Are you your own worst enemy?  As a fresh new year stands poised to bloom, are you pricked by the thorns of missed goals and critical of where you went wrong?  Maybe even harboring the fear of failing in this new year before you even start?

Instead of grabbing the thorny stem of shortcomings, kiss the blossom of opportunity and focus on what’s right and what’s possible.

The thing about critics is that they review the good and the bad.  So the trick is to not dwell on the bad…take it in stride, recognize improvements to be made, realize that’s part of the deal of being human, and get on with it.

Don’t resist the nagging voice…listen to it.  Don’t bash the critic, embrace her, because she’s also telling you all that you’re doing right.  She admires the strengths of others and offers them to you as examples, and reminds you of your strengths when you’re so blinded by your faults and feelings of inadequacy that you forget that you have them.

So, don’t let the inner critic beat you down.  Instead, kiss her.  Hug her.  Be grateful that she’s there and in her maternal voice, helping to keep you on track.  She is your alter ego…the good twin holding you accountable to your promises, chiding when you’re off track and cheering when you’ve done well.  Where would you be without her?  Our inner critic is our personal trainer for life.  Listen to her.

TOOL:  Post this on your mirror and review each a.m. and p.m., perhaps while brushing your teeth.

• I feel good about _____________

• I am grateful for _____________

• I will do, change or improve this (am’s) Today:  (pm’s) Tomorrow: _____________

First:  Feed the Baby

The New Year is often depicted as a fresh new baby, replacing the crusty old geezer of an old year.  In much the way parents place their hopes and dreams on their children, so too we often swath baby New Year in the garments of hope.

January 1, all of the potential for this year is born.  All that’s needed is for you to feed it healthy food and water (nourishment), provide daily exercise (action), teach it well (learn everyday) surround with friends and family (love) and to swath it in layers of optimism (hope).

Resolutions can be heavy and burdensome. But possibilities?  They are light as air and bright as sun…they are fresh as new snow and crisp as a blue winter sky.

So rather than laden the new child with old baggage…encourage it by focusing on “can do” not “can’t”.  When your inner child fails, looking up instead of down, celebrate the lesson learned by the grace of failure, and when the tender you is discouraged, recharge by counting your many blessings and lending a hand to a friend in need.

For parents, the nurturing of a child comes naturally.  Nurture your year, one day at a time and come 12/31 of next year, your “old geezer”, may sprint to the finish-line in it’s best fitness attire, to pass the baton (rather than the pacifier), to a stronger, new you, ready for another fantastic year’s adventure.

The Sour on Sweet
Most of us like a little “sweet” in our day, whether it’s in a cup of coffee or that favorite baked treat. But, if we’re watching our waistline, we’ll be watching it grow, which can turn the sweet into sour!  That’s when many turn to sugar substitutes to keep off extra pounds and the sugar rollercoaster.

FDA Approved Artificial Sweeteners include:

• Acesulfame potassium (Sunett, Sweet One)
• Aspartame (Equal, NutraSweet)
• Neotame
• Saccharin (SugarTwin, Sweet’N Low)
• Sucralose (Splenda)

Accidentally Sweet
Artificial sweeteners were an accident!

The first discovery of artificial sweeteners (saccharin) can be traced back to 1879 when Constantine Fahlberg spilled a chemical on his hand in the lab he was working in. While eating dinner later that evening he noticed more sweetness on the bread he was eating and traced it back to the chemical he was testing in the lab earlier. Not necessarily the most sanitary method of food-related discoveries!

In the 1950’s chemicals were being developed for something entirely different when a foreign grad student misread classroom instructions and read “testing” as “tasting”.  Sucralose was discovered  when he obligingly sampled the chemical he was working with. Similarly, Aspartame was discovered when scientist Jim Schlatter licked his finger to turn a page and discovered his finger tasted sweet after working on a lab experiment.

Low Cal for More Fat
Many times sweeter than sugar, but WITHOUT the calories, artificial sweeteners are found in so many products now, because it costs less and the calorie count looks better.  It’s ironic that the very products people are turning to for reduced calories and weight loss may actually be making them fat!  When your body “recognizes” sugar, but doesn’t get the real thing, it increases cravings and appetite.  1

Sandra Cabot, M.D., states, “After having been consulted by thousands of overweight people suffering with problems concerning the liver and/or metabolism, I can assure you that aspartame will not help you in any way, indeed it will help you to gain unwanted weight.”  According to Dr. Cabot, when you ingest aspartame, your liver cells have less energy available for fat burning and metabolism, which results in fat storing. Excess fat may build up inside your liver cells causing “fatty liver” and making it extremely difficult to lose weight.” 2

More studies are needed, but who will pay for them?  Herein lies the problem in every industry:  naturally, those who stand to benefit fund most studies, and as such, cannot be counted on to study the bad stuff.  This is normal and logical, but it explains why more objective research into the foods we consume is harder to come by.

