Even though I enjoy exercising now and wouldn’t miss a workout session unless something really drastic happened, there was a time when I only did it because I knew I had to to lose weight.

Notice the moobs and gut and just know that it got worse.  Way worse.

There were times when my motivation was lagging and I found it really hard to push myself though a workout.  And even if I did make it thought the workout, because I couldn’t push myself as hard as I thought I should have, I would feel that my whole plan to lose weight/fat was thrown off and I would never reach my weight loss goal.  Forget the body of my dreams.

At one point things seemed to be getting worse as I had, what I thought, was one bad workout after another.  The whole idea of working out started to become even less fun than it already was.  It seemed like I was always playing catch up and I was destined to fail at my weight loss goals like so many others before me.  Sound familiar.

I felt like a weak failure and that I was quickly losing my battle with the bulge.  And that is definitely not what getting the body of your dreams should be all about

Thankfully I learned some things along the way.  Some strategies here.  A few tips there. Either finding out for myself or getting help from others.   All of which got me to my present body.

These motivational tips can also help you destory your lack of motivation and self doubt right when you are about to give up exercising for the day.

Or forever

So take the 7 tips I have included below and put them to use now (I mean right now) and you will never think of skipping a workout ever again.

1.)  Visualize.  - Find a quiet place and turn off all distractions.  Once you are focused, I want you to visualize the body you want and will get if you workout.  When you have that body in front of you I want you to focus on the parts that you really want to change.  See that flat stomach, those firm thighs, the strong shoulders, those toned arms and whatever else you are looking to achieve by working out.

Once you are done visualizing your dream body, remind yourself that you can only get it though hard work and exercise.

Visualize your perfect body.

2.)  Write everything down. – And I mean everything.  Write down what your goals and expectations are, your clothes sizes, your height, weight, circumferences and where you would like the aforementioned numbers to end up. Write down how you felt after your workouts.   Or how you felt after you blew one off. Even write down things that happened because you now workout but didn’t expect (i.e. better sex).

The next time you feel like blowing off a workout read the things you have written.  Seeing the changes that have occurred due to working will inspire you to make them even better.

3.)  Don’t stop moving.  - It has been shown that it is what you do for non-structured exercise that really determines how fit and healthy you are.  (see Fat Loss is NEAT).  So no matter where you are and what you are doing, MOVE.   Walk around, jump, hop.  Just do something.

Once you start you will want to keep going.  Like Newton discover: an object in motion wants to stay in motion.  Not moving around and just sitting there can make you want to keep doing the same.

MOVE ALREADY.

Follow her example and keep moving.

4.)  Do a 5 minute workout. – Really don’t feel like working out.  Do this.  Go to the gym (or where ever you workout) and tell yourself that you will workout for just a few minutes.  And mean it.  Have absolutely no intention of continuing.  Plan to stop at the designated time.

If you get to that time and you still want to stop.  By all means stop.  But remember: an object in motion wants to stay in motion.  Your chances of actually stopping and pretty low.

5.)  Take a caffeinated nap. – I do this a lot myself with a cup of green tea.

Feeling slow and tired?  Try this.  Make a cup of tea or coffee.  Once you finish drinking it (quickly is preferred), set a timer (if necessary) and take a 15 – 20 minute nap.  If you really are tired, you will fall asleep but after about 20 minutes the caffeine will kick in.  Instant Energizer Bunny.

Try not moving when that happens.

6.)  Get ready. –  This works the roughly the same way as #4. Next time you don’t feel like working out gather everything up that you will need to workout.  Get your clothes, your shoes, your sweat bands and any equipment you might need and gather it up like you would for a workout.  Once you have done all that, you probably won’t want to have done it for nothing and will decide to work out.

7.)  Just do it. – Be like the athletic company, named after the Greek goddess of sport, and JUST DO IT.  Turn off that lard ass couch potato in your head and JUST DO IT.

JUST DO IT.

JUST DO IT.

That’s where you want to be.

Why are you still sitting there?  JUST DO IT FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

Have any other tips that you use to motivate yourself.  Leave a comment below.  You just make keep someone on track that might otherwise give up.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

Wellesley’s Best Fat Loss Motivator and former lard ass couch potato.

~Shannon Bahr

~ Arnold Schwarzenegger

The directive in life, the moral imperative was so uncomplicated.

It could be expressed in single words, not complete sentences.

It sounded like this: Look. Listen. Choose. Act.

~ Barbara Hall

Pounds have added up over the years, slowly accumulating on your hips, thighs and belly.

When you look in the mirror you don’t like what you see. Yet you feel stuck.

