Jason Morgan

Some in search of their ultimate body are only willing to do so much to succeed. Without even knowing what success feels like yet, they make the assumption that they’re already doing enough to get the job done.

Believing that “this strategy is overkill” or “that training style doesn’t make sense” without enough experience to make those kind of evaluations will limit your progress. Coming to the conclusion that “that much focus isn’t necessary” or “that kind of detail isn’t necessary” before even trying the strategy demonstrates that you are only willing to do so much to succeed.

Just because you think you are currently doing enough or are convinced you are on the right track doesn’t mean you really are. Just because you feel you are giving 100 percent doesn’t mean that’s enough to get the job done. Just because you think you are a hard worker doesn’t mean you are working hard enough to be successful.

What makes you so certain that you already know what it takes to succeed? To be brutally honest, how would you know exactly what that requires? You’ve never achieved what you want with your physique yet.

Many in search of fitness make a lot of incorrect assumptions about what’s the best way to train or the best way to eat—without enough experience to support those beliefs. Those beliefs become ingrained convictions that stall their progress and lead toward frustration.

Take Action and Do This NOW!

You must open your mind to new and different strategies if you want to produce better results than what you are currently getting. Look for mentors to help you reach that new level of enlightenment. Success leaves clues. If you do what you’ve always done in the past, you’ll produce the same results.

What are the benefits you will enjoy by opening up your mind to fitness truths and steering clear of false promises? You can gain a sense of understanding, confidence, and certainty which will provide the mental edge needed to reach your full genetic potential. You can progress more smoothly and efficiently. You could make significant improvements in your physique and improve your overall health much sooner. You could generate unstoppable momentum that can produce results that rival those of someone with much more fitness experience. All in all, you could make the entire physique transformation experience more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Sometimes when you are going for your fitness goals, “right” can feel “wrong” to you. Remember that.

One of the biggest issues many people trying to lose unwanted body fat face deals with sugar, or more specifically hidden sugar. You may have every intention of eating healthy. You may even shop at the specialty stores that promote healthy, organic foods and still not see the results you are looking for when it comes to fat loss. Just because you walk into a health food store doesn’t mean you’re going to get something healthy. You’ve still got to read the labels because unwanted sugar can still sneak into your food, cleverly disguised under other names. If you’re trying to cut sugar out of your diet, the best way to go about it is by reading labels. If nutritional labels just said “sugar,” the task of cutting sugar out would be easy, but they don’t so it’s not. Don’t be fooled if the words “organic” or “natural” are added to these sugar terms. It may be organic, but it is still sugar and excessive simple sugar intake compromises fat release.

There are many names for sugar out there and this handy little list reveals them all.

• barley malt
• beet sugar
• brown sugar
• buttered syrup
• cane-juice crystals
• cane sugar
• caramel
• carob syrup
• corn syrup
• corn syrup solids

That’s just a small taste of it. There are many, many more so read on…

• date sugar
• dextran
• dextrose
• diatase
• diastatic malt
• ethyl maltol
• fructose
• fruit juice
• fruit juice concentrate
• glucose
• glucose solids
• golden sugar
• golden syrup
• grape sugar
• high-fructose corn syrup
• honey
• invert sugar
• lactose
• malt syrup
• maltodextrin
• maltose
• mannitol
• molasses
• raw sugar
• refiner’s syrup
• sorbitol
• sorghum syrup
• sucrose
• sugar
• turbinado sugar
• yellow sugar

People’s attempt to lose fat fails due to these sneaky tactics used by food manufactures all the time! The thing is, once any form of sugar gets into the body, there is little difference in how the body uses it. When you eat foods that are mostly sugar, like soda and candy, they are absorbed quicker which causes your blood sugar levels to quickly rise, and then fall. Keep yourself in check and eat carbohydrates that are more complex and in their natural states, which means not refined. When you eat whole foods like fruits, sugars are released slowly into the bloodstream. 

The following is a guest posting by my good friend and colleague Dexter Tenison. Dexter is an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer and I highly recommend looking him up if you are in the Memphis, TN area. For more on Dexter, go to www.dextertenisonfitness.com.

I help people become more lean, more fit, and more healthy. I emphasize with my clients to lose 1-2 pounds of fat a week in order to keep their metabolism high while still getting fat loss results. However, the contestants of the biggest loser seem to defy my advice by losing a whole lot of weight in a short amount of time. Here are some of my top key things I see as flaws of the show:

• The severe exercise program and calorie restriction weight loss is not from fat, it is actually mostly water, not fat loss. This has little value towards improving health and fitness.
• Losing more than this a week will slow down metabolism due to muscle loss. Muscle is the metabolic tissue that burns calories. It is true that the body will use some of the body’s fat for energy during this time, but it relies much more on amino acids. Where does the body get amino acids? That would be stored in muscles, which have to be broken down to be used. Your body actually catabolizes itself if you were to go on an extreme program like the ones you see on the show! Gross!

