Ok, let’s be real, I’ve been hungry since Monday, while thinking of the goodies my mom is going to prepare for us on Thanksgiving. However, I am also lucky enough to have a mom who understands her baby boy can’t eat like a teenager anymore, and still hope to have the look, energy, and strength of one.

It’s taken a lot of trial and error over the past few years; however, mom and I have finally figured it out and are working together to make sure we all (my family) can live as healthy as possible throughout the year, and yet, not blow it all in one day…that day we all look forward to, in order to get our grub on, Thanksgiving day.

I know you may ask, well what am I suppose to do or eat in order to not add unnecessary pounds over the holiday, while at the same time, not tick my mom or grandmother off, by not eating everything they throw at me? Luckily, you have your boy here to take care of all of the guesswork.

In fact, not only will I give you 6 easy tips to get you through one of the biggest feasts of the year, but I will even throw in a little something to get your metabolism going and burn some extra calories as well. Eh hmmmm…just because I am going to give you something to burn extra calories, does not mean take in more calories, in hopes that my little sumthin sumthin will take care of that.

Ok, here go…

1) Drink lots of water throughout the day. It suppresses the appetite and is something everyone should do year round. As a matter of fact, make sure to drink a cup of water before each meal, as well as drink a cup once every waking hour.

2) Here’s one of my little secrets I use throughout the year at social events. Limit alcohol consumption. Remember that alcohol contains almost as many calories per gram as fat. Alternate alcoholic drinks with water or diet club soda while you’re at a party. I usually drink one glass of water per alcoholic drink.

In terms of what to drink, I try to avoid mixed drinks with soda and juices, because of their high sugar content, Also, watch out with the brews, while watching my Dallas Cowboys kick butt on Thanksgiving day. Yes, I know the Cowboys can drive many to drinking more. However, keep the beer count low, and go “Lite.”

3. Snack on fruits, vegetables and high-fiber foods whenever possible. Dried fruits are healthy and a good alternative to many sweet snacks such as cookies and candy.

4. Don’t “save up” your day’s meals for “the big one” that night. You’ll get too hungry and over-eat to compensate for those missing meals. Thanksgiving day should include a substantial, healthy breakfast and a normal size lunch. Then, when dinnertime arrives you won’t be too famished to practice portion control.

Also, when it’s time for dinner, make sure that your lean meats and veggies consume the majority of your meal. Yes, more turkey and steamed veggies, and less dressing and buttered bread.

5. Get your tookus outside and play some football with the family, walk the dog, walk with some family members and catch up on things, play with the kids; you get the picture. If you need a little help on what to do…see the next tip.

6. Finally, here’s my little gift to you. Here’s a quick bodyweight workout you can do when you first get up in the morning, an hour before lunch or dinner, and/or later in the afternoon in order to keep your metabolism running and calories burning (even when the tryptophan from the turkey kicks in later that night, and you fall asleep.

As a matter of fact, you can do a set of each of these exercises during each commercial during the big game. It sure beats munching on chips and pie for 3 straight hours. Check this out…

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The following workout uses only your bodyweight; however, when performed as followed, you will not only keep or build up your strength levels during the holidays, you will also get a good cardio workout without running a few miles.

Perform the following 4 exercises one right after the other for the given amount of reps, without resting in between all four.

Once you complete all fous exercises, rest for 60 seconds, and begin the cycle of all four back to back again.

You will repeat this pattern 4 times. Drink a cup of water before you begin, sip water during this quick workout, and drink a cup after. Play your cards right, and you may actually go against the grain and “lose” extra pounds this Thanksgiving weekend. Have fun, be safe, and I am truly thankful to be a friend to you all.

1. Squat x 12
2. Push Up x 10 (can also be performed on your knees)
3. Jumping Jacks x 25
4. Dips x 10 ( you can perform these on a steady chair, couch, stair step, even on the bumper of your car.

(As always, make sure you are medically cleared to begin any form of exercise, and always exercise at your own pace.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincere~
“The People’s Trainer” ®
http://www.sincerehogan.com
www.joshoneonline.com

The weather was so great this past weekend. There was no one I was going to stay in, nor let my kiddos do the same. So, instead of sleeping in, and allowing my kids watch cartoons and play video games all day Saturday, as many children in America do these days, I loaded up the backpack, and we headed to the park.

