Click here to view the embedded video.

1. Family time does not have to mean sit and eat.  Quality time together can be spent doing other activities.  Try to clear the table while people are slowing down to take away temptations of over eating.
2. Traditional meals probably contain high calorie ingredients such as pasta, butter, oil, cheese and sugar.  Be creative and consult some low fat cooking sources on alternative ingredients that will cut several hundred calories per dish using items like egg whites, applesauce, fruit paste, lighter versions (not fat free) and etc.  No need to tell the family–they probably won’t notice!
3. Add some new dishes to the dinner table of salads, vegetable, fruits and broth-based soups.  These are generally healthier choices so you can fill up in these and eat less “empty calorie” stuff.
4. Schedule in your exercise in the mornings.  Ask a friend or family member to join, it will help with accountability/
5. Learn to say “No Thank You”.  You do not have to try every dish prepared or eat all that you take.
6. While in preparation, only sample the food that is necessary.  You could potentially eat 500-800 calories in sampling before you sit down to eat.  Save yourself for the meal only to save some unwanted calories that may sneak in!
7. Eat ONLY until you are satisfied, NOT full.  If you sit at the dinner table for more then 2 hours, you are probably going to eat more then you need to because it’s there.
8. Keep a log of ALL of your exercise and food.  The average amount of calories for an adult between the ages of 30-55 who participates in moderate activity of 2-3 hours a week is 1800 (women)-2300 (men).  The average holiday meal including drinks can average around 2800-3200.  Logging keeps you aware of why the scale goes up and down during this time of year.
9. Create a 15 min exercise routine that you can do every during the busy times. Add things like jumping jacks, jump rope, bridge, push ups, etc.  You want to have tools outside of the gym!
10. Holidays are stressful times and sometimes depressing for some.  Exercise boosts your body’s production of serotonin, the body’s “happy drug”.   Don’t let stress win!  If you need some support hire a trainer or a coach.  You’ll be glad you had the discipline and you will be ahead of the game for the New Year!

Get your FREE copy of the 30 Day JUMP Start program workbook and audio on my site!  http://www.invisiblefitness.com

This is the perfect time to print it and use it as a daily log til the end of the year.  It can motivate you as well as be a gentle reminder that the holiday is just a DAY, not a season.

In the last few weeks, I have been busy traveling around in meetings, business trainings and new clients. I have been on different time zones, I have had irregular sleep and I haven’t really slowed down all that much.

So I have adrenal fatigue.  It’s a mild case compared to when I had it last year after my wedding when I came home from the honeymoon and my body crashed literally for a month or more.  Taking a walk got my heart rate up!  I could tell by how my body was responding and acting that it had taken on too much stress and it would need some time to heal.

I haven’t gone that far this time but for sure my body was telling me to slow down.  I have actually started on some bio-identical hormones as well and will show you everything I am doing and why so you can get a first-hand look at it all.

The bottom line for most of us is- WE ARE NOT MACHINES.  And for us women, we are not MEN.  Men have more testosterone and can “hunt the deer” for many more hours than we are supposed to.  So when women push and drive like men, we burn out quickly.

I have always had a lot of energy but I do push myself mostly because frankly, I can.  But my body pays the price and at least I love myself enough to catch it early and be proactive about it.  If I didn’t, I’d have no one to blame in 5-10 years when I have chronic pain or a disease or sickness.  What you do now creates your future in every way.

Here is me getting needled!  It’s my #1 favorite way to take care of myself in addition to eating well and exercising!

Here is a list of all my favorite local acupuncturists!

Heather Lounsbury 310.259.5165  For anyone in Santa Monica, Hollywood, West LA

Maria Ravis: 310 640 2129  For anyone in Southbay area (El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach)

Bill Flanagan: 949 244 5170 for anyone in Orange County (Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Laguna )

Shaheed Abdullah:  310 993 6903  for anyone in San Diego area

Since our 6 Week Beach Body Program uses MIND TOOLS such as EFT, hypnosis and meditation, I wanted to share with you WHY and HOW you can lose weight by changing the way you THINK.

For some of you , the idea of hypnosis is being told to act like a chicken.  Wrong.

