I say that everyone has problems. My problems are no harder than yours’, and your problems are no greater than someone elses’. What I mean is this:

When I was a boy, I grew up very tough. We were always broke, and I seldom ate. To make matters worse, my mother was a drug addict and I was abused in every possible way that you can imagine. When I got up the nerve, I moved out at the age of 13 and made a life for myself. I fought my way through high school and into college. Eventually I became a success. Now you might say that i had it tough, but tough is relative to each of us.

You are on your own journey. What fat loss goals you have are only relevant to you. That is why you must never compare yourself to anyone else. My past is mine. You may have had it better or worse, but relatively you had it the same as I did, get it?

We each must bear our own crosses. We each must travel our way to Jerusalem. In that, we will ultimately become successful. Fat loss is no different. It is a tough battle, but I promise that it can be won. You are the general of your own army in the fight for fat loss and fitness. If you do anything at all, please make sure that you enlist the help of those who are willing. You will need lieutenants as well as infantry.

I will stand by your side in that fox hole. I will be your lieutenant if you let me. Together we can win this war, this battle of the bulge this fight for Independence. One day you will lay on the battlefield with as much exhaustion as enthusiasm, after you have finally captured the flag of fat loss, weight loss, fitness and freedom. One day you will be filled with the excitement of glory as you finally fit back into the outfit you have been keeping for years, hoping that one day you will be able to wear it again. One day you will look your doctor in the eyes with contempt because you are so healthy he doesn’t understand how it happened. One day you will stare at yourself in awe because you finally realize that you DID do it! You Were worth it! You MORE THAN deserve it, and no longer am I the only person who believes in YOU!!!!!

“People do it everyday, they talk to themselves… they see themselves as they’d like to be, they don’t have the courage you have, to just run with it.”
- Tyler Durden

Wow! That certainly is a very harsh title. What’s worse is that some people actually think that way. Here are some other phrases that people tell themselves.

• I’m too stupid.

• I’m too dumb.

• I’m not worth it.

• I can’t do it.

• Nobody loves me.

• It’s too hard.

• I don’t deserve it.

• I hate myself.

The reality is that most people really think this way. Guess what? Every one of those phrases are saying the same exact thing. “I’m lying to myself!” Most of us have children. If you heard your child say any or all of these things, what would you tell them? Exactly…so, why are you saying these things to yourself? Negativity will breed more negativity which will breed more and more until you guessed it, you actually believe the negative thoughts. When that happens you are in BIG trouble.

If you are a regular reader, or believer in my programs, then you know that none of these sayings are true. You know that through the Three Commandments of Fat Loss, none of the above mentioned phrases could be true. You have to stay focused on the positive. I know that I harp on these things a lot, but it is because they are so important. To be successful in anything, you must be fundamentally sound. If you have changes that you want to make in you health or appearance, then you know that all it takes it to follow these three simple steps.

1. The hardest part of your workout is walking through the door (i.e., getting started). This is true for anything. You have to start if you want to finish. If you truly believe that you are too fat, too dumb or not worth it, then starting is extremely tough because you already believe that you can’t do it, so why try? I know, that it can be intimidating, scary and nerve racking. You have to understand that you are worth it. There is always hope. The best way that I can explain this is through the bible. When Jesus was on the cross, he was accompanied by two other men. Both of them were bad dudes, but one of them looked to Jesus for forgiveness, and he was forgiven. It is never too late. You CAN make a difference! You just have to start!

2. Never compare yourself to anyone else. This is so important. Stop looking at celebrity magazines, actors and actresses, models and neighborhood super moms or even pictures of you from ten or fifteen years ago. Instead just look at you today. Stop trying to be these other people, and instead just be a better you. Each and every day, your goal is to be just a little better than the person you were yesterday. That is easy. Here are some examples. Walk one more step today then you did yesterday, take one less bite of something unhealthy or perform one more exercise than you did last time. When you look at it like that, you can easily become successful. Climbing a mountain is hard work, but taking just one step up that mountain, isn’t. Each day just take one step forward, and you will eventually be on top screaming from the top of your lungs that you finally did it!

