Health Secrets

Losing weight isn’t just about burning more calories than you take in. If it were that simple, losing weight would be simple.

One of the most important things you can do when you’re trying to lose weight is set some goals.

Fortunately, in the world of weight loss, goal setting is fairly common so this probably isn’t some new and weird concept to you. Some common goals:
Lose 20 lbs
Look good in a swimsuit
Get rid of love handles

Goals Must Be Specific
However, one thing about goals is that they do need to be specific. The general, “I want to lose weight” goal isn’t going to help you. The people who have that goal tend to get nowhere. If you have a certain weigh you’d like to get down to, then write down the exact number. If there’s a certain size you’d like to be able to wear again, write down the number. Looking good in a swimsuit is really only something the mirror can tell you, so while goals like that are important, it’s important to have goals that are specific and measurable.

Goals Must Be Written
Verbal goals are just not as powerful as written goals. You need to take the time to write down your goals. And once you’ve written down your goals, you don’t store them away in a drawer never to be seen again. You should put them someplace prominent and review them at least everyday, multiple times a day is even better. When you’re constantly aware of your goals, it’s much easier to achiever them.

Goals Should Be Big
You should have an ultimate goal that is BIG. You want goals that are going to make you stretch to try to achieve them. While it’s important to have small daily and weekly goals, you need an ultimate goal that you’re trying to achieve down the road – make it big. Make it something you dream about.

Must Have Short Term, Medium Term, and Long Term Goals
The one problem with goals that are one year or several years in the future is that there is no immediate pressure to achieve them. You need to have shorter term goals as well – 3 month, weekly, and even daily goals, that will all help you achieve your ultimate goal. A three month goal is especially useful because there’s enough time to see some pretty good results, but there’s still a sense of urgency to work on it right away or you might not hit your target.

You should have daily goals to help you form new habits. For example, a great daily goal is to drink at least 64 ounces of water. It’s not that hard to do, but if you do it everyday, it’ll make a difference.

Goals Should Have Deadlines
John Carlton, the great copywriter, once said “The greatest invention ever, which will never be surpassed, is the deadline, for without it, there would be no other invention.”
Without a deadline on your goals, you’re making it tougher to reach your goals. That’s why you divide you deadlines up in to periods, like daily, weekly, 3 month, 1 year, and ultimate goals. This gives you a deadline so there’s some pressure on you to actually accomplish it. If your goal is to “someday” lose weight, then you’re not likely to ever accomplish it.

One program I recommend for those looking to achieve more, whether that be weight loss, make more money, or something else entirely is called Simpleology. It’s a program that you do every morning when you get up, and if you follow the program you’ll definitely find yourself accomplishing your goals faster. Oh yeah – the cool thing about it is that it’s FREE.

Okay, well that covers my crash course on setting goals.

Before I start providing tips on how to actually lose weight, I want to take some time to get you in the right frame of mind to make your weight loss successful because if your attitude is wrong, you’re going to find it difficult or impossible to lose weight, and the weight you do lose will likely be regained anyway. So while these first few blog entries aren’t the real “nuts and bolts,” they’re nonetheless essential to any program where you want to get in better health, not just weight loss.

So if you have a goal that isn’t weight loss, then just substitute your goal in whenever I say weight loss. I just want to use that topic since obesity is such a common problem these days.

When it comes to people being overweight or in bad health, the common trend these days is to blame someone or something else.

You may say that you have a genetic disadvantage or a slow metabolism. You may say that you have had no good nutritional habits built up during childhood. You may have worked at a fast food restaurant at some point and that led to bad habits. You may blame the government. Maybe you blame advertisers for programming you to crave junk food. While some of those may be true (maybe all those fast food advertisements really have programmed you to crave a burger and fries), you need to stop blaming the fact that you’re fat on someone else.

If you really want to succeed at losing weight or improving your health, you absolutlely, positively need to take responsibility for where you’re at right now.

You see, when you blame genetics, the way you were raised, or even bad luck, you’re telling yourself that you have no control over your health. When you step up and take responsibility for the state of health you’re in right now, you’re taking control. Now you can take steps to fix any problems you might have with your health or weight.

