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How to Edge out "Junk"
By Vince Palko

Michele from Maui recently purchased the MFGTSP and writes to ask a question...

Michele from Maui writes...

"I use my photo's as my visuals for creating my ideal goal weight. I'm still falling short. I still eat junk food and keep falling short by about 30 lbs– on my butt, hips, and thighs. In the past photos I sent, I’m down to my fighting weight of about 126lbs. I'm currently 156 lbs and as I get close to my goal I mess up.

Any tips to help?"

Thanks, Michele

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Vinnie's response...

Since you mentioned you’re “still eating junk food”– let's focus there.

You've probably heard the expression, "Knowledge is Power."

When it comes to eating habits I’ve found, "Awareness is Power."

More on that in a bit but first let’s point out what Michele is doing with her photos.

Using (past) photos "at your ideal fighting weight" from every angle is exactly what your mind needs to visualize and get you back to your prime. By using these photos, you're rolling out a "future body" blue print.

It's okay to go back in the past to relive past successes. If fact, it can be used as a mood lifter. By doing this you’re programming your subconscious and saying to it, "I did it once and I can do it again."

On to the junk food segment– my answer is a little different than stop eating "it" as most would give. It's all about noticing.

Truth is, we've become soo busy that we have less time to enjoy a relaxin' meal. On top of that, when we snack, we're not conscious of what fuel we are putting in our bodies.

For me, back in 2001 I was the heaviest I've ever been at 250 bills. One contributing factor was mindlessly grabbing for the bag of chips or ice cream when I felt stressed or run down. I'd then proceed to EAT the entire bag or carton in one sitting.

Ahhhh duh, no wonder I was 30lbs overweight.

When I got the point of wanting to change, I realized I could NOT keep eating the so called "comfort” crap impulsively and expecting to reduce my weight.

So I experimented with a mind awakening exercise, called the Snack Track.

This approach helped me succeed both in the long run and control your short- term impulses. It's a less intrusive way to interrupt your habit pattern yet create awareness to help you gain control of your eating habits.

Here's what I created.
	1)	I made a goal for each week. (Eat “x” of snacks a day)
	2)	I then tracked every snack I ate during a day and recorded it on paper. "A few handfuls of Doritos, 3 licorice sticks, 2 handfls of pretzels," is an example of what I wrote in my journal.

I didn't get super religious with it. I did my best to log most mini eating sessions.

I didn't judge myself for my eating habits; I simply noticed how much I consumed during each day. The results were shocking to me– I quickly realized why I was sluggish, overweight and feeling plain crummy.

If you are what you eat, in order to keep from turning into a Dorito, I woke up to the fact I needed to adjust my diet.

Here’s what I learned:
	1)	I snack a lot more than I thought
	2)	I did more snacking at work than I thought I did– it was alomst like a daily routine
	3)	On days when I didn’t get enough sleep, the next day I ate snacks it seems all day long

Now notice, nowhere in this ENTIRE email did I ever say STOP EATING junk food. I still allow myself a break every now and then. Little by little I’ll edge it out.

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Try doing the Snack Track for a week. Once you complete a week, then go for two weeks and so on and so forth. Even if you do it for one day and that's it you'll be closer to understanding how and why you are eating the "junk."

Having a journal to track your eating habits is valuable to learn about your actions. For now, you can print this sample out to use for yourself. Also, tape it to your Goal Tracker and you'll have a written record of your discipline, which will empower you to change more. Having all your successes in one location will create fitness command center and keep things organized.

Remember, little steps add up to strides quickly. But you have to start small.

Get after it!

Vinnie

Ps. Having said all this, if you get active and stay active then you won’t have to worry about how what you eat here and there, (that’s my philosophy these days). Here is the link to the program Matt and I created that keeps your goal in the cross hairs 24/7, for 3 months straight. http://www.successvisuals.com/special.html

Pps. There are many ways to skin a cat… Research shows that if you replace one sweetened beverage (juice or soda) with a glass of water a day, you can lose up to ten pounds in a year. Do that and it's like a "gimme" putt in golf for an easy 10 pounds.

Ppps. Stay tuned for a follow-up email on how to stay motivated when pursuing a goal. *****