3. Never give up what you truly want, for what you think you want today. If I believe that I am too fat, then I have lost hope. Eating this candy bar really will not make that much of a difference. In fact it will bring me some level of happiness. Why should I give up the little happiness that I have left for something that I can never achieve, right? WRONG! That is thinking in the wrong direction. What is more important to you? Is it the candy bar, or is it really making a difference? Maybe you feel like you are too far gone, that there is too much weight to lose or that you are beyond help. If so, then you are right. You have to change your way of thinking. You must believe that you can make a difference. Do not focus on the 100 pounds of weight that you have to lose. Instead just focus on one pound. Baby step your way to victory. Can you lose just one pound? Certainly. So, I ask you again, what is more important to you? The candy bar, or the pound? Now you can make an educated decision in the positive direction! Keep this up and you will be on your way to a better tomorrow!

The bottom line is that you can do this. If I told you to walk into a dark room, and find your way to the exit, you would have a hard time doing it. You would be scared of stubbing your toe, tripping on something that you can’t see or running smack into a wall. However, I’m not asking you to do that. By following a regimented program that is complete with diet and training, you are not walking into the dark. By following your program, you are walking through that same room only with the lights on. Walking into a room with the lights on it easy. Sure it takes some effort to walk from point A to point B, but at least you can see how to do it. There is no more intimidation, no more scary and no more nerves racking. With the lights on…

You CAN do it! You ARE worth it! You DO deserve it! Don’t let me be the only one who believes in YOU!

What? Yes, you read that right. Give up…on weight loss. Here is what I mean. A lot of people focus on losing weight, and they make that their primary goal. That is the wrong idea people!

Losing weight is not what is important. You want to lose the fat, not the weight. If you have been sticking to your New Year Res., right now is about the time when most people quit because they stop losing weight. Don’t quit training, just give up on weight loss.

The definition of physical fitness means that you meet these two criteria:

1. I am healthy - My cholesterol is normal, my blood pressure is good and I have enough energy to do all the things that I need to do every day.
2. I look good – I am completely happy with how I look in the mirror.

That is it folks. Never did I say I weigh a certain amount. Weight is irrelevant unless you are a boxer or wrestler trying to make a weight class to be able to compete.

If you have been on a program for a while, and you have stopped losing weight, do not get scared. Start measuring the inches you are losing instead. I’m sure you have heard that muscle weighs more than fat, right? Well, what that means is that muscle is more dense. Let’s look at it from a size stand point.

Pretend that a pound of muscle is the size of a 8oz glass of milk. If that was the case then a pound of fat would be the size of a whole quart of milk. You see fat is four times the size of muscle. What this means is that when you have more muscle tone, you will weigh slightly more but you will be smaller. If you were a size 16 to begin with, and you trained hard enough to lose the fat, then you could end up a size 4 and still weight the same as you did when you started. When you look at it that way, it isn’t so bad…is it?

So, the bottom line is to not get discouraged if you aren’t losing any more weight. Remember that your goal is to be healthy and look great, not to lose weight! Just give up on weight loss, and focus on fat loss.

Too many people pretend to work out and get in shape.

There are three types of people:

The ones that follow the same workout routines forever, they still eat the same old tired meals and they continue to bash their body by performing long bouts of cardio. These people wonder why they aren’t getting the results they want.

Then there are the ones that are constantly trying recipes and workouts they read about in the latest fitness magazines. They try to combine ten different philosophies on how they should train, but usually end up attending the local gym’s aerobic classes. These people wonder why they aren’t getting the results they want.

Finally, there are the ones that do nothing. They buy info-mercial products and diet pills. They watch people working out on TV late at night while they consume an entire bag of potato chips. They give the products they bought a chance to work their magic (usually two weeks before they quit). These people wonder why they aren’t getting the results they want.

