A San Diego Valentines Love Story: Pita and Marco

Proof that changing your life for the better can lead to love………………

Pita’s life took a big turn in 2011. After a visit to the doctors she realized her health had to take priority and she invested in joining an exercise group, SGO Fitness in San Diego. She says, “One can feel “good” and accepting of your weight issues but when you are told that your actions are putting your life in danger, you see the numbers and something just clicks and you have to take action. I’ve struggled my entire life with weight, finding a caring, supportive, strong, fun, accountable group like SGO Fitness made a big difference in my journey to a healthier me.”

By October 2011 she had lost 45lb bringing her life to a healthier point.  With her new confident outlook on life a couple of her Bootcamp friends encouraged her to sign up on match.com and on her first date she found the love of her life Marco.

Little did Pita and Marco know their lives had been destined to be together. When they were toddlers they lived in houses facing each other in Tijuana. On their firsts date which lasted 5 hours they knew they had found someone they wanted to get to know better.  Pita found a man that shared her love for old cars.  On their first date Marco took Pita to Balboa Park’s Automotive Museum, she fell in love with his passion for cars and the way he treated her from day one.  After 9 months of dating Marco asked Pita to be his wife, share her life with him and be his girlfriend forever.  On Sept 29, 2012 Pita and Marco became husband and wife and they are counting on a happily ever after story.., till death do us part….

 

Top 7 Tips for Weight Loss Success and Long Term Wellness

Top 7 Tips for Weight Loss Success and Long Term Wellness

by Sarah Gogarty ACE-CPT

 

1.       Focus on Behavior changes.

Why do exercise programs and nutrition plans fail? Usually because the person doing them doesn’t follow through with the major life and behavior changes involved. It’s not as simple as “Eat X number of calories per day.”  What we put in our mouths and how much we exercise is linked to the way we behave & think. But when we can change the behavior, the success rate can be monumental.

Here’s an example – Let’s say you’re the person who always snacks in front of the TV. Well reduce or eliminate watching TV and you eliminate the behavior. Or you could try to change that habit by adding a positive behavior such as getting up and doing an exercise during the commercial breaks.

2.       Establish a Support Group.

Remember that feeling? The Peer Pressure you experienced in school? Well believe it or not, social pressures and the urge to feel accepted does not go away post teen years! When you surround yourself with people making poor life decisions, you are more likely to participate in those poor choices too. Get involved or surround yourself with people who have like-minded goals, or participate in healthy social activities. Join a fitness community or weight loss group to get you started!

3.       Make your Fitness FUN.

Why the heck do they call it a “Workout?” Does it have to be such hard “WORK” for it to count as decent exercise?  The answer is NO! As long as you’re bringing up that heart rate and working up a little sweat, then you are exercising. If everything inside you screams THIS SUCKS! – even after exercising – then find a different activity to do that you actually like! There are so many different ways to exercise-from traditional training to group fitness, sports and rec, to dancing the night away. Chances are you plan to spend a lot of your time doing these to reach your goals, so make sure you enjoy it! Life is too short to torture yourself.

4.       Eat Intuitively.

Food journaling has been a proven way to successfully achieve weight loss. But if that’s just not for you – that’s ok! You can still be successful! As long as you are MINDFULLY EATING, then you’re probably eating well enough. This essentially means to THINK about WHAT you are putting into your mouth. Eating intuitively means not to eat in front of the TV, or in the car. Paying attention to portions and balance your plate with lean protein, healthy carbs & fats; or, planning your meal and snacks ahead. Keep in mind that being prepared in advance with healthy options will significantly aid in your nutritional success.

5.       Live Upright.

It’s simple. The more you are on your feet, the more calories you burn. Finding small ways to get on your feet more throughout your day really adds up over the course of a week. In fact, we sit so much as Americans that they’ve given the hazardous practice a medical term. They call it “sitting disease,” and most people who work desk jobs are at risk. “A desk-bound man or woman takes only 5,000 to 6,000 steps a day. That compares with about 18,000 steps a day for the average man and 14,000 for a woman…” Try adding more upright activity in your day to avoid “sitting disease.” For example, get up from your desk every 20 minutes. Park further away from the building and walk. Walk to the local market for milk. Take the stairs, etc. http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2009-01-21-fidget-activity_N.htm

6.       Think Well – Be Kind to Yourself.

Our emotions generate hormonal responses that play significant roles in what we do. Therefore it is SO important to get your mind “thinking well.” This is arguably an even more important step than the rest. Without the right mindset, we can’t implement behavior changes and thus achieve goals. Must try tips on how to reach emotional wellness include practicing meditation, using affirmations, visualization tactics, implementing unconditional “Self-Love,” and eliminating personal “FEAR,”  or “False Evidence Appearing Real.” ~Gabrielle Bernstein, page 16. “May Cause Miracles.”

