Busy Client

In my fitness business, I get the opportunity to talk with people from all walks of life about their health, fitness, and weight loss goals. Whether their goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, gain weight, stick to a diet plan or program, or simply to maintain their current fitness level they all have one common enemy---TIME. We all must learn to work with TIME!!!

Losing weight is not the only issue with my clients it is time.
Some of my clients are so busy that they get lost and will soon find a reason not to workout. I asked several people how do they balance the demands of family, career, events, relationships, responsibilities, and working out? They have given me five keys that will help you to be able to fit a consistent workout plan into your already busy hectic life.

1. Commit to a specific schedule
   

Ask family and friends for support. Don't try to do make other commitments and fit your workouts into their schedule without any rhyme or reason. Let people know that I am busy. For example, from noon til 2:00pm I am WORKING OUT.

In order to set yourself up for success, you will need to take the time to literally write your workouts into your weekly schedule. In order to be effective, you will want to be following your exercise program at least 3 days per week. Get 3 x 5 cards and place them in your home. For instance, Next to your bathroom mirror, on top of the television, in your car and the kitchen cabinet. This will help you stay on exercise task.

2. What about the weekend
   

Take advantage of the fact that it only takes 3-5 days per week to put together an effective, results-producing workout. One trick to help you pull it all off is to workout on the weekends. One of the benefits to this course of action is that your schedule is more flexible and under your control during this time.

I like to workout on Thursdays because the weekend is near and I can train Saturday and Sunday. On the weekends you are usually off from work and can train in the mornings. Therefore, you can take full advantage of your day.

3. Keep your workouts as a high priority
   

One of the biggest mistakes that even many people who have scheduled a workout program into their schedule make is allowing it to be bumped off of their schedule to easily. 

Just say NO! Train first, if you plan carefully you will be able to make most events whether its the mall, football game, or family event make sure that you train and then attend those precious outings.

4. Let everyone know your goals
   

Don't go at this alone. Let the important people in your life know what you are up to. Your love interest, spouse, parents, children, co-workers, and close friends will often pitch in and help you to meet your fitness or weight loss commitment to yourself if you make them aware and ask for their support.

Have family or friends call you and mention did you train today? Have them ask a series of questions to support you. One of my clients has two close friends that call him and simply ask are you over training or under training? Now he has a conversation about training.

5. Don't beat yourself up
   

There will be times in your workout program that you just aren't able to keep it up as you would like due to outside demands or injuries. We all must agree that you are not Super Man or Woman. It's better to miss a week of training than a month so Don't be too tough on yourself.

Remember that it is what you do consistently over a long period of time, not what you do in spurts, that truly counts. Just make sure that you get back on the horse full force as soon as you can and continue to press forward, doing your best to avoid slacking off again.

People think that they have to be in a hurry to lose weight. There is no rush it took years to put the pounds on and many believe they can lose the weight in weeks and not even considering the health risks. A solid workout program and having fun doing is the best remedy for losing the fat.
The most important message here is not to compare yourself to others. Now Go Train.



Your Lifestyle and Fitness Coach,

Rich Harper CPT

Natural Diuretics

    Diuretics are various substances in the form of synthetic drugs, medicinal herbs or foods that boost the excretion of liquids through the body. Natural diuretics have undoubted benefits compared to water pills or other medications because they do not cause significant loss of important minerals and, on the contrary, supply our body with additional minerals to compensate for the potential loss.

One should use extreme caution and not abuse the use of even natural diuretics as it can lead to dangerous electrolyte imbalance in the body and dehydration.