I wanted to make sure let them wear themselves out, so I loaded my backpack with a couple of jump ropes, a football, frisbee, and plenty of water. Suffice it to say, we spent hours playing double dutch, seeing who could jump rope the longest, ran football patterns, counting who could go back and forth on the monkey bars the most (my little princess totally made her brother and me look like wimps on this one), played a round of frisbee, tried several attempts to walk up a tree like a cat (don’t ask), did various pull up contests, not to mention pretending to be world class gymnists on the dip bars, and I even showed them some martial arts moves.

Yes, the 3 of us had a blast. Yet, at the same time, we all had a great full body workout. We literally strength trained every body part, suing only our bodies, worked in some great cardio, and adhered to my favorite way to train, by performing all of these activites in “interval” fashion.

However, the most important thing to observe here is “we had fun!” By being active with my children, not only did we bond as a family, (and they realize Dad is not as much of a dork as they thought….well, the jury’s still out on that one) but my kiddos see the fun in being active and exercising. Days like the one I am describing here will stick with them for the rest of their lives, and will help them to continue to be active, well into their adult years.

The common factor I find with most of my clients, who are trying to change years of being overweight or obese, is that most were not active as children. Many of them told me they were those kids who sat in the bleachers and did homework during P.E. class. I also find that most of these clients had parents who did not make exercise and eating healthy a part of their lifestyle as well. It’s safe to say, our children are greatly influenced by the behavior they observe from their parents.

However, as adults, we have the freedom to be ourselves. We can change any bad habits formed from our earlier years. It’s never too late. One thing I would often hear my parents say, while I was growing up was, “I don’t want you growing up like I did. I want you to be better.” You know, I partially agree. I tell my kiddos, “I want you to learn from me. You can be like me or not, but whatever you choose to do, do it “your” way, and always have fun doing it!”

The 3 of us definiely had fun, running and playing outside, and just being…well…kids. Now ask yourself, are you still having fun? If not, find out what activites are fun to “you” and incorporate them into your fitness routine. It can be anything, such as bowling, walking, hiking, jumping rope, playing flag football, freeze tag, basketball, dancing, etc. Heck, I even hoola hoop with my little girl just about everyday after school.

Oh, don’t laugh. I can hoola hoop with the best of them, and talk about a cardio and ab workout. However, most of all, we are having fun. Take a few minutes to close your eyes, think back to a time in your youth when you did something active and fun. Remember how that activity made you feel. You’re never too old to feel that feeling again. Of course, some of us cannot go full speed doing these activities like we did as 7 year olds, but we can still do it.

And if you were one of the ones who sat in the stands during P.E., and do not have any of these memories of activities during your youth, no worries. You can start creating those memories now. Don’t know where to start? - again, no worries. Go out to your backyard, your local park, play on the playground, check with your local parks & recreation department, your church, or even join a local intramural league. They have a variety of activies for their members, plus it’s a great way to network and meet new people who share your same outlook and goals.

That’s the key to successfully living an active lifestyle, by surrounding yourself with those who will not bring you down for wanting to be healthy, fit, and wanting to have “fun.” Besides, who said the key to being an adult is to be bored, out of shape, tired, depressed, and simply not having any fun? Whoever it was, definitely is not someone we want to hang around, because life is about being active, alive and having fun. How will you go about having fun again? Do whatever floats your boat.

Need some ideas on how to make your backyard or park your own personal gym and playground, check out the folks at undergroundstrengthcoach.com.

Please pass this info you read here to someone you know neds a little fun and activity in their lives. They will be glad you did. As always, remember to read it, learn it, and live it.

BE THANKFUL

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire.
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something,
for it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations,
because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge,
because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes. They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary,
because it means you’ve made a difference.

It’s easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who
are also thankful for the setbacks.
Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,
and they can become your blessings.

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One the things I am most thankful for is my
health, and being healthier now than I was
back in high school and college. I am also thankful
for finding the time for quick workouts, so I know
I no longer have any excuses to not be in shape.

Take 20 minutes for yourself a few days a week,
anywhere, with or without equipment. Hop over
to http://www.joshoneonline.com and you will
see what I am talking about.

Check out this article written by my collegue Craig Ballantyne. Craig is also a highly respected fitness professional, and writes for nationally publicated fitness mags such as Oxygen and Men’s Fitness. I have used a couple of his programs, and can assure you, he knows what he is talking about.

However, I had to repost this article, because these are some of the same confusing myths you all ask me about frequently. So, I will let Craig go more in depth about them for you. Enjoy.

