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This morning I attended a very informative presentation by the former president of SSWBN (http;//www.sswbn.org), owner and CEO of BWM Business Consulting (http://www.bwmconsultingusa.com). Ms. Brenda Wornum Moore. This is what happens every time I attend a workshop or seminar about business. I find concepts that are readily transferable to successfully managing weight, health and fitness. I think my mind just automatically listens for these.  I get all excited and can't wait to share these ideas, strategies, and tips with you.

One of my common themes is -  look at all the aspects of your life in which you are successful and take those skills, massage them, and apply to managing your eating behavior.

Ready- In my soon to be published book, Weight Loss Transformations, I suggest you determine your state of readiness before embarking on your weight loss journey. This includes digging deep and determining what blocks may present themselves along your journey. A few examples may include: fear of failure, fear of success, fear of what happens when you strip that protective layer of fat away, or how to cope with out using food. Readiness also means the ability to prioritize. You will need to make the time to create your vision; track and assess your thoughts, feelings and actions; and take the time to prepare, set goals and make plans for eating and behavior changes.

Aim- "If you don't know where you are going, how are you going to get there?" This quote was on our hand-out page where we defined the purpose of our business. In order to hit your weight loss goal, you have to have a target and purpose. Creating and crystallizing your vison is paramont to success because it provide you with direction. To keep on the path of what you envison for yourself, you have to focus on what you want and why you want it, NOT on what you don't want. In addition to creating your vision, you can help crystallize it by writing down your motivating factors or compelling reasons to live in the body of your dreams.

Fire- Once you know where your headed, there are a number of steps and tools you can take and utilize to move  in the right direction. These include, building awareness of your internal dialogue, your feelings, and behavior patterns and then taking steps to be prepared for obstacles and challenges, settting goals and making concrete plans to achieve each goal.

Hit Your Target-  Years ago I  made a huge target out of felt and used it to teach healthy food choices to children, Now, in the bulls-eye, I have a a picture of me living in my vision. This along with other tools in my weight management tool box have more than once kept me on track. The last chapter of my book addresses what to do once you reach your target: how to maintain your new healthy mind-set, eating and lifestyle behaviors, and keep the weight off.

One of my particiapats in my Weight Loss Transformations program asked me "Do you think the 2 mugs of coffee with cream and sugar are making any difference in my ability to lose weight?" After determining the "recipe" for each mug of coffee = 2 Tablespoons of half and half and 2 teaspoons of sugar, this is how I answered:

Each Tbsp (T) of half and half contains 20 calories and each tsp (t) of sugar 21. So if you drink 2 mugs of coffee, each with 2 T half and Half and 2 t of sugar, that adds up to 164 calories per day, 1,148 per week, 59,696 per year. If you took both of those items out with out changing anything else, theoretically you would lose 17 pounds in one year. If you substituted the regular half and half with a fat free variety, you save 40 calories per day or 14,600 per year ( 4+ pounds) or by switching to no sugar or a stevia you could save another 84 calories per day or 29,565 per year (8.5 pounds).

Of course the other participants quickly chimed in assuring her that you can reduce the sugar gradually until you don't even miss it, in fact after a while you won't even like it. And fat free half and half tastes the same as the regular. Imagine these simple changes resulting in 12.5 pounds of weight GONE with out much effort, without having to feel deprived!

Here are some other ways to save calories that are pretty easy.

Calorie Savings Plan

With these simple changes you can cut calories and lose weight without feeling deprived!

There are many other ways to trim some calories out of your daily diet. If you like to cook, try modifying some of your favorite recipes. Think about your daily diet, or track your food intake for a few days and then circle items that you could swap out for something a little lighter or  just cut the portion size a bit. Check out my article on my favorite product also found in KJ's Health Blog.  If you have questions about some additional ideas, post a comment in the forums section of my website  at www.bodybykj.com/forums or send me a note on LinkedIn,  Facebook or Twitter. The links are found on the meet KJ tab.

How many times have I heard from new clients, friends and family members: "I just can't seem to get myself motivated to exercise?" If this speaks to you, the problem is not the exercise but your mind-set. OK, I am going to be a little frank here, but what are you saying to yourself when you think about the dreaded e-word?

"It takes too long, I don't have time to go to the gym, I don't feel confortable around all those skinny-minnies and Arnold Schwarzenegger-types at the gym, it's too hot, it's too cold. I don't like blah, blah, blah." OK, at least I got your attention. Good, NOW STOP! Stop focusing on all the negatives and think about other things. Have you seen the movie Happy Gilmore? Then go your your happy place and see yourself doing fun activities. A couple of things you can do to get yourself going are to focus on the positives and find things you enjoy. Getting in shape does not require an expensive gym membership. It doesn't require huge blocks of time. It doesn't require running miles on a treadmill until you turn into a hampster.

