1. Finishers: We love finishing things! That’s why it’s so hard to leave things on our plates; like that last bite we don’t even want. Our clue that we are done eating is that our plates are clean. Try always leaving a piece of food on your plate.

2. Perception: In a study when people thought they were drinking “cheap” wine, they ate less and stayed at dinner shorter. But the group with the “good” wine (they were the same exact wines) stayed longer and ate more and said the meal was better.

3. Eating: The first bite is always the best so just reduce the portions. Out to dinner? Tell them to pack up 1/2 of your food for home even before they bring out the plate to your table. Say no to bread. This way you don’t even have to look at it. If you have to constantly look at it, you have to constantly ask yourself the question, “Do I want a piece? Do I really not want a piece?” Save yourself.

Put food in the back of cupboards. Make it harder to get to. Thank God for places like Costco. But take Costco size things and put them in smaller containers (then hide them in large bins.) In general, when food is out of your site - it’s out of your mind.

4. Awareness: Are you really hungry when you eat? If you’re not hungry but choose to eat anyway — say out loud, “I’m not hungry but I’m going to eat this anyway!”

5. 20 percent: Try adding 20% more veggies to your plate and take away 20% of the entree.

1/2 plate: Try making half of your plate veggies. I find that eating veggies and salad with each meal really helps me to feel full.

6. Forgotten: There was a great study where 1 group of people ate chicken wings and their bones were kept in front of them. In the other group, the plates were cleared every 15 minutes or so.

Who do you think ate less? The group who saw all of their bones.

Bonus: You can do the same with wine. Always serve new glasses of wine and be sure to leave the old glasses out and the bottles too!

*Bonus - bonus: This actually applies to anything.

7. Just cut it: Mindless eating is when you eat and are no longer hungry. The “I’m full but I can eat more.” Be satisfied and just say, “Done!”

8. See all you can eat: Like the chicken wings - serve yourself in the kitchen and try to eat in another room. With snacks always pour or put the snack into something. Otherwise, the hand always reaches into that bag.

(more…)

Continuing with my ‘how to get in amazing shape’ series (Part 1 here), the next rule is something that many of my clients are (delightfully) surprised at. The key isn’t to starve. Actually, that’s exactly what you don’t want to do. Rule #1 is to never let yourself get really hungry.

What you want to try and do is to eat something every 3 – 4 hours.

Think back to the caveman (sorry Geico cavemen!) days.

Back then, there were no supermarkets to get whatever you wanted, whenever you
wanted it. There weren’t bodegas on every corner like here in NYC either.

The caveman didn’t know when his next meal was coming. He only ate when he
made the kill and would literally stuff himself until he couldn’t move! Why? Because
he knew that he might not eat again for days or even weeks!

This made our bodies very bad at processing food. Since our bodies didn’t know
when we were going to eat next, they were forced to revert into something known as
“survival mode”.

Whenever you eat, your digestive system converts most of your food, especially
large amounts of carbs to glucose (blood sugar). It’s a very complex process but
basically anytime we eat we’re in ‘survival mode’.

Because of this our body converts most of the glucose…in conjunction with the
hormone insulin…to fat!

This is why people who constantly starve themselves can gain weight while eating
only one meal per day!

We’d all like to speed up our metabolism. Unfortunately, over thousands and
thousands of years our bodies haven’t changed much from the days of the
caveman. Every time we eat, our bodies are already automatically going to convert
what we eat to fat…even if it’s fat free!

So the million dollar question is, “Adam, how do I change my body from a fat storer
to a fat burner?” It’s all about proper nutrition.

The answer is simply this: 4-5 portion-controlled, balanced meals every 3-4 hours
throughout the day.

By eating this way, you’ll effortlessly speed up your metabolism. Think of this way. If
you have a campfire burning and you don’t add wood to the fire, eventually the
campfire will burn out!

But if you add a little wood every few hours, the campfire will continue to burn. And
burn hot!!! So, as you see, our metabolism is like the fire…never or rarely feed it
and it will slow down. Feed it every few hours and it has no choice but to speed up!

Burn baby. Burn.

Dear Adam,

I’ve been subscribed to your mailing list for a while now and have noticed my body is being shaped very nicely, and I appreciate all your tips. I just had one question, which may not have a simple answer. My problem is that I am 6′0 and I have a relatively small frame. My arms are a good size, my chest is a good size, my back is rather a decent size (for my frame) but I still look sort of skinny.

Is there an exercise that I can do that would make me look thicker around the rib area? I’ve tried increasing the size of my chest, my lats and my obliques (somewhat), and nothing seems to make me look “thicker.” Let me know if there is something I could have missed. Thanks a bunch.

-Alex

Alex, thanks so much for your question and I’m glad you’re enjoying the newsletter and tips.

I always tell my clients it’s all about realizing your body’s full potential. Most girls I know want to have Gisele Bündchen’s body.

Sorry but unless you’re 5′11″ there is zero chance your body can look like hers. Besides, it’s all about your confidence. The fact that you take care of yourself and treat your body with the respect it deserves should make you feel like a billion bucks.