Let’s try to figure out why one should use diuretic foods and what benefits could be gained from them:
1. Diuretic foods will naturally help your body treat symptoms of water retention, help you lose some of the water weight, bloating and overall sense of discomfort.
2. Diuretic foods can reduce swelling, and indigestion without the side effects of dangerous medications.
3. Once you start incorporating more diuretic foods, you naturally tend to consume less of the high-sodium and high-sugar processed foods, because high fiber foods from the diuretic foods list provide bulk in your stomach helping control unhealthy cravings.
4. Herbal diuretic, parsley, is nature’s best natural diuretic that we tend to not fully appreciate. Parsley is a mild diuretic with multi-purpose benefits to our health, not only it will help body shed some water, it will supply us with a myriad of essential vitamins and minerals. Can a water pill do that?
5. Electrolytic balance is essential for the well-being of a person, and synthetic diuretics can severely deplete our bodies of essential elements like potassium and sodium. Diuretic foods will actually provide our bodies with the elements that are vital for the health of our heart, kidneys and liver.
6. Diuretic foods are simply a great tasting way to control water retention. Artichokes, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, watermelon, carrots, asparagus and green tea should be on everyone’s diuretic foods list.
7. Natural diuretic foods additionally help regulate digestion due to the high fiber and enzyme content.
8.Increased metabolism could be a great benefit from trying out some diuretic foods and can additionally help you shed unwanted pounds as well.
9. Diuretic foods can additionally rid body of toxins and free radicals like apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is another nature’s best natural diuretic. It’s obtained by the fermentation process of crushed apples and stimulates digestion and kidney function.
10. Diuretic foods are much more cost-effective in comparison to pricey diuretic medications with their unpleasant side effects. For more information please feel free to contact Rich Harper and always consult with your doctor regarding any health issues you may have.

Top Ten Fat Burning Foods

Family Fitness Now Top Ten Fat Burning Foods

1. Raw Fruits & Vegetables
You'll not only maintain your weight much easier if you eat more RAW fruits & veggies but you'll also lose weight much faster on eating them. Here's another quick fact, your body burns 16% more calories after you eat a meal that's mostly fruits & vegetables than if you ate a meal without any fruits or vegetables. Fruits & veggies that are high in Vitamin C like Oranges, lemons & pineapples liquefy (or burn off) body fat so the fat can be easily flushed out of your system. Even farmers feed pigs steamed or cooked veggies to fatten them up because they know raw veggies will slim them down.
2. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is loaded with fiber that decreases your appetite by making you feel full so you can go for long periods of time without eating while keeping your energy levels high at the same time. If you eat oatmeal about 1-to-2 hours before doing your workout oatmeal will give you a longer lasting blast of energy that helps you workout longer & more intensely which helps you lose weight much faster. Lastly, it's better to eat steel-cut oats, plain or natural oatmeal & not the flavored oatmeal packets that contain lots of sugar.
3. Dairy products

Dairy products or foods high in calcium like Low-fat yogurt, cheese, & milk breakdown fat cells faster and in a recent study people who ate low-fat dairy products 3-to-4 times a day lost 70% more fat than people on a low-dairy diet.

4. Any kind of raw nuts
Eat any kind of nuts for fiber to ward off hunger and to also get a good dose of protein & healthy Omega 3s fats to help burn fat faster & produce more testosterone but... Make sure you eat raw & organic nuts instead of roasted & salted to get the full weight loss benefits. All you need is just a handful and you are ready for success.
5. Apples
Eat apples so the pectin can prevent your body from absorbing too much fat and... The pectin from apples causes your body to release fat. Pectin is also a strong appetite suppressant that keeps you satisfied for long periods of time causing you not to over eat so you won't gain weight.
6. Brazil Nuts
Brazil Nuts are rich in selenium and selenium is needed by your body to make thyroid hormones that are responsible for keeping your metabolism high. A handful a day can go a long ways.
7. Fish
Eat more fish like Salmon, Tuna, and Sardines to make your body more sensitive to a fat-burning hormone called Leptin (Leptin means "thin" in Greek). Leptin suppresses your appetite and Leptin determines whether you store the calories you eat as fat or if you burn the calories you eat for energy.
8. Spices
Add spices to your foods like chili peppers, jalapeno peppers, cayenne peppers or hot mustard to increase your fat burning metabolism by 8-to-20% for up to 3 hours after eating spices. In addition, Garlic is a strong diuretic that can help you flush out excess water weight.
Gingerol (the active ingredient in ginger) increases growth hormone production which increases the amount of fat released from your fat stores to be burned as fuel.
9. Organic Beef
Organic Beef contains lots of CLA (or conjugated linoleic acid) which is basically a healthy fat that helps you burn fat. According to The International Journal of Obesity... People who took CLA lost belly fat by reducing their waistlines by 1.2 inches without making any diet or lifestyle changes. Exercise is always recommend.
10. Avocados
Avocados contain a sugar called mannoheptulose that helps lower insulin levels to prevent you from storing fat (or gaining weight).

