Reform Your Identity and Cut Your Need For Willpower

The fundamental reason people struggle with weight loss and fitness is that they are fighting against their own identity. The strongest force in the human psyche is our need for our own identity to match up with our actions. If our identity is one of a fat person, we will stay that way or rebound back to it when we do lose weight.

Breaking out of your struggle pattern requires re-writing your identity. This means re-programming your subconscious. Because your identity is located in your subconscious, many people don't even know what their identity is.

Some people even have conflicting identities between their conscious and subconscious minds. This can be observed when someone is surprised by how fat they look in the mirror or in pictures. They say to themselves, "Wow, I'm not that fat" or, "Cameras sure do add extra weight."

It really doesn't matter what your conscious mind thinks you are like. Your subconscious mind always wins. Whatever picture you have stored in your subconscious will be the one that is controlling both your conscious and unconscious actions to make sure you are that way on the outside.

The key to permanent change is to reprogram your subconscious picture of yourself or your "mind's eye". There are a handful of techniques I use when counseling clients on this, but one of the most effective and easiest to implement is through the use of verbal proclamations.

I write customized proclamations for my clients based on their three highest human needs which I score according to a list of questions I ask them, but some general proclamations are listed below. You will find some that work better than others based on your personality, so stick with the ones that elicit the most emotion for you.

When you are saying your proclamations, make sure you are feeling them with the highest emotional intensity possible. Be emphatic and repeat them over emphasizing a different word each time. They will cause the proclamation to have a different meaning every time you say it.

Stand/sit up straight with perfect posture, keep your chin high, and speak forcefully. Pick a convenient time and place. I do mine in the shower or in the car at least twice a day.

My main proclamation is "Every day and in every way I am getting stronger and wiser." I say this a minimum of 12 times because I emphasize a different word each time.

Making yourself do this exercise every day regardless of whether you feel like it or not is the true key to making it work. Remember that commitment is the difference between "can do" and "will do." Anyone can talk about what they can do, but what you will do is the only thing that counts toward reprogramming your subconscious.

Here are some proclamation examples:
"I choose to be fit because I deserve it."
"I know I have that within me to achieve success."
"I command my subconscious to produce only thoughts that empower my goals."
"All the tools I need are already within me."
"I choose healthy foods because I choose a healthy life."

Let these move you emotionally, and they will speak to your subconscious. As your subconscious hears these repeat messages, it will believe them and implement them. Then making the right choices comes naturally and effortlessly because there is no more struggle!

I couldn't have said it better myself

I was planning on writing an article for New Year's resolution folks, and then got this from Dr. Sears. It's so great to see other progressive professionals preaching what I do. His article was so good, I just cut and pasted it here. I will post a blog entry soon about specific tips for brain training to help with your fitness resolution, so stay tuned! -PJ



Al Sears, MD
11903 Southern Blvd. Ste. 208
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
January 01, 2009

Dear PJ ,

Losing weight is probably at the forefront of your mind this time of year. So here’s a “doctor-recommended” resolution for you to take into the New Year: work out less and eat more.

I’m not kidding. One of the discoveries I’ve made in my years of working with people on fitness and weight loss is what I believe to be the nature of “true” exercise—short bursts of high-intensity workouts.

The reason’s simple: your body wasn’t designed for long, repetitive exercise. What your physiology really evolved to handle is short, intense periods of exertion, followed by rest.

Think about it: is there any circumstance you can picture that would have led our ancestors—early caveman—to run seven miles three days a week or isolate their biceps and work them until they couldn’t lift a one-pound rock?

I can’t think of one.

Same goes for diet. There’s a right way and a wrong way. The bulk of the calories in the pre-agricultural diet came from lean, wild-caught meats, fat from the kill, and above-ground edibles, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

This is what you were meant to survive on. Millions of years of evolution created a digestive system optimally suited to processing protein and fat.

What’s more, if you over-consume protein, your native physiology interprets it as “the hunting is good” and starts to shed excess fat stores, since they’re then seen as inefficient drags on speed and energy levels by the body.

