Category Archives: Uncategorized

Today’s the day!

From Gerry: For the first time this century the scale is in the 130s! I reached my goal … 50 pounds in six months. From 188 to 138; size 16 to 6. The secret? Dark chocolate. Seriously. When Tony told me to add two pieces of dark chocolate to my food intake every day, I whined. I really don’t like dark chocolate, milk chocolate is much better. As usual, Tony didn’t budge … dark chocolate, two pieces, every day. If I’ve learned anything in six months of training with Tony … he’s always right. When I got on the scale today and saw the number I’d been shooting for, well, Tony’s streak of rightness continues. Amazing!

Is it possible to get fit in six minutes a week?

What if you could get fit and possibly lose weight in just six minutes a week?

From Eileen:  The biggest excuse everyone has for not exercising, of course, is the “I don’t have enough time” lament.

 I’ve talked about that before in terms of importance … meaning if something is important enough to you, there’s always enough time. (There’s always enough time to eat and sleep and watch TV, right?)

 But here’s another way to attack the time problem:  What if you could get fit in just six minutes a week? Yep, six minutes a week!

A new goal

From Gerry: Lose 4 pounds in 4 weeks. That’s the plan.

Five months ago I started the Fittest Loser Challenge and finished 12 weeks later with a respectable 36-pound weight loss. Since then I’ve lost 10 more pounds and continue to work out with Tony three times a week. No, wait, I should put that another way. Because I’ve continued to work out with Tony I’ve lost 10 more pounds.  This is the first time I’ve successfully lost weight and stuck to an exercise regimen. The accountability and discipline Tony instills is key to my success.

For healthy choices, shop with a cart, not basket

Will a basket or a cart determine how healthy your grocery choices are?

From Joe:  When you are shopping to eat healthy, does how you hold your items make a difference in the kinds of items you select?

Consumer Reports reporter Maggie Shader would answer “Yes!”

She cites a study which found that carrying your items in a basket leads you to make unwise choices. Carrying items in a basket …

Failure is not an option

From Gerry: When the Fittest Loser Challenge ended six weeks ago, I was scared. What if it was the end? Not just the end of the competition but the end of the my weight-loss road. For the first time in my life I had legitimately lost weight … no gimmicks, no crazy starvation plan. I finally found something that worked. Why quit? Good question. So, I didn’t. I signed up for six months of training with Tony, I kept right on eating the same foods and continued to follow the same workout regimen.

Move the yoga mat for a new perspective

 

Go ahead. Move your yoga mat or change your spin bike! Getting out of a rut is good for you.

 From Eileen: We’re having squabbles in my spin class lately. The Fitness Center changed the room, as well as the configuration of the bikes, and that has put everyone in a real tizzy.  The room is too hot. It’s too cold. The sound system is too loud. The bikes are too close. The complaining is near record proportions.

Best. Diet. Planner. Ever. (No, really)

 

Picking a diet plan just got easier.

From Eileen: So what’s the best diet out there? The one you can stick with over the long haul, of course.

 To  help you along the way,  US News and World Report compiled a group of 22 experts and took an unbiased look at  20 popular diets. (For those of you who are curious, here is the methodology they used).  The two big winners were Weight Watchers and the government developed DASH diet. (DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.)

Exercise for six years straight? No big deal

From Eileen: Well, today is my anniversary. Six years of continuous exercise. No flowers. No special dinner out. No real celebration. Actually, it’s almost anti-climactic. That’s because fitness has become part of my everyday life, almost as mundane as making my bed. I certainly don’t celebrate … “Yippee! I’ve taken a shower every day for a decade!” Or “Woo hoo! I ate a meal every single day for the last 12 years.”

Breaking 150!

From Gerry: 150 pounds is a barrier I thought I’d never get below … but two weeks after the Fittest Loser Challenge ended, I did just that. The scale hit 148 and gave me a nice round 40 pound total weight loss. At least the number is round instead of me! My weight-loss journey continues with three-times-a-week workouts with my trainer, Tony, and three more days of cardio. That number in the 140s makes it all worth while! Stay tuned …

The workplace is making us unfit

Sitting behind a desk is making us fat. Try a walking meeting when you can.

From Eileen:  Working is not good for your waistline. Or should we say sitting at a desk for eight hours a day and only getting up to wander over to the candy dish is definitely not good for your waistline and your overall fitness level?

In a study of the American workplace, a group of researchers found that 80 percent of jobs are sedentary or require or light activity, which is way down from 1960 when 50 percent of the jobs in the workforce required some sort of moderate activity.