This article was written by Susan French, C.Ht.

Hypnosis is a powerful tool but exactly HOW does it work? The real magic is that hypnosis works as both a “magic wand” and as a “snowball gathering snow.”

Let’s take a look at each separately and then how they work together.

The magic-wand effect is when you have a hypnosis session and your issue is solved instantly and without further effort. Magic!

The snowball effect is what you experience with several hypnosis sessions, in which each session reinforces and enhances the relief created by previous sessions.

The reality is that both effects create permanent change. Hypnosis creates the initial change. Reinforcement ensures that the change lasts.

Reinforcement occurs when you regularly use a reinforcement CD made by your hypnotherapist, induce self-hypnosis, or through continued subsequent sessions with your hypnotherapist. Your hypnotherapist guides you in creating the initial change and reinforcing it, thereby accomplishing your goal of permanent, positive change.

Now, let’s look at it a little more closely.

We use hypnosis to change responses and behaviors. All responses and behaviors are learned. All that hypnosis really does is cause very rapid learning (or relearning) to take place so that new responses and behaviors become automatic.

Hypnosis allows this rapid learning to occur by interrupting the conscious, critical factor of the mind/brain. For reasons of survival, the critical factor of the mind/brain slows down the learning process. However, when those initial survival reasons are no longer necessary, it makes sense to interrupt or bypass the critical factor, which is precisely what hypnosis does – painlessly, safely, and effectively.

We know that no learning is INSTANT. You didn’t learn to ride a bike instantly. You didn’t learn to speak instantly. You didn’t learn to read or write instantly. You were taught the initial ideas and methods and those ideas were repeatedly reinforced until they become automatic.

Hypnosis allows that learning or relearning to happen more rapidly. However, as with any learning process, it needs to be reinforced. Thus, hypnosis is both a “magic wand” and a “snowball gathering snow.”

Let’s take a look at Joanna’s experience to get a better idea of exactly how hypnosis DOES work:

Joanna was sitting in the waiting room at the Hypnosis Motivation Institute. She was waiting for her first hypnotherapy appointment. She was desperate to lose weight. She had lost and gained at least three hundred pounds in her thirty-two years. Now, here she was, seventy pounds overweight again. She had tried everything.

She had heard some say that hypnosis could be like a magic wand. She had heard others say it didn’t work at all. Her best friend Martha had just lost fifty-five pounds using hypnosis. She said it was easy and it worked, but that Joanna would have to do her part too. Would it work for her?

If this reminds you of your own questions about weight loss and hypnosis, keep reading.

We can call the habit of overeating a food addiction, compulsive overeating, or a self-destructive habit. Whatever we call it, though, once that kind of behavior takes control, you will need to unlearn old, destructive behaviors and relearn new, constructive ones.

Joanna followed through with her hypnosis for weight loss. She learned the reasons she ate for comfort and she altered those behaviors. She learned that eating good, fueling foods were essential, and she incorporated those ideas into her daily life. She also learned that she needed to move her body more. Exercise became her oasis. It became her “me-time” every day.

Joanna lost her seventy pounds easily and happily and has maintained her new weight because she created a new relationship with food, with her body, and with life itself. That was five years ago.

Hypnosis makes the process of transforming counterproductive behaviors to productive behaviors easy, effective, and empowering. Any behavior that does not serve your goals and dreams can be changed using hypnosis.

Hypnosis accelerates your learning process so that what might have taken you twenty years to “learn” can be restructured in four to six sessions.

Hypnosis is being used in major medical institutions, such as, Harvard Medical School, UCLA, Stanford, Kaiser Permanente, Beth Israel Deaconness Hospital, and many burn centers, to ease pain, fear, and treatment [, and accelerate healing] for their patients.

Hypnosis is approved by, both, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) for Complementary and Alternative Medical Treatment and as an adjunct to traditional treatments.

The moral of this story is this: if you are wondering if hypnosis is a magic wand or a cumulative change response (snowball effect), it is both!

If all else has failed and you are ready and committed to achieving your goals, it is time to try hypnosis. It works!