So, do your homework, use logic, eat close to nature, exercise and life will be sweeter without these unhealthy additives!

1. Fowler SP, Williams K, Resendez RG, Hunt KJ, Hazuda HP, Stern MP. Fueling the obesity epidemic? Artificially sweetened beverage use and long-term weight gain. Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) 2008;16:1894–1900.
2. http://www.janethull.com/newsletter/0408/science_shows_diet_sweeteners_increase_hunger.php

Physical + Financial Fitness = Freedom

These are NOT sweepstakes odds.  Since we’re a small company, your chances of winning are huge!  And you don’t have to purchase ANYTHING to win!!!  You
need only do two things:

1. OPT IN for our new and upcoming MTF for Financial Health newsletter

2. Opt In to view these transformative videos from a man I trust, Mike Dillard

P.S. the winner will be announced by 12/31/11, and will stay in my family’s condo on the beach in Costa Rica!  We are paid affiliates of Mike Dillard, however we receive nothing for your free opt-ins.  We are making this special offer — at our expense — because helping others be successful is what we love most.

LeAura Alderson, CEO
My Trainer Fitness 

Our favorite natural strategy for weight loss is what we call “The Gratitude Diet”.  It’s really so very simple it’s easy to discount as not enough of a solution and yet it’s extraordinarily effective.  It works.  It’s simply this:  Instead of dwelling on the negatives, focus on the positives.

It’s true that whatever we put our attention on, grows.  Thus if we focus on what we can’t have, that’s what grows in our mind; that feeling of deprivation while the desire for that of which we are deprived, grows stronger because we’re dwelling on it.  So, instead of focusing on what we can’t or shouldn’t have, we simply shift our focus to what we can have with impunity, and on that which nourishes and energizes.

Create your own list and add to it every day.  For every negative thought you place in the negative column, create a positive and nourishing alternative for the right column.

Guilt-free Thanksgiving

Some of us look toward holiday festivities with mixed feelings when it comes to food.  While we look forward to the warm social times mingled with our favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions, we worry over the dreaded weight gain and bloated period that often follows.

In addition to gratitude, we’ve reposted from our Facebook page, tips in response to a question from a fan.

Prevent holiday weight gain, while thoroughly enjoying your favorite holiday foods:

1. EXERCISE:  Add in 15-30 minutes of extra workout time starting today!  Just 30 minutes extra workout time and/or intensity over the next 3 days, could net you up to 900 additional calories burned, PRIOR to Thanksgiving, leaving you feeling and looking better and enjoying your feast, guilt-free.  Even on Thanksgiving day…doing a brisk 30-minute workout first thing, will have you feeling more free to enjoy your day.  Runners often run early Thanksgiving morning.  We like MTF for At Home or 100 Calories since the gym is closed.
2. FEAST:  Enjoy your favorite, lower-calorie options first, saving the higher-calorie foods for last.   That way you can have them, but will likely eat much less of it.  You will also find that you want less of the rich treats because the higher quality lean turkey and lower cal, high-fiber veggies catalyze the satiety hormone, leptin.
3. MOVE:  Recruit family and friends and take a brisk walk after your meal.  Everyone who joins you will feel better afterward and thank you for motivating them!

Sugar is hard to avoid.  In fact it’s in so much of what we eat that it’s probably easier to list what it’s NOT in rather than all the many foods that contain it.   From hamburger buns to soy milk, salad dressing to peanut butter, sugar in some form is in almost every commercially packaged/processed food available.

Sugar is a drug.  Sugar actually stimulates the appetite, but more than that, sugar is as addictive as any drug—and in some ways—more so.  Sugars using various pseudonyms creep into our daily diets deceptively and beguilingly and set up a cycle of emotional, mental and physical craving and dependency!

Sugar makes us fat.  Simple sugars are broken down very rapidly into a molecule called glucose. They are either used for energy or stored for fat and since they are broken down so quickly they cause a spike in blood sugar levels almost immediately.  If you’ve ever seen a diabetic respond immediately to a sip of juice or bite of something sweet to avoid collapse, this illustrates In 3D, just how fast sugars are absorbed by the body.  That means they also rapidly run their course and the body will be signaling for more.

