The Action Taker in You

 

Spring is here and that means one thing – it’s time for spring cleaning.

The word alone conjures up the image of a garage too filled with junk to walk through, let alone park a car, and closets filled to capacity.

When things get this out of hand it’s easy to just give up.

Why put your shoes on the rack when you’d have to climb over a stack of newspapers to reach it? It’s easier to throw them down by the door. Why hang your coat up when the closet is a disaster area? It’s easier to drop it over the back of a chair.

What does this have to do with fitness and weight loss? It’s actually a striking analogy for where many of my clients are before they find me.

They’ve given up.

Why eat a salad when you’re thirty pounds overweight? It’s easier to enjoy a heaping plate of pasta. Why go to the gym after work when it will just make you sore? It’s easier to relax on the couch.

Living life with unwanted excess weight is like allowing your garage to stay clogged with junk. It’s a discouraging place to be.

The good news is that you aren’t stuck.

In the same way that you take a weekend to roll up your sleeves and get that garage cleaned out, it’s time to take a month or two (or more depending on where you are in relation to your goals) and drop down to your ideal weight.

I know I’m making it sound easy, and when you approach it this way it is easy.

Beware: There are two ways to approach weight loss, one will leave you discouraged and frustrated
while the other will get you fit. Which approach do you use? Read on to find out…

The Diet Dabbler


You know this person. Every month they are trying out a new diet, one week they can’t eat carbs and the next week they are only eating soup. They feel guilt about food and are unable to experience the results that they want.

Exercise is equally as spotty and is done in bursts. One month they power walk on their lunch break, a few months later they try taking a class at the gym. Results aren’t achieved and the programs are abandoned.

Maybe you can relate.

The entire problem with the Diet Dabbler mentality is their lack of consistency. The only thing consistent is that their frustration grows with every failed attempt and their weight continues to rise.

The Action Taker

You also know this person. This is that guy or gal who buckled down and lost the weight with the use of a massive plan of action. They teamed up with a professional, they stuck with a diet plan and they exercised hard. And in a short time their body was transformed.

Guess what? Now that Action Taker is in maintenance mode-the best place to be. They look great, they feel great, their cloths fit just right and they’re loving every minute of it.

Maybe you’re thinking "I tried to lose the weight and it didn’t work, so this won’t work for me either." Forgive me for putting it bluntly, but you’re wrong.

Maybe you’ve dabbled with diets and exercise only to come away frustrated. I understand. Many of my clients have experienced that same frustration before they found me.

Here’s the bottom line: it’s time to tap into your inner Action Taker, roll up your sleeves and do what it takes to drop down to your ideal weight.

Get serious about your results and begin the last weight loss program that you’ll ever do. Contact me today to get started on a program that will deliver results.

Then you can kick your diet dabbling days to the curb.

Stay focused,

Sarai D. Jones

Toned Arms Like Michelle Obama

 

Regardless of what you think of the current administration, the media has made one thing perfectly clear: Women everywhere are BIG fans of Michelle Obama’s arms.

Now I know that past First Ladies have not usually worn sleeveless dresses. And you may not think it’s appropriate. You may love it. Whichever way you feel I think we can agree on one thing: The woman DOES have some sexy arms on her!

In fact, I’ve seen some reporters condemning her arms because they are flat out jealous of how good she looks.

After doing some research online it’s become clear that the First Lady makes it a priority to exercise. In fact, according to news reports she and the President get up at 5:30am three times a week to workout. Imagine that, two people as busy as they are MAKING time for fitness. Kind of puts the lame old excuse, "I’m too busy", to rest for good, no?

Hopefully whomever is designing her fitness program is recommending she consume the proper post-workout nutrition. You see, research has shown that recovery of muscle nutrient stores can be enhanced by consuming a specified mixture of carbs and protein immediately after a workout. This greatly improves the recovery time from exercise.

What does that really mean?

It means you’ll make the most of your workout so you can get those sexy, toned arms as fast as possible. It’s also exactly why I recommend Prograde Workout recovery shake to all my clients.