The above list is just a few of the foods that burn calories or speed up your metabolism rate.

10 Fat Burning Foods

Family Fitness Now Top Ten Fat Burning Foods

1. Raw Fruits & Vegetables
You'll not only maintain your weight much easier if you eat more RAW fruits & veggies but you'll also lose weight much faster on eating them. Here's another quick fact, your body burns 16% more calories after you eat a meal that's mostly fruits & vegetables than if you ate a meal without any fruits or vegetables. Fruits & veggies that are high in Vitamin C like Oranges, lemons & pineapples liquefy (or burn off) body fat so the fat can be easily flushed out of your body. Farmers feed pigs steamed or cooked veggies to fatten them up because they know raw veggies will slim them down.
2. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is loaded with fiber that decreases your appetite by making you feel full so you can go for long periods of time without eating while keeping your energy levels high at the same time. If you eat oatmeal about 1-to-2 hours before doing your workout oatmeal will give you a longer lasting blast of energy that helps you workout longer & more intensely which helps you lose weight much faster and It's better to eat steel-cut oats, plain or natural oatmeal & not the flavored oatmeal packets that contain lots of sugar.
3. Dairy products

Dairy products or foods high in calcium like Low-fat yogurt, cheese, & milk breakdown fat cells faster and in a recent study people who ate low-fat dairy products 3-to-4 times a day lost 70% more fat than people on a low-dairy diet.

4. Any kind of raw nuts
Eat any kind of nuts for fiber to ward off hunger and to also get a good dose of protein & health Omega – 3s fats to help you burn fat faster & produce more testosterone but... Make sure you eat raw & organic nuts instead of roasted & salted to get the full weight loss benefits.
5. Apples
Eat apples so the pectin found in apples can prevent your body from absorbing too much fat and... The pectin from apples causes your body to release fat. Pectin is also a strong appetite suppressant that keeps you satisfied for long periods of time causing you not to overeat so you won't gain weight.So before a big meal eat an apple and watch others stuff themselves.
6. Brazil Nuts
Brazil Nuts are rich in selenium and selenium is needed by your body to make thyroid hormones that are responsible for keeping your metabolism high. A handful a day can go a long ways
7. Fish
Eat more fish like Salmon, Tuna, and Sardines to make your body more sensitive to a fat-burning hormone called Leptin (Leptin means "thin" in Greek). Leptin suppresses your appetite and Leptin determines whether you store the calories you eat as fat or if you burn the calories you eat for energy.
8. Spices
Add spices to your foods like chili peppers, jalapeno peppers, cayenne peppers or hot mustard to increase your fat burning metabolism by 8-to-20% for up to 3 hours after eating spices. Garlic is a strong diuretic that can help you flush out excess water weight.
Gingerol (the active ingredient in ginger) increases growth hormone production which increases the amount of fat released from your fat stores to be burned as fuel.
9. Organic Beef
Organic Beef contains lots of CLA (or conjugated linoleic acid) which is basically a healthy fat that helps you burn fat. According to The International Journal of Obesity... People who took CLA lost belly fat by reducing their waistlines by 1.2 inches without making any diet or lifestyle changes. Exercise is always recommend.
10. Avocados
Avocados contain a sugar called mannoheptulose that helps lower insulin levels to prevent you from storing fat (or gaining weight).

The above list is just a few of the foods that burn calories or speed up your metabolism rate.

Stop Eating Right Now

The foods you must STOP EATING RIGHT NOW when trying to lose weight are...