You’re stuck because…

• You’ve gained too much weight to ever lose it all.
• You’re too old to make a change.
• You’d be lost in a gym.
• You simply don’t know where to start.

And so, if you are like most people, you give up on yourself before you ever shed a pound. The enormity of your goal paralyzes your ability to even begin.

I believe you can end this cycle of self destruction by simply focusing on the mole hills that make up the mountain – rather than focusing in on the mountain itself.

Don’t get me wrong, I know that weight loss can seem like an enormous task – especially when you have 20, 50 or even 100 pounds to lose.

However, rather than being discouraged by the mountain of fat you need to lose, conquer the mole hill of losing one single pound each week.

In fact, make it your weekly mole hill to drop one pound a week.

Doesn’t that sound easy? If you did this consistently for one year you would lose 50 pounds.

So how do you shed a pound a week? Simple. Just burn 3500 extra calories.

Create a 3500 calorie deficit each week by a combination of increased calorie exertion (exercise) and a decrease in calories consumed (eating less).

Take every opportunity to exert more calories by increasing your physical activity and to decrease your calorie consumption by eating fewer calories and by making healthier choices.

It helps to record your progress in a notebook and refer back to it. You will be surprised how encouraging it is to see your weekly progress written down on paper.

Remember, if you lose 500 calories a day you will drop a pound in a week.

Here are some practical ways to lose calories:

Weight loss doesn’t have to be a mountain. Each molehill you conquer will take you one step closer to a healthier, fitter you.

Small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.

I’m always available to help – go here:  www.traintosweatt.com to set up your free consultation.

Your friend and trainer,

Paul F. Sweatt

You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.

But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different.

Tomorrow you will conquer temptation.

But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.

Why Does Temptation Always Win?

We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.

• Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
• Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
• Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
• Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.

In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.

• You treat tempting food as a reward.
• You turn to tempting food for comfort.
• You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
• You allow tempting food to become a habit.

It’s Your Turn to Win

Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain.

Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.

A Matter of Perspective

Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.

Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.

Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster.

You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).

Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.

Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF

• If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.
• What do you dislike about tempting food?
  • It makes you unhealthy.
  • It causes weight gain.
  • It drains your energy.
  • It kills your confidence.
  • It degrades your quality of life.
  • It hurts your love life.
• Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives. It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.

Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF

• Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.
• What do you love about healthy food?
  • It makes you healthy.
  • It causes weight loss.
  • It boosts your energy.
  • It builds your confidence.
  • It improves your quality of life.
  • It enhances your love life.
• Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy.

Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food.

And temptation will become a thing of your past.

Most of us set goals and work hard only to find our motivation fizzle out after a couple of weeks. But there are little tricks that will help you harness the power of your mind and propel you toward achieving your goal.

The Two Motivators
When you boil it down, you’re motivated by two simple things:

1. To avoid pain (fear of failure)
2. To gain pleasure (promise of reward)

You are naturally geared toward one of these motivators. To figure out which, think of the last time you accomplished a task and then ask yourself the following: While doing the task were you thinking about what would happen if you failed to finish, or were you thinking about what you would gain when you finished?

Take note as to which motivator works for you – fear of failure, or promise of reward.

Set Your Goal: The first step towards unstoppable motivation is to determine your goal. You know you’re unhappy with your body, but what exactly do you want to change? Why is it important to you?

Perhaps you can relate to one of the following goals:

• You need to lose weight for your health. Your doctor scared you straight or maybe you’ve had a recent health problem that landed you in the hospital. Your goal is to move away from the pain of sickness.
• You want to look and feel incredible. You’ve always wanted to feel vibrant and attractive. The idea of having more energy really excites you. Your goal is to move toward the pleasure and reward of a fit body.
• You’re worried about your kids. They don’t eat enough vegetables, they drink more soda pop than water and they play video games constantly. You have decided to model a healthier lifestyle and to encourage your kids to participate. Your goal is to move away from the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and to propel your kids toward a healthy future.

Train Your Mind for Weight Loss:
With your clear and important goal in mind, let’s take a few minutes to train your mind to achieve it. You know that weight loss comes as a result of eating right and regular challenging exercise, so let’s use your mind to conquer both.

Eating Right: Use this exercise to distance yourself from the self-sabotaging foods you really wish you didn’t eat, and to naturally begin selecting healthy foods.

Take a moment to review your current eating habits. Identify the foods that you should stop eating (hint: sweets, anything fried, refined carbohydrates, sugary drinks). Identify the worst food that you eat regularly but know you shouldn’t.

These should include a warning label.

