It's not about what you can't have, it's about what you CAN have..

I am happy that so many people are reading my blogs, but some people say "Scott I love your blogs. But they always make me feel so guilty." Guilty? Why?  I'm not trying to bring you down and my intention is not to make you feel guilty or to remind you what a crappy job you are doing with your workout, diet, whatever.. More importantly, my intention is certainly not to eliminate all fun and enjoyment from your life.

On the contrary, my goal is to bring you even more joy, more happiness, more confidence and more zest for life! If you are already super confident in the way you look, feeling great and have energy to the moon, then don't even bother reading my blog. Tell me to go scratch and keep doing what you are doing because you have got it going on! But if you are like most people who come to me for advice, and you don't feel so great about the way that you look and you don't feel confident naked and you are tired all the time, then understand that what I am telling you can change all that. Yes, you may have to s-a-c-r-i-f-i-c-e some of the things that you "love", things that make you happy, etc., but you will be making decisions that will make you happier in the long run.

Too many times we focus on what we "can't" have. We can't have ice cream, we can't eat pancakes for breakfast, we can have sugar in our coffee, we can't eat potato chips. What about focusing on what we can have? We can have constant energy. We can have muscles and strong backs. We can look awesome with our clothes off. We can feel confident at the beach. We can kick some younger ones asses at sports. We can live a long and active life.

The short-lived happiness of pastries, and piles of starchy carbs and sugary sweets is ruining the long-term happiness of good health, a slimmer waistline and muscles that you didn't even know you had.
Sure, sleeping an extra hour is nice but losing 15 lbs. in six weeks from getting up an extra hour earlier to workout feels even better. Having dessert every night tastes good but putting on a bathing suit and standing in the bathroom for 20 minutes trying to figure out how to hide your love handles in it doesn't feel very good. Does it? Think of how good it would feel to slip back into those clothes that are hidden away? Or go shopping and not be afraid to look in the 3 way mirror!
The term is delayed gratification and if you don't know what it means, google it.
 No college student wants to study but it sure is nice to get a college degree. Get it??
-Scott
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

Are you freakin' nuts??

Is there a difference between 200 calories of nuts and 200 calories of pretzels? Yes. Do you know which would be the better snack? Are you sure? Why? Nuts are the better snack and let me explain why. Nuts are natural foods with naturally occurring essential fatty acids (yes people, fats are essential to health and reducing bodyfat) and other nutrients. Pretzels are highly processed, refined crappy carbs and any "nutrients" they have have been man-made and are virtually useless. Equally important, and maybe even more important for the purposes of our discussion is the effect of nuts or pretzels on fat loss. The key to fat loss (PAY ATTENTION HERE) is controlling blood sugar. Blood sugar levels that spike up and down all day leads to body fat gain and swinging energy levels and mood swings. Stable blood sugar levels lead to fat burning, steady energy and mood. Good right? Ok, so pretzels, a refined carbohydrate, lead to a rapid rise in blood sugar, followed by a crash, followed by a craving for more refined carbs (referred to as crap), and so on and so on for the rest of the day. A snack of nuts leads to a slow release of sugar into the blood, a stable blood sugar level, and sustained energy and the ability to burn fat. This is why a dinner of a small steak and a salad is better than pasta and bread, EVEN IF THEY ARE THE SAME CALORIES.
So do this. Trade your cereal and juice for eggs and veggies. (whole eggs, not just whites)
Trade your pretzels and diet coke snack for a handful of nuts and half an apple.
Trade your lunch sandwhich and chips for a chicken caesar salad.
Trade your coffee with skim milk, 5 splendas and a pastry to a coffee with cream (yes, cream instead of skim. Why? Because cream causes a lower rise in blood sugar than skim and Splenda, and most people will actually end up using less total calories of cream than all of the skim it takes to lighten the coffee), no sweetener and a TB peanut butter on celery.
Trade your 2 slices of pizza for dinner for a small steak or pork chop and some broccoli sauteed in olive oil.
Do this for one week and you will see fat fall off and energy levels rise. Try it and see.
-Scott
 Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

Is this ridiculous or is it just me?