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The Top 5 Fat Loss Myths

By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

There are so many fat loss myths out there in “exercise-land” that I was hired by Men’s Fitness magazine to write about one myth each month.

After all, by now you’ve probably heard that if you don’t do
60-minutes of cardio in your fat burning zone on an empty stomach while Venus is in line with Jupiter, you’ll never burn fat.

The problem with myths is that not only are they wrong and give false hope to millions of people trying to lose weight, but they also waste your time and mental effort.

I have also seen these myths used as justification for cheating on
a diet, watching countless men and women justify their “treats”
because they believe they are on some type of magical exercise
program or nutrition plan.

I could go on for days about fitness myths, but I cut my list from
30 down to the Top 5 Fat Loss Workout Myths today. I’ll save the other 25 for future newsletters.

Myth #1: You have to do cardio first thing in the morning on an
empty stomach.

Relax. You don’t have to hop on the treadmill at 4:30am every
morning. Let’s allow common sense to dictate when and how you exercise.

If you want to work out first thing in the morning, and I know that is the best time for many TT readers, by all means, go ahead and do it. There’s nothing magical about this time - although it is often the only time many of day many people have to themselves.

We need to think “outside of the hour” of exercise and realize that calorie burning and fat burning goes on for 24-hours. Forget about the theories and look at the big picture.

It doesn’t matter when you exercise - as long as you exercise
intensely and consistently. Focus on relatively high-intensity
workouts to increase your metabolism for as many hours after
exercise as possible. That is best done with interval training and
resistance training.

Myth #2: You have to do your cardio in your “fat burning zone”.

Again, nonsense.

While you might burn a larger proportion of total calories as fat
when you exercise in your fat burning zone, you burn fewer calories overall by exercising at such a low intensity.

When you increase your workout intensity and get out of your
so-called “fat burning zone”, you burn more total calories, and as a result, more fat.

In addition, the “fat burning zone” training doesn’t put
“turbulence” on your muscles…so you don’t burn many calories in the post-exercise time period. But with interval training, you burn a significant amount of calories for hours after training, and
that leads to more fat loss.

I’ve worked with hundreds of people that have avoided the fat
burning zone while still managing to lose dozens of pounds of fat.
The “fat burning zone” is one of the biggest fitness myths of all
time.

Myth #3: You have to do cardio for 20 minutes before you burn fat.

When I hear this, I picture a fat-burning switch in my body that
turns on only after I’ve been doing “cardio” for 20 minutes. But
what if I only exercise for 19 minutes and 59 seconds? Are
you telling me that I won’t have burned any fat? That’s ridiculous.

What if I did it on an empty stomach in the morning and in my
target heart rate zone? (read that one sarcastically!)

I’ll say it one last time. We need to be more concerned with our
24-hour metabolism, not how much fat or even how many calories are burned during the workout.

Myth 4: Drinking ice cold water will help you burn calories and
lose fat.

Standing in line at the grocery store is a great place to pick up
the latest fat loss myths. You’ll also find this one all over the
Internet.

This myth often comes along with some calculations showing that by drinking 8 glasses of ice-cold water you can burn 70 calories per day. I don’t believe that actually holds true in real life. Regardless, drinking cold water is not going to burn any more fat off your body than drinking room temperature water.

Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe you should drink 12 glasses of water per day, but the temperature of your water won’t have any effect on your overall fat loss success.

Myth #5: Adding one pound of muscle will burn 50 extra calories each day.

Uh-oh, now I’m cutting down a myth that supports my use of strength training in a fat loss program. But I have an obligation to set the record straight about this extremely prevalent myth (even though I just saw a big name fitness expert perpetuate this myth in a recent article!).

This myth sounds so good. Add a pound ouf muscle, boost your
metabolism 50 calories. That doesn’t seem out of line at all.

But do the math for a guy that puts on 30 pounds of muscle. Does his metabolism really increase by 1500 calories? Absolutely not. For an average guy, that would require his resting metabolism to increase from 2500 calories to 4000 calories per day. How would he be able to keep any of that muscle with a metabolism like that? He’d have to eat like a pig forever.

So when you look at the big picture, you can see this little myth
start to fall apart.

That’s not to say you should stop your strength training, but just don’t use this myth as an excuse to cheat on your diet.

Bonus Myth: Negative Calorie Foods Cause You to Lose Weight

According to the “experts”, a negative calorie food requires more energy to digest than it provides you when you eat it. And included in the negative calorie food list are apples and bananas.

