Many people who struggle with their weight feel powerless to cravings.

Have you ever experienced this? When the urge to eat something bad comes over so strongly that you feel you have no choice but to give in?

Then, when it’s over, you feel awful that you’ve eaten all those calories and set yourself up for further weight gain. So you’re good for a couple of days until another craving comes over you…and so the cycle repeats.

I’m here to tell you that you hold the power. And it’s not as hard as you think.

Most of us have certain trigger foods that send our diets into a fiery tailspin. The plan is to identify your trigger foods and to replace these with more wholesome, real food substitutions in order to break the cycle.

What’s a Trigger Food?
Trigger foods are foods that when eaten make you crave more of it, or cause you to eat more food in general. These foods are eaten out of habit, not out of hunger. Your trigger food is something you’ve probably said you feel addicted to. Most trigger foods are high calorie, processed and filled with carbs.

You’ll know something is a trigger food when it’s hard for you to stop eating it, even when you feel full.

Replace Your Trigger Foods
When you stop eating your trigger foods, the craving you feel for it gets weaker and weaker. To assist you through this transition use the ideas below to replace your processed trigger food with a healthier, real food option.

Trigger Food #1: Candy
Due to the high concentration of refined sugar, candy is one of the most addictive of trigger foods. If candy is a major part of your life, then start replacing it with unsweetened dried fruit. You’d be surprised how satisfying the natural sweetness of dried fruit can be. Try apples, pears, apricots, figs, and mango.

Trigger Food #2: Salty Snacks
Salty snacks are nearly all processed, refined and packed with simple carbs. Basically it’s the perfect storm for weight gain. Fight the urge to rip open a bag of chips and instead make a batch of Baked Plantain Chips. See the recipe below.

Trigger Food #3: Sweet Drinks
Sodas made with high fructose corn syrup or coffee drinks made with simple syrup have one thing in common: loads of sugar. If drinks like this are part of your daily life, then you know first hand how addicting these can be. Start replacing these high-calorie, high-sugar drinks with zero calorie iced teas. Add a packet of zero-calorie stevia, made from the stevia plant, for sweetness.

Trigger Food #4: Fried Foods
It’s common to have a weakness for fried foods. There’s something about the texture, taste and fat content of fried foods that sends people into an eating frenzy. To eliminate this temptation, make your own homemade versions of your favorite fried foods by baking and then turning on your oven’s high broil. For example, instead of commercially made French fries, cut a sweet potato into fries, toss with olive oil and bake at 425 degrees F for about 40 minutes, until crispy. The baked versions of your favorite fried foods have considerably fewer calories and you’re less likely to stuff yourself with them.

Trigger Food #5: Baked Treats
Cookies, cakes, donuts, muffins and brownies are serious trigger foods. These are hard to avoid, since they are often shared socially at parties and celebrations. Make your own baked goods at home while replacing flour with almond flour and sugar with a touch of raw honey or stevia in the raw. These ingredient substitutions will make your baking lower in carbs and less addictive. However, keep in mind that baked goods are still baked goods and should be eaten as a treat in moderation.

Eating a healthy diet, free from trigger foods, is one side of the equation when it comes to getting into amazing shape. The other side is consistent, challenging exercise.

I’m here to take care of the exercise in your life. All you have to do is show up when I tell you and then give it your all for that short amount of time. Easy enough, right?

This small investment of time and energy truly will transform your body and your life. Call or email today to get started on the last exercise program that you’ll ever start, and the one that gets you into your best body ever.

Have you ever wondered if those minutes you spend in the gym are burning fat or just time?Unfortunately if you are like 80% of gym-goers, time is the primary thing you’re burning. I find it shocking that so many well-meaning folks are still exercising with such outdated notions of what constitutes an effective workout.

I don’t want that to be you.

Here are the top 3 outdated, time-burning exercise techniques to NOT DO:

1) Slow and Steady Cardio Sessions: Walk into most gyms and you’ll see every single piece of cardio equipment full of people in a slow, steady state of cardio. Meanwhile the free weight area is a ghost town. The idea that one should toil for hours in a steady state of low-intensity cardio in order to burn fat is the ULTIMATE outdated exercise technique. New science has clearly proven that explosions of speed and intensity are the future of fat burn.

2) Weight Machine Wandering: You’ve seen this character. He wanders among the weight machines, plops down on an open one and cranks out a set (without adjusting the weight or seat) and just as quickly as he came, he’s gone off to the next open machine. There’s no rhyme or reason, and his technique and form are way off due to his careless use of the machines. Do I even need to explain how this haphazard exercise technique burns more time than fat? I didn’t think so.

