DHF Interactive Weblog

Your Habits: Helping or Hurting?

The talk as of late in the fitness industry is performance living.  Performance living is about having the fuel in the tank, the steering capabilities to maneuver around corners and obstacles, and the endurance to withstand the bumps that the road ahead will present.  Performance living is about living life to its fullest.  The only way to truly accomplish this is by having the energy, vitality, resilience, and physical being which allows for it.   

Amazingly, performance living is all about the habits we live by on a daily basis.  I have seen people with unimaginable hinderences live the best life possible in spite of their restrictions, but I have also met many with more muscle and hustle lead the most low-performance lifestyle possible.  So much of the quality of our lives is dependent on our habits.  Most of our behaviors are unconscious and automatic, but are they helping us or hurting us?  Habits will determine your energy levels, your health, and your life's performance.  Are your habits getting you want you want?

Your habits determine your outcomes.  Your goals are all dependent on your mindset, nutrition, movement, and recovery…a complete integration.  They require conscious positive choices that create healthy and productive habits that set the stage for excellence.  Most of all, your goals require a commitment to taking care of the most important thing ever…YOU!!! 

Take the time to get to know you before saying “I want to lose 10lbs.”  Get yourself a journal and figure out on a scale of 1-10  (10 being highest) what your performance life is at this point.  Identify the habits that have helped you in life thus far, and the ones that have hurt you along the way.  Be honest with yourself in writing and look at it everyday.  Write it down as it comes along and learn from it.  I guarantee you will be better tomorrow because of it.

Robert Devito

www.innovationfitnesssolutions.com

Let's Get Started

Introduction – Let’s get Started

This book is all about one simple philosophy:  Weight Management (while incorporating as much Health as someone will allow you to…) What follows is a list of Frequently Asked Questions and Long Term keys to success.  We have had the honor of working with thousands of people in the arena of weight loss and have accumulated all the questions we hear repeatedly.  We hope that this helps to dispel many of the myths and much of the confusion that surrounds Weight Management.  There are consistencies to what it takes to be successful and unfortunately we have found consistencies in failure too.  IFS WMS has tried to provide you with an efficient means to choose a realistic goal and stay on course. 

Weight management is a simple five word strategy:  Eat Less and Move More. The key to long term fat loss is to create an energy deficit while giving yourself as much health as you can stand.  The IFS WMS philosophy for weight management is R.P.M. A à B (Realistic, Palatable and Maintainable) and incorporates three easy to remember bullets:

1.     Make “Better Bad Food Choices”

2.     Surprise Exercise

3.     Minimize Damage

Properly managing your expectations with realistic short and long term goal setting is one of the important keys to your success. Many times we set goals for ourselves that are too aggressive taking an “All or None” approach.  Although we are very aggressive from the start the road we choose is usually too difficult to maintain.  This generally leads to the viscous cycle of start and stops dieting and exercise fads.  Setting short term goals is especially important because long terms goals do not allow us to celebrate achievement along the way, thus leaving us feeling discouraged.  This book is based on the long term principle “because you can do it and keep doing it, makes it the right plan for you”.    

 

Through our IFS WMS you will come to realize that getting to your goals is not as difficult as popular marketing tells you but it also does not happen as quickly.  It is not necessary to be so restrictive and hard on your self both physically and mentally.  The reality is that life gets in the way sometimes.  A plan that incorporates “life’s little pleasures” and does not punish you for eating a ‘banished’ food or missing a workout will ultimately be more successful than one that focuses on “good” and “bad” or “right” or “wrong”.  There is no magic and there is no one thing that you can do or not do that will bring the success that you crave.

 

In order for us to get to the bottom of what works, we must realize that everything works! But what is optimal for one person is different for everyone else.  Just as we all have different careers, values and preferences, etc… we all will have different eating and exercise plans.

 

EVERYTHING works and then it stops working.  The workout that allowed us to lose 10 Lbs., the bottle of pills that temporarily shed a few more, the restrictive diet that ended up being way too hard to follow; all of these methods are a short-term fix to a long-term goal.

 

 

The first lesson is: CONSITENCY.  Consistency can be achieved by following Realistic, Palatable and Maintainablestrategies for long-term results.  This is the cornerstone of the IFS WMS weight loss philosophy.

 

In the long run you are free to choose what you do or do not do.  The decisions you make and the habits that you form determine your outcome. That means that you are in control, you are responsible for your actions.  This is both a powerful and an empowering statement. The lesson is:  You CONTROL of your environment; your environment does not have control over you.

 

Finally, the third lesson is: PLAN.  You have to be aware of your surroundings and make a plan that is realistic for you. Any good plan has a direct route and an infinite number of alternate routes.  We all know that perfection does not exist, so stop trying to hold yourself to the perfect plan.  You ultimately will fail.  For long term success, I recommend that you think in terms of “better bad” not perfect.  Look for ways to enjoy life's little pleasures but be accountable for your actions.  Look for ways to move more during the day, not only in the gym but at the office and at home as well.  Most importantly, stay positive.  Remember that one meal does not “blow it” and missing one workout does not destroy your week or make it impossible to achieve the goal that you chose.