So by this logic, I would actually starve to death if I had nothing
to eat but apples (because I would have a net energy loss from
eating a so-called “negative calorie” food).

There is no such thing as a negative calorie food.

It’s a shame that people are out there promoting this stuff, and
it’s too bad that so many people fall for it.

Remember the old phrase, “if it sounds too good to be true, it
probably is.”

Instead, let the common sense fat loss principles apply. It’s going to take consistent effort, working hard at your workouts and with your nutrition to get the results you want.

I guarantee you that Turbulence Training will successfully
guide you to the fat loss you deserve and desire.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

P.S. Here’s the truth on fat loss from TT users…

“I Coach busy women with no time to look in the mirror, let alone adopt a whole foods lifestyle or exercise yet already! And yet, your Turbulence strategies show almost everyone that everyone has all of the time they’ll ever need to include exercise as a fun, performance-promotion essential to their lives. This program is amazing and plenty challenging because it is simple. Clear but lets no one off the hook. I’m thrilled to say this is a great addition to any woman’s arsenal of “what to do” or “what to look forward to.”
Ann G. Burgess, President, Pathfinders’ Fitness by Design, Arlington , MA

“I have been in possession of TT for a several weeks now; I
absolutely enjoy the program. I can get in to the gym and rip
though the supersets work up a great sweat and pump my energy levels up before I even get to the cardio portion of my work-out. I I have recommended this program to both beginner and veteran alike. Since starting TT I have dropped almost 2% of body fat and look forward to making my goal of 10% body fat in no time. This program is absolutely one of the best anywhere on the Web.”
Alejandro B. Villalobos

About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Better yet, let me rephrase that, “What’s up wit cha folks, playa?” That’s exactly what I want to know, as well. “Sincere, what in the blue hell are you talking about?” you ask. Well, I know you are busting your hump almost every other day, trying to make exercise and eating the right things a part of your daily lifestyle. I’m all about that. I’ve got your back for sure. Just holler (erm…I mean, “holla”) at your boy, and I am there cheering you on.

However, I am merely just your trainer you train with a few days a week, in person, online, or gives fitness advice via my newsletter. What about the people who matter most in your life, such as you mate, family, or friends? Do they fully support your efforts to look and feel better, while living a healthier lifestyle?

If someone in your circle tells you, “Dang, girl/dude, you are looking good! you’ve lost so much weight. How did you do it?” Once you tell them how you have changed your eating habits and are exercising more, he/she says, without missing a beat, “That’s great! Let’s celebrate. Come join us at Happy Hour!” Stop, and reevaluate what’s important to you.

Yes, I know it’s hard to say “No” to your family and friends, who may say, “Come on. You’ve been working hard enough. Take a break for awhile.” No one said any of this would be easy. However, tell me what things in life worth having ever is?

Now, don’t get it twisted. I am not saying you should kick your friends to the curb, or not enjoy a social drink every now and then. In most cases, your friends and family mean well. However, old habits die hard. Keep in mind, for anyone to be successful in anything, be it business, school, and even being healthy and fit, you have to surround yourself with a great supporting cast. In other words, start surrounding yourself around those who truly understand and share your similar goals about living a healthier, fitter lifestyle. Most importantly, don’t forget, you are doing this for “you!”

You never know. Once your family, friends, and even co-workers, see you are committed to changing your old life of feeling tired, unhappy with the way you look, and always lacking energy, to enjoying yourself and life, they just might stop being your biggest cheerleader or fan sitting in the stands, and join you on the “healthy playing field.”

It’s hard to believe it’s the holiday season already. Studies have shown, the average person will gain an average of 12 pounds of fat in the next 8 weeks. However, you are definitely not “average.” You can get the jump on those unwanted poun.ds this holiday season by becoming a member of my JoshOne Inner Circle for less than 50 cents a day!

Jump over to http://www.joshoneonline.com, join today, and receive over 400 buckaroos in free bonuses! this offer is only for the first 25 who sign up, so do not wait. Again, just hop over to http://www.joshoneonline.com, and get the jump on those unwanted holiday now.

Now, I will leave you will a power quote I read from my collegue, Jim Labadie. Read it, understand it, and live it. Here it is…

” More than anything else, your desire to be great has to be your greatest desire.”

Your fitness coach,

Sincere~
“The People’s Trainer” ®

p.s. If you know of anyone who could use the info in this post, please pass it on.