Where do you fit in? If you are not one of these folks then you already look and feel great. Congratulations! But if you fall into the only real category there is “These people wonder why they aren’t getting the results they want,” then you have to commit to making a change. Change being the key word.

Look, Getting in shape is difficult at best. Going without little treats and deserts is not enough. You have to have your body primed and ready for fat loss to happen. Quit wasting your time and money on diet fads, diet pills, info-mertial products and celebrity workout programs. Do not rely on some fly by night personal trainer to give you the answers either. What you need is an expert in the field of delivering you the results that you are after…period.

If you have heart trouble, you would see a cardiologist. If you had cancer, then you would see an oncologist. What you would not do is look up on the internet ways to fix your heart, or ask your neighbor what has kept here cancer free all these years. FIND A SPECIALIST!

A specialist may cost you a little more, but when you weigh the costs against the benefits, you will always win. As a specialist in the field of fat loss, I want you to do these three simple steps:

1. Write everything down! Write down everything that you eat. How many slices of bread, how many eggs, how many glasses of water and if you chewed gum or not. Write down every workout, every set, every rep and how much weight. Write down when you start training, and when you finish. Tally the total miles of cardio you performed. Write down your goals for the day, for the week and for the month. When you write things down it becomes real. You can fool all of the people all of the time, but when you lie down in bed at night there should be three things that know the truth: God, you and your journals. Do this and you will see a monumental difference!
2. Plan in advance! You should know what workout you are going to do before you even get to the gym. Plan it out. Arnold used to but the number of reps he was to perform on a chalk board for everyone to see, and he would erase a number when he was finished. That way he never cheated himself out of results. Plan your meals days in advance. If you prepare all of your meals in advance, then you will have a much higher success rate than if you just eat whatever, whenever. If you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail.
3. Hire an expert! You are a specialist in your own field. You might be a school teacher, a fireman, a nurse, a salesperson or a doctor. Whatever your profession, you are not a qualified fat loss expert. We use experts all the time. They cut our hair, fix our cars, teach our children and save us from burning buildings. Why would you not use one for your health? No matter how smart my mechanic is, I do not want him teaching my kids how to read. I want the qualified teacher to do that. You can hire an expert at almost any level. Even if all you can afford is for him to develop your routine, you will see far greater results than doing it on your own. I have programs that start at $50 per month.

Bottom line is that you want to see results, so do it. The opportunity is there for you, but I can only lead you to the water. You must decide to drink it for yourself. Sorry so long, but I had to get it off my chest. Until tomorrow.

 

On August 28th 1963 A huge rally had been put together on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in DC. His partners in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom included other religious leaders, labor leaders, and black organizers. The assembled masses marched down the Washington Mall from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial, heard songs from Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, and heard speeches by actor Charlton Heston, NAACP president Roy Wilkins, and future U.S. Representative from Georgia John Lewis.

Dr. King was last to speak and for good reason (I would have hated to follow his speech). And his speech started with this phrase.

“I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.”

He was right. He was a man of peace and equality. In a time full of turmoil and prejudice he spoke of the togetherness of the human race, not just the equality for  African Americans.

“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

A year later he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

What I want to say is that I also have a dream! My dream is that every person will rise up against obesity. Obesity is the number one killer in America. Little by little we are killing each other. We allow ourselves to be fooled that we are too busy to make a difference. We pretend that we are in good health because we might have decent blood pressure or cholesterol for our age even though we are over weight. We let the negative comments of ignorant people dictate our self respect until we have none. We have created a new prejudice, a new race a new oppression. The struggle is internal. We have lost hope as a nation. We have lost the will to fight for ourselves. It is time to take a stand!

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

You have the power to make a difference! You are created equal. You can be better. There is no reason why you cannot create value in yourself.

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

No longer will you be judged by your pant size or dress size. I have a dream that you will allow yourself the strength to see the value in your own character. You are worth it!

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

I believe that you have the power. Through accountability and proper guidance, the pitfalls of quitting shall be erased, the difficult times of training shall be made attainable and the results of fat loss and weight loss shall be achieved.

