So What Part of the Equation is Nutrition?

I hear this question asked a lot. How much is exercise and how much is nutrition? In the past when I thought I needed to lose weight, I focussed on the workouts. When people started realizing I had lost so much weight and commenting on it, the first question was naturally "what kind of workouts are you doing?". I certainly understand where they are coming from. Seems like a natural question. I usually respond with "well, I workout, but I really didn't get into shape until I got my nutrition in order".

I have seen many famous trainers comment on this topic of nutrition vs. training. I have never seen any trainer say that nutrition is any less than 50% of the equation. I have seem a few say it is as high as 80%. whatever it is, I feel strongly it is greater than 50%. You have to get your nutrition in better order to see solid results. This is especially true if your body type more readily puts on fat (endomorph). You eat every day. Make what goes in really count even if you cannot get the exercise you need.

Can You Really "Eat Just One?"

That old Lays potato chip commercial really hits home. "Betcha can't eat just one!" That is true. Try eating just one. Try eating just one chocolate chip cookie. Man, I could eat a ton of chocolate chip cookies. Truly an awesome treat. My problem is that I realized a number of years ago that I cannot stop at just one. Eating one is MUCH harder than eating none. Some people can probably do it. I have never been one of them. If you think you fall into this category, make some simple promises to yourself. Don't even start with one! Just leave them. You will feel better. A while back I shared a story about the company candy jar. I sat right next to it. It had a bunch of my favorites and I would eat now and then and at the very least I was always thinking if I got hungry, there is a bite-size Snickers bar just a few feet away. Dangerous stuff when it comes to trying to get or stay lean. When I got serious, I just made the commitment I would never eat from that jar. And you know what? It really got easy. my mind spent no time thinking about the delicious candy within reaching distance all day long. I'd encourage people to look at some of their weaknesses like this and make similar decisions.

So are there any treats you can just eat one? Well for example at work from time to time we have large company meetings or training sessions where there are a ton of free pastries. My mentality used to be "Ooooooh ... free food, stock up and make the most of it." Now, I look for any fresh fruit and enjoy a cup of coffee with it. Coff with a little cream and sugar is a treat and I can drink one cup and feel satisfied. No need for more. So I focus on stuff like that. Plus, I know my body will want to crash if I pound a couple pastries. When you are in situations like this, enjoy the change of pace and treat yourself but keep it within limits.

The Bang-for-the-Buck Mentality

You remember when your critique of a restaurant went something like "i got THIS much food for five bucks". The more the merrier so to speak. You knew the best buffets and the best place to get tremendous amounts of food for little coin. Portions of food in general at restaurants in the Unites States is very generous to being with. Learning to get at least a ballpark idea of how many calories you are consuming at a restaurant will help keep things in check.

You can get a mass amount of "crazy bread" from Little Caesars for a buck. Huge amounts of calories mostly in the form of simple sugars. Great deal. The cost per calorie is really cheap, but you need to start thinking quality vs. quantity. Your body will thank you.

Face it head on ...

I guess part of the whole brain-programming part of learning to shed fat is you have to face it head on. Reading a fad diet and thinking the pounds will come off easily is not facing reality. It is not looking at yourself and facing your fears learning to truly make a change.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.
~James A. Baldwin

Face this problem head-on. Learn the basics but more importantly listen to your body and learn how your body reacts to food and exercise. I promise if you do, things will come easier because you will have a lot more natural motivation to do the right things one you become in tune with your body and see how much better things are when you are leaner and healthier.

