Twitter topic of the day: Do you know how to get through the holidays without gaining weight?

This post is from my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

My #questionoftheday is: do you know how to get through the holidays without gaining weight?

The holidays, a great time of year, for spreading cheer, visiting friends/family & for eating/gaining weight! Sorry to ruin the mood but you know it's true! Holidays are good excuses for going off diets, falling off diets & binge eating. Don't fall into the trap! You'll only feel guilty about it & then have to play catch up in the new year. Get your new year off to a good start by showing yourself you can do it through the holidays. If you can do it then, there's no reason to not be able to do it throughout the year. Stick to a dietary outline, enjoy your holiday food but don't go carb crazy. Make sure to eat in moderation! Always eating in moderation is key but even more so during the holidays. Make sure you continue to do your exercise & cardio program. I know the holidays are a busy time so a little slacking off is OK but do not miss more than 2 days in a row. Rearrange your exercise/cardio schedule to work around your holiday schedule. Plan ahead and you can get it all done! You can get through the holidays with minimal or no weight gain if you just make up your mind to do so. Get a headstart on your weight loss goals for 2012 by doing your body right during the holidays. It can be done. You can do it. Make sure you save me some of that holiday fruit cake! ;)

#Quote of the day: Never let the odds keep you from doing what you know in your heart you were meant to do. - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

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I'm here to help inspire you, motivate you and help you reach your fitness goals whether it's to lose weight, gain weight or train for a sport.

I can help you reach your goals & train you in the comfort of your home with my online training system. Affordable. If you are interested in being trained by me with my online training program or want more info, visit my site at www.ezhomefitness.com and use the email link there. I hope to hear from you!

Twitter topic of the day: Do you give up too easily?

This post is from my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

My #questionoftheday is: Do you give up too easily?

Most people want results yesterday, forget about today, they want instant results. How realistic is that? How long did it take to get into your body's present state? It stands to reason that it will take a bit to get your body used to activity and a new diet, let alone see results. But what happens? Most people go into their diets and workouts with highly unrealistic expectations. Recipe for failure! That will just feed your doubts, negative attitude and insecurities when nothing happens fast. Then what happens, you quit and for what? That will get you nowhere fast, make you lose any progress you had and make it harder to restart. Quitting is the worst thing you can do once you begin. Give your diet and exercise program a real chance to succeed! It takes time to put your house in order and even more time to gain and see momentum. You have to be consistent and patient. Diet and train consistently, day in and day out and you will see wonderful changes in your body & health. Don't quit before you have a chance to reap the rewards of your efforts. Give yourself a chance to see and feel the progress you are making, no matter how small. Even a little is better than nothing at all, correct? Little by little, you'll make great strides! Once you get yourself in the habit of being consistent and positive, you can increase the intensity for even more results! Don't be a quitter! Don't you dare quit on yourself. Your diet or exercise program won't fail you, only YOU can fail you! #realtalk Go get it now, stop giving up on what you want and go get that body you want!

#Quote of the day: Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit. - Vince Lombardi

Get my daily tips & quotes right to your Facebook page, just hit Like on my FB http://www.facebook.com/pages/EZHomeFitness/122379617832402

I'm here to help inspire you, motivate you and help you reach your fitness goals whether it's to lose weight, gain weight or train for a sport.

I can help you reach your goals & train you in the comfort of your home with my online training system. Affordable. If you are interested in being trained by me with my online training program or want more info, visit my site at www.ezhomefitness.com and use the email link there. I hope to hear from you!

Twitter topic of the day: Do you know how to get rid of that one problem spot on your body?

This post is from my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

My #questionoftheday is: Do you know how to get rid of that one problem spot on your body?

We all have that one problem spot on our bodies. That one spot where fat never seems to want to leave. I'm here to give you some info on what to do, what to expect and what won't work. Love handles, hips, belly, thighs- the main areas where fat stores in men's & women's bodies. It seems to never go away no matter what you do. What to do? Spot reducing is a myth. No such thing. Exercising that one area will tighten the muscles underneath but do little to reduce the fat there. Forget pills, that's another myth. Reducing fat is an overall process and to remove it from a problem spot takes dedication. Here's why: your body genetically stores fat in pre-determined areas. That means it will hold onto it there. Even when you diet, it will still be there and will be the last place you will lose fat. BUT, you can lose it if you are persistent in your dieting & exercise efforts. Your problem area is where your fat is stored first and where you will lose it last. So, you may notice that you are losing fat elsewhere on your body but that one problem spot is still there. Keep attacking your diet and exercise and you will see your body finally begin to lose the fat stores there. At this point, you will have lost much fat and inches throughout the rest of your body but don't stop till you hit those fat stores too. Remember, slack off on your diet and your body will look to restore its fat store right back into the problem area. Attack it, stay on top of it. You CAN do it. Kiss that problem area goodbye!

