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.

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.

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.

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!

“Slow Dance”

Have you ever watched kids on a merry go-round,

Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly’s erratic flight,

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,

When you ask how are you, do you hear the reply?

When the day is done do you lie in your bed,

With the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast.

Time is short, the music won’t last.

Ever told your child, we’ll do it tomorrow,

And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die,

Cause you never had time to call and say, “Hi”?

You better slow down, don’t dance so fast.

Time is short, the music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

it’s like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life is not a race, do take it slower,

hear the music, before the song is over.

###

I decided to do a little research after this poem was forwarded to me for the 237th time because I wanted to find out who this teenager with cancer actually is. It turns out this poem wasn’t written by a teenager with cancer.

However, I still really like it.

It reminds us to slow down. And that’s the name of the game when it comes to eating less.

Let’s try to make our next meal last as long as possible. Let’s do it for just our next meal and see how we feel.

Tips for us to follow:

1. Take a sip of water between every bite.

2. Put our fork and knife down between each bite.

3. If we’re eating a sandwich, put it down between each bite.

4. Use chop sticks.

5. Use our other hand <— this can lead to lots of laughs!

6. If we’re feeding a family, don’t put the bowls/plates of food on the
table. Keep them in the kitchen, so it’s not as easy to take more.

*Bonus*

The following is a poem written by a Body Tutor with a mission. He wants to see how many people he can help via his simple philosophy – consistency.

You better slow down; don’t eat so fast,
amazing how your food will last!

And if you do, you’ll eat much less,
your MBT will be impressed!

So please slow down; be in pursuit,
of wearing that hot bathing suit!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it’s all about gratitude!

It’s impossible to be thankful and unhappy at the same time. The two emotions cannot coexist. Thankfulness magically gets rid of every other non-happy emotion there is.

However, it can also be the start of a downward spiral until New Year’s Day – but then on New Year’s day we might feel tired because of the night before, and so the vicious spiral continues.

So here are 15 ideas for us to use tomorrow so we can remain on point.

1. Your life isn’t a Normal Rockwell painting

We all have preconceived notions on how Thanksgiving should be. We can’t choose our family so we might as well make the best of it, right?

Let’s try lowering our expectations. The less we are disappointed, the more we are likely to appreciate and enjoy the day.

Example, for the second time in my life (at least I don’t remember the first 4 years of it) my father and mom are going to be at the same Thanksgiving table. Weird!

This is going to be extremely awkward for my sister and me. As anxious as we are, I’m trying to go into it with out any expectations.

2. Wear your best belt and your tightest pants

It’s a lot easier to stop eating when we know we’re full. One telltale clue is when our clothes and belt starts telling us.

Sounds obvious, but stopping when we’re full is one of the harder things to do at the Thanksgiving table when everyone else is helping themselves to seconds, thirds and fourths.

It will be easier to stop if we wear very tight pants because then we’ll have to push away from the table when we’re stuffed. We’ll just be too uncomfortable otherwise.

3. Save your calories for dinner

If we want to be a great guest and enjoy the meal the most, skip the hors d’oeuvres. A good basic rule-of-thumb is let’s not eat anything that doesn’t require a knife and fork.

4. Always hold a drink and a napkin

Do we really need an appetizer before a huge meal? We can’t control what our gracious host does, but we can control ourselves.

Let’s make it harder to reach for something by holding a glass in one hand (preferably filled with water) and a napkin in the other.

5. 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 (especially the sweet drinks and the eggnogs!) but they are likely to lower our inhibitions and might trigger us to eat more than we really want to.

6. Don’t talk politics

My mom is very intense about politics. My mom can go from extremely calm to extremely angry in less time than it takes to break a wish bone.

If someone says something that annoys you – just let it go! If we’re annoyed, we’re more likely to overeat.

7. Focus on the special stuff

Let’s not waste our calories on large portions of food we can eat everyday. Let’s also limit the variety we have.

Let’s make a rule: Only two items on our plate at any one time. Having a lot of different items on our plate stimulates our appetite. But make sure the items on our plate are special.

8. Is it worth it?

Ask yourself, “Is this really worth it?” before you dig in. Many times, we’re just eating food simply because it’s available. Remember, “If this weren’t free, would I pay for it?”

9. Don’t make a diet faux pas

Just like we wouldn’t wear every accessory we own at the same time, we don’t need to go heavy on all of the sauces, gravy, dressings, etc. Less is more!

