Fitness Motivation Monitor--January 2004

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Volume 5, Issue 1: January 2004

Insider's FREE Health and Fitness Resource

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." ~Betty Ford

New Year Fitness Check Up

Are you currently exercising but not getting the results you want? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Does your hectic schedule leave you little time to exercise? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Do you tend to restrict or limit foods that you think are bad to eat? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Have you made New Year's resolutions in the past, only to fall off the wagon after a few weeks or months? [Yes, this one is double!] (Yes = 2, No = 0)
Do you find exercise boring? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Do you dislike exercising? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Do you think a low calorie diet is essential to losing weight? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Do you need to change what you are currently doing in order to achieve and maintain your ideal weight within your desired time frame? (Yes = 1, No = 0)
Do you have a sedentary job where most of your day is spent sitting at a desk or in a car? (Yes = 1, No = 0)

"Where do I go from here?"

Tabulate your results:

0 - 1: It sounds like you are right on track. Congratulations and continued success to you!

2 - 5: You likely have some solid habits. Fine-tune a few things to increase your motivation and develop a strategy to reach your desired results. Keep reading the Fitness Motivation Monitor.

6 - 10: Do not wait! Start off the New Year with habits that will guarantee your success. Whether you take advantage of our services or not, you must develop a motivating, results-oriented fitness program and a balanced eating plan. Call us for a no-charge evaluation.

Message from the President

Happy 2004! For some reason these past weeks I keep getting ahead of myself and think we're coming up on 2005. I might need to slow down! Sounds like a good New Year's resolution…

What are you resolving to do this year? One of my favorite resolutions is giving up guilt and anxiety. It's so much better than giving up chocolate or forcing myself to do something that I don't really want to do. Imagine living without those two stressors. I bet that many things would fall into place without needing any further resolutions.

If anything, promise to treat yourself special this year. What would that mean? You would probably exercise, and it would be activities you enjoy. You would probably eat intuitively and never need to diet again. Imagine the possibilities.

To your health,

Heather Lynn Moreno
PeopleFit USA, President

Is working out not
working for you?
Call 877-348-2100 for
your No-Charge New
Year Fitness Check Up!

If you know someone who would benefit from a complimentary subscription to The Fitness Motivation Monitor, have them visit our website: www.PeopleFitUSA.com

The "M" Word

Many moons ago I worked with a woman who complained that her weight problem was due to the fact that her doctor could not get her thyroid under control. At this time I had yet to journey into the world of fitness myself, but I knew enough to know that her sedentary desk job and daily snack of butter and Saltines may be part of the problem.

You see, very few people have a medical thyroid (or metabolism) problem. Yes, there are things you can do to boost your metabolism - and things you can do that will slow it down - but metabolism is usually not the culprit of excess weight.

What is metabolism? Simply put, it's the rate at which your body burns calories just to stay alive. Here are a few metabolism facts to clear away some of the untruths you may have heard:

The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism. Body composition is a major determining factor of metabolism. In fact, much of the slowing of our metabolism as we age is due to loss of muscle.
Your metabolism increases for up to several hours after a strength training or aerobic workout. For how long depends on the length and intensity of your workout.
Cutting calories too much will cause your metabolism to slow down. Yikes! That's not what you had in mind when you started on your weight loss program. Your body needs enough fuel to get you through each day and if you don't give it enough, your body will slow down the metabolism to preserve its fuel stores - fat!
Grapefruit will not increase your metabolism or burn fat from your body. No specific foods are shown to have metabolic boosting properties (beware of false claims).

Exercise and a solid eating plan remain the tried and true solutions to achieving and maintaining your ideal weight… but you knew that already, didn't you?

PeopleFit USA Works! - Fitness by Phone® Client Success Story:

Client: Linda N., West L.A., CA
Biggest Challenge: An effective program that didn't burn her out
Goals: Break through an 18-month plateau

Her Story: "I had been working out for three years, and for the first year and a half I consistently lost weight. But then I hit a plateau and for the next 18 months, nothing. No more weight loss. It felt like I was working out all the time at maximum intensity and I was disappointed with results. I decided I was working too hard not to be seeing better results.

My personal trainer advised me to do cardio workouts but I didn't have a system to use. I just assumed that sweating like a pig and feeling ready to drop dead was the way to lose weight, but obviously that approach had stopped working - and it wasn't fun!

Then someone I trusted referred me to Fitness by Phone®. I never had anyone look at my overall fitness program. My Coach really taught me about cardio training and the importance of rest as a component of a fitness program. She really busted through my "the harder the better" mindset. I liked having objective measures - keeping track of calories and heart rate - and checking in with my Coach weekly.

She adjusted my workouts to my specific target heart rate zones which were less stressful than I had been doing on my own. I am now kinder to myself about how I work out. Instead of Spinning workouts all week long, I mix in treadmill and elliptical trainer workouts with the occasional hike or walking round of golf. I'm even doing circuit training with my weights. The variety keeps it fun and even at the ripe young age of 47, I was able to keep up with the "20 something's" on a glacier hike in New Zealand on my most recent vacation.

What I liked the most about this program is that I got even better results at a level that I perceived as easier and more flexible. I got to rest more often with no loss of results. In fact, I've started losing weight again, my clothes are fitting better and it feels effortless to keep off.

My workouts now energize me, not burn me out. If you want to workout less, be less tired and still get results, then check into Fitness by Phone®… it might be just what you're looking for."

Linda N., attorney, northlaw1@earthlink.net

Insider's FREE Health and Fitness Resources

Email or call me at heather@peoplefitusa.com or 877-348-2100:

Complete Fitness Audit: Receive a complimentary 40-minute health and fitness consultation.

Diet Program Feedback: Considering going on a diet? We will share with you the pros and cons of diets so that you can make a decision about what's best for you.

Fitness Coaching Services: Experience a 40-minute coaching session - I'll give you some ideas to solve your biggest fitness or weight loss challenge. We will decide together if Fitness by Phone® coaching is the tool to help you achieve your ideal state of fitness. You have absolutely no obligation to continue coaching as I only accept clients who are truly a good fit and want my services. So you won't get a hard sell, only honest and open feedback.