Written by Dan Ekblad, IAWP CWC

One of the biggest problems we face today is the “I want it now” mentality and wanting to take the easiest and quickest way to get there. “Let's take things to the extreme so it happens fast, because I want it right now!”
 
With TV shows like ABC's Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition and NBC’s The Biggest Loser, people think they can easily drop a lot of weight in a short amount of time.

Let's go back to the basics and review our body and its energy.

Know that you have resources. Know that there are people you can reach out to and places you can go to seek help. These resources include organizations like OA (Overeaters Anonymous), your doctor, a registered dietician, and perhaps a licensed therapist or behavioral specialist—someone to help you identify the root cause of your over eating and deal with the issues at hand.

Is there anything I can do to fight my addiction?

I always feel FAT!

Why is it that I always feel like the fat kid, even though I have lost weight and I am in great physical shape? 

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't feel like I'm overweight. When I look in the mirror, I don’t see the guy who has lost over a hundred pounds. I see a person who could lose another 30, 40, maybe 50 pounds. Once you've been in competition shape—having your body fat around 3%—and put yourself on stage, you will always want to be that person, especially if you have had body image issues in the past. Unfortunately, maintaining those goals is incredibly difficult. A very small percentage of people look like that year round.

We tend to associate the body image issue with young woman who develop eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Overeating is also an eating disorder.

Here's something you all need to remember—you are never too far gone, never too good and never above asking for or needing help.

Hello Challengers, this is Dan. Please, use your Chippewa Valley Challenge Fitness & Nutrition Journals! There is a reason we want you log your steps, log your exercise and log your meal. It's to teach you the habits that will help you change your lifestyle and lose weight. If you don't know how many calories you're eating or how many calories you're burning each day, then don't complain if you're not losing any weight! People who have been successful at changing their lifestyle use a journal to keep track of planning and progress. We are trying to give you the tools (pedometer, journal, access to personal trainers, a private MyFitnessPal group and incentives) to lose weight and change your life. But tools are only helpful if you actually use them. So take 5 minutes and make sure your pedometers are programmed or if you're using a fitness tracker, make sure to go online and complete your profile. Then take a minute or two a couple of times a day to log your food and exercise. Start good, healthy habits today and take control of your life! The Challenge is here to help guide, inform and encourage you to get healthy, but we won't do the work for you. Losing weight is hard, but learning how to keep it off and stay healthy is even harder. Develop those healthy habits now and learn how to use them going forward. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to the Challenge and made the choice to change their life one step at a time.

from ACE Pro Source

Good news for all you picky eaters (and, especially, parents of picky eaters): A new study suggests it may be possible to train the brain to prefer healthy low-calorie foods over unhealthy higher-calorie foods.

According to new research by scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University and at Massachusetts General Hospital, a brain scan study in adult men and women suggests that it is possible to reverse the addictive power of unhealthy food while also increasing the preference for healthy foods.

“We don't start out in life loving French fries and hating, for example, whole-wheat pasta,”

According to the USDA, people who are most successful at losing weight and keeping it off track their intake regularly.

If not, what are you doing about it? 

Are you accomplishing your goals? 

Are you keeping up with your kids? Are you carrying around an extra 40, 50 or even 100 pounds of extra weight? 

Once again what are you going to do about it?

It's a new year; it's a new beginning to your life. Why not do something about it. Now the time to take control and start living a healthier lifestyle. Is it easy? Is it something that's going to come naturally? The answer to both is no!