My blog post last week was about Drew Carey’s 80
pound weight loss. I revealed his fatal flaw to
lasting results. Nonetheless, he’s doing a lot
right.

But this week John Goodman has lost a reported 100
pounds! And he has done it the RIGHT way.

Let’s talk about how he did it.

His Turning Point

“It’s been constant. It’s always been in the back
of my mind. It just ate at me the whole time. That
may be part of the reason I shoved food in my
mouth so much. That satisfaction.”

When John got a role in Santa Clause he said
enough was enough. But he finally wised up and
didn’t set the ever-futile New Year’s resolution.
He hired a trainer and got on a program.

Whether you have a specific turning point or not,
you MUST decide enough is enough.

His Nutrition

“I had to clear out my own house first. It was
built on a bad foundation.”
“…But also fresh vegetables, lean protein… I’m
not a real hard-on about keeping strict calorie
counts. I know what’s in my wheelhouse, what I can
eat and what I can’t. And I’m satisfied eating it.
I cannot tolerate sugar. I crossed over to the
diabetic side, but I can’t tolerate it anyway
because it creates hunger.”

Spot on John. First fix the foundation. Get rid of
the crap. Now he’s getting protein and cutting the
sugar. Very important. And if you notice his
nutrition is supportive to his exercise.

His Alcohol

“Alcohol is alcohol. I’m an alcoholic. I would
drink no matter what. That’s just part of being an
alcoholic.”
“…and the big key was drinking.”

Goodman has cut out alcohol completely. The
problem with alcohol is not the calories or how
many carbs are in your beer. That’s marketing
hype.

Alcohol inhibits your metabolism. And your
metabolism is your body’s process for burning the
fat. If you want to lose weight and get in shape,
cut out the alcohol.

His Identity

This is very important and I probably don’t give
it as much attention as I should. I’ve talked to
men and women over the years that feel as if their
weight helps identify themselves. If your weight
helps identify you, i.e. being the ‘big cuddly
bear’ or defines you in any way, then YOU WILL NOT
LOSE WEIGHT.

I’m not being a cold s.o.b. here. I’m being
honest. How you define yourself will dictate how
you think, act and live your life. I identify
myself as being a healthy guy. Will I always be
healthy? Yeah, I probably will. I may eat a donut
from time to time, but I won’t let myself become
grossly unhealthy. Because that’s not how I define
myself.

So if you identify yourself with being ‘the big
guy’ or in some other way with your weight; you
won’t lose it. You might lose some for a period of
time, but you WILL gain it back.

So… on weight being apart of his persona and
being worried about losing his weight and having
people perceive him differently in the acting
realm…

“Hey, that’s too bad. I’ll scream and cry when I’m
in the unemployment line, but that’s really
secondary. I am what I am. I can act at different
weights. It’s a miracle I was hired at all for a
lot of these jobs.”

Don’t let ANYONE tell you who you are and what you
can or can’t do. Ever!

His Exercise

All cardio John?

“This time we mixed in strength training with
resistance bands. They’re great for me because I
can contract and release slower, and that builds
up better muscle for me.”

“I was doing a job in New Orleans twice a week
called Treme. I was only working a couple days a
week. I wanted to treat this other thing
(exercise) like a job–to get healthy.”

This speaks to how much he’s exercising. I wish
more people took their health and fitness as
serious as John has.

His Effort

Does he like it?

“I do. I’m still a sucker for highs, and I get
those endorphins. It’s just a feeling of well-
being. I’m where I’m supposed to be. I’m doing
what I should be doing. I feel good. I’m hopefully
extending my life. Before, I didn’t care.”

Being fit, firm and strong; able to handle stress
or any situation that comes your way; not just
looking good, but feeling good… that’s when you
have it all. That’s when life is at it’s best!

But I can’t adequately describe to you what being
fit feels like. That feeling must be experienced.

There are a TON of lessons to be taken from John’s
weight loss journey. I hope you pick them all up.
Of course the 80/20 rule will apply to these
lessons.

Many will read this and say, “Well, he’s a
Hollywood actor, with money, and time, and blah,
blah, blah.” And those people won’t do a thing.
They’ll stay the same. Stagnant. Inactive.
Unchanged.