Now I know this isn’t a very popular thing to say. After all, we’re bombarded with advertisements for “magic weight loss pills” and fad diets telling us it’s not your fault.

Heck, a quick search of Amazon.com yielded two books right off the bat telling me that being fat isn’t my fault. I found:

It’s Not Your Fault You’re Fat with Gary Null

Your Fat Is Not Your Fault

A Google search shows pages and pages of articles telling you that being fat isn’t you fault. And every good sales letter for weight loss will tell you it’s not your fault.

So who am I to tell you that it really is your fault?

Well, I’m a marketer myself. I know these tricks. I study them, and use them with great results in my ads for stuff (although I don’t do much work with weight loss products since I’m not much of a believer in them).

You see, if I was advertising a weight loss product, and my goal was to sell it in large quantities, I’d probably tell you something along these lines:

“Science now proves that weight gain and obesity aren’t your fault. Hormones imbalances are to blame, but by taking Super Duper Fat Loss Product X you can correct those imbalances and lose those pounds without dieting and without exercise.”

I’m sure you’ve seen some ads or seen advertisements on TV that say something like that, right?

You see, real, lasting weight loss, involves burning more calories than you consume, exercising several times a week, and making permanent lifestyle changes. It’s hard work, and if you try to sell that, you’re going to have a lot tougher sell than if you say that you have a magic pill that will solve all their problems.

Or maybe you’re familiar with this proverb: “Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime.”

Well, most people just want the fish, and since selling the fish is much more profitable than teaching you to fish, that’s what most companies are going to do.

On the other hand, I would much rather “teach you to fish” so to speak. I’m not getting paid to promote miracle weight loss products or fancy fad diets that help you lose 10 pounds in 5 days or something ridiculous like that. Instead, my purpose with this site is really to help you lose weight if you need to and help you be as healthy as you can be.

So while it may not be much fun, take responsibility for being in whatever state of health you’re in right now. If you’re fat, then accept the blame for being in that state – it’s your body after all.

Did you do that?

Great.

Now you’re ready to take the steps to fix that nasty little problem which I’ll start covering in my next post.

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my health secrets blog. Before I make any specific posts, I wanted to take a few moments to let you know the purpose of this blog, what you can expect from me, and also what you won’t see me doing.

First, the purpose of this blog is to help you break through all of the clutter you see online and to help you separate marketing hype from the actual facts. I spend a lot of time online looking at different sites that are supposed to be helping people lose weight or getting healthier, and as I’m sure you’re well aware, there’s a lot of mixed messages out there.

I decided that using a blog platform would make it easy for me to update this site since if you’ve visited before, you know that in the past, I haven’t updated very often. Since it’s really easy to update a blog, you can expect me to post new articles and information a few times a week, probably not daily, but at least once a week. One hobby I have is making videos, so from time to time I may start adding videos or podcasts, but one thing you’ll always be able to count on is some good old fashioned text.

One topic that you’re going to see from me frequently is the topic of weight loss. Why? Well, considering how many Americans are currently overweight or obese, and the amount of health problems being overweight causes, I think that any site that’s going to spend time talking about optimal health ought to spend a considerable amount of time talking about how to lose weight. But for those of you who are already in good health, don’t worry, there will be plenty of information that you’ll want to read as well.

You won’t see me pushing the latest fad diets here and you won’t see me promoting every new supplement that hits the market. There are certain diets that work, and there are certain supplements that I’ve had good results with that I recommend, but I won’t recommend anything that I think is unproven or unsafe just to make a few extra bucks. This site is supported by advertising, so if you do see an ad for something that I don’t recommend, then don’t click on the ad, and the ad being there is certainly not an endorsement by me.

This site is also not like some of those magazines that you see that are nothing more than ways for drug companies to push their products as the way to stay healthy. My take on drug companies is that while they do serve a purpose, ultimately their mission is to make as much money as possible, not keep you as healthy as possible so if you’re looking for an alternative to drugs and medications, I’ll try to provide as many as I can.

My disclaimer: I am not a doctor. I don’t play one on TV. I didn’t stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I’m simply one person who wants to live a long and healthy life, and I want to help others do the same. So please don’t take anything I say here as gospel, and when in doubt, consult your doctor.