I have a client that feels she’s entitled to eat whatever she wants. HOWEVER, every time she does so she hates how she feels.

Let’s explore this a leeeettle bit…

Absolutely! We’re all entitled to eat whatever we want. We can eat 5 cookies or 1000 cookies a day. And guess what? No one can stop us!

But unfortunately (or fortunately) every single action we take has a consequence. Whether we take no action at all (that’s still an action) or do take action there is a consequence – which can be a good or bad one.

The consequence in this case?

Not only will we feel like crap afterward, but we’ll also hate how we look LATER.

Which leads us to the now versus later mentality. So many of us only think about today.

As Daniel Gilbert pointed out in his book Stumbling on Happiness the major difference between human beings and every other organism is that we think about the past, present and future.

Thinking about the future causes us to act differently. But so many of us ‘must’, ‘need’, ‘want’ to have that cookie now. But then when it comes time to get dressed up, or put on a bathing suit, or take our shirts off we scream and cry and hate how we look and feel…

Now versus later.

The only way to look good later is to eat healthy now. Of course, we can’t eat healthy later now because now is, well, now.

Just as much as we’re entitled to eat whatever we want, we’re entitled to feel however we want too. And if we feel we’re entitled to eat whatever we want now, we’re going to feel bad later on.

Another thing that really helps is to think about how you WANT to feel.

As I asked this client, “Have you ever felt better from eating junk than you have from eating healthy food?” She replied, “Of course not. I hate how I feel when I eat junk!”

Exactly. And until eating junk makes me feel better than eating healthy, I will keep doing what I do.

If you focus on how you want to feel, and think about how certain foods make us feel physically and mentally it becomes so much easier to say no to a 5 minute high as opposed to an all day high.

I will remind us of this. Food is only food. It’s not our best friend. It’s not our worst friend. It’s only food.

Living for food is unreliable. It’s a dysfunctional relationship because if we had a friend that made us feel awful after we spoke with him/her, and then made us feel guilty so we wanted to speak to him/her again to try to get rid of the awful feeling THEY gave us, we’d call that an abusive relationship.

Focus on how you WANT to feel. We’re absolutely entitled to eat whatever we want but remember every action has a consequence.

And that’s the key. Thinking BEFORE we eat. “How will this make me feel?”

The idea is to eat food that makes us feel good before (no trepidation), during (we feel empowered) and after (energized! NOT guilty) we eat it.

**
We gave MyBodyTutor.com a NEW homepage! Ch, ch, check it out by clicking here.

I have a bunch of clients that work at Google, and they need my help. And I figure we can help them, AND ourselves at the same time.

What do they need help with? Shhh. They want me to help them build a Facebook killer!

KIDDING.

They need help because Google has Free Freakin’ Food Everywhere! Google is known for spoiling their employees with all sorts of amazing food, all day long. ANY food you can search for, they have!

I know how hard it is when there is Free Freakin’ Food Everywhere – here in after referred to as “FFFE”.

Want to know the hardest word in the world to resist?

Wait for it…FREE!

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

Give someone free food, and not only will they wait in line for it but they’ll get their friends, and they’ll all wait in 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 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 pause.

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 picturing the ball going in the hoop before we shoot a basketball, or envisioning what we’ll order and eat, it helps a lot.

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

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 really disturbing and uncomfortable – 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 because questions are the best way to see things in a different light) when there’s FFFE, “If this weren’t free, would I pay for it?”

And 99 times out of 100, I wouldn’t. And by asking myself that question, I’m able to pause looooong enough to quiet my short term, irrational mind.

##
What good is ANY diet or exercise plan if you can’t stick with it?

I’m also very proud of the fact that as a small company, we’ve managed to break through the deafening noise, and attract national media attention (Good Morning America, AOL.com, CNBC.com, The Huffington Post, Conde Nast, Shape and many others) because of our unique program – and MOST importantly, the results we’re getting for our clients. Want to learn more?

Click here right now.

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.

##

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.

Super Bowl Sunday has practically become a national holiday here. Over 100 million people watch the game (or the commercials) globally, and more food is consumed today than any other day.

Want some crazy stats?

A) The pizza industry estimates 350 slices of pizza will be eaten per second during the game.

B) Approximately 8 million pounds of popcorn will be consumed.

C) 28 million pounds of potato chips are expected to be consumed.

D) The California Avocado Commission (CAC) projects that 26 million avocados will be consumed mostly in the form of guacamole.

E) During last year’s Super Bowl, more than 450 million wings were consumed, according to the Washington, D.C.’s National Chicken Council and more than 49.2 million cases of beer were consumed by Americans.

Want some tips, tricks and ideas to help you make healthier choices today?

I’m going to preface this as I always do: I’m not saying that eating junk isn’t fun. All I’m saying is that eating healthfully is way more fun!

