Let’s explore shall we?

First off, let’s ask ourselves this question while we’re thinking rationally: Is it possible to be hungry all the time?

Rationally, we know that it’s not possible to be hungry all the time. So what gives?

Well, most of the time it’s emotional hunger.

Real/physical hunger comes on gradually. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly. Real hunger can be satisfied with any food. Yes, that’s right – if an apple doesn’t satisfy our hunger, we’re not truly physically hungry.

Emotional hunger comes with a craving for a specific food. And, unfortunately, it’s usually not for apples. Ever have those times when you eat snack after snack and nothing seems to be hitting the spot? Well, that’s because we’re not physically hungry. We’re emotionally hungry. We’re hungry for something else.

When we get “hungry” it’s worth asking ourselves a few questions:

1. How long has it been since I’ve eaten?

2. What am I really hungry for?

3. Is anything bothering me?

4. If I had an ‘EASY’ button to magically help me with what I’m dealing with, right now, what would I use it for?

Perhaps, what we’re really hungry for is affection, assistance, rest, excitement, peace of mind…

Is it possible to have the need met by someone? How about by yourself?

Here’s the challenge: Many times we feel like our needs can’t or won’t get met – so food becomes our escape.

When we’re “hungry” that is a need we feel like we can actually control.

Sometimes, it can be very helpful to explore what it feels like to have the need go unmet by simply writing about it. Many clients have reported that this eases the discomfort tremendously.

This is also how we can find out what we might really want for ourselves because typically we’d shovel food into our mouth so we don’t have to experience or face the feelings.

Because when we’re not suppressing feelings, they’ll come to the surface, and we’ll be able to see what it is we really want.

Food is ONLY love when it is used to feed our true physical hunger and we actually enjoy and relish and savor the experience. Otherwise, we’re using food to cover up feelings.

Feelings that are preventing us from becoming the person we really want to be.

How do you like them apples?

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

Once in a while when I talk with a person who doesn’t appear to be healthy and fit, they’ll say: “You know, I only live once. And we’re all going to die anyway so what’s the point of my weight loss efforts?”

There is a reason they are saying this, and it’s not as obvious as you might think. I’ll go into that next week.

Instead, let’s tackle head on the point of us only living once so what’s the point of our weight loss efforts.

**

I talk and write a lot about our short term/irrational mind versus our long term/rational mind. Our long term/rational mind is where our true dreams and desires are. Our short term/irrational mind doesn’t care about the future. It wants pleasure…and it wants it NOW!

Our short term mind is constantly sabotaging us in the form of thoughts like, “You deserve this cookie, go for it. You only live once!” “Why bother exercising?” “Don’t you want to be happy now?” “You work so hard!”

Here’s the challenge we all wrestle with: Balancing living for tomorrow with living for today.

**

The reason why I’ve been able to stick with MBT since February of 2007 is because I truly believe in what we’re doing, and I know what I offer works. I believe in what we do 1000% and my belief only gets stronger each and every day…

Persistence isn’t about doing the same things over and over. It’s about wanting the same thing over and over. (I believe our short term/irrational mind is constantly trying to chip away at what we really want because it’s easier to maintain the status quo.)

And something I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember – and something I’ll always want – is to live the happiest life I can, and to help others do the same.

One fact remains constant and it’s what drives me:  When I eat healthfully and exercise, I feel better. In other words, happier, than when I don’t.

BELIEVE ME! I love cookies. I love ice cream. I love hamburgers. I really do. It’s a constant battle. And I indulge. But, I try to only indulge for the right reasons.

Even when I do indulge, I still don’t feel as good as when I eat healthfully.

Which brings me to the question we always ask our selves, “Why am I not enjoying NOW?”

“We’re all gonna die anyway!” some people say. YOLO! (You Only Live Once!)

Which circles us back to the…

NOW versus later debate.

“Screw Adam, screw MBT, screw the Daily Feedback! I want to enjoy life now!”

That’s the devil on our shoulder talking to the Body Tutor. That’s our irrational, short term mind yelling at our rational, long term mind.

So try this thought on for size:

Why not enjoy life now, even if it means more health problems later?

Really.

Go for that cookie! Go for that burger! Go for that ice cream!

BUT! It seems to me, unless you are already doing heroin then you aren’t being true to your own philosophy. Why not enjoy a good high now? Who cares what happens later!?