7.       Give Back!

When it comes to staying positive, staying the course in weight loss, and generating emotional wellness, giving back is a major player. As per Huffington Post article written by Betty Ann Heggie, “Giving detaches us from our obsessive thinking about ourselves. It breaks down loneliness by creating a human connection. Giving and happiness feed one another — both are intertwined. Giving to others is a gift to yourself.” Try adding a little Gratitude and Charity to your schedule for a wellness boost! http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/betty-ann-heggie/positive-effects-of-giving_b_4418893.html

Weight Loss tip: Live you life, Not your Loss.

I cannot bear to hear another person tell me they are going to wait until they lose weight before they can travel, date, take a dance class…(do the things they love or want to try).  What has our society done to us that we feel like we can’t live life until we look a certain way.

Don’t you understand that you’ve put on the weight because there’s not enough joy, pleasure, treat, and enjoyment in life.  Because those things have been lacking, we often gravitate towards a quick food treat.  But…it’s so temporary, then we have to keep going back for more.  You keep searching for more food in your pantry hoping to satisfying some crazy cravings that never subside. We are full of responsibilities that our balance is completely screwed and the body is crying out.  Weight gain is only a symptom and a biological response to the stressors you’ve accrued.

If you fall in this category, I’d say “go and do it.”  Whatever “IT” is that you can’t do because you’re waiting to lose the weight.  You’ll find that once you get started, you’ll build relationships, move your body, and love life so much that you no longer need to eat the junk to feel satisfied, attract positive people who will delight you, and end the neglect of your body.

I see it constantly!  The people who finally embrace finding more and more joy in their life and not feeding the “I must lose the weight” fire, are the ones who truly succeed.  As my boyfriend says about his child’s tantrum, “if there’s no audience, there’s no concert.”  Ignore your “need to lose weight” tantrum and you will be free to fit into your skinny jeans again with ease and with so much fun.  Stop the torture and your body will start responding.

Join me.  Cheers to living and to life!!!

For more support, contact me:  http://www.HappyFoodHealth.com   

For easy cooking tips and recipes:  http://www.healthy-cooking-videos.com

 Samantha Hua

5 Fitness tips for Playing to help you get in shape!

As a personal trainer and fitness coach I’ve seen many clients approach exercise as a task to be endured rather than an activity to be enjoyed. This mindset leads to missed classes and sabotaged eating plans.

It doesn’t help that the two most popular words in the fitness industry are “Workout” and “Diet”. Who wants to do an activity that keeps telling you to go Work and Die? Wouldn’t you rather Play and Thrive?

So with this in mind let’s look at some tips to keep you motivated, happy and having fun this summer!

1) Play until the street lights come on!

When we were kids you’d play for as long as possible! You’d plead with Mom for 5 more minutes of play rather than go inside for dinner! Today, as adults we’d rather move less and never miss a meal!

 Find that enthusiasm again! Look for activities you love to do and work them into your summer plans. Garden, go for a beach cruise, play hide and seek with your kids. These all burn calories, but most importantly they all get you outside and enjoying the summer! You’d be surprised how fast the day goes when you’re having fun.

2) Learn from a kid.  Don’t be afraid to change the rules!

Ever watch children playing a game they’ve created? What happens when they don’t know what to do next? Do they give up and say “I’m no good so I won’t play anymore.” No! Give a child the space to play and they’ll come up with a new rule to any game!  

There are no rules in fitness, there are guidelines that have proven successful and techniques to keep you safe, but there are no one exercise that is the only answer. So don’t let yourself get stuck in a “workout” that’s work! Getting bored with a routine? Go do a Zumba Class for the day. Too hot to go for your regular jog? Go to the pool and try an Aquafit class! Mix it up!!

3) Drink from the Hose!

The sweetest drink I’ve ever tasted was water from my backyard hose after playing soccer with my friends one summer when I was ten. We were hot and sweaty and that cool clear water poured down our chins and all over our shirts as we gulped it down by the mouthful.

The summer brings with it all sorts of sugary drinks and rummy cocktails, and it’s fine to enjoy them once in a while. But, learn to love a tall cold glass of water again. Nothing beats it on a hot day and especially after a hard played game of exercise!

