Are you making any changes or improvements in the new year?

Or planning to accomplish some new goals?

I hope so!

But here’s an unfortunate scenario that occurs way too often.

Especially this time of year.

Let me know if this sounds familiar.

“I’m going to start… __________” (fill in the blank)

• … eating better
• … exercising
• … going to bed earlier
• … taking better care of myself

Sounds nice, although these declarations are way too VAGUE. But I’m not going to start nitpicking (yet). So let’s continue.

When? __________” (fill in the blank)

• next month…
• after the holidays…
• in the new year…
• after I get back from vacation…

You realize these are all LAME excuses that ALWAYS equate to NEVER.

And how about this one.

I’m going to stop smoking…

• (Insert the same lame excuses from above)

And guess what’s not going to happen?

Right! The thing you said you were going to do.

So stop kidding yourself, and lying to others.

You’re not committed or ready to make a change yet.

I get it, we’ve all been there at some point. And have seen others make these false promises.

Need proof?

Just look back over the past 2 or 3 years. What have your actions been saying? (FYI – you have to look closely ‘cause you can’t hear them. Especially with all of the social media noise and distractions.)

Have you ever accomplished any of your “informally-made” resolutions? Or goals that you weren’t fully committed to?

Probably not.

And it’s that time of year again where the biggest and boldest false promises are about to be launched. Some will be well-meaning but will lack clarity or commitment. Others will be audibly initiated drunk New Year’s resolutions that never see the light of day.

Shockingly (well, actually NOT), 92% of resolutions fail. WTH?

It’s pretty obvious why.

Don’t waste another year of your precious life by setting yourself up for failure with useless New Year’s resolutions. Or weak goals that you’re not committed to.

Give your actions a chance to speak by doing yourself a huge favor.

Get it right this time by setting a few legitimate and relevant goals. Things you want and need to accomplish during the next 12 months.

It’s best to keep it simple and only start with a few. Especially if this is new for you.

In fact, I’d suggest that you only set one goal. A challenging, yet attainable short-term goal. Then when you achieve it, you can reward yourself by setting another one.

Let’s break it down into a few steps to make it simple.

1. The “What” – Okay, what do you want to accomplish? Make it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound. With pen and paper; not in your head. For more on S-M-A-R-T goal setting, click here.
2. The “Why” – This is where it gets exciting. Start listing all the reasons ‘why’ you want to accomplish this goal. The more reasons the better. Your WHY-power will kick in when your motivation fades (which it will), or when plateaus occur (which they will), and when your WILL-power is at its lowest point (which happens).
3. The “How” – This is your plan for accomplishing your new goal. It includes the actions you will take as you chunk-down your goal into manageable steps. And don’t worry, you don’t have to figure it all out before you start. Just figure out the first couple of steps. Then you’ll adjust your plans along the way as you gain valuable insight from the obstacles and setbacks you begin to face. Otherwise, you could be doomed to the “paralysis by analysis” syndrome where nothing gets done.
4. Take “Action” – Now do something by taking your first step in the direction of your goal. This is very important. Consider it your first ‘How’.
5. Review your goal often. So it’s top of mind and to evaluate your progress. And as you’re reviewing, visualize the outcome as if you have already achieved it. This is very helpful and mysteriously powerful (but doesn’t work without taking action).
6. You’re on your way to achieving this goal. When you do, set another one.

For example, if one of your goals is to improve your cardiovascular health so you’re able to live a longer and a more active & fulfilling life, here’s how you would start.

• Identify “WHY” this is important to YOU. And what it would mean if you didn’t accomplish it. Sometimes it’s the consequences that motivate us more than the prize itself. So use whatever works best for you in the situation at hand.
• Plan the 3 to 5 days of the week you will exercise based on your fitness level. Remember, for something like this, slow and steady always trumps an overly-aggressive plan that’s unsustainable.
• Include the days you will focus on strength or cardio training (and what each workout will consist of).
• Put those days in your calendar. You are committed, right? Would you miss this Wednesday’s client presentation, or meeting with your boss? Then put your mask on first by showing up for your appointment with yourself, and stop saying you’re too busy.
• And since cardiovascular health is also influenced by our nutrition, you should identify the foods you will STOP eating, and the healthier ones you will START eating.
• Then plan the next few meals and shop for the ingredients.

Now it’s time to do something by completing your first workout and making your first meal.

Pretty simple, right?

Enjoy the process and appreciate the obstacles and struggles you will face along the way.

What???

Yep… There will be challenges and setbacks, but they’ll make it all worthwhile and allow you to accomplish bigger things in the future.

I hope you found value in this post.