It never ceases to amaze me how many people want to completely change the way that they look and feel, yet they don't want to change anything about the behavior and habits that have gotten them to where they are now. Is this not a little ridiculous? How many people can say "I want to lose 40 lbs." and then follow up with "BUT,  I don't really want to exercise for an hour every day, I don't like salad and I'm not going to give up drinking. But I really like the Zumba class that I take twice a week. It doesn't seem to help but can I keep doing that? And I know I won't follow your diet, but I do want a personal trainer. Can I come twice a week for half an hour?"

 H E L L O?? Does this sound like insanity to you or does this sound like you? If it sounds like you, then splash some cold water and your face and get ready to wake up and smell the coffee. It ain't gonna happen! If you are 40 lbs overweight, the things you do on a regular basis have to change, and change dramatically.

It is not unlike going to see a financial advisor about how to start saving money, but telling the advisor that you are not going to change any of your spending habits. It is safe to say that most of the things "you do", will have to change. "Well I like to watch tv." Change! "Well I like to take Zumba for my exercise." Change! "Well I like pasta and bread. I won't give that up." Well guess what? CHANGE! "Oh, and I don't like to do cardio." Oh no? Well guess what? Neither do I. But you have to do it. I like pasta and pizza too, and I'd like to eat it every day for every meal if I could. But I don't. And you can't either if you want to lose weight.

That's the deal. So stop making excuses, recognize that your habits make you who you are, and develop some new, good habits. Will you still be able to have pasta and bread? Yes, but definitely not as frequently or in the quantities that you have them now. Isn't it logical to assume that doing the things that you do now has gotten you into this predicament. So to get out of this predicament is going to require that many of those things change. Doesn't seem hard to comprehend, yet for many it is.. Take a good look at the habits that you have and decide to change the ones that are not helping your situatuion. Pretty soon feeling good will be a habit. Feeling confident will be a new habit. Having energy and being in a good mood will be a habit. You might not hate that cardio so much after all..
Need more help?
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership support- www.theprogram.trainerize.comwww.theprogram.trainerize.com

Analogy Guy (It's about weight loss people..)

What do you think of this scenario? Imagine I am sitting down with my financial advisor, who I have sought out because I am seriously in debt and I cannot seem to get out of it. I have been trying to pay off my credit cards and save some money, but I am actually getting deeper and deeper in debt and I can see that is going to be a big problem down the road. I've actually had a few friends in similar situations lose their houses and have to declare bankruptcy. I definitely don't want that to happen. So I got John's (the financial advisor) information from a friend and gave him a call.

"John, I am really worried that I have no idea how to get out of this debt and instead of getting better, it is getting worse. Can you help me? Please??"

"Well Scott, first of all we have to look at your spending habits and figure out what we can change."

We talk for a little while and John recognizes that I spend more than I make, and recommends some changes and things to cut back on.

"But John, I really love going out to dinner and I just can't give that up. Also, I know I shouldn't eat my lunches out or buy such expensive clothes, but I just love it. Oh, and I definitely won't give up my $10/day Starbucks habit. I know I can make it at home for 10 cents but Starbucks is my thing."

"Ok Scott, well if you are not willing to make any changes, how do you expect me to help you?"

"Well John, I want to get out of debt and save money, but I just don't want to give up any of the things I like or change my lifestyle at all."

"Well Scott, will you at least start to record everything you spend money on for one week, so we can figure out what we need to focus on the most?"

"I can try, but you know, that just takes so much time and who has time to do that?"

"Ok Scott, let me ask you this. You think you want to save money and get out of debt, yet you won't take the time to record your spending and you won't change the habits that have gotten you into this situation. Is that correct?"

"Um, kind of."

"Then doesn't it seem unlikely that you will ever get out of debt? The reason you are sitting here in front of me is that your habits have gotten you in this predicament. Continuing to do the same thing will only result in more debt and probably the loss of your house and bankruptcy. You say you don't have time to record your spending. Do you have time to move into a new house when yours get foreclosed on? Do you have time to sit down and explain to your family why you can't buy any furniture, clothes, toys or food after you declare bankruptcy and have no credit? Do you have time to continue to be stressed and worried about your financial situation?"

"John, when you put it that way, you are such a downer."

"Scott, I don't want to be a downer, but you are asking for my help and I am telling you what you need to do to save yourself. Now it is up to you to go and do it. Don't kid yourself into believing that if you just keep doing what you are doing that somehow things will get better. They won't."

