Confucius said, “It does not matter how slow you go so long as you do not stop.”

I know how easy stopping is. We’ve all done it. We’re all tempted to do it. All the time.

After all, the key in our journey is to start (second hardest part) and keep on going (by far, the hardest part!).

But as long as we don’t stop, we’re moving forward, and forward motion equals progression. And progression always feels better than the alternative.

When we’re tempted to stop, push even harder. That’s right! Because usually, we’re tempted to stop when we lose momentum. If we don’t want to be tempted to stop, don’t let up.

Easier said than done because there’s a constant force trying to slow us down. I call that force our irrational and short term mind.

I think we should laugh at it when it starts making noise because although letting up is easier in the short term, it’s not going to make us feel happier.

So next time that force starts talking to us: Laugh at it ——–> like this.

And the force shall go away!

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Many of us are traveling tonight and tomorrow so I figured I’d write this now. (Safe travels, if you are!)

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it’s all about gratitude!

It’s impossible to be thankful and unhappy at the same time. The two emotions cannot coexist. Thankfulness magically gets rid of every other non-happy emotion there is.

However, it can also be the start of a downward spiral until New Year’s Day – but then on New Year’s day we might feel tired because of the night before, and so the vicious spiral continues.

So here are 15 ideas for us to use tomorrow so we can remain on point.

1. Your life isn’t a Normal Rockwell painting

We all have preconceived notions on how Thanksgiving should be. We can’t choose our family so we might as well make the best of it, right?

Let’s try lowering our expectations. The less we are disappointed, the more we are likely to appreciate and enjoy the day.

Example, for the second time in my life (at least I don’t remember the first 4 years of it) my father and mom are going to be at the same Thanksgiving table. Weird!

This is going to be extremely awkward for my sister and me. As anxious as we are, I’m trying to go into it with out any expectations.

2. Wear your best belt and your tightest pants

It’s a lot easier to stop eating when we know we’re full. One telltale clue is when our clothes and belt starts telling us.

Sounds obvious, but stopping when we’re full is one of the harder things to do at the Thanksgiving table when everyone else is helping themselves to seconds, thirds and fourths.

It will be easier to stop if we wear very tight pants because then we’ll have to push away from the table when we’re stuffed. We’ll just be too uncomfortable otherwise.

3. Save your calories for dinner

If we want to be a great guest and enjoy the meal the most, skip the hors d’oeuvres. A good basic rule-of-thumb is let’s not eat anything that doesn’t require a knife and fork.

4. Always hold a drink and a napkin

Do we really need an appetizer before a huge meal? We can’t control what our gracious host does, but we can control ourselves.

Let’s make it harder to reach for something by holding a glass in one hand (preferably filled with water) and a napkin in the other.

5. To drink or not to drink?

Is alcohol a trigger? Our irrational mind tends to get a lot louder after a few drinks.

Alcoholic drinks are not only loaded with calories (especially the sweet drinks and the eggnogs!) but they are likely to lower our inhibitions and might trigger us to eat more than we really want to.

6. Don’t talk politics

My mom is very intense about politics. My mom can go from extremely calm to extremely angry in less time than it takes to break a wish bone.

If someone says something that annoys you – just let it go! If we’re annoyed, we’re more likely to overeat.

7. Focus on the special stuff

Let’s not waste our calories on large portions of food we can eat everyday. Let’s also limit the variety we have.

Let’s make a rule: Only two items on our plate at any one time. Having a lot of different items on our plate stimulates our appetite. But make sure the items on our plate are special.

8. Is it worth it?

Ask yourself, “Is this really worth it?” before you dig in. Many times, we’re just eating food simply because it’s available. Remember, “If this weren’t free, would I pay for it?”

9. Don’t make a diet faux pas

Just like we wouldn’t wear every accessory we own at the same time, we don’t need to go heavy on all of the sauces, gravy, dressings, etc. Less is more!

10. Small seconds are better than big firsts

Some people show their love through food. Research on memory shows that our Aunt Grace won’t remember how much we take, but she’ll remember if we liked it enough to take seconds, especially, if we announce it.