The other camp will take this as another success
story (yes, I have given you others) to model and
motivate and make a change in their life. What you
do is your decision. But I hope you decide wisely.

If you haven’t signed up for a free trial you can reserve your spot here.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tips, Weight Loss Tips

I emailed this lesson on Father’s Day and totally skipped posting it to the blog. So excuse the timliness of it. But I think the lesson is worth the tardiness.

First, I want to wish all of the dads out there,
especially my dad, a Happy Father’s Day. We’re
blessed and thankful to have you in our lives.
Second, I have a weight loss tip for you today.
And appropriately, it’s a tip I learned from my dad.

My dad was the one that spurred my health
kick. He bought me my first set of weights.
He’d make me a healthy lunch for school. But most
importantly, he taught me health and fitness by example.

He went to the gym a minimum of 5 days a week. He
would always make sure we had veggies with dinner. Don’t get me wrong, he would still bring home donuts on Saturday morning, but all in all, he was a healthy example to follow. And that’s the tip I want to share with you today. Learn by example.

I bet I can guess how successful you are with your
weight loss and fitness goals by taking a look at
the examples you follow.

Those examples will influence your actions and
behaviors. They will have the greatest effect on
you. Sometimes whether you choose it or not.
For instance, wouldn’t you want to follow the
example of someone that’s been successful
with weight loss versus someone that hops
from one diet to the next always struggling to
keep the weight off?

The examples you have in your life will utlimately
influence your actions.

I am the man I am today because of my dad. He
didn’t sit me down one day and say, “Tim, this is
how you be a man.” Not at all.

But I did learn how to work hard. I did learn how
to treat a lady. I did learn how to sacrifice. I
learned all of this from his example.
You can learn the same way. Doesn’t matter if it’s
weight loss, fishing, or sewing. If you
watch, observe, and follow a good example, chances
are you’ll be just as good.

Good examples are a great way to learn. Take some
time now to think about the examples you have when
it comes to your weight loss. Are they good examples to follow? Will they help you move closer to your goal? If not, I suggest you find others to follow. If you need a good example to follow come spend a week with my team and I. We’ll quickly show you the path to weight loss!

P.S. If you don’t have a good example to follow or have been unsuccessful with your weight loss click here for a support. You’ll receive a free trial to our bootcamp and see for yourself how being around like minded women with a common goal is very beneficial to your weight loss and fitness.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

Let me get straight to the point. Because it’s likely you experienced the symptoms of the disease I’m talking about over the holiday weekend.

I’ve been a proponent for ending this disease my entire adult life. It hits home with me. Maybe because it’s deadly. It won’t necessarily take your life. But it will take your quality of life.

I’m talking about the ‘Disease of Decision’ as it relates to your health and fitness. Sometimes it’s not obesity, diabetes, or cholesterol that affects our lives. Sometimes it’s just our own daily battle of choices.
I bet you had a decision to BBQ this weekend. To eat, drink, relax and enjoy the time off. You also had a decision to have a couple of cold Bud Lights and eat those delicious store bought cookies. And a decision to exercise with the time off. Or to do something active with your family.

What decisions did you make?

I won’t lie to you, decisions are not easy. No one wants to go for a jog when you have a good excuse to eat and drink. And pushing yourself as hard as you should or working out for as long as you should, that’s tough too.

But your decision doesn’t lie in what you should do. That’s the easy part. The real decision lies in what you want with yourself and your life. If you want to live well, to really get all you can from life, then decisions such as exercising and passing on cookies become easy. If you want to stop gaining weight and fit into the pants you still have in your closet, then those decisions aren’t a second thought.

The remedy for the ‘Disease of Decision’ is having a Reason Why and a clear focus on your goals. When that is at your foundation it eliminates the dis-ease of deciding what you should do. It’s already been decided.

Take this and call me in the morning

If you suffer from the ‘Disease of Decision’ try this… Sit down tonight and write out the reasons why you want to lose weight and get in shape. Give this some thought. Is it because you want to make it through a day without being so doggone tired? Or maybe you just want to look good again, or be able to age well and play with your grandkids. Whatever it is, put it down on paper. Set a clear vision of how you want your life to look in terms of your health and fitness. Make sure you have laser sharp focus. Then call us.