Let’s get to it…

1. Finishers. We love finishing things! That’s why it’s so hard to leave things on our plate; like the last few bites we might not even want. For many of us, we’re done eating only once our plate is clean.

The game plan: Let’s use smaller plates, dishes and glasses.

2. Never Forget. There was a fascinating study by the Cornell Food and Brand Lab in which one group of people ate chicken wings and the bones were kept in front of them. In the other group, the plates were cleared every 15 minutes or so.

Who do you think ate less? The group who saw all of the bones. We can do the same with alcohol. Always serve new glasses, but be sure to leave the old glasses out along with bottles.

The game plan: Keep all of our bones and food remains on our plate. Do not throw ‘em out. Keep all of our cans and bottles too.

3. Stop reaching. Always pour the chips into something. And if they’re already poured into a big bowl, take a few on a small plate. Otherwise, the hand keeps reaching. Having endless portions in front of us is a sure fire way to overeat.

4. Less is more. The first bite is always the best so why not reduce our portions? This works really well if there are a lot of foods we really want to try.

5. Are we actually hungry? Remember: Companies spend tens of millions of dollars advertising because it works. It cues emotions and memories. In fact, it can work instantly. Many of the commercials are for food and alcohol.

The game plan: As much fun as the commercials are maybe it’s not a good idea for us to watch them. Stand up. Stretch. Help out in the kitchen. Besides, the best commercials will be all over TV and the internet in the coming weeks anyway.

6. Double fist. Not necessarily alcohol but any beverage. I know this might sound a little ridiculous but it just might work. Double fisting means holding a can (or bottle) of beer (who says we can’t make it anything though?) in each hand. If we’re always holding something in each hand, we can’t eat.

7. Eat with your non-dominant hand. It takes 20 minutes for our brain to realize the effects of food we ate. Hence, we keep eating when we are no longer even hungry.

The game plan: Make it harder to eat. Use chop sticks. Eat with our other hand (and laugh a lot!). Let’s try pacing ourselves with the slowest eater. The slower we eat, the more full we’ll feel because we’ll be letting our stomach do its job.

8. Distractions. If we eat while we watch TV, or do anything in addition to eating, we’re going to eat more. Smell the grass. Live in the moment. Taste the food! Pretend you’re a food critic.

9. The health halo. Watch out for Subway, or any other ‘healthy’ eateries. Many people because they think they are eating healthfully will eat a lot more. The calories will add up and before you know it, our ‘healthy’ meal is not so healthy! Just because the cookies are ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ doesn’t mean they’re good for us.

10. Groups: When we are with 1 other person we’ll eat 35% more, with a group of 4 it’s 75% more, and with 7 or more it’s 96% more!

The game plan: Put whatever it is we’re eating down after each bite. Only take another bite once we’re done chewing the previous bite. Take a sip of water in between each bite.

11. Don’t call it a comeback. Towards the end of the game, we might find ourselves eating just to eat. Are you really still hungry? If you’re not hungry but choose to eat anyway — say out loud, “I’m not hungry but I’m going to eat this anyway!” (Or at least say it to yourself.) This helps to wake your long term, rational mind up because many times we’re just eating to eat.

It also helps to let people know we’re crazy when we talk out loud!

12. Make it harder! If you’re having your own party, only serve in the kitchen. Being able to roll over and grab more food is going to make it very easy to eat a lot.

The game plan: If you’re at a party, do not ask anyone to get you anything. Get your food yourself.

13. Wear tight, tight pants! It’s a lot easier to stop eating when our clothes and belt starts telling us we’re full.

The game plan: Wear very tight pants because then you’ll have to stop eating when you’re stuffed. We’ll just be too uncomfortable otherwise.

14. 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 but they are likely to lower our inhibitions and might trigger us to eat more than we really want to.

The game plan: Don’t drink tonight and the Body Tutor on your shoulder might just be a little louder than the devil on your other shoulder.

15. Focus on the special stuff. Don’t waste calories on large portions of food you can eat every day. Limit the variety you have.

The game plan: Only two items on your plate at any one time. Having a lot of different items on our plate stimulates our appetite.

16. Is it worth it? Ask yourself, “Is this really and truly worth it?” before you dig in. Many times, we’re just eating food simply because it’s available.

17. The easiest tip of all! Eat before the game! If you have a wonderful meal before the game, you’ll be a lot less tempted to eat during the game.

19. Perfection doesn’t exist! (See how I skipped number 18? Can’t be perfect!) Most importantly, and this is somewhat counterintuitive, don’t sweat it if you make a dietary mistake or two or three.

Just like any other day, Super Bowl Sunday will have its ups and downs. There is no perfect day much less perfect Super Bowl Sunday.

As always, if you’re consistent with your diet (and exercise) for the other 364 days you should be in great shape. If you’re not, I guarantee it’s because you’re not staying consistent with your diet and/or exercise.

Go Giants!