And while I have no idea if Michelle Obama enjoys College Basketball, Prograde Nutrition is having a sale on their Prograde Workout recovery shake to celebrate "March Madness."
Here are all the details:
– Again, because it’s College Basketball March Madness , the sale is 10% off all purchases of Prograde Workout
– When you checkout you will enter this coupon code to save the 10%: NCAA2009

(yes, that is UPPER case sensitive)

– The offer cannot be combined with others from Prograde Nutrition and it ends this Friday, March 20th at 11:59pm EST.
– If you choose their Smart Ship option the coupon applies to the first order only.

– Prograde Workout is NOT available in stores anywhere. You can only find them online here: Prograde Workout

Look, I’m not kidding about how much Prograde Workout will improve your exercise performance. It tastes great and it’s ready to drink in less than 60 seconds. If you want sexy arms this will help you see them faster.

Stay focused,

Sarai D. Jones

PS – Remember, it’s 10% off all Prograde Workout purchases this week only. The sale ends this Friday, March 20th at 11:59pm EST.
PPS – Prograde Workout is NOT available in stores anywhere. You can only find them online here: Prograde Workout

Upgraded FITNESS Shopping

 

Want to upgrade your FITNESS shopping trips? Here are 3 additional tips:

  1. Don’t go to the grocery store with an empty stomach. Your cart will mysteriously fill with extra, unnecessary foods that will end up crashing your good intentions.
  2. Make a list before you go to the store. You’ll be able to think rationally at home before you’re surrounded by tasty, FITNESS destroying foods.
  3. Plan out your meals for the week ahead of time, then shop specifically for those items. This will cut out the junk, and save you calories and money.

Go Fitness Shopping

 

Did you know that the grocery store is the source for most of your unwanted pounds?

Well, that and the fast food restaurants, but we’ll leave that for another day.

If you’re like most people then your shopping trips aren’t exactly organized. In fact, your grocery cart is likely to be more fat than fit.

The good news is that with a few small modifications to your routine you’ll be able to turn your grocery shopping trip into an easy opportunity to slim down.

I’ve broken down the process of healthy grocery store navigation with an easy-to-remember acronym – FITNESS.

Come, take a walk with me through your grocery store and we’ll improve your shape and the shape of your family members.

F: First Veggies
Your mom always told you that you had to eat your veggies before dessert-so this will be an easy one to remember. When you start shopping, first go to the produce section. The bulk of your shopping should take place here. Fresh vegetables, lettuce for salads, and fruits are the best things to eat when you want to look and feel great.

Don’t skimp on produce-aim to fill most of your cart here.

I: Is it Wheat?
When it comes to bread you only need to ask yourself one question. Is it wheat? White bread products have been processed and filled with simple carbohydrates – these will easily stick to your body as fat. Wheat breads, on the other hand, contain more fiber and are much healthier. Make it a policy to never purchase white bread, wheat bread is the right choice even for the little members of your family.

Always choose hearty wheat bread products-the more whole grain, the better.

T: Trim the Fat
In the meat section you are faced with a major decision. Do you go with your taste buds or do you go with your health conscious side? I urge you to stick with the latter. These days lean meats are more available than ever, and the benefits to going lean are numerous. When you choose lean meats you avoid extra saturated fat (your heart will thank you for this) and you also avoid the extra calories that come packed into each fat gram.

Want to be lean? Then eat lean meats.

N: Never enter the Junk Food Aisle
I have a simple policy that has saved me from thousands of unnecessary calories. I don’t walk down the junk food aisle. You and I both know that it is nearly impossible to walk past rows of chips, candies and cookies without putting something into the cart. The bright packages stamped with mouthwatering images will give your will power a run for its money. My two cents? Avoid that row altogether and save yourself from the whole ordeal.

Nothing good ever came from walking down the junk food aisle-just say no.