Seriously, call us.

Your Reason Why is the first step to a better you. The second is starting a program that works. We can help you do that. We cannot however, help you decide to DO IT.

So sit down tonight and find your reason why. Write out a few goals and why they’re important to you. Then call tomorrow or click here.

We want to help you dial this in. No more excuses. No more putting this off. Get started today!

One more thing…

As bad as the ‘Disease of Decision’ can be, don’t let indecision get you. Not deciding at all is worse than saying yes or no. If you’re not ready to lose weight then tell yourself that. When the time is right you’ll be primed to decide yes and your commitment will be stronger.

Posted under Fitness Tips

I received an email from one of my mentors
last week. He was using the problem I’m
referring to in a different light. But
immediately I realized it’s the biggest problem
mother’s face. Here’s what he said…

“Author and motivational/self actualization guru,
Larry Winget, has a book out that I recommend to
you. It’s called “No Time For Tact.” Great title.

VERY serious advice that cannot be overlooked for
long or you *will* pay the price.”

I think he’s spot on. But this is THE biggest and
most common problem I hear from mothers.

I firmly believe we’d be lost without our mothers.
They always put themselves on the bottom
of the totem pole and serve others first.

But it shouldn’t be that way. And it doesn’t have to be
either. I just finished meeting with Jennifer Janson. She
trained with us last year and came back in to get get
re-started.

Jennifer runs her own ‘company’ of 6 at home. Plus
her husband. When she went on hiatus from FT, she
realized that going it alone and doing it on her own was
not realistic. Too much distraction. Too much room for
error. Too much time. She was better when she had a
disciplined and structured exercise routine. It was time
for her. No one else to think about. No one else to tend to.

FT helps leverage her health and fitness. And she
knows her family is better served because of it.

This is even more important with your health, your
fitness, and your weight loss. You will serve
others better (spouse, kids, friends, etc…) if
you serve yourself first.

How to be effectively “selfish”:

Plug these into your calendar first:

- Your personal down time
- Your workouts
- Your nutrition
- Your sleep

And then be discplined about
honoring and protecting that time. Will it
be perfect? No. It never will be. But you
can certainly strive for it.

If you are married, have kids, work a lot of
hours, there are always others to tend to. It
takes discipline and commitment or your time can
soon fade away.

Gotta guard against that – at all costs.

Here’s to the Mom’s out there!

P.S. If you think this is only applicable to mothers
you’re sorely mistaken. Make sure you take time
for yourself, your health, your fitness, and watch
your care for others improve!

P.P.S. Would you like help being ‘selfish’? Would you
like a way to leverage your health and fitness? See
how Jennifer does it by clicking here.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Personal, health

You may have caught my segment on KMOV’s
Great Day St. Louis on Monday. If not, you can
see the 5 common fitness mistakes
I revealed to Matt Chambers.

Check it out below. #2 is a biggie. Watch for it
with 4:45 remaining. Also, Julia demonstrates
one of my favorite exercises. Can you guess which
of the three it is?

Are you making any of these mistakes? If so, we can help! Come join us for a FREE Boot Camp class. Come out and have some fun and get fit. Investigate, then decide. Hope to see you soon!

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution?

Statistics tell us 95% of people have stoppped or dropped their resolution by now. Follow these 5 tips and make your health and fitness program successful. Be sure to pay attention to the secret at the 4:25 mark.

Hope this helps. I invite you to come out to one of our boot camps and try us out for FREE! Click here to register for the next class.

Tim

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

I hesitated to title this post with that quote.
I thought you might think that’s me making that
claim. But I assure you I’m not.

I was probably just as shocked as you to see that.
I saw it on the back of a minivan driving into the
studio today. Call Harriette for more details. Or
to tell her she’s blowing smoke!:-)

3 dress sizes in 10 minutes is really what we want
isn’t it? We want immediate results. Our entire
society is built around speed. Everything is
faster. From computers to kids growing up.
It all happens fast.

But fitness results are not. It takes time to lose
weight and get in shape.

One of the most often asked questions I get is,
“How long will it take Tim?” That’s the
question everyone wants to know. But usually it’s
not what you want to hear.

