Sara, a client, writes me this email two weeks ago:

“Truthfully, I’m feeling like it’s harder to keep on course because I’m not at home in my usual routine, but also I’m kind of mad that I gained those two pounds and I felt like, “Well, when I eat healthfully I still gain weight, might as well eat these cookies. Like, what’s the point of my effort?”

She felt that her efforts weren’t paying off even though she wasn’t at home, wasn’t reporting her food, and was in an environment loaded with temptations.

Let’s talk about chicken and eggs. Actually, ya know, I’ve always wondered, what comes first, the chicken or the egg?

I digress.

It seems like we have our own chicken or the egg debate here…

What came first?

The results or the effort?

It seems as though many of us are obsessed with only the results. We work our tails off only for results. We make healthy choices only for results. We run for an extra five minutes only for results. We make a sacrifice worth making only for results.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very results oriented.

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

It’s fascinating.

However, the amount of effort we put forth absolutely has a direct impact on the results we’ll see and feel.

When we see results we become even more motivated, and are willing to put forth more effort.

**

Does this mean we should follow a diet that will give us results as quickly as possible?

No, I’ve tested this many, many times. If the plan isn’t sustainable, eventually, we’ll just abandon it altogether. This is why almost always people who lose weight with extreme diets gain it ALL back (and them some). I couldn’t be less interested in people who lose a lot of weight only to gain it all back.

The good stuff might take a little longer but it sticks. How many people do you know who ate only grapefruits, or cookies or shakes to lose weight AND kept it off? The more rigid the plan is – the more likely we are to revert back to our old ways of eating.

It’s gotta be a way of life. I know you know this already…

I’ve found, by far, the most sustainable way to eat is by consuming lean proteins, complex carbs and plenty of veggies every 3-4 hours until we’re satisfied and not full. And having fruit if/when we want something sweet. AND, indulging when it’s really and truly worthwhile – because a diet without indulgences is a diet guaranteed to fail.

**

Results then can either make or break the effort dial. If we see results, we’ll turn up the dial. If we don’t see results, when we want to, the first thing we want to do is turn down the effort dial.

Here is what I can assure you of:

Your body and my body never lie. You can think you’re fooling yourself. You can think you’re fooling me.

But like every basket counts toward the final score in a basketball game, whether it’s scored in the first 25 seconds of the game or the last 25 – every thing we eat counts — even if no one sees it.

Individually, each meal and snack we eat might not seem like they matter much but collectively they matter IMMENSELY.

The amount of effort we put forth really does matter.

Whether it’s running for an extra five minutes or fighting through an intense moment of discomfort when we have a craving, every feeling of fatigue, and every period of discomfort we push through really and truly makes a difference.

Results will happen. It’s not a question of if. It’s a question of when…

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

Let’s do a quick experiment.

Raise your hand in the air.

(C’mon. Just do it! Who cares if people think we’re crazy.)

Now raise it one inch higher.

See?

We can always push ourselves a leettttle more.

If we want results quicker, we have to turn up the effort dial. In 99% of the cases I’ve seen, that’s the case.

Very, very rarely is it about anything else.

We can’t control exactly how our body responds to certain things but we can control the amount of effort we put forth.

It’s impossible to lose weight week after week. Plateaus happen, our body adjusts, etc.

Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

The question isn’t if we’ll have a week or two without weight loss. The real question is how are we going to respond once we do?

Are we going to turn up the effort dial or turn it down?

It’s much easier to get through these weeks, when we focus on how great we’re feeling.

What keeps me going – what keeps me believing in what I do so much, is this simple but yet very powerful fact:

No matter how much I enjoy eating junk food, and believe me I do! I have never felt better from eating poorly and not exercising than I have from eating great and exercising.

In other words, I feel better – heck I feel amazing – on the days that I eat great and exercise. So much better than I do on the days I don’t. That’s the REAL reward. And if we truly focus on feeling as good as we can – our body will work its magic the way we want it to.

I promise.

Just stop playing the chicken or the egg game!

But certainly feel free to eat both of them.

“In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end.” – Tom Seaver

P.S. Sara has lost 5 pounds since that email. Boom! Effort, when it comes to our B.O.D.Y never, ever, fails. Eva!

P.P.S Consistent effort is very hard to maintain. That is where MBT comes in. Why not spend 4 minutes reading the Five Reasons Why MBT is able to Guarantee you results. Check it out here —-> http://www.mybodytutor.com/pages/about-program

Total reading time: 3 minutes.

