To Lose Weight You Must Fill the Void

Everything we do is driven by our personal demand to fulfill some of our needs. One of our important needs is that all people have a need for variety or spontaneity. Unfortunately, there are a large number of methods that people use to fulfill this need that aren’t healthy; junk food or food in general, alcohol and drugs - these fulfill this need but could hardly be considered a healthy choice.

 How we try to fulfill our needs can be broken down into two different types of behaviors…

• The first type is the most fulfilling:  the behavior fulfills our basic needs, it is good for us and it positively impacts others.  Exercise, contribution, loving   relationships and serving others are some examples.
• The second type is not beneficial:  the action or behavior fulfills our basic needs, but it is bad for us and it is not beneficial for others.  Using food in this way or alcohol are examples.

Eating foods that we know is unhealthy for us; that make us gain weight, that make us feel bad about ourselves long after we are done eating, that leads to a low level of self-esteem and health – and that negatively impact people around us - are type 2 actions.  It is not a healthy choice for us but unfortunately it is fulfilling a human need.

Let’s say that you have decided that it is time to make a change, to lose weight and get healthy!

When you decide to take charge and make a change, what you must embrace is that this is not only an opportunity to change your diet, but to also change the method you are using to meet some of your needs.  It is a chance to change behaviors from type 2 to type 1. 

If you go on a diet and you don’t fill the void in the fulfillment of your basic human needs created by the diet, then you will quickly feel overwhelmed.  You can’t ignore the human need.  You will experience this loss or void as; feeling uncomfortable, feeling uncertain on how to feel good, and you will also feel like things are boring, a lack of variety in your life.   When you begin to sense that your needs are not being met you will sabotage your diet.

If you don’t want this to happen, then…

…to lose weight - you must fill in the void.  Replace it with a positive, type one behavior.  Find your variety, your spice of life in other ways…exercise, books, conversation, living fully and outrageously.  These are the things that increase your quality of life.  Let’s face it,  when we die…we only get to take our memories with us.  Do you really think that you will remember the dumb T.V. show you watched or the fattening meal you ate while watching it because you were sad or bored?  No!

So fill the void by doing things that enrich your life, increase your health and create a better version of you. Those types of behaviors will fulfill your needs, are good for you, and will affect others around you in a positive way.

Why People Fight For Their Right to NOT Lose Weight!

Many people who are overweight, feel the pressure to lose weight from outside influences, but fight for their right not to do so, why?  Is it ignorance because they don’t know what the repercussions of their weight will be on healthcare and life expectancy?    Or is it that they aren’t self aware enough to evaluate the cost of their weight as it relates to; their self-esteem, their self-image and the effects it is having on themselves, others, and their relationships?

If it is ignorance, then for these rare few there is but an awareness of discontentment, and that discontentment is pushed deep into the recesses of their mind. It is usually not ignorance that has someone fighting to stay overweight, but protection. It is common for overweight people to hide behind a defensive veil, aggressively standing up for their right to be themselves and to be accepted by others for who they are.  Watch out if any of these loved ones suggested losing weight or a healthier lifestyle to these people. It is unfortunate that it is not clearer to these people that any change that their love ones are suggesting comes from wanting the best for them.   It is not non-acceptance that drives a loved one to want the person they care about to be healthier, be more confident and live a fuller more rewarding life… but love.

This defensive veil is their protection,  it is the outer shell that hides their true feelings.   Take the veil and draw it back and you come face to face with a person that wants to change, and who in fact struggles with accepting and loving themselves.   But, with an inability to know exactly how to change, a  self-protecting mechanism kicks in and they stand vehemently up for their right to be any weight they choose and that they should be loved and accepted as they are.

Some use weight as the ultimate protection, a way to push others away.  Some use it specifically to push away opposite sex or the interests of others.  There is no threat of rejection if you don’t make yourself available to being rejected.  By staying overweight and unattractive to others they protect themselves from others.  It is not unusual for people in unhappy marriages to keep their spouses at bay by holding on to excess weight, for them it is easier to push their husband or wife away with how they look then by working through the relationship problems.

It might have become apparent, that being overweight is a selfish thing that affects everyone, it is also a thing that can be manipulated and can be used to push others away. Regardless of whether someone is defensive because they are hurting inside and wish terribly that they could lose the weight, or if they feel that way but have learned to use their weight for their own manipulation and protection, it is very sad.  People should never fail to realize that the love and acceptance they fight for from others is not what they want.  That love and acceptance is and always will be there from the people who love them… but this will never take away the pain they feel inside.

The love and acceptance they really desire, the one that can take away all the pain is not from any of the outside sources they look to, but is from within themselves. The second they take responsibility for their feelings, their attitude and their self-esteem they will be on their way.  They will stop looking to others for acceptance and start taking the steps necessary to create the love and acceptance they so very much need from themselves.

It is only when we love and accept ourselves does one’s relationships with others soar to new heights and does our own self-mastery begin to blossom!

Protein Benefits: Real or Hype?

Protein has been shown to benefit people in a number of different ways, from increasing metabolism (thermogenic effects) to de-greasing and repairing a fatty liver.  One of the important benefits that increasing your dietary protein seems to deliver is the benefit of increasing lean muscle mass.  Even in a calorie deficit, it has been suggested that increasing your protein will preserve your lean muscle so that the majority of weight will be lost from fat.    You see when you go on a diet, eating less than your body needs, then “what” you are eating will result in you losing certain amount of muscle and a certain amount of fat.