It’s why my finace dislikes fitness. You may know
she’s a chef. She loves planning, preaparing,
and cooking a meal. Lucky me:-) But her final
result is instant. At the end of all that work
her meal is complete. My taste buds are wowed and
there’s a big smile on my face. She see’s the
result.

It’s different with fitness and weight loss.

Your fitness and weigtht loss takes time. A long
time for some. As frustrating as that may be it’s
just the way it is. And I have to continually
remind Joella of it. She’s looking for immediate
results. She expects to change after 2 workouts.
But it just won’t happen.

What are your expecations? I mean, really and
truly, when are you expecting to look and feel
good? One month? Three months? One year?

It’s different for everyone. But I’ll
try and give you a better idea.

When it comes to fitness the body works through 3
phases. Neural, muscular, and lipogenic. (That’s a
fancy word for burning body fat.)

The first phase, neural, is what I like to call
your initial hump. When you start an exercise
program you are in essence adding a stressor to
the body. (Ironically this stressor helps decrease
stress.) In the beginning it’s hard. The weights
feel heavy and wobbly. You sometimes feel akward
and unsure, and overall weak.

As you begin to
workout you actually breakdown your muscle before
you build it. Lactic acid builds up in your
muscles and causes soreness. Ah yes, the dreaded
soreness. Sometimes you find out about muscles you
forgot you had. Or maybe you didn’t even know you
had them! Walking up and down stairs, squatting to
the toilet, and other daily activities can become
gruelsome. This inital hump usually lasts about
two weeks.

The second phase is muscular. After your body gets
past neural and systemic changes you’ll begin to
build muscle. You start to feel stronger. You’ll
notice increases in your energy and your
metabolism starts to raise.

I love this phase. And it always reinforces how
important strength training is for you. Because
lean muscle contributes so much to your body. Your
metabolism increases, your energy stokes, you
start to firm up and notice lines in your arms and
legs. You’re looking and feeling good like you
should!!

With the increase in metabolim and lean muscle
leads you into the last phase. Body fat burning.

This is where it counts. This is when you’re
turning your body into a machine. You metabolize
calories like a well oiled piston. It just
cranks!!(Hence my favorite saying, “Crank it!”)

You use up needed carbs, protein, and fat. Food
becomes fuel to your body. No longer do you eat
just because but it has an entire new meaning!

It takes roughly 12 weeks to go through these
phases. Some may go through them quicker. Some
slower. If you have 40 or 50 pounds to lose, it
will take you longer. If you’re looking to lose
that last 10 pounds you might do it 8 to 10 weeks.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. There’s one more thing.
Your body goes through these phases with one BIG
catch. Your diet! If you’re diet is not supportive
to these phases then you will slow the process.
You can’t out work a bad diet.

Set yourself up for success. Don’t put ‘Lose 3
dress sizes in 10 minutes’ into your mind. It
won’t happen. Give yourself realistic expectations
and set incremental goals along the way. Enjoy the
little victories and you’ll have one BIG victory
at the end.

P.S. Want to lose 3 dresses the right way? There’s
no better, faster way to results than our boot camp.
But don’t take my word for it. Investigate, then decide.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

I opened an email yesterday and it said, “The
greatest gift, for you or a loved one, is the gift
of a healthy, vibrant life.”

I thought that was pretty cool. And so true. My
fiance and I have committed to maintaining a
healthy and fit life. Because I know when you
don’t have to worry about your health, when your
health works for you and not against you, your
life is so much better. Richer. Fuller. Plus, by
marrying me she doesn’t have much choice.:-)

I was on the set of Great Day St. Louis this morning
and talked with Carol on making your resolutions stick.
And the steps have nothing to do with exercise!

Watch this video now. Make sure to listen to the secret
of success at the 4:25 mark!

Getting Into Shape

To your health,

Tim

P.S. What are your resolutions? I’d love to hear them.
Post a comment down below.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

NBC’s Biggest Loser Finale Analysis

A disclaimer first. I have watched all of 12
minutes of the Biggest Loser. In fact, last night
was the first time I tuned in. So I can’t say that
I have the full story. But…

…I don’t need it. When I get home at night I’m
usually famished. So I go straight to the kitchen
to start dinner. I also use this time to catch up
on the news. Well, as I was flipping to the news
channel I passed NBC. I knew The Biggest Loser was
on because one of our clients was super excited
about the finale. So I watched.

