Thank you very much for all the birthday wishes yesterday! I really appreciate it.

Many of you have taken advantage of my birthday offer which is great. I know you won’t regret it! The offer lasts until the 17^th so be sure to email me, if you’re interested. Again, I hardly ever offer a discount so now is your chance. (The price I charge is already very reasonable!)

Now, let’s get to the second part of my birthday celebration. This is getting fun!

How would you like to have me in your bedroom?

Read on.

Obviously (or maybe not) I’m extremely passionate about what I do. I feel as if I’m doing what I was born to be doing. I love spreading my message. I love talking about my philosophy, and ultimately, what I’m most interested in is inflicting positive change on people.

The best way I know of to do this is by coaching. Nothing is more effective than one on one coaching (with a proven program and application) to make positive change happen. There’s certainly a direct correlation between how much interaction there is and how effective it is.

I think public speaking is another very powerful way to create the transfer of emotion that’s so necessary. And I don’t do enough of it.

So here’s your opportunity to have me in your bedroom or living room or wherever your computer is, FREE!

I’m planning on offering a 30 minute webinar for you and 9 of your friends. I send you a link. You log onto a website at a specific time and date (sometime in the evening) that we agree on and you watch me speak from the comfort of your own home. We’ll all chat together as well. It really is a lot of fun! And it’s with 9 of your friends/coworkers/family members/etc.

I will be talking about how to get the body you want.

We’ll cover:

-Exercise and diet myths that’ll surprise you

-Why 97% of people don’t stick to diets

-Why almost all diets don’t work

-Why diet books are constantly bestsellers

-The best way to prevent cravings

-The best way to stop overeating

-What emotional eating is and how to stop it

-The one question you should ask before starting anything new

-The easiest and most sustainable nutrition program you could ever ask for

-The secret to getting the body you want

-And lots more, plus we’ll open it up so you can ask me any questions you like

Promises: No hard selling, whatsoever. This is about you! My goal is for you to walk away from your desk and be crystal clear on what you need to do to get the body you want.

I’m very confident anyone who is a part of this will get a lot out of it (and have a lot of fun!). Way more than you’ll ever get out of any book, magazine or TV show about diet and exercise and it’s absolutely free.

This is a first come, first served. I’m going to limit this to 10 groups.

If you’d like to be a Champion for your group, here’s what you need to do:

Think of 9 other people that you think would benefit from this. It can be a combo of your friends/coworkers/family, etc. It doesn’t matter.

Email me at adam at mybodytutor dot com with the subject line “Webinar Promotion”. In the email, tell me your name and number so we can speak and include the first names of your guests and their email addresses. I respect your privacy! These email addresses will only be used to send your guests the link for the webinar once you and I agree on a date and time. As soon as the webinar happens, I’ll delete all of the email addresses.

Few important notes:

One: You must email me with the names and email addresses. Please don’t email me saying you’d love to do this without any names or email addresses. The idea is for you to act quickly by sending an email to your peoples, letting them know the deal. It shouldn’t be hard. It’s free!

Here’s a sample email I put together for you:

Hey guys!

So, I read this guy Adam Gilbert’s blog. He runs this company called MyBodyTutor.com and it looks pretty cool. It seems as though he’s helped hundreds of people and has really made a huge difference in a lot of people’s lives.

Anyway, on his blog he mentioned this webinar thing. Basically, I need to get 9 people together and he’ll do a live webinar for all of us, for free. Here check out the post (link to this post). He’s going to cover a lot of interesting topics about weight loss and health and fitness and help us get the body we want. What do we have to lose?

Let me know if you’re in asap.

Xoxox

-Your name here

Two: This is an experiment on my part. I guarantee fun, interesting conversation, tons of education, question and answers, and maybe even a few technical difficulties (but I hope not).

Three: It doesn’t matter if your group is all guys or girls. Age doesn’t matter, either. Finally, if you’re a current or former client, you can participate in this, too!

Four: There’s no deadline for this but I anticipate having all the groups done by Monday.

I hope to hear from you soon!

Remember: The deadline for my program offer is the 17^th.

Thanks for making my birthday special.