 

Let’s get started. 

Robert Devito

Change Your Fitness Directory

I have begun a petition!  It is to remove one word from the dictionary.  Let’s see if you agree…

Can’t:Verb

Contraction of cannot

Negative form of can

Can someone please explain to me how this word has risen to such absolute Diction Stardom?  This is the most overused word in our language.  Name one positive thing that has EVER happened with this word at the start of a sentence… Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Here are a few synonyms of can’t. (Now this is a list of winners!)  Synonyms: anxious, blue, can’t win*, cynical, dejected, depressed, desperate, downcast, frantic, hopeless, miserable, melancholy, no-win, sad*...I think you get the point.

A very wise man once said, “There is no try, there is only do.”  I believe it was Mr. Miagi from The Karate Kid or Yoda from Star Wars.  Either way, that guy had it right.  I do not care if your goal is to get huge and take up as much space on this planet as possible, if it’s to get small and take up as little space as possible or if it’s to remain the same size and just get from one point to another faster - there is no CAN’T!

You may have tried numerous methods to help you attain these goals before.  If you failed then you have figured out one more way that does not work for you.  The only sure thing is that if you stop trying then you are virtually assured of not succeeding.  Do not give up!  Get mad, get psyched and get moving!

I see people with 3 main goals: Get big! Get small!  Or get healthy!  We jump on a treadmill and walk to nowhere aimlessly for a few months until we get bored and stop or we will lift up heavy things that do not need to be moved multiple times in an attempt to make us big and strong.  We all start this process with a high level of motivation:

Motivation:  

Noun

the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior.

Providing incentive.

I also see other common traits when it comes to fitness: we eventually stop!  Whether we are bored, our program is not working as quickly as we would like or not at all, or we are confused about what to do next, we stop searching for a solution because the ‘solution’ that we chose no longer provides the stimulus it once did.  One recommendation thatWILL make a difference in maintaining your level of motivation is small group training.  Training in small groups offers 3 distinct advantages over trying to workout on your own:

Competitiveness and Camaraderie

When there are 3-5 other people in the room busting their butts along with you, you will all work harder as individuals and as a group.  No one wants to be the weak link and you will work harder to keep up or set the pace when someone else is falling behind.

Energy

The above leads to Energy.  When you work harder you burn more calories in a shorter time.  If your goal is fat loss then this concept helps a great deal.  If your goal is muscle gain then you can create a bigger response to the exercise.  This is a Win – Win.   

Achievement

You will do more!  I promise you that you will do more under the direction of one of our trainers than you ever will alone.  The “I can’t” or “I don’t think I can” attitude will disappear and you will just do it…every time.  No excuses, no let down, just achievement.  Think like a winner and act like a winner.  When you do not feel like showing up, show up anyway and do it.  When you feel like showing up, show up and blow the doors off the place.   Second, there are a few classes and private training sessions that will help you get moving and bust through anything you feel is holding you back.  Make a deal with your self that you will try a new class or take a session with a personal trainer every month.  Make it a point to look for activities that you have not tried before.

Now that we have discussed the ways to overcome the “can't” in our vocabulary, let’s add these words to our vernacular instead.

Can:

-auxiliary verb

to be able to; have the ability, power, or skill to: I’m sure

to know how to

To have to power or means to

Will:

-noun

The faculty of conscious and especially of deliberate action; the power of control the mind has over its own actions

Power of choosing one’s own actions

Purpose or determination

You have to believe that you can and will succeed.

Robert Devito

 

***Dictionary and Thesaurus entries from: Roget’s New Millennium Dictionary and Thesaurus

90 Days To A New You

90 days to a new you… 

90 days.  12 weeks. 2016 hours. Three months.  This is a lot of time to make BIG 

changes. 

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” 

—Walt Disney  

 

Days 1-30 

Getting Started: The Mindset and The Tools 

You have decided to take on a quest like many before you; to change.  Let’s discuss the 

absolute necessities in being successful for these 90 days and beyond.  We are going to 

start with the mental make-up and move into the physical tips and tricks.  

It is important to start off in the right direction (and at the correct speed) and have a full 

understanding that long term success is not about finding the magical diet or exercise 

plan.  You will not find the perfect workout plan and your friend did not discover the 

magical solution even if they are losing 10 lbs. this week (watch them next week and next 

month). 

Start where it starts.  You have to have a commitment to changing the habits that got you 

where you are.  Discover them and consistently and systematically change them.  There is 

enough reliable information available about how people change for good and the entire 

process of long term change to know that there is no magical solution. We’ll deliver some 

simple strategies to aid you in the fight against fads and mental madness.   Let’s discuss 

some of the things that we (e3 Health and Weight Management Solutions) have 

discovered working with more than 10,000 clients.  We have seen the good, the bad and 

the plain insane. 

