Virtual training ,COVID-19, and you

Hello everyone!  Hope you and your families are in good health.  This Coronavirus is causing major havoc to our lives.  Keep up with the latest here.  A lot of industries are being affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Travel and hospitality are at a near stand still.  Restaurants are drive through/delivery only if they are open.  Bank branches, malls, shopping centers are all closed.  News shows are all going to split screens.  The fitness industry is no different.  A lot of clubs nationwide have closed their doors for the time being.  Planet fitness has come up with digital classes that they offer their members.

There are some businesses that have been ahead of the curve on this.  Companies that should be doing well and see their busiensses grow, with proper precautionary steps of course, are:

•  Amazon, where you can buy what you need and have it delived in a few days.
• Door Dash, where they deliver take-out to your door.
• Dominoes/Papa Johns, where their busienss models are delivery, not eat in.
• GoToMeeting/Zoom/Skype/Hangouts, have been doing video conferencing for a while

These are just a small sample.  Thanks to the advancements in technology by Microsoft and Apple, a lot of industries are able to go digital.  Fitness is one, and I fell in love with the concept when I first saw it.  I'm talking about Online, Virtual, training.  The reasons I fell in love with this model:

• Workout when your schedule permits.  You do not have to meet with a trainer at a certain time because the gym is only open certain hours and the trainer has a full schedule.  If you trave loften, your trainer is there with you in your phone.  They can accomodate your travel schedule.
• Workout where you want.  Some people like being around others and the cameraderie of group fitness classes.  Some people just like to do their own thing and get in and out as fast as they can.  Some people are intimidated by the whole gym atmosphere.  Online trainig serves all these groups.  Some trainers offer group trainig classes.  I haven't learned how to do that yet.  Those that like to do their own thing can open the app on their phone and they have their workouts.  Those that don't like the gym atmosphere can do their workuts at home, or the park, or wherever they want.
• Financial responsibility.  In person training is expensive.  I don't think anyone will argue with that.  The cheapest I've seen is $35 per hour.  Three sessions per week for four weeks is $420 per month.  That's only for training.  Add gym memberships, supplements and you can be paying at least $500-$600 per month.  Online training is more financially responsible for both the client and the trainer.  The client can pay a lower, single price for the month, regardless of number of sessions.  The trainer can manage more clients, therefore increasing their income at the same time.  A win-win relationship.

Anyways, regrdless of whether you have a while collar job and are able to work remotely from home or you have a blue collar job and have to go to work...remeber to follow the guidleines from the CDC.gov:

• Social distance yourself at least 6 ft.
• Wash your hands often.
• Don't touch your eyes, mouth, face.
• Wipe surfaces down with a cleaning agent 
• Minimize travel and gatherings of more than 10 people in tight spaces, 50 in broader areas.

Be safe and we will all get through this.  We have before and we will again.

18 Tips to begin a fitness journey!

Did you make a decison to start your fitness journey in the begining the the new year?  How are you doing with that?  If you are still at it, GREAT!  If life, as usual, has gottten in your way and you have slowed down or completely stopped your journey, don't fret.

Like everything in life, there is no such thing as perfection.  Consistency is the key.  Over time, it will look like perfection.  Just ask Patrick Mahomes.  As we are now in February 2020, statistics show that a lot of people sign up for gym memberships to get healthier and fitter.  By the end of the month, half have stopped going to the gym.  By March/April, most will stop going to the gym or exercising.

Here are my tips to starting a fitness journey that is successfull for the long term.

The Begining

1.  Start with a check up with your doctor.  Especially if you have never worked out, have medical issues, or your BMI is over 25.  Your doctor can give you guidliens on what your limits should be, on how hard to workout, and what exercises (movemnets) to stay away from.

2.  Have a daily routine.  Be on a set schedule as much as possible for your situation.  Just like brushing your teeth when you wake up and when you go to bed, habits (good or bad) are just routine actions.  Be mindful and purposeful about what you do and when you do it.  Suggestions are:  wake up/go to bed at the same time, exercise at the same time, prepare most your meals in advance. 