4) Never go anywhere without a ball.

What’s the first thing you think of when you see an adult or child carrying a ball? They’re going to go play something right? Keep a tennis ball in your trunk wherever you go. It is the most versatile piece of exercise equipment you’ll ever need. It can be an impromptu football, baseball or soccerball, a stress reliever when you squeeze it, a masseuse
when you roll on it, an instant dog tirer,  and an instant kid tirer too!

Here are a few games to try with one of your own:

Jog and Pass: Find a friend to jog with you and bounce the ball back and forth as you run. See how long it takes before you’re srinting after the ball giggling.

Wide Receiver: Switch between quarterback and receiver and call the play!

Hand Balance: Put the ball on the back of your hand and try to move around without dropping it. Challenge yourself!

Learn to Juggle!

5) Play with your Family

A Family that plays together, stays together. Not only will playing with your kids burn calories and help keep you moving, it build bonds, and give you a chance to connect with them.  You’ll also be giving your child a great opportunity to learn the skills they need to be active as they get older. Studies show that a child that grows up in a family where both parents are inactive are 88% more likely to become obese than those with active healthy parents. So be the parent they look up to to play!

 

Dedicate to your success,

Sean Gogarty

SGO Fitness

http://www.sgofitness.com

2190 Rep Workout!

To celebrate our client Bobette Michele Irby comittment to sobriety we created a workout for everyday of her journey (2190 days)

Here is the run down of what you can do to celebrate this amazing achievement with her:

6 x 365 reps
• 100 x Jump Ropes
• 50 x Mountain Climbers
• 50 x Bicycle Crunches
• 25 x Squats
• 25 x Pushups
• 20 x Up & Down elbow Planks
• 20 x Rows (Bell)
• 20 x Slams (Bag, Ball, or Rope)
• 10 x Jumping Jacks
• 10 x Back Extensions
• 5 x Burpees
• 30 Yard Sprint

THE Perfect Diet!

Hello Blog!

Sorry its been so long since our last post. Life has been a little crazy in the SGO Household….but I’ll fill you in on that later.

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Samantha Hua, founder of Happy Food.

Samantha is a Holistic Health Coach with a passion for her clients and their journey. She has been gracious enough to pass some of her wisdom on to you here at our SGO fitness blog. Check out what she has to say below!

THE Perfect Diet!

It does not exist. Let it go. Stop the search. Why, you ask? The reason is because our body is constantly changing and so is our lifestyle.  I learned that: “Each second, ten million red blood cells are born and die. The stomach lining completely regenerates in a week, a healthy liver in six weeks, and the skin surface in a month. Scientists postulate that 98 percent of all atoms in the body are replaced within a year, 100 percent within seven years.” The only constant we have is change.

We all have different body types.  In my office, we work towards finding the combination that’s best for that person at that time. The best thing to do is learn how to listen to your body.

So…where does this leave us? How do we get healthy and thin? First thing we have to do is get rid of barriers that get in the way of success and often lead us to make poor choices. The common barriers I see in my office are stress, imbalance, lack of boundaries, years of bad habit, over-worked, and most importantly—a lack of pleasure and enjoyment in life.  We don’t do enough to include joy and excitement in our DAILY life.

When we live our life full of joy and we learn how to feed our body what it needs, the weight drops off automatically. That’s my definition of a true, sustainable diet.  NOT calorie counting, point system, discipline, torture, or exercises you hate.

Get support and learn how you can become successful like the people here.

http://youtu.be/UG4do6iA-Lc

http://www.HappyFoodHealth.com

 

Achieving your Goal

Here’s a quick goals setting tip I learned just the other day.

1)      Take a piece of paper and write down 10 things you want to accomplish.

2)      Then ask yourself: “If you could accomplish only one goals on the list in the next 24 hours, which goal would have the most positive impact on your life?”

3)      Circle it, turn the page over and write it at the top of the page. Set a deadline for the goal and write down everything you can think of to achieve that goal.

Then, and this is the most important thing….

4)      Do something every day. Do something every day that moves you one step forward to accomplishing that goal.

You will surprise yourself at the things you will accomplish by doing something every day to achieve it.

Hope that helps in getting started.

Weight Loss, Peer Pressure and Holiday Pitfalls

With Memorial Day come to a close and the BBQ’s and long weekend celebrations coming to an end how did you do? Did you stick to your goals? Did you get your exercise in? Did you keep track of how you ate?

