July 2010

Hello friends,

This is Justin Willoughby back with an update for you all. I have a burden to talk to you guys about obstacles. I have received a good amount of e-mail, letters, and private messages pertaining to obstacles. A lot of you have wondered how I overcome  obstacles in life. You ask how I continue to strive on a weight loss journey. Well, it’s not easy, but it can be done.

Some obstacles people tend to inherit are:

– Colds/Flu/Soreness – Yes, these things can set us back. Especially the colds, and flu. These things need to be healed up before we can really get back into weight loss mode. If we don’t give our bodies time to recover, we could actually hurt ourselves. So rest, and if you feel the need to exercise, just do some walking in your house. But you will need some strength to recover from the cold or flu. This could make you feel lazy and worthless as it has me. This is not true; these things happen to people. We live in a world where sickness is all over. We just gotta try our best to prevent these things. Try getting your antioxidants in everyday! Your vitamins, your green tea, your plant supplements. Keep your immune system up! This will help!

Soreness is a different story; soreness makes you miserable. Especially if it’s in the leg. You need to give your body time to heal. If it’s a muscle strain, remember (Unless under doctors order) you should ice and heat the area. Mostly use ice though, as this will take down swelling. Muscle bruises can really keep you off your feet for a while. You don’t want your body to injure itself further, so you need to let the muscle heal. Muscle bruises on the upper body would probably just hinder your weight lifting, but cardio should still be fine, unless you feel it’s a struggle for that certain muscle.

– Feeling guilty – Sometimes we look at ourselves and we say “Well, I already screwed my day up and ate too much!” So what if you already ate too much food? Should that stop you from burning it off, or from exercising? NO! When you overeat on a day, and you feel full, remember that exercising after that full feeling is gone can actually help you erase that guilt feeling. Exercises can include (walking, running, biking, etc.) I have noticed this to be true. I usually feel much better after a splurge if I just exercise for 20 – 40 minutes. Do not let guilt drag you down. You are a person who was created by God! He has a plan for your life, and He says you matter. So believe that!

-Party Time! – Overcoming holidays and parties can also be hard. People have so much food ALL OVER! You don’t want to be rude, so you go and eat, and you eat, and you eat, and you eat some more. So now you really did it in for yourself. What do you do? How can you overcome ALL that food? Easy, you bring a dish or two to share. This will give you an option that can be healthier. Your friends could also benefit if it’s healthy. You could also just have a small portion of some of the things. You don’t have to go HOG WILD! Sometimes, especially people who have an addiction to food, get overwhelmed when seeing so much.  You can overcome this, take a deep breath and step away. Go pray! Go talk yourself out of overeating. Remember what it can do to you! You are what you eat, though moderation is okay, you don’t want to over do it. Just develop that will power! Remember who we are living for.
I pray this helps every person who reads this post. I know obstacles exist. Losing weight is not easy! But it is possible with a few minor adjustments and preventions!

-Justin Willoughby

(ONE STEP)

Hello my friends,

This is Justin Willoughby back at you with some weightloss help. I am excited to apply every new thing that I learn. I hope this will help you as much as it does me. We need to take control of our bodies! They are under our command. What we do to it.. that is how it will react! So let’s get into today’s helpful hints.

I want to talk about the foods that can help you reach your weightloss goal. Let’s get started shall we?

1. Milk/Yogurt/Cheese – These foods will help body composition! Why not give these foods a try? Make sure they are low fat! We need to watch the saturated fats in dairy products.. when we intake these fats in an abundance… it can lead to high cholesterol. One of the main contributors to heart disease.

2. Oats – Want to get rid of that pesky belly fat? You should start by eating a breakfast that contains Oats! Studies show that adding Oats or Barely to your diet can help reduce pesky belly fat. Belly fat should be kept to a minimal.

Green Tea – How much green tea do you need to reap its benefits? Studies suggest 4-6 cups a day! This can be a hard thing to do, especially if you aren’t a tea drinker. Stomach it up, and begin doing this. This will help increase metabolism! On top of your workout.. you got yourself a monster.. and I am not talking about the energy drink!

Eggs – Why eggs? Some people can’t stomach eggs, some people still have the idea that eggs contribute to high blood cholesterol. This is true to an extent, but also understand that new studies have come out. It’s not just the cholesterol in foods that make your cholesterol spike (this actually isn’t as bad as it was once thought.) It actually comes down to the saturated fats and trans fats. These fats contribute to high cholesterol. A few whole eggs every couple of days will not kill you. Unless you already have high cholesterol, and are under doctors supervision.. you can eat the whole egg once in a while. I choose to eat the egg white. I usually add some yolk to my eggs, but not a huge amount. One egg has 70 calories. One egg white has 18 calories. A big difference!

Walnuts & Almonds – These foods offer a good source of Omega 3 fatty acids. Studies show that fatty acids may reduce fat mass. If you are not into eating fish, you can get the same benefits from these nuts. But don’t go overboard on them! They are packed with calories. So if you are trying to lose weight, you may want to limit them.