I’m not one to make a big deal over my birthday. After all, it’s just a number. But, I’m breaking my own rule this year. I’ve come up with two ways, I’d like to share my day with you (it’s actually tomorrow, the 10th) – and one of them involves me being in your bedroom.

So, let’s get this out of the way. Yes, I want you to try MyBodyTutor. But, only because I know it’ll help you. Actually, I believe it’ll change your life for the better. (And if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing it.)

MBT isn’t for everyone though. If you’re in amazing shape, you do not need my services!

However, if you have trouble staying consistent with your diet and/or exercise, have intense cravings, overeat, binge, are obsessed with food, always say, “I’ll start tomorrow!”, constantly make excuses and justify poor choices, find it hard to stay motivated, or are sick of going to the gym and not seeing (or feeling) results MBT is for YOU!

You know when you have a friend who’s complaining about something – maybe her boyfriend -and you know exactly what she should do!?!

The only thing is, it doesn’t matter if you tell them or not. They won’t listen until they’re ready.

That’s how I feel with MBT. You’ve been reading my blog, maybe even my other blog. You know me. And I KNOW 100% that my program will help you get the body you want. I even back it up with a full money back guarantee!

Let’s take Ruth M, a client from the USA living in Thailand right now. (She’ll be a case study soon.) She signed up on November 10^th. Just yesterday she sent me an email thanking me and in it she writes, “Your system is the most effective and efficient way I have ever seen to get fit and healthy.”

I have hundreds of emails like that. Again though, don’t take my word for it. Try my program. Absolutely risk free!

So…what’s stopping you?

Let’s explore 3 potential reasons:

One. “I already know what to do.” Um, so do the other 200 million Americans (for the most part) that are out of shape and unhappy with the way they look and feel. A lack of knowledge isn’t the problem. If anything, there’s too much information!

A lack of consistent action is the real problem.

No one said it was easy to take consistent action! Knowledge without action is worthless. And that’s exactly why I created MyBodyTutor: To help you take consistent action (doing the right things) to ensure we get the result you want.

Two. You don’t think it’s worth it. If you don’t think your health and fitness is worth it then you never will. At least, I certainly won’t convince you! Unfortunately, it’ll be your doctor, down the line.

Besides, I only want to work with people who value their health and fitness and view it as an investment in themselves. (Not an expense.) And for those that are very ROI focused – the dividends your fitness pays are off the charts in terms of happiness, quality of life, energy, focus, and confidence.

Compare MBT to a personal trainer. Although a personal trainer is very helpful, I know it’s what we do in between workouts that really makes the difference! Besides, I’m betting you don’t need someone to hold your hand in the gym. You just need someone to make sure you get to the gym. (Sure, we’ll tell you exactly what to do.)

The most effective long-lasting results will come from daily and personal accountability which will ensure you stay consistent with both diet and exercise in and out of the gym.

Three. You’re scared. And I totally understand that. It takes courage to start something new. It takes courage to even think about starting something new!

Deep down you really want to be healthy and fit and love the way you look and feel, but you also don’t want to put forth the effort. Welcome to the world of cognitive dissonance – which is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two contradictory ideas or wants.

To reduce the uncomfortable feeling (dissonance) these two opposing wants cause you to change your attitudes and beliefs. So, you’ll justify or rationalize. (I don’t really want to be healthy and fit.)

You’re scared because you know MBT will work. You know it’s exactly what you need. But because you’re scared, you’ll question the program. You’ll question the results. You’ll question the guarantee. You’ll question anything and everything until you can find something to latch onto to so you feel comfortable not taking action.

Here’s my question to you: If you’re truly honest with yourself, and base your future results on your past performance, where will you be in 6 months from today?

There you have it. 3 common reasons you might not try MBT.

But because it’s my birthday, and because I really want to give you the push to try MBT, I’d like to offer you $50 off if you take action and sign up by February 17^th. Full money back guarantee still applies, of course.

Curious about having me in your bedroom? I’ll share the second way I plan on celebrating my birthday with you on Thursday (2/11).