#Quote of the day: No matter who you are, no matter what you do, you absolutely, positively do have the power to change. - Bill Phillips

Get my daily tips & quotes right to your Facebook page, just hit Like on my FB http://www.facebook.com/pages/EZHomeFitness/122379617832402

I'm here to help inspire you, motivate you and help you reach your fitness goals whether it's to lose weight, gain weight or train for a sport.

I can help you reach your goals & train you in the comfort of your home with my online training system. Affordable. If you are interested in being trained by me with my online training program or want more info, visit my site at www.ezhomefitness.com and use the email link there. I hope to hear from you!

Twitter Q&A

I'm here to help inspire you, motivate you and help you reach your fitness goals whether it's to lose weight, gain weight or train for a sport.

I can help you reach your goals & train you in the comfort of your home with my online training system. Affordable. If you are interested in being trained by me with my online training program or want more info, visit my site at www.ezhomefitness.com and use the email link there. I hope to hear from you!

This post is from my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

I wasn't on Friday so I didn't do my weekly Q&A so you'll get 2 this week! {cue the applause} Ask me your #diet & #exercise questions!

Q: Is it better to jog outside or on a treadmill? A: It depends on you. Either works. Some like the outdoors. Indoors you have a constancy.

Q: Is cleaning the house good for calorie burning? A: While u do burn some calories, unless you're moving things you won't burn much. But any activity is preferable to sitting on a couch doing nothing! So get active and clean away! ;)

Q: What is the best vegetable to eat? A: Rule of thumb- the darker the greens or color-rich the vegetable is, the more nutritious it is!

Q: Will I burn calories while studying? A: Only if you are extremely stressed & pace the whole time you are studying! Mental calories! ;)

Q: I play basketball, what can I do to increase my jump? A: Plyometric training and leg training.

Q: How do I get rid of the tummy pudge? A: Tighten your diet, especially carbs. Be consistent with diet & cardio. Belly fat is stubborn fat.

Q: What is the worst thing to eat? A: Hi saturated fat foods. Foods with any -"ose" in the label (fructose, etc.).

Q: What exercise is best for my love handles? A: Love handles are better attacked through diet as they are a fat storage area.

#Quote of the day: To be upset over what you don't have is to waste what you do have. - Ken S. Keyes, Jr.

Twitter topic of the day: What is your attitude towards being able to reach your weight loss goals?

This post is my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

My #questionoftheday is: What is your attitude towards being able to reach your weight loss goals?

A lot of people have attitudes towards achieving their goals that hold them back from results. A lot of people self-sabotage themselves with career goals and carry that over to their weight loss goals. Have you ever heard the phrase "attitude is everything"? You are and become what you think. If you have a negative attitude, then chances are nothing goes right for you. Or you're not happy when they do. This negative attitude affects your dieting & exercising results. If you look at dieting & exercising in a negative way as work, then you are self-sabotaging. You are already building obstacles to your own progress. You have to change this self-sabotaging negative mindset to achieve your goals! You may already have other negative factors such as lack of support, self-image/self-confidence issues, why add to it? You have to get out of your own way to let the you that you want to be to come out! Erase the negativity in your thinking and you will see dramatic results! Positivity attracts positivity! Drop the negativity and think that you CAN do it. Look at diet & exercise not as work or a chore but as the means to achieving your goals! You have to look at it as the sacrifice being totally worth it! You ARE totally worth it so the sacrifice is worth it as well. Change your mindset, change your world. Go after the body of your dreams and make it a reality! You CAN do it! I KNOW you can! Now convince yourself you CAN too and go get it!

#Quote of the day: Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. - Willie Nelson

Twitter topic of the day: Do you take daily steps in your weight loss journey towards your goals?

