Category Archives: Health and Wellness

He Lost over 330 pounds!

Sky Fitness member  Scot Underwood…

Has applied the following principles and lost over 330 pounds the last two years. No, he didn’t take any short cuts, magic pills, lotions or potions.  He has lost every single pound the right way, the healthy way.  His journey was one of proper balance in eating right and exercise, along with his determination to be “FIT FOREVER.”

So how does a person lose over 330 lbs?  How do they go from wearing 9X shirts and size 80 overalls to wearing regular sized clothes?

Scot Underwood says, “I knew that if I told myself I needed to lose over 300 lbs that it would be overwhelming.  So I set a goal of just losing a couple of pounds the healthy way; simply burning more calories a day than I consumed.  I continued to lose those couple of pounds 150 times over a two-year period.  This has been an amazing journey; one that has literally saved my life.”

The key is finding proper balance with what we eat and how active we need to be for optimal health.

Health is feeling positive and energetic, and the ability to put in a good day’s work on the job, and still have energy when we get home at night.  It means taking control of our schedules and making time for our priorities.It’s realizing the importance of living long enough to see our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren grow up to lead long, happy lives.  Healthy living is no short-term venture. It is a lifestyle that we must embrace every day of our journey.

The truth is, most Americans live pretty inactive lifestyles.  That is why 120 million people; over 50% of us are overweight.The reason that most people have become overweight is fairly simple. They take in more calories and fat than they burn throughout the day with activity.  Simply put: if you want to lose weight, find a way to burn more calories and fat than you take in!

The good news is that by simply taking more steps in the course of our day we can add consistent calorie burning which increases our metabolism, helping us to lose weight.  Weight loss is all about how many calories we burn in a day, what we eat, and how much we eat (portion control).  Without some help to know those equations our weight loss is left to happenstance.

Decide to live and active lifestyle.

We must take the time and energy to be more active. You can start today by simply walking more. Instead of taking the elevator to the second, third, or even fourth floor, search out the stairway and get a little exercise. Take opportunities to walk during your lunch hour or in your neighborhood when you get home from work. Just keeping your body in motion by walking an extra 20 minutes a day will burn a surprising amount of calories.

Schedule an hour of exercise three times a week, setting aside twenty minutes of that hour for cardiovascular exercise like walking, running, riding a bike or jumping rope. During the last forty minutes of that hour do some kind of strength training such as push-ups, sit ups, or lifting weights.

One thing that may be helpful to understand about exercise is that it not only burns fat but also actually speeds up your body’s metabolism. To speed up your metabolism you need to increase your activity and your aerobic exercise. As a rule we strive to burn as many calories as we can during exercise. That is beneficial to weight loss. But interestingly enough, it is after exercise that the metabolism speeds up, burning off even more calories and unnecessary body fat.

Now is your time to act!  Go ahead and realize that it’s time to change some things that are long overdue concerning your health.

NOW is the time to change!

Much like Scot Underwood with his 330 lb. weight loss, you can do ANYTHING you set your mind to do. Why don’t you go ahead and reach for your biggest dream, set some goals toward that dream and give it all you’ve got?  Good luck on your FIT FOREVER journey!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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When the Inner Critic Speaks, Don’t Listen!

“No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves.” Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower was a five star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States from 1953 until 1961. He knew leadership at several levels, and he knew himself well when he said, “No one can defeat us unless we first defeat ourselves.”

We must guard against being too hard on ourselves. Self-criticism and self doubt can set up camp if we are not careful and cause conflict which works against us. The voice of self-criticism is known as the inner critic, while the voice of self-doubt keeps us second guessing ourselves. The healthier we are the more we’re able to fight these off and assume our own authority, with self-assurance and awareness.

These traits are linked to academic, athletic, military, and work success as well as a positive morale.

When was the last time you struggled with self criticism and doubt? Knowing what you know now about self assurance and awareness what would you do differently?

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Determination is the spark to greatness

“It isn’t sufficient just to want; you’ve got to ask yourself what you are going to do to get the things you want.”   Franklin D. Roosevelt

A person’s determination seems to be the dominant ingredient of success… more than education, intelligence, physical attributes, or having a pleasing personality. We must display a powerful need to make a difference, which is not the same as merely making a name for ourselves.

In my early days as a semi-professional pitcher, during a game, my pitching coach came to visit me on the mound and said these words to me, “Don’t you dare pace yourself! When I call on you to do a job, I expect all you’ve got every pitch. All of you, all the time. This ain’t no dress rehearsal. You’ve got this one shot, make it count!” His 90 second kicks in the backside were not eloquent, but effective.

We must remember that we get one chance to live our lives.  Let’s make it count and make a difference in our world.

What are you determined to accomplish that will make a difference?


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