It took all of 12 minutes to make 2 conclusions
about this show. Now, if you’re a fan of the show
I think that’s great. I think this show does a lot
for Americans in regard to motivation,
inspiration, persistence and hard work. Because
there is no doubt that those contestants work
hard.

1st conclusion: Trainer Jillian Taylor

What a poor representation of a personal trainer.
I first laughed out loud watching her. But then I
got a little ticked off. Jillian was standing over
Shay(?), who I believe was the heaviest contestant
to date, yelling at her not to stop her exercise
while asking her personal questions that were
making her cry like a baby trying to fix her past.
This is just not reality. Trainers don’t yell AT
you and we most certainly don’t ask you questions
about your past and try to remove  huge
psychological barriers to losing weight. Bullies
and therapists do that. It’s complete nonsense.

However, we do raise our voice WITH you, and
motivate and encourage you to do more than you
think you’re capable. If I had a dollar for every
time a lady has told me they can’t do a pushup,
I’d be a very rich man. If I had another dollar
for every time a lady tried and did 5 pushups with
a trainer by her side supporting her, then I’d be
a very very rich man.

You see, trainers help pull out the best in you.
That’s why I like to refer to my team as Fitness
Coaches. We don’t yell at you and demean you. We
partner with you. We educate, motivate, and
support you. We coach you through a proven fitness
and nutrition program to get results.

And that leads to my 2nd conclusion: The Doctor

When the doctor stood up to tell Shay about her
medical progress he said one thing that stuck out.
I’ll paraphrase… when we’re in a society that
tells you gastric bypass surgery is the answer,
you have shown that exercising and eating right
works.

Great stuff Doc! That was the one thing I liked
about the show. That doctor reinforced to America
what I’ve been saying for years. Strength
training, cardiovascular training, and supportive
nutrition is THE key to lasting and permanent
weight loss and fitness results. Forget about the
pills. Forget about the diets. And you can
definitely forget about the surgery. The doc also
said there was a 1 in 10 chance you could die from
surgery – yikes!

My advice is watch The Biggest Loser for
motivation and inspiration only. But realize
nothing on that show is reality. Not the trainers,
not the fitness program, and not speed at which
you lose weight.

I’d love to hear your comments about this one. Post them below.

To being a Loser,

Tim

Posted under Fitness Tips, Weight Loss Tips

I’ll go out a limb (a sturdy one) and say you’re going to indulge at some time during the holidays. Don’t worry, this isn’t a guilt trip email. In fact, I too will eat, drink, and be merry!

So at some point you will over indulge. And human nature tells us what happens next. You’ll realize what you’ve done and desire to be better and not do it again. That’s a fact. Once you feel bad, you’ll want to feel good. If you have a beating heart you will feel these two emotions. 

So here’s the tip…

When the second emotion strikes… when you have the desire to lose weight, to get in shape, heck just to feel better – about yourself and your health… take action. Immediately. Do not delay about this.

You see, you must act before the feeling passes and the idea gets dim. ASAP. If you don’t, then you suffer from the Law of Diminishing Intent. If you don’t translate your intent into action it wanders. And in one day, one week, one month… you won’t be able to find it. Soon, you probably won’t even remember it.

Develop your ability to take action. Do NOT lose time. Strike while the iron is hot. Act when the idea is fresh and the emotion strong. Otherwise the idea is wasted and the emotion passes. Disciplined action equals results. And I mean ‘lose weight and inches, tone and tighten, feel good, see it in the mirror’ results!!

Now go take action,

Tim

P.S. I was away from my email over the weekend and had 2 emails in my inbox on Monday with upsetting news. Jim Rohn passed away last Saturday from his battle with pulmonary fibrosis. Jim Rohn, America’s foremost business philosopher, influenced hundreds of thousands of people, myself included. In fact, I learned the tip above from him.

He had an extraordinary gift at making success easy and understandable. He turned success into common sense. If you’ve listened or read any of Jim’s material you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I would encourage you to do so. Your life will be better because of it. Thank you Jim. May you rest in peace.

Posted under Fitness Tips, Nutrition Tips, Weight Loss Tips