3.  Consistancy.  Consistancy creates habits.  Be consistant with your workouts, nutrition, sleep.  If you workout one day one week and then don't go back for a couple of weeks, you won't see the benefits.  Same with nutrition.  If you eat fatty foods and/or a lot of sugary foods, that will hinder what you do with your workouts.

4.  Get active.  You have a lot of options.  You don't need a gym membership to get healthy.  It helps, but it is not necessary.  If you want to just start by walking, you can do that.  As far as I know, all the malls open their doors early so people can go and walk around.  I've taken my kids to special events before the mall opens and see a lot of people walking the perimiter of the mall getting theri exercise in.  Great if you live where you get a lot of snow and ice in the winter.  Plus you can meet up with friends for accountability.  This is not the only way to be acitve.  Play with your kids.  Play with your dog.

5.  Set a goal.  Think about what you want to change and why.  Not a surface why but a down deep why.  Your reason needs to be something that will keep you motivated when you don't feel like doing something.  Your goal needs to be SMART - Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Realistic, Timely.

The Workouts

6.  Start slow.  This is especially true if you have never worked out or it has been years or decades since you have.  The fitness journey is not something that you can start one day and have a set finish date.  Sure, your motivation may be to slim down for your wedding or a reunion.  Those goals have a deffinate completion date.  What will you do after that?  Also, this is not a sprint.  If you start by doing cardio really hard, you will likely get winded quickly, get really sore, then not want to do it again.  If you have never exercised, it will take a short time for your body to start getting used to you moving in ways that you haven't in a long time.  Your body needs to get used to all this motion.  It doesn't take long.  Your muscles will take the longest to get used to all of these changes.  They will be sore for about a week.

7.  Use machines.  If you do decide to get a gym membership, start by using machines.  They will reduce the likelyhood of injury.  Make sure you do full range of motion.  If your not sure how to use it, ask gym staff to show you how to properly set up the seat and how to properly use the machine.

8.  Number of sets.  Sets are a group of repetitions of an exercise without stopping.  Start with 3 - 4 sets per exercise.

9.  Number of Repetitions.  Repetitions are the mumber of times you do a given exercise.  The number of repetions will eventually be based on what your goals are.  Just getting started, I would suggest starting in the 12 - 15 range to get used to the movements, allowing your muscles and tendons to get used to lifting resistance, and building some muscle endurance.

10.  Rest Periods.  Rest periods are the time between sets where you allow your muscles to recover.  A minute and a half is good.  Strating out if it is too short, you will tire much faster.  If you waite too long, your muscles will cool down.  90 seconds is enough to recuperate and keep your muslces warmed up.

11.  Cardio.  You don't have to spend hours dooing cardio.  You are not a hamster and you have a life to live.  You can start by doing 10 minutes a day.  My longest cardio workout lasts 20 minutes.

12.  Challenge yourself.  Don't just go through the motions.  The reason my cardio lasts only 20 minutes is because I slowly chalenge myself and I stay active with the exercise.  Same with weights.  Don't use two pounds when you can lift 5 or 10 pounds.  Your body will get used to what you put it through.  To imporove, you have to challenge it.

13.  Enjoy what you do.  Do what you like to do.  If you like swimming, go swimming.  If you like rock climbing, do that.  Only caveat to this is make sure you don't just do the same motions all the time.  Make sure your whole body gets a workout, not just one side (left, right, upper body, lower body).

14.  Stretch.  A lot of people thing that strtetching is a waste of time and not needed.  Stretching is actually important to do.  It will help with your flexibility, reduce muscle soreness, and it will also help to slow down your heart rate.  Stretch after your workout when your muslces are warmed up.  Think of your muscles as a rubber band.  They are hard to stretch when they are cold (preworkout) and easier to stretch when warmed up (post workout).

The Nutrition

15.  Nutrition.  A lot of people think that exercising is the hard part.  The really hard pard is the nutrition.  There are 1,440 minutes in a day.  If yuo work-out only 30 minutes, that gives you 1,410 minutes to be tempted to eat stuff you don't need and will hinder your progress to reach your goals.  Like stated above, start slow.  You don't have to give everything up and just eat carrots and celery sticks.  No one can do that.  Pick one item to change and focus on that one thing for the week.  For example, drink more water.  See how your doing with that after the week.  If you're succeeding with that, add something else to the mix like cutting down on sodas.  This way you will start to replace bad habits with good habits, which will last you for the long term.