Note: If you’re interested in taking me up on this rare opportunity (I hardly ever offer discounts) simply email me at adam at mybodytutor dot com with ‘Birthday Promotion’ in the subject headline and we’ll get you going!

I have the ski bug.

I tried skiing for the first time at the end of last season. Before that, I had never put skis on.

In the morning, I took a group lesson with 15 other people who were very much beginners. First, we learned that if you want to go faster you need to put your skis in the shape of French fries (straight).  And if you want to stop you need to put your skis in the shape of a pizza (wedge). Apparently this is the way kids are taught. Hey, I’m all for simplicity!

Before we learned how to ski we had to learn how to put the boot into the ski though. Then we learned how to walk/slide with only one ski on. Next, we learned how to put the other boot into the other ski. Now I had two skis on!

Very quickly, I realized that skis go with gravity! Even though I was on a tiny hill, I started moving! “Quick! Make that pizza!” the instructor said. Whew. That was close.

The 3-hour lesson flew by. Oddly, we didn’t really learn how to ski at all.

It seemed as though the only way to learn how to ski is by actually skiing. And there in lies the challenge!

Let’s say you want to learn how to swim. You decide it’s finally time to overcome your fear of water.

So, you find a local gym or pool club. Maybe there’s even a public pool that you weren’t aware of.

Then you look online (or in the Yellow pages) to find a swim instructor. After plenty of wrong numbers, you find someone who’s really passionate and experienced.

Next, you need to get the gear! You look online and find a bathing suit. Ohh, there’s one you like. Eh, you don’t really like it, after all. You go to another website.

You find the bathing suit! Ugh, it’s not in stock! After spending 3 hours searching you finally find the one.

What about goggles? Can’t swim without goggles!

Finally, the big day comes. It’s the day of your first lesson.

But you realize that you don’t have any shoes to wear by the pool! Whoops! You can’t swim without any shoes to wear around the pool!

So you cancel and reschedule.

You’ve done everything you could possibly do BUT swim. Sometimes, no matter what, we just gotta jump in the pool!

Back to pizza and French fries.

Because the only way to learn how to ski is by actually skiing, it makes it very scary. You have to push yourself. You have to be willing to fall. At first, I was very timid. However, by the end of the afternoon, I was trying to fall. Because I knew if I wasn’t falling I wasn’t pushing myself.

This past New Year’s I was in Vermont. It was my second time skiing. By noon the first day, I felt very confident going down the mountain. (Ya know, the bunny slope.)

Then my friends encouraged me to get a full lift ticket for the afternoon and the following day (actually they made me). In the Gondola we went, up the enormous mountain. It felt like the longest 20+ minutes of my life. We were so high up, we were in the clouds.

Finally, we got out and it was a full on blizzard. The conditions were nothing like it was down below!

My confidence quickly faded as I began falling over and over again. My friends joked that I was break dancing down the mountain. Each time, I tried to figure out what I was doing wrong. I’d start to go very fast and lose control. But the only way to get control was to experience what it felt like to be out of control. Aha, I wasn’t turning enough!

By the end of second and final day skiing, I felt very confident. Of course, until next time, when I’ll be forced to go down double black diamonds.

If you want to learn how to ski you can’t be afraid of falling. Actually, you need to embrace falling!

It’s so hard to overcome that resistance. According to my instructor, many first time skiers don’t really ever ski because of that.

But whenever I was in doubt (which was most of the time), I’d look for a 3 year old whizzing by.

If they could do it (without any poles), I could do it!

They’re lucky. They’re AFF!

Why do we do certain things even though they are against our desires? Even though they are against what we said we’d do? Ah the human condition. How it never ceases to fascinate me.

Why do we continue to believe money is the key to happiness yet research proves relationships are?

(According to Harvard psychologist, Daniel Gilbert, it’s $40,000.Yet, most of us will continue to strive for more and more. We’d be better off working on teaching ourselves how to look at our money with a different eye.)

The “hedonic treadmill” describes our amazing ability to adapt quickly to changed circumstances.

The reason why the treadmill never ends is because our amazing ability to adapt also makes novelty wear off very quickly. If our circumstances improve, we soon become accustomed to those new comforts.

