Monthly Archives: February 2017

Health & wellness, Sleep, Weight loss

Time To Get Some Sleep

There are some essential things in life that, like it or not, we just have to do. And one of them is to make time to get some sleep.

This is NOT an option. It’s a necessity.

And getting adequate sleep is mandatory…

We are moving into a new month, and you know what that means. Time to start building a new habit. As the saying goes, “time flies when you’re having fun”.

Remember, we are focusing on one new healthy habit every month.

  1. To make it easier to manage.
  2. By giving you time to make each one your own.
  3. While helping you develop 6 new habits in 6 months that will last a lifetime.

As you can tell by the title for month 3, we’re toning it down a little.

Sleep

I know what you’re thinking, “But I thought we were here to work hard. I want to lose weight and get in great shape”.

And you are correct. We are, and you will. But stay with me because there’s a valid reason for this month’s habit, and you’ll be able to accomplish it with your eyes closed.

And that’s because our Pillar for Month 3 is SLEEP.

We will learn how getting the proper amount of rest will enable you to recharge your mental, physical, and emotional capacities so you can be your best, and capable of doing more.

Do I have your interest?

I hope so because you’re not going to want to snooze through this one. So let’s get started.

Sleep is a major part of your health & wellness.

In an article titled, “Why Is Sleep Important”, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) discusses how getting the right amount of sleep can help your memory, and improve learning ability, problem-solving, creativity, focus and decision-making skills.

So it’s obvious that if you don’t get enough rest, your abilities in these areas would be negatively impacted.

According to the NIH in this article, “Sleep plays a vital role in good health and well-being throughout your life. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way you feel while you’re awake depends in part on what happens while you’re sleeping.”

They go on to describe how sleep plays such an important role in your physical health. And that ongoing sleep deficiency increases your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and even early death.

I encourage you to read this article at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why

So then this begs the question…

“What happens when we sleep?” 

Sleep

Here’s what the National Sleep Foundation says:

“Sleep architecture follows a pattern of alternating REM (rapid eye movement) and NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep throughout a typical night in a cycle that repeats itself about every 90 minutes.”

They go on to illustrate the role each stage and state of sleep plays:

NREM (75% of night): As we begin to fall asleep, we enter NREM sleep, which is composed of stages 1-4

Stage 1

  • Between being awake and falling asleep
  • Light sleep

Stage 2

  • Onset of sleep
  • Becoming disengaged from surroundings
  • Breathing and heart rate are regular
  • Body temperature drops (so sleeping in a cool room is helpful)

Stages 3 and 4

  • Deepest and most restorative sleep
  • Blood pressure drops
  • Breathing becomes slower
  • Muscles are relaxed
  • Blood supply to muscles increases
  • Tissue growth and repair occurs
  • Energy is restored
  • Hormones are released, such as: Growth hormone, essential for growth and development, including muscle development

REM (25% of night): First occurs about 90 minutes after falling asleep and recurs about every 90 minutes, getting longer later in the night

  • Provides energy to brain and body
  • Supports daytime performance
  • Brain is active and dreams occur
  • Eyes dart back and forth
  • Body becomes immobile and relaxed, as muscles are turned off

In addition, levels of the hormone cortisol dip at bed time and increase over the night to promote alertness in morning.

Sleep helps us thrive by contributing to a healthy immune system, and can also balance our appetites by helping to regulate levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which play a role in our feelings of hunger and fullness. So when we’re sleep deprived, we may feel the need to eat more, which can lead to weight gain.

The one-third of our lives that we spend sleeping, far from being “unproductive,” plays a direct role in how full, energetic and successful the other two-thirds of our lives can be.

If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have time to complete all of the phases needed for muscle repair, memory consolidation and release of hormones regulating growth and appetite. Then we wake up less prepared to concentrate, make decisions, or engage fully.

It’s interesting to see what occurs during the various states and stages of sleep. And I think the last 3 paragraphs sum it up very well. (Scroll back up and re-read those last 3 paragraphs in bold)

The consensus from my research puts the recommended amount of sleep for adults between 7 to 9 hours per night. Most experts agree that logging less than 7 or more than 9 is not advisable.