Salmon – My favorite on the list of fat burning foods. Salmon also contains Omega 3 fatty acids! These fats contribute to a healthy heart. They increase the HDL (good cholesterol) and decrease the LDL (bad cholesterol). This is a good thing ladies and gentlemen.

Apples/Pears/Sweet Peppers – The source of the magic behind these foods? Flavonoids! (

flavonoids  are widely disbursed throughout plants and are what give the flowers and fruits of many plants their vibrant colors. They also play a role in protecting the plants from microbe and insect attacks. More importantly, the consumption of foods containing flavonoids has been linked to numerous health benefits. Though research shows flavonoids alone provide minimal antioxidant benefit due to slow absorption by the body, there is indication that they biologically trigger the production of natural enzymes that fight disease. -(Cited from www.wisegeek.com/what-are-flavonoids.htm) Not only do they fight fat, they are very healthy for you.

Flax Seed – This is one of the easiest foods to apply to your diet. Flax seed can be consumed in a variety of ways. You can get flax oil which is an obvious oil based way of getting the benefits. You can get it milled. You can sprinkle it on salads,  put it in your yogurt, put it in your cereal. You can also buy bread that contains flax seed. Some cereals also contain flax seed. How can flax seed help you burn fat? They offer something called Lignans, which are chemical compounds found in plants. These contribute to help fight fat and help in many different ways. For more information on flax seed and how you can add it to your diet. You can go to this website. (http://www.hodgsonmill.com/roi/673/Flax-Seed-Products/)

Remember, just reading this information will not change a thing. You must apply it, and by applying it, you will see transformation in your daily lives. I believe in you! I am praying for each and every single person who has contacted me by facebook, e-mail, mail, phone. God is good! HE wants us to have a GREAT LIFE! We can do this by having discipline, and self control! PLEASE take these words seriously! I am 100% confident that through Christ.. NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! Let’s believe together!

-Justin Willoughby

Hello friends!

It’s Justin Willoughby here with another tip for you guys who are struggling with weight-loss.

We go to the gym 4-6 times a week, we bust our butts! We eat so healthy throughout the week, that you forget what the junk tastes like. You drink your water like it is going out of style! Then.. SUDDENLY, we get on the scale….. AND……. we gain 1 pound!

-GASP-

HOW?! I worked out EVERYDAY THIS WEEK! I ATE SO HEALTHY! I DRANK ALL MY WATER! HOW ON EARTH AM I STILL GAINING!?!??!?!?!

Does that sound familiar? It does to me sometimes. I often find myself busting my butt almost everyday of the week, yet I only lose a half of a pound, or sometimes I lose nothing.

Let’s examine shall we?

– THROW THE SCALE AWAY FOR 3 MONTHS! You heard me. Do I sound crazy? I promise you I’m not. I say this only because the scale has deceived us ALL these years. How? Did you know that your body fat could possibly be going down even when you’re maintaining? YES! You could very well be replacing that fat with muscle. It takes many, many muscles to do cardio. It takes many, many muscles to do strength training. These muscles eventually grow. Some of us eat high sodium diets, and sodium leads to water weight. This will give a false reading on the scale as well.

Here is my advice. I pray that you do not put so much effort in to your workouts just to see the scale number move down. Though it is important to be at a healthy weight, it’s even more important to keep yourself healthy and to feel good. Sometimes you just have to wait for the weight to drop. Sometimes our bodies will just get so used to the exercise we are doing that it just may make you stop losing. I don’t understand why, but it happens. I often times switch up my exercise and the scale will EVENTUALLY move a few pounds down. It’s a slow process. Do not get discouraged. Start feeling the way your clothes are fitting, start feeling the difference in your daily life. Start checking out some of the benefits that come with eating a healthy diet and exercising. Weight-loss is so much more than just a scale. It’s time to kick the scale in the rear instead of it kicking us in the rear.

-Justin Willoughby

The summer time brings us warm weather and humidity. What do we do when this happens? Usually we stay indoors and take it easy. I’m here to tell you, don’t take it that easy. Yes, it’s not good to strain yourself in a hot day. I wouldn’t go jogging/walking in 90 degree weather. But there are some ways around this whole heat wave thing. Here are some tips.

1. Get up earlier in the morning or don’t get ready for bed too early. It usually doesn’t get warmer until late morning and through the afternoon. Gather up some discipline and get moving a little earlier or later. This will make it easier to avoid the extreme temeratures (or humdity).

2. Drink a bunch of water! Water will help you stay hydrated! This is important in warm weather.

3. Join a gym! Most gyms have air conditioning in them. I would suggest checking out your local YMCA or some other fitness center. Some of these places will even offer a scholarship program just in case you can’t afford the membership costs. I know most YMCA’s offer this.

Apply these tips to your workout schedule, and you can BEAT THE HEAT!

-Justin Willoughby
(ONE STEP)