One Key Habit of the Lean, Fit and Healthy

Just think of how much better your life would be and the world would work if you were truly committed to 100% excellence? Maybe you don’t think it would make a difference, or may be the difference is just not clear to you. You see one of the key habits of people who are always lean, fit and healthy is that they hold themselves to a certain standard. It is seen in their level of 100% commitment to; what they will eat, how much they will eat and daily exercise. They are completely unwilling to compromise on that pact they made with themselves. Ever meet someone like that?

There is no partial commitment, no forgetting about it because of rain, busy day, social event or any other thing that might try to de-rail their plans. No person, situation or event will stop them from holding to the 100% commitment they made within themselves! They know that a moment of question, even a 99.9% commitment, will open the door to rationalize, make excuses or de-prioritize their health priorities. Here is an example of what can happen when you soften your commitment even a drop. Did you know that if doctors only held themselves to a 99.9% commitment to excellence then; 500 incorrect surgical operations would be performed each week and 50 newborn babies would be dropped at birth each day…just for starters? Think about it, what if your heart took on a less than total commitment and worked only 99.9% of the time? Your heart would fail to beat 32,000 times a year! Does this sound hard?

Is it unreasonable to be 100% committed to something? Let me ask you, are you anything less than 100% committed to being faithful to your spouse or significant other, less than 100% committed to protecting your kids? When you think about it, you are that committed to a lot of things aren’t you? Remember 100% commitment is easy, 99% commitment is a bitch! If you give yourself even a moment of wiggle room then it can lead to an increase in excuses and rationalization. You will talk yourself out of it more and more, especially if this is a new habit for you. What if every day you had to decide if you were going to be faithful to your spouse, or whether or not you were going to protect your kids. Imagine weighing the options, the pros and cons, imagine the internal struggle. It would be a bitch wouldn’t it?

 That is why committing 100% is easy; there are no questions, no decisions, no room for excuses…you just do it. When it comes to your weight and health, being 100% commitment does not mean 100% abstinence from foods you enjoy. It means that you hold yourself to your rules and standard. It might be.. • Exercise daily for 1 hours...or • Exercise 3 times a week for 30 minutes…or • Ice cream one time a month. • Pizza once every two weeks • Healthy breakfast every day • Lean protein and vegetables every lunch mon-Friday. Take the time to design your health rules and then once decided, commit 100% to them! You will see your life and health change!

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.

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!

The Power of The Mind

The power of the mind is amazing! If we come back to the law of opposites, we recognize that there are two sides to everything. In this case the other side of the coin is what is called the nocebo effect. That is the detrimental effect of negative thoughts. It is so powerful that people can die from their own thoughts within weeks. A tribe in Africa believes that if someone points at them, then they are cursed and will surely die. They believe it so completely that they often die in weeks. Looking at things closer to home, researchers tell us that the average person thinks negative thoughts more than 70% of the time. It’s no wonder, with the unlimited amount of negative junk that is on T.V. The news shows us only the bad things that are happening in sensationalized ways; we hear continual political spinning, bickering and posturing. Add to that dis-empowering approaches to stress, health and financial struggles as well as tendencies for negative people or victims to find others just like themselves... I can see why the number is so high. That certainly won’t benefit our health, will it? It is now well embraced that many human ailments are either the direct product of stress and energy draining negative thoughts, or at least greatly exacerbated by it. The list of problems created by stress are impressive: Obesity, asthma, allergies, skin disease, hypertension, strokes, cardiac disease, arthritis, colitis, stomach ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome... the list goes on and on.So here is an idea for you - and for everyone. How about not watching the rubbish on television? How about staying current with the affairs of the world and community but not drowning yourself in it? How about realizing that stress for any reason can be managed through healthy eating, exercise, meditation, directed thought and personal self-conscious reflection? How about embracing the fact that true health begins in the mind as well as a lifestyle choice on activity, exercise and diet? Health is an expression of the mind-body connection; your thoughts, your feelings and your actions (actions meaning diet and exercise)! Don’t ever forget: the healthier you are mentally and physically, the faster you can lose weight.

Habits vs. Willpower: the 10,000x Rule

Your bad habits are 10,000 times stronger than your desire or will power!

Yes, 10,000 times.

But, here is the good news!

The key to permanent weight loss is using your subconscious mind, literally tapping into this immense power, by creating new habits.

But wait - before you start creating new habits - there is more. You also may have certain "BELIEFS" that you "bought into" at some point in your life. These beliefs, too, can literally get in the way of you ever achieving permanent weight loss.

