{"id":7368,"date":"2014-07-10T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2014-07-10T16:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medicalfitnessnetwork.org\/?p=7368"},"modified":"2016-05-23T15:18:20","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T22:18:20","slug":"7-simple-steps-becoming-biggest-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/7-simple-steps-becoming-biggest-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Simple Steps to Becoming ‘The Biggest Winner’"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have read Jaclyn’s recent post<\/a> outlining her thoughts on the television show\u00a0 The Biggest Loser<\/em>. Here, she follows up and outlines simple steps you can take to become the ‘biggest winner’ the healthy way, not relying on short term rapid weight loss to reach your goals.<\/p>\n

\n

Research demonstrates that rapid weight loss programs are not recommended nor do they support any correlation to long-term success. Follow some of these simple steps to maximize your chances for success in achieving your \u201chealthy lifestyle goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

STEP 1: Assess your Readiness for Change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Embarking on something that you are not ready to do could be harmful because an unsuccessful program could impair your self-esteem and dampen future efforts to achieve your healthy lifestyle goals. Before setting any short or long-term goals, it is recommended to take some time to reflect on your reasons for wanting to set these goals and initiate this journey.<\/p>\n

\"senior-yoga-water\"STEP 2: Realize you are an individual<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just as with success, we define what \u201chealthy\u201d means to us. This is an individual aspiration and although our loved one\u2019s can help to motivate us to want to make changes, we ultimately need to aspire to our own picture of \u201chealthy\u201d in order for us to stick with new lifestyle changes. Define what healthy means to you!<\/p>\n

STEP 3: Eat real food<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evaluate where you can make minor changes in your dietary intake. Increase fruits, vegetables and water and decrease your intake of sugar and processed food. Eat close to the earth and prepare as much food as possible on your own. But be realistic \u2013 don\u2019t expect perfection! You can start by making small nutritional changes that have a big impact on your health! And remember\u2026.FIBER is your FRIEND!<\/p>\n

\"Copy<\/a>STEP 4: Don\u2019t \u201cDIET\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Always remember that a calorie is not just a calorie. Contrary to what we were taught in school many years ago, it is not just as simple as calories in, calories out. Many different factors make up the quality of the calories you take in (or expend). To determine what the best foods are for YOU, it is best to contact a Registered Dietitian or qualified healthcare professional.<\/p>\n

STEP 5: Exercise<\/strong><\/p>\n

Choose an activity you enjoy and get some professional advice on the right activities for you and how to do them safely. It should challenge your muscles so you get stronger, but exercise should not hurt. No Pain No Gain does NOT pertain to YOU if exercise is done properly.<\/p>\n

STEP 6: Focus on progress<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rid yourself of the All IN or All OUT mentality. Rather than telling yourself \u201cI need to lose X pounds\u201d set small goals toward better health and be proud of your accomplishments in the process. Many times if we set a goal and don\u2019t achieve it, we can give up all together thinking that if we don\u2019t make it to the summit of the mountain, than what\u2019s the point. You still made progress \u2013 reward yourself for that and get up tomorrow and do it again. If you fall into old habits, don\u2019t beat yourself up \u2013 tomorrow is another day.<\/p>\n

STEP 7: Simple Strategies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Switch from drinking soda to seltzer water. Keep raw nuts, carrots and high fiber foods readily available for snacking. Take a therapeutic walk every day. When you\u2019re stronger and ready for something new, challenge yourself a little more with things like roller skating, indoor rock climbing, or setting a goal for a summer hike. If you fall into old habits, don\u2019t beat yourself up \u2013 tomorrow is another day.<\/p>\n

Everyone has different health goals, and the way we approach them is not a one-size-fits-all process. It’s about more than just numbers on a scale. It’s also about your energy, how you feel, and so many other factors. Health is a journey, and we are all on it together, but in different places. When we understand that, and support ourselves and each other, we all win. And THAT is the message I want my son, and all of America, to hear.<\/p>\n

Jaclyn Chadbourne, MA is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Co-Owner of the Medically Oriented Gym (M.O.G.) in South Portland, Maine. With a passion for sustainable healthy living and desire to advocate for patient-centered care, Jaclyn works to help the M.O.G. support community resources for all special populations and to implement and oversee clinical protocols. Read more from the MOG on their website, themoggroup.com\/blog<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may have read Jaclyn’s recent post outlining her thoughts on the television show\u00a0 The Biggest Loser. Here, she follows up and outlines simple steps you can take to become the ‘biggest winner’ the healthy way, not relying on short term rapid weight loss to reach your goals. Research demonstrates that rapid weight loss programs are not recommended nor do they support any correlation to long-term success. Follow some of these simple steps to maximize your chances for success in achieving your \u201chealthy lifestyle goals.\u201d STEP 1: Assess your Readiness for Change Embarking on something that you are not ready to do could be harmful because an unsuccessful program could impair your self-esteem and dampen future efforts to achieve your healthy lifestyle goals. Before setting any short or long-term goals, it is recommended to take some time to reflect on your reasons for wanting to set these goals and initiate this journey. STEP 2: Realize you are an individual Just as with success, we define what \u201chealthy\u201d means to us. This is an individual aspiration and although our loved one\u2019s can help to motivate us to want to make changes, we ultimately need to aspire to our own picture of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":6126,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[73,198,16,15],"class_list":["post-7368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-dietitians","tag-fitness-professionals","tag-medical-fitness","tag-personal-trainer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}