In the April 2011 issue of the Journal of Consumer Psychology, a study known as the dieters paradox was featured.

It’s fascinating to me, and it’s something I used to do ALL the time. Well, ALL the time whenever I was out to eat, without even realizing it.

Ready for it?

I know the suspense is killing you.

I used to order a salad and/or veggies whenever I’d indulge. But here’s WHY I did it — I thought, somehow, that by adding healthy foods to my otherwise purely indulgent meal, it’d lower the overall calorie content of the meal.

In essence, I believed in negative calories.

It turns out that people intuitively believe that adding healthy foods in addition to unhealthy ones can DECREASE a meals overall calorie content.

Of course, that’s not true.

We want facts though, right?

Here’s the data:

As part of the study, 934 participants were asked to estimate the calorie content of several meals.

Some were shown a series of just unhealthy meals while others were shown the same series paired with a healthy option.

The results were prettyyy startling.

Those who viewed the unhealthy meal paired with a side salad perceived the meal to be on average, 43 calories less than those who viewed just the unhealthy meal. As if a salad will decrease the calories from the unhealthy food.

But WAIT! There’s more…

Those who described themselves as “weight conscious” underestimated the meal by 76 calories compared to those who just viewed the unhealthy meal.

The study’s author believes the problem is that not enough focus is put on the quantity of food we eat, and it’s created this allusion of negative calories.

As I always say, something is ALWAYS better than nothing BUT only when it comes to exercise. When it comes to food, 1 is better than 2. 2 is better than 3. 3 is better than 4.

Just because we have a little of something, it doesn’t mean we have to eat a lot of it. Many people think, “Eh, screw it! I already ate a little! I might as well eat the entire thing!”

Not true. Every little compromise and sacrifice we make pays off.

Introducing the most accurate score board in the ENTIRE world…

Ready for it?

Our body!

Unfortunately (or fortunately) our body NEVER lies.

One more thing.

I always recommend that we eat a salad and/or veggies with meals, especially at a restaurant. But the purpose of that is to fill up on the salad and/or veggies first. So we eat less of the indulgent stuff.

The idea isn’t to just eat more food than you normally would have.

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Are you guilty of constantly deluding yourself? The SINGLE best predictor of your future is your past behavior. People hate hearing this because it pokes a hole in the balloon of delusion that most of us use.

We say things like, “On Monday, I’m going to start exercising 3 times a week,” or, “I’m going to start eating healthfully…” but we’ve done this before, and our past evidence suggests that we never follow through.

People don’t like to hear this, but the past is actually the best predictor of the future. So if you keep doing what you’ve always done, like saying, “I’ll start tomorrow”… then where will you be 6 months from today?

What are you going to change to ensure that you’re not in the same spot you’re in today? Consider joining MBT – the proven program to help you stay consistent. Read all about our program by clicking here.

Last night, as I was watching the NBA Finals, I realized we can all learn from basketball players, and how they get ready for foul shots.

When basketball players get fouled, they take foul shots. Every basketball player whether they are pro, collegiate, high school, middle school or even elementary level (if they are any good) has a foul shot routine.

Here are some examples: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mttHlV1WjMk&NR=1

Every time a player is at the foul line they do their routine before each shot.

Stay with me here…

So, what if before we ate, we did a little pre eating routine? Say, for example, a deep breath.

In basketball, usually it’s a deep breath and a combination of a certain number of dribbles and/or spins. Some players touch their face, others point, and some even blow a kiss.

The point is to slowww down. To regain some composure and to forget about the last play no matter how good or bad it was. The goal is to focus on the task at hand: making the foul shot(s).

In our case, we want to focus only on the meal or snack in front of us – no matter how good or bad the last one was – and to eat as mindfully as possible.

What if our routine was always making sure we had a glass of water to the right of our plate, a fork and knife and a napkin? Some players also say something to themselves – whether it’s a mantra or an affirmation.

What if you said a little something to yourself? How about “I love MyBodyTutor! I love MyBodyTutor!”? I kid. I kid.

But really, what if you said something?

How about, “I will eat this food slowly and I will appreciate each and every bite,” or, “Am I really hungry, or am I eating to change the way I feel?” or, “Will this food make me feel and look good after I eat it?”

The point is to slow down. If we create a routine like this, it’ll help a lot. That’s also why I suggest we eat only while sitting down.

We want to be consistent with our routine too…just like a basketball player is with his foul shot routine. A consistent routine will lead to a consistent performance, which in our case, will lead to slower and more mindful eating.

Next time you eat, pretend you’re at the foul line.

What’s your routine going to be?

P.S. I realize some of you may already have a pre eating routine in which you say thanks or give blessings for your food. Even better! Could you do it for every meal?

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Read some of our testimonials by clicking here. Email me if you have any questions or concerns. I want you to feel perfectly comfortable before you join so feel free to ask me anything. I truly live for what I do! And if not – let’s get going! What are you waiting for?

Thinking about the long-term is essential for overall happiness. I have a client who’s 89 years old and we still talk, and plan for what she will accomplish in the future – incredible! (And I know she wouldn’t have it any other way.)

I believe everything we do is for happiness, or more so to be happier. Even if you’re a saint and act completely altruistically. Because when we do good, we feel good.

I also believe ACHIEVING is a key to happiness. Whether it’s losing 300 pounds or 30, actually losing the weight, and achieving THE goal (whatever the goal is), is well worth the effort in the happiness pay off.

To achieve we must not only focus on today but also not lose sight of the goal. That means we have to make decisions with the long term in mind.

Asking ourselves the question, “What benefits my future self?” when we’re faced with a tough choice helps to focus us. It helps us to think with our long term, rational mind as opposed to our short term, irrational mind.

But even still, that requires discipline…

And a key to discipline is the ability to make sacrifices.

So that means —> Achievement is a key to happiness. Discipline is a key to achievement. And sacrifices are the key to discipline.

Making decisions with the long term in mind often implies sacrifice or what feels like sacrifice or deprivation.

Like moderation though, “sacrifice” is a misunderstood word. (Aww. Poor sacrifice!)

Many people think sacrifice means deprivation or giving something up.

What sacrifice really means is giving up something of a lower value in the present to receive something of a higher value in the future.

It’s easy to live only for today and shrug off the long term consequences. We’re so talented at rationalizing and justifying our poor choices.

But if we know that achieving goals will make us happier – and sacrifices are a key component of that – why don’t we indulge more in making sacrifices?

My overall argument isn’t that it’s not fun to give in and listen to our short term self every now and then. I’m not saying eating pizza and ice cream isn’t fun. Because it is.

What I’m saying is working towards our goals – as uncomfortable as it might feel in the moment – is WAY MORE fun!

And that requires sacrifices which isn’t anything but the equivalent of passing up what might feel like a thousand dollars today for a million dollars in the (not so) distant future.

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Have you read through all of the case studies with before and after photos? There is undeniable proof that the MyBodyTutor program and system works. Why? Because consistency never fails.

The challenge, of course, is that consistency is hard. After all, if it was so easy to stay consistent, we’d all do it! That’s where MBT comes in. We help you actually stay consistent with daily and personal accountability, motivation, maniacal support, and lots of guidance.

I know I can help you get the body of your dreams because I know I can help you stay consistent. Why not take me up on it? And if you don’t get the body you want — I’ll give you your money back! Join MBT right now!