Let’s get started. 

 

Vision, Belief, Persistence, Learning 

The first essential is having a vision.  Do you know what exactly you are trying to 

achieve?  The more specific that your goals are the more real your vision becomes.  Try 

taking a few moments to write down who you want to be.  Try not to stick only to 

physical goals but include athletic performance and family activity goals.  In my 

experience I have seen more clients be successful when there is a goal that is “bigger than 

just vanity”.  Having goals (in addition to the weight loss), such as spending more quality 

time with your children playing, or running a 5K are essential. There are numerous 

studies that have shown when people write their goals down they are more likely to 

achieve them (40% more).  It doesn’t take much time and it only helps.  Furthermore, 

make a portable cheat sheet to carry with you.  Once you have determined who you want 

to be then carry that person with you.  It’s a helpful reminder of what you are 

accomplishing.   

 Second:  Believe that you can do this.  The chances are pretty good that you have lost a 

decent amount of weight before.  Maybe you have kept it off and wish to lose more or 

like many of us your losses were only temporary and you’ve regained most if not all of 

your lost weight.  That was the past.  There were different circumstances and a different 

understanding of what it takes to be successful.  Believing in yourself in the face of past 

failures shows that you are strong.  Staying positive where most others are negative will 

help you remain focused. 

We have found that simply believing that you will be successful will have a tremendous 

impact on your actual success.  You will rebound from setbacks quicker and stay positive 

more often. 

 

Third: Persistence: 

One of my favorite sayings is “Don’t let perfect get in the way of good”. 

There are numerous environmental and lifestyle landmines that you’ll face. Your kids 

will want Mc D’s and you’ll eat a few fries, Valentines Day, Halloween and Easter bring 

chocolate by the wheelbarrow, summer brings cotton candy and hot dogs etc…  Striving 

for perfection simply sets you up for difficult, tedious times that mentally torment you.  

Striving for perfection will only lead you to frustrations and failure.  

You will eat foods that you feel like you shouldn’t.  You’ll drink alcohol and miss 

workouts.  It will not prevent you from being successful.  Persistence means you will 

accept these ‘mistakes’ and move on from them.  Understanding that we are humans and 

we are not perfect allows you to enjoy life’s little pleasures and still succeed.  Control 

yourself and indulge occasionally, but be smart and do not over-indulge.  That’s just 

gluttonous and counter productive, it won’t help you.  Realistic Goal Setting and Properly 

Managing your Expectations are two more keys to Long-Term Success. Remember, 

“Don’t let perfect get in the way of good”. 

Last: Learning 

You need to keep a journal.  Journaling your Eating and Exercise allows you to do your 

detective work.  It will reveal trends (Good and Bad) and allow you the ability to change 

the habits that are hurting your progress.  When you do not have documented information 

you are reliant on memory and guesswork.  Can you recall everything that you’ve eaten 

and drank for the last 2 weeks?  I can’t either, but it is incredibly important information if 

you want success.  Your habits will determine your outcomes and knowing your calorie 

intake along with your trends will aid you to make logical decisions.  Journaling will help 

you determine your best practices list.  A list of things that you do that work for you is a 

key tool to long-term success. 

 

Now that we have our heads on straight, we’re thinking logically and we are committed 

to this process let’s get all of the tools we need for success. 

 

1) Breakfast. 

Eat it everyday. Breakfast boosts your metabolism and prevents mid morning 

ravenous hunger.  Avoiding hunger at all costs!  I have never seen anyone make a 

solid, logical food decision while they were starving.  Beginning with breakfast 

and insuring that you eat at least 3 meals and 1-2 snacks everyday will aid you in 

avoiding these mindless choices that we regret later. 

 

2) Complimentary sessions: 

Go see a Weight Management Specialist to find out how many calories you can 

eat daily and how many you need to burn.  Use your Complimentary Personal 

Training Sessions to revamp and reenergize your workouts.  Find new strategies 

to burn more calories and challenge your stability, balance, coordination and 

strength.  Get into the mindset of “controlled chaos” workouts.  Use everything in 

the Fitness Center and at home to keep moving.  

  

3) Food Journal, Nutrition Scale 

Go to the Member Service Desk in your health club and ask to purchase a food 

Journal and a Nutrition Scale.  When you eat foods (and liquids) with labels it is 

easy to accurately determine how many calories you are consuming but what 

about foods without labels?  Did you REALLY eat 3 oz. of chicken or was it 

actually 4.5 oz.?   

 

4) Celebrate your achievements 

      “We have 50-60,000 thoughts a day. 90% of them are negative.” 

