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Laws of The Lean

By Charles Remington

Learning what to eat is half of the mission getting to an ideal weight and staying there. New eating habits must develop that mature into a way of life. Managing your weight is a lifestyle, it's someone you become, not something you try. Over a twenty-five-year career I have developed what I call my "Laws of the Lean," which are designed to help form the belief, passion and discipline to manage a new knowledge of eating. If your overweight, the problem lies in improper portioned meals, eating poor quality foods and infrequent timing of meals which cause blood sugar levels to rise and fall throughout the day. The difficulty in correcting these mistakes is beliefs and behaviors you hold support them. Daily implementation of the following laws will develop new behavior and keep old behavior from coming back. A healthy nutritional lifestyle is more than a systematic plan of eating, but it involves a change of heart as well as a change of foods.

Law #1 - Start With a Positive Attitude

Success in managing your weight begins with your state of mind. To become lean and fit, you must think and talk as a lean individual. Many times what's coming out of your mouth is more the problem then what's going in your mouth. Our words reveal the condition of our belief or lack of them. Repetition, is the mother of forming our beliefs, each thought or spoken word gives birth to reaching our ideal weight or causes doubt which leads to failure. Positive self-talk creates your desire and guides the way to reaching your goal. Speak as if the desired result is already in your possession. Repeat, "I can do anything if I put my mind to it. Each meal makes me lean by controlling my blood sugar. Each meal feeds my muscles and manages my energy levels. I eat my meals on time and in the right portion." Whatever the mind can believe the body can achieve. Forming a belief is like managing a bank account. You need to make daily deposits. When challenges to your new eating habits present themselves and situations are telling you no, reach for your checkbook of belief and write a check doing what is right.

Law #2 - Establish a Realistic Goal

Your ability to set goals and fulfill their accomplishment by faith is the key to losing weight and keeping it off. I always ask my clients these two questions. Are you sure you want what your hoping for? Can you believe you have received it before it happens? Put your goals in writing; until they are written they remain off in the future and you'll lack the confidence to achieve them today. Goals must be measurable; what gets measured will get done. Goals of action or steps taken are just as important as goals of accomplishment. It is important to set both short and long term goals. Losing one to three pounds weekly or dropping 5 percent to 8 percent body fat, every twelve weeks are realistic achievements. Reviewing goals each night keep you accountable, feeling positive and in control. Daily goals force the mind to stay focused on its target. It is impossible to stay motivated for long periods of time without goals to guide you. Goals allow you to forget what is behind and press forward to what lies ahead, too win the prize of better health, increased energy and the body you've always dreamed of.

Law #3 - Seek Support From Others

You will never soar with the eagles if you spend all your time hanging out with turkeys. Identify with a role model who has the healthy lifestyle habits you would like to acquire. Success gives birth to success, role models point us in the right direction and show us how to realize our potential. When we witness or communicate our belief of eating to family, friends and co-workers it strengthens the belief and develops our identity and commitment to it. Learn it's okay to say "No thank you" when offered foods you no longer believe in. It's important not to say "I can't have that," instead say "I desire something better." Let your family and friends know what they can do to aid you in acquiring good new habits. I have seen a higher rate of success amoung couples who make lifestyle changes together rather than individuals going it alone.

Law # 4 - Plan Meals in Advance

No one plans on failing on a new eating program. If they fail, it is because of poor planning. Plan and prepare most foods at least one day in advance. Failure to adhere to a plan occurs when food preparation becomes inconvenient or changes in our daily routine make eating difficult. Learn to cook foods in volume, and store them in freezer bags. Develop the habit of portioning foods that are cooked in advance, instead of cooking each meal one at a time. Plan ahead what you will eat when changes to your normal lifestyle occur. On those crazy days keep your meals simple for instance sandwich and a piece of fruit, it's easy to make, transport and can be eaten multiple times throughout the day. Move your easiest meals to the least convenient times of your day. In social gatherings avoid drinking all liquid calories (juice, soda and alcohol). One of the major stimulants to the metabolism is the process of ingesting, digesting and assimilating foods. Liquid calories are digested rapidly and provide little increases to the metabolism. Due to rapid entry into the blood system, the management of these calories creates a problem. This usually results in erratic blood sugar levels and spills excess sugar into the fat cells.

Law # 5 - A Lean Spirit - Mind - Body

The secret to achieving your ideal weight, your lifestyle change must be holistic. We are complex in our design, we are a spirit, that has a mind and lives in a physical body. Each of the three has a voice. The voice of the spirit is the conscience which communicates our beliefs and points out right from wrong. The voice of the mind is our intellect which governs our thoughts, emotions and will. The voice of the body responds to our physical senses, which can be put into two categories pleasure and pain. A battle can begin between what the spirit desires and what the body desires, with the mind caught in the middle. The spirit wants to do what's right, the body desires what will bring pleasure and now the mind has to choose between the two. Real change comes when all three agree. The spirit says this is what I believe is right, the mind says, I desire to do what I believe and the body agrees I will receive pleasure from what I desire. A common mistake among new clients is to say, "What pleasures do I have to give up to reach my ideal weight." My response is always the same, "Look for higher pleasure, pleasure that will not come and go, but pleasure that will stay all day long." Having great energy, never being hungry, no more food craving and living in the body I want to be in all day long are wonderful pleasures that your body will desire if you train it to.