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And that’s why we use it as the foundation for changing your MIND on the 6 Week Beach Body Program.  We want you to have long lasting change, not temporary results!   http://www.6weekbeachbody.com

Please take a minute to read one of my favorite speeches given by Marianne Williamson. I think the title of this is ” Don’t Shrink”.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves,“Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Every time I read that I feel like there is nothing else I could say to make this point any clearer. You always have at least 2 options.  You could go left or right, think of something as right or wrong, go forward or backward as well as many other choices, I am sure you get the picture.  And in life, I believe you have the choice to believe that you are here to serve the world or you are here to get from the world.

Can you have both of those beliefs at the same time?  Of course, but on a day to day basis how do you look at the world and what do you expect?  From way back in my childhood, I can remember KNOWING that I had to give back, serve the world and help people.   And through my journey, it has been revealed to me the most effective and joyous ways I can do that.  Just be me.

Live my life to the best of my ability and be an example of what it is I stand for.  Walk my walk and talk my talk. As I learn and grow, I share that with people around me.  I use my life as an example for others to learn from.  I put it ALL out there because I feel that is how I connect with the teachers I have as well.

It’s inspiring to me to watch other women grow, change, become wildly successful, find their perfect mate, be insanely happy and that inspires me to do the same.  If I looked around, read the paper, watched the news every day, I would probably believe that life is hopeless, hard, unhappy and negative.  But I don’t.

I CHOOSE my thoughts.  I search for inspiration. I choose to live my life as an example of inspiration to others who might not otherwise believe in themselves.  I create products and programs that serve as a way for me to reach out and help others overcome the obstacles in their way.  I love what I do and I love who I am.  And everything I stand for is also about helping you to love who you are too.

“Hi JJ, I had to write to tell you I think you are really gifted at what you do and are passionate about. I can’t tell you how much your own openness and naked honesty about yourself helps me and encourages me in my journey to health, wealth and overall life satisfaction!

I am feeling very encouraged today and feel this sense of encouragement and empowerment that came from our session today will carry me over to the next week, and so on. Thank You again for being true and authentic!” Brenda R, CA

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A new study that was published recently by the American Journal of Epidemiology compares the density of fast food restaurants to a high walking traffic city. Click here to read the original article Link to original article.

The bottom line was not shocking- if you live where there are a high density of fast food restaurants, you are more likely to gain more weight and be “fatter” than the people who live in high walking traffic areas.

I was interviewed for Demo Dirt Gold about this article and I thought I would share some of the tips I gave to her.

“Personal fitness trainer J.J. Flizanes (www.invisiblefitness.com) advises people who live in high-density fast food areas to keep healthy, non-perishable snacks in the car. “Often if people are very hungry, they will say they are starving, and can’t think straight, and they will fall into the habit of not caring what they eat,” she explains. “They will get headaches, mood swings, and a desire for fat and sugar.”

“Get a shoebox, a plastic shoebox, that you can buy for a dollar, and fill it with nuts, dried fruit, and protein bars. If you’re feeling really hungry, you can maintain your blood sugar to get yourself by between meals,” Flizanes advises.

Whatever you do, she warns, “Avoid fast food. Fast food means fat people.”
The other key? Flizanes says that who, not just what, you are surrounded by will affect you. “Surround yourself with positive people who have the same goal,” she says.”

What I said was “Friends don’t let friends drive through”

If you live in a city where there is an overwhelming amount of fast food, you need to prepare yourself.

1.   Stick that plastic shoe box in your car filled with good, healthy, non perishable snacks.  This can  help curb your hunger in between meals so you don’t head to the drive through.  You should be eating something every 4-5 hours to maintain blood sugar so you do not crash.

2.   You are what you eat and what you are surrounded by. You are the sum of the 5 people you hang around most and you are the sum of the 5 habits you keep.  Iron sharpens iron.  If you want to change your habits, find people and places that support you in doing that because they want the same thing.  If your spouse or house-mate have opposite habits, it may be more challenging for you to stay disciplined. Find ways to have support , get new friends or move! J

3.   Vision Board: This is a place where you can paint the life you want and use visual reminders of it every day.  I have food on my vision board- Organic Produce Delivery!  I want to be delivered fresh, organic produce weekly to support my healthy lifestyle!