It's NOT About Deprivation

When you reach the place you want to be, it should not be about constantly feeling deprived. If you are starting today and looking at what you eat now versus what you will eat on a consistent basis when you get where you want, you might get a little sick at the thought. If you take your time and make changes over time, you will learn to love foods you may not love or even like now. You will have greater awareness of how your body reacts to food and how foods make you feel. You will appreciate in ways you never thought possible how eating wholesome food gives you more sustained energy, better appearance and vitality. The benefits are endless. So if you ever see someone who is about the body composition you want to be, and you look at what they eat on a daily basis and think to yourself you could never do that ... in a way I agree with you. It is really hard to jump from one extreme to another. The process is layered. Start with some simple changes, listen to your body ... become aware of how you react to food and you will not only be smarter about food, you will obtain all sorts of benefits you never imagined. You will feel great. You will have developed great habits. And it will trickle into other areas of your life. If you need a place to start, start by taking control of your health and watch where it can take you.

For me, I can state several examples. I used to not get much enjoyment out of salad. Now I crave them. I used to be afraid of dietary fat, but now I understand the different types and what types work well for body composition, skin complexion, etc. I used to eat a lot of bread. Even though it was whole wheat bread, I started realizing my body didn't respond well to it. When I substituted vegetables for bread, I found great energy improvements. I found all sorts of varieties of fish that I really enjoy but used to never eat. I used to be a cereal junkie, but I found that oatmeal worked really well for me. I used to eat a lot of sweet, sugary snacks. My threshold of what was really "Sweet" has changed. Whereas all-natural unsweetened applesauce used to taste like water to me, it now tasted deliciously sweet and adds great flavor to my regular oatmeal.

Changes like this come over time. Like I stated before, cutting out sweets is a perfect place to start, but your body will fight you. It will still want to eat them but if you are patient and a little tough at first, those pangs will go away and you will appreciate healthier foods that much more.

When you are in "that place", healthy foods will be what you crave. It will be easy. A 90% compliance rule is a good one. You can see fantastic results by eating great 90% of the time and saving those 10% for special events if needed.

MOTO - Master of the Obvious

Just call me MOTO. A lot of the stuff here is obvious. Common sense if you will. What I hope to give you is some perspective on it all so you can make changes to permanently better your life.

Stopping to Enjoy a Plateau

When you hit a plateau in your progress, if you feel tired, it is a good time to just stay there for a few weeks. I am not sure many fitness experts recommend this. But in my experience, after losing some weight, see if you can easily stay in a maintenance level and stay within a couple pounds of where you are. And do not sweat it if you have a couple cheat meals and weigh yourself and you have gained a couple pounds in one day. It is probably just your glycogen stores being replenished to your muscles. Let your muscles fill out in this way and keep eating well and exercising. Just stay on the plateau, enjoy the view and let your nervous system relax. If you still want to get leaner, get going once you feel ready again. This is very healthy. If you lose a ton of weight in a short amount of time, you want to keep going and can get discouraged if the scale starts tilting in the wrong direction. Just work to stay where you are. Live in that body for a while and then get ready for the next step when you feel comfortable. It should feel natural for you to maintain. You are still developing good habits. And keeping in the plateau will give you confidence that this is a lifestyle you can live with.

Balance with Yoga?

Everything really seems to boil down to balance. Right now, I do heavy lifting 3 times a week and high-intensity cardio for 20 minutes 3 times a week. A total of about 2.5 hours/week. I am also eating well. Great results. But I think I am missing one piece. Stretching. I have been thinking of adding some daily, short yoga first thing in the morning. I think this is a key component as I get older and an area I may be overlooking. I saw a special on HBO Sports on "Boomer-itis" where lots of Baby Boomers are suffering from sports related injuries. This, in a way, is exciting because they are so active. I'd much rather have a shoulder replaced than a heart attack, but it begs the question what is too much? A lot of the injuries were marathon runners and triathletes ... and others who really overdo cardio. I think you can overdo cardio for sure and that is one reason I backed off my additional morning elliptical routines. But I have noticed I am not as flexible as I used to be so some morning yoga would be good I think to try. We'll see how it goes.

Fountain of Youth

Plastic surgery is becoming so prevalent that someone like myself who has never had an interests in going under the knife is starting to notice more and more people having surgery. After you see enough of them, it gets really easy to tell who has had work done. I would never fault someone for doing it. It is their choice and plastic surgery has done a lot of good for a lot of people.