“And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.”

I have a dream that every person can and will ring that bell of freedom. Freedom to achieve their goals. Freedom to wear the clothes they want to wear. Freedom to be the beautiful people that they are inside without the chains of being self conscious. Freedom to live their lives free of oppression, free to make their own choices and free from the chains of obesity. Together we can make that happen. I believe in you. You ARE worth it! You CAN do it! You DO deserve it! Don’t let me be the only one who believes in YOU!

How long have you been doing the same old routine? Whatever it is, you started it, saw some results and then leveled out. Why aren’t you still losing weight or burning fat? The answer is simple.

 

When most people start a program, more often, they start training 3 times a week. Then someone (usually an inexperienced trainer) gives us what I call an A B C program. What I mean is that on Monday we perform the A workout, on Wednesday the B and finally Friday is C. Great job, we got through the first week of training.

 

Now, next week comes along, and we do exactly the same thing…A B C. Then the next week…and the next…and before you know it, you are stuck in the same rut. We all know what happens when you get stuck or bored…you quit.

 

See your body does the same thing. If you keep doing the same routine your body doesn’t respond. That is why after so long, you stop seeing results. Your body quits responding. That’s the bad news. The good news is that you can fix it!

 

The easiest way to fix this is to start off with the right program to begin with (don’t use an inexperienced trainer next time). If you start off with A B C the first week, then do D E F the next, followed by star square circle, and puppy cornflakes egg. Okay, so I got a little carried away with the names, but if you want to always see results, then all you have to do is change it up. The goal is to never do the same workout twice. Here are some great tips to keep your body guessing.

 

1. Try flipping the workout upside down. Do one of your regular workouts only in reverse. This is an easy way to continue what you are used to doing and still get new results.
2. Double the reps. I know it may seem a daunting task doing twice the workout, but try it. You might be surprised at what you can do!
3. Go halves-ees! Try chopping your workout in halves and then piecing them back together. For example, turn A into A1 and A2. Then turn B into B1 and B2. Now put A1 together with B1 and A2 with B2 then whah-la, you have two new workouts!

 

I hope these suggestions turn you on to new hights and new results. If you still have questions or want more help developing new programs and workouts you can log on to http://www.fittobeanamerican.com.

Ever been to a carnival? You know the guys they call “carnies” are every where you turn. “Step right up,” they say. One will get you two- two will get you three – and blah blah blah. You know what I’m talking about.

 

You’ve seen a guy or two walking around with that big teddy bear, so you think why not? You can win too. How hard can it be?

 

Here is the problem. Those games are rigged to make you lose. Most weight loss programs are exactly the same. They show you a person or two, usually celebs, that lost 30lbs on whatever. It’s the same game at the carnival. “Buy now and we’ll throw in an extra week of food.” “Join now and you get no enrollment fee.” “Let our experienced trainers set you up for success with a free $100 assessment.”

 

Here is the reality. If they are willing to give you a weeks worth of food, you should know that the food is way over priced. A lot of gyms say no enrollment, but that is just to get you in the door. They charge you your first month and last month up front anyway, ant that is the same price as the enrollment. Trainers make a living getting paid to give advice. No way will they give you ALL their secrets during an assessment. It’s just a marketing ploy to make you let them have a chance to tell you how much you need them. They are experienced in sales, not fat loss. Never trust a car salesman. These people are the same thing.

 

The weight loss industry is the only industry in the world where the blame is put on the consumer when the product fails.

 

It’s NOT your fault! The whole reason you go to a carnival is to have fun, right? So have it. You can have weight loss. You can have fat loss. You can do all the things you hear about, but you must keep focused on the real truth. Don’t let gimmicks fool you. Taking a pill won’t make you skinny. Just like my good friend Steve Payne says, “Getting in shape is easy once you figure out how hard it is.”

 

The real truth is that you CAN do it! You ARE worth it! You DO deserve it! Don’t let me be the only one who believes in YOU!

