TRUE STORY Let's be real. We all want to see results as fast as possible. It would be a dream come true, so what happens in reality? Marketing and so many businesses take advantage of this dream and want that we desire. Nowadays there's so many ads, commercials and advertisements promising that you will lose "X" amount of weight in a short amount of time. For example, "Take this pill once a day, and you'll lose 15 lbs in 21 days". If you ever see or read something that promises to make you lose weight by taking a product, please don't fall for it. Its all false advertisement. All that are trying to do is make money off of our insecurities and eager desires. HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED TO FOCUS ON If you want to change your health and reach some of your goals you have to change your habits. Its obvious that the things you are doing on a daily basis aren't helping you get to where you want to be. So to start I encourage you to sit down, have an honest conversation with yourself and write down 3-5 things you know are not helping you. Now after you've written them down, get clear and focus on changing one of those "bad" habits into a "good" one. For Example: Instead of having regular soda, have Coke Zero or a sugar free option. Instead of ordering large fries, pick a side salad or a fruit. Instead of having fried chicken, have it grilled. 4 HABITS YOU CAN INCORPORATE THAT CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE FAT LOSS Make sure to have protein in every meal. (ex: egg whites, grilled chicken, fish, lean steak, ground turkey, protein powder, etc.) Start exercising for 30-45 mins 3 times/week (ex: go for a walk, ride your bike, yoga, attend a fitness class, lifting weights, dancing, anything that incorporates moving your body) Drink a gallon of water a day. (this will help you stay hydrated, release bad toxins in your body, lubricate your joints/organs, improve digestion, etc) Take your micronutrients. (ex: vitamins, minerals, fish oil, antioxidants, probiotics, etc.) WHY FAT LOSS IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN WEIGHT LOSS We've all been there. Doing countless hours of cardio, eating once a day, only taking shakes, constantly buying products, jumping on all the trendy fad diets, yo-yo dieting and guess what? We've ended back to where we started or probably worse. Frustrated and wondering why nothing works. Well let me tell you why: Because you are only worried about your long term end goal and not focused on the actions you are taking day by day. Your daily habits are the key to changing! Losing weight too fast is unhealthy! What it really means is that you are underrating and overexercising excessively. In other words your energy levels are low, you are not nourishing your body, you are losing a lot of muscle and unfortunately setting yourself up for failure. WHY?? Because you want results now! Focusing on fat loss is different. This means you are in a steady caloric deficit, lifting weights to get stronger, prioritizing protein in every meal and making sure you are well nourished with your balanced meals. By focusing on the following you are changing/improving your body composition. In other words you are building lean muscle and burning body fat. This is why it's important to do some resistance training and at the same time nourish your body with the right foods so that you can perform well during workouts and in life. When you change your mindset from wondering how much weight you've lost to how much stronger you've gotten, your fitness and health journey becomes far more enjoyable! Check out our other post that talks about why the scale isn't the best indicator for your progress. QUICK SUMMARY Our goal is to live a healthy active life not just for 30 day but for the rest of our lives. Its important that we find balance and joy throughout our fitness, health and wellness journey. Don't fall for rapid weight loss scams. You are doing a disservice to your body. Follow some of the tips I mentioned consistently and I promise you will start to see some changes. If you need additional help or have some question, feel free to send me a message! Much love AFA Fam!

We've all been there and done that. After a week or two of eating nutritious foods and exercising consistently we get excited about our progress and can't wait to jump on the scale. You wake up in the morning ready to see how much you've improved and guess what happens? The number on the scale didn't change not one bit. You get discouraged, frustrated and realize that whatever it is that you were doing isn't worth it anymore. Well I'm here to tell you that the number in the scale isn't the best way to track your progress. There are so many reasons why your weight could have fluctuated. Heres why! REASON #1 YOU'RE BUILDING MUCLE AND LOOSING BODY FAT What exactly does this mean? Well since you started lifting some weights, prioritizing protein in every meal and have been exercising consistently, you've actually been building some muscle. Lean muscle is much denser and heavier than body fat by volume. Body fat is a lot more fully and holds up more space. So since muscle weighs more than fat it will appear in the scale as if no progress happened. But in reality your body composition is changing. In other words you are getting leaner and burning body fat at the same time. Hint: This is why your clothes could be fitting looser without it appearing like if you're not loosing any weight. REASON #2 OUR BODY IS VERY COMPLEX AND FLUCTUATES EVERY DAY Between morning and afternoon your weight can fluctuate depending on what you ate, drank and how much you exercised. You've ever had a long weekend full of family gathering and delicious food? Here comes Monday and you've gained about 3-5 lbs? Well here's why: salty foods cause our body to retain a lot of water. This is why we feel bloated and puffy after a weekend of fun. Hormonal changes and hydration levels also play a huge impact on our bodyweight. REASON #3 ITS NORMAL TO GAIN WEIGHT DURING YOUR PERIOD Its normal to gain 3-6 pounds during your monthly period. This is caused by hormonal fluctuations that may cause bloating, water retention, sugar cravings and an increase in hunger. The female sex hormone estrogen spikes up during your menstrual cycle and when its levels are high it can lead your body to feeling bloated and retaining more fluid. It may seem like you're gaining weight but it is only temporary REMEMBER: PROGRESS COMES IN MANY FORMS I encourage you to start focusing on your behavioral outcomes. Your daily wins are far more important than the number on the scale. For example: You feel better, you have far more energy, you've adopted healthier habits, you're a lot stronger and have more endurance. Your clothes feels better and you're more motivated than ever before. These are all signs that you have made progress. Remember to celebrate these wins as you continue your transformation. THE SCALE DOESN'T DETERMINE YOUR WORTH Health is not about a number. Focus on your happiness, your energy levels, the strength you've built and the new habits you've created since you started your journey. Use health and fitness as a tool to live a longer wonderful life and to discover how it can help you become a better person overall.

