You Won!

I am so proud of all those participating in S3 Sizzlin Summer Slimdown. I’ve seen and others are expressing what S3 has done for them.

On our Sizzlin Summer Slimdown Facebook page with 10 posts, there has been over 110 pounds reported lost in the 7 weeks of our challenge. That is the size of my two girls together with one of them holding a watermelon!

And that’s just from 10 of y’all, so we want to hear how you did too. Visit here to chime in!

With that said, weight loss was not our only goal. Healthy eating toward healthier living was and is even more important.

I asked those at Get Fit NH Epsom to write up some of the things they have gained in knowledge in order to encourage each other.

Here is what they said.

• Pants fit better
• Eating carrots
• Zero calorie drinks
• Most of the time, I tracked the food I was eating
• Awareness
• Eating Healthier causes me to eat slower
• 2 Belt Holes
• Eating more often
• Fewer carbs/ breads
• Getting my family to all eat PPW3
• Less carbs = flatter stomach
• Eating more veggies and drinking more water
• Weight loss and Awareness
• Creativity in eating veggies

Love it!

Winner!

I told you you won, and you did.

How?

If you are eating better than seven weeks ago – you won!

If you are healthier than seven weeks ago – you won!

If your family is reaping the benefits – you won!

If you continue with these seven habits – you will continue to win!

Make It Happen,

Coach Nancy

So Now What Do I Do?

Yikes S3 is over and now I don’t know what to do.

“I’m going to continue on with all the S3 habits”

“I really like the progress I have made so far.”

“It was easy for me to complete habit 3 but habit 6 was a lot harder”

“Wow, I am more aware of what goes in my mouth for nutrition now.”

I have heard these comments with the final weigh in. The goal of S3 is not a contest as much as a teaching tool to help you slowly build healthy habits into your nutrition.

Now ask yourself.

Can you keep those habits?

How will you stay accountable?

After talking with many at Get Fit NH we’ve realized that some of you want more personal attention and accountability to help you reach your goals faster.

So with that in mind, we’ve decided to re-open our private accountability group to personally work with you to help you reach your goals.

The Fat Loss Accountability Group (F.L.A.G.) is specifically designed to make you more accountable, give you plenty of opportunity to work more closely with us to troubleshoot your lifestyle to accelerate your progress and ultimately help you lose fat faster than you are now.

This group is for those clients who have had challenges sticking with a nutrition plan beyond a few weeks in the past, and need regular accountability and group support to make sure their plan is being followed consistently.

As a member of the Fat Loss Accountability Group you will receive:

Members Only Coaching and Support Group: Having a healthy support system in place is crucial to staying on track. This is the place to share your challenges, get your questions answered, and find out what’s working for others.

Weekly Food Log Review & Coaching: According to a study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, keeping a food journal can actually result in doubling your weight loss – it’s that important! Each week your coach will review a minimum of 3 days of your food log and provide coaching feedback.

Weekly Accountability Check-In: In addition to your food log, you will be responsible to tell us about your successes and challenges for the week, and outline your plan for next week.

The Fat Loss Accountability Group is the perfect complement to your current trainging at Get Fit NH and will keep you armed with all the knowledge and support you’ll ever need to reach your fitness and fat loss goals faster than ever before.

Please fill out the contact form indicating you are ready to enroll, and we will give you a call to get your account set up.

I look forward to having you take part in FLAG – Fat Loss Accountability Group.

To Your Best Health,

Coach Nancy

What others are saying about FLAG

Jayne says:

“Train hard and expect the weight should just drop off, right? Wrong.  After attending boot camp for four days a week for over a year, I was finally able to admit that my eating habits were keeping my weight up and my energy level down.   That is when I joined FLAG.  The program provides guidance, accountability and education to support a more healthier high protein way of eating that results in weightless and increased energy.  One of the great things about the program is that it does not involve calorie counting, so it isn’t like going on a ‘diet” but rather changing bad eating habits for the long haul. 
 
