

If the following 5 statements accurately describe your exercise routine, then fear not-you’re doing it right. However, if the following 5 statements don’t describe your exercise routine then listen up-there’s no better time than now to rev up your routine.

1. You Make the Most of Each Move: Gone are the days when workouts lasted more than an hour and you had time to single out each muscle individually. These days time is of the essence, and compound movements deliver excellent results in less time than ever before.

Not sure if your routine includes compound movements? Any exercise that uses two or more joints is considered to be a compound movement. Squats and lunges are great examples. If you want to pack even more benefit into each move then try adding a shoulder press with your squats and a bicep curl with your lunges.

2. You Keep it Intense: Let’s be honest, at one time or another you’ve spent time in the gym ‘exercising’ without ever breaking a sweat. Maybe you drifted from one machine to the next or joined an aerobics class for a few minutes, but the bottom line was that your heart wasn’t into it.

Workouts that lack intensity are practically a waste of time. Your body craves a challenge, and you see the most results when you keep your intensity high. Keep your workouts concise and push yourself with each exercise.

3. You’re Consistent: Anyone can have one great workout, but one workout won’t translate into killer results-only consistency will do that for you. Exercise must be a part of your daily routine, plain and simple.

One of the best ways to stay consistent with your routine is to do your workout at the same time everyday. We are creatures of habit, so once your exercise schedule has been firmly set you’ll find the process to be automatic, rather than an occasional afterthought.

4. You Seek a Challenge: Just like hairstyles, exercise routines quickly become outdated. That is why the best routines are dynamic, and the worst routines never change. How do you know when your routine needs to be updated?

You’ll know how effective your routine is by the results, or lack there of, that you experience. If you feel that you are simply going through the motions then stop wondering about the effectiveness of your routine and start doing something new.

5. You’re Having a Blast: Do you dread the very thought of going for a jog, but force yourself to do it simply because you’ve no other ideas for exercise? Stop right there. Exercise is an enjoyable activity, especially when you find the form that is best suited for your personal preferences.

If you don’t like exercise there is a good chance that your technique needs help. I pride myself in showing my clients the fun side of exercise-yes, exercise is fun!

If your routine includes all of the above then congratulations – you are doing it right. You’re consistent, you challenge yourself and you’re seeing results. However, if your routine doesn’t include the above, you now have the blueprints to do it right.

Want a routine that incorporates everything you need to reach your fitness goals? Call or email today to set up a consultation and I’ll show you how to get amazing results in less time than you think.

About the Author: David Cordor is an online personal fitness trainer and owner of Perfect Fit Wellness Center.

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I’ve often wished that I could give each and every one of you a personalized pep talk to get you up off the couch and into the gym, day after day. So here’s my pep talk in bullet form – 21 rewards that you will gain from regular exercise.

Do yourself a favor and print this list and post it where you’ll see it every day. When you need motivation or encouragement simply read over this list and feel your motivation soar.

1. You’ll reset your body: Exercise has been described as a giant reset button. A good workout will block appetite swings, improve your mood and even help you sleep.
2. Your clothes will fit better: Consistent exercise will tone and tighten your body, causing your clothes to not only fit better but to also look nicer. Also exercise ensures that soon you’ll be trading your clothes in for smaller sizes.
3. You’ll be less stressed: You have enough stress in your life – it’s time for a break. A good workout invigorates your muscles, leaving you relaxed and less stressed.
4. You’ll have more energy: WebMD tallied research studies and concluded that 90% of them prove exercise increases energy levels in sedentary patients. Next time you feel fatigued, fight it will the most powerful tool available: exercise.
5. You’ll be stronger: Exercise improves muscle strength and endurance, two things that you use throughout each day. When you exercise consistently you’ll be pleasantly surprised when difficult tasks begin to seem easy.
6. You’ll be less likely to binge: Exercise has a powerful anti-binge effect on the body. This is due in part by an increase in sensitivity to leptin, a protein hormone, which has an appetite-taming effect.
7. You’ll burn calories: You know that excess body fat is made up of stored and unused calories. Fight back by burning loads of calories with fat-blasting workouts.
8. You’ll be more confident: Who doesn’t wish they walked and talked with more confidence? A consistent exercise program will do just that. As your body becomes more fit, watch as your confidence sky-rockets.
9. You’ll have fun: Believe it or not, exercise can be extremely enjoyable. Remember how fun it was to run around as a child? Tap into your inner child as you find a mode of exercise that gets you excited.
10. You’ll reduce your blood pressure: Exercise has been proven more effective than medication in reducing blood pressure to normal levels. A single workout has been shown to reduce blood pressure for the day and regular exercise reduces overall blood pressure in the long run.
11. You’ll lose the jiggles: Regular exercise tightens flabby arms, legs and waistlines. So wave goodbye to the jiggles with a solid exercise program.
12. You’ll increase insulin sensitivity: Researchers at Laval University in Quebec discovered that exercise improved insulin sensitivity dramatically. Peak after-meal insulin levels dropped by more than 20 percent after as little as 3 weeks of consistent exercise.
13. You’ll sleep better: Do you toss and turn for hours before falling asleep? Exercise is a powerful sleep aid. Your tired muscles encourage your body to quickly fall asleep so they can get their overnight repair work done.
14. You’ll lower your risk of heart disease: Regular exercise strengthens your heart and makes it more resilient against disease. A sedentary lifestyle is a major risk factor for heart disease, so rest assured that consistent exercise is your ally against disease.
15. You’ll feel great: Vigorous exercise releases natural endorphins (happy hormones) into your blood stream that dissolve pain and anxiety. You’ve probably heard of ‘runner’s high’, this can be achieved by any great workout.
16. You’ll lower your risk of diabetes: Studies show that exercising as little as half an hour each day can dramatically reduce your risk of diabetes. If you are at risk of diabetes, or already have diabetes, regular exercise is the most effective treatment for reversing the disease.
17. You’ll meet cool people: You could benefit from a group of new, energetic friends, right? Gyms, bootcamps, workout centers and even the jogging trail are all great places to connect with fun new friends.
18. You’ll improve your BMI: You know that maintaining a healthy BMI is key in disease prevention. Exercise is the best way to keep your BMI under control.
19. You’ll increase your endurance: Do you ever get out of breath when walking up stairs or through the mall? Regular exercise builds your endurance for everyday activities.
20. Your doctor will be impressed: How many times has your doctor given you the lecture about losing weight and exercising more? Exercise regularly and get your MD off your back!
21. You’ll look amazing: Are you happy with the shape and size of your body? Regular exercise works wonders on your physique. Within a few weeks you’ll see shape and tone in all the right places.

What are you waiting for? Lace up your shoes and get moving!

About the Author: David Cordor is an online personal fitness trainer and owner of Perfect Fit Wellness Center.

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