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Functional Fitness Tips & Motivations Now Posted!

Check out this week's Functional Fitness Motivational Moment!
Learn more Age Reversing & Weight Loss Tips every Thursday here by Suzanne Andrews.

Functional Fitness Tips & Motivations Now Posted!

Check out this week's Functional Fitness Motivational Moment!
Learn more Age Reversing & Weight Loss Tips every Thursday here by Suzanne Andrews.

Functional Fitness Tips & Motivations Now Posted!

Check out this week's Functional Fitness Motivational Moment!
Learn more Age Reversing & Weight Loss Tips every Thursday here by Suzanne Andrews.

Functional Fitness Tips & Motivations Now Posted!

Check out this week's Functional Fitness Motivational Moment!
Learn more Age Reversing & Weight Loss Tips every Thursday here by Suzanne Andrews.

New ASK GILAD Blog Now Up!

Gilad's New "Ask Gilad" blog is now posted.

Find it HERE.

Women's Weight Loss Bible

10 Commandments for Successful Weight Loss

Are you tired of feeling like you're literally weighed down and want successful weight loss? Get ready to lift your spirits and lighten up your body with these 10 'Commandments' to losing weight and keeping it off for good.  

Commandment # 1: Thou Shall Stop All Excuses

Three of the most common excuses for living an unhealthy lifestyle are:

30 minutes a day is better than days, weeks or months spent being sick and tired. Our culture has ingrained in us to do things the easy way. We live in a country where if we could we'd probably drive ourselves to the bathroom! 

As far as your genetics - most of the chronic disease today is linked to poor eating habits, smoking, inactive living, and stress. These are things that you can take charge of.

You just must commit to do it. 

Here is what a good fat burning fitness program does for you:

1. Reduces your risk of getting heart disease
2. Increases your level of muscle strength
3. Improves the functioning of your immune system
4. Helps you manage stress
5. Helps you lose weight
6. Improves the likelihood of surviving a heart attack.
7. Helps relieve tension headaches
8. Improves your body's ability to burn fat
9. Decreases injury risk
10. Increases bone density
11. Reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure
12. Increases levels of healthy cholesterol
13. Reduces your risk of developing non-insulin dependent diabetes 

Commandment #2: Thou Shall Not Covet Thy Childs Food

Are you a member of the clean plate club for yourself, your children and everyone else sitting at the table? Do you feel compelled to finish off juniors food because you don't want it to go to waste? You can change this by changing your thinking to, "I don't want juniors' leftovers to go to my waist." Those extra calories add up to increased inches on your waistline. 

Commandment #3: Thou Shall Not Eat Poisonous Fatty Fast Foods

Do you eat fast foods because you're in a hurry and don't have time to make something? By taking the time to prepare your meals you'll add years of time to your life and save yourself a lot of money both in the short term with immediate food bill savings and in the long term with medical bill savings. 

Commandment #4: Thou Shall Love Thyself

Love thyself is not just a cliché. By getting in shape, you are essentially saying to your partner and all those that love you, I love myself enough to take care of my health and I want to be around a long time to share my life with you. When we commit to love our body, we make wholesome choices and feel free to discover the restorative powers of good health. 

Commandment #5: Thou Shall Make Time To Exercise 5 - 6 Days a Week

Whether you feel you don't have the time to exercise, or you feel you get enough during the day - to lose the weight you first need to lose the excuses. In order to burn fat you need to do at least 30 minutes of sustained exercise and get your heart rate pumping. 

Commandment #6: Thou Shall Learn How To Manage Stress

If you eat from stress, you're not alone. A large majority of my clients eat out of stress and this causes weight gain which causes stress which causes weight gain... and a cycle is born. A stressful day can be dramatically transformed with purposeful exercise. Learn to exercise and stay mentally focused on your muscles being worked. By spending time on just yourself and letting go of responsibilities, even if just for 30 minutes, you will take years of stress away from your mind/body and spirit. 

Commandment #7: Thou Shall Have Patience With Thy Weight Loss Plan

Weight is not gained overnight and it won't come off overnight either. By falling for every lose weight quick scheme you are only cheating yourself from having the healthy, shapely body you will have by following a sensible diet and exercise plan. Have patience with yourself and you'll have a far less likely chance of becoming a patient.