16. Nutrients.  Thethree macro nutrients that we focus on are protein, carbohydrates and fats.  Carbs give us energy.  Proteins help rebuild muscle.  Some fats are actually good for you but need to be kept to a minumum.  make sure you have at least one meal with all three.

17.  Calories.  Know what your calorie needs are at rest.  To loose weight, you need to eat less than what you need.  Not a lot less, otherwise your body will go into starvation mode and it will keep fat and loose muscle.  You can find your calorie needs here.

18.  Variety.  There is so much food and variety out there.  Live life and enjoy.  Enjoy different type of meats, vegetables, healthy fats.  Don't forget sweets in moderation.  Foods that you like, that you know are not good for you, you can have periodically.  I enjoy fried catfish, fried okra, and chicken fried steak.  I grew up eathing this in Texas.  I still enjoy them periodically.  They are trats for me when I do have a chance to eat them.

In Conclusion

I know this seems like  a long list. Please don't let his add to your stress.  Take it one step at a time and you will have control of this in no time.  If yu have any questions, feel free to contact me.  Just remember:
1. Enjoy whatever activity you choose to do
2. Make changes slowly so you can keep your new habits (drastic changes don't last)
3. Be consitant.

Best way to lose weight

I recently came across a plethora of questions starting with "What is the the best way to lose weight...?   The ending to this question runs the gamut from "without exercise" to "in your face" to "in three days".  Most of the questions are understood and are reasonable questions.  A few, not so much.  I say this because losing weight does not happen overnight.  It took a while to add on the weight, so it is reasonable to expect that it will take some time to lose it as well.

The first group of questions I am going to group into Spot Reduction.  A lot of questions had to do with loosing weight in certain parts of the body.  The message has been out there for a while that we can't spot reduce yet they are still popular questions.  Not sure how this myth keeps on living.  The truth of the matter is that we can't pick one spot on our bodies and make fat go away from just that spot.  To lose weight, it has to come off from all over the body.

Next, we have what is called Essential Body Fat.  For men, it is estimated to being 3% and for women to being 13% for the sole purpose of supporting life and reproduction purposes.  Some of the uses of fats in the body is that they store energy, they give us insulation, and they also protect our organs.  The Central Nervous System is partly made of fat, to include brain cell membranes.

Most people, when asked what fat is, think about subcutaneous fat.  This is the fat that we are able to pinch on the back of the arm, the hips, the midsection, thighs, and bottom.  This is used for energy storage and for regulating body temperature.

What most people don't think about is what is called Visceral fat.  This is the deep tissue fat that cushions the organs.  Some fat is also required for the production of our hormones.  This is especially instrumental for women.  Too little and you might halt your menstrual cycle.  Too much and you can have chronic health issues which may include pregnancy issues.

A healthy measure of fat for men is 15 to 20 %,  For women, it is 20 to 25%.  Athletes will have their body fat percentages for their athletic performance needs.  Anything below 8% for men and 14% in women has no additional value to their performance.  At those levels they interfere with hormonal levels, increase likelihood of getting sick and for women, menstrual cycle interruption.

Unhealthy fat levels of 20%+ for men and 30%+ for women increase the likelihood of chronic illnesses such as type-2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Some people have seen these chronic illnesses reversed with some exercising and monitoring how much sugar and fat one eats.

To answer the question of the best way to lose weight, the answer comes in two parts.  Part 1 is to get some form of exercise.  It does not have to be a strenuous, two hour bodybuilding session.  Depending on your current activity level and health level, a simple walk around the block or your local mall is good to start.  As your health and fitness increases, you can do plyometrics, bodyweight exercises and eventually add some form of resistance to challenge your muscles.  Muscles are living tissues and they burn calories.  After age 30, we all start to lose muscle.  A good way to keep it is by challenging those muscles.  As the saying goes, "use it or lose it".