A few weeks ago, right smack in the middle of the day, the opportunity to ride a Segway was presented to me. I had never ridden one before but I knew I really wanted to do it. Unfortunately, my schedule was pretty packed that afternoon and evening…

DAMN! What to do?

Well, I began adjusting my schedule so I could make it happen. However, I’d be squeezing it in between two things I couldn’t miss.

Until…

My friend suggested I do it the next day!

“TOMORROW?!?!”

I was so caught up in the moment, that didn’t even occur to me. I was so pumped up! I HAD to ride the Segway THAT day. NOT the following day. I wanted to ride it RIGHT THEN AND THERE!

Once I realized that I’d be cutting it very close with my schedule, I decided the following morning would have to suffice.

**

I’m a big believer in scheduling events or creating things to look forward to. Anticipation is a HUGE key to happiness. When it comes to happiness there are four stages: Anticipation, savoring the actual event or moment as we experience it, expressing our pleasure to ourselves or those with us, and reflecting on the fun and happy memory.

I think my favorite stage of happiness is…wait for it….hold on….give me a second…anticipation. (See what I just did there?)

Anticipation can make our lives better. And sometimes, I enjoy the anticipation of an event MORE so than the actual event I’m anticipating! (And I’m okay with that!)

Whether it’s planning trips or figuring out fun plans for the week or weekend, setting things up for ourselves to look forward to will absolutely make us happier.

I try to create anticipation in my life as often as possible. (In fact, I’ve been looking forward to writing this VERY piece for a few weeks now. But I purposely waited.)

**

Question: If you had the chance to go to your favorite vacation spot this weekend or in four weeks, what would you choose?

I’d choose going away in four weeks. Want to know why? This way, I get to look forward to the vacation for FOUR WHOLE weeks! It’s like a four week vacation PLUS the vacation itself.

Question: If you had the chance to go to your favorite restaurant today or in two weeks from now, what would you choose?

I’d choose going in two weeks from now. Why? Because I get to look forward to my favorite meal for two whole weeks!

Question: If you had the chance to indulge in your favorite junk food today or this weekend, what would you choose?

I’d choose this weekend. Why? Because I can anticipate how tasty that junk food will be all week long!

**

I’m an idea guy. I have binders full of ideas. And before I started MyBodyTutor back in February of 2007 (crazy, it’s been 5+ years!), I was constantly thinking about ideas I wanted to pursue. But only one kept popping up again and again and again. Only one actually caused me to not be able to sleep because I was SO excited by it. The others? If it wasn’t for my binder, they’d be long gone out of my memory.

The point? Sometimes, ideas don’t seem all that compelling after we noodle on them for a while. And it’s a wise idea to noodle on them – otherwise, we’ll do things without really thinking it through.

**

When I finally went on the Segway that following day – I was thrilled. I had an absolute blast. And the best part was that I got to look forward to it the whole day before.

Sometimes, we gotta delay instant gratification for future happiness!

**

Feel like eating your favorite unhealthy food because it’s been a long day/week?

What if you decide that you’ll strategically allow yourself (I say strategically because this is a conscious choice, not an impulsive one) to indulge in a few days time?

In fact, planning ahead when you’re going to eat your favorite junk is a very strategic move. It allows us to anticipate eating it AND it also allows us to PAUSE before we give in. Plus, knowing that we’ll be indulging soon makes the temporary discomfort more tolerable.

The coolest part is that by then we’ll have so much momentum on our side, that we usually don’t even want to indulge. And what if we still really want to? At least it was a mindful choice that gave us an extra boost of happiness (having something to look forward to) and it gave us a compelling reason to not give in right away.

So next time you want to indulge why not “Segway It,” until later on. (ALERT! Yes, that is the new term to help us get over cravings.)

I anticipate reading your emails already. I really wanted cookies but I decided to “Segway It” until this weekend and if I still really want them, I’ll allow myself to have a few, guilt free.

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I’ve been doing this since February of 2007, and since then, MBT has helped 100’s and 100’s of people of all ages, sizes and shapes throughout the US and world get (and keep!) the body they want with our proven program and system.

Don’t take my word for it though… check out all of our success stories!

I’m also very proud of the fact that as a small company, we’ve attracted national media attention because of the amazing results we’re getting for our clients, and our unique program.