Sleep

Over the past few years since I’ve been focusing on getting at least 7 but preferably 8 hours of sleep, I can say with absolute certainty that getting enough sleep makes a big difference the next day in so many ways.

And on those rare occasions when I get less than 7 hours, the exact opposite is true.

I hope you found this interesting. Next week we will try to put this into perspective by discussing what happens when you don’t get enough sleep. Until then, make sleep a priority and make sure that you are getting the recommended 7 to 9 hours per night.

If you schedule it, you have a much better chance of accomplishing it. And that may mean you have to go to bed a little earlier. But you’re worth it, so take care of yourself and get some sleep!

I’d like to wrap up with a sleep-related product recommendation.

It’s about the heavily promoted and advertised product is called “My Pillow”. But this is not a favorable rating or testimonial to buy the product. My recommendation to you is to NOT buy this product.

Although the inventor and CEO appears to be a good guy, his product My Pillow is garbage in my opinion, and not worth 2 cents. I’m simply passing this on to hopefully save you time and money.

Always remember, it’s not what happens to us that matters. Stuff happens to everyone.

It’s what we do about what happens to us that makes the difference.

So keep drinking plenty of water, make time for exercise, and find a way to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Health & wellness, Healthy habits, Personal development, Weight loss

What Motivates You To Exercise?

So what motivates you to exercise? We’ll unpack this further today.

motivation

Learning about it is important. But taking action is paramount!

As we wrap up Habit # 2 (and reach the milestone of our 100th post), I want to make sure that you understand the value of exercise.

And break your sedentary lifestyle, if that describes you. Or help you maintain this essential habit if it’s something you’re already doing.

But let’s first address a common problem that everyone faces from time to time. We can assign several labels to it. And whether you’re a fitness veteran, or a beginner, we can all relate.

What’s the problem?

You can say it has something to do with accountability, commitment, and responsibility. And they affect us differently. So let’s take a closer look at 3 variations.

  1. Motivation. You know this feeling if you’re a fitness veteran. When you just don’t feel like going to the gym. And you look for reasons to justify why you shouldn’t, or don’t need to… ‘today’.
  2. Getting started. If exercise is new to you, then you simply need to show up and start moving. You may not want to go, but haven’t earned the right to call this a motivation issue yet.
  3. Getting re-started. And if you’ve ever taken any time off from your exercise routine and tried to get back to it, then you can understand and appreciate this issue. It’s kind of a combination of the first two.

All 3 of these relate to breaking a commitment that we’ve made to ourselves. Dodging responsibility.

Has this ever turned into a negotiation for you?

Inside your head, between you and you?

I have to admit. Been there, done that.

Actually, I’m not sure that you can even call it a negotiation since you’re working both sides of the argument.

And here’s the worst part – you can’t win. So stop the madness.

motivation

If you Google “motivation”, you’ll soon discover that it can be quite a complex topic. Involving behavior, and the psychology of what’s behind our actions that result in the decisions we make.

I’m going to attempt to keep it simple here. I think we’ve all heard of the carrot and stick. How about the desire to gain pleasure vs. the need to avoid pain? Same concept. Or how about intrinsic (internal) motivation vs. extrinsic (external) motivation?

In some situations, you may find that you’re more intrinsically motivated. For example, you’ve signed up for a course because you believe it will help you advance your career. You’re internally driven to complete the course because of the future potential it holds.

How about entering a competition where your results will be compared with other participants? Or the potential of a reward for achieving a sales goal (monetary, recognition, etc.). And you discover that in this situation, your drive is more extrinsically focused.

Whether you’re internally or externally motivated for a given task doesn’t matter as much as it does to recognize it. And more importantly, knowing why you’re doing this and what it will mean to you to accomplish it.

Your “why-power” is powerful, and necessary if you want to make it past the finish line.

Your WHY is vitally important for:

  • staying focused on the long-term picture.
  • keeping you accountable when your motivation wanes.
  • helping you stay on-track when setbacks take you off-track.
  • overcoming obstacles that cause you to want to throw in the towel.

We all face challenges, and no one is perfect. As we gain a better understanding of our own strengths and weaknesses, or disciplines and temptations, we can prepare ourselves to handle things that are thrown our way. Including those that can trip us up.