In my opinion, however, the greatest fountain of youth is a strong, healthy physique obtained through consistent effort and healthy living. Have you ever seen an older sibling that looked years better than a younger sibling simply because they are in shape? A 50 year old can look 15 to 20 years younger by being in really good shape. I have a friend who is 55 but could easily pass for late-30s. I would not say this person has any gifted genes necessarily but he keeps himself in great shape and eats well. Your body is constantly rebuilding itself whether you workout or not. Old cells are replaced with new cells and studies have shown that individuals who eat healthy foods and exercise with strength training actually have body tissue that looks like a younger person under the microscope. Fountain of Youth, indeed.

Some things you might have to do ...

You won't get where you want without making some changes. Do not fear change. just transition slowly if needed and turn them into habits. This is all about long-term.

• You might have to become a morning person. Not a requirement for sure, but so many of us are busy with jobs, kids, school, etc. This may be the only reasonable time to set up some workout time. You may have told yourself over and over you are not a morning person. I used to tell myself that but I had to change and it was not all that bad. I think the whole idea of "morning person" is more mental than physical. Be very open to this suggestion.
  
• Learn to love foods you may have "hated". Still hate to eat vegetables? Hate fish? If you do not have any real medical or spiritual reason for not eating a particular food, it is high-time to get over it. Don't like salad? Develop a love for them. This is hard for some. There are plenty of foods I came to love in adulthood that I hated and never wanted to try before. Work on this if needed.
  
• Keep Some Stats. Take time to write down at least weekly stats on weight. Also take other measurements where applicable. People who monitor their stats do better long-term. Your body composition will naturally fluctuate but you want those fluctuations to be minimized. If you see yourself reverting to your old self, you are much more likely to get back on the wagon before it gets too late.
  
• Get new clothes that fit you tighter as you lose fat. This works in the same way as the previous step because as you notice clothes getting more snug you are more likely to stay the course. Conversely, you are more likely to notice positive changes as the clothes get looser. This really works.
  
• Find a coach or mentor.
  
• Be mentally prepared to "Buck Up". Get ready for your body to fight you at first. Just know that intense cravings for desserts and stuff are very common at first when you cut back calories. Come up with strategies to deal with this but know it will pass. Again, we are talking about setting up good habits. If you eat dessert everyday, you will crave it. So it will be hard at first but it does not mean it will be hard everyday. I find 3 days tops is all that is needed. The opposite is true as well. Once you have established good habits, your body will crave them. Yeah, you will crave salad once you get it right.
  

What Did *I* Want?

The thought I always keep in my head was that when people saw me they would think "he is in really great shape". So for example, when I started losing some fat, I would get compliments like "looks like you are losing weight". That is a great feeling. But after working at it for a couple of years, the comments changed. i started hearing things like "you look like you are in fantastic shape". That is where I wanted to be. That is where I want to stay. There are lots of reasons for that. Some vain, for sure. Some for overall health after thinking about my mother. But a lot of it had to do with my love for my family and wanting to inspire them. It is great for my kids to look up to me as someone who is doing all they can to be healthy. It makes me feel good. So I think everyone should have an overall idea what they want to be. Keep it simple. From there, you can make specific goals that will help you get there.

And it is completely natural for the reasons for losing weight to want to look more appealing to the opposite sex or same sex whatever the case may be. That is a very powerful driving force and use it to your advantage. Some people might say that is simply being vain but whatever the reasons, you are going to be better off health-wise as long as you do it naturally. These sort of things motivate me as well but I think you will find that the other benefits of getting lean and healthy are worth so much more.

It is about being happy ...

If you are content with your weight and are happy doing what you are doing, then I think it is completely ok for you to continue doing what you enjoy. I do not believe everyone HAS to get fit. Excessive body fat leads to health problems. If you are someone who wants to help avoid those problems, this discussion is for you. But you will never hear me say anyone has to have a six-pack or want to compete in fitness competitions. Whatever your goals, the same basic rules apply and that is what is covered in here.