Interestingly, all of us have always thought about later on, and not now.

Think about the first 20 or so years of our life. Everything we did in school was to set ourselves up for a better future.

The one downside of planning ahead is that we may enjoy today a tad less. The upside is that our future might be a bit better! Maybe, A LOT better!

I’m not saying my thinking here is the best, but I think you get my point.

I don’t think it’s fair to call the “you only live once aka YOLO” approach any kind of philosophy unless you’re also quitting your job, doing heroin, living at your favorite restaurant, and only doing what feels the best every minute of your life.

Junkies have a philosophy. We have rationalizations.

Now there’s always a twist:

1. It turns out, we actually enjoy today MORE when we eat and exercise for the future. We’ve all had days when do nothing but eat and watch TV – at least I have. I always feel better when I’m eating right and exercising. Always! I know you do too.

2. I’ve never done drugs. Had/have no desire. I’m not saying you should. It was just to make a point. Actually, as a public service announcement I’ll write it: don’t do drugs!

3. It turns out that when we live and plan for the future it’ll also make us happier TODAY!

Why not make it a happier week?

##

P.S. I’ve thought and written a lot about the subject of happiness because I think that’s our end goal. You can read all of my posts on happiness on my other blog here.

But as crazy as he is, he’s also a pretty deep guy.

Below is a story of his which I really like:

**

His then trainer Cus D’Amato, says to him, “Listen you have the chance to change your life, your family’s life, you can be very special. Don’t you want to be champion? You can be champion of the world”.

I didn’t pay no attention.

He said, “Really, you could be champion of the world. You could devastate the world. No man can take what you did, you got to believe it”.

I looked at this guy and then I started thinking, I said, this guy is really crazy, that’s what I said, this guy is really crazy. [Funny how Mike Tyson thought someone else was crazy!]

“You do what I tell you to do, and if it doesn’t work then, then you can leave”.

So I said OK.

I did everything he told me to do and I won, I won every championship. From the amateur championship, all the championships, so I won every championship because he told me what to do. And I started believing in this old man.

I stopped being a little thief. I use to go back to New York and rob people and come back upstate and hide out.

The day I stopped doing all that I changed my whole life. I said I’m gonna stick to this boxing sh*t.

I turned my whole life over to boxing. I turned into a complete animal, I turned into a disciplinarian.”

**

My words now…

I love how he says the day I stopped… Because, ultimately change happens in an instant. We decide (that’s the hardest part) and then we fight like heck for the rest of our life to back our decision – unless, of course, it’s not a worthwhile one.

But we all know pursuing our health and fitness goals certainly is. Or to borrow from Mike Tyson — we all know sticking to this health and fitness sh*t is worthwhile. (Pardon my French!)

That day Mike Tyson decided he was going to be the best in the world. That he’d do whatever it took to be the best. That’s he’d employ an army of people to support him. That he’d be the baddest man on the planet.

What would happen if you decided right now that you’re not going to eat any junk food for the rest of this week? Or the rest of the day?

What would happen if you decided right now that you’re going to exercise every day for the rest of this week, no matter what it is?

What would happen to your psyche if you decided on something right now that would benefit you?

And the best part? The best part is that when we do things that benefit us, we feel a lot better too.

We feel like the…

Champion of the World!!!

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily support like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

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 6+ 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.

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

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 10 days?

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.

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

This internal chatter can be EXTREMELY taxing.

It’s a pure battle between our long term, rational mind versus our short term, irrational mind.

It’s Dr. Jekyllllllll versus Mr. Hydeeee.

It’s our Body Tutor versus the devil on our shoulder.

Whatever you want to call it —–> it’s freakin’ taxing, and this internal debate can drive us crazy.

The weird reason why we might actually be eating junk food —-> because we’re so sick of ‘listening’ to it! And we know that if we give in, and just eat whatever it is we’re obsessing over, we won’t have to listen to this internal debate anymore.

What I’m saying is that we might not even REALLY want the junk we’re eating. What we might really want is peace and quiet!

Jessica, a client, writes this to me:

“I made the decision to eat like crap today. Because I’ve been thinking about it for a few days and I just don’t want to think about it anymore. It’s like what you were saying about the candy. I just ate to shut-up my food desires.”

Don’t you find this fascinating?

Because what we’re really after isn’t necessarily the food. Food, as much as we like to think it might, will NEVER give us what we’re truly after.

