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With so many people drinking soda, coffee or popping diet pills it was a must for me to explain all the positive and negative things associated with this highly addictive stimulant. I’m going to give you the Good, The Bad and the Downright Ugly. Everything we do and eat must have balance. Too much caffeine can have some bad side effects.

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How many times when you thought about losing weight did you or a friend starve themselves thinking that would help when losing weight? Yes you can lose scale weight with this tactic but as quickly as you lose it you can gain it back and some. Get it through your head that scale weight is not the most important, your body fat is. Some people rely on Bmi as an accurate measurement when figuring out how healthy they are. My BMI tells me I’m obese even though my body fat is 5%, lol. So my whole point here is focus on losing body fat and gaining muscle not stepping on the scale. If your losing inches and building muscle then you are going in the right direction.

Starving yourself is one of the worst things you can do when trying to lose fat weight. Ok ill explain how your body works. You are burning calories 24 hours per day even when you sleep. If throughout the day while you are awake you are not putting adequate calories in your body your body responds by burning muscle as energy then the next meal you eat gets stored as a survival reaction as fat storage. So when you starve yourself you will not only be burning muscle and gaining fat weight you will be lowering your metabolism which means every minute of the day you are burning less calories and in time your body becomes fatter and unhealthier. Is this an eye opener or what? So what can you do to make sure you are eating enough to not burn muscle but not eat too much where you are gaining bad weight? Here are 6 tips:

• Eat every 2-3 hours throughout the day
• Eat only till your satisfied never till your full
• Check your body fat 1-2 times per month
• 4-5 days per week cardio of 250-750 calories per day
• 3-5 days per week of weightlifting
• Always remember its better to eat something then nothing at all, just make the meal or snack a healthy choice
• Balance – Do not overeat, Do not under eat, Both lead to fat gain

Hope everyone has a great weekend !!!!
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So many people get used to a lifestyle or a way of eating that includes foods that consciously our mind tells us probably are not the best foods. This may be the reason we are gaining weight but your body tells us to EAT EAT EAT. How do you fight these urges? How do you decide that a piece of chicken and veggies is better than a hamburger and fries? Ask yourself a few questions.

• Do I like How I am feeling everyday?
• Do I like what I look like in the mirror?
• Am I tired all day or do I just feel like BLAHHHH?
• Can I really make the changes?
• What is holding me back and keeping my mind full of excuses?

I get the same questions all the time. What do you eat? What supplements do you take? Should I have no carbs in my diet? Well first off what I eat and what you eat are going to be very different so what I do will not work for you the same way. I’m 30 years old, 6 foot, 205 lbs with around 4-5% body fat. With body fat that low my body is like a furnace and burns everything that enters my body pretty quickly. I also workout 2times a day and train multiple clients per day. I eat near 4000 to 5000 calories per day to maintain weight. I did not come out of the womb this way though I spent years building my body and getting it to the point where it is. I made every single sacrifice I had to and decided to EAT TO LIVE RATHER THEN LIVE TO EAT.

You have to look at where your body is now and determine what you must do. One thing that took me years to figure out was the nutrition side of things. I tried following every diet I saw in the magazines, took many supplements that promised 6pack ripped abs. Yes some of them helped a bit with energy and getting me through my workouts better but my body did not change until I sit down and figured out exactly what worked with MY body. Here are a few tips when figuring out your body

1. Write down everything you are eating and drinking?
2. Start cutting out the Bad foods, such as high sugars(juices, candy, pastries) , fried foods(fried meats, French fries, est.) and heavy starchy foods(white pastas, breads, est.)
3. Try different foods out. You want to have some variety in your diet and not get burnt out
4. Realize that eating good is going to make you feel better, look better and more clear minded
5. Drink water and cut out your soda, high sugar fruit juices

I tell people the same thing over and over. If you eat boring you will look better. In my lifestyle eating the way I eat is great but when I tell people I eat the same foods everyday around the same times of the day they first react by saying well that’s boring. At times I do something to my clients, I will have then eat very healthy for 30 days not cheating then one day I’ll tell them to go have their old favorite cheat meal (Pizza, Mexican, est.) they always come back with the same reaction, Ughhh I feel terrible, my stomach feels so sick. Is that not proof enough that those sorts of unhealthy foods are not supposed to be in your system. Your body gets used to the lifestyle and foods you are putting in your body so initially after getting away from the bad foods your body will respond by telling you it wants bad foods. As it gets used to having the healthy food and you go and eat a bad meal it responds by you getting sick or feeling terrible.

You have control of your choices. Why are you not making the best choices for your health and life? Tomorrow is a day away, why not start today. Instead of that fast food hamburger and fries you are used to eating how about you go get a healthy subway sandwich (no mayo, no cheese, no white bread) or chicken and veggies. You make your choices everyday and have complete control of them. Make the RIGHT CHOICE not only for yourself but for your loved ones.

