Step up and take responsibility for your successes and failures, whether it’s fat loss or not.  Stop blaming the lack of time, the product, the weather, your friends, your family….just stop it. Stop making excuses and start today….start now! If your goal is fat loss and you don’t know what to do, start by reading my posts. Go to Youtube and do a search on BusyGuy Workout and watch the free video (or scroll down and watch one on this site). It’s a 4 minute workout! Just do it! No more excuses!

The truth is, not everyone is willing or able to accept that when it comes down to it, the outcome of their fitness and nutrition program is based solely on their own personal responsibility. Of course there is always exceptions, but for the vast majority of us, it’s up to us to have the resolve and will power to reach our fat loss goals.

My experience has shown that many, many people lack personal responsibility and accountability. Remember, only you are responsible for you. NO ONE can make you lose fat, no one. I cannot force you to stick to an exercise program. I cannot demand you eat right. I wish I could, but I cannot.

Only you can make changes in your life. You are the only person who can create a happy, healthy, vibrant, loving and thriving life. I can provide the tools and motivation, but you are the master of your destiny. You are the sole force that determines how successful you will be in your life. Ask yourself these questions:

- Do you love waking up in the morning because you are excited about your day?

- Are you truly happy with your body?

- Do you really believe that you are in control of your life?

- Do you acknowledge that your thoughts are not enough? Action is key.

I help many people find a path to happiness through living healthy and fit lives. I can, beyond a shadow of a doubt, proclaim that once you push aside the excuses, once you really step up to the plate, you will hit a home run. There will be hard times, but with the proper tools, motivation and goals you can and will overcome them.

Personal responsibility is the main success factor in fat loss. It is not luck that I find time to workout. We all have 24 hours in a day. How we decide to spend that time really determines our life’s outcome. Watching 4 hours of television each night is not conducive to you if your goal is fat loss. It’s all about personal responsibility and doing what you know is right for you. So I ask, are you responsible enough to lose fat? Can you hold yourself accountable? Although research shows that a strong support group often increases success exponentially, at the end of the day, it’s really up to you.

There is a big fuss right now over the 2 commercials the corn refiners association has released regarding high fructose corn syrup.

To summarize, the commercials say that it is okay to consume high fructose corn syrup in moderation. 

Well, what is moderation when high fructose corn syrup is in almost every food Americans eat today.

Obviously their intent is to get people to eat more foods that contain high fructose corn syrup so that the corn refiners make more money.

It was interesting that they showed fruit juice and a popsicle in the two commercials with one of the commercials was based on giving kids fruit juice.

Need I say that most fruit juices on the shelves today contain less than 10% of real fruit juice?

So is it ok to keep feeding ourselves and our kids foods that contain high fructose corn syrup?

Is it harmful to our bodies?

Here are some facts you should know:

When high fructose corn syrup was introduced as a society we started veering away from whole and natural foods such as fruits and vegetables and starting eating more processed foods as well as more soft drinks. 

If you substituted the high fructose corn syrup for sucrose in the same foods you would most likely end up with the same result.

Many people overweight. 

You see they both contain the same amount of calories. 

Calories that we don’t need. 

If we just avoided these processed foods and soft drinks we would lose weight fast.

If you drank a soft drink with high fructose corn syrup and a soft drink with sucrose you would end up with the same result. 

A high calorie soft drink that our bodies do not need.

The bottom line is this: 

The definition of moderation to most health professionals is that something can be eaten every once in a while such as 1-3 times a week. 

Moderation does not mean 5 times a day, which is what we tend to consume in high fructose corn syrup every day. 

Go back to eating more whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and natural grains along with lean meats and you will see that you lose weight fast and will keep it off forever.

I absolutely LOVE using Workout Muse with my workouts as I don’t have to bother with a watch. The music also gets me pumped up. It’s a great resource and I suggest everyone tries it. You can get a free track as a member of the BusyGuy Fit Club or head on over to Workout Muse for a larger selection. As BJ likes to say….Crank It!

Yesterday I talked about the Carb Rotation Diet and why I liked it for BusyGuy Fit Club members. Whether you’re a BGF Club member, are following the BusyGuy or BusyGal Fitness Workout for Fat Loss or are just looking to start eating healthy and shed some pounds, the Carb Rotation Diet is a great choice. The fact that when you’re done with the program you never have to diet again is a huge plus in my book and if it was like all the other fad diets out there, I wouldn’t be endorsing it. So I suggest you give it a shot.