      —Deepak Chopra  

 

While you are carrying your ‘cheat sheet’ begin writing down your list of                                             

accomplishments.  Write down the fact that you had an extra workout this week, 

ink the note that you only had 2 drinks this week when normally it is 4-5.  These 

are all positive steps and should be rewarded.  Weight loss is a long hard road, 

there are tons of outside obstacles and many times “life gets in the way”.  If you 

keep moving forward and incrementally changing habits from bad to better you 

will start to see positive changes for good. 

 

5) Supplement your diet. 

Let’s face it, no one eats properly everyday and exercise actually increases your 

nutrient needs.  Take an e3 WMS Multi Vitamin for nutritional insurance and to 

help stave off muscle tissue loss. 

Use the Lipid Mobilizer during your cardio workouts.  The ingredients help you 

to use fat as fuel during exercise.  If you want to maximize your results then this 

is the way to go. 

When you speak to your Weight Management Specialist they will customize a 

supplement solution for you. 

 

6) Don’t try to tackle everything at once 

Pick two or three things that you can change this week that will have a great 

impact on your results.  This is usually enough to jump-start your program and 

begin to see results.  Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day and you will not 

see dramatic changes overnight.  Use photos to judge your progress along with 

how your clothes are fitting and circumference measurements.  Don’t rely too 

 much on the scale readings, they tend to move up and down a little everyday so 

only check your weight once every two weeks or even better yet only once a 

month.  This will give you a clear understanding of what’s happening. 

• Your Weight Management Specialist can take your photo and take 

measurements in your meeting. 

7) Get Active 

The New Year is here and 90 days from now it will be time to begin shedding 

clothing layers. Take advantage of the weather and get outside and do a few 

activities that you enjoy.   

 

8) The e3 Health and Weight Management Solutions sayings: 

a. Philosophy:  R.P.M. A  B 

i. Realistic, Palatable, Maintainable 

b. Don’t let perfect get in the way of good. 

c. Whether you believe that you can or you believe that you can’t you are 

right. 

d. Focus on what you will do not what you should do. 

e. Short term strategies do not lead to long term solutions. 

 

 

Days 31 – 60 

“You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” 

—Albert Einstein  

“No action, no change. Limited action, limited change. Lots of action, change occurs.” 

—Catherine Pulsifer  

 “Not in his goals, but in his transitions man is great.” 

—Ralph Waldo Emerson  

Welcome to the second month of your full on assault of changing your body.  Last month 

we reviewed setting ourselves up for long term success by preparing mentally and arming 

ourselves with all the necessary tools we’ll need.  This month we will discuss the 

physical side to our continued success. Here is a cute little saying I picked up from one of 

my business associates, it really explains how to attain and maintain long term success: 

“Prior Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance” 

I have discussed with you numerous times before the importance of having a plan.  This 

is mainly what this article is about.  I use this simple four step approach: GOAL, PLAN, 

EXECUTE, MEASURE SUCCESS. 

 

There is no doubt that by maintaining your journal you began to realize all of the ‘hidden’ 

calories that we consume.  It’s frustrating that we can beat ourselves up in the gym for 90 

minutes to burn a measly 600 calories and then put it all back in to our body with 1.5 

glasses of wine.  However, with the ‘honesty covenant’ that we have with ourselves there 

is no frustration.  When we keep a food and exercise journal we have credible, detailed 

information to aid us in making logical decisions.  Remaining logical is of paramount 

importance.  Working out consistently is hard work.  Trying to change your body for 

good is even harder.  Stay focused! 

**Numerous studies report that we under report our calorie intake by up to 25%.  If we 

use a typical 2000 calorie menu plan that equals 500 calories.  WOW!  How does this 

happen?  Well, do you really know how many calories were in the pasta you ate last night 

or the bagel that you had his morning or the piece of chicken for lunch?  Was it 4 or 6 

ounces?  Don’t guess.  Do you know for sure? 

 

Workout = Upside down and inside out. 

Here a few principles for review.  Working out improves your health, fitness and 

longevity.  Initially when you begin a new workout regimen the physiological changes 

are significant.  Your Nervous System is working incredibly hard to figure out how to 

handle all of these “new, unaccustomed” stimuli that it’s experiencing.  You end up 

burning a significant amount of extra calories every day in an attempt to recover from 

this new experience.  The downside is…this does not last.  Our body is designed for 

survival.  That means that it is great at conserving and storing energy.  This is a true 

disadvantage to those of us trying to reverse the amount of stored energy that we have.   

Here are a few items that you need to know.  Chances are you have or will experience 

most of them.  The good news is you are not the first person and we now how to deal 

with it. 

1. Bottom line to weigh less:  E(energy) IN vs. E(energy) OUT.  If you are 

attempting to lose weight/fat you need to expend more calories than you consume.  

If you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit.  Stop coming up with reasons 

or excuses and review your intake in it’s entirety, then review your exercise plan 

to insure that you are maximizing your efforts in the gym. 

2. Working out initially burns a significant amount of extra calories.   

3. Working out for the goal of Long Term Fat Loss is different in methodology from 

working out for Fitness and Health. 