An ideal diet, has you burning the greatest amount of fat, but preserves as much lean muscle as possible.  Many people go on diets eating anything that they want (including junk food) but just less of it.  What they do not understand is that they could be losing as much if not more muscle than fat, a fact that they will not be aware of simply by looking at the scale.  Do you think that that would make a difference in your body composition and how you looked? Imagine if you were to lose 50 pounds of weight, but in one scenario you lost 50 pounds of fat compared to another scenario where you lost 25 pounds of fat and 25 pounds of muscle?  Which scenario would you prefer?

A study that was just conducted this year, looked at the effects of dietary protein content on weight gain, energy expenditure and body composition during overeating. This was an excellent study because it was all performed in a controlled setting.  This means that all the participants were observed, monitored and fed under the control of the researchers.  Basically they were under house arrest for the duration of the study so all food eating was accurately recorded.

The results were interesting.  This was an overfeeding study so all subjects, who were between the ages of 18 and 35, were fed more than their daily energy needs. One group was fed a calorie surplus that had 5% protein (low group), another had 15% protein (normal group) and the last group was fed a diet that had 25% of its calories coming from protein (high protein group).  All groups were overfed an average of a thousand calories over their daily requirements.

The results proved that you can gain weight regardless of the macronutrient profile, of course.  But it also proved that the higher the protein intake the greater the acceleration of fat burning and the increase in lean muscle mass. The low protein group gained the least amount of weight, the normal protein group gained more weight, and the high protein group gained the most. But, the interesting thing is that all 3 groups had gained the same amount of fat.

• The low protein group experienced no increase in energy expenditure (thermogenesis) and no increases in lean muscle mass.
• The normal group had an increase both in lean muscle mass and energy expenditure.
• The high group had even a greater increase in both!  

The bottom line just looking at calories is that eating more than your body needs will increase your weight.
But, more importantly, this study proves the benefit of protein as it relates to thermogenic properties and retaining or increasing lean muscle even in a calorie deficit diet!  Said differently if you want to have the body of your dreams it involves losing fat and retaining or increasing your lean muscle.  To do that protein in the right amounts are key.

1)Bray, GA.  Effect of dietary protein content on weight gain, energy expenditure, and body composition during overeating: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 2012

The Key to Achieving Your Health Goals

Sitting up straight or lying down, close your eyes for a moment and imagine what you would feel like, if you had your ideal body and perfect health. Really take a few moments to let yourself imagine this. Let go of your current self, your present self-image, health and body... and imagine the new you.

Imagine yourself with toned arms, flat 6-pack abs and legs and butt to die-for.

What would you do with all that extra energy, how would you dress differently, how would you feel about yourself?

Experience the confidence you would have, how your self-esteem would soar and how others would perceive your attractiveness and confidence! Imagine the limitlessness to all the activities you could participate in with your healthy, fit body. Imagine an evening of feeling sexy, sexually confident and attractive with your significant other. How would that affect your relationship or your ability to attract your ideal soul mate? Envision your perfect body and the way it would make you feel! Think of it like this: This vision is the “authentic” you – the person you have always wanted to be with the body and health that you have always known you should have!

Do you ever say to yourself, “If I just lost the weight, got healthy and took care of myself, then I would feel like […]”

That is the person you should be …the True or “authentic” You.

Now, open your eyes and realize where your health truly is. How much weight could you stand to lose or how much farther do you have to go before you have the lean, flat stomach of your dreams? Take a look at the harsh reality of what your body has become and consider the effect it has had on your self-esteem and self-image. Think about how your poor body image has negatively impacted your life.

Has your confidence become less than it could be?

Are you less sexually confident and is your sense of attractiveness diminished?

Do you feel great in a swimsuit or revealing outfit or do you hide from your mate or from yourself?

This is an excerpt from 'Mindset for Weight Loss' by Michael Mountain. The answers to these questions and more can be found by opting in to the free diet in the right hand sidebar.

Sorry Dr. Oz… You Missed This Important Part to Weight Loss!

I was recently watching a part of Dr. Oz’s show, this particular episode was on weight loss, and something he said caught my attention.  It immediately registered as a red flag phrase because in its simplicity it was at best only partially correct. Dr. Oz’s statement was on will power.  He said, “will power cannot compete with biology.”  Let me explain that further so that it makes sense because I agree with this.  What he was saying is that people’s will power cannot compete against food cravings from falling blood sugar or chemical messengers like the fat hormone leptin and the gut hormone ghrelin.  These two hormones sends messages to tell our brains when we are hungry and full.  When they aren’t working properly they make us hungry all the time.

And in this he is right… but, here is my problem.

If you start to eat certain healthy foods, quickly and I mean within 3-5 days for most, some as long as a week, those craving go away.  It is the reason I created the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet; to give people the direction in their food choices so that they quickly get rid of these annoying cravings. You know what it is like to always be thinking about food or struggling with these misunderstood desires for salt, chocolate or a gallon of ice cream; it doesn’t help you with your goals and in fact nothing will sabotage your diet faster.

It is also the reason that people who instead of actually going on a diet of healthy food choices, just try to eat less of fast food and other processed junk, fail…the cravings will be turned on to overdrive.  Their battle will be a perpetual craving to eat more and more of the same crap that will fight their will power every moment of every day.  It is a recipe for disaster, so if you have not read it, down load the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet now, from this blog and find out how to end those cravings.

So part one of what I didn’t like about what Dr. Oz said was because the solution to the biology question is an easy fix.  The second part was where the good Doctor completely missed the boat.  By far the number one challenge for people’s will power does not come from our biology, but comes from ourselves, our sub-conscious habits and our emotional connection to food…our food addictions. Having been on seven different diets over the course of a lifetime before discovering the secret to permanent weight loss, and having helped countless people end their own struggle with weight, I can tell you that our mind is where the battle is won.
The battle with biology, cravings and repairing hormonal imbalances is the easy victory, unfortunately this victory does not lead to automatic six-pack abs, toned arms and legs and great health.