For example, if you have failed on previous weight loss attempts you may have a strong belief that you can’t lose the weight.

You may have looked at yourself so many times in the mirror that your internal dialogue changed from "I need to lose some weight" to " I am fat" or "I am a fat person".

Worse - someone, usually someone who’s opinion you value (a parent or significant other), has told you that "you are FAT" or worse "you will always be fat, that’s just who you are" and you believed them.

I have even met people who have created associations of comfort and emotional support to food from their parents, who in return label their kids as fat, even though it's really their design. Let me elaborate...

Imagine being fed a lifetime of junk; unlimited ice cream, potato chips, fatty foods with not a vegetable to be seen. You sit down with the people you love, your siblings and parents, and share good times while eating all this junk. Even when your friends come over, your mother lays it on thick with ice cream, cakes and cookies, and you feel all this sense of love. But, as soon as your friends go home, your mother looks at you, disgusted and says, "You’re fat! How come you can’t be skinny like your friends?"

Talk about mixed messages and head games!

As you can see, these situations were created by your parents, but there is zero benefit of blaming them and living in the past, other than to recognize how these things came about.


The above is an excerpt from Mindset for Weight Loss by Michael Mountain. It is currently available on amazon.

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?” 

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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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! 

What You Must Know before You Switch to Veganism - as seen on Oprah!

I watched the Oprah Show some time back.  The guest was the wife of a personal friend of Oprahs’ who was preaching the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.  I say preaching because vegans certainly do take a hard lined, almost evangelical stance to their diet.  I knew that I needed to comment because people commonly don’t question or judge the message; they only judge the messenger.

When Oprah endorses anything, it carries some serious weight; the fact that the guest was a thin “Barbie” blonde would only add fuel to the fire.  People would inaccurately think that if they eat like her then they will look like her, people would think that this is the next dietary breakthrough.  

This guest says that she chose this lifestyle because she feels that it is healthier for her body and that it is a personal choice, she feels that it is inhumane to kill and eat animals.  

They had a representative of the meat industry there to show that the production of animal based protein is being carried out in it’s most humane way.  This representative was from Cargill one of the biggest manufacturers of meat and hamburgers in the United States.   All other meat manufacturers declined to be on the show, obvious to the fact that it would be bad for business and that they would be racked over the coals.

The video inside Cargill’s plant, showed livestock being fed high amounts of slop made up of corn, protein, fillers and anti-biotics to fatten them up..while they stand fairly stationary on a pile of dirt and manure.  It appeared not very healthy and certainly not very appetizing.  Whether you think that it is humane or not will be a personal choice for you. 

This is a good reason to try to buy your meat from organic grass-fed livestock from small farms.  

The question is really, is eating a vegan lifestyle a healthier choice.

The guest recommended that we should eat a diet of cereal and whole grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits and getting the majority of your protein from soy based products.  That’s right all protein sources were soy protein sources…things like; tofu, soy sausages, soy hamburgers, soy yogurt, soy everything.   That brings me to my 3 points.

1. A recent study looked at the effects of eating soy products on the fertility in men.  Here is what they found.  Eating just ½ a serving of soy products in a day decreases a man’s sperm count up to 50%!  That’s only eating ½ serving.  This gal wants you to eat much more than that.  If any of your children are boys or if you are a man and are planning on having kids, or if you are planning on having kids with your husband – stay away from the soy! 

2. Another recent review study looked back at 18 previous studies to look at the connection between soy products, increased estrogen and breast cancer.  13 were conclusive that dietary soy products increase estrogen and the risk of developing breast cancer.  5 tried to prove that eating soy products actually prevented breast cancer.  3 of those failed to prove their hypothesis and the other 2 showed that Asian woman who began eating high amounts of soy product in their adolescents did seem to prevent incidence of breast cancer.  But this was seen only in Asian women.  The overwhelming majority of research proves that high intake of soy products is not healthy.  Ladies, it is important to realize that anything that increases your estrogen can make you estrogen dominant.  This can mess up your progesterone levels, it can affect your mood, energy, sex drive, cycle and even heart rhythm.  

Side Note:  I have met many women whose health and cycle were in a bad way due to a vegan lifestyle.  The second we took them off of the soy products and back onto animal based protein, their cycle became regular and their health returned.

3. Animal based sources of protein are our very best or only source for a huge number of vital nutrients; including creatine, carnitine, B-vitamines especially B12, Zinc.  Animal proteins are our only source of extremely important amino-acids including Taurine, and our only source for Omega-2 fish oils of which DHA and EPA are crucial to our health.