As 2016 comes to a close, I would like to say thank you and wish you a HEALTHY, happy, and prosperous New Year!

Be on the lookout for The 6 Pillars To Better Health & Vitality. We start up next week and run through the end of June. You’re not gonna want to miss it. So subscribe for automatic updates.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Don’t WAIT until it’s too LATE!

Life is short. And moves pretty fast.

As we get older, we need to stay ahead of the curve(s).

Before they… sneak up on us.

Are you with me?

Just like the weeds will take over your garden if you ignore them. The same is true if you neglect your health & wellness for too long.

After the excess baggage shows up at your door in the form of a bigger gut, butt, or muffin top, life-threatening illness will eventually take hold. And will usually strike in the form of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, or early death.

And these are all preventable if you catch them early enough.

But I have an idea. It’s genius!

Make better choices now, so you don’t have to worry later.

It’s not only the battle of the bulge that you’re fighting.

It’s your life!!!

So what are you going to do about it?

I have itemized a few posts below to help you get ahead of the curve:

• Can You Spare a Week or Two?
• Move Your Body!
• Are You Ready For Summer?
• Sleep On This!
• Your CHOICE Matters!

I hope you found value in this post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Health and wellness is a way of life.

I also believe it’s a “state of mind”. By state of mind I mean that it needs to be part of our daily focus. Mainly because it’s involved in SO many decisions we make every day.

Think about it like a lens or a mental funnel. Where you run your thoughts, plans, choices, decisions, and disciplines through. As in your health & wellness “filter”.

What’s your state of mind about your health & wellness?

And how can you improve it?

I mentioned last week that after 2 years of “blogging” about healthy habits, I am still committed to helping you, my loyal readers and supporters improve your health & wellness.

Yet I feel that something is missing as I have not had the growth or positive impact I expected, which is disappointing. My goal is to help you achieve significant results.

So I need to step it up and find a better way.

Over the next month, I plan to re-evaluate the direction of this blog for 2017 and beyond. This will include the subject matter and topics, along with my approach to delivering the content.

I created this blog to help anyone that struggled with weight issues. By promoting natural, do-it-yourself ‘DIY’ ways to lose weight and keep it off forever, through small changes in lifestyle.

Specifically, through better choices about nutrition and exercise.

I thought since I was able to maintain a healthy and fit body, then I should try to help others who struggled to find a way.

This started to shape my perspective about “longevity” and my desire to live to at least 100 years young, with great health, vitality and quality of life the entire time.

The concepts I focus on to incorporate in this blog look like this:

Healthy Habits That Promote Longevity, through…

• Health & wellness
• Personal development
• Nutrition
• Fitness
• Weight loss
• Results!!!

As my thoughts and writing have developed, I have begun speaking to the “over 50” crowd. Specifically, men and women ranging in age between their 50’s to 70’s, give or take a few years.

I’ve chosen “over 50” for a few reasons…

First, I fall into this category, so I understand what it’s like and can speak from experience. Second, it’s at this age where many of us begin to realize we’re not going to live forever. Third, our mortality causes us to get serious about our health & wellness. And fourth, because this is the group I believe I can have the most impact with.

If this resonates with you, then I encourage you to follow me by subscribing for automatic updates, and to share this with your inner circle that may find value and benefit from the results.

I have learned and figured out many things that relate to health & wellness. Longevity is a primary area of interest that I continue to study. And I am grateful that my good habits still outweigh the bad ones. Hey, I’m a work in progress which keeps it interesting.

As we wrap up this week, I want to thank you for your continued support. And point out that your feedback, suggestions, and constructive criticism are always welcome.

I hope you found value in this post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.

In addition to liking turkey, Thanksgiving means time with family along with great food and wine. Hey, that sounds like most holidays. But unlike others, Thanksgiving has the added benefit of turning into a 4-day extended weekend. And I always look forward to that down-time every year.

Last year I told you to Lose It On Thanksgiving!

This year I’m going to take a slightly different approach. By suggesting a few ways you can enjoy yourself during the holidays, and still keep your health & wellness on track.

There are “little things” that each of us can do to contribute to our healthy habits. Little things that add up to a lot, over time. Isn’t it amazing how the Compound Effect is always at work!

Here’s my list for staying ahead of the curve and beating the battle of the bulge at Thanksgiving:

1. Complete a workout early in the day. Or at least go for a power walk before the big meal.
2. Skip the appetizers, or just go for a few healthy ones.
3. Maintain portion control, throughout the day and for the long weekend. Ahh, just do it from now on.
4. Take a power nap.
5. Be thankful for all that you have by expressing gratitude toward everyone and for everything in your life.
6. Leverage a few of your days off for some intense workouts, more time with family, long walks (steps), and some “me time”.
7. Practice meditation with some of your “me time”.
8. Laugh and have fun! Wine is not necessary but it helps.
9. Think about your goals – evaluate where you stand with this year’s list, and what you plan to accomplish next year.
10. Check out this article if you’re looking for ways to enjoy Thanksgiving with less calories – “9 Thanksgiving Food Swaps to Save Calories”.