So I decided to pick up the phone and ask Jayson for an interview. Luckily for all of us, he was happy to oblige. Here’s the seven questions I asked him:

1)The goal of the BusyGuy Workout for Fat Loss and the BusyGuy Fit Club is to provide ultra-busy people with all the training and nutritional guidance and resources they’ll need to maximize their fat loss and lean muscle gains. How does the Carb Rotation Diet help ultra-busy people who have no time to cook or count calories?

Well, it is designed to keep your eating habits simple and uncomplicated. One of the ways is by simplifying how you determine your caloric intake and by not counting calories. I have devised a way to determine how much and what nutrients you should be eating so that you can maximize your nutrition. There are also many simple techniques in the Carb Rotation Program discussing meal planning, shopping and how to prepare your meals to maximize your time

2)If you had to give one piece of advice to ultra-busy people looking to maximize fat loss, what would it be?

If I had to give one piece of advice it would be to eat frequently. Don’t restrict calories when trying to lose weight. You will see sure defeat if you try to starve yourself when it comes to losing weight.

3)What can BusyGuy Fit Club followers expect from the Carb Rotation Diet?

Well, they can expect to lose up to 15 pounds in just 30 days. They can also expect to be taught how to make easy behavior modifications so that once they are done with the program they won’t ever have to diet again. This is where many diets suffer in that they don’t teach you how to eat once you have lost the weight.

4)With a new diet system coming out what seems like everyday, how is the Carb Rotation Diet different from all the other fad diets out there? Is this another “low carb” diet?

Like I said previously many diets will get the weight off of you, but then they don’t teach you how to live and eat once you have lost the weight. So what happens is you end up regaining the weight you lost and then go on the next diet thinking it is going to be better. There is a science to how you control the intake of your carbohydrates. When combined with other nutrients in a certain form of timing you can greatly accelerate your fat loss and speed up your metabolism at the same time. This is not a “low carb” diet. It is a systematic way to manipulating your carb intake to maximize fat loss.

5)Here’s a question I get a lot, and I’ve heard different opinions, so I’d like to ask you. “I do my BusyGuy workout first thing in the morning, do I need to eat something before I workout? (I normally just have a cup of coffee about 30 minutes before)”

Yes, you should at least have a small amount of fast digesting carbohydrates. The reason is because you have fasted from the night before and your glucose levels are low first thing in the morning. If you want to maximize your workout and burn the maximum amount of calories then you need to provide your body the fuel it needs to get started. If you only drank ½ a cup of orange juice 30 minutes before your workout you would be able to kick start your body and maximize your workout so that you burned the most amount of calories.

6)Can you tell my readers why eating carbs is beneficial to people whose main goal is to lose fat?

Carbs are beneficial for the simple fact that you need them to function efficiently. When you don’t eat enough carbs your body has to rely on other forms of energy and just doesn’t run optimally. The big thing in losing fat is controlling the carb intake and manipulating the intake in such a way that your body will shed fat faster than using other methods of weight loss.

7)Many of my readers travel a lot. What tips can you give the ultra-busy traveler when it comes to eating for fat loss?

One of the most important tips I could give is to not be afraid to ask for a change in your meal when at a restaurant. If your meal comes with fries as for a side salad or vegetables instead. If you meal has a sauce that you know is fattening then ask for a different sauce of no sauce at all. Most restaurants are very accommodating about this and are happy to fulfill your suggestions to make sure you are a happy customer.

It is all about making smart decisions in your food choices when traveling. Also, make sure you keep on hand some almonds as a healthy snack so that you don’t make a run through a fast food line because you don’t have anything to eat that is healthy.

]]> http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/17/7-questions-with-jayson-hunter-author-and-registered-dietician/feed/ 0 glouris http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/lose-weight-fast-with-these-three-mindset-tips/ http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/lose-weight-fast-with-these-three-mindset-tips/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 10:45:38 +0000 glouris http://glouris.wordpress.com/?p=284 ]]> So today’s post is actually a reprint from someone’s whose system I respect and believe works well. We all know by now that fat loss and maintaining that loss comes down to two things: consistency in both diet and exercise. Jayson Hunter is registered dietitian who really knows his stuff. I’ll probably be posting more of his articles in the future as I believe they contain valuable information and Jayson has a great product. I hope you find this useful in your efforts to lose fat and lose weight:

Quick weight loss follows with the right frame of mind. To lose weight fast, you need to be in the right frame of mind. I believe too many people enter into a diet plan without mentally preparing for it first.