Part 2, some consider the hardest part.  Your diet.  If you only start with exercising  three times a day for 10 minutes at a time.  You will have the rest of the day where you will be tempted at work, on the drive between home and work or work and the gym.  There are always parties and events that you will be tempted to have sweets or bagels or whatever your temptation may be.  The key is to know what you can eat and what you can't.  Harvard School of Public Health has a good graph called Healthy Food Plate. 

Can you lose weight without exercising?  Sure.  Most diets encourage some form of exercise though.  If you're not exercising, what kind of diet are you on?  Is it sustainable?  Can you see yourself eating like this for the next 5, 10, or even 15 years?  What about beyond that?  What ever diet you choose should be sustainable for the long haul.  If you are having to completely give up on foods you like, you will likely struggle staying on it.  I grew up in Texas.  I enjoy fried catfish, fried okra, and chicken fried steak with white gravy.  None of this is good for me.  It sure does taste good to me though.  Knowing this isn't good for me, I sometimes have this as a treat once a year or every couple of years.  If that.  The point I am trying to make is you can still have foods you like that are not necessarily good for you.  Just have them in moderation once in a while.  If you choose to completely stop eating that, that is OK too.

Yours in health and fitness
RH Wells

2019: A New Year, A New You

Hello everyone.  Happy New Year!

As 2018 came to a close, I was thinking about what I achieved in the year and where I fell short.  I realized that I had some big goals.  Some very big goals.  I also spent a lot of time reading, analyzing, and thinking about what to do next.  The problem:  too much thinking/analyzing and not enough action.

To make dreams and goals a reality, you have to work and take action.  That is something I have not been very good at the last few years.  This is what I plan to change in 2019.

Examples of this are:

Getting in better shape.  I can not get in better shape just thinking about it.  I can not do it by simply watching a video.  I actually have to take action and move.  I started a new workout routine yesterday that I will do for the next six weeks.  Resistance three days a week, and cardio for three days with a day off to recover.

Part of getting in better shape is being mindful of my eating habits.  Cutting down on sweets.  I have a big sweet tooth so this is challenging for me.

What are your goals for 2019?

Is it going back to school?  Is it finding a better job?  Getting in better shape?  Eating better?  Spending more time with family?  The list of things to improve is endless.  The one key to all of this is to take action.

Want to go back to school?  Do you know what you want to study?  Do you have to take a test?  What do you need to study to take this test?

Looking for a better job.  Are you burnt out on your current one?  Are you looking for something you are passionate about?  What skills will you need?  Do you currently have any of them?  Do you have to go back to school?

As you can see, there are a lot of questions you need to ask to make any type of change.  These questions are just the beginning.

My focus is health and fitness.  To change these, you need to make up your mind that you need to change.  Talking about it isn't going to change anything.  Wishing it will not work either.  No one else can do the work for you.  You will have to do it on your own.  People can help and assist you, but you will have to do the work.  People have made the changes that you are thinking about many times over.  If others can do it, why can't you?  What makes them different than you?  They don't have a special secret formula to see success.

I have found that there are two secrets at work (and they are not really secrets at all): 1.  Do the work and 2) stay consistent.   Changes come from the accumulation of all the small steps.

This being a new year, you have an opportunity to make the changes you want.  Go forth and make those changes.  If you need assistance, feel free to contact me.

In Fitness,
RH Wells

Diabetes Awareness

               November’s Wellness – Diabetes Awareness

WHY FOCUS ON DIABETES AWARENESS?

• 9.4% of adults in the United States have diabetes, 2.23% don’t know they have it, and an estimated 33.9% of adults in the U.S. have pre-diabetes.
• Medical costs for people with diabetes average more than twice as much as the medical costs of people without diabetes. 
• Risk of death for adults with diabetes is 50% higher than for adults without diabetes.
• The total annual cost in lost productivity, wages, and medical expenses for people with diagnosed diabetes is $245 billion.
• Type 2 diabetes can be prevented. Losing just 5-7% of one’s body weight and exercising moderately (like brisk walking) five days a week can lower the risk of developing diabetes by 58%.