Modern medicine is finally waking up to the health benefits of this approach. Diabetes experts just this year found that high-protein dieting really does lead to lower fat stores and more lean muscle. They’re looking at it as a way to prevent or even reverse the effects of diabetes.1

Another study published late last year found the same thing: the authors concluded that low-carb dieting promotes weight loss, brings soluble fat levels in the blood into balance, and “can be simply incorporated into a person’s lifestyle.”2

The most up-to-date research on high-intensity, low-duration workouts also supports my point about exercise.3

Scientists at McMaster University in Canada took 20 healthy men and women with an average age of 23 and put them on a weekly workout schedule using stationary bikes. Some exercised five days a week, doing 40 to 60 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling. Others did four to six sets of 30-second sprints on the cycle, allowing 4.5 minutes of recovery time between sets; their total exercise time was about 15 to 25 minutes—for only three days a week.

After six weeks, the researchers found that the intense sprint interval training improved the structure and function of arteries just as much as traditional, longer endurance exercise—without all the wear and tear.

So start eating more protein—ideally from grass-fed, organic, or wild caught meats—and go for shorter, high-intensity workouts!

Best wishes for the New Year from all of us here at the Center for Health and Wellness.

To Your Good Health,


Al Sears, MD


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1. Brehm BJ, D’Alessio DA. “Benefits of high-protein weight loss diets: enough evidence for practice?” Current Opinions in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity. 2008. 15(5):416-21.
2. Thomas DE, Elliott EJ. “Low glycaemic index or low glycaemic load diets for overweight and obesity.” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2007. (3):CD005105.
3. Rakobowchuk M et al. “Sprint interval and traditional endurance training induce similar improvements in peripheral arterial stiffness and flow-mediated dilation in healthy humans.” American Journal of Physiology: Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology. 2008. 295(1):R236-42.

If You Have a Big But, You Probably Have a Big Butt

Excuses are often the biggest reason for the size of your butt. I have heard them all, ranging from “I’d like to exercise, but I just don’t have the time” to, “I have tried it all, but nothing ever works.” There is always a “but” stuck in there somewhere when folks with big butts are trying to explain why their butts are so big.

Your “but” is based on your personality and how you were raised. You learned somewhere that excuses get you out of uncomfortable stuff and make life easier, but in the end, excuses just grow your hind end.

Using “buts” are just a way to keep you within your comfort zone. Staying within your comfort zone often means staying within the parameters of your “minds eye”. Everyone has a certain way they see themselves, and when their fitness progress exceeds that visual picture programmed into their subconscious, sabotage and “buts” take over so everything goes back to normal and within the comfort zone.

No one got fit by staying comfortable, and if that is your goal, you will never be fit either. Real fitness means stretching your comfort zone and pushing your envelope to expand it and make it bigger. It means doing workouts that aren’t comfortable and addressing the mental roadblocks that cause your “buts”.

It also means changing your minds eye by regularly picturing yourself the way you want to look and feel, and feeling that sensation in the present tense. This practice actually changes the wiring in your brain and will not only help you reach your goals faster, but will also help you stay there once you reach them.

You simply cannot have both comfort and fitness. You must pick one and fully commit to it. The X Gym workout takes only 20 minutes twice a week, and it is the most intense workout there is. Nutritional commitment is also required, and that takes some stretching of the comfort zone as well.

Stretching your comfort zone causes growth. The more you stretch it, the faster you grow, and as with all living creatures, you are either growing or dying. There is no in between. Comfort will kill you. Pushing your envelope will save you.
People tell me I look younger every year. They say that I now look like I am in my 20’s, and I do feel that young, but my driver’s license says I’m 42. I am in the best shape of my life, I eat the most calories I ever have, I’m the leanest I have ever been, and I’m the strongest too. My cardio fitness is also the highest of my life, and you can bet I don’t try to stay comfortable!