Now imagine the healthy foods that you should eat (hint: vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein). Identify the healthiest food that you know you should eat regularly.

These are mandatory.

Now with the image of these two foods in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise (seriously this stuff works):

• Draw up the image of your unhealthy food item. This image will likely be quite vivid, with smell, taste and bright color. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
• Draw up the image of your healthy food item. This image will likely be fuzzy and faded. In your mind, bring this picture to life with smell, taste, sound and bright color.

Regular Exercise: This technique can be applied in a way that encourages you to crave exercise rather than avoid it.

Take a moment to imagine how you feel after a great workout (notice the emphasis on the word after). Remember the physical satisfaction as well as the sweet feeling of accomplishment.

Looking like this will give you a feeling of accomplishment.  And a feeling that people are staring at you.

Now bring to your mind the aspects of exercise that you dislike. What is your biggest reason for avoiding exercise? Are you too tired? Do you not have enough time? Is physical exertion too much of a hassle? Pinpoint your greatest complaint about exercise.

Does this describe your idea of a good workout?

Now with the image of these two aspects of exercise in mind, find a quiet place and do the following exercise:

• Draw up the image of your exercise complaint. The image is likely to be clear and accompanied by the sounds, smells and sensations. In your mind, fade this picture to black and white and distance the image until it is dull, fuzzy and remote.
• Draw up the image of the wonderful feeling you have after accomplishing a great workout. Magnify this image in your mind. Fixate on how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally. View the experience in bright colors and add a sound track of inspirational music.

Why It Works
If this was your first experience with training your mind (also called Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP) it may have felt a little odd. Many of the world’s top achievers regularly use techniques like these to accomplish astounding goals.

The techniques above work because they train your mind to bring your behavior in line with your values. Think about it, you value health, you desire to be fit and attractive and you want to instill healthy habits in your kids.

These techniques encourage you to avoid self-sabotage and to make choices that line up with what you truly value.

Now that you are ready to accomplish your goals, call or email me today to start your fitness program that will greatly improve your life.

People who would rather spend the day planted on their couch than anywhere else.

People who choose take-out over home cooked, every night of the week.

People who would rather have a root canal than go do a workout.

Sure, I know that we all have our occasional lazy day on the couch, but lately it seems that more and more people are turning laziness into a career.

What about you? Check if the following describe you:

• You are habitually inactive.
• You’d rather be a passive observer than an active participant.
• You’re a master excuse-maker.
• You find shortcuts in order to avoid the long haul.

If that’s you, don’t get down on yourself. There are many legitimate causes of laziness. Here are just a few…

1.)  Sleep Deprivation: When you’re short on sleep it’s easy to become unmotivated, which quickly turns into laziness. Get a minimum of eight hours of sleep each night in order to maintain enough energy to get you through the day. Some experts even say that ten hours of sleep each night is what you need to function at your best.

That has to be the biggest slice of bread I have ever seen.

2.)  Caffeine Abuse: Starting your day with a jolt of java may help with your initial alertness, but the dip in energy that takes place a few hours later could be the reason that you become lazy later in the day. Avoid the rush and crash of caffeine and instead rely on your steady supply of natural energy.

If it were possible I know people that would do it.
3.)  Bad Habit: At some point being lazy simply becomes a habit. If every night after work you head straight to the couch, it soon becomes automatic and not a conscious decision. Breaking the habit of laziness is actually quite easy. Simply take yourself off of autopilot and make the conscious decision to do something productive instead – like heading to the gym rather than the couch.

4.)  Inactivity: If your job keeps you in a chair for hours at a time, and you don’t exercise when off the clock, then your body is just accustomed to inactivity. It’s time to wake up your under-used muscles and to reacquaint yourself with the joy of motion. A simple way to get back into the swing of things is to go on a 30 to 60 minute walk either before work or after you return home. Once you’ve broken yourself in with consistent walks, contact me to get started on a fitness program that will quickly get your body back into great shape.

Laziness begins when you ignore that little nagging voice in your head. You know, the one that reminds you when you should take action on something rather than sit by and let the opportunity slip away.

Is today the day that you will kick laziness to the curb?

Is today the day that you will take action toward achieving your goals?

Is today the day that you will listen to that little voice of reason?

Call or email today to schedule your first workout. You’ll find my contact info here: www.traintosweatt.com.

You want to be slimmer and to tone your body, but your weight won’t budge.

Read the following 7 Weight Loss Blockers to discover what is standing in your way and how to quickly and easily begin your weight loss journey.