Let’s say you treat yourself to the plasma TV you’ve wanted for so long. Sure, it’ll be really cool once you get it, but not long after you do, it’ll be old news.

As Aldous Huxley said, “Habit converts luxurious enjoyments into dull and daily necessities.”

How about the “arrival fallacy”? The arrival fallacy is a fallacy because, though you may anticipate great happiness in arrival, arriving rarely makes you as happy as you anticipate.

By the time you’ve arrived at your goal (whatever it may be), you’re expecting to reach it, so it has already been incorporated into your happiness.

The trick is to learn to enjoy the process of reaching that destination. (Something I really work hard on with my clients. Because when the journey is the reward in itself, it’s a lot easier to stick with it.)

We’re incredibly good at rationalizing behaviors. We can justify any behavior we engage in; even if we feel bad afterward.

That’s why it’s so important to look at what people do. And not what they say. Or read. Or watch.

That’s why it’s so interesting to look at people’s revealed preferences versus their stated preferences.

I’m constantly asking my clients what they want.

However, many clients have said they wanted a feature and didn’t wind up using it during testing. Others have said they wouldn’t use a feature and wound up loving it.

Who do you listen to?

Here’s a perfect example of stated versus revealed preferences stated and revealed by a McDonald’s executive.

“Our customers want mediocre food cheap. Every time we release a higher priced but higher quality product, the people who said they would pay for it never do.

You say you want more fruits, salads, organic, all natural, etc. Well then start buying that stuff and stop buying double cheeseburgers. Our best selling stuff is always whatever we can make taste good, at rock bottom prices.

We’ve actually learned not to listen to our customers when it comes to a lot of things. Health nuts won’t come into McDonald’s to eat even when we give them what they want.”

The funny thing is I’ve always wondered why McDonald’s didn’t offer super nutritious foods at higher prices. “I’d go there! I’d pay for it” I used to think. But I don’t. And when I rarely do, it’s not for health food.

It always comes back to watching what people do.

Not what they say.

###

This goes hand in hand with my “How to tell what someone really cares about” post.

I can’t believe it’s the end of 2009 already. Last year, I did a post with all of your favorites so I figured I’d keep the tradition going.

This has been a very thrilling year for many reasons but mostly because of the birth of my nephew, Landon. He is a pure joy.

Professional wise was exciting as well! MBT continues to grow steadily. Although MBT has only been open for 3 years now (not much to compare to) I know if we were able to grow this past year, we’re well poised for future growth.

MBT was also featured on a number of very popular blogs as well as Good Morning America. For not having a PR person and relying strictly on word of mouth, I’m delighted with our progress.

Anyway, here are your favorite posts based on comments, tweets and mostly emails.

Let’s get to it!

1. Creating anticipating will help your happiness and productivity! I explore how creating short term incentives can boost your productivity and happiness.

2. Have too many passions? Some people are lucky and have more than one passion. How do you know which one to go after? I explore that in this post.

3. Inspiration and motivation are very different. I believe if you’re not highly motivated, inspiration might be exactly what you need.

4. Does being vulnerable in a relationship actually lead to the demise of the relationship? We’re intrigued by the unknown. I think there’s big paradox at play here.

5. Get rich quick schemes and lose 30 pounds in 3 day plans don’t exist! If it seems too good to be true, it is! This type of short term thinking really holds you back.

6. I’m a jokester at heart. I love a good prank. I also love some good banter. A great litmus test for how close you are with someone is how much you can tease one another.

7. Do we marry our parents? I’m convinced that who we are attracted to is determined by our relationship with our parents and how they treat us.

8. Do dumb people really exist? I argue that dumb people don’t exist. They are just disguised as people who really don’t care about what they’re doing.

9. I wonder if how much we gamble in love correlates to how much we gamble in life in general.

10. This is one of the most personal posts I’ve written. My mom celebrated her 60^th birthday this year. She means the world to me. Between that, and my sister becoming a mom, I’ve become extremely nostalgic.