Quick weight loss is possible. Everyone knows that. But the challenge is keeping the pounds and inches off. And that takes the right mental attitude and social support. I’ve worked with hundreds of people who want to lose weight fast, but the most successful ones – the ones who keep the weight off – are the ones who have the correct disposition before starting.

I recommend the following three mindset tips for permanent weight loss:

Surround yourself with the right people for quick weight loss.

You need to understand that you will need to make some different lifestyle choices to keep the weight off. And that may very well mean not be able to socialize with others who can be a negative influence. Research was recently completed that showed you are more likely to adopt your friends eating habits and body image by hanging around them. So that means if 4 of your 6 friends are overweight and eat like crap you are more likely to eat like crap and start to gain weight to match them as well. The same is true if 4 of your 6 friends were thin and ate healthy. You are more likely to follow their habits. So make sure you associate yourself with like-minded people. Your successful weight loss depends on it.

Don’t expect it to be easy.

While losing weight doesn’t have to be a chore, you need to come to grips with the fact that it is going to take effort. Anything worth doing never is. Accept the fact there will be some tough times ahead. That is why it is so important to surround yourself with positive people. They will help support you when you face obstacles. Remember each day is a new day and you should take it one day at a time for quick weight loss. Start each day with your goals in mind and a plan to achieve those goals for that day. Don’t lose sight of those goals and keep working towards them each and every day.

Don’t expect the rapid fat loss results to last forever.

The rate at which you achieve your quick weight loss will eventually slow down because your body will soon run out of fat to lose. The challenge now becomes how do you maintain your new quick weight loss and keep it from returning. I teach many people how to lose weight fast, but most importantly I teach them how to keep it off for a lifetime. Many diets can get you to lose the weight, but the key is to keep the weight off. Make sure you make the proper lifestyle changes so that you create permanent weight loss and never have to diet again.

Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS

]]> http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/16/lose-weight-fast-with-these-three-mindset-tips/feed/ 0 glouris http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/want-to-lose-belly-flab/ http://glouris.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/want-to-lose-belly-flab/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:59:45 +0000 glouris http://glouris.wordpress.com/?p=278 ]]> As a certified trainer I often get asked if you can lose belly fat by diet alone. Well of course. In 2000 the Annals of Internal Medicine published a study where a group who only dieted dropped just as much weight (16 pounds) and just as much belly fat (about 2 pounds) as the group who simply exercised. But that doesn’t make dieting alone the best way to lose fat, especially belly fat. Most people want to lose the belly fat and keep it off for the long term, and dieting alone is not the way to do that.

The combination of diet and exercise is still the ideal way to permanently lose belly fat. You see, in the study cited above, the diet-only group lost less total fat and more muscle than the exercise-only group.

Another study conducted by Obesity Research looked at people who had each lost 14 pounds on a 28-day crash diet. Not shocking at all, five years later, they had regained all the weight, with a scary twist: All the weight that they gained back was fat, whereas they’d originally lost a combination of fat and muscle. Not only that, but their health had deteriorated in several ways, including increased insulin resistance and higher LDL cholesterol.

So what exercises should you be doing to lose that flabby belly? More and more studies show that weight lifting may be the best way to lose weight. Whether the “weight” you’re lifting is your own body weight or free weights, I believe it’s the key to long term sustainable fat loss.

Remember, your two main goals when working out to lose fat is to increase how much energy you’re expending, not just during the workout, but after as well AND to build muscle. Remember my mantra: muscle=metabolism, the more muscle you build, the more success you’ll have in losing the fat and keeping it off.

All BusyGuy workouts are based on the basic premise that you need to combine resistance training (“weight lifting”) performed in short yet intense bursts with very short periods of rests in between. By performing resistance training in interval “bursts” you’re approaching fat loss in the most effective AND efficient manner; and that’s what a BusyGuy Workout is all about, saving you TIME and getting you RESULTS!