If you are currently exercising, accountability and motivation challenges can rear their ugly head from time to time. And they can be caused by anything.

For example, you may get derailed:

  • during a plateau, when results appear to be non-existent.
  • when long hours at work consume most of your waking hours.
  • if you’re stressed from life’s demands and it starts taking a toll on you.
  • after an injury, sickness, vacation, or extended time off from your normal routine.
  • when your workout gets boring, or no longer challenges you the same as it once did.
  • if chronic pain flares up.
  • [Insert your reason.]

If exercise is new to you, or it’s been years since you’ve worked out, getting started may represent your biggest challenge. But you may also have to deal with:

  • a weak, uninspiring goal.
  • laziness from being sedentary.
  • uncertainty about what to do (or how to get started).
  • insecurity, fear of the unknown, or a lack of confidence.
  • lack of interest, indicating the need for a stronger WHY.
  • initial soreness and muscle fatigue that keeps you sidelined.
  • expecting too much, too soon.
  • [Insert your reason.]

Realize that these are all normal occurrences. They happen to everyone. It’s part of being human.

But it’s also exciting and motivating to overcome these challenges when you’re faced with them. So it’s best to be aware, and prepare.

Here are some suggestions. You can hire a personal trainer for a few sessions, recruit an exercise buddy, mix up your routine a bit, or set shorter term mini goals to recognize incremental results along the way.

Or try exercising at a different time, like in the evening if morning is your normal routine. You may find that you enjoy the time change occasionally, and may even get a different result.

Here’s where a strong “why” comes to your aid. Forget about willpower. To overcome inactivity, you need strong reasons why you want to (and should) – exercise. Along with what it will mean to you when you do.

And when you need a little extra motivation, take a page out of Nike’s playbook and “Just Do It!”.

Or, just stay home. Yes, that’s right. Take the day off.

Once in a while is okay. This could be your body giving you a signal that it needs a break. Only you can judge this. Just don’t let it become a habit.

Ok, let’s put exercise motivation aside for a minute, and look at this from a different perspective.

motivation

If you choose to not exercise, or haven’t exercised in years for whatever reason, we need to talk. I’m not here to pick on you. And I am certainly not here to judge. But I am here to help you recognize the necessity and the value of exercise.

And find a way to get you to take action.

While there is no guarantee that exercise helps you live a longer more active and enjoyable life, there is plenty of evidence and medical data which shows that it does.

In fact, exercise has been proven to provide numerous health benefits. We discussed some of them 2 weeks ago. You can link back here.

But in this post, I am not going to focus on the benefits again. I’d prefer to look at it from the ‘other side’ to see if I can entice you to reconsider exercise.

There’s plenty of proof that’s been gathered from people who avoid exercise and make bad food choices. After years of abuse and neglect, you’ll find many of them in hospitals and cemeteries.

By NOT exercising, you run the risk of:

  • Gaining weight (and getting fat).
  • Becoming depressed and unhappy.
  • Having a stroke or heart attack.
  • Developing type 2 diabetes.
  • Falling and breaking something.
  • Dying earlier than necessary.
  • ‘nuf said?

motivationThis is not a scare tactic. But feel free to use it as one if it gets you to start moving.

We have one body and one life.

It’s a gift that we should cherish, take seriously, and take care of.

Any questions?

Next week we’ll tone it down a little as we launch our 3rd Pillar. If you’re working hard and you’re feeling the burn, you’ll appreciate next month’s habit.

In the meantime, get some exercise and keep drinking plenty of water.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.

Fitness, Goals, Health & wellness, Healthy habits, Weight loss

You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure

If you want to build a new habit, you need to reinforce it. I have found the best way to do this is with a simple technique called “tracking”. And this powerful technique is proven by the simple fact that you can’t manage what you can’t measure.

Tracking

In today’s post, we’ll discuss how you can start leveraging this valuable tool. But more on this in a minute.

I also have an exercise tip from my friend and Certified Personal Trainer, Ron Bove in The Trainers Corner.

This month’s habit is exercise. And so far, we’ve covered the 2 primary types – strength and cardio training. We’ve also discussed the impact that exercise intensity can have on our results.