• Stop drinking regular & diet sodas. Quick fact: If you replaced a 20oz bottle of soda with water daily. You would easily lose up to 35 pounds in one year so if you're addicted to soda stop now!
• You can drink the natural Green Tea fat burner, lose more weight, and still get your caffeine fix for the day.
• Cut down on or try to stop drinking alcohol. Quick fact: Alcohol is basically the refined juice of natural foods which makes it a drink of pure concentrated sugar that will make you gain fat easily.
• AVOID the grocery store snack aisle - At least cut back on eating potato chips, popcorn, cookies, candy, ice cream, cakes, etc. The ingredients in these foods make you want to eat more and the companies who make these snack foods know you'll stay addicted to them. Be Careful.
  
  “The companies don't care if you gain weight because of their snack products as long as they make their money off YOU”
• Make a strong effort to cut down on your salt & sugar intake because too much salt & sugar causes you to gain water weight making you look fatter than you already are and...
• Avoid processed foods as much as possible because the processing of these foods removes all the stuff that helps you lose weight and replaces it with stuff like sugar, corn syrup and hydrogenated oils to make you fatter.
• Read food labels and avoid anything that has sugar as it's main source of carbs or has corn syrup & hydrogenated oils as ingredients.
• Try making these foods yourself if you must eat them. You will at least save money and all of those harmful chemicals will not be added.. 
  
  
• When exercising think about the items mentioned above. "Now go workout  R. Carson"

Guide To Weight Management

Here is a guide to help keep fit

In order to keep the weight off for good means to change for good!

Before starting any weight management program be sure that you are ready for the lifestyle change and avoid setting yourself up. When your weight goes up and down it is very depressing and more importantly unhealthy. Be sure to celebrate when you are really ready.

STEP 1: What will you have to change?

People have reported to me that what they had to change was being more active, eating more fruits and vegetables, less meat and sugary foods.

1. Increase your physical activity and stay active. Physical activity can have

beneficial effects on your appetite, metabolism and body fat. For example

# Swimming for at least 3 times per week for 1 hour will help

# Walk briskly for 20 minutes, whenever you can.

# Park your car further est away from the spot, rather than closer spot

# Start an exercise group for walking cycling etc.

# Dance to your favorite music for 30 minutes

2. Decrease the amount of food you eat. Eat smaller meals and less fat. Fat

contains more than twice the calories of other foods. Eat more of he good

good foods.

# Eat fish that is pan fried rather than deep-fried

# Broil or bake your chicken instead of frying it.

# Eat more fruits and vegetables for breakfast

# Order salad with your burger instead of fries.

Most of my clients mention that if take smaller steps towards creating a great fitness plan that is individualized you will have success. Remember a healthier you is a better you.

Step 2: Make sure the time is right for you to change?

Knowing when to start your exercise program is important. Some people have mentioned during the Holidays exercise and eating properly is not good for them. From late October until December spells plenty foods, procrastination, and problems. So when starting a fitness plan try one early in the year to for maximum results.

See if you can sense whether or not other parts of your life will keep you from exercising the fat away. For example:

_____ Relationships?

_____ Family?

_____ Job?

_____ Addictions, e.g. cigarettes, alcohol, drugs or food?

_____ Excuse!!!

# If you have any concerns please jot them down:

After examining your list you may decide that it is time for a change.

Step 3:

Is losing weight worth the effort? Yes! Nutrition can make the difference between having enough energy to get by and feeling really good!

Water is the single most important Nutrient

Sixty percent of an adult’s body weight is water. Every metabolic reaction in the body involves water, including the burning of body fat and other fuels for energy. The body dependence on water is reflected in the fact that a person can live only three days without it whereas; it is possible to survive many days without food. Dehydration is what we want to avoid so if you are considering starting an exercise program you need to drink at least 64oz. of water daily. Remember without water we go nowhere.

