I want you to LOSE IT this Thanksgiving!

No, I’m not talking about your patience from the holiday stress. Or your temper after a political discussion and a few glasses of wine. How’s that gonna help anyone?

I want you to lose something else today. Something that’s gonna make you feel great tomorrow. That will empower you after this holiday is over. And will give you an early jump-start into the New Year.

Do I have your attention? Good.

I want you to lose weight this Thanksgiving. I know what you’re thinking. “That’s impossible!” You think I’m crazy, or maybe a little insensitive. Aren’t holidays are about family, food, and good times? Yes, and that’s especially true on Thanksgiving.

So why would I make this insane special request for you?

Anyone that follows this blog is looking for better health & wellness. Many are desperately trying to lose weight. Whether it’s 15 to 30 pounds, or more. And although holidays are great times, they can bring out a lot of emotions. And one of those is guilt.

So I would like to focus on how that guilt so commonly haunts us around the holidays. Especially for anyone that’s trying to lose weight. You know what it is – weight gain.

No, I’m not trying to ruin your Thanksgiving. I just want to help you realize that you can still enjoy all of the holiday festivities without gaining an ounce (or 3 pounds like last year).

What???

We all know there will be a lot of delicious food around, and insane desserts calling your name. But that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to all the temptations. And realize that during the holidays we tend to be a little more sedentary than usual, which doesn’t help.

But this Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be a carbon copy of past ones. You can still have fun, but you don’t have to gain weight. How cool would it be to step on the scale Friday morning and see the same number you saw the day before? Since you didn’t add to the number, I’d consider that to be a loss. What do you think?

You will need to take some preemptive measures though. Here are some ideas to help you keep things under control so you can ‘lose to win’ and accomplish your goal:

• Squeeze in a 30-minute workout Thursday morning. The calorie burn will allow you to handle a few extra calories throughout the day. It will also help you manage the holiday stress.
• Just “pick” and you’ll eat less. And use a smaller plate for dinner.
• Drink a lot of water throughout the day (and every day).
• Stick to the healthy appetizers before the big meal.
• Have a sliver of pie or a couple bites instead of 2 servings ’cause it’s soooo good.
• Take a walk after the big feast instead of a nap.
• Instead of over-indulging, eat less on Thursday and make a doggy bag for Friday. Thanksgiving leftovers rock!
• Think about the scale in the morning (and what you want the display to read). And take appropriate action in the moment to make it happen.

You can do this if you really want to. And you can reinforce this healthy habit into the next holiday, and beyond…

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family! I wish you all the best!!!

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?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this 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.

I first heard this story almost 30 years ago. In his renowned audio program, The Psychology of Achievement, Brian Tracy tells the story of how the level of success you ultimately achieve is equivalent to an airplane taking off.

For the plane to take off, it needs to accelerate at FULL throttle. And once it’s off the ground, it must maintain full speed ahead as it climbs through the clouds. But the pilot cannot maintain this speed indefinitely. Once the plane reaches its desired altitude, the pilot needs to back off the throttle and “maintain” its cruising speed.

But let me ask you this. What happens to the plane if the pilot starts out at anything less than full speed? Will it ever get off the ground?

Have you ever had an unsuccessful attempt at getting in shape or trying to lose weight? Did you back off the throttle too early? And never get off the ground? Or perhaps you began to see results, but backed off too soon before reaching your goal.

Let’s look on the bright side. You’re still here which means you have another chance, right? Good.

So how does this “pedal to the metal” philosophy relate to your health & wellness?

Although you may have attempted multiple “flights” in your life, you can’t change the past. But you can LEARN from it. So I’m here to ask you to get serious. Really SERIOUS! ‘Cause your life depends on it.

How? By taking action to make smarter choices, form new habits, and make better decisions that lead to long-term disciplines.

Rule #1: If you want things to change, then you need to change.

What does this mean for you? Here are some areas to consider…

• Personal development – Are you purposefully learning something new every day? Great! This is an excellent start but don’t leave yourself hanging. Take action and implement what you’ve learned. When you feel lazy, refer to Rule #1.
• Longevity – How long do you want to live? Are your choices and habits helping or hurting your chances of making it that far? When in doubt, refer to Rule #1.
• Nutrition – What foods do you need to eat more of, and what do you need to eat less of, or stop eating altogether? When you want to eat something sweet, refer to Rule #1.
• Fitness – Have you started your strength and cardio training regimen? When you don’t feel like exercising, refer to Rule #1.
• Weight loss – If you need to lose weight, how much and by when? And what’s your plan to get there? In other words, the daily choices you will make, whether you feel like it or not. When things get tough, refer to Rule #1.
• Health & wellness – Are you taking great care of yourself? How can you do a better job of caring for the only body and mind that you’ll ever own? When life gets in the way, refer to Rule #1.