There is never a perfect time ...

Just start even with the simplest of changes. Make some simple nutritional changes you can deal with or start exercising with more regularity. Just make changes and start today because there will never be a perfect time to start. And if you are waiting for the perfect time, I would implore you to make one change from the list below and start there.

I think the idea of the perfect time derives from the idea that you must completely change your life to get where you want. You life has to and will change but the steps can definitely be slow. I would encourage you to keep it slow. It is an evolutionary process. If you go slow and continually improve, fantastic habits will develop and you will get there.

Start with the "first layer". The first layer is removing as many processed foods and drinks from your diet as you can. If you have to have a dessert every night, try replacing it with fruit or something healthy and limit your "treat" dessert to once a week. This is just an idea for a start. If you drink a lot of soda, that is a great place to start. Cut back to a diet drink or better yet, water or unsweetened tea. Little changes will go a long way and start today.

Everything is Connected

This book deals with one major topic on people's minds ... fat loss. Someone might call someone vain for focusing attention on one topic like that but I think all people agree that happiness comes from a large combination of factors. Health, finance, relationships, hobbies, spiritual or mental well-being, etc. I believe there needs to be a balance. But I also believe, that if you have one place you want to start, you should start with your health. Getting fit and healthy ties into all the other areas of your life in a way that will help you excel in other areas.

So spending time reading about fitness and implementing a lifestyle you can live with to get your goals will pay off in all areas of your life.

Do you need someone to believe in you? I believe in you. I have seen hundreds of people change their lives and there is absolutely no reason any of us cannot do the same.

Self Image

Start thinking of yourself as a person committed to fitness. You aren't the person that thinks they have to go get ice-cream every time they are sad. You are not the person who needs to scan the candy isle at the convenience store. Your overriding image of a fit person will help avoid these traps.

It's all about habits ...

Take your time. Have a vision and patience and you will develop habits. Developing a new habit can be tough. I have read it takes 21 days. Maybe so. I am not sure. But consistent application along with your desire and continuing to educate yourself on the subject will lead to positive habits. in the "7 Habits" there is a great little diagram on how when desire, knowledge and skills overlap, you get habits. What are your best habits? Can you write them down? Are there things you do everyday that are good, positive habits? Think about those. That is how your nutrition and exercise choices should and will become.

Knowledge: Read when you can ... even if it is a little a day. Put a good health magazine in the restroom or your briefcase. The internet is awash in great sources for knowledge and inspiration and putting that in your head over time has a great ipact.

Brain Change

Gone over some of this before but there are some key attitude adjustments you need ot make if you haven't already.

• Get Rid of Any Limiting Attitudes. You can learn something from every diet program out there. Read as much as you reasonably can on nutrition and exercise. It will only help you. Limiting ideas are ones like "all carbs are bad", "no fats", "gotta stay in the fat-burning zone on my cardio". You need to try different things because that is how you will learn what works for you.
  
• Accept Full Responsibility. Been over this before. No excuses. It is your fault if you don't succeed. Take this attitude and you really will succeed because you will evolve over time.
  
• Clear Vision. Big, overriding idea that you will never forget.
  
• Patience. When questions come up like "when will I see results?", I understand the desire to see the changes. But please think long-term. Think where you will be in 1-year, 5-years, 10-years and 25-years or more. Never let a bad day or week get you down. Had your best week at the gym and don't see any changes? That is frustrating. Eat a big meal, weigh yourself the next day and you are three pounds heavier? This is a blip on the radar. You are learning. As long as you try hard and be consistent, you will have so many benefits that will carry into so many parts of your life that you should never let yourself quit. Just learn from it and move on.
  

Benefits

The benefits of taking control of your health through good nutrition and exercise are many. Some are obvious. These may the the first goals you think of when starting a program. However, there are many other benefits that you may not realize that will eventually eclipse in importance any vanity goals you may have to start.