Sugar is a complex subject.  Simple sugars can be found in foods naturally such as fruit, dairy and vegetable, maple syrup, and alcohol … but the majority of simple sugars, in the average American’s diet come from processed and refined foods in which simple sugars are used as an additive to improve flavor and/or texture.

Come out, come out wherever you are!
Are you acquainted with all simple sugars?  Take a look at this list for the various sugars to be aware of. If the label states “no added sugars”, it should not contain any of the following:

Sugar makes you hungry, angry, fat, and sick.  This is not good news.  We like our sweet treats as much as the next person and have our favorite “addictions”.  BUT, if you want to be fit and healthy, feel and look better—and younger—and have more energy throughout the day, you need to “just say no” to sugar.  Sugar is not your friend.

Nancy Appleton, PhD, clinical nutritionist, has compiled a list of 146 reasons on ‘how sugar is ruining your health’ in her book Lick the Sugar Habit. Here are some of them:

* Sugar can decrease growth hormone (the key to staying youthful and lean)
* Sugar feeds cancer
* Sugar increases cholesterol
* Sugar can weaken eyesight
* Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children
* Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein
* Sugar causes food allergies
* Sugar contributes to diabetes
* Sugar can contribute to eczema in children
* Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease
* Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
* Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children
* Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases)
* Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections)
* Sugar contributes to osteoporosis

Marion Nestle, chair of the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies at New York University, said, “Because sugary foods often replace more healthful foods, diets high in sugar are almost certainly contributing to osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease. It’s high time that the food label informed consumers of a food’s contribution to a recommended limit for added sugars.” Nestle was managing editor of the 1988 Surgeon General’s Report on Diet and Health.

Focus on What You Can Have
Eating as close to nature is something we at MTF have always stressed. Naturally occurring sugars in moderation (and within the recommended daily amount) are ideal and focusing on a balanced diet rich with vegetables, unprocessed grains, raw nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits—with greater emphasis on the higher-fiber fruits—enable us to feel full longer, without the sugar rush and subsequent crash.  Sugar is not an easy habit to kick, but it’s essential for optimum health and disease prevention for you and your family.  So get out of the habit of daily sugar…let it become the exceptional celebratory treat (maybe once a week) and you will gain health, lose weight and feel a whole lot better!

We’re sharing this movie with you… it’s completely free and really informative if you’re interested in food production and how it affects your health.

Food Matters really delivers a well-rounded view of the elements required for health, starting with the food supply itself, and the devastating effects modern food manufacturing has had on the quality of our food. Soil depletion is a direct result of modern agricultural practices, and has led to crops containing fewer nutrients. The answer, of course, lies in reverting back to organic and sustainable agriculture. The largest study conducted into organic food confirmed that the idea that organically grown foods are healthier for you is not wishful fantasy. It’s a fact.

That four-year long study discovered that:

• Organic fruit and vegetables contain up to 40 percent more antioxidants
• Organic produce had higher levels of beneficial minerals like iron and zinc
• Milk from organic herds contained up to 90 percent more antioxidants

by LeAura Alderson
LeAura@MyTrainerFitness.com 

Seth is real.  He made lunch for us–all 12 serious entrepreneurs with bright eyes–  healthy, wholesome, organic food he prepared himself.  It was scrumptious.  He served us tea and nutritious, gluten-free wholegrain muffins and ambrosial cake made by his wife in her burgeoning bakery.  Addicting. I’m glad I don’t live nearby.  When the smoke alarm screeched awake over sautéing onions, it was funny.  When the fire trucks came roaring up, it was hilarious.  And when Seth sliced avocados in the middle of all this while continuing the meeting in between greeting the firemen, it was endearing.  This was Seth.  And when he told us the hard things…things we came for but maybe hoped we wouldn’t hear, it was hard.  Seth is honest.  He won’t cater to your ego to protect his.  He will push you to dig deep and to ship…to be more of who you can be and share that with the world.  Because the world needs you.

I’m not a starry-eyed celebrity fan or faithful disciple of any guru.  No thanks.  Been there, done that.  But I’m as passionate about lifelong learning and growth as I am passionate about health and fitness.  Both are integral to a dynamic life.  There are numerous prominent global thought leaders from varied backgrounds, whose wisdom and knowledge I value and regularly enjoy learning from.  Generally, they’re rebels and out of the box thinkers.  Imagine that.  Seth Godin is definitely at the top of the box…outside of it actually, regularly calling to those stuck inside, to come out and ‘Poke the Box’.  Seth’s work is the “get out of jail” card for ordinary.

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