I don’t write enough posts about celebrating small wins. In fact, the only way to create BIG wins (weight loss, dropping sizes, baggy clothes, more energy, better focus, etc.,) is by having small wins.

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.

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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.

We all remember the days of Seinfeld right? I mean it’s still on all the time. Would you believe that acting like George Costanza could actually help you control food cravings?

Who can forget the music? (Hear it in your head now?) It was one of my favorite shows. And now Curb Your Enthusiasm is a favorite of mine – which stars the co-creator of Seinfeld.

Larry David is hilarious even more so because he doesn’t try to be. And George Costanza was loosely based on Larry David.

LD has good intentions for the most part, as did George. However, it just seems as though their natural self always leads them in the wrong direction.

I remember the episode when George was tying to pick up women and he started doing everything opposite of what he normally would do.

When George did the unfamiliar, and what was uncomfortable to him, he succeeded to his amazement. It worked. The ladies loved George!

Hmmm! Seems like we can all learn from George…

For example, our usual self might see a cookie and then just eat it without thinking. But, if we acted like George in this instance we’d see the cookie and walk right by it. Or better yet…we’d laugh at it like this. (Video, safe for work.)

Or, let’s say we’re exercising. Our typical self would want to quit as soon as the discomfort/tension sets in.

But, if we acted like George in this instance, and did the opposite of what we’d normally do, we’d ignore the discomfort and keep on going.

Or, let’s say we like to go into the kitchen after dinner and open the fridge. But, in this instance, we’d go elsewhere.

Catch my drift?

Try doing the opposite of what you normally want to do and it’ll absolutely help you control your food cravings. Just for the rest of today, though. Doing it once is the hardest part.

I think you’ll feel pretty, pretty, pretty good!

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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.

One of my idols growing up was Michael Jordan, a man full of self-confidence. He said, “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.”

Indeed.

If we don’t expect ourselves to stay consistent with our diet and exercise then we won’t.

Expecting things of ourselves comes from self confidence.

And I believe the best way to gain self confidence is to actually do the things we really want to do.

You know, all of those little promises we make to ourselves. When we make good on our own word, it feels awesome. We start to believe in ourselves. We start to really trust ourselves.

We all know the feeling of having been lied to by ourselves is not a good one. We start thinking we’re a fraud. And that our own word means nothing. We don’t trust ourselves anymore. We don’t take ourselves seriously anymore.

Some people will promise everything to other people and never break their word…

Some of those people will never keep their own promises though.

Here’s a thought:

Imagine if you kept every promise you made to yourself. Imagine how you’d feel? Imagine how you’d look?

It would feel pretty empowering right?

Easier said than done, of course.

This is like saying, “Just eat less and move more!”

Duh.

It’s not so simple.

But, we can do a few things to make it more doable:

1. Committing to promises we KNOW we can keep, no matter what.

I’d much rather you promise us that you’re going to exercise two times this week and actually exercise two times than promise us you’re going to exercise five times and only exercise four times. There’s a lot to be said about sticking to our own word.

By the way, it’s not a commitment until we write it down on our report. This is the hardest part.

2. Starting small. Really small.

Let’s not say, “I’ll never eat XYZ again.” How about saying, “Tomorrow, I’m going to choose ABC instead.”

Not doing something tomorrow is doable. Not doing something ever again isn’t.

2A. Getting even smaller.

For some people, at this moment, not doing something ALL day is daunting.

Let’s use sugar as an example.

Instead of committing to not eating sugar all day, let’s commit to not eating any sugar with lunch tomorrow. That’s more doable, yes?

3. Keeping it small!

Once we start to feel the momentum on our side, it’s very easy to commit to enormous things. However, we all only have so much cognition and willpower, no matter how unstoppable we feel.

Marathons are run mile by mile, no matter how fast we feel.

4. Let’s use human nature to our advantage!

The fact that we hate breaking promises to others is to our advantage because we all have a system in place that works. Hello, MyDailyFeedback!

This is why writing it down on our report is so hard. We know that if we write it down, it has to get done…

Because the discomfort of not doing what we said we’d do is far greater than the discomfort of actually getting it done.

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This isn’t only about our health and fitness. Everything impacts everything.

There’s a reason why we have the “three outcomes” section. This is for us to commit to three tasks we’d like to get done the next day. We purposely only have three because, otherwise, it becomes overwhelming. Imagine if we did just three impactful tasks every single day for a year!?

The more you can tell us, the more we can hold you accountable. And as we all know, accountability never fails. It allows us to stay consistent and consistency is the key to our success.

Consistently doing what we promised is what leads to self-confidence. And when we know we have a system in place to make good on all of those promises, we feel very confident – almost, unstoppable!

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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.

As you hopefully realize by now, MBT is not just a “eat these 10 magic foods” type of program. I take a very holistic approach. Why? Because I believe (and know!) everything impacts everything. It drives me crazy when “experts” claim that [insert healthy food] is the secret to weight loss.

Without the critically important mental side of this journey, all the tactics in the world won’t matter.

Anyway, let’s get to it. Shall we?

If we can learn to control our emotions then we’ll be less inclined to eat junk.

If we can figure out ways to make ourselves happier, we’ll be setting ourselves up for success.

All we ever hear as a kid is “stop crying,” or “relax,” or “calm down,” or “everything will be alright!” when we’re upset. But no one has ever really told us how to actually deal with complex emotions.

When our mind floods with emotions we might feel panicky or upset or anxious or angry. How about feelings like rage, loneliness, abandonment, shame? These feelings can be horrifying.

The challenge with feelings and thoughts is that we can’t control them. There are a lot of books out there that suggest that we ‘let go of our ego’ so we can stop thinking.

That is very, very difficult to do.

The reality is I can’t control my thoughts. They just pop into my head. As do my feelings.

However! I can, you can, we all can!, control how we react to our thoughts and our feelings, if we choose to.

Let’s say we’re all going to a beautiful sunny island together. How would we prepare?

Ah, there’s the key. We’d all prepare, right?

Well, we can prepare ourselves for when we’re sad, anxious, unhappy, etc. as well.

What if we had a stash of things to do, or look at, or read or listen to, or people to call when certain feelings arise?

The idea here is to figure out ways to deal with our emotions – besides, using food.

Is this possible? Of course it is.

Why? Because the monster is never as scary as it seems.

Like clouds, feelings and emotions pass on by. We must remember this.

But we must prepare ourselves.

And the best time to prepare ourselves is before we have to deal with our emotions.

To get you thinking…

What are 3 things you can do that consistently make you happier besides food or drink?

What are 3 things you can read that consistently cheer you up?

What are 3 songs you can listen to that consistently energize you?

Who are the 1 or 2 people you can call, email or text when you’re feeling down and out?

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Consistency is the “secret” to getting healthier and more fit. It’s also the secret to feeling and looking amazing. As we know, consistency is the hard part though. It’s very easy to start all kinds of diets. It’s very hard to actually stick with them! MBT helps you stick with it. It’s how we’re able to get our clients such amazing results. Learn more now.