The development of the Mindset for Weight loss Transformational program is the blueprint for winning your own war against unhealthy eating and lifestyle choices.   If you want a body to die for and the health of a 20 year old athlete, then you need both…diet and a shift in your mindset. Speaking of athletes…even elite athletes recognize that success is part preparation (diet, rest, training) and Mindset (sports psychology), a winners belief, attitude and resolve.  They need it to win and you need it to experience permanent weight loss!

So, with all due respect for Dr. Oz, don’t ever forget that successful and permanent weight loss is found in changing both your psychology and your diet!

The "F" Word: FEAR

These are the Top 4 fears that stop people from taking the road to success.

Fear of Failure – “What if I can’t lose the weight?” Ultimately, some people would rather not try to lose the weight due to the looming possibility that they might fail. Previous failed attempts only strengthen this fear! They can become so overwhelmed and fearful of letting themselves or others down that they never actually start.

Fear of Success – You’re thinking, NO WAY, why would anyone fear success?! Because people with this fear think, “If I lose the weight, my life might change or friends might judge me and not want to hang out with the new thin me.” Some people have friends and family that are overweight and they fear that if they are successful that it might negatively affect their relationships. This leads us into the next fear people have…

Fear of Rejection – These people fear being judged or rejected by the people they love the most. Some peoples’ lives revolve around food and social situations; they can feel that if they change how and what they eat, then their friends might not enjoy their company because this person is not participating in the usual and customary way. They also can fear that their friends might not like to hang out with them if they are fit and healthy because their friends might feel uncomfortable or feel compelled to change themselves.
We so often don’t realize that those who love us, who genuinely wish us well, want us to be happy and most of the time are prepared to join us on our journey!
And then, there's...

Fear of Limitation or Restriction – These folks can feel like they are going to somehow miss out; they often say things to themselves like, “I don’t want to deny myself life’s pleasures like Friday Pizza Party, Saturday Beer and BBQ, Sunday Nachos & Margaritas!" They even justify it, “I work hard and this is some of life’s simple pleasures,” or some people feel that life is already full of restrictions or limitations. These feeling can come from many issues - big ones especially, such as money struggles - and these folks commonly feel that food is the one thing that they can go crazy with, without limits.

Yes, these are all head games, but fear is the number one reason people fail to even start to lose weight. These people can be terrified into inaction. Please be aware... these fears are NOT REAL, and otherwise known as "Inauthentic Fears"; friends and family will not run away because you are getting healthy…
These fears do exist in some people's heads, and they do hold people back. You may recognize yourself in some of these fears or situations. And that's OK. But what you need to understand is that this is your psycho-cybernetic mechanism messing with your head! Remember the weight gauge we talked about towards the beginning of this book? … That gauge will resist change by sending you these feelings of fear! That thermostat is kickin' in!

To read more about how to beat fear in your weight loss program check out Mindset for Weight Loss by Michael Mountain. You can also opt in for a free diet from Michael right here by filling out the form to your right!

Think And Get Lean

Initially the title of this article might strike you as a bit ludicrous, “in order to lose weight you just have to think”?  You might be asking yourself; what about diet and exercise,  and if you watch the Biggest Loser or use a personal trainer, somebody potentially yelling at you? But, indeed the key to long term weight loss can be found more in your thoughts than in any amount of information on diet and exercise.   The title of this article should of also rang a bell for some of you and its similarity to the title of another famous book, a book that has helped more people become wealthy than any other book ever written!

So let me help you to understand, how by thinking differently you can in fact completely change your health and your weight. Think and Grow Rich continues to be the quintessential book on wealth creation ever written.  Did you know that within its pages the author, Napoleon Hill, never once discussed investment opportunities or the mechanics of making money?  There is not page upon page of information as it relates to savings, stocks, real estate, passive streams of income, etc. 

The success that people have experienced after reading the book had nothing to do with the mechanics of savings or investing, but had everything to do with getting the reader to think differently.  It explained in detail how to develop a wealth consciousness, how to set and move towards the accumulation of wealth by taking action, and how to attract wealth into your life through a positive mental attitude and an enthusiastic approach to serving others.   

Napoleon Hill provided the inner strength strategies necessary to succeed in increasing the reader’s wealth.

How does this relate to weight loss?  Knowing what to eat or the best way to exercise, basically diet and exercise, is merely the mechanics to losing weight; just like job advancement, stocks or real estate is the mechanics of increasing your wealth.

The real key to losing weight can be found within yourself.  Not by thinking but in fact by thinking differently, you can achieve your goal of increased health and having your dream body by making that small mental shift. You must realize that changing anything begins with changing yourself.  Your thoughts, feelings and actions of the past have created the level of health and weight that you now enjoy.  If you are not happy with your weight and want to change it completely, start by realizing that lasting change will come from thinking differently and changing your relationships with food.

This simple change will lead to a health consciousness; it will develop the inner strength and drive to take action towards your goal.  Through that small mental shift you will literally magnetize your new body and health to you!   It will also help you to develop the self-motivation and positive mental attitude that will empower you to take the action necessary to attain your dream body!

Think and Get Lean!