Saying you “look sort of skinny” can only be fixed one way. And that’s by gaining weight. To gain weight on your frame you’re going to have to make a big commitment to eating frequently. You want to be eating at least 30 grams of protein per meal and you also want to be eating good complex carbs with each meal 5-6 times per day.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as spot reducing or spot ‘adding’. For example, a lot of clients tell me they want to lose fat in their stomachs. Although crunches are great they are not going to help you to reduce fat in your stomach. The only way to truly lose fat is by burning more calories than you consume.

To lose a pound of weight, you have to shave 500 calories a day from your diet. To gain weight, you have to eat at LEAST 500 calories more than what you normally eat. This is actually the fun part. But remember, you want to be eating quality foods, not crap.

In terms of exercise, I’d focus more on your back and specifically your lats. Developing your lats will give you that great V-taper look where your back appears wide at the top and narrow by the waist.

Also, I’m not sure how many reps you’re doing but you don’t want to be doing more than 12 reps per set. You want to stick to the 8-12 rep range as you’re really trying to add size. And if you can do 12 reps fairly easy, you’re not doing enough weight.

I really believe if you focus on eating a lot of quality foods frequently (every 3-4 hours), developing your lats and really making sure you’re pushing yourself in the weight room you’ll be well on your way to looking thicker!

As always, go hard or go home. If you’re going to spend time in the gym, you might as well kick your own ass or don’t bother going.

Oh and just for the record, I’m not a doctor, but I’m known to work miracles.

If you have a question for me, I’d love to answer it.

Here it is. Ready?

Don’t let yourself get really hungry.

When you let yourself get very hungry it’s almost impossible to make good decisions. Whether it’s after a long day of work or school or just after a busy day, the chances of you eating the way you really want to are highly unlikely when you’re ravenous.

I know when I’m famished the last thing I want to eat is something healthy.

Rule 1A: There is no such thing as will power.

Do not keep crappy foods around. You’re only going to sabotage yourself. Here’s the problem:

If I had my favorite ice cream in the freezer (Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked – Ugh, it’s unreal), every single time I go into the kitchen, I’m subconsciously going to ask myself, “Hey Guru, you want some ice cream?” and it’s almost impossible to keep my paws away from it.

Or if I had my favorite cookies in the cabinet (It’s a tie between Chips Ahoy Soft Batch – the ones in the red package or Oreo’s, Double Stuf - obviously) I’d be asking myself the same question.

It’s so much easier to just not have junk around. So you don’t have to ask yourself those questions.

Also, I’m not saying you can’t ever eat junk again. Once in a while is fine. But let’s face it. Have you ever got up from sitting on your couch after eating a whole bag of Doritos and cookies and everything under the sun and said, “Damn, I feel freaking amazing?”

Life is too short to not feel amazing as often as you can.

Again, I’m not saying that once in a while you can’t indulge. But the whole idea is that eventually you’re going to love how you feel by eating so well that you’re not going to want to eat crap anymore.

But for some reason when you’re really hungry…you’re going to want crap.

Remember. Rule numero uno.

Pura Vida!

Every self-help exert will tell you to live in the now. Nothing matters except now. The past and the future don’t exist. Your life is right now.

I agree that living in the moment is very important but it’s not very realistic. Even in Daniel Gilbert’s bestseller, Stumbling On Happiness, he opens with the fact that human beings are the only species that think about the past and the future. Our emotions and happiness levels are based on our past experiences. That is what makes us human beings. It’s just the way it is.

But maybe, you really want to just live in the now. You don’t care about the future and you could care less about the past.

It’s all about the now, you say.

This thinking can lead us to make foolish decisions that we, most likely, will regret later on. You might also feel that enjoying crappy food now is not a big deal because you think it makes you happy…now.

I want ice cream now. I want pizza now. I want cheese fries now. I want everything now. And if that makes me happy now…then that’s all I care about!

What about later, though? If you consistently choose to enjoy the now by eating crappy foods then your later won’t be so much fun. (Unless you could care less about how you feel and look.)

If you keep enjoying the now, pretty soon, you’ll find the now very stressful.

For example, those cheese fries might be delicious now but most likely when you’re on the beach this summer, or by a pool, you might hate how you feel and look. You might be disgusted with yourself when it’s time to buy new clothes. You might hate that none of your clothes fit anymore. You might feel sluggish. Those jeans might be a tad too tight. Maybe, you can’t run as far as you used to. Maybe that shirt is too snug.

And you hate it all!

Sooner, rather than later, if you keep enjoying the now, you’ll find your now very upsetting.

I believe it’s a lot easier to be mindful in the now and to ask yourself if you really want to eat the crap you think you want to eat because it’ll make your later a lot easier, more enjoyable and fun.

Because pretty soon, your later, will be the now!

Think about that…NOW!