E: Edge around the store
Here’s a really easy trick for healthy shopping. Edge around the store, as in shop the perimeter and avoid the inner aisles. Think about it-the healthiest products are kept around the perimeter of the store: produce, meat, dairy. The inner aisles are where you run into trouble: processed food, baked goods, and sweets. Don’t get me wrong, there are healthy products kept in the inner aisles too, but a majority of the items are waist-expanders.

Shop in a circle-stick to the perimeter of the store, do less shopping in the aisles.

S: Skinny Cow
The dairy section is filled with many healthy items; it is also filled with extremely high fat items. Your job is to pick out all those calcium-rich foods that you love in the low fat and non fat versions. I realize that many people have a prejudice against low milk or yogurt, simply because they’ve always eaten the full fat version. Making the switch to low fat is such a simple way to cut unnecessary fat and calories from your diet, while still getting all the benefits of dairy.

Fat free dairy products are the way to go-you’ll only lose unwanted pounds.

S: Stick with Water
Warning: mini lecture to follow. I’ll make it short and sweet. Drink more water-period. Sodas, sugary juices and calorie-laden alcoholic beverages are responsible for a large number of unnecessary calories in your diet. Don’t fill your cart with these sneaky calories. Keep them out of your kitchen and out of your life.

Looking for a tasty beverage? Look no farther than crystal clear water.

There you have it-your FITNESS shopping plan that will take your cart from fat to fit. I suggest that you write down the FITNESS steps on a note card and take it to the store with you.

Are you ready to take your body from fat to fit? I’ve got what it takes to get you there! No guess work, no fad diets, and no super long workouts.

Email me today to learn more about my fitness and fat loss programs that will quickly change your life.

Five Super Simple Fat Loss Tips

 

rocket science

Fat loss isn’t rocket science. I know we love to make our problems seem much bigger than they really are, but when you really look at them they’re typically easy to solve. And that’s often the case with fat loss.

To prove it to you here are five super simple fat loss tips you can easily follow:

1) Stop guzzling liquid sugar. Yes, I mean soft drinks and juices and bottles of iced tea loaded with high fructose corn syrup. For the most part, a 12 oz can of cola is 150 calories of pure sugar. Have a couple of those a day…

2) I’ve written it a gazillion times and I will continue to – eat breakfast! If you want to make fat loss easy then make sure you start your metabolism off on the right foot.

3) Eat more fruit. Aim for at least 5 servings a day.

4) Eat more veggies. Again, aim for at least 5 servings a day.

5) Stop eating so many processed foods. If it comes in a box from your grocery store it’s most likely processed. The fresher the foods the better.

* Bonus tip*

You can make tips 3 and 4 a breeze by using a whole foods based multi. Personally, I love Prograde Nutrition’s VGF 25+ because it is made from 25 WHOLE veggies, greens and fruits.

Stay focused,
Sarai D. Jones
PS – You know I take my nutrition seriously. And it’s why I ONLY recommend Prograde Nutrition’s Whole Foods based multi. They have both a men’s and women’s formula.

Get Back To The Basics

 

By now you probably know that one of the best way to stay on track to losing weight is cook your food yourself. Add to that the economy being as it is right now, and it seems like RIGHT NOW more than ever is the perfect time to start cutting back on take-out and restaurant meals, and to eat more dinners at home, pack lunches, reduce expenses and slim down at the same time.

The challenge, though, is that if you’re NOT a confident cook, then the idea of making dinner from scratch, even if it’s cheaper than take-out, seems incredibly stressful.

If you’re the world’s worst cook, or Mom to gaggle of kids barely keeping your head attached, or you never learned to cook properly… maybe you don’t know where to start.

Well I stumbled upon a great 14 -week online cooking class put on by Shelley at One Roast Vegetable and I have been totaly enjoying it. Even though I consider myself a pretty seasoned cook, I’ve been learning lots of stuff about the basics of cooking that frankly, I was never really taught.

