Fit & Healthy Buffalo- Fitness Success After 40

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

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

  I've got a “hack” to share with you today that could be a game changer in your journey to healthier eating.  It’s NOT a new supplement, a superfood, or a fad diet. But it IS more effective – and healthier! – than all of those things.  Welcome to The Plate Perfect Formula ! It will help you create a delicious, balanced meal every time you sit down to eat… WITHOUT the stress of counting every single calorie or fretting over portions.  All it takes is a dinner plate and this easy formula: 50% Veggies + 25% Starchy Carbs + 25% Protein + 1 Thumb of Healthy Fats = 100% Healthy Eating I told you it was simple! Here's the breakdown: Step 1: Fill half of your plate with veggies (& maybe a little fruit). This not only provides you with vitamins, minerals, and fiber but will fill you up without a lot of calories. Step 2: Fill one-quarter of your plate with unprocessed starchy carbs (think sweet potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa). These give you the m

There’s an old Japanese proverb … Fall down seven times, get up eight. No matter how many times you fail, you get up and try again. If you’re having a tough time… you’ve missed a workout (or two), or struggling with new healthy habits… remember this: Don’t dwell on your past struggles. Learn from them… and FOCUS FORWARD! No one’s perfect.  It’s important to remember that you don’t have ANY CONTROL over what has already happened. Wasting time stressing over it or beating yourself up doesn’t get you anywhere. But you *do* have control over what you do next. Ask yourself: What’s the next best action you can take? And then take that action. Remember, you are only one meal away from eating nutritious foods. You are only one brisk walk away from a workout. At Applied Fitness, we believe in the power of taking action and focusing on what you can control.  Sometimes slip-ups happen — but it's how you respond to them that truly matters. I

Have you ever been frustrated over a lack of results from your workout routine?  If so, you are in good company. Even the most seasoned athletes experience times when their results plateau.  When you continue to put in the same effort day after day with little or no results it is safe to say that you've hit your own fitness plateau.  Your body adapts quickly to any repetitive routine. The definition of 'insanity' is to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This holds true for your workouts. When your results stop then it's time to do something new.  I have good news - the following 4 tactics are guaranteed to crank your workouts up to the next level and to deliver the fast results you want. Tactic #1: Focus on Negatives Each time that you do a weight lifting repetition you are utilizing three types of strength. These are: Positive strength: the motion of lifting the weight. Static strength: holding weight in a contracted position. 

  I’ve got an awesome tip for you the next time you feel like you need to clear out some mental cobwebs and improve your focus… Get up and MOVE for just 20 minutes!! Go for a walk, a bike ride, lift some weights… your choice! This helps in a few different ways. 🧠First: physical activity boosts blood flow to your brain. This fires up your neurons and helps promote cell growth, especially in the hippocampus. Your hippocampus plays a role in your emotions, memories, and learning – but its biggest job is to hold your short-term memories and transfer them for long-term storage in your brain! Pretty cool, right?  After you’re done, you’ll feel fresh, focused, and ready to tackle anything that needs your full attention. BUT… it gets even better.  Regular exercise can change your brain to improve your memory, thinking skills, and focus.  Studies show that exercise can even increase the size of your hippocampus! A third bonus benefit: immediately

  RELATABLE STORY AHEAD  Let’s say you decide it’s time to finally (re)start a healthy lifestyle, so you pick a date to begin. You’ve got it all planned out: You’ll work out, eat better, drink more water, go to bed early, and do all the things. And before the big day gets here, you make sure you eat ALL your favorite foods … Because you’re not going to be “allowed” to eat them once your new routine kicks in. And you DO eat them. Because… yum. #facepalm There’s a name for that:  Last Supper-ing. And there are TWO BIG REASONS it gets in the way of your results! FIRST, just on a practical basis, loading up on all your favorites can lead to weight gain, pushing you even farther from your goals — before you even get a chance to work on them. But SECOND (and even more importantly), this kind of thinking helps cement an all-or-nothing attitude towards food. That’s when you label some foods as “good” and others as “bad” — and it can make it almost impossible to stick with your routine because

 Want an easier way to lose fat? Stop starving yourself, counting calories, or eliminating your favorite food groups.  Those extreme techniques only burn you out and leave you more frustrated than ever.  I bet if I sat on your shoulder and watched your daily routine, I would be able to identify at least 5 areas where you could make simple changes that effortlessly help you lose unwanted pounds.  Because the truth is that real fat loss comes with lasting, healthy lifestyle changes. You’ll get to your goals quicker when you stop making these 5 Lifestyle Mistakes:  Lifestyle Mistake #1: Lack of Sleep.  To put this simply, you need to sleep more. Most adults need an average of eight hours of sleep each night, and I know you aren’t getting that much. When you don’t get adequate amounts of rest, you’re more likely to be hungry, overeat, and gain weight.  How does this work? Something like this.  If you’re tired, you won’t feel like cooking a healthy meal, and you’ll

  Wanting to lose fat, and failing at it, is one of the most frustrating experiences ever. Read the following 7 Fat Loss Problems to discover what is standing in your way and how to quickly and easily begin reshaping it all. Fat Loss Problem #1: Your Mind Your mind is your number one ally when it comes to achieving your goals. However, until your mind has been programmed for success, it will do more to derail your efforts than to help you. Take a few moments each day to visualize yourself at your ideal weight. Imagine how it feels to look the way you’ve always wanted. Protect your mind from any negative self-talk. If a negative thought comes to mind, immediately reject it. You want to be thin and fit, and yet you think of yourself as out-of-shape and fat. Re-program your mind to think of yourself as fit and attractive, and you will be well on your way toward achieving your goal. Give up the belief that you can’t achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. S