Are you a “busy person” or are you a procrastinator?There’s two special things about September 22nd. First, it marks the 100 day mark to reach the end of the year. Second, it’s the day after my birthday!

So I ask you this, with just a little over 100 days left in the year, are you challenging yourself? If not, ask yourself why not. Don’t wait for New Year’s to set a new challenge for yourself, whether it’s fat loss, fitting into those old jeans or anything else you want to accomplish in life, why wait? In fact, why wait until September 22nd when you can start today?

You’d be astounded what you can accomplish in 100 days.

The truth is, most of us will never know our true capacity for achievement because we never challenge ourselves to perform at our best every day. This truism becomes apparent when you are presented with an opportunity that really interests you. It’s the people that “want it bad enough” and consistently work toward their goals day after day that are successful.

When a goal or opportunity really interests you, no matter how busy you may be, somehow you will find the time to pursue it. Conversely, duties that have little appeal for you are easily postponed and eventually forgotten.

Busy people are not procrastinators.

Busy people know that life, as John David Wright once observed about business, “is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving, or you fall down.” The most effective and successful people have a sense of urgency. They set deadlines and force themselves to establish priorities. Is fat loss a true priority for you? Is living a healthier life, having more energy and living longer a priority for you?

Fat loss doesn’t usually require a strict deadline, but set a realistic goal for yourself today. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short time-if that’s all the time you have.

So for my birthday, do me a favor, pick a goal, set a deadline and get started tomorrow…don’t wait for the 100 days, and certainly don’t wait for the New Year.

Good luck!

Dedicated to your fat loss, The BusyGuy,

George Louris

It’s football season and I’m off to Miami today to watch the Miami-Jets game on Sunday and although I’ll miss my family, it’s sometimes good to get away for a couple of days to refresh the batteries and come back nice and recharged and ready to take on bigger and better challenges.

Speaking of challenges, it’s always tougher to eat right while you’re on the road then when you’re at home. That’s why the first thing I do whenever I go away, even before I unpack, is find the local supermarket and load up on fruits and almonds. Or, if I’m driving to my destination, I usually stock up my car before I leave.

That way when a craving kicks in, I’ll be ready. I always say, try to avoid anything in a bag or in a box, and that gets hard to do when you’re on the road, but the key is being prepared. I also always bring with me several of my favorite nutrition bars, Cravers. They’re a great in between meal snack, they’re 100% organic with no added sugar or preservatives and they taste great.

Until next time…

Much of this is borrowed from one of the founders of the modern self-improvement industry, Napoleon Hill. If you’ve never heard of or read Napoleon Hill, stop what you’re doing right now, and order one of his books (I would recommend starting with “Think and Grow Rich”).

Regardless if you’re looking to be successful in your fat loss goals, at work, or just in life in general, the following advice is well worth following.

Have you ever wondered why some people have a phenomenal success rate and others can barely make the grade?

Why is it that those who succeed more often than not continue to experience ongoing success and those who fail also repeat the pattern of failure?

Here are some of the characteristics of those who succeed.  Upon reviewing these personality traits, ask yourself which ones you possess.  If you would like to increase your rate of success, work on the ones you lack.  You will see a remarkable difference in your success rate in a very short period of time when you focus on changing your behavior to match the behavior of those who succeed.

1. The successful person has a plan for getting what he wants, has faith in his ability to acquire it, and works his plan.

2. The successful person is obliging and friendly.  He encourages others through his positive mental attitude to assist him in achieving his goals.

3. The successful person is tactful.  He thinks before he speaks and anticipates the reaction of his audience as he engages their cooperation.

4. The successful person is genuinely interested in all people.

5. The successful person is open-minded and tolerant of others.

6. The successful person focuses on the positive and eliminates the negative.

7. The successful person is a giver first and a receiver second.   His primary focus is on the service he renders.

The above traits of successful people can be descriptive of you too!  First, however, make certain that you truly do model these characteristics – not just imagine that you do.

After each of the specifics list the actions that you have taken to ground these points in reality not just thought.

Remember – Thought + Action = SUCCESS.

Certainly, what you think about you become, as long as your thinking inspires the correct action that you take in manifesting the behavior.  Just as Michelangelo saw David in the block of stone he sculpted, so too can you see the person you will become as you apply these success traits in sculpting your success personality.

Dedicated to your fat loss, The BusyGuy,

George Louris