3) Chronic Low Intensity: When you simply go through the motions during your workout, that’s classic low-intensity. You’re not pushing yourself with challenging weight, you’re not trying to go faster, and you’re not really breaking a sweat. Oh and, big surprise, you’re also not burning any fat. Each workout should be a challenge to go harder than the day before. If you find yourself just-going-through-the-motions then quickly pick up the pace.

So what’s the secret to burning fat?

A challenging routine that incorporates strength training, intervals of intense cardio and is done with intensity. Sound complicated?

It doesn’t have to be. I’m here to provide you with the most cutting-edge workouts that deliver results while burning fat.

You deserve that fit and attractive body – I’m here to help you get it.

Call or email today to get started.

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Today I’m going to dole out a little tough love, so brace yourself and know that this is for your own good.

It’s time that we had an uncomfortable little talk about a very important issue…

That junk food in your house.

You know the stuff that I’m talking about. The ice cream jammed into the back of your freezer. The packaged cookies that you say are for the kid’s lunches. The candy stash that’s leftover from the last few holidays. Those bags of crunchy, salty snacks in your pantry. The bottles of soda that you know you shouldn’t drink. And the list goes on…

Here’s the bottom line: If you eat junk food then you’ll get fat. Junk = Fat.

Now I know that you have justified the presence of junk food in your house, so let’s walk through these justifications and I’ll shine some truth on it for you.

1) It’s For The Kids: This is the oldest excuse in the book when it comes to keeping junk food in the house. It’s flawed for many reasons, namely because you know you eat some of it. When junk is in the house you are bound to eat some of it at times. And your kids should NOT be eating junk food on a regular basis, such as in their lunches. It’s not good for them and it’s not good for you.

2) I Didn’t Buy It: Oh, I didn’t buy it. My in-laws, friend, sister, kids, spouse bought that. OK, it’s still in your house. I understand why you may be hesitant to throw out food that someone else gave you, but look at the big picture. By throwing junk out of your house you are protecting your health and the healthy of everyone who lives under your roof. That’s huge!

3) A Little Bit Won’t Hurt: When you keep junk food in the house you’re fooling yourself if you think that you only eat a little bit of it. The contents of your kitchen become the things that you habitually eat. If there’s junk in the house then you habitually are eating it, and a little bit of junk every day adds up to a LOT of junk over a week or month. And you wonder why you haven’t lost the weight yet…

4) It’s My Favorite: I understand that there may be junk foods that you’ve become so used to eating that it’s hard to imagine going a day or more without it. In this case, you really need to cut the junk out in order to achieve your ideal health and fitness level. Birthdays, holidays, and special occasions are the time to have a taste of your old favorite junk. And after you’ve stopped eating it daily you may find that it doesn’t even taste as good as you remember.

5) Life’s Too Short: YOLO, right? (You Only Live Once) If this is your excuse for having junk food in the house, then I’ve got a new one for you. YOLO, so why not live that life in a healthy, fit, attractive body that’s full of energy, free from aches and pains and looks amazing?! Being fit and healthy is so much more rewarding that eating a favored junk food every day. Nothing tastes as good as fit and healthy feels.

Now it’s time for you to take action. All you need is a big black trash bag and the determination to be fit and healthy. Grab that bag, march into your kitchen and start pitching the junk.

Look for anything in a package that contains processed sugar, grains and high amounts of sodium. Go get ‘em!

Wheeew! Didn’t that feel great? Your kitchen is now wholesome and healthy, and your body will be too.

Eating a healthy diet, free from junk, is one side of the equation when it comes to getting into amazing shape. The other side is consistent, challenging exercise.

I’m here to take care of the exercise in your life. All you have to do is show up when I tell you and then give it your all for that short amount of time. Easy enough, right?

This small investment of time and energy truly will transform your body and your life. Call or email today to get started on the last exercise program that you’ll ever start, and the one that gets you into your best body ever.

For more insightful health and nutrition articles, please subscribe to our newsletter. While you are there please refer a few friends.

Ever notice how one seemingly insignificant poor decision snowballs into another, then another, then another?Let me give you an example…Monday morning at 6am your alarm starts blaring. Instead of getting right up and arriving to your scheduled workout on time, you hit snooze and arrive 10 minutes late. During the workout everything feels extra heavy, so you put down your weights and grab something lighter, thinking that it’s just going to be one of those days.

At lunch you add a side of chips to your usual chicken salad and grab a diet soda instead of water. During your afternoon break the vending machine calls to you, but you settle instead for another cup of coffee laced with sweet creamer. In the caffeine and sugar induced buzz that follows, you call your honey and announce that instead of eating that sensible dinner at home you guys are going out to your favorite restaurant.

After dinner you decide to settle in with some ice cream and a movie instead of taking the dog on a walk. After all, it’s been one of those days.