10. Small seconds are better than big firsts

Some people show their love through food. Research on memory shows that our Aunt Grace won’t remember how much we take, but she’ll remember if we liked it enough to take seconds, especially, if we announce it.

Try taking a little bit of Aunt Grace’s ‘famous’ mashed potatoes. Tell her how great they are. Then go back for seconds and say something like, “Aunt Grace, your mashed potatoes are so good I’m taking seconds!”

She’ll be really happy, and your body will be really happy because you’ll actually be eating less – even though you’re going in for round two.

11. Slow down!

Seriously! Slow down. Let’s pretend we’re NY Times food critics. Really taste each and every bite.

Appreciate the texture, taste and smell. Let’s put our fork and knife down. Take a sip of water. Engage in conversation. There’s no rush.

12. Forget the post dinner snacks

We won’t starve if we skip the late night turkey sandwich. This is a great time to focus on the family and not on the food. Besides, are we really hungry? Most likely, we’re just bored.

13. Plan activities

The holidays aren’t only about food, are they? They are about enjoying our company, having fun, watching football, and laughter! How about planning a fun activity?

A football game, a big game of monopoly, or how about that game where you have to guess the word while receiving clues? You can’t say the actual word though. And there’s a timer.

Ah, I got it! Catchphrase! (See what I did there?) All these can be tons of fun.

14. Come out of the closet

Eat whatever you like but only out in the open. No sneaking.

15. Perfection doesn’t exist

Most importantly, and this is somewhat counterintuitive, don’t sweat it if you make a dietary mistake.

Just like any other day, Thanksgiving will have its ups and downs too. There is no perfect day much less perfect Thanksgiving.

The key is to focus on how quickly we can recover. How do we do that?

Well, word on the street is that the tryptophan in the turkey is going to make us veryyyyy sleeeppyyyy and tired and lethargic – but in actuality, chicken has more tryptophan than turkey does.

Really it’s the overeating, and lack of movement that drags us down. Bodies at rest stay rest.

So, I suggest on Friday morning, if possible, that we get up and go for a walk or a jog. And if that’s not possible, let’s aim to move around as much as we can.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I want to wish you a very happy, healthy, and fit Thanksgiving!

All my best to you,

The hardest word in the world to resist is…wait for it…FREE!

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

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

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 shooting a basketball and seeing the ball go in before we shoot, or envisioning what we’ll order and eat, it helps a lot.

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

In the next month or so, this is to be expected.

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 tempting us in an uncomfortable way – 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) when there’s FFFE, “If this weren’t free, would I pay for it?”

Although Halloween can be a lot of fun it’s also a temptation nightmare.

No, I’m not going to encourage you to hand out whole grain crackers or raisins nor am I going to encourage you to give out individually packaged nuts because I don’t want your house to get toilet papered or egged! By now, I hope you appreciate the practicality of my tips.

So let’s get to it:

First and foremost, let’s make sure we eat a healthy breakfast shortly after we wake up. And let’s not forget about having some protein with our breakfast. If we fill up on protein, we’ll feel satiated for a lot longer.

Remember: If we’re very hungry, it’s very hard to make good decisions.

It’s important that we have lunch and dinner too. The #1 cause for eating poorly on the weekends is because we’re not eating regularly and we don’t have healthy foods available (that’s your cue, if you’re running out of healthy foods –> go get some!).

Temptations will be everywhere today, and tomorrow.

So, it’s important to ask yourself the question, “Is this really and truly worth it?

And because temptations will be everywhere, that means we’re going to be constantly asking our self “Do I want this? Do I not want this? Do I want this? Do I not want this.” —-> This is going to lead to discomfort.

Often we wind up giving in just to ease this discomfort so we can shut our damn mind up about the candy (or whatever it is) and not even because we want it so badly.

Being aware of this discomfort is very helpful.

Now that we’re going to be aware of it, when we begin to face the discomfort why not laugh at it? Pretend it’s someone tickling your feet. Just because it’s there, doesn’t mean we have to do anything with it. Let’s acknowledge it and move on.

“Did I want this 5 seconds ago?”

This is another question worth asking ourselves. Seeing a commercial for certain foods can instantly trigger a craving and make us feel good – because our brain will release some dopamine.

2 problems:

One. Although sugary, salty and fatty foods can make us feel good…it’s only temporary. Literally, the moment we’re done eating whatever it is, the good feelings it give us go away. The extremely fleeting nature of junk – makes us want more and more and more.