11. In this post, I explore why I’ll probably never write a bestselling diet book. 10 % of USA Today bestsellers are diet books. People truly enjoy buying diet books because it provides an instant boost of hope. It’s like buying a lottery ticket. We buy the ticket for the feeling we get between when we pay the $1 and when we find out we lost.

12. Is your ego getting in your way? Oh man! How egos get in the way in so many little and big ways. How many times a day are you actually just defending your ego? Think about that for a second.

13. How to get and give advice. What kind of advice do you really want? Ask yourself this before you ask for advice.

14. The worst word in the English language. So many people think the answer to all of their problems is more: more things, more money, more toys, etc. I absolutely disagree! What we really want is closer than we think.

15. Maturity. This is a topic I’ve been thinking a lot about. What makes someone mature? Does having shit happen to you make you more mature?

16. Entrepreneurship is not all it’s cracked up to be. So many people believe starting a business is the solution to their problems. Starting a business should be something you have to do! Not something you want to do.

17. The interior decorator problem. Knowing what you want is the key to getting it. So many people have no idea what they want. I explore ways to help you figure out what it is you might want.

As always, thank you for reading my blog!

I have a lot of fun (and hopefully interesting) posts planned for 2010.

Have a happy, healthy and fit New Year and I’ll see you in 2010 ready to go!

I did it all for the happiness!

Almost 3 years ago, I quit my full time job to pursue my passions of health and fitness, writing and helping people and married it with entrepreneurship to make myself happier.

It worked! (In fact, helping people get the body they want never gets old!)

However, one of the most worrisome sentiments I hear from clients, is that for some reason, many feel guilty pursuing their health and fitness goals. They feel as though it’s selfish and self-centered as they should be focused on their spouse and/or kids.

As I practice a very holistic approach with my clients, I learn about other areas of their life too. Sadly, many feel the same way about pursuing other interests as well.

When there is disconnect between our desires and actions, unhappiness ensues. And if we’re unhappy, we’ll be way more likely to eat emotionally.

However, for many people, being out of shape is what is making them unhappy! And even after having identified the problem, many people still feel guilty for making time to exercise and to prepare healthy meals.

Here’s why Gretchen Rubin’s, The Happiness Project is so important: She has made it cool to pursue your happiness! If it’s going to make you happy, you should invest in yourself because…

One of her 4 splendid truths is: One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy; One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself. (That’s worth reading again. Don’t let the simplicity of it mask its brilliance.)

Gretchen eloquently encourages us to pursue our own happiness project as she has done so herself. I’ve been a huge fan of her blog for more 2 years now!

Why?

Well, who doesn’t want to be happier? One of the reasons why I am such a health and fitness fanatic is because in 4th grade I discovered how great exercising and eating right made me feel. This is why I’ve made this my life’s work.

To me, happiness and fitness equals one in the same. They go hand in hand.

However, we all know this! We all know the transformative potential of eating right and exercising.

A lack of knowledge (for the most part) isn’t the problem. The real problem is a lack of consistent action. Actually doing it!

Sadly, most people don’t want to change. Instead they rather read blogs and books and buy ridiculous exercise videos and contraptions that make them feel like they’re changing.

Let’s face it. If it were easy to change, people would do it! (It’s the accountability and the pushing and the coaching and the guidance and the inspiration and the daily expectations that help the change occur.)

However, there are many things we do (and don’t do) that affect our happiness significantly that don’t require all that much effort or change and Gretchen has extensively researched all of this for us.

I’ve read a few of her other books and she is maniacal with research. But, she has an incredible ability to synthesize complex ideas and readings into very bite size and juicy nuggets.

Rubin has proven to me, as I’m a long time follower; it is possible to change your life in many areas, without actually changing your life.

I must confess. Just writing that sentence makes me uneasy. Last night I was watching a ‘random’ person on an infomercial tout an exercise product that “was so easy, she didn’t feel like she was exercising!” Then I watched another one (I’m fascinated by them) with a woman preaching, “You can truly eat whatever you want and still lose weight!”

Finally, last Friday 20-20 had a segment about trick photography in the diet and weight loss industry which made me even sicker.

Sadly all of this makes people believe real change is possible without any real change. It’s not! If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten!