The next morning at 6am when your alarm starts blaring you skip snooze and reset the whole thing for 7am. You decide that your body really needs a break from all that exercise. After all, the gym will be there tomorrow, right?

It may be there, but at the rate you’re going that doesn’t matter since you’ll be sleeping.

This string of bad decisions is best described as a Domino Effect. I believe that we are all in a constant state of Domino Effect – for better or for worse.

Either you’re in the midst of a downward slide, where one bad decision slides right into the next, OR you’re bettering yourself and are in the midst of making a string of good decisions.

Good decisions are just as contagious as bad ones.

A great morning workout leads you to choose a healthier lunch and then to skip your afternoon sugar fix. Since you’re on a roll, you to eat a healthy dinner and then take the dog out for a brisk walk before getting into bed early enough to wake up refreshed and on time for tomorrow’s workout.

Imagine where these two paths will take you in 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. The sting of good decisions will transform you into a fitter, healthier version of yourself–full of energy and confidence.

The string of bad decisions will morph you into a defeated version of yourself–filled with regret and disappointment.

So how do you stay on track?

The most foolproof method I’ve found is through professional accountability. This means enlisting the support of someone whose job is to make sure that you are getting to your workouts, making sound nutritional choices and getting plenty of rest and hydration.

That’s what I do for my clients, and I’m good at it.

I’m passionate about making sure that you continue to strive towards bettering yourself through a fit and active lifestyle, making good decision after good decision.

Wouldn’t you like to see yourself after a 12-month string of good decisions? I sure would.

You deserve that fit and attractive body – I can help you get it.

Call or email today to get started.

For more insightful health and nutrition articles, please subscribe to our newsletter. While you are there please refer a few friends.

Are you eating the wrong foods?I see it happen all the time…fitness results that are thrown away by eating the wrong foods. Don’t let this be you. You workout hard, so keep your results by avoiding the following 7 foods:1) Don’t Eat White Pasta
White pasta will never be OK to eat when your goal is to look fit. Sorry, it’s filled with way too many simple carbs. These plentiful carbs have one singular goal: to become stored on your body as fat.Eat This: Spaghetti Squash
On those nights when you really crave a big bowl of noodles, try this instead. Poke a spaghetti squash all over then bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, scoop out the seeds and then scrape out the long, noodle-like strands of squash. Serve these healthy noodles with spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

2) Don’t Eat Store Bought Salad Dressing
The nutritional benefit of your salad is all but undone by the questionable ingredients in store bought salad dressing. From trans fats to preservatives, store bought salad dressing is a landfill of unnatural ingredients that are best avoided.

Eat This: Simple Homemade Dressing
Making you own salad dressing is so simple, it literally takes less than five minutes, and it tastes so much better freshly made. Here’s the equation to use when making your own dressing:

As much as I love exercise (and you know I do!) exercise alone will not get you a toned stomach.Your diet is a huge part of the equation.Someone could workout all day long, but then eat in a way that promotes major fat storage, and they wouldn’t have a toned, beach-ready tummy.

While your diet is probably not terrible, the 5 secrets below will help you improve it even more. And a cleaner diet means flatter and more attractive abs.

Diet Secret #1: Don’t eat late
This is the most simple and effective way to flatten your abs. Instead of eating less food late at night, simply don’t eat late at all. Try these tips…

It happens to all of us at some point.Your workouts are dialed in, and your body is rapidly becoming leaner and more attractive. Friends and family notice and you feel fantastic.

And then it stops.

You are doing everything exactly the same as before except your body no longer responds.

You, my friend, have hit a plateau. It’s a frustrating place to be parked, so read the following 5 steps to get your body back into results mode.

Step #1: Reduce Sugar. A very effective way to restart your results is to reel in your sugar intake. Inspect all of your food for added sugars and eliminate items that contain high calorie sweeteners. This means no sugar, corn syrup, honey or maple syrup.

If you’ve already eliminated processed sugars from your diet, and have still hit a plateau, then it’s time to dig a little deeper by eliminating some of the natural sugars from your diet. Limit your intake of sweet fruits and eliminate dried fruits.

Step #2: Get More Sleep. We are supposed to get an average of eight hours of sleep each night. If you’re not getting adequate amounts of rest, you’re more likely to be hungry, overeat, and gain weight.

When you’re tired, you don’t feel like cooking a healthy meal, and you’re more likely to opt for fast (fattening) food. Then your lack of energy causes you to skip your workouts. And to make matter worse, sleep deprivation causes your metabolism to slow down, slowing or reversing your results. To beat your plateau, make sleep a priority.