What would you add to this list?

I’ve included a link about the benefits of turkey, along with a resource to help you avoid overeating. It’s called the human hunger scale. You can check it out by clicking here.

And finally, I would like to express a heartfelt Happy Thanksgiving to all! Thank you for following me this year. Your support, shares, likes, and comments are greatly appreciated!

I hope you found value in this post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.

‘Cause nobody else will…

Let’s face it… unless you’re elderly and infirm, disabled, or a young child, you shouldn’t depend on anyone else (including our government) to take care of YOU.

And despite the fact that we need each other to succeed, or that we should unite to help one another, it’s ultimately up to each of us to take 100% responsibility and take care of ourselves.

This year’s presidential election motivated a lot of people to vote, and that’s a good thing. It also brought out some very strong opinions and emotions on each side.

But the election is over. And whether your candidate won or lost, it’s time to move on and get back to taking care of business – the business of YOU.

Why not channel that same enthusiasm and drive that you had in supporting and rooting for your candidate during the election into your own personal development?

There are 2 valuable lessons we can learn about our personal development from the airline industry.

1. Put your mask on first.
2. Full throttle for takeoff.

Let’s take a quick look at each:

Put your mask on first:

The airline safety demonstration before takeoff teaches us this one. Although it’s clear in this context, it’s not so obvious as we lead our busy lives.

There are ticking time bombs that are developing as a result of NOT taking care of ourselves first. Preventable conditions that slowly compound over time into diseases like:

1. Heart disease.
2. Obesity.
3. Diabetes.
4. Stroke.
5. Cancer.

In addition to the grief and disruption that occurs after losing someone whose life was cut short too early, there’s a staggering financial impact that is costing hundreds of billions annually. Actually trillions when you add it all up.

Check out these 2 articles:

• Heart Disease and Stroke Cost America Nearly $1 Billion a Day in Medical Costs
• Paying the Price for Those Extra Pounds

Prevention is key.

And here’s the bottom line… if you don’t take care of yourself, how can you expect to take care of those who depend on you? Like your family and your company.

Full throttle for takeoff:

I shared this in a post last year. We can relate this philosophy to our exercise intensity. And sticking to our plans when results plateau.

It’s titled “Take Your Health & Wellness To New Heights”. And you can link to it by clicking here.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I hope you found value.

Now it’s time for YOU to take action…

What’s your Win to be Thin? Leave a comment below.

Click here to subscribe. You’ll receive an email with a link to each new post. And if you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them.

It would be a huge understatement to say this year’s presidential race was an utter disgrace!

Regardless of who wins, life will actually go on.

And your choice matters! It’s an honor and a privilege to vote. And important for each of us to exercise that right.

So get out and vote!

However, “individually” we CAN’T control the outcome .

But this blog isn’t about politics. It’s about more important things like your health & wellness, longevity, and personal development.

So let’s move on… to something we CAN control.

Health & wellness is not a new concept. Most people know about the positive impact that eating right, combined with getting regular exercise and adequate sleep will have on their health.

But knowing versus doing something about it can result in two completely different outcomes.

Let’s face it, there’s a vast amount of information available; perhaps too much. The Internet is everywhere. And there are countless professionals eager to help.

So why then is such a HUGE percentage of the population overweight and out of shape (pun intended, respectfully)?

With all this information at our fingertips, I have to ask:

1. Why aren’t more people slimming down and getting healthy?
2. Why are obesity rates still on the rise?
3. Shouldn’t heart disease and diabetes statistics be declining?
4. And how has such a preventable situation become so pandemic?

There are many reasons why we do (or don’t do) things.

Let’s face it, some people are just more motivated, productive, and successful than others.

Yet regardless of whether we’re driven or lazy, we can all agree that we weren’t born with these traits. We learned them. Like habits.

Have you ever said to yourself?

• “I’m not interested (in eating better)”
• “I’m too busy (to exercise)”
• “I’ll start (going to the gym) next month”
• Or even worse, “Why bother? (I have so much weight to lose)”

So we can create a list of excuses for why we’re not treating our health & wellness more seriously. And many do. Or for not doing what we know we need to do.

But how’s that gonna help?

We are all goal-seeking beings. We strive to make things better for ourselves and others.