4. Many people will experience a rise in hunger and appetite as a result of initiating 

a new workout plan. 

5. Exercise increases the need for nutrients.  If you are simultaneously dieting you 

are in a nutrient deficit.  This can begin to ruin your ‘metabolism’. 

6. The body strives for “the path of least resistance”.  This means that it likes to be 

efficient.  This is counter productive towards any Fat Loss goal.  Mentally, you 

are striving to burn more calories; physically your body is trying to figure out how 

to burn less… 

7. If you are exercising for the same amount of time and at the same intensity on the 

same machines for more than a month you are allowing the body to become 

efficient.  (S.A.I.D. Principle) 

8. Consuming a meal (Breakfast) is entirely underappreciated and the importance of 

S.A.I.D principle often overlooked for Fat Loss.   

9. Most people weigh themselves too frequently.  You will most likely not lose 2 

pounds of fat overnight, nor will you gain 2 pounds of fat.  We all experience 

temporary and frequent fluctuations.  Weigh yourself every two – three weeks for 

an accurate measure of what’s happening. 

10. Many people never maximize their effort.  I am a huge advocate of coming to the 

gym frequently.  It burns calories, maintains tone, and improves overall health.  

All of these are great!  But, if you are attempting to alter your body composition it 

takes a bit more than just showing up.  An all out effort as frequently as possible 

will increase your calorie per minute burned.  When you don’t have it to give 

show up anyway and work out.  When you do have that ‘tweaked’ mental state – 

use it!  Lift heavier, run faster, jump higher, do more repetitions.  As NIKE says: 

Just Do IT!  RIGHT NOW! 

The Assault Workout: 

I like to name my workouts.  It gives a sense of ownership.  Plus, workout intensity is just 

as much of mental strength as it is physical strength.  You have got to get ‘geared up’ to 

workout hard and burn calories.  A few names that I use frequently:  Achievement, 

Personal Best, No Excuses, Assault, No Nonsense, Do It, Do It Again!, 1 more!…  I 

think about the name and what workout images it conjures up.  Generally, if you’re 

driving over to the gym and visualizing the name and the workout you will improve your 

mental state.  The “I am going to the gym and working out because I have to” mentality 

morphs into “I am going to rip the doors off of this place”.  Bottom line is if the goal is 

fat loss, increasing your intensity burns more calories per minute and that improves the 

efficiency of your workouts. 

 

A few alterations to try to get out of your rut: 

1. Lift heavier.  Like I previously mentioned with intensity you’ll get out of your 

comfort zone and produce different results.  Ladies, don’t worry about 

“getting big”.  It takes a lot more than just lifting a little heavier to produce 

dramatic gains in musculature. 

2. Lift Lighter and do more repetitions.  Just the opposite of the above.  If you 

are used to training with heavier weights then decrease your weight by 15- 

20% and do as many repetitions as possible.  Your body will respond very 

differently. 

3. Circuit train.  Do a strength training move followed by a cardio move and 

don’t stop.  If you do a chest press, then do a ladder drill.  You won’t give 

your body a chance to slow down and you’ll end up burning more calories in 

less time. 

4. Superset.  Pick two or three exercises in a row.  Similar to above do them all 

in succession without rest.  Try not to make them all for the same body part. 

5. Choose a different cardio machine every two weeks and vow to kick your own 

butt every time.  Cardio machines are where I see many people go wrong.  

They get on a treadmill, get really good at walking/jogging/running on the 

treadmill and never, ever leave.  The body adapts to everything.  Pick 

something else to boost your calorie burning. 

6. Sleep.  You don’t get enough.  Get more.  It aids in recovery and will 

reenergize you for your big workout tomorrow. 

7. Do partner training with a personal trainer.  This one act overcomes many 

obstacles.  It sets an appointment that you’ll keep because not only are you 

paying for it but someone else is counting on you to show up.  We skip too 

many workouts for not good enough reasons.  This also makes training more 

affordable and fun. 

8. Add tools and toys to spice up your work out.  Stability balls, tubing, bands, 

cables all add new and different challenges to a stale routine.   

9. Do not under any circumstance let me see you looking for the closest parking 

space to the front door of the gym unless you have 3 + kids a gym bag, a 

stroller and a broken foot. 

10. Make your 3+ kids a workout.  Push-ups, sit-up and running challenges 

against your kids is a ton of fun!  They like it and you need it!  Plus you’ll be 

laughing a lot and that will help to “tone” your stomach. 

11. Also, if they are young use them as weights for no other reason that to move.  

Lift them up and do 10 -20 squats and lunges. 

12. Take a Group Fitness Class that you have not tried before.  You will find that 

when you work out with other you will work harder for longer.  You will burn 

more calories and have more fun. 

Day 61 – 90 

 

We all have two choices: 

To accept who and where we are in life 

 Or 

To strive for what we can become and where that can take us! 