How To Get Water

1. Bring a water bottle to work for drinking

2. Eat fruits that are high in liquids

3. Before an exercising event drink plenty of water

4. Afterwards drink at least two glasses of water or juice.

5. Soups are a good source of replacing water after exercise.

Before exercising ask yourself the great question!

What are the advantages to me?

What are the disadvantages for you?

STEP 4: THE TIME IS NOW!!!

NOW IT IS YOUR TIME TO PROSPER AND BEGIN YOUR FITNESS PROGRAM. FOR YOU ARE CONFIDENT AND PERFECT

IF YOU HAVE THE DESIRE TO MAKE A CHANGE TO LOSE WEIGHT THEN FIGURE OUT WHERE YOU FEEL MOST COMFORTABLE STARTING: WITH INCREASING YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.

1. BE KIND TO YOU.

2. GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH OLD FRIENDS WHO WORKOUT.

3. MAKE SMALL STEPS TO THE NEW YOU.

4. REMEMBER LOSING WEIGHT IS A SLOW PROCESS

5. SELF HELP MATERIALS ARE GREAT.

WHATEVER FITNESS PROGRAM THAT YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE SATISFACTION OF KNOWING THAT YOUR DECISION WAS WELL CONSIDERED AND IS THE BEST ONE FOR YOU.

Family Fitness Now

Richard Harper BS, CPT

Founder and President of Family Fitness Now

The information presented here is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of professional medical care. If you have persistent health problems or if you have further questions, please consult your health care provider or family doctor.

© 2002, Family Fitness Now

Fiber

Get More Fiber In Your Diet

Eating a diet rich in fiber helps keep your digestive system healthy and can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Men need more than 35 grams per day. Foods that are considered to be high in fiber contain at least 5 grams per serving.

Foods rich in fiber include fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Look for 100% whole grain or 100% whole wheat on the label. If you see words like made with whole grain or multi-grain, be sure to check the nutrition facts label for the amount of fiber per serving. Eating more fiber doesn't mean you have to adopt a brand new diet.,You can easily add extra fiber with just a few changes.

• Serve a easy to make fruit salad.
  
• Eat a fresh orange rather than drinking juice.
  
• Eat the skins of apples and pears.
  
• Don't peel your potatoes -- include the skins that also contain the most nutrition.
  
• Buy 100% whole grain breads instead of refined white bread.
  
• Add more vegetables to your stews or soup.
  
• Choose bran muffins instead of chocolate chip muffins.
  
• Snack on nuts, which are rich in fiber and healthy fats.
  
• Add fresh berries to your favorite yogurt.
  
• Substitute whole wheat flour for half of the white flour in your recipes.
  
• Eat oatmeal or oat cereals for breakfast.
  
• Served baked beans as a side dish.
  

Eating high-fiber foods is important. However, it's just part of a healthy diet. You can also go overboard on your fiber intake. Eating excessive amounts of fiber can lead to bloating, gas and other symptoms of digestive discomfort. Please be careful and watch the fiber intake.
Here are some examples of one serving:

• one banana
• six strawberries
• one apple
• one peach
• one-half cup of orange or other fruit juice
• fifteen grapes
• five broccoli florets
• one roma tomato
• half of a baked sweet potato
• one ear of corn
• four slices of an onion
  

Remember that five servings is minimal. And if you're a larger person, you'll need more than five servings. For example, a man who is 5 foot 3 inches tall does not need to consume as much as a 7 foot tall basketball athlete. Since most fruits and vegetables are low in calories, you really don't need to worry about eating too many. But you do need to pay attention to how you serve and prepare them so you don't ruin the good nutrition by over-cooking or by adding too much unhealthy fat or extra calories.

Your Assignments This Week

Time to eat more fruits and vegetables, so choose a goal similar to one of these:
I will eat a piece of fresh fruit instead of a candy bar at least three days this week (or four days or all week).
I will eat a green vegetable with dinner and lunch three days this week (or four or five days).
Continue to use your food diary. It will help you keep track of how you are progressing.
What is good about eating more green leafy vegetables.
                                                                                                                                                                  "Oh Now go workout"
        R. Carson