It happens — you miss a few workouts and you feel like you’ve fallen off the weight-loss wagon. It’s tempting to mentally slap yourself around, right? (Or head for the fridge.) Before you start, I want to remind you of something: Being hard on yourself is the Old You.

The New You knows how to deal with setbacks and get back on the wagon. And after all, there are no mistakes, just learning experiences. Weight loss is a process — it takes time. You will encounter small failures — everyone does — but every pound you gain can be lost.

And if you miss a workout, it’s not the end of the world! Get to the gym the next day and continue to focus on your short-term goals. Just because you made bad choices today doesn’t mean you can’t start over tomorrow. New day? New beginning. And don’t you forget it!

Ugh, the lower gut — it’s often the last thing to go, right? Lower-abdominal flab can be downright persistent, but it can be reduced with the right diet and exercise regimen. If your gut instincts are telling you to start crunching, you’re on the right track. Although crunches by themselves won’t burn belly fat, they will strengthen your core, burn intramuscular fat, and help you build lean, calorie-burning muscle. If you want an exercise that specifically targets the lower and transverse abs, try the Reverse Crunch.

Reverse Crunch
•Lie on your back with your feet off the floor, knees bent, and ankles together. Bring the tops of your quads inward and onto your stomach so that you don’t swing your legs to gain momentum during the movement. (This also helps you isolate your lower abs during the crunch instead of engaging the hip flexors.) Relax your head, neck, and shoulders, resting them on the floor. Rest your arms at your sides, palms facedown on the floor.
•Lift your pelvis off the floor, and curl it toward your rib cage. Make sure to exhale fully while you’re crunching in order to maximize the contraction.
If you really want a challenge, hold your arms out at your sides and several inches off the floor. This helps to further isolate your abs, prohibiting your arms from assisting in the crunch by pressing off the floor with your hands.

Making simple changes that either cut out or burn off extra calories will add up to weight loss over the course of a year.
1. Switch up your snacks. “First of all, watch mindless snacking,” says Emily Banes, RD, clinical dietitian at the Houston Northwest Medical Center in Houston, Texas. “[Those calories] really add up.” Instead of grazing on the baked goodies in the break room, have a plan for healthy snacks that combines a little bit of fat, protein, and crunch, such as apple slices smeared with peanut butter. If you are counting calories, doing the math may help: a pound is the equivalent of 3,500 calories, so if you can cut 100 calories out of your day, you will lose a pound in just over a month.

2. Cut out high-calorie condiments and sugars. “Instead of getting a coffee with sugar, try Splenda,” says Banes. Likewise, try mustard on your burger or sandwich instead of mayonnaise, and order your salad dressing on the side so that you can control the amount you eat.

3. Hoof it. “Exercise is key,” says Banes. People who manage at least 150 minutes of activity a week are more successful with weight loss. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or park a bit farther from your destination so you have to walk. This will add extra exercise — and burn more calories.

4. Anticipate temptation. If you know you can’t resist freshly baked brownies, don’t keep a mix in your pantry. Also, if you are going somewhere with friends and family and know you’ll have a hard time controlling yourself, make a decision before you get there about what you will eat — and stick to it.

5. Try the veggie-loaded plate method. Banes recommends using your plate to guide your food selection and portion sizes. One half of the plate should be vegetables. The other side can be split between protein and starchy carbohydrates. If you decide to get a second plate, says Banes, it had better be all vegetables. People who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day are more successful with weight loss.

6. Skip the fast food. A study of 1,713 adults who have been successful with weight loss demonstrated that people who eat at fast-food restaurants less than twice a week have greater success with their weight loss. “If you do eat fast foods, don’t supersize it,” says Banes, and try to opt for a salad, small portions, or “get baked, not fried.”

7. Limit the calories you drink. While most people understand sugary sodas add calories, Banes sees a misconception when it comes to sweet tea and juices. Sweetened tea is no less calorie-dense than soda, and you’d be better off eating the fruit than drinking the juice, advises Banes.

8. Be accountable. Whether you have a diet buddy you check in with, a support group, or a food diary, keeping track of your daily food choices takes only a few minutes, but can double your weight-loss success.

9. Order smaller portions. Data suggests that people who order smaller portions or share a plate at restaurants are more successful with weight loss. Banes recommends ordering the lunch portion, an appetizer, or a children’s meal — or put up to half your meal into a doggy bag before you begin eating.

10. Acknowledge your success. People who believe they can succeed with weight loss actually do lose weight more successfully. How do you gain this confidence? Take a moment to pat yourself on the back when you make healthy choices and achieve your short-term goals.