So, what can we do about this?

QUESTION: if you were watching TV with a little kid and suddenly something very graphic and disturbing appeared what would you do?

I think, you’d change the channel as fast as you possibly could, right?

As soon as we find ourselves starting to negotiate with ourselves we have a chance to turn it off. We have a chance to change that channel. We can choose to focus on something else. And that’s the key!

Because in this moment, we’re focusing our attention ONLY on the temptation in front of us or in our mind.

What would happen if going forward, instead of only focusing on our self in that moment, we focused on other things?

Thinking about this BEFORE we’re in the moment, is what makes this possible because after all, the moment IS the moment. It’s hard to control what we do in the moment. But, if there’s an emergency, we all know how to call 911 – even though we may never have in the moment, right?

How to practice: Right now whatever you’re thinking about, change that channel and think about this riddle: You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?

Suddenly, you’re no longer thinking about what you were before reading this. You’re wondering what the heck food is he talking about?

Bingo. That’s the idea. We just completed changed our focus.

Next time you feel yourself starting to negotiate with yourself, try to think about something else. The key is to immerse ourselves in something else. To focus our attention elsewhere.

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

“You’ve tried everything?” asks the speaker.

“Everything,” the woman replies.

“What were the last hundred things you tried?” asks the speaker.

“Well,” the woman admits, “I haven’t actually tried a hundred things.”

“Then what were the last twenty-five things you did?” asks the speaker.

“I haven’t tried twenty-five things, really, either,” the woman responds.

“So how many things have you actually tried?” asks the speaker.

“Well,” says the woman, sheepishly, “maybe five or six.”

**

When Katie first signed up, she told me she had tried everything and nothing worked. Naturally that excited me. It’s always fun to see if MBT is as effective as I believe/know it is.

What happened?

After a week of working with her she wanted to quit! And remember before Katie started, she had told me that no matter what she’s done in the past, she couldn’t lose weight!

Remember: It’s very easy to start all kinds of diets. But, it’s very hard to stick with them!

I was astonished.

You know why?

In our first week together, we lost 3 pounds!

This is fascinating to me…

This is all part of human behavior. This is what keeps me so interested in this.

I love exploring the psychological reasons behind our actions. After all, it’s ALL psychological.

Let’s talk about cognitive dissonance…

This happens when we have two conflicting desires. Let’s use smoking as an example…

It is well known that smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer yet every person I’ve ever met wants to live a long, healthy and fit life. But the short term / irrational mind of a smoker enjoys it, and wants to smoke.

The uncomfortable tension caused by these two opposing desires is known as dissonance. As humans, we look to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling. This is known as dissonance reduction.

The only way to get rid of this uncomfortable feeling is by a) quitting smoking b) denying that people actually get sick from smoking or c) justifying and rationalizing.

For example, a smoker could rationalize their behavior by believing that few people get sick from smoking, it only happens to people who smoke more than they do, if smoking doesn’t kill them something else will, they’ll quit next year, they only live once (YOLO!) and they deserve to smoke or it’s too expensive to quit (it’s amazing to me how cheap people are with themselves when it comes to their own health and fitness. Yet, they’ll spend tons of money on restaurants, stuff, activities, etc. Everything means NOTHING without our health and fitness).

In essence, they either need to take action (quit smoking and get whatever help they need <—- this is very hard!) or they need to make themselves feel better by rationalizing their smoking, and do the easiest thing of all — do nothing at all. (<—this is much easier and that’s why most people do it).

Knowing this, let’s talk about why Katie who has “tried everything” to lose weight, and finally did with MBT, wants to quit the program.

I’ll tell you why:

F.E.A.R.

It comes down to either fear of change, fear of failure or fear of success.

Everything she says boils down to fear.

There’s an old saying that I love:

“The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed.”

In this case because Katie actually succeeded, she realized she was going to change for the long term. And unfortunately, real change is uncomfortable.

She got scared.

Because deep down, Katie wasn’t ready to really change. She didn’t think MBT would actually work. So she wasn’t prepared to let go of emotional eating.

In her mind, she needs to emotionally eat and she can’t imagine life without doing so.

Her success made her fear the change. (Hint: Focus on ALL the benefits of eating well. Not the discomfort of not eating junk. It’s one of the reasons why we ask what you’re grateful for every night. We certainly know that focusing on what we DON’T have is a great way to be unhappy.)

