Fit & Healthy Buffalo- Fitness Success After 40

 Have you ever wondered how some people are able to maintain amazing bodies while you struggle with your weight?  They make it seem so easy to achieve and maintain results. What do they know that you don't? When you boil it down, the answer is quite simple. The missing link between you and your ideal body is good old motivation.  A healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. So how do you know if you're genuinely motivated? Motivation will tell you to get out of bed for an early workout.  Motivation will nag you to put down the doughnut.  Motivation makes passing on fries a reflex.  Motivation makes a sweat drenched workout exciting.  Motivation constantly reminds you why you do what you do. If your motivation levels are lacking, read the following four steps to turn on your motivation. Step #1: Pinpoint Your Motivator.  Motivation stems from having a goal. What is your goal? Why do y

 We’re in the last lap of 2023 — and if you want to end the year with a giant exclamation point of accomplishment, there’s ONE THING you can do: Zero in on your “Sphere of Control.” That means focusing on things you actually have control over, like:  Your actions Your mindset Your effort … And letting go of everything else. Here’s a graphic that shows how this sphere works: When you focus on the things you control, you move FORWARD toward your goals. A few health and fitness examples of your sphere of control: Your workouts The quality of the food you eat Your performance and consistency Plus, your efforts in your “things you can control” circle carry a bonus. They can power the “things you can influence” by helping you make gains there, too. Some health/fitness-related examples in your sphere of influence: Setting up your bedroom so it’s cool, dark, and quiet, to help you get a great night of sleep Being consist

Are there things about yourself that you'd like to change?  Your weight, your habits, and maybe even your outlook on life?  We are trained to think that change is hard, that it takes time. But it really doesn't have to be.  I'm here to argue that lasting change happens in an instant.  I understand that this goes against mainstream belief. Most people believe that change has to be a struggle. We expect to try and fail numerous times before ultimately giving up or succeeding.  Think about this - how many people do you know who struggle with their weight? They want to make a healthy change by getting in shape, but the change never seems to happen.  What is it in your life that you want to change? Do you have inches to lose? Do you have preventable diabetes? Do you have a pair of skinny jeans that you want to fit into?  What is keeping you from making this change in your life?  According to professional speaker and author, Tony Robbins, it's the preparation for change that

 You have so many demands on you. Your family relies on you for money, food, transportation, and a million other things. You hardly get a moment to yourself at the end of each day. It’s hard not to feel guilty about taking a moment to care for yourself. From the moment that your day starts, with making meals, getting ready for work, and getting the kids to school on time and yourself to work on time, you have demands on you minute-by-minute. It’s easy to start feeling like there’s nothing left for yourself, even though the benefits of self-care are well known. Why self-care? Every time that we board an airplane to jet to another city, we are reminded of the importance of caring for ourselves before attempting to care for others. “In case of emergency, air masks will drop the ceiling. If you are traveling with a minor, please put on your own mask before helping the minor.” The reasoning is simple: if you are not in good working condition (i.e. gasping for air) then

And it is something that you have complete control over… it’s the intensity with which you exercise. Intensity is something that’s difficult for the outside observer to measure but is felt within your body as you go through the motions of an exercise. It’s how hard you push yourself to go as heavy and as quickly as possible. It’s picking up a weight that feels hard to handle. It’s putting a boost behind each stride as you run. It’s resisting the urge to simply go through the motions. It’s outdoing your efforts from last time. Now I understand the urge to put out token effort in your workout, going through the motions while cutting corners along the way. We all have days when the weights feel extra heavy and our energy stores feel depleted, and those days will naturally be less intense. However, when low intensity workouts are your norm, you simply won’t ever achieve the results that you’re hoping for. And this is something that you completely control. So, as you go into your next worko

Have you ever wondered how some people are able to maintain amazing bodies while you struggle with your weight?  They make it seem so easy to achieve and maintain results. What do they know that you don’t? When you boil it down, the answer is quite simple.  The missing link between you and your ideal body is your go-to list of excuses.  Start with an excuse and expect to be excused from losing weight. Here are seven excuses that have ensured dieters will fail in their weight-loss attempts before they ever get started.  Excuse #1: I’ve Always Been Overweight Here’s a little secret: feeling sorry for yourself will not help you lose weight. Quite the contrary. Whining and crying that you’ve never been thin can actually work against you, as you start to see yourself as stuck being overweight. Do that long enough and all you can see in your future is an overweight you. If you’re going to really cut your weight, you’ve got to be able to envision a lighter you.  Excuse #2: I Worked Out, So I

  Talk to 10 people and you'll get 10 different opinions on the best way to get fit.One will tell you to attend an aerobics class. Another will swear by jogging.  Yet another will tell you that dance and biking worked for them.The truth is that there's really only one effective way to get fit. Before I get into the details, it’s important that we agree on the definition of 'fit'. Too often thin is mistaken for fit, and that's not what you should strive for.  When someone is thin, but has very little muscle tissue, they aren't truly fit.  Here’s why thin doesn’t equal fit:  Their body fat percentage will be higher than ideal—even though you won't see a lot of fat on them, if their muscle percentage is low then fat percentage will be higher.  Their resting metabolism will be low, since little muscle is present to burn calories at rest.  Their body won't be functionally strong, which will lead to injuries and frustrations. So how

 Here’s one small change to your daily routine that will help those unwanted pounds come off quickly and easily. ***Disclaimer: This sounds so easy but try it out before writing it off as too easy.*** The easy fat loss trick that you’re not doing is to drink a minimum of 64 ounces of water daily. This might sound boring, but take a moment to reflect on your water intake over the past few days. Did you even get close to the minimum of 64 ounces? Really, for optimal fat loss, you want to be drinking closer to a gallon of water each day. Why is water such a big deal? #1) Water Aids Fat Metabolism in the Liver When it comes down to the technical process of losing fat, your liver is where the action is. The key to having a highly functional liver, one that quickly removes metabolic waste and built up toxins, is to be properly hydrated by drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of water each day. Your liver is a filter for your body. When you aren’t drinking enough water