| Staying On Track in 2004
The end of January is a difficult time for those of you whose
New Year's resolution involved losing a few pounds. Your
motivation is starting to wear off, the winter "blahs" are kicking
in, and you're not seeing any significant results yet. Well...
Don't give up -- this is a race that goes to the tortoise, not
the hare. With that in mind, here's some tips to keep things on
the right track...
i) Schedule your workouts: unless you pull out your daytimer (or
palm pilot, or whatever), and schedule some workout time, it's
much, much too easy to let things fall by the wayside. So
take some time each week, and make a concerted effort to plan some
workout time into your busy schedule.
ii) Plan/prepare meals in advance: There's no worse scenario than
being behind schedule, and finding yourself having to come up with
a way to feed yourself, and quite possible a ravenous family as well, on
short notice. Preparing and freezing meals in advance provides
a smart way to avoid the scenario that all too often ends up with a call
for take-out food.
iii) Stay positive: understand the realities of weight loss. Rome
wasn't built in a day, and a sensible, sustainable program will
only see you losing between 1 & 2 pounds per week. That may not
seem like a lot, but it adds up in time.
iv) Buy a fat caliper: it's more important to track your bodyfat
percentage than your bodyweight. Bodyweight can (and does) vary
on a almost daily basis, and is not an accurate reflection of
success or failure. For instance, if you implement a fitness
program that combines resistance training with cardiovascular
exercise, you may actually weigh more (as muscle weighs more
than fat), and be less fat. In actuality, you are *closer* to
your goal, although the scale reflects the opposite. And I don't
need to tell you how detrimental this can be, right?
Here's where you can get a fat caliper! (I use this model --
highly recommended).
v) Use the power of positive thinking: you may have heard
various self-help gurus proclaim that "you create your own
reality". Maintaining a positive attitude, using visualization
techniques (at least once daily, "see" the new you in your
mind's eye), and pasting "stickie" notes with positive affirmations
here and there is a good way to use the power of positive thinking
to help you attain ALL your goals.
Follow these simple steps, stay focused, and positive. You *will
succeed!
Product recommendations...
Here's a couple of products I've tried lately that are worth mentioning...
First, if you're a fan of protein powders and meal replacements, you'll be
interested in hearing about Molecular Nutrition's Whey Fruity.
I tried the punch flavor recently, and was amazed at how good it
was -- and I mixed it with water, not milk! It's nice and light -- a serving
delivers 22 grams of protein and only 87 calories. And since it tastes
great with water, it's perfect for low carb diets -- 0 grams of carbs per
serving (Whey Fruity is sweetened with Sucralose).
The stuff actually stirs up easily with a spoon -- a real breeze to mix.
I've been using protein powders and meal replacements for years, and
although I wouldn't have thought I'd find myself saying this, it's nice
to get away from the standard chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry milk
based products.
Our online store doesn't carry Whey Fruity, but you can get it at
Netrition.com, a respectable online company. It comes in two flavors...
Whey Fruity Punch! (Tastes
great!).
Lemonade (Haven't tried
this flavor yet).
OK, here's my second recommendation...
If you use creatine, or a creatine delivery system, you'll be interested in checking out
Isatori's Meta-Cel. Unlike typical creatine delivery systems which combine creatine, a ton of dextrose and a sprinkling of alpha lipoic acid, Meta-Cel shuttles creatine
to the muscle cells without the use of simple sugars (a serving of Meta-Cel contains a
mere 20 calories). I've been using Meta-Cel for about 6 weeks, and I'll have to say it's
the best creatine product I've ever tried -- gives an amazing "pump". It comes in two flavors (I prefer the orange),
and is available at Netrition.com (we don't carry this either)...
Meta-Cel (Orange)
Meta-Cel (Lemonade)
See you next issue!
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