About:  Michael Mountain is a transformational author on health, weight loss & personal growth and is featured on Amazon.com. He is the author of the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet which is available presently free of charge at www.michael-mountain.com.   He is also the author of Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program - a revolutionary step-by-step program designed to provide the “inner-strength strategies” to take any diet and make it effective for permanent weight loss.  This program allowed him to end his own personal 20 year struggle with weight and poor health!  You can sign up to receive his blog updates on weight loss and motivation at www.michael-mountain.com

WHY You Eat is the Key To Permanent Weight Loss

Hunger, social situations and the myriad of reasons one eats is not the topic of this article. The larger, broader picture of what leads us to gaining weight is, because within its understanding lies the solution to permanent weight loss. An important part to realize in the broader picture of things is that what we eat and how much we eat is an action, as is whether or not we exercise. These actions have lead to the level of health you know have. Your past actions (food choices) or lack of action (exercise) have created the results, your weight, you presently enjoy. If you want to change your results than all you should have to do is change your actions.

Since going on a diet is a change in action, it would make sense if the results were to follow and success was easy to achieve. We can summarize it in the following way…

Unhealthy Actions => unhealthy results/being overweight

Change the action or go on a diet/start to exercise…

New Healthy Actions => New Results/Weight Loss

That is what a diet in fact is supposed to do, it gives you the information necessary to hopefully carry out new actions. But, here is the problem and why 95-97% of all people fail to lose weight and keep it off when they simply follow a diet. All actions that human beings perform are initiated by their thoughts and their feelings. Unfortunately, your thoughts and feelings are linked to old patterns. These learned patterns or habits are associated with unhealthy actions (unhealthy food and no exercise). Picking a diet book up off the shelf reading it and then following its recommendations for diet and perhaps exercise, does nothing to change your thoughts and emotions; the very thoughts and emotions that drive you towards your unhealthy patterns of eating and not exercising.

Here is an analogy, you can think of going on a diet just like taking an aspirin for pain, it does not treat the underlying condition or cause of your pain, it just masks it. Similarly while on a diet, you have not broken the cycle by treating the cause of your weight gain, as a result you will inevitably gain the weight back or sabotage your own weight loss efforts.

We can summarize things further in the following way…

Thoughts/feelings => unhealthy actions=> unhealthy results

It should be obvious by looking at that line above that real, lasting change will come from having strategies in place that direct your thoughts and feelings. By creating a simple and slight shift in your mindset towards food and exercise, you will engage the most powerful ally you could ever have in your goal to lose weight… YOU!

New thoughts/feelings =>New healthy actions=> New Results!

New thoughts and emotional connections with food will treat the cause of your problem and free you to achieve your dream results. Knowledge on what is healthy, nutritious food and why exercise is vital to your health is going to give your new mindset the opportunity to make new associations with that information. When your mind and your new actions are congruent and “on the same page” towards achieving your goal, then permanent weight loss becomes effortless. But, if you ignore the power of your mind, it will fight you all the way. That is why people struggle with will power and why up to 97% of all people don’t achieve lasting results. If you want to end your struggle and want to feel a sense of incredible self-empowerment, then know the following… When you change your mind then you will change your results, because changing your mind is the key to following through with new action!

About: Michael Mountain is a transformational author on health, weight loss & personal growth and is featured on Amazon.com. He is the author of the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet which is available presently free of charge at www.michael-mountain.com. He is also the author of Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program - a revolutionary step-by-step program designed to provide the “inner-strength strategies” to take any diet and make it effective for permanent weight loss. This program allowed him to end his own personal 20 year struggle with weight and poor health! You can sign up to receive his blog updates on weight loss and motivation at www.michael-mountain.com

How to Create Your Own Weight Loss Diet!!!

It is the New Year and you have decided to lose weight and get healthy!  That is awesome…but just how are you going to do it, and how are you going to make it your own so that you can stick with it long term? Realize that successful weight loss is 75% mental and 25% mechanics – mechanics being diet and exercise.  This blog is dedicated to predominantly helping you with the mental aspects of the weight loss formula. 

In this article we are going to focus on the 25% side of the formula.  If you take the mechanics of weight loss and look at what is more important, diet or exercise; diet makes up 80% of the process where as exercise is only 20% of what will lead to success.   So we will focus on the diet, today.
Now, I know that you know you can down load my diet program, the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution, free of charge at any time.  But, today I want to give you some ideas of setting up your own program.
The key to a successful diet is creating simple rules that you can follow.

First, decide what is realistic for you, will it be a simple guideline or will it be set in stone? 
Loose guidelines are more apt to create an abundance of situations and occasions that can trigger a loss of control; this inevitably can prevent you from losing weight and have you living with regrets.  Remember that eating, for most of us, is an emotional response and what has gotten you into the situation that you find yourself right now.  You need to get control back. 

A more stringent approach with flexibility factored in works better.  For example I like the 90-10 rule.  90 % of your week’s meals should be spent eating foods that adhere to the diet strictly.  10% of your meals give yourself the flexibility to eat things that you enjoy in moderation.  10% does not slow weight loss…any more cheat meals than that and it will affect your results.

Eating perfectly 100% of the time for a short amount of time; let’s say 4-6 weeks is a good way to jump-start your progress.  But is it realistic for you? Do you want wiggle room for dates and social situations?  After that how many meals will you give yourself some freedom, one-three? Eating like a saint 100% of the time for the rest of your life is not realistic, for anyone! Here is another approach…you might decide to control ¾ of what is on your plate.  The other ¼ can be what you like.  Example..might be ½ a plate of vegetables, ¼ plate of lean protein and the rest…what ever you want.

I don’t like this method because I look at certain foods as triggers for food cravings and binge eating, and caloric intake is very difficult to control!

The next thing is to decide what you will eat and what you won’t eat.  Will you cut out all processed foods and refined sugars?  Will you cut out all transfats and products with high fructose corn syrup?  Will you eat only grains and vegetables, or lean protein and vegetables?  The list is vast and the opinions vary from guru to guru; low carb, low fat, high healthy fat, low protein, vegan, vegetarianism, just to name a few.  I would base your choice on what is healthy and makes you feel great when you eat that way. 