Holidays and parties are some of the hardest times to keep on track with your weight loss goals. Here’s a few reasons why:

1)  Unhealthy Food in large supply

2) Unhealthy Portion Size

3) Alcohol in large supply.

4) Social Pressure to be part of the party

5) People who don’t understand what you’re trying to do.

The first thing we need to address is if you fell off the wagon this weekend, get back on. You have not failed, it’s not all lost, and you haven’t destroyed everything you’ve worked for these past few weeks. A single weekend of bad choices won’t kill you. A lifetime of them will.

Second, how do we deal with these pressures and temptations? This past memorial day weekend Sarah and I visited the in-laws while participating in a 30 day Primal/Alcohol free challenge. It was tough at times to keep on track but we succeeded. Lets go through the above list and see how we can overcome some obstacles.

1) Unhealthy Food: Pack healthy food for yourself. For our challenge we had limitations on what we could eat so we packed up what we needed and brought it with us! Feel uncomfortable bringing your own thing? Bring enough to share and make it part of the weekends eats! You just might help someone else choose healthy too!

2) Unhealthy Portion Size: All those bowls of potato salad and other tempting dishes spread out before you! How to survive? Grab the smallest plate you can and stick with it. Being forced to go back to the table to get another serving will help you think twice. (Only have big paper plates? Rip it in half!)

3) Alcohol…..ooooh! A tough one. The majority of calories consumed on long weekends come from what’s in your glass. If you really feel uncomfortable when everyone around you has a beverage, substitute! Get a bottle of club soda and fill your glass with ice and some lime. The bubbles and taste will give you enough kick to keep you sated and keep your thirst in check and the act of having a drink in your hand will keep people from badgering you to have another.

4&5) Social Pressure: When people question why you’re not having a drink, helping yourself to the buffet, taking part in Dad’s famous bacon wrapped burger, or make remarks about the choices you’re making remember:

You are on a journey to improve yourself and your life. It is your journey and no one else’s. You make the rules and you pay the consequence when you break them.

If someone puts down your choices it is only because you are holding a mirror to their own shortcomings and bad decisions. When someone feels bad their natural reaction is to try and make you feel bad so they feel better.

We have to live like no one else now so We can live like no one else later.

Food Trivia Answers

Here are some of the trivia answers from last nights Food Trivia Adventure Friday’s Dinner   out:
Mozzarella Sticks		1 Full football Game	760
Club Sandwich		Run for 1 hour	860
Sweet Potato Fries		wash the dishes for 2 hours	390
Brownie Obsession		< 2 hours of working out with SGO	1222
Glass of beer		2 hours of heavy petting	243
Total:			3475

Food	vs	Exercise & Activity	Calories
1 pound of Fat		Run a Marathon	3500
Big Mac Meal		Hike Cowles Mountain Twice	1000
Chilli’s Texas Cheese Fries		2 full NBA Basketball Games	1960
Chilli’s Cobb Salad		Chop 240 Pieces of Wood	430
Mixed Salad with Oil & Vinegar		8 minutes of “Quickie” Sex	47
8 oz T-bone Steak		1 hour of Cycling	402
11 Nacho Doritos		Waching Dishes 1 hour	150
Banana		Shopping at the Mall (22 minutes)	72
Starbucks   Venti Frappuccino (pumpkin spice)		1 30 minute Zumba Class	375
Home made mashed potatos		Run 2 Miles	237
Outback Garlic Mashed Potatos		25 Minutes of Bootcamp	305
Friday’s Dinner out:		4 1/2 NFL Football Games	3475

A Contract with Myself.

I _______, promise to make a commitment to my health & wellness…

 

I will LOVE myself.

I will acknowledge that I DESERVE this and that I am worth it.

I will beleive in myself.

I will not give up.

Even if I slip up, I promise to not beat myself up, but to get back on track.

I will be brave & bold.

I will try new things.

I will educate myself.

I will be dedicated to my goals.

I will trust the process and understand that it wont happen overnight.

I will feed my mind with positive thoughts.

I will feed my soul through positive actions.

I will not be jealous of others for acheiving their goals, (or for winning,) but instead be understudies to their success.

I will praise them for reaching them because I know they have faced their own struggles.

I will do it for MYSELF first.

I will do it for my family.

I will do it for my friends.

I will do it to inspire others and create a better world.

I will do it to LIVE a Long, Healthy, & Happy Life!

This is my Mission and my Mission starts right now!