Two. 5 seconds before the commercial started, we weren’t thinking about xyz junk. It’s important to remember that. Just like 5 seconds before we walked into the kitchen at work, the conference room, the kitchen at home, the party, the refrigerator, the pantry – wherever – we didn’t want whatever is tempting us, either.

Bonus. Don’t have a pity party. “Why is everyone eating candy and I’m not?!” Either we feel deprived in the short term – or we deprive ourselves of feeling as good as we can.

I’ll be the first one to say, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, eating junk is a lot of fun. Lounging around is too. I love cookies and ice cream as much as anyone. BUT – I have never felt better from eating poorly and lounging around than I have from eating right and exercising. (I know you agree.)

Said another way – it’s more fun to eat healthfully and exercise than the alternative.

ALL that being said, if you want the candy so badly, and it’s really worth it to you, have a piece or two. But be sure to eat it slowly. It’s amazing how some of us dream of certain foods all day long yet we don’t even think about it when we’re actually eating it.

Think about it. Savor it. Enjoy it. However, be sure you pay attention to how you feel afterward.

Sadly, we usually realize, the candy (or whatever it is) isn’t as good as we imagined it would be.

Life is short. We might as well feel as good as we can right? So we might as well eat foods that make us feel good, before, during and after we eat them.

Having a game plan helps tremendously. If we can mentally rehearse what we’re going to eat before we go to a party, or even at home, it’s a lot easier to listen to our long term, rational mind.

Lastly, if you wind up giving in whether it’s planned, or against your desires, be forgiving of yourself. Don’t eat more crap to change the negative feeling you might get from eating poorly in the first place.

Ultimately, nothing tastes as good as being healthy and fit feels. And we all know it.

Just like we all know, saying “No thank you!” is very empowering.

“Oh Gilbert is nursing his beer again!”

Nursing is a great word.

It implies TLC. We could all use a little TLC, right?

Many people like to go to independently owned restaurants because it feels as though there’s more TLC that goes into the food. More effort. More love. More care. More thought.

We should try to nurse our food too. This way, we’d fully appreciate it and not take it for granted. We wouldn’t rush the experience of eating.What does that mean?

Not standing up while eating. The more we can ritualize our eating the better. That means fully tasting it. Noticing the texture. The crunch. The ingredients. The smell.

So many times we’re just shoveling food into our mouths. Let’s try to slow down and enjoy the fact that we have a plate of food in front of us. Savory is key. Without getting all corny (although I’m about to) – it’s pretty amazing if you think about it.

Our ancestors would be amazed at how readily available food is. We don’t have to hunt and gather.

And if we did – we’d probably nurse our food without question, and we’d be better off.

Cheers!

As soon as they’re done exercising 30 minutes later, they’re ’starving’! So, they get themselves a wrap.

Well, 60 minutes after the start of their exercise journey, 1000 calories has been consumed.

Let’s break it down: 30 minutes was used to eat and the other 30 to exercise. Interesting…

Trading 1 hour of our time in to exercise for 30 minutes so we can burn 200-350 calories only to consume 800-1000 calories isn’t worth it, at all.

Sure, it’s worth it if you want to feel good.

However, if you want to change the way you look –> this trade of time and calories for less time and more calories is not a good one.

If you’re exercising to change how you look it’s imperative to realize this.

You can run for 2 hours, be dripping in sweat, have burned 1200 calories, however, if you go grab a milkshake – you’ll have been better off not exercising in the first place.

THE reason why you see people in the gym over and over – looking the same again and again – is because they’re eating too much.

Are you exercising to change the way you feel or look?

No matter what, exercise will make us feel good! But if you’re exercising for weight loss make sure that you’re not the smoothie and wrap eating type or else you’re wasting your time.

By the way, did I mention the benefits of exercise?

Exercise is a key to happiness – which after all, is what it’s all about. Research shows that people who exercise are healthier, more energetic, think more clearly, sleep better, and have delayed onset of dementia. They also get relief from anxiety and mild depression, comparable to medication. And not surprisingly, exercisers also perform better at work.

Of course, there’s more to it than simply eating less – or else we’d all do it. Behavioral change is extremely hard, and if you don’t have any accountability, it’s almost impossible to make that happen. Consider MBT – we’ve helped 100’s of people throughout the US and world get the body they want via our proven methods and system.