RESOURCES - Find free diabetes information at:
American Diabetes Association – http://www.diabetes.org/in-my-community/wellness-lives-here/stop-d-at-work/organizational-resources.html
Diabetes at Work - http://diabetesatwork.org/
JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) - http://jdrf.org/
Joslin Diabetes Center - http://www.joslin.org/
National Diabetes Education Program - http://www.ndep.nih.gov/
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases - http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/

THE Perfect Workout

I see a lot of people constantly looking for THE perfect workout.  Whether it is a workout to firm the glutes, build mountainous arms, or chisel your abs.  The thing is...this is a myth..sort of.

The majority of people that I see looking for the perfect workout are looking for three things:

1. Time crunch - With busy and hectic lives, people are looking for something they can do around all their busy schedules.
2. Don't want to fail - People are afraid of looking like they don't know what they are doing or don't want to simply fail.
3. They are not into working out - They either don't like to break into a sweat or sports/athletics is not their thing.

Above, I said that THE perfect workout is a myth...sort of.  I say sort of because even though there is no perfect workout for all people, you can certainly find THE perfect workout for you.

Physiologically, we all have the same body structure.  Heart muscle, skeletal muscle, central nervous system, bones, joints all make up our structures.  Yet, we all have unique individualities.  Some have to do with genetics.  Some people are fast, some are slow.  Some people are tall, some are short.  Some people gain muscle easily, some have to work at it very hard.  So many variations and combinations that every body's react differently to different workouts.  

For people that have an uber busy schedule, they will need to find a workout that is short but intense for them to get any benefits from it.  Especially if they are not a beginner.  Another option would be to get up a couple hours earlier than normal and workout before your day starts.

For people that don't want to fail, don't challenge yourselves.  Challenge yourself to see what you can do and at what point you will fail.  It is empowering and it lets you know what your limits are.  I'm not saying to put 1,000 lbs on the bar and try to squat it when all you can do is 135 lbs.  That's not smart.  If you can only do 135lbs., on the next workout try to do 137.5 or even 140 lbs.

People that are not into working out,  this is not just about being into sports or athletics of some kind.  This is about general health and fitness.  It is about being able to do daily activities.  Do you ever have to pick up a large bag of dog food off the floor?  Do you have to pick up trash off the floor while holding a baby?  Do you have to trim shrubs when you do yard work?  These are different activities where you twist, brace yourself, squat down, hold up and hold.  Also, financially, it helps to lower insurance costs.  Some insurance companies will pay for gym memberships and reimburse you for an annual wellness check up with your primary doctor.  

The big focus should not be on getting huge, unless of course your goal is to win the Mr. Olympia.  For most people it is not.  If you play sports on a recreational league, your goal will obviously be to improve your performance.  A goal for everyone, though, should be to be healthy and have a good quality of life and the ability to enjoy doing what you love to do and spending time with people you love.  For this, just do things you get enjoyment out of.  I have no interest in running a marathon.  So for me, running from 3 to 15 miles every other day just sounds boring.  I know some people that enjoy that.  That is their "me" time as busy as they are.  My wife prefers to do exercises that combine two movements in one exercise to doing old school weight lifting routine of three sets of one exercise before moving on the the next.  You can swim, ride your bike, or even go roller skating.  Just get out and be active.

Failure is not the end

Hello Everyone,

Failing at something is not the end...it is a learning step.  Yesterday I went to the park with my seven year old son so he could learn to ride his bicycle without training wheels.  He was doing really good.  Then...he crashed.  You all know what happened...scraped hands, scraped knee and bleeding elbow.  He was so close to getting it.  Needless to say, he was done for the day.  He will be back on the bicycle eventually when he is not upset any longer and will learn to ride his bike.

It seems that everyone beats themselves up when they can't stick to their diet or workout plan.  This is a message for everyone.  People that can stick to their plans and not mess up have been doing it for a while and have had plenty of practice.  For people just starting out, you need to be able to forgive yourselves.  You just have to dust yourself off and get right back to it.

To succeed, your lifestyle will eventually have to change.  Not all at once...that would be a shock to your body.  If you drink, smoke, and all you eat are fried foods with soft drinks, that would be too much to change at once.  The key will be to change one small thing at a time.  A good example would be to give up soda on a daily basis.  Yes, have a glass of soda with your pizza.  Who can have pizza without soda?  Again, this is a glass not a pitcher or 2 liter bottle by yourself.  Also, this is once in a while not all the time.  After a week or two, keep at it and start to change something else.  Eventually, your bad habits (which are sabotaging your weight loss goals) will be gone and you'll have good habits that replaced them.

