Is the economic crisis going to make you fat?  Is the economic crisis going to allow you to make excuses and relax, maybe even completely dismiss, your dream of having an athletic, sexy looking body?  Is the economic crisis going to dictate the healthy, or unhealthy, lifestyle that you will live?

The answer…

Only if YOU let it.

Now, let me be very clear.  I understand that the economy has had some major changes and affected some people in a very drastic way.  My heart truly goes out to them…and you, if you happen to be affected also.

But…

There is ONE thing that we should never give up, no matter the situation, no matter the difficulty…because without it, all the things that matter the MOST begin to crumble.

What is it…

Our health!

The battles rage on.  I’m talking about the psychological battles that you fight everday within your mind.  You can and should be a winner against even your greatest psychological battles.

I’m sure there are several different ways that these wars in your mind can be defined but here’s my definition of a psychological battle…

The bouncing around of powerful positive and negative thoughts within the mind, that demand a decision regarding a specific desire, situation or outcome.

What are your psychological battles that you face everyday in regards to fitness, nutrition and building the body of your dreams? 

What are the obstacles that trigger your mind to race and create a tough decision?  Do the decision really have to be that tough?

Check out this quick video and then read below for a couple of common battles that you may face yourself:

(You can do it!!!)

Now, here’s  a few common psychological battles that you may be able to relate to and my thoughts on how to overcome the negative side of the battle.

Battle #1

You know what, I’ll start my workouts tomorrow for sure!  I’m just way too busy today and I’ll just want to relax after I get all this stuff done.  Tomorrow will be better.

Winning Thought

You know what, I’m tired of waiting for a tomorrow that never comes.  I’m going to take this moment right now because I know tomorrow isn’t promised to me.  Today IS my tomorrow!  Let’s get this workout on…

Battle #2

I did really good last week with my eating, so I’m just going to relax a LITTLE bit this week.  Besides, I should be able enjoy myself as much as I want I long as I just work out longer.

Winning Thought

I feel really good about how I’ve been doing with my healthy LIFESTYLE.  It’s been a couple of weeks since I treated myself so I’m going to finish this weeks workouts and nutrition really strong and then go out with some friends and have a really nice victory meal on Saturday.  Sunday morning, I’ll wake up renewed and ready for the week.  Yes!

I’ll leave you with this…

Your psychological battles will ALWAYS require you to make a decision.  Are you prepared to make the winning decision, even if it’s the hardest decision?

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens
http://twitter.com/dfitnessguy

P.S.  Maybe one of your psychological battles revolves around fat loss.  If you haven’t yet, be sure to fill out the grey box in the top right hand corner of the site so I can send you the 5 Factors For Fat Loss.

He came back with three killer tips. In fact, Hunter challenges any woman that wants to lose a dress size fast to put these three quick weight loss tips to the test and prove him wrong.

Be sure to let me know what happens when you incorporate these tips into YOUR weight loss plan:

“Lose a Dress Size Fast” Tip #1

Eating non-starchy vegetables increases women’s fiber intake which, in turn, makes them feel fuller quicker. Additionally, vegetables are energy consumers. It takes more energy to digest a vegetable than any other type of carbohydrate. Obviously, this helps them look great in a sexy, little mini-skirt.

“Lose a Dress Size Fast” Tip #2

One could argue that nothing will help women lose a dress size faster than eliminating simple carbohydrates from their weight loss plan. Large amounts of insulin promote fat storage and fast digesting or simple carbohydrates produce large amounts of insulin. Women want to limit or avoid these fast digesting carbohydrates for quick weight loss.

“Lose a Dress Size Fast” Tip #3

Looking great in a sexy, little mini skirt requires women to STOP skipping meals. This is because skipping meals tends to cause women to overeat at later times during the day. Additionally, women who want to lose a dress size fast that skip meals actually lower their metabolism. That means their body needs fewer calories and overeating leads to gaining fat faster.

If you’re really serious about losing a dress size - or two - fast then you want to get Jayson’s entire program. His formula for rotating carbs is a PROVEN way to melt fat fast.

And even better, it’s a true Healthy eating plan that you can live with. Check it out here: Carb Rotation Diet

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens
http://twitter.com/dfitnessguy

PS - My favorite part about Carb Rotation Diet is it teaches you how to KEEP the pounds off your belly.