When I'm hiking in the woods with Buddy, my beagle, I'm not focusing on exercise, but rather the enjoyment of being outside and all it has to offer. For example,  last spring  while I was  hiking in New Hampshire I really enjoyed the whole experince. The weather was perfect and there were no bugs. Along out hike we saw several interesting birds, some cute chipmunks scurrying about, really neat log cabins and post-and-beam homes tucked into the side of the mountain,  some trillium and other pretty spring flowers.  After that, who cares that I burned up a few hundred calories? Who cares if you look up one of those 'how many calories do you burn doing various types of activities' charts that hiking is listed among many of the traditional, often dreaded types of exercise? It wasn't just about the exercise, or that my heart and lungs said than you, or that my glutes and leg muscles were getting stronger.

I often walk or cross-country ski in parks and through the woods. I meet interesting people at the gym and in my Fitting in Getting Fit classes. Besides the health benefits, I would miss so much more: the smell of freshly cut grass, the deer with her fawn in the woods, the red-headed woodpecker I spotted on a tree during an early morning run, the lone yellow lady slipper, the snakes that live in a hole in a tree at Borderland, the women working out at the gym next to me who whispered to her trainer "please create a work-out so  can look like her", the joy shown clearly on the faces of the women in my fitness classes when they discover they CAN do it, the time I spend with walking running and hiking with my friends and Buddy AND especially the first time I took Freddie hiking in one of the state parks and he was like a 5 year old discovering a whole new world, climbing up big boulders and chasing Buddy up and down hills.

So here's my challenge to you. Think about what you can do that is fun and provides some exercise; open your mind to doing a little something that may not be as much fun, but from which you will clearly see rewards; then set some mini-goals, make a plan and JUST DO IT!

What did you eat yesterday? If you didn't record your food intake in an eating behavior journal (EBJ) or food journal as you went about your day, chance are you only have a vague recollection of what you consumed. Does it matter? Yes!   Here's why.

When you are paying attention to your diet (meaning the foods you consume, not weight loss diet), you can make conscious, rational decisions about what you put in your mouth. You may even enjoy your food more. Mindless eating often results in poor nutrition, unwanted calories and weight gain. You may have heard this before: "It takes twenty minutes for the brain to register you have eaten and turn on you satiety signals". If you eat too fast, you may overeat and bypass the feeling of fullness until it's too late. Repeated behavior like this results in dulling of your satiety mechanism so it takes more and more food to feel full. The good news is, you CAN slow down while you eat, allowing you body to begin to recognize the signals that tell you you've had enough.

Secondly, when you eat too fast or you're not paying attention, you miss all the delicate flavors, aromas, textures, visual presentation and mouth feel of your meal.  When you get up from the table, out of your car or off the couch, you still feel unsatified and find yourself with an empty feeling and looking for more food. SLOW DOWN. Pay attention so you can apreciate the nuances of your food. You may even enjoy your food more and find less IS more.

Try this. Next time you feel like having a meal or snack, sit down at a deignated spot. This could be your kitche table (yes, some people actually do eat at a table these days!). Set a nice place seting, turn  on some soft relaxing music if you wish, but tune-in. Shut off the TV, Blackerry, computer and phone, close the book or magazine. Place you food, even if it's a small snack, on or in the appropriate dish. Pause, look and smell your food before you dig in. Savor each bite, chew, swallow, pause and reflect before taking the next bite. Do you notice any difference? Describe it in your EBJ. The more you do this, the more you will enjoy your food and improve your nutrition and digestion.

I have been getting that question alot lately. My practice is primarily focused on helping women end the struggle with their weight, body image and relationship with food so they can achieve their weight and fitness goals. However, I also provide individual nutrition and weight loss/eating behavior managment counseling for men. Although my Weight Loss Transformation by kj program that I run in a small group format in the local community and via  teleseminar & the Fitting in Getting Fit by kj,  beginner strength and balance training classes are for women; kj's 7 Keys to Healthy Eating, Transform Your Grocery Cart, supermaket tours and Transform Your Dining OutCome, eating out work-shops are open to both men and women.

As many of you may know, I am listed on the American Dietetic Association's page of dietetic practitioners serving the greater Boston/ SE MA and RI areas. Since counseling and coaching can be done by phone my services are not limited to a geographic area. I am a Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN) in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a Registered Dietitian (RD), with the American Dietetic Association, a National Academy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT) and Coach Training Alliance Certified Wellness Coach.

If you would like to work with a highly-educated, experienced health care professional to learn more about choosing a healthy diet or to help you lose  weight and develop a personalized fitness program, please fill out the web site submission form on the "Contact KJ" page. To register for classes and work-shops, click on the Classes tab. As always, you can garner sone really helpful information by reading the articles in KJ's Health Blog.

Your trusted source for nutrition, weight loss, eating behavior management and fitness information,

Kathy Jordan, MS, RD, LDN, CPT