Law # 6 - The Power of Discipline

Over the years when I ask my clients when did their parents discipline them, nine out of ten times, their answer is, "When I did something wrong." The timing of discipline is important, it can train us to do what we believe is right or punish us after we have done wrong. Discipline is not something you do to yourself, but for yourself. Properly used, discipline trains us to be consistent in seeing something the same way. Discipline must be enforced early in the day, before anything has gone wrong. In the beginning stages of forming new eating habits, discipline's greatest asset is willpower. When you impose willpower, you are saying I have a desire to do this, but I choose to do something better. For example, you might say I desire chocolate, but I choose something better that won't raise my blood sugar, store fat, cause hunger and goes against what I believe. Through discipline you will train yourself to see there's always something good about something that is bad.

Law # 7 - The Truth Verses the Facts

The truth is, humans represent the most complex form of life. There is a natural order to our design, which involves growth, respiration, digestion and excretion. No part of the body from the smallest cell to the largest organ works in isolation, they work together in balance for the well being of the individual and to sustain life. The facts are, as social beings we live in an equally complex environment. The differences are the facts of our lives are constantly changing, where the truth of our design never changes. To manage our weight and overall health we must develop eating habits that focus on the truth of our design, not the facts of our situations. For example, if my eating habits change when I vacation, celebrate holidays, entertain or emotionally respond to situations, they will be in a state of constant change. The problem, our bodies still process what we eat the same. Because the facts can change and the truth cannot, we must let the truth supersede the facts. Walk in the truth and it will set you free from the facts.

Law # 8 - Know What to Do and Do What You Know

Unfortunately, just having the right foods won't help you if you eat the wrong amounts or at the wrong times. What would it be like to operate your car without a fuel gauge? You would always be guessing how much fuel to put in and when to do it. You would only have to guess too high a few times before you would be conditioned to always put in too little. Most of my new clients are in this condition at our first meeting. They know the consequence of too much gains weight so they become good at always guessing too low. Nine out of every ten overweight individuals I meet are under eaters not overeaters. To properly fuel the body, it is vital to know how much food, what is the best time to eat and which are the best foods. Each meal should contain protein to provide amino acids to repair and maintain muscle. High fiber, low glycemic carbohydrates provide glucose for cellular energy and to stabilize blood sugar levels. Fats provide fatty acids, which are essential to maintain hormonal balance in the body. Meals should be 3.5 to 4.5 hours apart for proper digestion, absorption and assimilation. The amount of food is different for each individual based on their amount of muscle and length and intensity of their activities. The key to successful weight management is to allow the muscle to operate on a full tank, with no spill over into the fat cells.

Law # 9 - Freedom Brings Responsibility

Someone in prison does not need a job, money or a place to stay, but they are in prison. After rehabilitation, comes freedom and freedom brings responsibility. They now need work, money and a place to stay, their freedom comes with a cost, they must be responsible. The same is true with the self imprisonment of being overweight. When your overweight you don't need to portion food, can eat whatever you want, whenever you want, but you are imprisoned in an overweight body, sentenced to poor health and poor quality of life. After being reeducated you learn to be at an ideal weight, you must eat foods in the right portion, right time and right type. Being free of the unwanted body requires the responsibility of not going back to old eating habits. When exposed to temptation of poor quality foods, ask yourself the following questions. Does this food provide the protein I need to repair my hard-working muscles? Will this food provide the quality carbohydrates I need for energy and keep me from becoming hungry over the next three to four hours? Will this food bring me closer to my goal, or push me from it? If temptation wins, it must teach us it's not how far we fall, but how high we bounce when making a mistake. Train yourself to see, that your always four hours away from doing it right.

Law # 10 - Live for Today

The two days that have delayed and disrupted new eating habits from forming are yesterday and tomorrow. Yesterday tries to condemn us and tomorrow attempts to frighten us. See the mistakes of yesterday as learning experiences, which taught you what does not work and has prepared you to receive what does. Living for today is a narrow path of behavior, managed by two simple, but powerful words, yes and no. Say "yes," to foods (low glycemic) that control your blood sugar. Say "yes" to proper portions of foods that allow you to lose fat, without losing muscle or being hungry. Say "no" to foods that store fat and you no longer believe in. Say "no" that's what I used to desire, I now desire something better. If your thoughts are on yesterday, it will blur your vision of what you should do today and steal your joy for what still lies ahead.

In closing, these laws are not meant to imprison you with the rules about proper eating, but empower you to change. As you apply their principles old behavior's are stripped away as new behavior's take roots and become a healthy new way of life. I was once asked years ago, "Give me a tip that will work now matter what my situation." My response still holds true today, "Focus on what you believe, do what's right and it will turn out right."

Charles Remington
Nutritionist
2 Time Mr. Connecticut
Author Fat Loss Coach Weight Loss Program
Author Remington Rotation Nutritional Lifestyle
www.thefatlosscoach.com