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It was an epiphany. A spiritual awakening. The beginning of every great work begins not with muscle or brawn but with the most powerful organ you own. The most important and powerful organ in the human body is the human brain and with it comes the power of choice. You choose. Only you. Only you can decide what type of food goes in your mouth. No one, not doctors, family, friends, or anyone who loves you can choose what you put in your mouth. Think for a moment. Who runs your life? Who eats for you? Who exercises for you? Recognize and embrace your power of intellect and choice. The most empowering tool you own. Once you grasp this idea you’ll conquer fat forever: change your behavior toward food by choosing better nutrition. Strive for five fruits and vegetables a day. At the grocery store choose fruit rather than ice cream, choose oatmeal rather than sugary boxed cereals, choose vegetables rather than french fries, and choose eggs, fish or chicken rather than red meat. Make gradual change, go slowly. Purpose in your mind to change your attitude towards food. For example, avoid eating late at night. Make 7:00pm the last meal. Buy a smaller dinner plate, use smaller bowls. Make each meal smaller but be sure to eat at least five or six meals a day. Yes, frequent eating of nutritious calories will help you maintain muscle and burn fat because it heats the metabolism. DO NOT SEVERLY RESTRICT YOUR CALORIES. A crash diet will never work. If fact, delete the word diet from your vocabulary and you’ll lose fat quicker. The first three letters of diet is die. My advice NEVER DIET. It’s better to eat frequent small meals throughout the day rather than two or three large meals. Frequent nutritious meals will speed up your metabolism and burn fat. CFFB is about behavioral change not discipline or obedience to slavish workouts or fad diets. Exercise is important but physical change happens faster when your food choices improve first.
"If you want your life to be more rewarding, you have to change the way you think." If you refuse to change the way you think, you will stay fat. Sometimes people overeat when they feel overwhelmed by life. Observe these suggestions and you will eat less junkfood. Here are eight steps in the behavioral change process in reversing obesity and negative thinking: 1. Learn to take responsibility for your life situation and problems instead of blaming others. Once you learn to apply these eight steps your attitude towards food and exercise will change and you will develop a new attitude and the old negative habits will fade away and a new reality will take your life. You will want to eat better nutrition not because you have to but because you want to. A change in your behavior towards food and exercise is the single most important key to conquering fat. Behavioral change must precede anything else. You are empowered at this moment to improve your lifestyle with a change in your attitude. Yes it’s easier said than done but consider this: NO ONE CAN CHANGE YOU EXCEPT YOU! Begin to notice your atmosphere and personal space; reframe or re-adjust your thinking. Are you binge-eating in front of the television? Eating late at night? Skipping breakfast? Stress causing you to overeat? Notice what you eat and when you eat. As you begin to adjust your thinking about food surround yourself with positive thoughts and ignore negative thoughts and pessimistic people. Well meaning friends and relatives might not understand your new choices at first so be prepared to avoid their ideas. The human brain is a wonderful tool and through behavioral change you will conquer fat and feel better at any age. Remember, don't allow personal circumstances and negative situations control your emotional well-being. Take baby steps towards your new attitude towards food; behavioral change won't come overnight. For some people it's a gradual adjustment. For thirty years I made wrong lifestyle choices and perhaps you did too. Focus on the present not the past. Choose to move forward towards a healthier mental outlook on life. Avoid negative thoughts about yourself. The reason you want a better body is to be healthier and feel better about life and perhaps live longer. The time to choose is now. A year from now you’ll be glad you began today.Journaling One factor that helped me stay accountable is journaling. Writing down the calories, carbs, fats, and proteins of every meal every day. I did this for about six months and it worked. These days it’s easy to do because each item in the grocery store has a nutrition label that breaks down the calories, fat grams and carbs. Not everyone is ready for this idea but bear in mind that it might be an additional tool to keep you on track. I also keep an exercise journal to track my progress for both weightlifting and aerobic exercises. After a year it’s interesting to see how far you’ve come and how your body responds to certain movements. Give it some thought and try tracking your fitness goals through journaling. "I can feel guilty about the past, apprehensive about the future, but only in the present can I act. The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness." Chapter Three: Application of Principles Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. --Martin Luther King, Jr. Obviously you don’t have to wait to get your nutritional ducks in a row to start exercising. The best time to exercise is anytime. Just take it easy at first and don’t overdo it, ease into it at your own pace and consult your physician. I can remember being wiped out after my first ten minute walk on the CFFB plan. At 243lbs it had been many years since I had engaged in any meaningful fitness program. Two Principles of CFFB The Conquer Fat Feel Better plan is based on two simple ideas: Nutrition and Movement. Delete the word “diet” from your vocabulary because it’s a killer. The first three letters are die and CFFB is not about diet it’s about a more abundant life. There are too many fad diets in this world, South Beach Diet, Mediterranean Diet, GI Diet, Adkins, and they all might be helpful but the best diet is NO DIET. That’s right, I weigh less because I refuse to diet. In fact I say: eat more weigh less! I eat 5-8 times a day and enjoy food now more than I ever did as an obese couch potato. So eat up! But eat smart! The second component of CFFB is “movement” or dare I say—exercise! Exercise has become a negative with some folks and they don't want to hear about it because it implies difficulty, discipline, strain and expensive machines. Throw out those ideas and reframe your attitude towards exercise just as you did towards food. Get off the couch slowly. Make gradual changes. The CFFB plan is not about six second abs, four week weight loss diets or gaining ten pounds of muscles in five weeks. Two Tools of CFFB The two things you’ll need to conquer fat: Walking Shoes and Dumbbells. Simple and basic. I melted 85 lbs of fat using these two tools and were all I used in the beginning. Advertisers won’t like them because they’re not exotic or sexy. But they work and it's affordable for almost everybody. I took short walks 5-10 minutes carrying a pair of nine pound dumbbells in each hand purchased at Target. After several months I started doing bicep curls and shoulder presses with the dumbbells while doing a morning walk on an empty stomach. 14 months later I was walking four miles a day while lifting 740 reps each session. This routine was usually five days a week and each session lasted 60 minutes. The fat melted away. A lean mean fat burning machine and the two elements were nutrition and movement, preceded with a change in behavior towards food. The key to exercise is consistency more important than intensity. It's more important to workout routinely week after week. Maybe the intensity isn't all it could be due to lack of motivation or fatigue from daily life but stick with a consistent plan 3-5 days a week and you will conquer fat and feel better. Remember losing weight safely, one to two pounds a week is best. And remember to eat 5 to 6 times a day, small meals containing lean protein, complex carbs and a fibrous carbs. "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Walking for fitness: How to trim your waistline, improve your health Walking is a low-impact exercise with numerous health benefits. Benefits of walking Walking for fitness can help you achieve a number of important health benefits. For example, you can:
Prepare yourself before each walking session Take time to prepare yourself to prevent injuries, such as blisters on your feet or muscle pain. Wear walking shoes and comfortable, protective clothing Warm up Stretch
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