• The contestants have excessive skin due to the extreme weight loss in a short amount of time. Skin does not reshape as fast as the rest of the body when extreme measures are taken and the end result is having extras flaps when waving goodbye to people.

• The show tells viewers that in order to get extraordinary results, they must enroll into a fat camp that has a controlled environment that has a sole purpose that revolves around exercise and dieting. The average person may be able to train 1 hour a day, most days of the week. On the show, the contestants train 6 to 8 hours most days of the week. This is an insane and impossible task for most people that would result in injuries and people not being able to pay their bills!
• Finally, if you follow the contestants after the show you will notice that most of them will gain the weight back (sometimes more) after the show. If the point was to keep the weight off instead of gain it all back, was this successful? Here are just a few examples:

http://www.oprah.com/slideshow/oprahshow/20090112_tows_followup

http://www.celebritydietdoctor.com/ryan-benson-biggest-loser-follow-up/

I’m not a fan of the show because they do not do things the best possible way for a successful fat loss program. This show has the prime opportunity to send people the right and accurate message on how to lose weight and keep it off forever. This show and others like it are simply other “diet” programs that fitness professionals have to fight against because most people keep searching for the “miracle pill” for fat loss that does not exist. They must begin to implement the concept of continual progress, consistency, and nutritious eating. If watching the show gives you inspiration to exercise and eat better, who am I to say it is bad? Remember, the key is to learn how to effectively take what is learned about behavior modification and apply that to the daily rigors of real life, then participation in the show is worthwhile.

If you want to get lean badly enough, you will. I know this is a simple statement, but it is completely true. If you are not as lean as you would like to be, it is NOT due to lack of knowledge. If you don’t have six pack abs or are not lean, but want to be…my answer to you is that you just don’t “want to” reach that goal as much as someone who has. You will reach almost every goal you set in life if your motivation is strong enough.

Getting Paid 5 Million Dollars to Get in Shape

What if I offered you 5 million dollars to get in the best shape of your life? Does that sound like too “out there”? Well…this is exactly what the top sex symbols of Hollywood wind up doing. Obviously an actor or actress has to be able to act, but a fine line separates a regular actor or actress from a mega-superstar in Hollywood. Did you see Ironman? Robert Downey Jr. came back on the scene in outstanding shape. He looked better than ever and it certainly helped him put his name back into the top of Hollywood’s leading men.

What if Over One Million People Were Going to See You Nude?

Many of Hollywood’s actors and actresses wind up doing a nude scene or they are partially naked in a scene. If you knew your butt was going to be on a big screen in front of millions, I bet it would be really easy to say “no” to junk food! Even if you had a swimsuit scene in a movie, I’m betting you would have no trouble at all looking incredible in 3-4 months.

Discipline is Directly Proportionate to Motivation

If you had to lose 30 pounds or lose your house, you have serious motivation to lose that weight. If you were paid  10 million dollars to lose 40 pounds in 2 months, it would be hard but you would find a way…because you would have crazy amounts of motivation. You would be very “disciplined” to reach your goal.

The Stronger Your Motivation, The Easier it Feels

When your motivation is strong enough, it doesn’t even feel like you have to exercise a strong sense of self-discipline. Dieting and exercising become effortless when the motivation is strong. I always find it is extremely easy to stick to a strict diet a month or two before a vacation. I don’t get to travel as much as I’d like, so I want to make sure that I look and feel my best for the trip. Exercising during this time is very easy as well…even tough HIIT training becomes a breeze.

I Can Help You With the Details…

…but you have to find your motivation. There are a lot of ways to get lean that work. I happen to think the methods I teach here will give you rapid results, especially if you want to lose body fat and slim down, but you have to come up with a reason to be motivated. If I was a betting man…I would take a motivated person who knows very little about training over an unmotivated fitness expert.

So What is Your Motivation?

I’ll tell you what mine is, to help you brainstorm. My goal is to travel the world, one beach at at a time. I want to look good and I want to be able to have the energy to play in the water, swim, go out dancing in places with a raging night-life, etc. I’m almost 40, but want to look great in a swimsuit well into my senior years. I also don’t want to spend the last 30 years of my life in and out of a doctor’s office.   Bottom line…I have only one shot at this life, so I want to look and feel my best.

Note: This mindset doesn’t just apply to getting in great shape, it will help you achieve anything you desire. Just decide on what you want and work on “wanting it badly enough”…then do what it takes to get it.