Grab a pen and take some notes during the video.  Once the video is complete, fill in your name and email  in the box to the right so I can send you the “Five Factors for Fat Loss.” ==>

Here Are The Top 10 Reasons Why You May Not Be Losing Weight

Top 10 Reasons Why You May Not Be Losing Weight from Donovan Owens on Vimeo.

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

http://twitter.com/dfitnessguy

P.S.  As stated in the video, taking a Grade A Multi-Vitamin plays a vital role in your weight loss success.  Here is a great resource for you that I take daily and recommend to all of my clients.  It called VGF25+ from Prograde Nutrition.  It’s a Grade A multi-nutrient made from all whole foods (that means, real food with no synthetic materials).

BUT…

There is some very promising research out there in regards to a dietary supplement you’ve probably been hearing a lot about.

Yes, I’m talking about Essential Fatty Acids. You probably have heard them called something like Fish Oil pills.

How’s this for good news?!

*University of Georgia researchers have found something pretty amazing about  Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA. Get this: The actually help STOP the conversion of pre-fat cells into fat cells by causing them to die out before they can mature.

Once a pre-fat cell becomes a fat cell, well, there’s no turning back. You’ve got that fat cell for life. Imagine, actually decreasing the accumulation of fat by taking an Essential Fatty Acid supplement containing DHA!

Now let me do my best infomercial voice for you…

But wait, there’s more!

Seriously, that’s not the only benefit of Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA.

According to studies** done at the University of South Australia people that combined exercise with Essential Fatty Acid supplements containing DHA saw greater fat loss than the test group that only exercised and did not take the supplement.

How can you not be excited by these research studies??

Now, personally, I don’t like Fish Oil pills because they cause you to burp like crazy. If you’ve ever taken them you know exactly what I mean. Not to mention, they aren’t always the highest quality.

I prefer EFA Icon from Prograde Nutrition because they use Krill Oil. It’s been found to be a superior source of Essential Fatty Acids containing DHA. Plus, with EFA Icon there are NO fish burps. And I haven’t even mentioned all the amazing health benefits from this dietary supplement.

If you’re looking to accelerate your fat loss results than I really recommend you go with Prograde Nutrition’s EFA Icon. You can get it here: http://trainright.getprograde.com/icon

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

PS - Remember, EFA Icon is NOT a miracle solution. You will need sound nutrition and exercise  BUT the research is there. It’s definitely a supplement with powerful fat loss properties. http://trainright.getprograde.com/icon

Yes, people are looking at your butt.  Chances are, you look at your own butt every time you get dressed to see how in checks out in your jeans for the day.  You cover it with your shirt every time you stand up; or maybe not.  You most likely look at other women and visualize how their butt stacks up against yours.

Through it all, what you’re really wanting to make sure of, is that you are happy with your own back side.  Doing the right butt building exercises will help. 

There Are 3 Key Exercises That You Can Include In Your Workouts That Will Firm Your Butt, Raise Your Butt And Make You Happy.

 1. Body Weight Squats

When done with proper form, the squat is a woman’s best friend.  The squat is great fot  increasing flexibility in your lower back, providing strength to weak hips and most importantly…

Lifting, toning and firming your butt.

Now, so that you can make sure you harness the full power of the butt firming potential of the squat, I’m going to provide you with some key coaching ques for you to think about as you perform this movement.  Here they are:

• Feet just wider than shoulder width with toes pointed out slightly
• All your weight should be on your heels (you should be able to wiggle your toes inside your shoes)
• Squat down by pushing the hips back and bending the knees
• Knees should NOT come out beyond the toes (if they do, you need to push back through the hips more)
• Keep the natural curve of the back by keeping the shoulders pulled back
• Try to hit 90 degrees or parallel on the squat
• Press back up by pushing your weight through your heels and pushing the hips forward by squeezing the glutes

2. Body Weight Lunges

Lunging is another great squatting type exercise that utilizes the power of every muscle in your lower body, especially your glute muscles.

What makes the lunge so effective at tightening up the butt is the fact that you are performing the squatting motion in a split leg format.  When you do this, you force the glute muscles to be stretched at a deeper level when you descend (go down)  into the lunge thus requiring more energy and contraction when you ascend (go up) back to your starting position. 

Here are a few coaching ques to make your lunge a definite “butt toning” experience:

• Start in a standing position
• Take a longer than normal stride forward (toes on both feet should be facing forward as well as the shoulders)
• Drop straight down through the hips making sure NOT to push forward through the front knee (back knee should stop just before hitting the ground)
• Keep the upper body tall with shoulders pulled back
• Push back up to straight leg starting position by pushing through the front heel (pushing through the heel forces the glutes to work)
• Repeat using other leg

3. Body Weight Hip Extension 

Okay, the hip extension my be one of the most neglected exercises for building a better butt. 