As you strive to reach your exercise goals, one day at a time…

You’ll find that you have:

  • More energy.
  • Better focus.
  • Greater strength and stability.
  • A desire to move more.
  • Increased endurance during exercise and throughout your day.
  • The ability to manage stress better.
  • A lower resting heart rate.
  • Better quality sleep.
  • And a new outlook on life!

Building on our healthy exercise habit, this week I would like to explore the benefits of a valuable tool that I mentioned above. But don’t worry, I am not trying to sell you a new gadget.

This tool costs you nothing, yet will help you accomplish SO much. It will keep you motivated as you begin to see results in this 6 Pillars To Better Health & Vitality program.

And hey, you may already be using it to some degree.

What is it?

It’s called “tracking”.

Tracking brings your choices, decisions, habits, and behaviors to your conscious awareness by allowing you to see what you are currently doing, or not doing.

Equally as important, tracking helps you micro-manage the things you want to start, stop, or continue doing.

And this impacts your results – bigtime!

How freakin’ cool is that?

Tracking

Here’s an example of how I’ve used tracking.

For the past 20 years, I have worn a heart-rate monitor during my workouts. I did this so I could measure and track my calorie burn. And that’s because calorie burn was an important metric that helped ensure that I was meeting or exceeding one of my goals.

I’m still tracking my calorie burn, but to a lesser degree because I’ve got a good handle on that metric. Other things I’m tracking at the moment include my daily water intake, sleep, and weekly exercise.

But here’s the main point I want to pass on.

If you are serious about a goal (and why wouldn’t you be), you should be tracking the key behaviors that will help you achieve that goal. And if your goal is to lose 30 pounds by July 1st, then pick ONE important element to measure. And start tracking it immediately!

Let’s look at some key behaviors that you can track based on a weight-loss goal.

  • Your daily steps.
  • Your daily calorie intake.
  • The number of times you exercise every week.
  • The number of calories burned during exercise.
  • The type of exercise performed (strength or cardio).
  • The number of miles you walked or ran.
  • The number of hours you sleep every night.
  • The number of times you say NO to dessert.

Some of these metrics can translate into data that will become the daily and weekly next steps of your longer-term goal.

This is key!

But make it easy on yourself.

Track one thing for the next month. After you build that habit, you can add a second key behavior to track. Which is exactly what we’re doing in this program.

Just don’t fall into the trap of tracking everything at once.

It may seem exciting for the first week. But it will quickly become a monotonous chore that you will eventually despise. And then stop doing altogether.

So make it a habit that’s simple. One that you will want to maintain.

And tracking with your smartphone is a great way to start.

Tracking

For example, iPhone users have the built-in “Health” app. The dashboard feature makes it so easy to enter and view the information you want to start tracking.

Visually, you can see your progress. And it’s all stored in one place.

For Android users, check out the Google Fit or S Health apps. Or do a search in the Google Play store to research any new apps.

So what’s my tip for this week? Start tracking.

Measure and track one key behavior that will help you accomplish your annual health & wellness goal.

What’s the ONE key behavior you’ll start tracking?

For additional help, check out these 2 posts on tracking:

Along with these valuable resources from Darren Hardy:

And if you’re interested in tracking your exercise calorie burn, then I highly recommend you check out Polar heart rate monitors. Unlike the Fitbit or other fitness trackers, Polar heart rate monitors are better for tracking calories burned (in my opinion).

Why?

Because you’re measuring calories burned during exercise only. Our bodies burn calories all day long. When we are walking, talking, eating, sitting… Even sleeping.

And I’m not interested in tracking something that happens naturally and automatically. Especially when I’m in a resting state.

TrackingI prefer tracking something that I’m doing incrementally that is positively impacting my good health. And that’s exercise.

So I track it!

What do you think? Will you give “tracking” a try? I sure hope so.

Before we end this post, I want to introduce you to my friend Ron Bove. I’ve asked Ron to provide a brief piece this week on exercise.