So now, Katie is coming up with all sorts of excuses because she fears the change. Her main excuse is that now is not the right time to lose weight.

Interesting.

Because she wants to change – but sorta doesn’t want to change – that’s causing a lot of dissonance or tension or discomfort (whatever you want to call it).

She has to get rid of that discomfort somehow…so she’ll find anything and latch on to it so she can ease the tension.

(Ahhh yes…I’m too busy to focus on my health and fitness. Now is not the right time. I’ll wait until the stars are aligned. Yes!!! Whew. Now I can rationalize my excuse – and not feel as bad and quit the program so I don’t have to change…because I’m really scared to change.)

The real problem ISN’T that it takes so much time to be be and act healthy. We make time for what’s important to us.

The real problem is that she is scared to actually change. Like many people, it appears she’d rather just talk about changing. It’s not that she doesn’t want to change. She’s just scared of change. (We’ll work on this!)

Instead of criticizing or shaming her like so many people out there would do (because it’s the obvious and easy thing to do), it’s far more effective to help her understand her own behavior. (Shaming or criticizing never leads to long lasting change.)

Fighting human nature is silly.

Instead, when we understand what’s going on around us, it makes it a lot easier to call it what it is and move forward.

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

Getting the body we want is about the accrued power of 1000’s of meals, and 100’s of workouts. Each one counts just as much as the next one. But like with everything in life, it’s unrealistic to expect rainbows and butterflies all the time.

Dealing with the lows is the hardest part, of course. That’s why staying consistent is so challenging.

But even in the worst situations there can be a win. Really!

Let’s explore:

Let’s say we’re in the middle of a binge, and we typically eat a pint of ice cream. Leaving even a few bites – is a win nonetheless. That’s progress!

Bonus: Getting a healthier version such as frozen yogurt – instead of regular ice cream.

Let’s say we really don’t want to exercise. Typically, we would then proceed to be inactive all day. Instead, we do 20 jumping jacks before we shower. That’s progress. It’s a win nonetheless!

Bonus: If you feel like doing nothing, why not go for a walk? Heck, why not walk in place while watching TV? Something is always better than nothing. And movement energizes us. Too many people feel that if they can’t train like an Olympian why bother at all? Rationally, we know this is ridiculous. Done is better than “perfect”.

Let’s say we have a terrible day of eating. We’re disgusted with ourselves so we choose not to submit our Daily Feedback. But instead, we submit it, and are as open and honest as possible. Win!

Note: I learn the most about myself, and you, when the going is tough. Not when things are going great. It’s smooth sailing when it’s going great. The greatest growth happens when the sh*t hits the fan. And it ALWAYS will.

While these can be seen as negative things, they can also be seen as wins.

No, it’s not perfect. But it’s progress.

Besides, we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in a progressive one.

Perfection never leads to results. Progress does, though.

And part of that is not only celebrating the good but also how the not so good is getting better.

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

When I came across an article about Monica Seles and her life after tennis I was intrigued.

As many of you know, she was the top ranked female tennis player in the world. Sports reporters said she had the potential to be the best tennis player of all time.

And then…

A man stabbed her during a match.

And then…

Her father passed away from cancer.

She began to rely on food. She quietly became a binge eater.

In the interview, Monica said, “I just didn’t want to feel! Food was there for me from 7AM to 11PM. I’d do anything to numb myself and food was so reliable.”

Binge eating is emotional eating on steroids. And if we’re not binge eating then we’re emotionally eating from time to time. We all do.

Emotionally eating is eating to change the way we feel. Most commonly, eating when we’re not actually physically hungry.

Maybe we don’t realize how often we eat when we’re not physically hungry, but once we do, it’s shocking how often we eat emotionally.

Believe it or not, Mike Tyson has some great quotes…

One of my favorites, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

And as I always like to say, “If we fail to plan then we plan to fail.” (Hmm, weird that I’m quoting myself.)

But, of course, all the planning in the world doesn’t help when our impulses and emotions get the best of us.

For some reason we’re scared to feel. We’ve been conditioned from childhood to not feel.