I’m in week 5 of the program but registration for another class is starting March 24th and I had to tell you about it. Like I mentioned, it’s an online class that takes place in your own home (no traveling!), and you can work at your own pace, so very low stress 🙂

Each week you receive a new lesson, and you can follow along with her step-by-step instructions and videos. You’ll learn the basics, like how to make a perfect hard boiled egg, how to roast a chicken (and what to do with the leftovers).

If you want to check out a preview of how it all works go here Preview lessons and check them out.

Registration for this class begins Tuesday, March 24th … and the last time she offered this class it sold out in 4.5 hours!

So you should really go right now and sign up to get more information on the Back to Basics Cooking Class Back to Basics Cooking Class.

Happy cooking!

Stay focused,

Sarai D. Jones

P.S. I think you’ll be pretty surprised when you see what this class costs!
14 weeks of video lessons delivered right to your email inbox, all for less than what you’d pay for one take-out dinner … Back to Basics Cooking Class

The Blame Game

 

Blame-game

Whose fault is it that you’re out of shape?

If you go by what you hear in diet ads then you believe that it’s anyone’s fault but yours.

The big diet companies think that if they put the blame on you, then you wouldn’t buy their bogus pills. So they put the blame on your cortisol levels, your modern diet (ie fast food), or your busy schedule instead of where it belongs – which is squarely on your shoulders.

Sure, you have obstacles that get in your way – your schedule, your job, your kids, the weather, your knee injury from college…but ultimately you have the body that you accept.

I’m going to repeat that so it will really sink in.

You have the body that you accept.

Embracing the blame for your current weight is not a bad thing – it’s empowering. Think about it. If it really wasn’t your fault, if it really was due to a long list of variables that you have zero control over, then you’d be stuck. You’d have no way to change.

The Secret Behind ‘Before and After’ Pictures

Allow me to pull back the curtain for you on something that the diet industry doesn’t want you to know. You’ve seen countless before and after pictures documenting weight loss as a result of a diet product. Well, there is more involved than just the diet product, and it’s the same across the board.

Look into the eyes of any person in their before picture and you’ll see that they are disturbed. The body they have is no longer in sync with the body they can accept.

They changed the body that they accept.

Now look into their eyes in the after picture – see the sweet satisfaction? They now own the body that they decided they could accept. And what a great feeling that is.

Your Time To Transform

Whether you realize it or not, you already posses everything you need to transform your body, but it all starts with taking responsibility for the body that you have today. You have your current body because until this moment you’ve been OK with it.

Oh sure, you aren’t thrilled with it, and you even talk about losing weight and getting fit, but you haven’t changed what you’ll accept. Here’s how to transform your body in 3 steps:

Step One: Get Disturbed

You’ve heard it said that emotion creates motion. This is essential when it comes to losing weight. Just like those folks in the before pictures, to transform your body you must first decide that you can’t live another day in the body you currently have.

It’s time to get your emotions stirred up. Make a list of all the reasons that you must lose weight and get fit. Get disturbed!

Step Two: Get Focused

Without clarity it’s very hard to get where you want to go. Now that you’re disturbed with the body you have, it’s time to decide what the body you can accept looks like.

I want you to think in concrete and specific terms. Just like the captions under those before and after pictures – "Suzy lost 25 lbs", "Mike lost 8 inches from his waist", "Jenny went from a size 18 to a size 6" .

Get a clear picture in your mind of what you’ll look like in your after picture and visualize what the caption will read.

Step Three: Get Moving

The time spent between your inspiration (now) and your action determines whether you will succeed or fail. Don’t allow yourself to get stuck between inspiration and action – there is always something that you can do right now.

Don’t you agree that you’ll be happier living life in a fit, healthy and attractive body, rather than the body you have today? Of course you’ll be happier.

I’ve helped scores of clients just like you finally lose their unwanted weight.

I am here to take you from your before picture to your after picture, however, you need to bring something to the table – you need to make up your mind about what you’ll accept of yourself.

What will you accept?

Got Stress? -Quick Tip To Beat It

 

Exercise is the number one thing that you can do to relieve daily stress. A good workout will get your mind off of your bills, your boss, and your endless responsibilities. It’s been said that if exercise were a drug it would be the most powerful medication on earth!