This post is my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

My #questionoftheday is: do you take daily steps in your weight loss journey towards your goals?

Losing weight (and gaining weight as well) is a consistent, daily pursuit. For most it's a struggle especially following through on a daily basis. But it must be a daily habit, a daily struggle. You have to attack it every day through diet & exercise. One day of regression or inaction is a day where your body will try to regain its' weight. The body has a mechanism that once it is at a weight for a while, (a mean weight), then it will resist change. This means that for you to break out of that weight zone, you will have to force the body to do so through diet & exercise. You can't slack off either because the body will try to get it back to the mean weight if you let it. This is why people fail at diets. They slack off and the body goes back into trying to get back to its mean weight. The body will also over-compensate in trying to regain its men weight. This is why a lot of people regain their weight after stopping a diet and also wind up gaining more pounds. So, how to combat this vicious cycle? First off, be consistent once you begin your diet & exercise program. Then once you get to the weight you wish to be, you must go into dieting & exercise maintenance mode. This will avoid the body trying to regain its former mean weight while you establish a new mean weight. Remember, the body must be in this new mean weight for a while before it sets it as the new mean weight. It's up to you and how consistent you can be. You have to be in it DAILY to achieve what you want. You CAN do it.

#Quote of the day: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. - Henry David Thoreau

Twitter Q&A

This post is my twitter daily tips / topic of the day. Follow me on Twitter @ezhomefitness

Today is Q&A Friday! So ask me your #diet & #exercise questions!

Q: Jogging hurts my knees, what other cardio can I do? A: Do low impact cardio such as stationary bicycle, swimming, elliptical, etc.

Q: How can I get rid of my post-pregnancy fat? A: The usual way - strict diet, cardio & weights. Work hard and be consistent.

Q: I get winded just going up stairs, how can I do cardio? A: By starting slow, start with 15 minutes/slow pace & slowly add time/intensity

Q: Do I need to do weights to exercise? A: If you want to firm & tone your muscles then you need to add resistance to your exercises. It doesn't have to be dumbbells & barbells. You can also use bands, ankle weights, hand weights, pilates balls, kettlebells, medicine balls.

Q: How long should I exercise each day? A: At least 30 min 4-5 days a week will give you benefits. Adjust your training to your goals.

Q: Is dancing cardio? A: If depends - if you do it for at least 30 minutes, it makes you sweat and breathe hard, then yes! ;)

Q: How much carbs should be taken on 1700cal diet if trying to lose weight? A: Depends on the diet & what stage of it you are on. For this 1700 cal example I will use a starting diet of 50%Carbs/30%protein/20%fat so carb calories would be 850 which = 212.5gms of carbs

Q: My diet worked at first but then I stopped having results, what happened? A: A diet needs constant adjustment as your weight changes.

#Quote of the day: Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent. - unknown

Twitter Q&A

I was unable to get on to do Friday's weekly Twitter Q&A so since I couldn't, I'm doing it today! Ask me your #diet & #exercise questions!

Q: What's the best lower ab exercise? A: Hanging leg raises but you need some equipment. Replace with leg raises on the floor with high reps

Q: Do I need to take vitamins? A: YES. They help supplement any dietary deficiencies you may have. They also help specific needs as well.

Q: I pulled my hamstring, how long should I wait before exercising again? A: Hamstrings are tricky. Rest it for 2-4 wks. (longer if necessary) & then ease back to exercise but if you feel any exercise that tweaks it, stop doing that exercise immediately.

Q: How can I lose 20 pounds in 1 month? A: No healthy way to do so nor would I recommend it. 2 lbs per wk is healthy & sustainable long-term

Q: Are protein bars good for you? A: As a replacement for a meal its ok but don't have many of them because of the carbs & calories.

Q: How can I slim down my hips & legs? A: Same as any bodypart. Tighten diet, cardio & exercise with hi reps. Keep in mind that your hips & legs might be where your body tends to store its fat so that will make it more stubborn. You'll have to work!

Q: What's the best way to work off belly fat? A: Like my last tip, belly fat is stubborn fat. You have to work hard & be consistent Tighten the diet, restrict carbs. Cardio 30 min 4-5 days a week and exercise. You will not only lose belly fat but overall fat as well.

#Quote of the day: To feel 'fit as a fiddle', you must tone down your middle. - unknown