The best way to have a good eating plan and be able to have goodies is by planning for it.  Plan your meals a week out.  Perhaps on Sunday, you can decide what you want to eat through the week.  If you know you have a party to attend later in the week, account for the cake and ice cream at the party as you plan your meals.  A good example of this is July 4th with is coming up in a week and a half.  If you know you are going to go out and celebrate, plan accordingly.  Plan for that hot dog or burger.  Plan for the macaroni salad, potato salad, and chips.  If you have cake, pies, and/or ice cream - plan for it.

I'm not a fan of restrictive diets.  Life is full of color and flavors to not try or have some awesome dishes that taste amazing but are not exactly healthy for you.  Sometimes, they go hand in hand.  At others, they are not.  A good example of this is fish.  I like to eat grilled or poached trout.  It tastes good and it's good for you.  I also like fried catfish.  Grew up eating it.  It tastes good, but not exactly healthy for you.  I probably have it once or twice a year if that.  Life is too short to have bland, tasteless food.  How can you live if you are dreading your next meal.  Spices are one way to add flavor to your meals. Try a little of this and a little of that.  See what you like.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Have you heard of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis?

Our bodies generate heat at all times.  Even at rest, our bodies still generate heat.  Our bodies are incredible machines and we're always learning something new about it.  When people talk about losing weight, most people refer to calories and to reduce the amount of calories to be consumed.  To get everyone on the same page, here are some definitions everyone needs to know to understand the thermal dynamics of our wonderful bodies.

• Calories - A unit of measure of energy to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water by 1 degree Celsius. 
• Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR AKA Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)) - This is the minimum amount of energy that the body requires to support life functions and organs.  This is about 75% our total energy requirements.  Most of this is for the Liver, Brain, and muscles.  So remember to lift weights and build some muscles.  
• Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) - This is the energy that the body uses to break down the food we eat into more energy or to move it to a location for future use.  This is about 10% of total energy requirements.
• Thermic Effect of Physical Activity (TEPA) - This accounts for the remaining 15% of energy we use.  This is the energy that we use when we participate in sports, or and exercise class.  
• Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) - Amount of energy the body uses after exercise is complete to return to its normal state.  This is within the TEPA energy.

Up until recently, everyone always talked about losing weight in terms of calories in and calories out.  A lot of people would also ask "how much should I work out to lose weight?".  When it comes to losing weight, I believe, we also need to look at what you do to burn calories that are not considered "working out", or organized sports/physical activity.

This is where the relatively new term Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) comes into play.  This is the energy that is used (part of the TEPA mentioned above) but it is not from formal exercise usage.  This is energy that is used in daily living.  Here are some examples:

• Getting out of bed
• Brushing teeth
• Bathing
• Fixing a meal
• Eating a meal
• Driving to/from work
• Walking to car/office/school
• Writing/typing at work
• Talking
• Sitting down
• Standing up
• Picking up a baby/groceries

These are small but they add up.  Were you running late today and had to run to catch your bus?  Did you mow your yard over the weekend?  Yes, all of these things count toward weight loss.  Heck, just standing in one spot requires your body to burn calories.  If your goal is to loose weight, remember that a pound of fat is equivalent to 3,500 calories.  So if you increase NEAT by walking say 2 miles (~200) and make healthier food choices like cutting a can of soda and potato chips per day (300).  That is about 500 calories per day you would be cutting.  In a week's time that would be 3,500 calories.  So, go for a walk after dinner - it's good for digestion, it's relaxing, and you can burn extra calories.  You can also get out and play with your kids or grand kids.

If you have any questions, let me know.  Wishing you success on your fitness journey.  Now, let's get started.

Prediabetes is reversible.

Just saw this video put out by the CDC on reversing prediabetes.  Thought I'd share with you all.

Let me know what you think.