The Trainers Corner:

by Ron Bove

Try This All-in-One Combination Exercise
A side-step squat with wood chop works your arms, torso, abs, back, legs, thighs and butt. Make sure you maintain proper form when doing this exercise. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart holding a 3 to 4-pound medicine ball or dumbbell in your hands. Bend your arms up so that the ball is at eye level over your right shoulder. As you bring the ball down toward your left knee, step out with your left leg and bend it no further than 90 degrees, keeping your right leg straight. Return to the starting position. Do 10 to 12 reps on one side and then repeat on the other leg.

We’ve covered a lot today.

Next week we’ll wrap up our exercise habit with a topic that will keep you coming back for more. One more post on exercise, and a desire to dive into our 3rd Pillar next month.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.

#tracking

Active lifestyle, Fitness, Goals, Healthy habits, Weight loss

Is Cardio Exercise Right For You?

Cardio exercise anyone?

Hopefully you have some muscle soreness that hurts SO good from last week’s strength training sessions. And since we’ve recently launched our second pillar for better health & vitality by adding the healthy habit of exercise to our routine, get used to the feeling.

If it’s new to you and you’re not sure, give it time. This feeling of muscle soreness will become something you’ll look forward to and appreciate in the future.

It’s Month 2, Week 2 of our 6 Pillars program. You’re drinking a lot of water and racking up extra steps from additional trips to the bathroom. And yet you’re still coming back for more.

I commend you on your interest and determination!

You can work through the soreness with another strength training session, which will help to kill the pain, while you integrate some cardio exercise into your next workout.

Cardio exercise anyone?That’s right!

It’s no surprise that cardio is our second type of exercise.

So let’s start by getting clear about what cardio “is”.

Cardiovascular exercise (aka cardio or aerobic exercise) is any exercise that gets your heart rate up, and keeps it elevated for a significant amount of time. Cardio improves fitness by increasing your oxygen intake and heart rate. Cardio exercise promotes increased use of oxygen in order to improve the overall body condition.

According to Wikipedia, aerobic exercise is physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process.

Aerobic literally means “relating to, involving, or requiring free oxygen” and refers to the use of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during exercise. Generally, light-to-moderate intensity activities that are sufficiently supported by aerobic metabolism can be performed for extended periods of time.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper was the first person to introduce the concept of aerobic exercise. In the 1960s, Cooper started research into preventive medicine. He became intrigued by the belief that exercise can preserve one’s health.

Cooper is credited with conducting the first extensive research study on aerobic exercise in the 1960s on over 5,000 U.S. Air Force personnel. In 1970 he created his own institute (the Cooper Institute) for non-profit research and education devoted to preventive medicine. He sparked millions into becoming active and is now known as the “father of aerobics”.

What is considered cardio exercise?

  • Running and walking (briskly) – outside or on a treadmill or elliptical
  • Cycling – outside or on stationary or spin bikes
  • Stair-climbing / stepping – stadium stairs or the newer stair-climbing machines
  • Swimming – known as one of the best exercises you can do
  • Kickboxing, jumping rope, and hitting a heavy bag
  • Dance, including Zumba
  • Games like basketball, soccer, tennis, and the lower intense game of table tennis
  • Hiking and mountain biking

What doesn’t count? I strongly suggest that you avoid the exercise gimmicks that are sold on TV. You know the ones that have great looking fitness models who claim that using this supposed “gadget” is how they got into such great shape, in only 5 minutes a day.

Does anyone believe this?

It’s important to get the heart pumping, the blood flowing, the lungs breathing, and the sweat dripping. I can’t admit to loving my intense cardio sessions while I am at the beginning or even halfway through. But when it’s over I feel great. And it’s that combined feeling of euphoria with a sense of accomplishment and the long-term results that keep me coming back for more.

Cardio exercise anyone?

I firmly believe that intensity matters with exercise. Once your doctor approves you for exercise and you’ve spent a few months building up your strength and endurance, it’s time to add intensity to your strength training and cardio exercise sessions.

As your intensity level increases, the length of time you need to spend exercising can be reduced.

High intensity interval training (HIIT) has become a popular form of cardio training in recent years. HIIT involves alternating intensity levels during aerobic exercise.

For example, during HIIT, you increase the resistance or your speed for 2 minutes, which increases your intensity and heart rate.

Then you reduce it to a more moderate intensity with less resistance or speed for 1 minute, which helps you recover and slightly reduces your heart rate.