Stay focused,

Sarai D. Jones

Sexy Abs Blueprint

 

Sexy belly

Yesterday we talked about the myths regarding getting a flat sexy stomach now let’s develop an action plan.

Your sexy abs blueprint:

Step#1- Lose the fat that is covering your abs so that you can see them
A.) Eat to lose fat and elevate metabolism

  • Drink at least 2-4 cups of water immediately upon waking and then drink at least 1-2 cups of water every 2 hours you are awake.
  • Drink 1-2 cups of water for every 15 minutes of vigorous activity.
  • Eat immediately upon waking and then every 2-4 hours after that for a total of 6-8 feedings per day (3 meals, 3 snacks- half the size of your meals, workout nutrition)
  • Focus on a wide range of organic lean proteins, natural fats, and fruit and veggies

Sample One-Day Menu:

Breakfast- Scrambled Eggs, Greens, and Turkey Sausage or Bacon
Mid-Morning Snack- Mixed Nuts and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Lunch- Chicken, Salmon, or Shrimp Caesar Salad
Mid-Afternoon Snack- Cheese and Fruit/Veggie of Choice
Dinner- Turkey or Beef Meatballs and Spaghetti Squash
Pre-Bed Snack- Protein and Flax Shake
Daily- multi-vitamin made specifically for women and an essential fatty acid (EFA) supplement

Use This Carb Reduction Blueprint to further help structure the above blueprint:
Step#1- Replace all white carbs with 100% whole grain carbs and all refined sugars with natural sugars
Step#2- Limit all whole grain starch and natural sugar consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout or immediately upon waking for breakfast
Step#3-Replace all starches and sugars with fruits and veggies
Step#4- Replace all fruits with green veggies
Step#5- Use strategic carb and calorie cycling to take your body to next level (my clients and I have had great success with this but it is beyond the scope of this article)

B.) Train to lose fat and elevate metabolism
– Monday, Wednesday, and Friday- Perform Total Body Circuit Strength Training
– Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday- Perform Cardio Interval Training

Step#2- Train your abs based on their true function: STABILIZATION

Below is one of my boot camp client’s favorite (and most hated) core workout. It involves no crunches or sit-ups by using all pillar stabilization exercises. Once you master these killer moves and follow everything else I previously listed above, you will have a sweet pair of rock hard abs to show for it… I guarantee it!

The Power to the Pillar Workout- Tabata Style

This 20-minute total body core workout focuses entirely on pillar stabilization. The pillar collectively consists of your shoulders, hips, and core. It is your body’s powerhouse, foundational to all movement.

For each exercise below you will alternate between 20 s of work and 10 s of rest. You will repeat this 30-second sequence eight times for four total minutes followed by a one minute rest and transition before moving on to the next exercise listed.

For maximum benefits, you must seek to maintain a tight pillar position during all movements by actively pulling your navel to your spine, engaging your glutes, and maintaining a straight line from the heels through the shoulders. Think of these visuals while doing the moves below:

– Suck in your gut
– give yourself a wedgie
– be flat like a diving board.”

Exercise#1-Front Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#2- Left Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#3- Right Side Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)
Exercise#4- Back Pillar Variation (static or dynamic)

Today is the dawn of a new age in core training and it is my sincere hope that you take this killer information and run with it.

Stay focused,

Sarai D. Jones

Top 4 Myths Of Getting A Flat Belly

“I do hundreds of crunches and sit-ups a day and I still have a flabby midsection. What gives?”

Does this sound familiar?

Let’s face it, we all want a flat, sexy midsection. And when this becomes our mission, crunches and sit-ups are usually the first thing on our to-do list. But for many of us no amount of crunches or sit-ups seems to get the job done.

Well, there is a reason the crunches are not getting you the flat belly of your dreams, but before I reveal your sexy abs blueprint, let’s first debunk some very important myths about how to get that coveted sleek tummy:

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