I did not join FLAG feeling entirely ready for it, I wanted the results but knew it would hard work getting them.  As I learned more and had a chance to meet and share struggles with others who were feeling the same way, little by little I evolved and the results followed.  I wouldn’t have imagined it before, but for the first time ever I feel good about my weight and have said goodbye to the daily mid-afternoon energy crash.  For me, FLAG was the additional tool I needed to get the results I’ve wanted since joining Get Fit NH a year and a half ago.” – Jayne Millerick

And here’s a word from Donna

“FLAG has taught me that nothing happens overnight.   Whether it is weight drop or the desire to eat properly.  It is teaching me patience.   It is teaching me that you can still eat out and make wise choices in what you eat. 

In the beginning it was rough.  The weight was not moving.  I didn’t think that I was ever going to drop a pound.  But then it started to go down.   It’s not going down quickly but it’s staying off and that is the whole idea.  I’m learning that it’s OK to splurge once in awhile as long as you get back on track.  This can’t be thought of as a “diet” but a “life style change”.  Life is full of ups and downs you just can’t let the downs keep you down.

Since starting FLAG I have lost almost 10 pounds.  That doesn’t seem like much but I have been able to go down two sizes in pants and that makes me really happy.  Still working on building up the muscle though.  Everything takes time.

What would I say to someone that wants to join.  The biggest thing would be to not expect instant change.  Have patience.  Listen to all the encouragement from others.  We have all been there and are still there.  This is a learning process.  Knowledge takes time.  Use the tools that are given to you.  And most importantly, keep a positive attitude.  If you slip up and have a bad day, bad week it will pass.   But you have to have the mind set to really want it.” – Donna Weilnau

As promised, there is no hard sell, these ladies tell it like it is. Consistency, patience, accountability, attitude. Best fat burner out there! 🙂

Stay tuned for enrollment information coming in a few days. If you are ready, now is the time!

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown – It’s Not Over

Because you still are eating, right?

And that is what S3 was all about – learning to eat, for life.

Last night I was reading a great book by a man and coach I respect and admire greatly – Dan John.

I had the pleasure of meeting Coach John a few years ago and he is just a great human being.

Dan has a way of simplifying things and his training philosophy reflects this.

But the book I am reading, “Intervention“, also crystallizes his thoughts on nutrition, and as we come to the end of the 7 week period we call “Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown” I want you to think about what he has to say.

First of all though I need to congratulate you for doing what for most of us is really hard – Change.

The “PPW” principles that S3 emphasizes are small changes in how to look at food and eat for some,  and radical change for others. Either way stepping out of your comfort zone and taking action is to something to be proud of.

But now is not the time to throw up your hands in relief and throw all that hard work out the window. I have seen that too many times. The “contest” is over so it’s time to go hog wild.

Really?

And that brings me back to Coach John. He doesn’t exactly hold back on this one.

“I sum my insight about all things diet, nutrition and supplements with the simple phrase –

Eat like an adult.

Honestly, seriously, you don’t know what to do about food? Here an idea: eat like an adult. Stop eating fast food, stop eating kids cereals, knock it off with the sweets and comfort foods whenever your favorite show is not on, ease up on the snacking and – don’t act like you don’t know this – eat more fruits and vegetables. Really how difficult is this? Stop the whining. Stop with the excuses, Act like an adult an stop eating like a television commercial. Grow up.”

Kind of hit me between the eyes, how about you?

And that brings me to something else he said that ties into the “end” of S3. Celebrating your achievements is healthy, wonderful and appropriate. Just stop doing it with food.

Here’s Coach John:

“Every time you succeed in life does not call for several extra rounds of beer, a salutary doughnut and high fives for everyone. I’ve always admired great athletes – Barry Sanders comes to mind – who scores a touchdown, goal or point, and just moves along. It’s your job, so get over it.”

It may not leave you warm and fuzzy, but it’s the truth.

What more important “job” do you have than taking care of yourself?

I mean you have to eat anyway, so you might as well fuel the machine with the good stuff. It’s not like this is something extra into your daily routine, you have been eating your whole life. Just work on doing it a little better, every day.