1. Looking better. There is nothing wrong with this being your primary goal. If all you want to do is look good ... make other people notice you ... make someone jealous, then this is a real benefit. Looking good makes you feel better. It makes you want to go out more. You will naturally become more active and feel comfortable in social situations
   
2. Feeling Better. This goes hand in hand with the first one.
   
3. Thresholders. That's what my doctor called them anyway. He used this to describe people who once they lose weight and cross certain thresholds, some of their nagging physical ailments go away. For me, when I get under about 195 pounds, my acid-reflux problem completely disappeared.
   
4. Sexual. Numerous benefits here
   
5. Energy Levels. Pay close attention to how you feel when you eat different foods. By sticking to the basics of eating smaller, healthier meals, you will notice tremendous energy increases. But you will also nitice a more sustained energy. I used to have these massive nap attacks throughout my life. Once I started noticing my diet played such a crucial role in that, I was able to almost eliminate any drowsiness in the middle of the day.
   
6. Mental Health. With my family history of depression, I am realizing how much eating right and exercising helps to avoid any need for medication.
   
7. Example to Others. Do you have kids? Watch your kids light up and respond to your changes.
   
8. Skin health. Eating natural foods and drinking sufficient water will do wonders for skin tone and complexion. Especially healthy fatty foods like salmon.
   
9. Lots more ... need to record more in the future. But overall, it is true freedom. Anyone can be struck with a sudden illness or accident that can put them in the hospital or worse. However, the fact you know you are doing everything you can to avoid preventable diseases is powerful.
   

Angle of the book ...

Fat loss is an incredibly boring subject but one that most people think about in some way almost daily. And it is one topic in which a lot of people are making a lot of money. Getting rid of excess body fat has many benefits. There are a million and one approaches to the topic. The goal of this book is to get your mind in the right place. Strip back the layers of difficulty so you can strip the layers off yourself. With all those people selling you their supplements and their programs, their motivation will likely be based on money. The purpose here is to help you see through the flashy sales gimmicks and get your head in the right frame of mind for true lifestyle changes that will increase your happiness in many areas of your life ... not just how you look.


If you are reading this book, I suspect you have had strong feelings about a need to look and feel better. It may be a picture that your friends took that when you saw it you felt like "I couldn't look like that ... I look huge". Maybe someone hadn't seen you in a couple years and upon revisiting makes a comment about how you look like you have been eating well. Maybe you just don't feel your best when you are out at night and your clothes don't fit as well as you want. You are sitting and you actually feel uncomfortable from the fat on your body taking up so much space. Activities get harder because, face it, you are doing more work just moving the fat around. I have felt all of these things. I felt them for many years, actually. It certainly wasn't all-consuming ... I felt happy about so many things in life but there was this nagging feeling like "I need to get in shape" in the back of my head.

Motivation can come from anywhere. Since I had those feelings in my head, that was a source of motivation. I wanted to not have to worry about my weight. But there were also some singular events that kind of got me going. When I watched my dearly beloved mother be eaten away by pancreatic cancer at an all-to-young age of 61, I really looked at myself and my health. Although she never said it directly, I could imagine the feeling of helplessness as she had to have her body fail on her and she knew that was it as far as life on this earth is concerned. No more time with her grandkids who she poured her heart out too every day of her life. No chance to reclaim your health.

Every time my mom would visit, she made comments how she wanted to lose weight. She never did. She wanted to look great in a bikini. She would put pictures around of her face on a fit body but it never materialized. That is a common exercise to reprogram your brain, but for her it never happened. Our family did not have the best eating habits. We ate lots of breads and pizza and sweets. My whole family is very heavy. Always have been. When I watched my mom suffer, I felt like I cannot be in that position when I am older. I cannot always be trying to "catch up" and lose this fat on my body. I can't wait any longer. I need to get moving. I need to learn more about nutrition and exercise. As I studied and implemented, I came to realize there are some key points you need to get straight in your head to implement true changes.