How to get started exercising, and meal planning in January

Goal Setting Tip 1 - Once a year is enough, thanks!
It’s healthy to ask big questions about where your life is going, but ask them too often and you’ll end up in a bog of directionless despair. Take the pressure off, and only ask the big questions once, or at most, twice a year.

Goal Setting Tip 2 - 7 is the magic number
George Miller, a 1950's psychologist, proposed that we can only deal with 7 bits of information at any one time. Any more information and we need to group things into more memorable, manageable chunks. So when you create your New Year master plan, keep goals down to a manageable number and group similar areas.

Goal Setting Tip 3 - I say tomayto, you say tomaato - let's call the whole thing off!
A common mistake when setting goals, is in-sufficient detail. This can cause problems when we need to articulate these goals to work mates, life partners or even to ourselves. As an example of why this is important when goal setting, think of a house I have a particular house in mind, which is probably entirely different to the house you're picturing. Is your house made of brick or wood? How many rooms does your house have? Is your house full of people or are you the sole resident? Imagine the arguments if we had the joint goal of buying a house together! Keep New Years resolutions by writing your goals in enough detail for everyone to understand and agree what's meant. So if your goal is to buy a house, put some flesh on the bones by saying your goal is to buy a 3 bedroom house, with garden, near work, for no more than 3 times your salary.

Goal Setting Tip 4 - Keep it real!

You are more likely to achieve realistic goals. That's not to say you can't shoot for the stars and pursue your dreams; break up your mega goal into smaller, more manageable mini goals, and you're more likely to achieve your dream.
Goal Setting Tip 5 - Fantastic fibbing
Here's an unusual game to play. Start a conversation with a friend, family member or hijack someone from the street. Tell them they are going to help get your life on track, and all they have to do is ask a few choice questions. Start to tell them the story of, for example, your New Years resolution to find and start your dream job. Tell them what it's like in the studio or office, the people you work with and meet as part of your job, what your daily schedule looks like. Get them to ask you questions about how you got there e.g. how did you get the interview, who spotted your business card, etc. This is where you will be put on the spot and have to come up with plausible answers. Aim to "keep it real" with your answers, e.g. don't rely on winning the lottery to fund your plans! Keep this conversation going as long as possible, with as much detail as you can muster. This might sound like complete madness, telling fantastic fibs or untruths about how you achieved you New Years resolution. The truth is that the questions they ask will forge links in your mind, creating a map that make it easier for you to achieve your long term goal. Just make sure you write down the steps you took to achieve your goal!

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail (Tip 5)
I hope these 5 goal setting tips show you how to keep New Years resolutions and achieve your goals. For more info head to the Ifit30 website, including examples and templates to ensure you achieve your goals.

New sample menu plans taken from the real website.

Menu Type:

Reporting Today's Menu

(SHANNON)

6:30 AM - Small - 1/2 cup oatmeal & 5 egg whites splash milk/1/2 tsp splenda

8:30 AM - Small - mexi omlette

10:30 AM - Small - cottage cheese 1:00 PM - Small - cod/brussel sprouts & 1/4 c wild rice

3:00 PM - Small - 5 egg whites & slice of toast5:00 PM - Small - chicken/asparagus/spinach

7:30 PM - Small - 1/2 a egg salad sandwhichGlasses of

Water: 12

Visualized Success Today: Yes

Priority Level Given to Wellness Today: 10

BRANDI

Menu Type: Reporting Today's Menu

7:30 AM - Medium - 2/3 c oatmeal, 1 c. cottage cheese, 3 egg whites - day 4 leg weights