*It should be fairly obvious to everyone reading this what I am implying and what the analogy is here. If it is not, you are probably reading the wrong blog. Think of how this analogy can apply to your fitness and weight loss goals. Now get out there and start "saving some money"!!
-Scott
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

"But Scott, the scale isn't moving.."

Today is for all of those men and women who are obsessed with the scale. Get over it. First of all, being "skinny" is so 2007 and being "fit" is where it's at for 2011. Secondly, the scale does not tell you jack. I can tell you from personal experience that I have gone through periods of being sick, lazy and stressed (all at the same time) and not exercised or eaten right for weeks at a time. What happened? I gained a little weight on the scale, sure, but I looked far worse than the 5-8 lbs on the scale showed. Why? Because I lost a lot of muscle and gained a lot of fat. So I actually looked and felt like I gained 20 lbs!

Why do I use this example? Because it works the other way too. When I finally got myself together and started eating well and working out again, I only lost 5 lbs (on the scale), but I looked and felt COMPLETELY different. Why? Because I lost the 10 or 12 lbs of fat I had added, and gained the 5-6 lbs of muscle I had lost. Do you get it?

The point is that your body can change dramatically and the scale will not accurately reflect what is going on in your body. I have seen people celebrating because they lost 15 lbs on their new "diet", when they actually look worse and not any better. Why? Because they lost 15 lbs of muscle. Now they are lighter on the scale (Yay! Who cares??) and they look worse. Why? Because before they had 120 lbs of muscle and 50 lbs of fat. Now they have 105 lbs of muscle and 50 lbs of fat. So proportionately, they are fatter than before!

And another great side effect of this "Yay I lost 15 lbs diet" is now their metabolism is screwed from the loss of muscle and now he/she will gain weight even faster. So what will he/she do? Probably freak out when the weight comes back on, and then do another "diet".

Get off the scale and get off of the diets. Focus on how tight and firm your muscles feel. Look at how great you look in your clothes. So what you are not "skinny"? Nobody cares. Be healthy, that looks better anyway. Build some muscle, give your body some shape and strength, and build a strong and fast metabolism. Exercise, resistance training, small and frequent healthy meals is the formula. Maintain consistency.

"Skinny" is out, for both men and women. I say bring on the muscle, tone and the shapely curves!
-Scott
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

Sometimes we all need a good, swift kick in the pants!

Today's "kick in the pants" is a good one and I often need to remind myself of this one. Does this sound familiar?

"Ahh, man I want to start working out but I've got no time. I mean, I have work, and the kids and I'm just so busy. I don't know when I can even fit it in. I mean, I really want to lose weight. Actually, not just want; I need to lose weight. The doctor told me if I don't lose weight and get my cholesterol down that I have to get on Lipitor. And I might end up being diabetic. Well, actually I guess I can take a couple of pills everyday and inject those little needles in my stomach. They are pretty small right? Do you think it hurts?"

If that doesn't describe you, at least in some way, it is something you have definitely heard. You've probably heard it a few times. I've heard it a million times!

Funny thing is, that person who has no time to workout, somehow has the time to watch and know the details of at least 2 or 3 weekly TV shows. (Each show is at least an hour, by the way.) If it's a guy, he follows at least 2 sports teams and knows every scoring leader and stat and "needs to relax" on the couch every night after work. Right? Yes, right..

You don't have time to exercise? Ok, that's cool. Do you have time to go to the hospital? Do you have time to get your prescriptions filled? Do you have time to wonder what side effects all of these meds are having on your body? On your sex life? What about worrying about how fat you look in those jeans or stressing about having to wear a bathing suit in front of your friends? Have you got time for that?

You can find an hour every day to exercise. You can definitely find 30 minutes a day. Don't bullsh*t yourself. If you can't find the time, then it is not important to you. Period.

Have to spend "quality time" with your husband or wife watching TV? Hello, that is not quality time. You are not talking and you are not getting to know each other more or growing closer to your kids. You are sitting there doing nothing. Yes, I'm being harsh and do I expect you to throw away your TV? Of course not. Do I watch TV? Yes, I do. I am also not complaining every day about how much weight I have to lose or how I have no time to workout.

PRIORITIZE. If you want to be healthy and lose weight, exercising has to take priority over watching TV or playing video games or whatever. You want some good quality time with your spouse or kids? Get in shape, see how much different it feels to feel good about yourself. When you can go to the park, the beach, the pool and run and play and interact with your family, that is some serious quality time.