 -Mark Stevens 

 

Borrowed from Brian Tracy:  

The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success 

 

The Law of Direction: 

Successful people have a clear sense of purpose and direction in every area of their lives. 

 

The steps to success: 

1) Decide exactly what you want. 

2) Write it down in clear, specific, detailed language. 

3) Set a deadline.  If the goal is large set subdeadlines (see above). 

4) Make a list of everything that you can think of to do to achieve your goal. 

5) Organize your list into a plan based on priorities and sequence. 

6) Take action! Do not delay. 

7) Do something everyday (no matter how small) that moves you toward the goal. 

Day 61: It is review time.  Let’s take a second and take stock of where we are vs. where 

we would like to be.  What actions are you taking that are helping you reach your goals?  

What actions are preventing you from success? 

New habits are forming and you have eliminated or minimized many old habits but have 

you accepted TOTAL SELF RESPONSIBILITY.  This means that you are in 

CONTROL.  You are aware that you control how much you eat or do not eat.  You 

control how much you move or do not move.  You control your environment, it does not 

control you.   

Successful people do not give up.  We understand that setbacks are just part of the 

process and we learn to accept them and continue moving forward.  Here are a few books 

that will help further educate you on continued success: 

1) The e3 WMS Book of Fitness Answers 

2) How to stay Motivated on the deck of the Titanic – Norm Bossio 

3) Focal Point – Brian Tracy 

Contact us directly RDeVito@e3wms.com  

We will send you a worksheet to help you set specific goals and aid you in creating a 

Realistic Action Plan. 

Robert Devito

 

5 Ways Not To Overdue It

The average restaurant dinner is around 2000 calories…this could be a problem!  Here are some ways to make sure that you do not over do it.

1. Decrease Your Speed of Eating.  It takes 15-20 minutes for your stomach to stretch and send a signal to your brain that says you are full.  If you eat too fast you will eat too much and that leads to “eating to pain”.  At this point you know you overdid it.  In addition, do not “pre-load” your fork.  Wait until you are done chewing and swallowing the first bite before you load your fork for the second.

2. Pick Your Favorite – “Cheat Well”.  Do not just eat it because it is there and it is a holiday.  Only eat what you really love.  If sweet potatoes are your thing then have some, but pass on the mashed.

3. “The Egg Theory”.  If you buy a dozen eggs and one breaks on the way home…do you throw out the whole dozen?…NO!  Every meal is its own egg and if you break one egg do not throw out the dozen.  Eating is cumulative and nothing you do today will make you wake up at 600 pounds…so understand when you break an egg, just go to the next meal and eat what you should.

4. “Calorically Cheapen” Your Meal.  There are no “good” or “bad” foods.  People always say cheesecake is bad…I say it is delicious but “expensive”.  In the context of money, high calorie foods are “expensive” and low calorie foods are “cheap”.  When you are making your mashed potatoes…if you use skim milk instead of half and half…you just “calorically cheapened” that dish.  If you are going to eat a piece of pie…forego the ala mode and you just “calorically cheapened” that dessert.  This will only help minimize the damage and help prevent you from feeling deprived.

5. “Pre Eat” …Prior to the Big Meal.  Eat a regular breakfast and lunch then…eat something right before you go to dinner…now the “battery on your will-power” will be fully charged.  If you go into the meal too hungry you will eat faster and longer.  So, prevent yourself from getting too hungry…do not save up the calories by not eating all day.

Robert Devito

Performance Training: Hypertrophy (Muscle Gain)

Lean Body Mass increase or more specifically: muscle gain is a highly misunderstood subject.  Every supposed “expert” seems to have the magical exercise or the magic formula for food intake to maximize your strength and muscle gains.  The truth is that muscle gain is a difficult process to master.  It takes a true commitment and long-term focus; there are no short-cuts and most certainly no magic movement, foods, powder or pill that will pump you up.  So let’s delve into the Factsand Fallacies of this subject and get you on your way to finally understanding how and why your body does what it does.

The Facts:

There are 5 absolutes to muscle gain.  You must do these to be successful in your quest “to take up as much space as possible”.

 

Eat MORE Than You Burn

üScience Speaks: A system’s energy is equivalent to the energy consumed vs. the energy burned.  This means that it takes the body extra  calories to aid in the creation of new muscle tissue.  I would recommend finding out how many calories that you’re consuming and then increasing your intake by 250-500 calories daily.  This should be enough to stimulate new growth while minimizing any fat gain.

 

Nutrient Intake is ESSENTIAL

üIt’s helpful to think of nutrition as two separate sides.  There is food energy (calories) and the nutrients that food provides.  The Twinkie (that delicious crème filled snack cake) has calories in it but just about no nutritional value.  This food could help you become hypercaloric (energy above maintenance) but not help provide the nutrition necessary to gain muscle tissue, only FAT!