Because a body that is operating properly allows you to do everything better!

This is Day 2 of S3 week 8, which just so happens to be the first day of the rest of your life.

Extraordinary days lead to extraordinary lives.

Make It Happen!

Dean

S3 Week 6 Results – Holy Moley It’s Tight!

It’s the home stretch and it is crazy tight!

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Final Weigh & Bonus Points

As we move into the final week of the 2013 Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown we just wanted to update you on how we are going to wrap things up as well (as promised) let you know how bonus points will be awarded.

We have modified the end date by a couple days in order to allow us to get a full 7 days of Habit 7 in the books, to be consistent, and to keep the point system stable.

Due Dates:

Monday June 3, 2013: Your final weigh-in is due by this date. You can do it anytime next week up until that day. Once we have it recorded, that is your final answer.

Tuesday June 4, 2013: Your last card with your points will be due. Captains, please remind your team to get them in, tally up their points and record on your sheet. We are going to be spending some time checking point tallies and making sure there are no tally errors. It’s going to take a bit of time, so the sooner you get them in the sooner we can announce the winners! 🙂

Bonus Points:

We have not revealed the bonus points to this point for one primary reason. The most important thing  about S3 is not whether you win or lose (although that’s a lot of fun!), the most important thing is you understand that the habits you have learned are fundamental to your health, body composition and weight control. The scorecards are a way of keeping us accountable to the daily choices we are making that count over the long term. We wanted you to focus on the behavior – the habits, not the outcome.

I love to compete, and I love to win, make no mistake. But it wouldn’t do me much good to win a contest and then in 3 months revert back to what I was doing that made me overweight and unhealthy to begin with.

Let me remind you about the word “Habit”.

The Free Dictionary defines it this way:

• A recurrent, often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.
• An established disposition of the mind or character.

I absolutely love those definitions.

A habit is something that is 2nd nature to us. We don’t even have to think about it, we just do it.

Are the “7 Habits” truly habits in your life now, or something you are just doing so you can win a game?

Now I know that many of you think that Nancy and I are psychos because we eat this way the vast majority of the time. I assure you this did not happen overnight, but as we began feeling better and getting healthier it was natural to keep eating the way that made that happen.

I mean why can’t a spinach salad with strawberries, walnuts, blue cheese and balsamic vinaigrette be your dessert? Why do our plates have to be piled high with potatoes and pasta? Why do we use so much sugar and cream in our coffee? Reclaim your taste buds and start enjoying your food again.

Ok, back to the matter at hand. Final scoring and bonus points.

Keeping the cards and tracking your habits daily is crucial, as we said before. But we also want to keep ourselves honest, and the truth of the matter is if you are consistent with your behavior – the habits, you will most likely see the desired outcome, which is better body composition.

The bonus point structure is super simple. You will be awarded 1 bonus point for every 1% of body weight lost. While we would rather use bodyfat %, our studies have shown that the 1 point test that we did to begin the contest was not as reliable as we wanted to be a fair measure, so we are going with straight body weight.

Here’s an example:

Bobby Sue started her transformation at 155 pounds, and at the final weigh in she weighs 145 pounds.

Bobby Sue lost 6.45% of her body weight, and is awarded 6.45 bonus points for her team.

We are excited to see how well you all did!

Don’t stop now.

Keep Making It Happen!

S3 Week 5 Is In The Books – Keep It Up!

We are through 5 weeks of our Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown. Now is NOT the time to do anything but buckle down and keep the momentum going.

If you have been consistent with the habits you should feel, well, different.

Your blood sugar is more stable, you are never starving, your energy is up and you might even be sleeping better.

Not bad!

We are on the home stretch, and every point counts, because when we do the final weigh in that is where we are going to see how all that hard work has paid off.

And yes, results count, so don’t think this contest is over by any stretch of the imagination!

Week 5 Results

S3 Habit 7: Eat Mostly Whole Foods

By the time you read this you should be halfway or better through the torturous Habit Six 🙂 so this one is going to seem pretty easy by comparison.