Here is what I don’t suggest you do…eat out every meal and just try to eat less.  The majority of restaurants and fast-food joints create combinations of food that lead to food cravings that will sabotage your efforts.  Even eating regular processed foods, which is made up largely carbohydrates, fat and salt, and just trying to eat less of it…is a formula for failure.  You are not improving your health and are again setting yourself up for powerful food cravings.  Calorie counting becomes hugely important and no-matter how hard you try, even with a trusted calculator, hard to do and not much fun; doesn’t work long term.

Here is a simple suggestion – eat generously from the following list: 

• Healthy proteins – Poultry, fish, lean meats, cottage cheese, eggs.
• Healthy fats – Nuts, seeds, olives, avocados, olive oil, coconut oil.
• Healthy Carbs – all vegetables, legumes, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, quinoa, buckwheat. 

When you eat solely from this list, you don’t have to count calories!

You could add in limited amounts – Fruits, Whole grains, potatoes, wild rice, low sugar-high fiber cereals. That’s it you only have to make two decisions or rules to create your own diet plan;

1. Which meals will you stick to the plan
2. What type of foods will you eat

Is The Cost of Eating Healthy Foods a Legitimate Excuse?

One of the common excuses I hear from people who say they want to lose weight but can’t because of “blah-blah-blah” is because of the cost of eating healthy.

Commonly, this is stated by people who buy their Starbucks every morning,  and eat out breakfast, lunch and dinner at fast food joints.  There is no way that these people are spending less than I spend on an average day to eat 5 very nutritious meals a day.  My average daily expenditure is well under $10 dollars for all my meals total. 

Even on a cheap, fast food diet – it would be very difficult to eat 3 meals, let alone 5 meals for under $15.00.  The truth is that eating healthy, especially if you prepare your meals at home and take them with you, is very inexpensive.  My wife and I figured it out;  when we began to eat healthy we were saving $200-400 dollars a month by not eating fast food or low end eating out- we still have occasional date nights at nice restaurants.

 The reality is that the cost of eating healthy is just an untrue excuse. Similarly, all excuses like cost of food, no time, bad influences or no-support are just that, excuses. 

Excuses and blame are cut from the same mold.  Neither one can exist if you are to be successful losing weight.  Excuses and blame create a prison within the mind of the person using them.  By pointing your finger at things outside of yourself as to why you just can’t lose weight, you are robbing yourself of power you possess.  This power - your personal power is the very key to personal freedom and permanent weight loss. 

Even when you lose weight on a diet and then gain the weight back; if you blame that diet for your lost result, then you are positioning yourself in your prison as a victim. In my past, I lost and gained weight back on seven different diets, so I know how easy it is to play the blame game.
So how did I begin the process of changing my result? I took responsibility!

Permanent weight loss will never be achieved until you take responsibility for your life and your health.

The second you start to tell yourself that you and you alone are responsible for your health and the weight your presently have, you will get your power back.  By taking responsibility for your present state of health, you place the responsibility for action likewise upon yourself and will start actively finding a way to move boldly towards your goal! 

When you blame, make excuses or justify – you accomplish the other, weakening your position and shutting down appropriate action!

Taking responsibility for your health and your results are one of the keys to permanent change and successful weight loss!

Here is something that you should begin to say to yourself with emotion everyday!

“ I am responsible for my health, I am responsible for my feelings, I am responsible for my weight loss results!” 

Try repeating that 5-10 times each day and see if your life doesn’t change dramatically!

Your Past Does Not Equal Your Future!

The key is to…..

….change your perspective, start looking at the past and the present as a reference for guided improvement, look at the future as something that you create.  You have a choice to do and become anything you choose when you start realizing that you can create your life!  

Nelson Mandela after being wrongly incarcerated for over 25 years could of come out of prison an angry man, hell bent on exacting revenge upon his captors.  But instead he chose to create his future and to find good in all human beings, even the ones who put him in prison.  Of course when you can foster a philosophy like that in such a situation, you are destined for greatness.   Upon his release form prison, he became the president of South Africa and an inspirational leader for all humanity.  To guide his thoughts and vision towards creating his dream future, he often read a poem entitled Invictus, the last two lines of that poem read….  “ I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”  He chose his beliefs and created his future!

Achieving permanent weight loss begins with changing your beliefs.  Adopt beliefs that provide you with the opportunity for success.  Believe that “Your Past does not Equal your Future.”
The answers that came from that question; the direction of study and learning that blossomed from asking the right question, created the Mindset for Weight Loss Transformational program, a solution that you can model to create your own permanent lifestyle change! 
I realized that asking myself “why can’t I lose the weight,” was not going to give me the answers.  So instead I asked myself “what has to happen, what do I need to change in order to reach my goal of permanent weight loss?.
The next step in finding the solution was to ask myself the right question.
As for myself, I failed seven times to change my weight and my health permanently over a 20-year period!  I had gotten to the point of giving up, but then I decided to choose this belief that my past does not equal my future, and as a result I was able to take the first step in finding a solution. 
Thomas Edison failed 9,999 times before he figured out how to make the light bulb work.  If he had stopped trying because he believed the past equaled the future and any future attempt would end in yet another failure, you and I would still be using candles.  He had empowering beliefs!
I recommend adopting the belief that “the past does not equal the future” as a great place to start!
While it is good to look at the past as an opportunity to learn from your previous experiences, in fact I have come to believe that all of my past weight loss failures and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understanding that has created the new level of love, health and fitness, I now enjoy, it should not get turned into a predictor of failure for any weight loss attempt on-going or in the future.
Many people who are trying to lose weight and create a new and healthy future for themselves struggle with dis-empowering beliefs.  One of these beliefs as it relates to dieting and weight loss is that “I have not been able to do it in the past, so why will this time be any different?” 