However, and I say this very carefully, Gretchen actually provides extremely actionable tips that don’t require all that much change. For example, an extra hour of sleep can do more for your happiness than a $60,000 raise!

The Happiness Project might be one of the few things you can read that changes your life – without really changing it.

So why do I care if you buy this book? Well, I truly and sincerely believe that if you read it, it’ll make you happier. And that’s exactly why I do what I do. Because I know that when you feel and look as good as you can, you’re more productive, confident, energized, and of course, happier!

And helping people become happier is sure one heck of a way to become happier yourself!

***If you’d like to win a copy of The Happiness Project tell me in the comments your happiest memory. I’ll pick the winner and I’ll mail you the book. We’ll make Sunday the 20th at 2 P.M EST the cut off. Check back here for updates!

[Update: Book Winner. Thanks for your comments. I enjoyed reading all of your happiest memories! Unfortunately, there can only be one winner and it was a very tough decision. I'm going to pick Michelle because I loved the simplicity of it and also that it was different from the other 3 entries. I wish I could send you all a book but I only have one copy. Michelle, if you can email me at GuruGilbert at yahoo dot com with your address, I'll mail the book out to you tomorrow. Thanks, guys! ]

Here’s the thing: Tiger Woods business isn’t anybody’s business! However, Tiger Woods wouldn’t be Tiger Woods, if no one cared about his business!

There in lies the juxtaposition so many celebrities face. “Just leave me alone. I want my privacy!” they plead.

Many professional athletes have sympathy for Woods, too.

NFL football player, Jason Taylor, of the Miami Dolphins was in the locker room and saw ESPN running a tease about Woods. He reached up and turned off the TV. “Nobody’s damned business,” Taylor said.

Do you really want people to not care about your business Tiger (or Jason)? The reason why athletes and celebrities get mega-endorsement deals is because so many people are so emotionally invested in them. So many people do care about them and their business.

If Tiger endorses Nike and uses their clubs (or gets them used on him) then I want to use them. If he puts his name on it, he must believe in it. And if he believes in it, it must be good enough for me the conventional thinking goes. If I love rapper 50 Cent then why shouldn’t I drink his Formula 50 beverage or buy Britney Spears perfume?

Growing up when I thought the NBA was a legitimate career option, I idolized Michael Jordan. I drank Gatorade, got his sneakers and wore Air Jordan clothes. I tried to look, dress and act like him when I played basketball because I wanted to be like him.

That’s why companies pay gazillions of dollars to celebrities. People emulate highly successful people. They buy and do what highly successful people tell them to do because they aspire to be like them.

Companies only spend the bazillions because it works. Want to know if an infomercial product is selling? If you keep seeing the commercial over and over it’s working!

No one cares about the worst players. And if no one cares about your business, no company is going to want you to endorse their products.

So embrace it Tiger. You certainly can’t fight it at this point!

Ironically, one of my post popular posts “Why you shouldn’t hit the snooze button ever again, according to Tiger Woods“, includes an interesting nugget from him.

He said, “The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today. And that’s how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That’s the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better.”

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Nothing like a good meal, great company and some football!

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

However, for anyone who values their health and fitness, Thanksgiving can be the start of a downward spiral.

Here’s 15 ideas for you to use this Thursday so you can remain on point:

1. Your life isn’t a Normal Rockwell painting

We all have preconceived notions on how Thanksgiving should be. We can’t choose our family so you might as well make the best of it, right? Try lowering your expectations. The less you are disappointed, the more you are likely to appreciate and enjoy the day.

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

This is going to be extremely awkward for my sister and me. As anxious as we are, I’m trying to go into it with no expectations.

2. Wear your best belt and your tightest pants

It’s a lot easier to stop eating when you know you’re full. One telltale clue is when your clothes and belt starts telling you. Sounds obvious, but stopping when you’re full is probably one of the harder things to do at the Thanksgiving table when everyone else is helping themselves to seconds and thirds.

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

3. Save your calories for dinner

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

4. Always hold a drink and a napkin

Do you really need an appetizer before a huge meal? You can’t control what your gracious host does, but you can control yourself. Make it harder to reach for something by holding a glass in one hand (preferably filled with water) and a napkin in the other.