“Stop crying,” “Here’s a cookie,” “Stop complaining,” “This won’t matter next week” …and then, we’d find a way to distract ourselves by playing outside or calling a friend, or playing video games, etc…

However, as adults, it’s not so easy to play outside or call a friend or play video games…

Whether it’s our annoying boss at work upsetting us, our significant other, kids, our job, and on and on and on…

If we never let ourselves feel, we’ll never get to the root cause of why we’re emotionally eating.

So this week, let’s work on F-E-E-L-I-N-G.

It sounds so corny and trite but actually acknowledging our feelings will help a lot.

For example…

Your boss is making you do something you don’t want to do.

Instead of grabbing food to deal with the discomfort, why not acknowledge it? “Ugh, right now I dislike my boss because I really don’t want to do this. But I  know this will pass.”

Corny but helpful!

Another example…

Your kids aren’t being appreciative or your s/o isnt…

Instead of eating our sorrows away, how about acknowledging it? “Ugh, my kids are being so ungrateful right now. My s/o is being so ungrateful right now. But I know this feeling will pass. And I know they aren’t always like this but right now it’s really bothering me.”

When we do that, we won’t be as “hungry”. Because as we know, it’s not physical hunger anyway.

And then maybe, just maybe, we can deal with the real issue at hand.

As Monica Seles said, and as we all know, “binging and overeating never feels good. It’s a mask. A very, very itchy mask.”

##

Starting a diet is easy. Sticking with it is very hard.

When was the last time you stuck with a diet?

MBT helps you actually stick with your diet and/or exercise plans by providing daily and personal accountability like no other service in the world. This is why we get the results we do. Learn more now by clicking here.

Well yesterday marked 17 years since Larry LaPrise passed away.

Larry LaPrise was the man who wrote the “Hokey Pokey.” He died peacefully in April of 1996.

Of course, the most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in, and then the trouble started…

In all seriousness, I think a little (or a lot of) goofiness is important. A little (or a lot) of fun is important too. After all, that’s what this is about.

As much fun as eating junk and lounging around is, it’s way more fun to eat healthfully and to be active. It really and truly is, and I know you agree.

So that’s my assignment for us this weekend.

Let’s aim for fun!

What do you love to do? If you don’t know what you love to do, it’s worth thinking about it. (And no, eating doesn’t count.)

When our mind isn’t occupied, usually our mouth is, or at least, it wants to be.

What do you do for fun? And when will you do it this weekend?

Need some ideas…

What did you love doing when you were a kid?

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Here was the email I wrote for Jack Lalanne back in January of 2011.

I’ll never forget watching Jack Lalanne on TV when I was little kid. Whether it was his juicer infomercials, his exercise segments on talk shows or his insane feats of strength like towing boats while shackled, I was always so inspired by him.

I vividly remember watching him on talk shows and TV thinking how unbelievable he was. I remember getting so inspired after watching him, I’d exercise right then and there.

I mean if HE could do a gazillion push ups (a 70+ year young man at the time), how can’t I at least do some?

Jack LaLanne was known as “The Godfather of Fitness.” He believed that our health account is our wealth account.

He often said, “I can’t die, it would ruin my image.”

Ernest Becker’s classic, The Denial of Death reminds us that when it comes to our mortality, there is no uncertainty principle. We will die, he reminded us. We cannot not die.

Yet, it is what we do in a doomed attempt to refute the irrefutable first principle that defines us and gives our lives meaning.

Becker believed that each of us makes sense of our existence through an “immortality project” – a personal mission that allows us to cheat death. Whether it is by turning out babies or books or blog posts or students, creating companies or helping to build them, or collecting model trains or Facebook friends – whatever they might be – we all have our immortality project(s).

If anyone wanted to be immortal and believed they actually could be; it was him. Jack was doing things in his late 80’s that many of us can only dream of.

But because, sadly, even Jack isn’t immortal – the only thing we can do to keep him living on is to spread his work.

In honor of Jack, and from what I know about him, he’d be thrilled if we all exercised today.

However, not just exercise because Jack wasn’t about just exercising. He was about going above and beyond. I mean, his feats of strength are amazing!

So, if you were planning on exercising, I’d like you to do a little extra for Jack. And if you weren’t, let’s make time – even if it’s for 5 minutes (yes, that counts!).

I bet Jack would get a kick out of it. After all, if we want to honor those we loved and admired and were impacted by, we have to keep their memory alive.

Jack, no one pulled off a track suit quite like you. Your enthusiasm and belief in what you do will always inspire me. Thank you!