Breaking Through the Obstacles that will Sabotage Your New Years Resolution

The number one reason people don’t reach or realize their New Year’s Resolution to lose weight is that they don’t know how to break through the obstacles that they will inevitably have to face.

The problem lies in the fact that people think that the obstacles that appear in their lives are just life getting in the way of their goal.  They feel that the obstacles are like Murphy’s Law, “whatever can go wrong will go wrong”, unforeseen forces are actively trying to prevent them from exercising or from eating healthy.   This conspiracy theory places them in the role of being a victim and acts to spare them of all personal responsibility.

In fact, it is nothing more than a way to blame the outside world for the struggles they are experiencing with weight loss,  instead of seeing the truth.

 The reality is that these obstacles are nothing more than the manifestations created by their own mind.    What is the difference between someone who is very busy and who can’t find the time to exercise and eat healthy, and someone who is very busy but makes the time to exercise and eat healthy? 

·       The person, who makes the time, has made health a priority!

·       The person, who makes the time, has made a commitment to themselves!

·       The person, who makes the time, has no mental baggage that creates obstacles that would sabotage their health.

Now, compare that to the person who just can’t find the time or energy to eat healthy or exercise; things just keep getting in their way of them being able to live their desired healthy lifestyle.

·       Health fails to be a top priority!

·       They fail to reach the level of commitment necessary to achieve their healthy and body goals!

·       They have learned doubts, fears, beliefs and habits that create opportunities to stop trying to lose weight and blame outside influences beyond their control!

·       Their own mental baggage sabotages their lives and their ability to follow through where their desired goal to lose weight.

This problem exists in 95% of all people trying to lose weight and it is why the Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program was created; to help all those who find that life keeps interfering with or messing up their diets. 

It is the information that will free you of all your unwanted, learned doubts and fears, negative beliefs and poor eating habits, and negative relationships with food!    It will show you how to break through all obstacles that would lead to self-sabotage, and it will show you how to make your weight loss resolution come true!

January 1 - Time to Start Your Weight Loss Plan is Coming Up!

But, are you ready?   Do you have everything you need to make certain that you will finally achieve lasting weight loss in the New Year?  

You see it is a pattern in the majority of people’s lives to include in their New Year’s Resolutions, the goal of becoming a leaner, healthier version of themselves.  But unfortunately, research does show us that 88% of all people who join the gym at the beginning of the New Year will never actually set foot in the gym.  The other statistic that doesn’t create a lot of optimism is the fact that 95% of all people who are trying to permanently lose weight, will fail.

So what do you need to make sure that you don’t become an ugly statistic?

Come January 1, you are going to want to hit the ground running, to have all your ducks in a row, so that you immediately start the process of improving your health and transforming your body.  But, the question that you should be asking yourself is “what do I need in place to make sure that my goals come true?”

The following is a list, that when followed, will make certain that you are one of the 5% that is successful in creating permanent changes in both health and how you look!

1.     You will achieve lasting success when you create a daily schedule that lets you do and take all the steps you must for your new healthy lifestyle…

·        A time put aside to prepare meals.

·        A time put aside for exercise.

·        A time put aside to focus on your health.

2.     You will be successful when you follow a nutrition and diet plan that works for you.

·        The diet should focus on health first.

·        The diet should promote healthy metabolism and weight loss.

·        The diet should increase lean muscle mass.

·        The diet should have wiggle room and forgiveness built into it for social situations.

·        The diet should not make you count calories or points, since that is not congruent with long term change.

3.       You will be successful when you take charge of your mind and the influences it has on - when and what you eat!

·        90% of why we eat is because of our feelings and emotions.

·        These feelings and emotions trigger unhealthy habits that include emotional eating, boredom eating and binge eating.

·        Overcoming these negative relationships with food is achieved by putting strategies and reminders in place daily, so that you take charge of your thoughts and feelings.

4.      You will be successful when you spend your free time discussing and reading things that keep you motivated on health!

·        If you focus on negative things like gossip and the bad economy, you will attract more of that to you.  On the other hand if you focus on health through conversations or what you read, you will attract more of that to you.

·        Find health and motivational material and engage in it, daily.

·        Stay away from situations that destroy motivation or that create emotional triggers.  For example; reading the news or gossip magazines that fill you with stress, going on the scale everyday is another example of a motivational killer.

5.      You will be successful when you embrace that even one small step is a step in the right direction.

·        Every day you have a choice to add one more opportunity to exercise, be active or move.  Choose to move…take the stairs not the elevator, walk to the grocery shop-not drive, etc.

·        Every day take one unhealthy item out of your diet and add one new healthy item to it! 

·        Reward yourself for every baby step you take, not with food but with self praise and positive self-talk! Reward should not come from the outside but should make you blossom from the inside-out.

About:  Michael Mountain is a transformational author on health, weight loss & personal growth and is featured on Amazon.com. He is the author of the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet which is available presently free of charge at http://www.michael-mountain.com/.   He is also the author of Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program - a revolutionary step-by-step program designed to provide the “inner-strength strategies” to take any diet and make it effective for permanent weight loss.  This program allowed him to end his own personal 20 year struggle with weight and poor health!  You can sign up to receive his blog updates on weight loss and motivation at http://www.michael-mountain.com/

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Want Motivation While on Your Diet - Throw Out The Scale!

People who are on a diet continually look for ways to stay motivated.  One of the most common and self–destructive ways that is used both for accountability and motivation is to get on the scale daily or every other day.  Although it seems like a good way to measure progress, it couldn’t be farther from the truth, this is what this article will be focusing on.  But, first here is a leading question.