4.   Make a date to walk.  Find a place near home or work that you can walk to 2-3 times a week. It doesn’t have to be that far, just practice saving money on gas for an errand or two and walk.  You will save money on gas, help the environment, burn some calories and inspire others to do the same.

5.   Change the way to relate to junk food and fast food.  I was once in line for Del Taco late at night after dancing.  I had an apple next to me but I was in the mood for cheese.  I battled driving through but I had such a craving that it took over.  As I was in line, I saw a very large women walk out of the restaurant and THAT was all I needed to see to turn around and leave.  I had cheese at home.  Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.

Try our 30 Day JUMP Start Program FREE  – Workbook and Audio valued at $197

Sign in and get your copy!  http://www.invisiblefitness.com

For more info on programs and products that can help support you in changing your habits, please contact  info@invisiblefitness.com

by J.J. Flizanes, Director of Invisible Fitness

Named by Elite Traveler Magazine as their 2007 Global Black Book pick of Best Personal Trainer in Los Angeles , JJ has been lauded by Shape Magazine as one of the top 6 fitness trainers in 2003.

http://www.invisiblefitness.com

800 571 5722

1.       the people who think or are diagnosed as depressed

2.       everyone else who experiences ups and downs

I have talked about this before for those of you who have been with me for awhile.  I wanted to bring it back into focus during this time of our experience because of all the “bad” news that is out there. I first must tell you that I choose not to give it energy- so I feel as happy and as hopeful as ever!   But if you have been subjected to a job loss, stock loss or other circumstances where the energy surrounding you  is sad, fearful and depressed- please read on.

You know that exercise is good for your body, but did you know that exercise is also good for your head? How does exercise compare with medication for the treatment of depression? A recent placebo-controlled study conducted by James Blumenthal, professor of psychology at Duke University and published in the September issue of the journal Psychosomatic Medicine compared exercise to a common antidepressant medication in a group of individuals diagnosed with major depressive disorder, and found that exercise was as effective as the drug at alleviating symptoms of the disorder. In fact, a research team that included psychologist Penny McCullagh, PhD, reached the following conclusions:

1.       Exercise was a beneficial antidepressant both immediately and over the long term.

2.    Exercise was an equally effective antidepressant  for both genders.

3.  The greater the length of the exercise program and the larger the total number of exercise sessions, the greater the decrease in depression with exercise.

There are more but I chose to list the top 3 in my opinion.  Why not lose weight, increase your stamina, AND heal depression at the same time?  And the best part- it’s FREE!

I know it’s considered easy in our society to take a pill. Everyone wants the magic pill for everything.  But pause for a minute and think about where this mentality has gotten us?  What has this type of mentality COST us? I think we can see evidence of it in our health, wealth and happiness.  Here are some shocking facts for our current health status:

• The world now has more people who are overweight than people who are hungry (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2007)
• It is projected that by 2023 there will be a 42% increase in cases of the seven chronic diseases, which will cost $4.2 trillion in treatment and lost economic output (DeVol et. Al. 2007)
• According to the World Health Organization, The US is the world’s fattest nation, with over half of adults overweight or obese. But China and India are growing fatter at a faster pace. By 2015, the number of overweight and obese adults in China and India will grow by 66% and 44% respectively (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2007)

Then there’s our economic status- which I do not need to tell you about.  The point I am making here though is that the way in which we have done things before are proving to us to be ineffective, costly and even deadly.  It’s time for CHANGE.  We voted on it so let’s DO it!

For those of you who are not “clinically depressed” but definitely get into a “funk”, all the same info applies.  Chemically, we stimulate our brains and our bodies to produce our own natural “happy drug” when we exercise- so if you are feeling low… spend at least 10 min doing something to elevate your heart rate and circulate some happiness!

J.J. Flizanes is the Director of Invisible Fitness and was named the best personal trainer in Los Angeles for 2007 by Elite Traveler Magazine. Invisible Fitness offers fitness coaching, workshops & seminars and corporate programs. 800 571 5722  http://www.invisiblefitness.com

Sources

Psychosomatic Medicine, September 2007;
Babyak, M. A., Blumenthal, J. A., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Doraiswamy, P. M., Moore, K. A., Craighead, W. E., Baldewicz, T. T., & Krishnan, K. R. (2000). Exercise treatment for major depression: Maintenance of therapeutic benefit at 10 months. Psychosomatic Medicine, Vol. 62. pp. 633-638.