But it’s also human nature to take the path of least resistance or easy route sometimes. To ignore what’s necessary for immediate gratification, or efficiency.

I believe there are underlying reasons that are sabotaging and demoralizing our attempts to improve.

I want to uncover YOUR reasons. By helping you identify why you “choose” to not do what you intend to do, planned to do, or committed to do. And maybe even signed up to do.

Hey, we’ve all been there at some point. But if we can understand our unique limiting factor, then we have a chance to help ourselves.

So here’s my theory based on personal experience.

It ALL begins with the choices we make. (Yes, unfortunately we all live under a different set of rules than our political leaders). But I digress…

As a result of these choices, we develop patterns in the form of routines and habits.

And oftentimes our choices and habits can be affected by outside influences. Has “life” or a busy schedule ever gotten in your way?

How about a desire to please, or to not say NO? As in someone else’s agenda. Maybe a client, your boss, spouse, kids, or family & friends…

Any of these “outside influences” can affect our:

• Attitude
• Drive
• Interest
• Motivation
• Enthusiasm
• Confidence
• Outlook
• Inner dialog
• Emotions

There’s a natural flow that works either FOR or AGAINST us. And it can occur consciously or unconsciously.

As time passes, patterns begin to emerge. Which breeds an element of familiarity and consistency?

We can look at it 2 different ways:

1. As if this was a habit you were consciously trying to develop;

vs.

2. Something you started doing unconsciously and were therefore unaware of.

The next phase after familiarity and consistency is where momentum begins to build. And momentum can be very powerful.

Momentum is also unbiased. There’s no guarantee that it’s working for or against us.

Have you ever developed a bad habit? I know, me too.

As a way to help you visualize this perspective and make it easy to remember, I’ve created an acronym – C – H – A – D – D.

It’s time to devote more focus on the present, which will help to get your CHADD’s in sync.

Your what?

Your Choices, Habits, Actions, Decisions & Disciplines.

C – Think about it, everything including change begins with a choice. You consciously “choose” to do something, or not do it. Every day we make plenty of choices about what we want to do. Or want to change, improve, and not do (or eliminate).

H – After a while with focus, concentration and determination, our conscious (and unconscious) choices begin to take shape in the form of a habit.

A – And our habits only begin to take root after the repeated actions we take. Action is an integral component in every step of this process.

D – The cumulative net effect of our new habit is the result of all of our decisions to this point, including the choices we’ve made and actions we’ve taken.

D – And finally the finished product becomes our beautiful, new, healthy discipline.

So let’s look at a relevant example.

If you are over-weight and haven’t exercised in a while, you may find it difficult to get started. That’s understandable. My objective is to help you start exercising. And once you do, keep you accountable so you find a way to keep it going.

Exercise is vital for your health & well-being. One of the worst things you could do would be to get discouraged and continue to do nothing. As in remaining sedentary and not exercising.

If that’s how you’re thinking, your primary goal should be to find a way to get moving.

It’s NEVER too late to start. But before you do, make sure to get your doctor’s approval. Then set a very attainable goal that you can easily achieve and feel great about doing.

Accomplish it, then do it again the next day; accomplish it, then do it again… and eventually over time, momentum will come to your aid. Then you can make your goal a bit more challenging.

10,000 steps a day may be too unthinkable right now. So set a goal to go on a 2,000-step walk, 3 times this week (or whatever you can do at this point based on your fitness level). Do that for a few weeks and then start increasing your step count gradually.

Not sure how to track your steps? There’s an app for that.

Then once you’ve developed the walking habit, you can graduate to other exercise, like strength training and other forms of cardio.

If you can afford it, you would benefit greatly by hiring a personal fitness trainer. They can help you get results by recommending specific exercises based on your fitness level and goals.

And they’ll keep you accountable.

But don’t worry – I won’t leave you hanging.

In the future, I’ll punch through and go deeper into each component of the C – H – A – D – D philosophy. And unpack examples to give you greater insight to make better CHOICES.

For now I’d suggest taking an inventory of your thoughts, along with some of the choices you’ve made over the past few days. You can also practice being more present and aware of the choices you’re about to make. And perhaps even plan a healthy choice or two into your day. Like an apple, water instead of soda, or more steps.

I hope you found value in this week’s post.

Thank you for sharing your time with me. I’d love for you to let me know what you think by leaving a comment. Is the content valuable and helpful? Did anything resonate? Will you take action? What else would you like to see in future posts? I welcome your feedback.

What’s your Win to be Thin?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, please share it with them. And if you like what you see, you can SUBSCRIBE for automatic updates, LIKE US on Facebook, and spread the word about www.thin2win.net with your friends, family and social circles.