Do you want to be successful?

 Do you want to have a stress free experience with weight loss or are you into frustration and obsessing over every fluctuation in your weight? Your weight can change day to day based upon many variables, the smallest of which being your weight. The scale literally creates the opportunity for you to become demoralized and sabotage your weight loss efforts each and every day. Each and every day you step on a scale you create the anxiety surrounding success or failure based upon the numbers. Just so you know, stress creates cortisol and cortisol is a hormone that increases the amount of fat in your belly…so how does getting stressed every time you approach the scale help? It doesn't, it helps you gain weight!

The scale also has you evaluating your health, self-image, how you look and feel, based solely on what the scale says. In the blink of an eye you can go from looking at yourself in the mirror, thinking “wow, I am really looking leaner, I am wearing clothes that I have not been able to get into for years. I feel good and even a little sexy….let’s go see what that scale says” POW you're two pounds heavier and now you feel like crap!  In a second your thoughts shift to, "What’s the point, I give up?"  Where is your motivation now?

Here is another example of how the scale doesn’t create a clear picture of your body composition.  Do you know that every year as you get older you lose 1 pound of muscle and gain 1 pound of fat?

As a result, many people look at the scale each year and inaccurately feel that because their weight has not changed, that their health and body has not changed either.  Yet they are weaker and fatter every year.

The scale is toxic for people who are trying to lose weight if you obsess on the daily fluctuations that the scale tells you. The problem is that the scale doesn’t take into consideration muscle increases, water retention, menstrual cycles, body fat changes, etc.   A simple evening meal that has more salt in it could change the scale 2-3 pounds the following morning due to water weight and destroy your motivation in the process.  Weighing yourself first thing in the morning can be off as much as 5-7 pounds compared to the rest of the day.

The Scale is NOT your friend!

You love it when it tells you what you want to hear and hate it when it tells you otherwise.  A number should not dictate your self-esteem or effect your motivation. If you are to be successful in weight loss, you must remove things that would create a negative emotional response that could lead to binge eating or self-sabotage! How you look, how you feel, your diminishing waistline, your level of cardiovascular fitness, your body fat measurement, your resting heart rate, blood pressure, a full blood panel and how your clothes fit; these are indicators for health and weight loss..   The scale should only be used in conjunction with evaluating all these other indicators.

So, throw out your scale or at least put it away! Do yourself a favor, if you must weigh yourself do it only once or twice a month.   You have a better chance for success, if you always create a weight loss environment that promotes positive feedback and makes it easy to stay motivated.

About:  Michael Mountain is a transformational author on health, weight loss & personal growth and is featured on Amazon.com. He is the author of the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet which is available presently free of charge at http://www.michael-mountain.com/.   He is also the author of Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program - a revolutionary step-by-step program designed to provide the “inner-strength strategies” to take any diet and make it effective for

Diet and Weight Loss – Confused Yet!?

Don’t you get tired of all of the conflicting information out there about diet and weight loss? 

Some people recommend a low fat diet, some recommend low carb, some high protein, some high fiber, some cabbage soup and the folks that like to make things easy - boil it down to a simple formula; calories in vs. calories out i.e. eating less than your body burns each day.  Then, there is the question of when to eat; eat every 2-3 hours, eat the normal 3 times a day, fast during the day and eat one big dinner….I mean there are a never ending number of options.  Then there are the quick fix solutions like all the diet pills that are available or the option of lap bands, liposuction and other surgical procedures. 

It would appear that it would be easy for someone to get caught up in over- analysis paralysis…..or said differently, getting so confused with conflicting information that you end up doing nothing.  But, here is the reality from a different perspective: they are all right and they are all wrong. You can lose weight on any of these approaches and of course some are healthier than others, but what should also be pointed out is that they are all missing very important information.  None of these options address the entire problem and are therefore an incomplete solution.

Wouldn’t you agree that the problem is in part, knowing what food is healthy for your body, and the other part is knowing how to make and follow through with the healthy choice!
The problem in reality, is our own internal struggle with sticking with and following through with healthy choices, eating the right foods in the right amounts, for life.  We struggle with our own feelings, habits, desires, motivations and will power to not stray from the healthy food choices each and every time! 
The weight and health you have now is a result of all those struggles. If you don’t like what you see and you truly want to lose the weight permanently then you need more information, you must make some internal changes.

Unfortunately, all of the options listed above only address an option for physical change – diet, pills or surgery.  They might change how you look and feel temporarily but, none of these options will change you!
This is the number one reason that 95% of all people on a diet, taking a pill or after surgery fail to keep the weight off!  You haven’t changed on the inside. 

The only way for a fat loss and diet solution to truly be just that…a solution, is for that program to address all aspects.  Diet, nutrition and exercise information is the beginning, but most importantly that information must include; how to stay motivated, committed and focused on achieving your goal.   A true solution must show you how to break free of your negative beliefs, emotional relationships and unhealthy habits surrounding food!

A complete weight loss solution will self-empower you by providing not just the nutritional and dietary information you need but also the inner-strength strategies that lead to certain permanent weight loss! 

About:  Michael Mountain is a transformational author on health, weight loss & personal growth and is featured on Amazon.com. He is the author of the Ultimate Fat Loss Solution Diet which is available presently free of charge at http://www.michael-mountain.com/.   He is also the author of Mindset for Weight Loss transformational program - a revolutionary step-by-step program designed to provide the “inner-strength strategies” to take any diet and make it effective for permanent weight loss.  This program allowed him to end his own personal 20 year struggle with weight and poor health! 

Fats and Carbs: The Good? The Bad? The Confusing?