Good Morning America said, “MyBodyTutor is like having your very own private 24/7 personal trainer, nutritionist and coach all in one!”

Conde Nast Digital said, “Finally, a company that gets it. Where has MBT been all my life? Calling it an exceptional service doesn’t do it justice!”

Thrillist said, “MBT might possibly be the most perfect partner…for your health and fitness goals, no matter what they are.”

Getting featured in the national media certainly makes my mom proud. But I care way MORE about what our clients are saying. Click here to read what they’re saying.

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Have a great weekend!

I used to love playing dominoes when I was a little kid.

But not so much the game, as much as setting up the dominoes meticulously, in anticipation of getting to knock over the first one and watching them all fall down perfectly….or, so I hoped.

Let’s envision what might happen to you when you get into great shape…

Your clothes fit awesome, your confidence is obvious, the compliments don’t stop, you’re more productive, you’re more energized, you’re happier, you’re more balanced, you feel sexy, you feel vibrant, you can run for long periods of time, you love the way you feel, you can walk up the stairs without having to stop, you sleep better, you smile when you look at yourself in the mirror, you feel that you’re in control of yourself, you feel powerful, you feel like you’re living again as opposed to existing — each as a series of dominoes of different sizes and shapes.

It turns out that if we start with them all at once, we’ll fail.

And if we start with the BIG one, we’ll fail.

But if we line up all the dominoes one by one, we may just have enough energy to push over the first one.

That one, of course, adds momentum so that when we crash into the second one, that one goes too. All the way down…

That seems obvious right? Sure. Common sense but certainly not common practice.

Why is it so often ignored? Why do people always get stuck trying to do everything all at once.

We’re not going to run the 10k and we’re not going to love the way we look naked and we’re not going to love the way we look in a bathing suit and we’re not going to love the way we feel all at once.

Did we graduate high school in eight weeks?

The most successful people I know don’t try to attack everything at once.

They pick out a few dominoes instead. And topple them. And they do it again. They do this so often they create momentum, and most importantly, a sense of inevitability.

Think about each meal, each workout, each extra 3 reps you do, each “no thank you!” you say, each drop of sweat, each extra 5 minutes on the treadmill, each time you choose to skip an indulgence, as a small domino.

Each one matters just as much as the next one.

We never succeed when we try to topple every domino over all at once.

Creating that momentum creates a sense of inevitability.

A sense of when…not if.

Meal by meal. Workout by workout. Day by day. Daily Feedback by Daily Feedback. THAT is how we make success inevitable.

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Are you ready to make success inevitable when it comes to your health and fitness? How about for getting the body you want and deserve? Start by reading this page –> http://www.mybodytutor.com/pages/about-program

In this journey of life, there aren’t many cut and dry markers like start and finish lines. However, there are a ton of marathons we choose to enter (whether we realize it or not).

For the sake of consistency, let’s define a marathon in life as a process.

And the reason why getting the body we want is so hard in 6 words is because: It’s a process. Not an event.

Dating is a process. Building a company is a process. Establishing trust is a process. And getting the body we want is a process.

Events, on the other hand, are easier to manage, pay for and get excited about.

Processes, though, build results for the long haul.

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Hopefully, whatever marathons we choose to pursue are worthwhile ones. And when we focus on the benefits, it’s easier to get through the inevitable discomfort we’ll face. (In my experience, having support and accountability along with a system to monitor and track progress makes the biggest difference of all.)

But here’s the critical mistake so many people make:  If you’re going to decide to start a marathon, decide up front that you will not quit when the going gets tough.

No matter what it takes, fight like heck to back that commitment up. (Yes, THAT is the most important C-word for getting the body we want.)

The one question that allowed a famous couple’s counselor to have a flawless track record

The one question that set her apart and made her very successful was this:

At the very beginning, before the first session, she’d ask her clients: “Are you considering divorce?”

If the answer was yes, she refused to take them on.

Why? Because there really aren’t degrees of commitment. As soon as we consider giving up on anything, we are looking for reasons to support that decision.

If we, instead, commit to a project, or mission, or marriage, then we look for reasons to stick with it.

And when it comes to our health and fitness the reasons to stick with it are literally endlesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

P.S. As a product of divorced parents, I am in no way, shape or form advocating that parents should stick to their marriage, if it’s not working. I think the best thing parents can do for their children is be happy themselves (whether it’s together or not). I’ve written a bit about dating / relationships on my personal blog over here.