Article: Cahoots Quarterly Aug.2001
I wrote this article for Free Beach Publication Cahoots Quarterly in 2001, however a good part of it is very relavant as you can see.
Cahoots, Aug 2001
Summer is in full swing and people everywhere are enjoying the hot Florida sun with all of its humidity. I have found that people either love it or hate it. There is usually no middle ground; personally I find it to be a little warm most of the time. That should probably give you an indication as to where I stand on heat issue. Just in case you are not sure, I LOVE THE HEAT!
That is why I live in South Florida; I get to ride my motorcycle almost year round except for those couple weeks in mid February where my blood has thinned too much to take the cold. I say cold as if it gets down to 10 degrees however, most people that have been in South Florida for more than 5 years know that below 60 degrees is brrrr-cold.
Now that summertime is winding down this is the time to get your nutrition in line for the dreaded September-December corridor, during those months’ time flies by in the form of holidays. Now the stores start decorating earlier and earlier for their major holiday Christmas as soon as Labor Day is over, soon I predict that after the 4th of July they will just skip the rest of the holidays and induce us to start shopping for Christmas.
Because we live in such diverse community it seems like everyone celebrates everything whether or not it applies to them on a personal level or not. Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Navidad, Noel, and of course Festivus for the rest of us and New Years. I celebrate all of these occasions because my life includes all of these holidays in one form or another.
Now with so many holiday occasions comes lots of eating and that is where most people drop the ball on reaching their goal of losing body fat or re shaping their body. It is no easy task to do because you must make a commitment that takes more dedication than your relationship or marriage.
Your body is the best computer in the world and works 24 hours, 7 days a week. Your body does not care what you used to do ten years ago or even last year. Your body is only concerned with what you did for it yesterday and today.
I’m sure a lot of you remember when the second Terminator movie came out with Arnold Schwenegger and Linda Hamilton. That one movie drove my personal training business up about 25% simply because every woman wanted to look like Linda Hamilton and every man wanted to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. My clients were adamant about achieving those goals.
So I conducted a little experiment I took 12 of my clients and set them up on nutrition plans to achieve the goals they wanted. Keep in mind that I knew the trainer in Hollywood California who trained Linda Hamilton for her role in the movie. I knew what he had her eat for 12 weeks to prepare for her “ripped” appearance.
The experiment was to last for 12 weeks and basically they would be eating the same way a bodybuilder would in preparing for a competition. 2 out of 12 people made it the entire 12 weeks, both were men. 7 people dropped out after the fourth week another 3 after the 6th week.
All 12 people got results, the results varied according to how strict they were and the amount of time they put in. However, I wanted them to experience what it takes to lose the body fat or re-shape their body.
People found out that life gets in the way of your nutritional goal and you either give in or you do not, it is that simple. If you have a bad day at work and you know your next meal should be a chicken breast but your boss made you upset and now you are going to eat a Big Mac and fries instead. Perhaps you have to go out to dinner with clients or friends and you know you should be eating fish and vegetables and drinking water. However, you end up with conch fritters for the appetizer, fish and vegetables, 3 glasses of wine and a key lime pie for dessert.
The body lives by the motto of the Janet Jackson song “What have you done for me lately”.
People had drastic changes and started wearing jeans they had not worn in many years, ladies started seeing drops in the dress sizes and guys wanted to wear tight shirts when they went out. They had all experience some type of positive result and now it was up to them to keep their newfound shape.
The hard part is the constant maintenance program one must have. Everyone that is in great shape will tell you that the management part is the hardest to adhere to. No matter what kind of shape you are in to maintain that shape you must be aware of what you are eating or how your clothes are fitting you.
After you reach the point where you are satisfied then if you notice your blouse or jeans are starting to bulge a little then get back on track with the exercise & nutrition plan that got you in that blouse or jeans for a couple weeks. When your clothes start to fit again then enjoy a little more of the foods that you love. Use everything in moderation and you can’t go wrong. Remember, excess creates excess.
Yours in Health,
Ali Witherspoon
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