Come on folks, think about how you spend your time and where you can fit in some exercise. You can. You just have to prioritize, put it on the "To do" list or calendar like an appointment and do it. It is not optional. We are talking about adding years to your life here, and quality to your life. Isn't that what it's all about?

** Odds that the average guy will develop diabetes even if he is disease free at 40? 1 in 3

** Increase in risk if that guy watches 4 or more hours of TV daily? DOUBLE.
-Scott
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com

The Daily Smackdown

Every once in a while, we all need to be slapped around a little bit. You know, when we are kidding ourselves into believing something that we really want to believe, but it just ain't true. That's when we need a good friend to grab us by the shoulder, pull us aside, look us in the eye and say "Hey buddy, here's the deal" and lay it out for us. Well today I am going to be that good friend, Jillian Michaels style.

If you want to lose weight, and for just about everyone reading this blog, this means you, and if that weight is substantial, and substantial is anything more than five pounds, then listen up because I am talking to you.

Don't believe any thing you see on Regis and Kelly or whatever else you watch that tells you by making a few minor changes, switching from Coke to Diet Coke, using Splenda instead of sugar in your coffee, etc., you will lose weight and achieve the body of your dreams. It's not.

Have you ever read about how to save money? They give you tips like stop going to Starbucks and make your own coffee, don't buy a newspaper but read it online instead, etc. Is anyone getting rich like this? No, I don't think so. The one or two good articles you read written by a real financial advisor who lives in the real world will tell you this: Don't give up your little things, like Starbucks and the newspaper. Instead focus on the big things, like making changes to your auto insurance policy, starting up your 401K and maximizing it, drive a less expensive car and stop eating out at expensive restaurants and cook at home. Those big changes make a difference, but going to instant coffee ain't gonna cut it.

Well weight loss and fitness is the same thing. Don't kid yourself that switching to Splenda or Equal is going to do anything to your waistline. In fact, in my opinion it is more likely to give you some kind of trouble down the road, like most sugar substitutes, and you'd be better off with a little sugar. At least sugar is natural. Anyway, I digress. The point is you need to take "massive action" to lose weight. You are trying to save your life here. You are trying to lose 20, 30 even 50 pounds. That is not happening with small changes. "Start taking the stairs instead of using the elevator." Not gonna do it. Is it a good idea? Yes, of course. But it's not going to make a dent in your size 18, that's for sure.

What is massive action? Make the decision to do something dramatic. Commit to a plan of action. Join a gym (and pay for the year up front). Hire a trainer (and not just once a week), sign up for aerobics or spinning classes and go EVERYDAY. Call a nutritionist or get The PROGRAM Ebook and learn how to eat because I know that you "Don't really eat that bad", but guess what? You do! You do eat bad. You may not eat fast food for every meal, but if you need to lose 20 or more pounds, you are eating very, very wrong and you need to learn what to do and start doing it pronto. Every day, week or month you wait to do something dramatic, you will gain another 2, 5 or 10 pounds and have that much more trouble getting started.

Don't say "I'm going to try to workout this week." Too weak and not committed. Say "I am going to exercise everyday this week." Be definite and even more specific. "I am going to go straight to the gym from work every day this week. I am going to do 30 minutes of cardio everyday, and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday I am going to do weights." That is more like it. And better than that would be that you are going to see your trainer M, W and F or you better know exactly what you are going to do on those days or you will just putz around like most people at the gym and you will feel good that you went, but you will know deep down inside that you probably didn't do what it is going to take for you to lose the weight. If this is the case, you will only last about 3 weeks and then you will bail, deciding that "This doesn't work" and you will give up.

It doesn't work if you don't do it right. Just showing up won't do it. Just hitting a tennis ball back and forth won't make you a good tennis player. If anything, it might make you worse as you learn bad habits that a coach will someday have to correct. Same thing with exercise. Learn now to do it right, what exercises are best, how hard you have to push yourself, etc.

I think you get the point. The New Year's Resolutioners are here and just looking for another one to join the crew of the failed, well-intentioned and misinformed. Be one of the few who really does want to make a change, recognize that your habits have gotten you in this predicament, identify that you need to make changes, take massive action and get going towards being the you that you want to be. Because you can do it. You just need to want it.
-Scott
Hook up with me here: Online training, nutrition and inner circle membership and support- www.theprogram.trainerize.com