Try taking a little bit of Aunt Grace’s ‘famous’ mashed potatoes. Tell her how great they are. Then go back for seconds and say something like, “Aunt Grace, your mashed potatoes are so good I’m taking seconds!”

She’ll be really happy, and your body will be really happy because you’ll actually be eating less – even though you’re going in for round two.

11. Slow down!

Seriously! Slow down. Let’s pretend we’re NY Times food critics. Really taste each and every bite.

Appreciate the texture, taste and smell. Let’s put our fork and knife down. Take a sip of water. Engage in conversation. There’s no rush.

12. Forget the post dinner snacks

We won’t starve if we skip the late night turkey sandwich. This is a great time to focus on the family and not on the food. Besides, are we really hungry? Most likely, we’re just bored.

13. Plan activities

The holidays aren’t only about food, are they? They are about enjoying our company, having fun, watching football, and laughter! How about planning a fun activity?

A football game, a big game of monopoly, or how about that game where you have to guess the word while receiving clues? You can’t say the actual word though. And there’s a timer.

Ah, I got it! Catchphrase! (See what I did there?) All these can be tons of fun.

14. Come out of the closet

Eat whatever you like but only out in the open. No sneaking.

15. Perfection doesn’t exist

Most importantly, and this is somewhat counterintuitive, don’t sweat it if you make a dietary mistake.

Just like any other day, Thanksgiving will have its ups and downs too. There is no perfect day much less perfect Thanksgiving.

The key is to focus on how quickly we can recover. How do we do that?

Well, word on the street is that the tryptophan in the turkey is going to make us veryyyyy sleeeppyyyy and tired and lethargic – but in actuality, chicken has more tryptophan than turkey does.

Really it’s the overeating, and lack of movement that drags us down. Bodies at rest stay rest.

So, I suggest on Friday morning, if possible, that we get up and go for a walk or a jog. And if that’s not possible, let’s aim to move around as much as we can.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I want to wish you a very happy, healthy, and fit Thanksgiving!

All my best to you,

I’ve been thinking a lot about the chicken or the egg question. Well sort of.

It seems as though we all have our own chicken or the egg debate. Whether it’s with our fitness goals, career goals, relationship goals, or anything else we’re pursuing.

What came first the results or the effort?

It seems as though we’re all obsessed with results. In fact, we work our tails off only for results.

We make healthy choices only for results. We run an extra 5 minutes only for results. We make a sacrifice worth making only for results. We stay late at work only for results.

But when the results don’t happen when we want them to happen, the first thing we want to change is the amount of effort we put forth.

It’s interesting, isn’t it?

However, the amount of effort we put forth absolutely has a direct impact on the results we’ll get (at least with our health and fitness!).

And yet when we see results – we become even more motivated and are willing to put forth more effort!

It seems as though results can either make or break the effort dial. If we see results –> we’ll turn up the dial.

If we don’t see results, we’ll sulk and complain and the first thing we’ll do is —> turn down the effort dial.

Here is what I can assure you of:

When it comes to our health and fitness goals, our body never lies. We can think we’re fooling ourselves (and our Body Tutors). But in the end, our body always tells the truth.

And if we don’t like the truth – it’s time we make some tweaks. It’s as simple as that. But we must keep the denominator the same —–>

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effort

Why?

As Vidal Sassoon said, “The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.” (Wow, never thought I’d be able to quote a famous hairdresser!)

Whether it’s in the first 25 seconds or the last 25 seconds of a game, every basket counts towards the score. Individually, each basket may not seem like it matters much but collectively they matter immensely!

Whether it’s running for an extra 5 minutes, saying no when our short term self is begging us to say yes, pushing out an extra 3 reps when our muscles are fatigued, or preparing meals ahead of time – when we put effort forth, results will happen.

Our body has no choice but to work its magic when we’re eating right and exercising consistently.

There are a lot of things we can’t control.

But the one thing we can all control is the amount of effort we put forth when it comes to pursuing things worth pursuing like our health and fitness.

Want results quicker —> turn up the effort dial.

Usually when we need the most amount of effort we wind up putting forth the least amount of effort because we’re discouraged.

Instead, ask yourself, “how quickly can I recover?”

It’s very easy to get discouraged when we don’t see results when we expect to.