But don’t let the simplicity fool you, adopting this habit for the rest of your life could be the most powerful thing you do for your health.

Bonus! It make reading labels very, very easy.

S3 Habit 7: Eat Mostly Whole Foods

It’s pretty simple, really.

Turn the package over and look at the ingredient label.

Ummm, wait a minute, there is no package, and there is no label, and that is kind of the point.

You see if we choose the hundreds and hundreds of foods that don’t need a label, we are probably eating a Whole Food.

Think of it this way. Choose as many 1 Ingredient foods as possible.

Take a look at the shopping lists from ThePPWKitchen.com

PPW Kitchen Shopping List 1

PPW Kitchen Shopping List 2

What did you notice?

That’s right. These are lists of almost all 1 ingredient foods.

You may also have noticed that most of these are fresh foods. If they are not refrigerated, frozen or eaten within a few days they will spoil.

Those are the nutritious, nutrient packed, and yes tasty foods you want to fuel your body with.

When you eat Whole Foods – 1 Ingredient foods, you are avoiding a lot of the nasty stuff you just shouldn’t be putting in your gut.

• Added sugars
• Added sodium
• Preservatives
• Artificial sweeteners
• Food dyes
• Chemicals

and who knows what else!

When you start with whole foods YOU are in control. You get to decide what spices, and herbs or garnishes you add. You don’t have to worry about what’s “in there” except what you choose to add.

And while there is no rule against combining whole foods into a recipe, think simple.

The simpler you make things the better, this eating healthy thing does not have to be hard, in fact it really isn’t.

Don’t try to make it hard! 🙂

So what’s your favorite Whole Food?

I bet you are about to discover some new ones!

Make It Happen.

Coach Dean

S3 Week 4 Results Are In – It’s Tight!

Keep up the great work gang. It is still anybody’s game!

How?

Because Results Count Too!!!

Stay tuned and keep Making It Happen.

S3 Habit 6: Yeah, I Know – You Hate Me

And I can live with that.

Why?

Because I am guessing that you will get over it. 🙂

Plus I know from experience that both the physical and psychological benefits of Habit 6 are worth it.

S3 Habit 6: Don’t Drink Beverages with more than Zero calories.

This is the one that I have heard the most about even before the contest began.

“No cream in my coffee?”

“What about wine, that’s healthy for you!”

Well when it comes right down to it cream in a cup of coffee or the occasional glass of wine is probably not the deal breaker when it comes to your weight management. There are usually bigger fish to fry.

But that doesn’t mean the calories are irrelevant. A couple tablespoons of half and half in a couple cups of coffee a day adds up to almost 600 calories a week, or 30,000 a year.

That’s enough to put on an extra 8 or 9 pounds a year!

And alcohol isn’t exactly calorie free either. A 6oz glass of red wine has 150 calories. Add on top of the fact that you aren’t burning any fat while alcohol is in your system and you have something to think about.

But besides the extra calories that your sodas, juices, latte’s and brewski’s add to your overall calorie count, there is another factor to consider.

The absolute power that food and drink has in so many of our lives.

Think about it.

We are seeking after our healthiest selves, aren’t we?

Mind, body and soul.

Emotional, physical and spiritual.

I would submit to you that being controlled by food and drink is not healthy.

Now I am not condemning, because for years food controlled my life, and it was not healthy in any of the 3 areas I mentioned.

I mean do you really want to HAVE to have any particular food or drink to be happy?

Do you want to be controlled by a powerful stimulant drug like caffeine or a powerful sedative like alcohol?

I am not judging, condemning or otherwise criticizing. I just want you to think about it.

The S3 Habit 6 Five Day Challenge

All I am asking you to do is commit to zero calorie beverages for 5 days – Monday May 20th to Friday May 25th.

After that all bets are off. You can have whatever you want for the rest of the S3 contest and for the rest of your life if you so choose.

Who Is With Me For Five Days?

S3 Week 3 Results Are In – It’s A Tight Race!

Ok guys, here’s the results from Week 3. A tight race and still anybodies game. If you are behind, don’t despair – Make It Happen this week!