I get the question all the time of “Are cheat meals ok?” “What do I do about late night cravings” There are many ways of looking at it. This really depends on the individual and their goals. Let’s say you are a middle aged woman who has let their body go through not working out and eating poorly. I am going to tell you to eat perfect for a period of time until your body fat is low enough that you can get away with having a cheat meal and it won’t hurt you as bad. Many of my clients I keep strict for 12-16 weeks cutting the drinking the bad foods until their body fat is at a low enough where it will burn about anything it touches (16% for a woman, 10-12% for a guy). I am a firm believer in setting a goal and accomplishing it in as little time as possible through proper nutrition and fitness. So in my opinion putting anything in your body that is going to make the process longer is not a good idea. I also have to think realistically because not everyone can live the lifestyle I live so find your healthy balance. If you live healthy 95% of the time you will still reach your goals very quickly. Let’s say you eat 6 small meals per day that’s 42 meals a week. Having 1-2 cheat meals weekly (Diana and I do this weekly) would mean you are still eating perfect 95-97% of the time. On every test I ever took that I got a 95% or higher on that meant an “A”, which means excellent. What time you eat your cheat meal needs to be something you think about as well. Are you having it during the day where your body has a chance to burn it off or right before bed when you know everything will be kept as fat storage? Be conscious of the choices you are making they are directly connected with you succeeding or failing.

So what do I do about the late Night Craving?
Get your body in the routine-Your body gets into a cycle with workouts and with your diet. You start working out on a daily basis your body will tell you “Hey buddy it’s time to work out again, I always get cranky when I do not work out. With your diet it is the same. You have to get in the routine of eating your meals around the same times per day not overeating; not skipping meals and that late night urge will eventually go away.

Trash the bad stuff- If you don’t have the food there late at night you cannot eat it.

Cut your sugar- Throughout the day it is very important to keep your blood sugar levels low so keep your sugar intake to a minimum, this will help you from overeating or binging at night.
You have to come to the conclusion that you are more important than that food you are putting in your body. Do you not want to feel great and look great? Do you not want to become healthier for yourself and loved ones around you?

STOP EATTING THE JUNK.

So what can I eat if I just cannot fight the urge?
Rice cakes
Jell-O
Drink 8-16 ounces of water
Veggies- Filling yet very low in calories
Anything Protein- egg whites, protein shakes, chicken, fish, turkey

Find your balance and stop watching infomercials or trusting fad diets. There is only one way of getting in shape physically and mentally.. Hard work and eating right. Have a great week!!!!

Why is it so easy to gain weight but hard to lose weight for a majority of people?

Do you know that it takes burning 3500 calories to lose 1 lb of fat?

If you split that up into 7 days you are looking at 700 calories a day you would need to do extra. There is a much easier solution to this, although I do advise bumping your cardio/activity up.

You need to start eating better. Cut out the fast food, sugar, soda, fried foods and substitute them with grilled lean meats, veggies, water, and oats. I promise you within weeks you will not only start feeling better you will start looking better.

Some people need a more custom diet to follow. That’s where Hitch Fit comes in. I can make you an custom diet and workout plan to follow so you are guaranteed results. Hitchfit takes all the thinking and wondering out of the way and gives you a clear roadmap for success.

So next time you are hungry and you get the urge to hit the chain food restaurants, look at the list below and see what you are really eating:

What Chain-Food Favorites Cost in Exercise?

DONUT
Dunkin Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donut (230 calories)
59 minutes of walking (3 mph). to burn it off

BREAKFAST SANDWICH
McDonald’s Egg McMuffin (300 calories)
32 minutes of running (5 mph).

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE
Panera Chocolate Chipper (440 calories)
62 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

PIZZA
Pizza Hut Large Hand-Tossed Style Cheese Pizza (1 slice; 320 calories)
39 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

CINNAMON ROLL
Starbucks Cinnamon Roll (500 calories, varies by location)
85 minutes of dancing.

HAMBURGER
Burger King Original Whopper With Cheese (770 calories)
94 minutes of swimming (slow to moderate laps).

BROWNIE
Au Bon Pain Chocolate Chip Brownie (380 calories).
129 minutes of yoga (Hatha style).

FRIES
Wendy’s Large French Fries (540 calories)
77 minutes of biking (10-11.9 mph).

ICE CREAM
Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream (0.5 cup; 270 calories)
29 minutes of running (5 mph).

BURRITO
Taco Bell Burrito Supreme, Beef (410 calories)
70 minutes of dancing

Got some surprising and exciting news while flipping through the new August 2009 Muscle and Fitness.

There I was on page 43 – all covered in sweat and worn out from 7 hours of sprinting that day. It was fitting that they wrote an article about Hydration and the importance of staying that way throughout the day and your workout.

When dehydrated your muscle power decreased by 20%, you will complete less reps and fatigue more quickly. Your body will cramp much more easily and your energy levels fall off dramatically. So what can be done to prevent all of this?

DRINK MORE WATER.
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