This takes work. But remember, you only have ONE life and the clock is ticking. Now is the time to take ACTION! What small steps are you taking to create positive, long-lasting change in your life?

Here’s to a successful flight! Good luck on your journey as you reach new heights of happiness, health & wellness, longevity, and prosperity. Onward and upward!!!

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.

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Last week we discussed the value of feedback. Specifically how feedback can help you learn and improve. This week I’d like to delve into what I believe to be a similar topic.

So you had a bad day (or maybe a bad week) as it relates to accomplishing your health & wellness goals. Hey, it happens.

Let’s say you missed a couple workouts last week for whatever reason; aside from being too sick or rehabbing an injury. We’re not here to make excuses, we want results.

So what can you do about it and how can YOU benefit from being bad?

First, let’s look at a few things that can happen.

1. You may get down on yourself for letting life get in the way of your workouts. Don’t go there.
2. Momentum stops pretty quickly and a couple missed workouts can turn into a few more if you’re not careful. Don’t let it happen.
3. You may find yourself more motivated to get back on track. It can be an opportunity to increase your workout intensity and come back strong. This is ideal and why I say “being bad isn’t so bad”. It’s like a minor correction so to speak.

But keep in mind, if you’re not pushing to get back to work, a lack of motivation could be a sign that you’re getting bored with your workouts. It may be time to mix up your routine a bit. Especially if you’ve been doing the same exercises for a few months in a row. Boredom can set in and diminish your enthusiasm. (I have to admit, that’s where I’m at right now.)

If you need some extra help, what can you do to get back in the zone?

• Try exercising at a different time of day.
• Get a workout partner, or hire a personal trainer.
• Make sure that you’re eating enough and getting enough rest.
• Show up. Stop thinking too much and just get busy.
• Review your health & wellness goal(s) to get re-inspired.
• Use your imagination, or Google. Find something to get moving.

Let’s wrap this up with some final thoughts:

Can one missed workout set you back to ground zero? To a place back in time when you were less healthy and in worse shape? I don’t think so. Because the opposite isn’t possible either. One great workout is not going to transform your body and give you all of the health benefits you’re seeking. It’s the same for a good meal or bad one, isn’t it?

So lighten up Francis. Stop worrying so much about what you didn’t do. Use it to your advantage and get your momentum back – one good meal and one intense workout at a time. And then focus on what you ARE doing, and be grateful for the opportunity.

“Progress not perfection.” ~ Unknown

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?

If you know someone that can benefit from this content, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this 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.

First off, I want to thank my family, friends, and followers of this blog for the valuable feedback you provided to last week’s post. It was very inspiring to see your interest in what I’m doing with this blog. I plan to incorporate your ideas into upcoming posts.

When it comes to feedback, I “usually” welcome it. I say usually because there may be times when the feedback received is something you didn’t expect, or want to hear. But regardless, I personally find that feedback is extremely helpful to my growth and development.

And it’s one of the best ways we can learn. About ourselves in general, about our mistakes and ways to improve, and about what’s important to others. So seek it out whenever possible.

But feedback doesn’t only have to be from others. Think about just being present in the moment. What do you see or hear? What’s missing? You can also observe your surroundings. And the results you’re achieving (or not). This approach allows you to gain keen insight into what’s working and what you can do better at.

Tracking is another form of feedback. We’ve discussed “tracking“ in a previous post. You can link back to it here. One of the most important elements of tracking is how it brings awareness to the things that you’re trying to do more or less of. Like reinforcing good habits, or eliminating bad ones.

For example, if you are trying to increase your savings, tracking can help you get a handle on your spending. If you’re trying to get healthy, tracking can provide important feedback for how many times you’ve worked out this past week, month, or quarter. Now you can compare your “actual” data to your “projected” numbers – (e.g. your goal), and determine if you’re on-track, or off.

If you use your imagination, you can improve just about anything with tracking. Think about it for a minute. Pick an area in your life that you want to improve.

Example: How can I live to be (insert your number here) years old, and maintain a great quality of life for as long as possible?

Now brainstorm 3 to 5 new habits that will help you accomplish this area of improvement. Examples could include:

• Jump start my nutrition by eliminating fast food, sugar, processed crap…
• Improve my cardiovascular health with 3 cardio training sessions every week.
• Increase my lean muscle mass with 3 strength training sessions every week.
• Eat more nutritious meals at home and minimize the number of times I eat out.
• Maintain portion control when I eat.

Pick one new habit that you can easily measure (or track). Then get to work! After it’s become part of your routine, add another new habit, and track it. If you try to approach this one step at a time instead of all at once, it will be easier and more fun. And you will most likely be more successful at improving the thing that you’re trying to change.

Are you with me? Will you try it?

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 have a positive impact on you? Can I get you to take action? What would you like to see in future posts?

If you know someone who struggles with their weight, I’d be eternally grateful if you would share this 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.