Other X Gym trainers tell the same tale. Zach just placed 2nd in the Fireman Combat Challenge and earned a trip to the world championships in Vegas. Jenn just won the Fall City run, and then a month later, took 2nd in her first ever sprint triathlon. Scott qualified to compete in the World Ironman competition in Canada recently, and earned the title “All American” for his efforts.

All of us have small butts because we don’t use the word “but!” We are no different than you either. If we can do it, so can you. It’s just a matter of deciding between comfort or fitness and then committing fully to your decision. If you do decide to get rid of your “but” you will also find that you will get rid of your “butt!”

Have You Ever Seen a Skinny Hippo?

I respect the cause of vegans and tip my hat to their dedication, but if you want to get truly lean, you have to eat animal protein. It’s a fact that carnivores are the leanest creatures on the planet, and I have yet to find a single scientific study that shows a carbohydrate dominant diet (vegan) creates a leaner body than a diet dominated by protein and fat.

All the studies I have researched unanimously conclude that diets which restrict calories and include carbs, fail miserably in the long term. These are the mainstream diets of today, and are also the cause of the frustrating yo-yo dieting phenomenon. Studies prove that high protein/low carb diets succeed more than 50 fold over the calorie restrictive diets that include carbs.

Protein and fat diets are the easiest to stick with because they satisfy hunger, while carb diets actually cause hunger to increase. Studies even show that people lose fat faster on a higher calorie diet consisting mainly of protein than those people who eat carbs as a predominant component and take in only half as many calories.

The calorie-in calorie-out theory was debunked long ago, and the low fat diet has failed miserably, yet people are still trying them, and the large medical and nutritional associations are still promoting them! Doctors and dieticians just assume the diet isn’t working because their patients must be “cheating”, but this usually isn’t the case. It’s our physiology that is to blame for the failure of the calorie restrictive diet which includes carbs as a component.

Don’t take my word for it. You can see this for yourself with your own objective survey. The next time you are at the grocery store, find someone who is obese (this should be easy) and look in their shopping cart. You will find that it is full of carbohydrate rich food. Then look for someone who is in great shape (this might be hard) and look in their cart. Things that make you go “Hmmmm.”
Look at the animal kingdom for another example. I bet you can’t think of many fat wild animals, but elephants and hippos might come to mind. What do they eat? You got it – they are vegans! Now think of all the carnivorous wild animals and you won’t be able to come up with a single one that is fat.

The digestive systems and teeth selection among the carnivorous animals are vastly different from the carb eating animals, and guess what? Our teeth and digestive system is much more similar to the carnivores than the vegans. We are of course suited to eat vegetables as well as meat, but in certain populations of humans like the Eskimos and Inuit tribes of the past, over 95% of their dietary calories came from meat and animal fat. They not only survived, they THRIVED, and had the lowest incidence of disease and nutritional deficiencies as well.

We were created to eat mostly meat and some vegetables, nuts and berries. If we were meant to be strict vegans, we would have a mouth full of molars and multiple stomachs to more effectively process the vegetation. Before we had ovens that could bake us carbs, and before the farming revolution which allowed us to grow carbs, we were primarily carnivores. So why are we fighting our natural tendency and physiology?

Some people are addicted to carbs and have a very hard time reducing them. The good news is that I’ve got a solution for them as well. My book Cracking Your Calorie Code includes specific mental techniques to not only bust the carb cravings, but to also reprogram your brain so you actually want to eat the way you should without the need for willpower.

The bottom line is that if you want to lose fat and look fit, you must get the majority of your calories from animal products. If you are on a quest to be strong, toned and lean, but also want to be a strict vegan, you’ve got a conflict. You just can’t have it both ways, so you will simply have to pick one or the other.

BRAIN TRAINING TIP FOR THE DAY: Visualize the body you want. Imagine your end goal as if it has already happened. Close your eyes and feel what this feels like in the present tense. Doing this short exercise every day will form new nerve pathways to create the thin you and change your habits without even knowing you are making those changes! For more details on this and other techniques to create new and permanent fit body, see my book "Cracking Your Calorie Code."