There is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to understanding good fats vs. bad fats as well as good carbohydrates vs. bad carbohydrates.  Really, what is the truth and what do you really need to know in order to have great health?   Are all fats bad or just the saturated fats like steak and eggs?  Are all carbohydrates bad or just the simple carbohydrates like sugar and high fructose corn syrup, or products like bread, pasta, rice, cookies and cakes?

Do we really need to memorize all of the different types of food groups and which foods fall into the “good” category, or is there an easier way to make choices that will serve our purpose.

Well if you believe the no-fat, low-fat supporters then all fat is bad and just about all carbs are good. That certainly makes it easy, and you can lose weight that way if you limit your calories.   But, history has shown us that eating very low levels of fat is very detrimental to our health.  It leads to decreases in brain and nervous system function, decreased sex hormones and libido,  decreases in lean muscle mass, and increases in diabetes, dry skin and brittle hair, just to name a few.

 On the other hand if you believe the no-carb, low carb groups and supporters, then all fats are good and all carbs are bad.  The research shows that there are some positives found in this claim like weight loss, decreases in cholesterol at least short term, as well as increased feelings satiety and more controlled blood sugars.   But, long term over exposure to only fat and protein is questionable for health, especially for the heart and has been shown to increase inflammation in the entire body.   Beyond that it is important to realize that the brain needs a minimum of 70 grams of carbohydrates a day to function properly, and your muscle and liver glycogen needs to be replaced each day or at least every other day if you want to keep your energy up.   Case in point; there is less than a hand full of athletes, especially professional and elite athletes who eat very low carbs.  The reason is because their bodies need energy from carbohydrates and so does yours to work well!

You might be able to get away with eating almost no carbs for a while but if you want;  unlimited energy, a high functioning brain and the ability to exercise, and at the same time don’t want to invite heart disease or chronic inflammation into your life then low carb is not the way to go.

So instead of looking at the extremes let’s look at the reality; humans need energy to function, energy is created out of both fat and carbohydrates.  Your heart prefers fat as its major energy source but your brain prefers glucose or carbohydrates.   Your muscles can operate satisfactorily off of either source of energy but prefers one over the other for optimum performance dependent upon the situation.     This means that we need to eat both.  But how do we do that if we are trying to be healthy and trying to lose weight?

Knowing the good fats over the bad fats can have value, just as the same applies to carbohydrates.  You can find the complete breakdown of this list in my free diet available at Michael-mountain.com.  Here is a simpler and more important point, we use both sources for energy but utilizing one source at any given time is easier on the body and more efficient for creating energy.  In fact, if you eat fat and carbs at the same time, it will usually result in fat storage.   So, start to realize the most important rule is not what is good or bad, but to try to separate the two sources at any given meal. 

We need energy but we don’t need a ton of it!  Eating fat and carbohydrates together nine times out of ten provides too much energy for the body to burn so it stores the surplus as fat.  The typical western diet and its ill effects is a perfect example of these fat-carbohydrate combinations that make us obese and destroy our health.  Pizza, hamburgers, French fries, meat pies, steak and potatoes…the list is endless.  To maximize weight loss, simply limit each meal to one source of energy.    It is a perfect beginning to know how to choose certain foods in healthy combinations.

Research has proven that the winning combination of foods for health and weight loss is lean sources of protein and high fiber, nutrient rich vegetables.  That is where you start.  To that you can add either a fat source or a carbohydrate source but not both together at a meal.  Here is an example using breakfast; you might begin with a vegetable, egg-white omelet (protein and vegetables) and to it you might add fat such as the egg yolk or avocado to the omelet and cream to your coffee.  On the other hand you might add a carbohydrate such as a bowl of oatmeal or a slice of whole grain toast, such as Ezekiel bread.  At each meal, just make a choice as to which energy source, fat or carbohydrates, you will be adding. 

   It becomes quite easy as a way to make healthy food choices.  Separating your energy sources will not only trim down your waist-line it will also increase your health because you will be giving your body both the energy sources it needs to function optimally!   Special tip: the best time to add carbohydrates to your protein and vegetable meal is right after your work-out!

Learning to Re-Condition

You can re-condition your beliefs and habits by accessing your sub-conscious mind

We are self-reflective. We can actually choose what we put into our brain and what habits we would like to have. So you see, you really are the driver of your destiny. You can change any belief or create any habit you want and make it a part of your sub-conscious... If you know how.

How long does it take to change a bad-eating habit and replace it with a good one?

NASA conducted an experiment on its astronaut trainees. It took the astronauts and fitted them with glasses that flipped their field of vision 180 degrees, quite literally everything was upside down. They had to wear the glasses 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. The trainees struggled along seeing things flipped and feeling disoriented. On the 26th day one of the trainees found himself able to see normally again and the others also found that they were seeing normal by the 30th day. Their brains had corrected for the changed external environment (glasses) by re-wiring some of the nerves or neural pathways. We call the development of new neural tissue or networks - neuroplasticity.

That tells us that it will take approximately 30 days to create new habits! Not by just eating differently but by an actual daily process that deals with your mindset. It is not as simple as replacing one for another, you need to actively condition the mind to change the programs that are creating your habits. As you recall, your eating habits are a product of a lot of different learned "bad" programs. It is these programs that the re-conditioning process will change by creating new programs and strengthening them through neuroplasticity.

You will re-condition to the point that anytime you are hungry or whenever you are going to exercise, your new programs will run or play and make the choice of going to the gym or eating healthy completely effortless. No need for willpower and no presence of an internal battle. Can you see how this is VERY different from just forcing yourself to follow a diet or exercise program?!?!

The above is an excerpt from Michael Mountain's book Mindset for Weight Loss which is currently available on Amazon.