You can do this manually, or by selecting the “interval” option on many of the new cardio exercise machines.

I’d rather spend 30 to 40 minutes at a ‘moderate to high intensity’ level than 60 or more minutes at a lower one. Wouldn’t you?

I personally strive for 2 serious cardio sessions every week, plus 2 to 3 strength. It used to be 3 to 4 cardio sessions and 1 to 2 strength, but I was burning too many calories, which was causing me to lose lean muscle. But losing muscle is not the goal, so I changed the ratio.

I also incorporate cardio exercise into my strength training sessions. I do this with a heart-pounding 10 to 15-minute warm-up before lifting. Or 5 to 15 minutes of rope. And sometimes I’ll squeeze in a few sets of hitting the heavy bag, which elevates the heart rate.

And by incorporating “super-sets” when I lift, I’m automatically including cardio into my strength training sessions.

Super-sets are a way to maximize your time by performing 2 or more different exercises of different muscle groups with very little to no rest in between.

For example, one super-set could consist of a set of bench presses, bar curls, dumbbell fly’s, and reverse curls without resting between each exercise. You rest when you’re done with those 4 different exercises. Then you do it again for a couple more sets.

The alternative would be one set of bench presses and rest. A second set of bench presses and rest. A third set of bench presses and rest. Next, a set of bar curls and rest…

You get the point. A lot of resting and wasted time when you could be doing something else.

Although we introduced strength training last week, the point here is to illustrate how super-setting can add a cardio component to your strength training sessions by keeping your heart rate up. In my book, that’s another form of intensity that makes a difference!

Zumba has become a popular cardio routine for the ladies. I can’t personally comment on the benefits of Zumba because I have never participated in a class. But from what I’ve seen, I’m not convinced that you’re going to burn a lot of calories.

However, if it’s fun and gets you moving, then it’s a good thing to include in your workouts. As long as it’s not the only thing you do. Add a couple strength training sessions and other forms of cardio to the mix and you’ll be happy with the long-term results.

Spin on the other hand, will burn a lot of calories. When you adjust the resistance and change your speed, and go at it with intensity, you’ll have an invigorating, heart-pumping session that leaves you drenched and satisfied. It’s a great leg workout too.

My go to cardio workout is the Octane elliptical. The “interval” option mixes 2 minutes of higher resistance which kicks up the intensity, with 2 minutes of lower resistance.

This is a form of HIIT mentioned earlier. The reduced resistance gives you time to catch your breath and bring your heart rate down a couple ticks before it’s time to kick it up again.

It’s a great workout that burns a lot of calories in a 35-minute session when you really go for it.

Cardio exercise anyone?

I’d like to re-emphasize a point I made last week.

You should seriously consider hiring a personal trainer. Especially if exercise is new to you. Or of you’re out of shape and it’s been a while since you’ve exercised. Even if it’s only for a few sessions.

Or at a minimum, ask the gym staff for assistance and recommendations. These men and women are trained professionals who can help you identify the right exercises based on your fitness level and goals.

You’ll learn how to use machines that may seem foreign or complex, and how to perform new exercises while executing proper form.

I found this fact interesting and wanted to share: 1kg of muscle burns 50 extra calories a day, whereas 1kg of fat burns just 3 calories a day. More proof that lean muscle is your friend.

Let me see if I can help you understand the value of cardio by ending this post with a list of (some of) the benefits.

Cardio exercise:

  • Increases energy
  • Strengthens your heart
  • Improves lung capacity and strengthens your lungs
  • Boosts metabolism, burns calories, and helps you lose weight
  • Helps reduce stress
  • Promotes restful sleep
  • Lowers your blood pressure
  • Reduces LDL bad cholesterol, and boosts HDL good cholesterol

If you haven’t started your exercise program, you need to, while you continue to reinforce your water habit. Remember, we’re deliberately building one habit at a time. There are only 6, and we’re on number 2. Find a way to weave these into your day. It’s up to you to make it happen!

Congratulations to Scott Compher! Scott is a member of our 6 Pillars “pilot” program who lost 10 pounds during our first month.

Evidence that small changes can make a BIG difference if you do the work. If you stay committed and focused on your goal by building these 6 habits, your results will show up too…

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.