Do these daily and you will start to feel and see some significant changes in your body. We encourage all of our clients to implement these 5 daily habits instead of focusing on their overall long-term goals. By choosing to focus on your daily habits you will start to build momentum, boost your confidence and feel a lot more accomplished. If all you care and worry about is when will you get to your goals and don't set up a roadmap for yourself you will get discourages, overwhelmed and eventually quit because it seems impossible to achieve. Daily attainable goals are far more important than continuously focusing on your results. Keep that in mind. Now let's go ahead and talk about the big 5 daily habits that all of us should be implementing daily! #1 YOUR DAILY CALORIC BALANCE The balance between the calories we consume and burn throughout the day dictate wether our weight goes up, down or stays the same. This is the number one problem that people tend to neglect and skip but in reality determines a lot of your success when it comes to transforming your body. 3 TYPES OF CALORIE BALANCES 1. Caloric Deficit (Fat/weight loss) Burning more calories than you consume in a daily basis = Weight/Fat Loss Ex: Burning 2000 cals/day and consuming 1,500 cals = -500 caloric deficit This influences weight loss b/c your at an additional -500 gap of energy your body will need which will come from stored fat if protein intake is met 2. Caloric Maintenance (Same weight) Burning and consuming an equal amount of calories every day Ex: Burning 2000 cals but also consuming 2000 calskeeps your bodyweight the same. Protein is still huge! 3. Caloric Surplus (Muscle/weight gain) Consuming more calories that you burn during the day will cause weight gain. Ex: Burning 2000 cals but eating 2500. So the additional 500 cals has to be stored somewhere in the body. Hitting your protein goal is crucial because if you don’t meet it it will lead to more fat gain rather than muscle gain. Did you know that hitting your calories and meeting your protein goals determines 80% of your results? Calories control whether your bodyweight goes up, down or stays the same. But what most people miss out on is…. Protein controls what you look like while you're reaching your goal. It helps build, repair and retain lean muscle mass. #2 HIT YOUR DAILY PROTEIN GOAL To prioritize fat loss and not weight loss while being in a caloric deficit, protein intake must be met so you can continue to build and maintain lean muscle mass. If you don’t hit your protein goals you'll lose weight but wont build muscle or get toned! Make sure to include a protein source in every single one of your meals and a protein shake after your workouts to meet your goals. Primary building block for our body’s muscles tissue, skin, hair, nails, bones, enzymes, hormones, and immune system. #3 MICRONUTRIENTS These are vital for human life and important for longevity. Micronutrients consist of vitamins, minerals, omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidants, etc. We get these from a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. But lets be serious how many of us eat a variety of 5-7 fruits and vegetables every single day? It's hard to do and this is why over 2 billion people worldwide are deficient in some sort of vitamins and minerals. Another reason why we are so deficient is because of how many processed foods are consumed throughout the week. These hyper palatable foods are filled with empty calories, cause inflammation in the body and can lead to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other chronic diseases. There are so many people worldwide who have deficiencies and have no clue whatsoever. Some of the symptoms of deficiencies include: Fatigue Slow metabolism Constant Headaches Lack of energy High levels of inflammation Reduced ability to fight infections (weak immune system) Poor recovery of muscles after exercise Appropriate supplementation is very important and can easily improve your longterm health and survival. We strongly recommend you take this into consideration. After taking vitamin and minerals for so many years we have finally found a quality product that has literally changed so many of our lives. 1st Phorm's Micro Factor packet. This is a micronutrient packet jam packed with everything you need for the day. This includes 6 capsules: Multivitamin: optimizes your metabolism and crucial for overall health Essential fatty acids: help battle sickness, reduce inflammation, and maintain healthy brain, heart and joints Antioxidant: helps strengthen your immune system Probiotic: improves your gut health, digestion and energy levels Coq10: boosts heart health, reduces blood pressure and improves blood flow Fruits & Veggies: a superfood blend that promotes natural detox and strengthens the gut *CLICK THE LINK BELOW: GET YOUR MICRONUTRIENTS TODAY! https://1stphorm.com/products/micro-factor?a_aid=athleticsforall #4 MOVEMENT/EXERCISE Physical activity has a wide range of benefits to our health, from our mental state to our physical well being. Exercising 3-5 times a week can improve the following: It can elevate your mood and make you feel happier Strengthens your muscles and bones Improves your cardiovascular health (your body's ability to deliver oxygen) It can increase your energy levels Improves your body composition (build more muscle, reduce body fat) Helps reduce the risk of chronic diseases (decreases blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and diebetes) Join our AFA community. We are all about pursuing a healthy lifestyle and one of our biggest goal is to make fitness enjoyable for everyone. #5 DRINK PLENTY OF WATER Think about it, our body is made up of 65% water why wouldn't it be important for our health. Water not only keeps us hydrated but it also helps us to digest food, lubricate our joints, get rid of toxins, improves quality of skin and can also improve our clarity of thinking. It also plays a huge role in delivering important nutrients to all of the cells in our body, especially our muscles. Recommended Intake: Half your bodyweight in ounces. Ex: If you weigh 160 lbs, (160/2) your water intake/day should be 80 oz