Step #3: Drink Only Water. To restart your results you’ll need to make some changes. Sorry, but some of the changes aren’t going to be fun. If you’re one of the millions hooked on soda, alcohol, or other sweetened beverages, then your plateau will stay locked in place until you replace these drinks with water.

Keep in mind that your brain often confuses thirst with hunger. So at the first sign of hunger, don’t grab a snack or calorie-filled drinks. Instead, grab a glass of water.

Step #4: Eat Healthy Breakfast. But not just any breakfast. Your plateau-breaking breakfast should be low in carbs and high in protein. Try eggs, lean breakfast meats, a protein shake, or a mini-muffin made with almond flour.

Fitting breakfast into your busy morning may take some work, but research shows that the habit of eating a healthy breakfast is key to losing weight and keeping pounds off. Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier to give yourself time to eat breakfast

Step #5: Increase Exercise Intensity. It’s time to start taking your workouts more seriously. No more going through the motions, it’s all-out for you. If you want to get back on track with your body transformation, and to keep the fat melting away, then increase the amount and intensity of your exercise routine.

For most people, this is the most difficult lifestyle change of all, but the benefits are enormous. Try to get 30 to 60 minutes of intense exercise on most days of the week. When exercise is a normal part of your everyday routine, you’re more likely to stick with it, and your body will become slimmer and more toned.

The quickest and most permanent way to beat that plateau is through a combination of healthy eating and consistent, challenging workouts.

I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

You deserve that fit and attractive body—I can help you get it.

Call or email today and together we will overcome your fitness plateau.

For more insightful health and nutrition articles, please subscribe to our newsletter. While you are there please refer a few friends.

You want to get into better shape, to drop the fat and to increase your tone and strength.Join the club…most people are actively working toward an elusive fitness goal.

So what separates those who end up achieving their goals from the rest of the masses who are trapped in a fruitless struggle?

Winston Churchill hit the nail on the head when he said, “Never, never, never, never give up.”

The bottom line is that it is possible to achieve any fitness goal when you lock on to it and strive towards it every day. Unfortunately distractions are everywhere, making it easy to fall off track.

This brings us to the classic Henry Ford quote, “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”

In order to stay the course it is vital that you keep your eyes on the goal.

Here’s how to get to your goal in 5 Steps:

Step One: Only One At A Time
When you’re feeling motivated, and decide to set a goal, it’s tempting to become over-ambitious by setting multiple goals. While it’s great that you want to improve many things about yourself, the pressure of trying to achieve more than one goal at once will cause you to drop all the goals and go back to status quo.

Focus in on the one goal that you really want to achieve first, and focus all of your efforts onto this goal with laser-like force. There will be plenty of time in the future to see to your other goals, but for now see your number one goal all the way through to completion.

Step Two: Start Slow
Another pitfall that often results in dropped goals is the act of starting out too fast and too strong. If your goal in fitness is to drop 6 pant sizes and to exercise 5 times a week, do not (I repeat, DO NOT) go out and hit the gym hard for the next 5 days in a row. You’ll be so sore that I guarantee you’ll stop all progress the following week and your goal will be put back on a shelf.

Take a deep breath and remember that this isn’t a race. This is your life, and it’s you against yourself. Start out slow and steady and gradually build as you progress toward your goal. Don’t allow self-induced fatigue to get in your way.

Step Three: Know Your Reasons Why
Why is this goal so important to you? There are probably many reasons, and you should know every single one of them. Write down each and every possible reason you can come up with as to why your goal needs to be met.

Intimately get to know the ‘reasons why’ this goal is so important to you. You should have them memorized and should recite them every single day. Remember what Ford said – when you take your eyes of your goal you’ll see loads and loads of obstacles. Keep your eyes locked onto that goal by filling your mind with all of the ‘reasons why’ you’re going to see this thing through.

Step Four: Think About It
Along with thinking about your reasons for accomplishing your goal, it’s also helpful to focus your mind on how you’ll feel once you’ve done it. Dedicate some time each day to picture your new post-goal life.

How awesome are you going to feel when you’ve accomplished this goal that’s been on your mind for so long? Pretty amazing. Fill your mind with that feeling of accomplishment well before you’ve finished the work. The more you feel connected to the end of the race, the more likely it is that you’ll make it through.

Step Five: Put It All On The Line
It’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Invest in something that will help propel you toward your goal. When you shell out some of your hard earned money to aide in your progress, then you are going to take this process that much more seriously.

It’s time to seriously commit yourself to seeing this goal to completion. If your goal is to lose weight and to get into amazing shape then invest in one of my proven fitness programs.

My clients see results. My clients achieve their goals.

It’s time that you become one of my clients.

Call or email today and together we will get you to your goal.

For more insightful health and nutrition articles, please subscribe to our newsletter. While you are there please refer a few friends.