Yes, it’s a great exercise for strengthening the core and ,yes, it’s a great exercise for adding a lean powerful look to the hamstrings on the back of your legs.

But, there is no way that you can deny the awesome butt lifting results that this exercise provides.  If you want to see your butt look different in your jeans, be sure to add this exercise to your arsenal and follow these simple coaching ques:

• Start by lying flat on your back with you knees bent and your feet about six inches from your butt
• You hands should be out to your side (you can face the palms up or down)
• Extend the hips into the air as high as you can by pushing all of your weight through your heels and squeezing the glutes (really squeeze)
• At the top position your head, shoulders, hands and heels should be the only parts touching the ground
• Return to starting position and repeat (love the burn baby!!)

There you go.  Add my top 3 butt firming exercises to your workouts, be consistent with them and watch your back side take a new shape.  Don’t be afraid to advance the squatting movements by holding dumbbells at your side.  You can advance the hip extension by doing it with one leg and putting your hands straight in the air rather than flat on the ground.

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

P.S.  I’d like to personally thank Holly Rigsby, creator of Fit Yummy Mummy for providing the picture demonstrations for the Top 3 Butt Firming Exercises.  Be sure to check out Holly’s great resource to “Burn Your Baby Fat and Get Your Body Back”.

P.P.S  If you haven’t already, be sure to fill in the box in the top right hand corner of this blog to Discover the Five Factors for Fat Loss.

Eat breakfast.

Look, you can make fat loss as difficult as you like. You can make it out to be super complicated if you so choose.

But one of the easiest things you can do to start melting the fat off your frame is to start eating a breakfast that boosts your metabolism and sets the tone for fat loss all day long.

Now, there’s a very good chance you’re shaking your head in agreement with me, but saying something like, “That’s great. I know that. But what the heck do I eat?”

Glad you asked

Here are three simple fat fighting breakfasts from Registered Dietitian Jayson Hunter:

1- Cottage cheese mixed with real fruit

2- Hard boiled egg and yogurt mixed with real fruit

3- 2 pieces of fruit and a scrambled egg wrap

Seriously, would that be so hard? Don’t you think you can manage that in the morning?

Well, if you can’t ,Jayson Hunter, who is the Head of R & D at Prograde Nutrition, has another suggestion. You can use a nutritious meal replacement shake like Prograde Lean.

I’ve checked it out and it really has a delicious chocolate flavor. In fact, I know Prograde spent 6 months developing Prograde Lean just to get the taste right.

Ok, so there are 4 options for a Belly Fat Blasting Breakfast. Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

PS - Remember, Prograde Nutrition is currently having a BIG 10.9% off everything January Celebration Sale to celebrate the New Year and the fact they are now shipping to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

Yes, that’s 10.9 as in January of 2009

Here are some other details I want to make sure you know about:

- Again, you receive 10.9% off all Prograde products.

- It will run from Thursday, January 8th until Thursday, January 15th at 11:59pm EST.

- Yes, that 10.9% off will be applicable to SmartShip orders. But it only applies to that first purchase. Not ongoing.

- The coupon code you enter at checkout is:

012009

- The website is http://trainright.getprograde.com

- If you want to check out Prograde Lean right away go here: http://trainright.getprograde.com/lean

Check it out:

No it’s not what you think…

You make excuses time and time again.  You doubt yourself.  You accept it over and over again…

 Why is that?  Why is it that you don’t have the dream body that you continue to “dream” about and hope one day will show up?  What makes you different from the next woman who seems to be fit and happy with her body although she may face life’s obstacle just as you do?

I’m about to get real honest with you so if you don’t like honesty then close your eyes while you read this.

The difference between you and the lady who has achieved her fitness goals although she has two kids, a full-time job and a needy husband is this…

She has made the choice to quit lying to herself about what she can and can’t do.  She made the choice to not cheat herself any longer for what she knows she deserves.  She made the choice to quit stealing life from herself and feeding it to the lies and excuses.

But here’s the beautiful thing about life…if you woke up this morning, you still have opportunity.  Your mind can gain control right now and the next moment can be different.

But here’s the honest truth…

You may have to get fittin’ mad.  You may have declare with the loudest scream that your lungs will allow that, “This is my time.  I won’t put myself on hold anymore!” 