Side note: This was a pro-vegan diet show…why was Cargill there…just to be abused.  The representative stayed positive and took a stance that we are doing our job the best and most humane way possible.  But, still I couldn’t help but scratch my head…why did this company not do what all the other meat companies that were contacted had done and just be unavailable.  To bring a camera into a slaughter house/meat packing company was asking to lose business.  But, my skepticism was rewarded…Cargill is also the biggest manufacturer of soy products in our nation.   They are also notorious for putting more fillers and junk into their products than almost all the other companies.

So, there you have it just a few things to consider before you jump into the vegan lifestyle.  Remember we have evolved eating meat over the last 2.4 million years…it is what our physiology responds best too and when mixed with vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, a small amount of tubors and whole grains represents our ideal diet.  Not some fake, created meat like substitute that messes up our bodies and robs us of our health.

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.

Do You Crash or Have Low Energy Right After Lunch?

When you think of the period of time ½ hour to 2 hours after lunch what comes to mind?  Is it a time of energetic productivity or do you find that your energy takes a dive right after lunch?  Does the thought of a nap, a half hour after lunch sound like the best thing in the world?  If you do, then you most likely need to change what you are eating.

Scientists have now proven that we have certain cells in our brains, in an area called the hypothalamus, that wake up the brain or put it to sleep.  These cells called orexins and they actually communicate with a network of command nerve cells called hypocretins. 

These cells can be stimulated to be turned off or turned on depending on what you eat.  When they are turned off, you feel sluggish, sleepy and just want to lay down.   They even slow down your metabolism, so that it is negatively affects your weight and body composition.  The foods that turn these specialized cells off are carbohydrates!

When these cells are turned on then you have tons of energy, are motivated and driven to be productive.  It will also increase your metabolism so that you will burn fat and positively impact any weight changes you are working on.  The type of foods that turns these specialized cells on are proteins!  This can make a world of difference between a productive afternoon and an afternoon of dread and dreaming of a siesta!

So what this means is that if you want to keep your energy consistent then protein must be included in your lunch.  If you find that even when you combine carbohydrates and protein, such as a roast beef sandwich, that you still feel that you are sluggish, it means that you are extra sensitive.  You would do better to have a lunch that is predominantly protein and fibrous vegetables…it is superior for energy at that time and for weight loss!  Kicking the morning off on the right foot is always a great way to start, this is why I recommend protein with breakfast because it’s benefits to health, energy and body composition.

Some people can get away with the combination of protein and carbohydrates at lunch and still be energetic, others will have to look for combinations that include limited to no carbohydrates.  This recommendation of carbohydrate restriction does not include vegetables.  For many people carbohydrates are best eaten at dinner time right after your workout!

 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

The Power of Directing Your Feelings

Your thoughts along with your feelings create your actions. Your attitude can direct your thoughts and your feelings, just like your thoughts and feelings can create your attitude. So therefore it could be fair to say that your attitude is the key to creating your actions. But before we discuss that, we need to realize the relationship between actions and feelings. When I started evaluating myself and why I just couldn’t lose the weight, let alone have a 6-pack stomach... I looked at what it was that made me eat. Hunger, sure… but looking deeper than that, things became interesting.

I realized that I was like so many others. I linked food with emotions and feelings.
Much to my dismay and attempts at denying it, I had to admit to myself that I mostly ate for the wrong reasons. I ate when I was stressed, frustrated or unhappy. I even ate to deal with nervous energy or boredom.

If I was home frustrated and trying to escape my feelings by watching senseless, negative television… watch out! 2,000 to 3,000 calories of junk food could go down my throat in less than an hour's time!
I realize now that I had a food addiction. Something quite recently that Oprah admitted to suffering with herself.

In fact that is really the definition of addiction, isn’t it? Doing something -- drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs or eating -- in order to change an emotional state, to escape from a feeling, and/or life’s daily stressors. I was using food as a coping mechanism to feel better.

Do you ever do that?

This negative emotional connection with food, this powerful impulse to reach for unhealthy food, was a conditioned response and had to change, if I was ever going to release the shackles that bound me and reach my dream health or an overall better version of myself.

I also realized that these responses were conditioned responses, a reflexive response to stress or negative emotions. Emotions are normal and healthy, so I didn’t want to deny these feelings; but rather I could do things to prevent my disempowering responses, or in fact, change my responses. I could also start to exercise my "emotional muscle" and take control of the situations causing the stress.
So, I began to do things to change my negative relationships with food.

This is an excerpt from my book Mindset for Weight Loss which is available on Amazon.