üThe e3 Multi-Vitamin is an essential tool in insuring that you have nutritional insurance to increase new muscle gains and limit any fat gain.  You do not get what you need from your food alone.

üAdditionally, you’ll want to eventually add e3 Muscle Insurance to prevent using any muscle for energy and e3 Muscle Gain to increase strength, recovery, and aid in creating an environment for muscle to grow.

 

Muscle Confusion Workouts

üSo now you’re eating right and taking your e3 Multi Vitamin but your workouts are feeling a bit stale.  What used to get you ‘pumped’ to stimulate you body to change, has now dwindled to you working out really intensely and only increasing strength – not muscle.

üFirst, strength gains and muscle gains don’t have an absolute correlation.  It is absolutely essential that you increase the body’s ability to move more weight or the same weight more times.  However, your body will not increase the amount of muscle it has unless you create an ideal environment where it is forced to add muscle.

 

Here’s How:

üScience Speaks: Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands.  The body adapts to any/every type of stimulus.

üOverload Principle – The body must be challenged consistently and systematically in order to continue progress.

üThe body is an amazing machine.  Its job is efficiency.  In order for muscle growth to be stimulated, you must not let the body adapt to your current routine. Your intensity has to remain high but the workout has to change constantly.  Change reps, sets, load, exercise order or days you train body parts.

 

Rest and Recovery

üYou’ve heard that you don’t grow while you workout but actually while you sleep.  This is true!  So be sure to get enough rest on workout days and on off days to better prepare the body for your next exercise bout.

üScience speaks:  Working out actually damages your muscle tissue (actin and myosin contractile fibers are heavily damaged) and the recovery process happens during sleep.  Nutrients are fed to the damaged tissues while toxins are removed.

üThe second part of recovery is proper hydration.  Drink lots of water.  It improves strength, hastens repair time and is a shuttle for nutrients.  

 

üGenetics

üThe above four facts are in your control. Genetics is not.  Hopefully you didn’t choose the wrong parents and got stuck with skinny, endurance runners (no offense, we’ll talk about you guys soon enough).

üGenetics are at least 50% of this whole deal.  Genetics are the reason that you eat the same, lift just as hard, take the same supplements as your friend but you’re wearing the same size shirt since high school and he’s on the cover of Muscle and Fiction.  Some of us gain easy and some of us are hard-gainers.  Don’t give up.  Most of the time we are not even close to maximizing factors that we can control and a few specific changes to your routine are all it takes to start seeing results.

Fallacies 

üSee a trainer to explain these brain teasers:

üYou will not gain more muscle just by consuming more protein.  If it were that easy drinking protein shakes would be HUGE!

üIt is next to impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.  Losing fat is difficult, gaining muscle is even more difficult.  That makes it pretty tough to do both.  Pick a goal and spend some time with it.  It will serve you well long term.

üLadies, please don’t fear Strength Training.  As you can see from above, there truly is a difference in Strength Training and training for Hypertrophy.  Strength Training will increase your calorie burn, help to prevent injury and help you look tight and athletic.

üGo Heavy or Go Home!  Not at the compromise of form.  Heavy weights allow you to get more done quickly.  However, of your barbell bicep curl looks more like a full body seizure, you’re probably not targeting that particular movement very well and I am sure that you’re increasing the risk of injury.  Drop five lbs. off the bar and get some results.

Robert Devito

Plan To Succeed

The #1 question asked of Fitness Professionals is “How do I get to my goal?” Unfortunately, there is no one canned answer to this question.  Consider this, pick your favorite store in the world, and now figure out how many different routes you can take to arrive there.  The options can be endless. Now utilize this same thought process for your personal fitness goals.  The same analogy can apply. When you add in all of the marketing that tells you to take a specific direction or route, your friends telling you the “shortcut” that you can take to arrive at the store faster and the feeling that everyone you know has figured out how to get to the store in a timely manner but you, you may not even want to go to that store anymore!  It could get really confusing.

Fat Loss, Health and Fitness, and Sports and Performance goals all place different demands on the body. From the amount of sleep required to the number of meals and calories eaten daily to what they are made of (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats) it is slightly different for everybody. If you add in your genetic predisposition for where and how much fat you hold, your given metabolism, food preferences and dislikes plus your attraction or aversion to exercise it can be exhausting and demotivating to try and figure all of these items out for yourself. My advice: DO NOT GIVE UP!  That is one surefire method to fall short of your fitness goals.

Now that we have decided that you will not do that let’s discuss how to succeed.  Focus on eating, exercise and education, the foundation of the e3 WMS.

Eating

It’s a good idea to spread your food out throughout the day.  I recommend at least 4 meals daily and sometimes up to 6.  The number of meals depends upon your goal and some of the factors discussed above, but a good starting point is 4 meals.  Do not ever eat less.  It just leads to hunger and hunger leads to poor food choices and over-eating.  Regardless of the goal, it is important to know how many calories you need to maintain your weight daily and how many calories you are actually consuming.  Do you really know how many calories is in that Whole Wheat Bagel you eat?  How about that Chai Tea with skim milk you had yesterday?  Having the facts at your fingertips is a great method to understanding how to be successful, guesswork usually can get you started but never works long term.  