Secrets to weight loss? There are none

Without fail, every month there is an article on "Secrets to weight loss".  Truth of the matter is that there are no secrets to weight loss.  I have seen these articles on magazine covers since the mid-'80's.  You can probably Google the subject and get a ton of hits on this.  This has been around for so long, that it should not be a surprise  when we see an article like this.  People are always looking for a quick fix.  Unfortunately, there is no quick fix.   

Using common sense, here is what seems to work best according to everything I read and hear when I work on my education to maintain my certification.

1. Behavior experts say that the best way to change habits is to work on them in small steps.  For example, don't try to change smoking habits, drinking habits and exercise habits all at once.  These are a lot of changes for your body.  Mentally we may be able to think we can change them all at once, but it is easier to change them one at a time.  By changing one at a time, you will be more focused, more intentional on that one habit.
2. When it comes to diet, a lot of people impose way to many rules.  Can't have sweets, can't have bread, can't do this, can't do that.  You have all heard what people say.  If your end goal is to change all of these items on your diet, that's great.  My number one question to you would be, 'is it sustainable for the rest of your life?'.  I enjoy food and part of life is enjoying the different tastes of the variety of foods that are out there.  Working on getting out of debt, my wife and I learned that the easiest way to do it was to pay the smallest amount first.  Then take that money and apply it to the next lower debt and so on. This rule applies to weight loss as well.  Start by cutting out/ minimizing soda one week.  When your comfortable with that, cut down/minimize fast foods in addition to the soda.  A lot of people also tend to think that they can eat more if it is clean or healthy food.  You still will need to watch how much you eat.  
3. In the '90's, a popular concept that was created was the idea of eating good and clean six days, then on the seventh day having a cheat day in which you could eat whatever you want.  The problem with this is that people would not moderate what they ate.  In theory it looks great.  In reality, not so much.  The way to solve this issue is to have a cheat meal, not a cheat day.  If you want to reward yourself for killing it all week with your nutrition and exercise and you want to go out to Cheesecake Factory, by all means enjoy yourself.  The portions there are huge.  You can split a meal and desert.   Doing this, you take care of your cravings and you get to eat something that you normally don't.  
4. A lot of people and some trainers still believe that if burning more calories than you consume is good for weight loss, then restricting your calories by a lot would be better for faster weight loss.  That just isn't so.  Your body requires a bare minimum of calories to survive.  This is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  The human body is an amazing creation.  If you don't eat enough, it goes into survival mode and holds on to what it can and gets rid of what it doesn't need.  That's why we start to lose muscle after age 30.  Along with getting enough calories from nutrient dense food, you also need to get enough water.  Not getting enough water can hold you back on that weight loss you are working so hard on as well.
5. I also see a lot of people going into weight loss with short term thinking.  Weight loss is more of a long term issue.  More like life style, less I want to impress people I haven't seen in 25 years.  After people do a cleansing diet for say 21 days, they regain the weight very rapidly.  You have two organs that can cleanse your system, the liver and your kidneys.  To help them out, drink plenty of water and cut/eliminate alcohol and soda.  Your body will take care of the rest.
6. People also tend to underestimate how much they eat.  The solution to this is journaling what you eat. Food, drinks, snacks...if you ingest it, it needs to be logged down.  This keeps you honest and it gives you a realistic picture of what your actual calories are.  Knowing this, you can make adjustments as it is necessary to meet your weight loss goals.  This is not just good for weight loss, but for improving performance in a particular sport as well.  This will help with number 2 above.
7. Focusing on weight is another issue I see.  A lot of people get upset if the scale doesn't go down and they lose it if they gain weight.  There are a lot of issues that goes into the up and downs of weight loss.  Especially with women.  Some issues are water intake, how much sodium they ate, are they regular, for women a big issue is their period.  It is also affected by what they do to exercise.  Weightlifting will likely add muscle, which is denser than fat, and will add weight.  This is a good thing since muscle is a living tissue that needs calories and burns calories too.  Fat just sits there.  This extra muscle will help with your metabolism.

Please, don't over complicate weight loss.  Take it a step at a time, making incremental improvements towards your goals.  If you eat something you had not planned for the day, make the adjustments for the meal or the next day.  It is not the end of the world.  Two things I want you to take from this are: weight loss is a lifestyle change and enjoy life.  Yes, you can do both.