These small changes, all of which can easily be made, will quickly add up to more pounds lost over time.

How Much Fiber Do You Need?
Women up to age 50, it’s at least 25 grams of fiber daily. After age 50, fiber needs decrease slightly.
Unfortunately most people don’t meet these recommendations. In fact, on average, Americans consume only 14 grams of fiber per day.
Your individual daily fiber intake goal is really based on your calorie consumption. It is recommended that you get 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you eat. So, for example, if you eat 2,500 calories a day diet, you should be getting about 35 grams of fiber a day.

Tips for Boosting Your Fiber Intake
According to Sari Greaves, RD, CDN, a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, there are a number of ways you can increase the amount of fiber in your diet:

Have vegetable-based meals. “Add vegetables to sandwiches, pizza, and pasta,” Greaves suggests. When you’re filling up your plate, first load half with non-starchy vegetables, then one-fourth with starch, such as breads, potatoes, or starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, and squash, and the last one-fourth with lean protein, like fish, skinless poultry, and lean meats.Choose whole-wheat flour products. Whole grains consist of three layers: the outer bran, the middle endosperm, and the inner germ. Refined grains like white flour, on the other hand, are stripped of the fiber-rich bran and germ layers, leaving only the starchy endosperm. When you choose brown rice instead of white rice and whole-grain breads and crackers instead of white or processed ones, you are boosting the amount of fiber in your diet. To determine if a packaged food is whole-grain, look for the word “whole,” as in whole wheat, on the ingredient list, which means that all of the grain layers are still intact.Skip the juice. Fruit juice doesn’t contain as much fiber as whole fruits. Your best bet is to choose fruits that contain edible seeds, such as kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, and figs, Greaves says.Eat more beans. Greaves recommends that you incorporate more fiber-rich beans into your diet by eating bean-based soups, adding black beans or peas to your salad, or stirring kidney beans into your chili. It is best to eat fresh or frozen beans, but if you eat the canned variety, look for labels that say “no salt added” or rinse them before you eat them, since canned beans tend to be higher in sodium.Snack on high-fiber foods. Turn to high-fiber foods anytime you reach for a snack. Greaves suggests snacking on baby carrots, celery, and sliced cucumbers dipped in humus; microwaved frozen edamame (soy beans); or dried fruit mixed with fat-free popcorn, nuts, and seeds.Keep the skins on. Eating potatoes with the skin is a great way to increase your fiber intake.
When you first begin incorporating more fiber into your diet, it is not uncommon to experience abdominal cramping, bloating, and gas. You can help prevent this discomfort by making these changes gradually and increasing the amount of liquids you drink along with your fiber intake.
Before long, your body will adjust to the change, and you will be reaping all of the health benefits of a high-fiber diet.

Do you have what it takes to reach your weight-loss goals? If you think it’s all about diet and exercise, you’re wrong. It sounds crazy, I know. Exercise and a proper diet are crucial to all weight-loss and fitness programs. But to reach any long-term goal — especially one that requires a major lifestyle change — you need to improve your attitude too. You can have all the external support in the world, but if your self-esteem is in the toilet, you’ll never have long-term success. Having the right attitude is so important because thought is behavior. The power of the mind is total — the way you think about yourself manifests as your reality. We all know how easily negative thoughts can lead to lack of confidence, hopelessness, and depression. You’ve heard about self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Well, if you tell yourself that you’ll always be fat or you’ll never find happiness, chances are you’ll end up fat and unhappy. Hey, it makes sense. Okay then, let’s turn that scenario around. Tell yourself that you can get fit and you will be happy. It’s that simple. You can master your own fate with positive thinking! ~Jillian Michaels~

Everyone Welcome, including Biggest Loser Contestants!
Ruth & I are going to turn back the hands of time when we were younger and manage to get through Cardio for an hour in class! Come challenge yourself. Bring a friend to help get you through! Beginner or Intermediate. levels have no fear, you can march in place and be motivated to stay in class with all the energy floating around from Instructor to Member! Ruth & I will bring the Cardio if you bring the “Partee”! Refreshments will be served after the “AB Station” class that will be held from 10:00 – 10:30. Let us know you are coming so we can have enough refreshments to go around!! Call Southside 272-1095. Don’t know you were coming until the last minute? No worries, we will have room and refreshments for everybody!!
Westend had their Cardio Challenge on Saturday June 12, 2010 and we had a blast! 89 women of all ages, backgrounds & fitness levels started & 89 finished! Your only goal is to stay on the floor and keep going.
Grab your friends and let’s have fun while we are getting fit!

Sign up in the club or email info@victorylady.com include your name and phone number and how many guests you will bring.