10:00 AM - Small - turkey and vegetables

12:00 PM - Small - salad with 1 whole egg, 1 egg white, small chicken breast

2:00 PM - Small - sole and vegetables

4:00 PM - Small - turkey and vegetables

6:00 PM - Small - sole and vegetables

8:00 PM - Small - sole and vegetables

Glasses of Water: 12

Visualized Success Today: Yes

Priority Level Given to Wellness Today: 10

Keep a reasonable diet plan, and exercise and fitness at Christmas

Setting Health and Fitness Goals for Christmas
1. Be pro-active and take a few minutes now to write down your health & fitness goals for the Christmas period.
2. Write goals in the positive, and make sure they’re specific and measurable. For example, reword “don’t drink too much at Christmas functions” as “enjoy up to 3 glasses of champagne or wine at functions”. This way it’s measurable, and you’re focusing on enjoyment, rather than deprivation.
3. Make a list of all the benefits to you if you achieve your goals.
4. Put these goals somewhere that you can read them every morning.
You may like to use a few of the tips below as a starting place when writing your goals.
Christmas parties
· On the day of your Christmas function, eat as normal, limiting only the size, but not frequency of your meals through the day, to offset the few extra calories you may consume later.
· Have a small low calorie snack before you leave home, so that you don’t arrive starving eg apple and a slice of low fat cheese, cottage cheese and tomato on rye crackers, a single portion of porridge with trim or low fat soy milk.
· Decide before you leave home how much you intend to eat, as it’s easy to lose track when platters continually file past.
At parties, opt for sushi, teriyaki salmon kebabs, char grilled vegetable skewers, crusting, salsa dip, pumpernickel rounds with salmon, mini pitas with Cajun chicken rather than the less healthy choices like spring rolls, samovars, chips, creamy dips, salamis/chorizo, petite croissants, spinach and feta triangles.

Christmas day
· Rather than gorging, enjoy a little bit of everything on offer, as no-one really enjoys being soo full they have to lie down for hours!. Some individuals find bingeing may also trigger a period of destructive eating and exercise habits, so learn from past experiences.
· Gift wrap left-over Christmas goodies like cake, chocolate, gourmet cheeses etc on boxing day, and give them to visitors. This is wise if you find it difficult controlling portions of high fat/high sugar foods.
· Get up Christmas morning and do some form of enjoyable exercise, like walking, swimming in the ocean, cycling etc… Speaking from experience you’ll find there are very few people or cars about (great if you’re a cyclist), so it’s a brilliant time for quiet reflection on all the good things in your life, as well as time to dream and set goals for the year ahead

New exercise and fitness equipment at the club

NEW STUFF IN THE CLUB Yes it's been a couple years but Fitness Focus is bringing in the new year with style. 3 Brand new treadmills, 3 Brand new elyptical trainers, 3 Brand new stepping machines have all been added to the cardio room. New sliders, 2 new punching/kick bags, and 2 brand new spin cycles grace the Aerobics Studio. In the main gym you will notice 2 warm up treadmills for your convienience. We have also added a decline bench, 2 brand new independant incline / decline benches. A second peck deck is a nice advantage, and the long awaited standing calf raise machine All of this as well as a brand new tanning bed will make this holiday season an exceptional one. Merry Christmas http://www.fitnessfocus.ca

Clean Eating on the Road. Watching your diet plan

Join date: Sep 2008Location: Alberta, CANPosts: 103
hello there.... i'm a flight attendant and am often gone for 4 or 5 days at a time, and usually pack a cooler for as many of my meals as i can. however i'm really desperately seeking clean eating options. ideas for food that keeps well, as i rely on freezer packs. as well as non perishable snack options. i'm doing contest prep soon, so ideas can be for on and off season, and would love ideas high in protein... any help is greatly appreciated! THANKS!!!!

It really isn't all that tough to stick to a contest-prep diet when traveling; just takes a bit of "getting used to." ;o) Things like nuts for fats, rice cakes or high-fiber tortillas for carbs, tuna and canned chicken along with protein powder (in ziplock bags) work well for protein. Even cooked foods, like chicken, rice, yams, fish, etc. work well because they don't go bad within just a few hours. You can easily refrigerate those right up until your trip, then just eat them on the plane. Hope this gives you some ideas. =o)

Using the stationary lunge achieving better health and fitness

One of the most highly regarded exercises for your lower body is the lunge, and the lunge is arguably better for achieving a perky rear projection and is safer with those with back problems. You can choose from many lunge exercises, but the stationary lunge offers an opportunity to focus your efforts on intensity, as it is performed without alternating the legs after every repetetion. It can be done with dumbells or a barbell. When done with the latter one can either hold the barbell under and in between your legs, or rest it up on your deltoids. With this way be careful not to put pressure on the vertabrae and the nervs of the base of the neck.

Get your health and fitness started by asking your new coach

Friday Dec 5th 2008 Well we finally have snow, looks like it's sticking around too. I'd like to say hello to all the people outside of Canada viewing our website. Please don't hessitate to send us a comment or question as this site is very new, and may need some small adjustments. We have had visits from over 90 different cities including Providencia, and Oberndorf, and Baoding. This new website is designed just for that reason to work with people all over the world. You still get your one on one private coaching but the majority of information passes through the website and then your coach emails you back every single day. So if you are out there wondering what this Ifit30 thing is all about, send me a comment and I'll tell you all about it. Working with people is one of the best opportunities we have ever had, and when you do something you like, you do it well.

Jason and Tammie Teneycke

Head Coachs