5. To drink or not to drink?

Is alcohol a trigger? Our irrational mind tends to get a lot louder after a few drinks. Alcoholic drinks are not only loaded with calories (especially the sweet drinks and the eggnogs!) but they are likely to lower your inhibitions and might trigger you to eat more than you really want to.

6. Don’t talk politics

My mom is very intense about politics. My mom can go from extremely calm to extremely angry in less time than it takes to break a wish bone. If someone says something that annoys you – let it go! If you’re annoyed, you’re more likely to overeat.

7. Focus on the special stuff

Don’t waste your calories on large portions of food you can eat everyday. Limit the variety you have. Let’s make a rule: Only two items on your plate at any one time. Having a lot of different items on your plate stimulates your appetite.

8. Is it worth it?

Ask yourself, “Is this really worth it” before you dig in. Many times, we’re just eating food simply because it’s available.

9. Don’t make a diet fopaux

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

10. Small seconds are better than big firsts

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

Try taking a little bit of Aunt Grace’s ‘famous’ mashed potatoes. Tell her how great they are. Then go back for seconds and say something like, “Aunt Grace, your mashies are so good I’m taking seconds!” She’ll be really happy…and your body will be really happy too because you’ll actually be eating less even though you’re going in for round two.

11. Slow down!

Seriously! Slow down. Pretend you’re a NY Times food critic. Really taste each and every bite. Put your fork and knife down. Take a sip of water. Engage in conversation. There’s no rush.

12. Forget the post dinner snacks

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

13. Plan activities

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

A football game, a big game of monopoly, or how about that game where you have to guess the word while receiving clues? You can’t say the actual word though. And there’s a timer. Got it! Catchphrase!  (See what I did there?) All these can be tons of fun.

14. Come out of the closet

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

15. Perfection doesn’t exist

Most importantly, and this is somewhat counterintuitive, don’t sweat it if you make a dietary mistake or two or three. We all will. And we’ll have the other 364 days to do it right!

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

As always, if you’re consistent with your diet (and exercise) for the other 364 days you should be in great shape. If you’re not, I guarantee it’s because you’re not staying consistent with your diet and/or exercise. You might want to consider giving yourself – or someone else – the gift of MBT.

Finally, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for reading both of my blogs! Enjoy your family and friends and, of course, have a happy, healthy and fit Thanksgiving!

First the blog: MyBodyTutor.com/blog

Now the back-story:

For over 2 years, I’ve written a daily inspiration each morning for my clients.

I write about all sorts of topics ranging from emotional eating to mindless eating to psychology to exercise to happiness. And they’ve only been available to my clients…until now!

So, why am I making them available to everyone now?

3 reasons:

1. As corny as it sounds, I want to leave a legacy. I want to help and impact as many people as I can. I want to spread the goodness. I want to make a lasting contribution in the field of health and fitness because it’s something I’ve been so passionate about for so long (since I was in 4^th grade).

Fewer things are more rewarding than helping people realize their health and fitness goals because when you look good, you feel good. And life’s too short to not feel as good as you can!

2. Because my clients aren’t paying me for daily inspirations. What they are paying for is daily and personal accountability, support, coaching, guidance and motivation, long with a proven program that works. GUARANTEED!

The daily inspirations are only a tiny part of the equation. Besides, I’m confident in this day and age, a lack of knowledge isn’t the problem. If anything, it’s too much information!

For the most part, we all know what to do. (Sure, we’ll tell you exactly what to do in order to reach your goal and give you all sorts of tricks and tips along the way.) But the real magic happens in actually doing it day in and day out.

The problem we all have (unless you’re in great shape) is a lack of consistent action. Getting into your desired shape is about 3 things. Eating right. Exercising. And doing those two things consistently. That’s it!

It’s the consistency part that’s so hard though. And that’s what I truly believe MBT is the best in the world at: Helping you stay consistent: meal by meal, workout by workout, and day by day.

3. Some people’s egos are just too big!

I hate to say it but it’s true.

The first and most important step to getting into your desired shape (besides admitting that you aren’t) is being able to admit that you need some help.