So, this week, let’s stop playing the turkey (I mean, chicken) or the egg game and instead start let’s start playing the effort one.

P.S. Besides, when we focus only on the results, we’re missing the journey. And my goal is to be as happy as I can be on this journey. After all, as tasty and as fun as eating junk and lounging around is, I always feel better, and happier, when I eat right and exercise. Always!

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Consider MBT as your partner. We’ll be with you from start to finish, 24/7/365 – helping you get through the ups and downs until we reach your goals. Support makes a critical difference when we’re going through the inevitable downs, and that’s why MBT has worked so well for our clients – when nothing else did.

I know. It’s killing me too. Thanksgiving is a week away and there’s Free Freakin’ Food Everywhere – here on after referred to as “FFFE”. Let’s get used to it. Because there’s going to be FFFE for at least the next month between holiday parties, work functions, exchanging gifts, etc.

The hardest word in the world to resist is…wait for it…FREE!

We love free. We can’t get enough of it. Give someone a free piece of crap, and they’ll take it. Actually, they’ll wait on line for it!

Give someone free food and not only will they wait on line for it but they’ll get all their friends, and they’ll all wait on line together!

First, let’s explore why we have such a hard time resisting free food.

We’re hard-wired to like sweets. Give a baby something sweet and they’ll like it more than something unsweetened.

Now give anyone a combo of sugar, fat and salt and that becomes irresistible. And I mean that in every sense of the word.

Our brain loses its ability to regulate itself when we eat a combo of sugar, fat and salt. As humans we’re programmed to focus on the most rewarding stimuli – because back in the day – - we actually had to worry about surviving.

But the combo of sugar, fat and salt (pick anyone of your favorite unhealthy tasting foods and snacks) has a pull on us. It literally overrides our brain’s natural ability to regulate itself.

There in lies the true problem.

Give me a bowl of broccoli and I’ll feel satisfied.

Give me a bowl of cookies and I can keep eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them and eating them (you think I’m kidding?) – no matter how much I already ate!

We lose our ability to feel full when we eat irresistible foods.

If you put a plate of cookies in front of me, it’s going to be very hard for me to focus on anything else.

Why?

Well our dopamine (chemicals that make us feel good) levels are rising in anticipation of the reward. We can’t stop thinking about it…or can we?

Our brain works like that, unfortunately.

Now, without having to pay for it – which is an act that makes us stop and think, “Wait do I really want this?” we lose that precious time to choose.

There is nothing in our way. The floodgates are open!

So, besides me telling you the obvious to avoid situations where there is free food, we can fight back, and have a game plan.

In fact, having a game plan is the most important strategy.

Many times, we’re either going to a party, or a work event or some sort of planned function – that we can prepare for. The key is to mentally prepare for it.

1. For example, if we’re going to our friends house who makes the best xyz – let’s decide before we go how many we will have – if we decide it’s really worth it. Mentally rehearsing what we’re going to do before we go is a great strategy. Because when we mentally rehearse we’re thinking with our long term, rational mind.

When we’re tempted we’re thinking with our short term, irrational mind.

Whether it’s shooting a basketball and seeing the ball go in before we shoot, or envisioning what we’ll order and eat, it helps a lot.

But what happens if out of nowhere there’s just FFFE?!?!

In the next month or so, this is to be expected.

In this case, do not teeter. Do not waver. If someone put a plate of xyz in front of us right now choose immediately.

“No! I don’t want this. It’s not going to make me feel good. It won’t make me look better or feel better.”

“If I eat this now, I won’t feel good about myself later and tomorrow!”

But the second we start to entertain the idea, we’re going to lose. Never negotiate with yourself.

It can’t be a negotiation. It has to be a quick decision.

“Nope! Not for me!” “It’s not a part of my plan!” Next thought…

If we’re watching TV and a commercial comes on that’s tempting us in an uncomfortable way – what would we do?

Change the channel!

We can do the same. Think about something else. Talk about something else. Snap a rubber band on your wrist.

Remember: change that channel.

But here’s my favorite question I ask myself (yes, I ask myself lots of questions) when there’s FFFE, “If this weren’t free, would I pay for it?”