You may have to kick, scream and cuss about it.  Whatever it takes, make sure you dot it.  Look at that watch to the left…it’s at zero.  That means you don’t have time for anymore negative self-talk, excuses or whatever it is that’s been holding you back from achieving that lean sexy body that you’ve longed for and deserve.  This is your time!!!

So I leave you with one statement that I want you to demand of yourself when those old, dusty and negative self-defeating thoughts try to creep back in…

“Move over woman and get the hell out of my way!!!”

Your “Dream Body” Coach,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

P.S.  I know one lady that’s getting the hell out of her way…my wife.  She has agreed to let me profile her real-world, busy women “Dream Body” transformation in front of the entire world.  Join me on Twitter and Facebook so you don’t miss a moment of it.

P.P.S.  Need additional help with your fat loss?  Make sure you fill in your information in the top right to Discover 5 Fat Loss Factors that can help you along the way.

You will find a free list of negative calorie foods below, but first let’s consider what this means. There is no such thing as a negative calorie - a calorie is a unit of heat and it cannot be negative. So when people talk about negative calorie foods, this just means a food whose calorie level is low enough that it takes more energy to eat and digest it than the food contains.

For example, if you consider water to be a food, then cold water is certainly a negative calorie food. It contains no calories at all and the body has to expend energy to bring it up to blood temperature. So every time we drink a glass of cold water we burn up a couple of calories and lose a little weight. But there are very few foods like this. Most foods that are on the list do not really use more calories than they add, or if they do the effect is negligible … until you remember that at the same time the body expends energy just to keep

alive and breathing. Celery for example does not give us enough calories to cover both the energy that it takes to digest it, plus the energy that we expend even when we are doing nothing. So that is why people call it a negative calorie food.

Negative calorie foods are most attractive to anorexics. A negative calorie diet would obviously result in starvation in the long term and nutritional deficiencies can occur surprisingly quickly. The calories burnt usually come from muscle mass, and the result is debility and wasting.

A more healthy way to use a negative calorie diet is as a form of fasting or detox. It is something you can do for one to three days right after the Christmas season or another time when you have been eating a over-rich diet. Provided you are otherwise healthy it can be a great way to clean out the system. However it is still best to take medical advice before attempting this.

If you decide to use a negative calorie detox, keep the following points in mind:

1. It is never a good idea to eat huge quantities of one type of food, especially fruits. A lot of foods contain substances that can be damaging if consumed to excess. For example, the acid in grapefruit and pineapple can damage your stomach lining. Other foods put an excessive burden on the liver or may cause diarrhea. So try to use all the different foods in small quantities.

2. Do not spend all day eating. You will just become bloated and feel sick. If you are only doing this for a couple days, you should not feel too hungry. Plan four or five salad meals each day, and let your digestion rest at other times.

3. You will feel more satisfied if you eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. You will also use more calories that way. So if the foods can be eaten raw, that will be more effective than cooking them. Foods like carrots and beets will also be more satisfying if you eat them grated.

4. Schedule time when you do not have any important commitments. As with fasting or any kind of detox, you may suffer some uncomfortable symptoms including headaches, tiredness, depression and irritability. If these become severe, stop the diet and see a doctor.

5. When you end the detox, plan a gradual return to normal eating

If all the above points are checked and passed, let’s move on to the list of foods.

    * Apples

    * Asparagus

    * Beets

    * Blueberries

    * Broccoli

    * Cantaloupes

    * Carrot

    * Cauliflower

    * Celery stalk

    * Celery root

    * Cranberries

    * Cucumbers

    * Eggplant

    * Endives

    * Garden cress

    * Garlic

    * Grapefruit

    * Green beans

    * Green cabbage

    * Lamb’s lettuce

    * Lemons

    * Lettuce

    * Onions

    * Papayas

    * Pineapples

    * Prunes

    * Radishes

    * Raspberries

    * Spinach

    * Strawberries

    * Tangerines

    * Tomatoes

    * Turnips

    * Zucchini

Please use this free list of negative calorie foods wisely.

Now, it’s 2009, so I proclaim this the year of you “Hitting Your Targets”.  Write it down, go after it and be the best that you can be for 2009.  Visit this blog often for fitness and nutrition tips as well as tranformations and videos coming real soon!

Your in fitness and health,

Donovan “DFitnessguy” Owens

P.S.  If you haven’t already, make sure you fill in the box in the top right corner so I can send you the 5 Key Factors for Fat Loss.