The good news is that there are people who have spent their entire adult lives preparing themselves to help you get the success you want. Your Weight Management Specialists and Exercise Specialists care about you and your results and we do know how to help you.  Everyone has different goals, and the strategies that you must utilize for success have to be tailored to you. Realistic, Palatable and Maintainable methods for long term success are right here in front of you. Talk to one of us and let us help!

Fat Loss

Fat matters, carbohydrates count but calories are the bottom line!  Do not buy into the myth that some foods are fattening and others are not.  It is not true.  Every food can help make you gain weight and every food can help you keep it off.  The amount of ingested has to be less than the total calories burned or you will get bigger eating sunflower seeds and grapefruits.  It just does not matter!

Health and Fitness

The more consistent and the healthier the choices that you make the better you will feel.  I suggest 30-45 minutes of cardiovascular work 3-4 times weekly + 2-3 strength training sessions weekly.  In addition, maintaining a diet of consistently balanced foods along with your exercise routine will help you achieve your goal with ease.  Your body will thank you for it and your mind will as well.  When we choose healthy options we give our body the fuel it needs to keep going strong throughout the day, fight off cellular damage and be mentally sharp.

Sports and Performance

Eat often, eat well and eat balanced!  The timing of your pre and post workout meals is crucial to your success.  Eating 45-60 minutes pre-workout is essential to providing the energy necessary for optimum performance.  A post workout meal consisting of a 4:1 ration of carbohydrate to protein is important for recovery.  In addition, optimal rest (6-8 hours of sleep) and the proper training intensity is essential too. Try not to workout more than 3 days consecutively if your intensity level is above a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10.

Result

In my opinion one of the strongest variables someone can change is to get out of daily result and into process. It is a BIG PICTURE way of looking at your goals and your goal setting.  Everything matters but mistakes will be made and they will be corrected.  Nothing is impossible and a great plan makes for great successes.

Robert Devito

Weight Loss Facts: The Truth

Low Fat Foods DON'T WORK.   

You cannot lose weight using Low Fat Diets.  Low fat foods have been popular for more than 15 years, but yet our society is getting more overweight as each year passes.  This fact alone should tell you that eating a purely low fat menu is not the answer to losing weight.

Low Calorie Diets DON'T WORK.

You won't lose weight using a Low Calorie Dieting Plan either.   In fact, eating low calories is the worst thing that you can do to your body, since that will only slow down your body's metabolism and make reaching your goal more difficult (low calorie diets may allow a few pounds of weight loss for the first few days, but then after that fat loss comes to a halt --- known as a dieting plateau).   You will not achieve the toned, athletic look you desire by starving yourself.

Low Carb Plans DON'T WORK.

You'll probably find it extremely difficult to get lean using a Low Carb Plan.  Versions of Low carb diets have been popular for more than a decade now, but the problem with low carb menus is that they are too strict and TOO HARD TO FOLLOW for average people.   Low carb menus tend to rob your body of too much energy (carbohydrates) and make it nearly impossible to remain consistent long enough to have lasting effects. This is why so many dieters find it difficult to follow a strict low carbohydrate menu. 

What about Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig Dieting Plans?

Weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers (and Jenny Craig) usually involve slower dieting progress over a longer period of time, since such programs generally promise 2-3 pounds of weight loss per week they involve buying special meals during the initial phases of the program.  While some people may like these types of dietary programs we look for a long term, final solution:

e3 Weight Management Solutions

R.P.M. A à B

The keys to long term weight loss success?

Control, Consistency and Prior Planning!

Realistic, Palatable and Maintainable strategies allow the dieter control over food selections and pace of progress.  With our help you will see and feel results quickly and maintain these results through our educational system.  Get educated: Take Control.

Robert Devito

 

 

Position Statement on Multivitamin

Researchers from the Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health stated in a landmark review that all adults should take a multivitamin daily. The June 19, 2002 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The aforementioned statement is quite compelling, and it is fairly naïve to think that we consume every health compound in optimal doses, ratios and at proper times from food alone on a daily basis. Any compound contributing to cellular performance has the potential to be sub-optimal when food alone is the matrix.

Why daily food intake may be insufficient…

1. Lack of Knowledge by the general population to analyze, buy, store and prepare foods to meet their daily needs.

2. Sedentary Environment - low energy needs make it hard to get in all the nutrients without consuming excess calories.

3. Food Preferences – fast and convenient foods often are high in calories and low in nutrients.

4. Inaccurate nutritional information on or in foods.

Therefore, given the safety margins of nutrients and the industry’s safety record, supplementation offers a sound and viable means of optimizing health and performance.

Robert Devito