No matter what, some people just can’t ask. It’s just not in their DNA. And having to pay for help? Forget about it!

No matter how affordable we make this program for what we offer (we’ll be with you every single day to make sure you’re doing the right thing in the kitchen and in the gym!) and how risk free it is, some people just can’t do it.

Instead, they rather jog in place, month after month, year after year. (“Okay starting tomorrow, I’ll…” which quickly becomes next Monday, then next week, then next month, then your next New Year’s Resolution…over and over again.)

So, I’m really excited about this because now my audience expands. And that’s totally fine by me! I want to help as many people as I can. I live for this!

Regardless, I guarantee if you read my blog each day you’ll be healthier, fitter and happier. You’ll be far better off reading my blog than not reading it. Try it. See how you feel.

Don’t want to miss a beat? Neither do 1100+ other people! (As of Tuesday 11/10/09)

Subscribe for FREE and get them delivered warm and fresh to your inbox whenever there’s a new post.

I don’t say this lightly. I really and truly believe you’ll enjoy them, especially if you enjoy this blog and are interested in health, fitness and wellness.

Business will remain as usual here, on this blog, and although my posting frequency has been sporadic as of late I’ll be back to posting once a week. (To all of those who’ve emailed me asking why I haven’t been posting regularly, I appreciate it.)

While I’m on the self-promotion train, and because you can now get almost anything delivered, why not get a free subscription to GuruGilbert as well?

Thanks, as always, for reading!

9 months ago, I wrote a post about which passion you should pursue; if you’re lucky and have more than one.

But what if you don’t know what your passion is? Actually, forget that. What if you don’t know what you really want out of your life?

How will you ever get it? You won’t because you have no idea what you’re even pursuing.

I call this the “Interior Decorator Problem”. If you know your style and your likes and dislikes why pay someone to decorate your own home? People pay interior decorators when they have no idea what they want or like. (Or, they just don’t want to be bothered with decorating their house.)

I think many of us have the “Interior Decorator Problem” and are running around like organic chickens with our heads cut off.

Let me explain: When I’m working with my clients I try to find out their core motivation. I want to know why they really want to get in shape.

How about an aspiring entrepreneur? Whenever I get requests for advice (which I love) I’m curious to know why they really want to start the business in the first place.

If it’s not to solve a problem they have or because they feel they must start this business my advice usually is to not bother starting it at all. Because if it’s based on money, not only will they get bored, but there’s an even deeper reason why they want the money, that could be obtained without starting a business, which I’ve said before is only something you should do if you’re nuts.

However, once you know what you want, it’s so much easier to work backwards, and actually make it happen.

Many people believe that feeling guilty after eating something that’s unhealthy is ridiculous. If you want it – just eat it, they say. But can you really control guilt?

I think guilt comes from knowing that your actions (say, eating crap) aren’t in alignment with what you really want (say, weight loss, a flat stomach, more energy, looking good in jeans, etc.). In fact, when there is a disconnect between our actions and desires unhappiness will ensue.

I believe we all know exactly what we want when it comes to our health and fitness goals. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t want to be healthy and fit nor someone who doesn’t have a dream vision of themselves.

It’s just that fear, excuses, rationalizations and justifications by our short term self convince our long term self we don’t want it when it comes to our health and fitness.

(That’s why self-aware people are the most successful. They don’t delude themselves into believing they’re taking action when they’re really not. Or, that they need don’t help when they clearly do.)

But health and fitness is one thing. Figuring out what to do with your life (one of the 3 questions we all have to try to answer) is another.

So working backwards again, maybe if you feel guilty or sick to your stomach, you know for sure that’s not what you want do with your life.

And knowing what you don’t want is certainly a key to finding out what you do want.

It takes a lot of focus to achieve anything worth achieving. But it’s so easy to lose focus if you’re not 100% certain that’s what you want.

Chances are if you’re not putting forth the effort, you don’t want what you thought you wanted. (I believe what we all want out of life, if you don’t have it already, is a lot closer than most people realize.)

But like all human beings we waver. We teeter. We jog in place.

All while reaching for more.