North, T. C., P. McCullagh, and Z. V. Tran. (1990). Effect of exercise on depression. Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews Vol. 18 pp. 379-415.

I have gone through some major life changes in the last few months and I myself have been extremely exhausted–sleeping 10-11 hours every night and still having no energy!  I was so UN motivated and tired to the point of wondering if it was mild depression!  I want to share my story with you for two reasons.  First, I am human too and feel ALL the same things you go through to the extent of my experience.  It’s always amazing to me to hear what clients think I am “like”. I am not super human. Secondly, through my pain and suffering, I hope to provide some hope, insight and maybe a new perspective on your own journey. I also want you to know that I truly understand.

As some if not most of you know, I got married in early August.  In the few months prior to the wedding, I was on “super overdrive” trying to get all details taken care of and successfully fund our event. I had a wedding planner (who was great) and that did help but the stress of this undertaking especially when we did it as a destination wedding was HUGE- more than I thought.  Well, more than I was aware at the time.

The wedding was fabulous and the wedding day was stress free thanks to all this planning! On our honeymoon, we got a call from Jeanne Peters who shared with us a “healer” named Ken that creates and works with flower essences.  Jeanne had encouraged us to have a session with him if we could before we left the island.  And we did.

To keep it short and simple, my reading was one of the deepest and intense readings he had ever done.  He said it 4 times in the 45 minutes we spent focused on me. I think he was relieved when my reading was over because he wasn’t used to delivering such powerful news.  Most flower essence readings are “kinda nice” as he described it.

The gist of my reading had to do with very early patterns growing up that I developed to compensate for something I didn’t want to feel.  There has been a feeling for 30+ years that I have NOT allowed myself to feel!  The flower essences were suppose to bring those up in order to balance them and dissolve them.

Let’s just say that for the past few weeks, since returning from the wedding, I have been not motivated, exhausted, depressed, and physically weak.   This phase went on for 3-4 weeks!!  ( I feel better now)  If I didn’t have to leave the house, I wouldn’t.  I even cancelled all my appointment one day because I was immobile and my body felt heavy and weak.  Even going for a walk would get me in my target heart rate zone!  Just WALKING!  I saw physical effects of my emotions.  I had plenty of rest, I ate fairly well (I am still gluten free) so the only thing it could be was emotional.

Wow.  What do you do when you feel this way?  I had no idea.  Normally, I just talk myself out of it! And choosing your thoughts is how to gain control of your life but I was doing it to AVOID feeling what I felt.  And so the feelings would get “Swept under the rug” so to speak and have built up over my life time.

So what if you are not motivated?  I wasn’t.  But what I was- was curious as to WHY.  Of course I have the desire to be as healthy and as fit as I can.  I didn’t like that I wasn’t working out.  I didn’t like feeling exhausted.  But just like a detox, I came to understand what was going on with me to except thi”phase”.

Had Ken NOT explained that the emotions would be triggered, I may have not taken the whole prescribed bottle.  But I knew to expect a detox of sorts.  I also while really IN this, made peace with myself, forgave myself and tried to be as loving as I could.  And then it passed.  I didn’t fight it.

For some people, feeling unmotivated is the excuse to stay in that stage longer than you need to.  It could be fear.  Fear of failure.  Fear of success. Fear of lack of support or fear of the unknown.

What is the underlying reason of your lack of motivation?  I believe, once you can pinpoint that, it dissolves.

For all the ladies who have made it to the end of this story, Jeanne Peters Rd and I are hosting a women’s only workshop called LOVE YOUR BODY.  It’s happening November 7-9^th, 2008.  If you would like to get to the bottom of your lack of motivation or any other feeling that is stopping you from attaining the health and body YOU deserve, call or email to sign up.  We’d love to help you transform your relationship with YOUR body.

Written by JJ Flizanes, Director of Invisible Fitness

800 571 5722

http://www.invisiblefitness.com