What is greatness? To define it by the limitations of a dictionary would be at the very best doing an injustice to its very existence. Doing better than all who oppose you is not enough, for those who have no opposition can still do great things. Doing better than you have ever done is still a step below true greatness because the past is in question. How great was the last chance that you had? To say that those with more talent are greater than those with less talent is wrong because the world is full of talented individuals who perform less than their full potential. The question is not if your glass is half-full or half-empty; but rather how efficient is your glass. The fact of the matter is that it is irrelevant how full your glass is. Every glass is full enough to achieve greatness. Doing the best with all that you have is the reality of true greatness. Greatness is an attitude. It is a state of mind that you will never allow yourself to fall short of your best. There are no excuses for the great. They embrace their limitations and conquer their strengths. The true great ones are not the ones who win the fight, but they are those who never stop fighting.

You CAN do it! You ARE worth it! You DO deserve it! Don’t let me be the only one who believes in YOU!

 

 

In the book of Matthew, Jesus speaks in parables. Whether you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior or simply as a historical figure is irrelevant. What the parable meant is what is important when you relate it to fat loss. This is the parable:

“Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty.”  -Matthew 13:3-8

 

How this pertains to fat loss is the same way that pertains Christianity.  You must be grounded in your quest. When you have a goal of losing weight, then you want to achieve that goal. To make sure that you stay on the righteous path of weight loss, you need to ground yourself in the right soil. In other words, stay focused and hold yourself accountable so that you do achieve your goal.

 

If you do not have good roots like the seeds on the rock, then you will surely fail in your quest.

 

If you surround yourself with negativity like the seeds in thorns, then you will surely fail in your quest.

 

But if you ground yourself tight, and hold yourself accountable, then you will succeed maybe a hundred, maybe sixty or maybe thirty! Get it?

 

There are three, sure fire ways to hold yourself accountable so that you stay on the straight and narrow.

1.Write down your goals. they are only ideas till you write them down

2.Write down a meal plan and then stick to it. Failing to plan is planning to fail.

3.Confide in someone you trust to hold you accountable. This is better when it is not a spouse. It can be your trainer, your best friend or someone who has already gone through what you are going through. In AA this is called a sponsor. In fitness it is called a success coach.

 

If you need someone to help hold you accountable then I would like to offer myself to your cause. If I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask. You can reach me at jason@safatloss.com or you can sign up for my free fat loss newsletter by going here=> http://www.fittobeanamerican.com Any way that I can help you stay in good soil, I will do.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know my philosophy on cardio. Click here to read up on proper cardio for fat loss if you are new. Bottom line is that cardio is best done in interval levels; however, here is a great way to burn some added calories just by adding walking to your day.

• Walk Between Sets – When you are training in a gym, you normally have a rest period of say 30-60 seconds, right? So between sets go for a walk. Find a pathway in your gym that you can do this without disturbing others, and just walk at a brisk pace between sets. If done during a 30 minute workout, you could burn up to an extra 200 calories just by walking while you train!
• Take the stairs – Anytime that you use an elevator or escalator, you lose out on the opportunity to burn calories. Instead take the stairs and watch you weight fall through the floor. By using stairs you are forced to perform a workload with your entire body weight for just one leg. It’s like doing mini-one legged squats!
• Protect Your Car- Park at least ten parking spaces away from where you would normally park. This has not only the benefit of more walking, but also a greater workload when you carry your groceries back to the car if you are shopping.
• After Dinner Stroll- If you can add in a 10 minute walk 20 minutes after you eat a meal you will burn more calories. This is because the food you eat has a thermogenic effect meaning that it raises you body temp. slightly causing you to burn extra calories. This happens about 20 mins after you eat, so if you can time that with a 10 minute walk, you will see better results than other times of the day.

Of course all this info is meant to be in addition to what you are already doing. If you need help planning out your fat loss and weight loss goals just hit me up at my website=> http://www.fittobeanamerican.com

Also check out my video blog @ http://www.youtube.com/fatlosspro