  After age 40 or so, many people start to gain weight, develop high blood pressure, and become frailer and weaker by the day. Plus, we have universal fears that getting older means we’ll be likely to fall and develop dementia, losing our independence in life. But what if we told you about a miracle drug that would help you lose weight, manage your blood pressure, and improve your bone density and strength? What if this drug also helped prevent falls and memory loss? If that came in a pill, you’d swallow it, right? Who wouldn’t? Well... that pill doesn't exist. But if the miracle cure came from strength training? Would you be as excited? Probably not. The health benefits of lifting weights (or resistance/strength training) for older people have been proven countless times over many years. Yet it’s still seen as a young person’s activity, usually in pursuit of nothing more than a muscular physique. Education is crucial in overcoming harmful stereotypes, so w

  Fitness Success After 40 isn't about changing a million different things all at once. Its about focusing on one or two things and leveraging that. After years of starvation diets, over-exercising, weight loss challenges and other gimmicks your metabolism may become stunted, stalled or slow to burn calories. This leads to: Fear of Aging - Worried about the typical health issues that come with aging, such as reduced mobility, strength, and overall fitness. Desire for Control - Feel like you've lost control over your body and want to regain it Social Pressure -You may feel social pressure to look a certain way, especially in a society that often values youth and thinness. (Total BS By The Way..!) Lack of Confidence - You may lack confidence in your ability to lose weight or get fit Fear of Failure - You may have tried to lose weight in the past and failed, which could make her hesitant to try again. I get it. These are all very real emotional

  For more than 20 years the media has bombarded us with a perpetual diet craze. An avalanche of fad diets are announced one after another as breaking news while producing zero true results. Sure, you may lose 5, 10 or even 20 pounds on a fad diet…but you’ll gain it all back and then some. How can I be so confident that your results will be short-lived? It’s actually a simple concept, and once you understand it you will be forever saved from the tortures of yo-yo dieting. (Read: Basic Fat Loss Math HERE ) Fad diets saddle you with unreasonable calorie restrictions and some even cut out entire food groups just to produce that short-lived drop in weight—a process that is actually harmful to your health. The fad diets also ignore one major component to shaping up: exercise. You see, most fad diets operate on one age-old premise:  cut calories, cut calories, cut calories.  By restricting the type and amount of food consumed the fad dieter usually sees an immediate drop in weig

There are probably a few things in your life that you’d like to slow down… But when it comes to your metabolism? Probably not.   Unfortunately, there are  plenty  of sneaky ways we slow our metabolism down — here are 7 of the most common metabolism saboteurs: 1, You don’t eat enough Your body is smart! When you regularly eat less fuel than you burn, your body can make itself even  more  efficient by lowering how many calories it needs. This can happen if 1) you exercise a lot and don’t ramp up your food intake to match it; 2) you undereat every day, or 3) go on a lot of diets. 2. You skip meals Research shows that eating regular meals throughout the day is linked with a greater “thermic effect of food” – i.e., more calories burned after eating. Plus, eating on a regular schedule helps your body manage its blood sugar levels, which is a biggie when it comes to your health. 3. You don’t lift weights Strength training helps boost your metabolism in a couple of different ways. Over the lon

 If you’re not ready to bare it on all the beach yet, I have an extremely effective 2-step method for losing belly fat faster than ever that I’d like to share with you today… Step One:  This step requires zero extra effort on your part! In fact all you have to do is NOT do something that you’re currently doing! You stop consuming refined sugar, in all its forms. This means no sodas, no desserts, no packaged snacks, no candy, no mocha lattes, NO SUGAR AT ALL! (However, Don't Starve Yourself. Read THIS for more!) When you stop to evaluate your diet, it may be shocking to find out how much refined sugar has crept in. Nothing will contribute to fat gains as swiftly as consuming sugar, so it makes sense that cutting sugar out is the top must-do for shedding those unwanted pounds.  It’s not necessary, or beneficial, to starve yourself during this time of rapid fat loss – you should fill in your diet with lean meats, vegetables, nuts and seeds as you cut out the refined suga

If you're not happy with your body then your workouts have lost focus.  What is your immediate goal?  If you don't have a ready answer then chances are good that your motivation is low and it has resulted in a lack of results.  I know from firsthand experience that operating without a goal will get you nowhere. Sure, you may still be exercising regularly and eating mindfully but without that concrete goal your efforts will yield little results. ( Just Starting Out. Read THIS ) 1. Setting your goal  You want to be in "better shape" but that's so vague. Dig deeper.  What specifically do you wish you had now that you don't? To drop 3 dress sizes. To lose 2 inches of arm fat jiggle. To melt 4 inches from your waist. To be able to run 3 miles without stopping. 2. Define your timeline  Now that you've determined exactly what part of your body isn't up to par, tie that goal in with a specific timeline. When you have a timeline to measur

  As we age, our bodies undergo a myriad of changes, and for women over 40, one of the most frustrating and emotional challenges can be losing weight. It's a silent struggle that many face, often feeling alone and without support, as the world around them seems to focus on the beauty and fitness of youth. But why is it so hard for women over 40 to lose weight? And why is this struggle so emotional? Firstly, let's talk about the physical changes that come with age. As women approach menopause, their estrogen levels drop, which can lead to a slower metabolism. This means that even if they're eating the same amount of food as they did in their 20s and 30s, they may still gain weight. Additionally, muscle mass decreases as we age, which further slows down metabolism, making it even harder to shed those stubborn pounds. But the challenges don't stop there. As women over 40 juggle work, family, and personal commitments, finding the time and energy to exercise