Who I am and why I've created this website

My name is Dagny which means NEW DAY.
In 2005 I took control of serious health issues. This included making extensive lifestyle changes, losing weight and becoming physically fit. I have maintained my weight loss and achieved a level of exceptional health by creating permanent, positive changes in my daily life. I am 49 years old as of March 1, 2009, so I have not had the advantage of youth. My weight does not fluctuate more than a few pounds; I have periodic blood work and it's always perfect. I rarely have low-energy slumps. I sleep really well and I feel great every day.

In the past few years I have done quite a bit of research and put new habits into practice. The purpose of this website is to share with you what I have found to work for me through extensive trial and error. I am NOT a medical professional nor am I a personal trainer. I am simply sharing information about what has been successful for me. Please consult your own medical and wellness/fitness professionals for whatever you choose to undertake. REMEMBER: The content of this website is MY OPINION ONLY.

What Works, What Doesn't

I am convinced that intense, regular exercise is the KEY to achieving and maintaining a healthy body and a sense of well-being. Not only that, I believe exercise develops your confidence, manages your stress, and gives you a sense of self-empowerment.

Most people fail to achieve the real benefits because they don't work correctly. Everyone starts a new diet or exercise regimen with the best of intentions but when they fail to see results, they lose motivation and stop. Face it, you know what to do you just don't do it. People fall into a cycle of failure and begin to believe that positive results are impossible for them.

Over the past two years I have been fortunate to have the resources to be able to work with outstanding personal trainers. I have learned basic principles that are ESSENTIAL to achieving the results and benefits of exercise. I have developed a simple and effective daily training plan that can be used to kickstart a new regimen with REAL RESULTS or to break out of a plateau. You bet there's a catch: IT WILL KICK YOUR ASS if you do it correctly. But there's only one way to work your fat ass off. And that's to work your fat ass off.

The Basic Principles You Must Follow

It is NOT easy to achieve results with exercise. All those gadgets and gimmicks you see on TV are a load of crap. Scary Spice did not lose her baby weight by lifting a two-liter water bottle. And 12 exercises in 12 minutes every day with a DVD? Forget it. Words like "sculpt, define, and tone" they're just marketing. Muscles either build tissue or lose tissue; they get bigger or smaller. That's all they do. They're not flabby or "toned". And they only grow by being worked hard enough for your body to have to do repair work on them. So yeah, YOU GOTTA WORK.

  • Consistency
    Working a day or two a week won't do it. Working for a couple of weeks and giving up won't do it. Start working EVERY DAY to develop your habit and motivation. And no "rewarding yourself" for your hard work with time off or overeating. That's not rewarding yourself; that's undermining your efforts and penalizing yourself.
  • Intensity
    You MUST work outside of your comfort level. If you don't feel totally whipped, you're not doing it right. You must force your body to its limits to be able to go beyond them. It can be very difficult to work this hard on your own but there's no other way! You SHOULD feel sore when this is new for you. You SHOULD have a "worked out" feeling, preferably all over. I have come to find a great sense of satisfaction in having that feeling. It's addictive. But you have to work through a tough period to reach that point before I SWEAR TO YOU, you will actually start to like it.
  • Eliminate Obstacles
    Figure out what you use as your excuses and systematically eliminate them until you have no excuses left. Face reality and admit what you're using to enable your own bad habits. Be your own Evil TaskMaster. Kick your own ass.
  • Take Action
    The easiest person in the world to lie to is YOU. Planning, bargaining, negotiating, making excuses to yourself--It all stops you from taking action. Just one more day, right? You just have to get this or that done first. You have to buy a notebook to write it down and make it real, right? You're tired this weekend, you'll start on Monday. Is the whole rest of your life going to get in your way? Do you want this OR WHAT? Shut up, quit screwing around and get down to business NOW.

give it just two weeks

Can you do something every day for two weeks? Just two weeks. Not forever. I'm not going to sugarcoat it: Getting through the first two weeks of starting a SERIOUS new exercise program will be HELL. But if you do this, I believe you will feel so good and like the results so much, YOU WILL CHOOSE to keep going. Maybe for good!
Here's the real beauty of it all: You will hate it at first. You have to fight through that. You have to force yourself to keep working EVERY DAY at the intensity that will get you through the tough time. BUT you are going to be AMAZED at how your body will respond as you begin to become conditioned. Trust me on this. Really.

  • Eat Correctly
    Whatever your diet of choice is, do it for real this time. No two days "good" and one day "bad." Nourish your body correctly every day. Good general rules: Emphasize the protein, keep the carbs low and early in the day.
  • Work the training plan every day
    It will take you about 25-30 minutes. Do not miss a single day!
  • Take supplements
    Take a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. I'll share my favorites.
  • Get a full night's sleep
    Your body can't go without adequate rest. Toughing it out on less sleep does not work. Watch less TV and get at least seven hours rest.
Use the links on the right to learn the daily workout.
Write me with your questions and GET OBSESSED!!!!
dagny@livethenewdaynospam.com remove the "nospam"