Further Reading: Stupid fitness questions you’re too afraid to ask

Commandment #8: Thou Shall Not Halt Thy Weight Loss Plan Because Thou 'was bad.'

Let's face it, we're not perfect and we all have slip-ups. During a taping of one of my exercise shows for television, I slipped on wet grass and decided to keep it in just to demonstrate that you don't have to be perfect or beat yourself up if you fall. Just get right back up again and keep going. 

Further Reading: Ask Gilad: Overcoming Setbacks

Commandment #9: Thou Shall Be Strong For Thyself

There will be times when you are around people who mean well when they say, Oh come on, just try my delicious cake, it won't hurt. True it won't hurt - them, but you yes, it will hurt your goal to arrive at your destined weight. In those moments of weakness when there's that little guy on one shoulder saying, "come on, have a bite, just one, it won't hurt, or you can exercise tomorrow," you need to be strong for yourself and keep your vision on your goal. 

Commandment #10: Thou Shall Make Conscious Choices

What is consciousness? It is you. You are consciousness. It is this very consciousness that tells you innately who you are and what choices you need to make. It is your deeper self, your greater self. Call it what you will. The important thing is that it is within you.  It is your world. You can't see it, smell it, touch it or hear it. But you can, and do, feel it. Being aware of yourself and your actions gives you the ability to make healthy choices.

Suzanne Andrews founded Functional Fitness in 2008, the most popular fitness series for boomers and seniors broadcasting on over 159 Public Television stations throughout the US and Canada. Read Suzanne’s inspiring comeback story of how she survived a near fatal accident, From Deaths Door to Producing a National Fitness Series.

New ASK GILAD Blog Now Up!

Gilad's New "Ask Gilad" blog is now posted.

Find it HERE.

New ASK GILAD Blog Now Up!

Gilad's New "Ask Gilad" blog is now posted.

Find it HERE.

Wash Away Stress in 2 Minutes

by Kathy Smith

Wow…what a week! I just wrapped up a video shoot and I’m taking time this weekend to focus on mindfulness and yoga. While a busy life can be energizing, balance is important in all things in life, including fitness. By acknowledging a natural ebb and flow in life, your body and mind will let you know it’s time for a balance check. This weekend, take a few minutes to sit quietly and be still. By doing so, you’ll be rewarded with more energy, creativity and joy

Stress is a messenger. Even though there’s a lot of talk about reducing and eliminating stress, it’s important to see it as a friendly emotion that reminds you about the need for balance in your life.  When you view stress as a tool, it’s easier to make peace with it.

Stress is our body’s natural response to change in our environment, and the automatic fight-or-flight response that stress triggers is genetically coded within us. When you experience too much stress, though, hormones like cortisol and adrenaline flood your body and that can wreak havoc on your health.

Another reason you’d be doing your body a favor if you take stress down a notch is because your heart rate increases when you’re stressed, which leads to higher blood pressure and blood being shunted away from your stomach, causing poor digestion.

When stress taps you on the shoulder and says you need more balance in your life, it’s important to listen to it.

If you need more balance in your life, creating inner peace is easier than you might think. For me, nothing provides as much relief, energy, clarity, positive feelings, and an incredible feeling of rejuvenation than taking a minute to pause in stillness, and then stretch my body. Just those few seconds of stillness to mindfully connect with your body allows you to be your best self, and completely restore body and mind.

That’s why in the video above, I’ll guide you through a 2-minute relaxing stretching routine that will help you shed stress so you can replenish the vibrant energy within you.

Kathy Smith, New York Times bestselling author, has stood at the forefront of the fitness and health industries for over 30 years. The numbers speak for themselves: Kathy has sold more than 20 million exercise DVDs - landing her in the Video Hall of Fame - and $500 million in Kathy Smith products. With her revolutionary approach to fitness, Smith has touched millions of people, inspiring them to move, live, and love.

Functional Fitness Tips & Motivations Now Posted!

Check out this week's Functional Fitness Motivational Moment!
Learn more Age Reversing & Weight Loss Tips every Thursday here by Suzanne Andrews.