Blocker #1: Your Mind

Your mind is your number one ally when it comes to achieving your goals. However, until your mind has been programmed for success, it will do more to derail your efforts than to help you.

• Take a few moments each day to visualize yourself at your ideal weight. Imagine how it feels to look the way you’ve always wanted.
• Protect your mind from any negative self talk. If a negative thought comes to mind, immediately reject it.
• You want to be thin and fit, and yet you think of yourself as out-of-shape and fat. Re-program your mind to think of yourself as fit and attractive, and you will be well on your way toward achieving your goal.
• Give up the belief that you can’t achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. See it first in your mind, and then in the mirror.

Blocker #2: Your Fear

Change makes most of us nervous – even if it is a change in the right direction. You may not be consciously aware of the fear you have of getting into shape. Until you conquer this fear, your weight loss efforts will be blocked by self sabotage.

Professional speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, has outlined three specific beliefs that you must have in order to conquer your fear and instantly create a lasting change.

• Believe that something MUST change. You can’t be wishy-washy about it. You can’t be considering it. You can’t even be pretty sure about it. You’ve got to be rock solid.
• Believe that YOU must change it. You can’t pass the buck of responsibility and expect to lose weight. It’s on your shoulders. Other people will prove to be great assets in your journey, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this weight loss enough to make it your personal mission.
• Believe you CAN change it. You may have failed in the past, but that doesn’t matter. When you put your mind to it, you’re able to do amazing things. Do you believe that you are capable of losing weight? Once you own the belief that you can, you’ll be unstoppable.

Blocker #3: Your Excuses

Your excuses for being out-of-shape are getting old. An excuse takes less immediate effort than an action, but in the long run the action taker always has the advantage. Don’t allow excuses to ruin your life any longer.

• Don’t skip out on your responsibilities with excuses, instead expect more from yourself.
• Focus on the big reason why you are losing the weight. Make a list of the benefits you’ll enjoy once you achieve your goal, and read them first thing each morning.
• Remember that you can only have two things in life: excuses or results. Which do you want?

Blocker #4: Your Commitment

How many times have you tried to lose weight, only to give up a week or two later? We live in a commitment-phobic world, so it’s no wonder that you routinely abandon your goals. If you truly want to lose weight then your commitment to the process is a must.

• The margin between success and failure is bridged by your commitment. Don’t give up until your goal has been achieved.
• Treat exercise with the same importance as a work meeting, and you’ll never skip it at the last minute. Find three available 60-minute time slots in your schedule and mark them (in pen) on your calendar. Now stick to your schedule.
• If you don’t give up, then you’ll never fail.

Blocker #5: Your Diet

If you consistently eat the wrong food, then you’re weight loss efforts will all be in vain. To put it bluntly, you need to stop eating junk. Processed foods, refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup do not belong in your diet if you want to be in great shape. Cut these items out of your diet and replace them with real whole foods like lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fruits.

• Don’t eat processed foods. Even though processed foods are accepted by our society, they contain tons of chemicals and empty calories that will make you sick and fat.
• Fat contains twice the caloric density of protein and carbohydrates, so make sure to limit the amount that you consume. Eat lots of lean proteins and wholesome carbohydrates from plants and whole grains.
• Vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds are filled with fiber and antioxidants which are vital for healthy weight loss. Snack on these instead of packaged treats.

Blocker #6: Your Patience

It takes time to transform your body from fat to fit, even though you want it to happen overnight. Remind yourself that it took time to put the weight on, so it will take time to take the weight off. When you find your patience wavering, or when you encounter a frustrating plateau, do the following:

• Review your goal. Is it specific and measurable? Is it small and attainable, rather than monumental? Focus on your goal when the going gets tough.
• Make each workout a new experience. Challenge your body with different resistance, new exercises and a varied pace.
• Remember that anyone can have one great workout, but that won’t get you the body you want. The only way to achieve your goal is by consistently exercising and eating right, plain and simple.

Blocker #7: Your Support

People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and are more likely to fail. It makes sense. Who would rush to the gym if no one is was waiting for them? Who would push themselves if no one was paying attention? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

• Find a workout partner who is in better shape than you, or better yet, work with me, your local fitness expert, to guarantee your results.
• I am passionate about seeing you achieve results – don’t waste your time, energy and effort on mistakes.
• When you start a program with me, you suddenly have the upper hand on weight loss. I’ll be in your corner, coaching you each step of the way, keeping you accountable to workouts and giving you that dose of encouragement when you need it most.

Get serious about your results and begin the last weight loss program that you’ll ever do.

Call today to schedule your first workout. You’ll find my contact info at http://www.traintosweatt.com.