On Wednesday evening, I had the good fortune of being interviewed on Y Talk Radio by Bea Fields and Roger Dewitt. The half hour flew by and they asked me all sorts of questions including how I got started with my company, my background, my inspiration and what gives me energy, where I see MyBodyTutor going and my biggest tip for anyone looking to start eating healthy and exercising.

My biggest tip for anyone who wants to start eating healthy, and maybe lose some weight, is to eat smaller and more frequent meals throughout the day as opposed to just eating two or three large meals.

My biggest tip for anyone who wants to start exercising is to make sure you set realistic goals for yourself. Setting out to run every single morning or getting to the gym 7 days a week is just not realistic. And if you wind up missing one run, or one session at the gym, you’re likely to get discouraged and stop altogether.

I’ll go into each of these tips more in depth and why they are so important in future posts.

If you’d like to listen to the show you can check it out here.

This is not really a typical GuruGilbert post but I find this pretty alarming. Last week, I started advertising for MyBodyTutor.com and so far it’s going very well.

However, after speaking with many of my clients from around the country, I’ve learned that so many girls and guys think that starving is the key to weight loss. It is absolutely not the key to weight loss. In fact, it’s the key to weight gain.

Here’s why:

Let’s say you (guy/girl) starve yourself for week one of your Ridiculously Dumb Diet (RDD). You decide consuming around 1250-1500 calories per day is brilliant.

After week one you lose around 5 pounds. You lose that weight and are, of course, thrilled with the results.

So, you continue and continue and continue.

After week 2, you lose another 4 pounds. “Wow! This is really working!”

After week 3, you lose another 3 pounds. “Guys, I’m going to be, like, so skinny!”

After week 4, you lose another 3 pounds. “No way, this is, like, the best diet ever!

After week 5, you lose another 3 pounds. “Oh My God, I’m going to look like Nicole. I, like, can’t wait!”

After week 6, you lose yet another 3 pounds. “Wow, I just can’t believe it. I, like, really did it. I, like, lost 21 pounds. I’m, like, so amazed, like with my discipline!”

Okay, so you lost 21 pounds. Sick right?

(And yes. This is really possible and would happen.)

You lost weight consistently for 6 weeks without hitting a wall/plateau although there was a slowdown in weight loss towards the end.

Was it a great success? Let’s take a look.

50-60% of the weight loss will come from lean body mass. This drop will 1000% decrease your metabolic resting rate. Your body is now utilizing fewer calories everyday than when you started.

It all goes down hill from there…

So now you lose all of this weight and want to just maintain your sexy.

“Like, I just want to maintain what I have right now. I like it this way, like, I love the new me!”

Now you are off your RDD.

And you simply go back to your normal eating. NOW, your body won’t burn calories nearly as efficiently as before your RDD. The number of calories that used to maintain your weight before your RDD will now cause you to GAIN weight instead!

As time passes by, the weight will gradually come back on until finally you gain back all the fat you lost. Now, you’ll have less muscle, more fat and a slower metabolism.

This will happen. Trust me!

Guys/girls please don’t mess with your body like this. You are actually putting yourself at a huge disadvantage to lose weight! It will be harder than ever!

This is extremely unsustainable and unhealthy.

MyBodyTutor.com can help you lose weight and help you get that body you desire (guys and girls) by creating a customized AND sustainable diet (lifestyle) and workout plan for you that you feel comfortable with.

I work very hard to create a diet and workout plan that you feel comfortable with because if you don’t feel comfortable with it, you’ll never stick to it.

The reason why 92% of dieters fail and actually wind up gaining weight is because they don’t have a trusted support system. MyBodyTutor.com solves this problem.

I really care about your success. After all, your success is my business. You need someone to hold you accountable who also has the knowledge and tools to help you get the body you desire.

See the challenge with most of us is we start a “diet” and then miraculously food that we love gets in close proximity to us. You then say, “Screw it! I only live once. I want to enjoy life.”

There IS a way to enjoy life by indulging in your favorite foods from time to time.

However, because no one cares about your success you ALWAYS give in. If you were forced to write down every single morsel of food you ate for every single day, you’d be amazed (and disgusted) at what you were eating.

You’d be surprised at how our mind works. Not only does this hold you extremely accountable but knowing that I’m going to be reading it and giving you feedback on your meals will work wonders. And I made it very easy for you by creating an online food log. Every night before you go to bed you submit all of the food you ate for the day as well as what you did at the gym that day and intend to do at the gym the following day.

This is the level of accountability you need to succeed. Combine that with my customized diet (lifestyle) and workout plan and I can confidently say, “Get in the best shape of your life with MyBodyTutor.com or your money back!”

I really believe in my program 1000% and I know that I can help you change your life for the better by helping you get in the habit of forming healthy habits for the rest of your life!

I’m very pleased with how many clients I signed up in my first week or so of business. I have big plans for MyBodyTutor.com but I know first hand; slow and steady ALWAYS wins the race.

“Adam, what do you mean by that?”

Well, I just bought the book Pour Your Heart into It, How Starbucks built a company one cup at a time.

That’s, like, what I mean.