Today. That’s all we really have. Yesterday is gone, and not to be morbid or negative, but tomorrow might not even get here.

Still, we have to prepare for tomorrow.

So how do we do it?

One thing I have major trouble with, but am working on with vigor, is daily patience in preparation for the future. What do I mean by that?

Well, I mean making small daily changes – changes that are livable, effective, and achievable. Let me explain by using an example of this process I am very good at.

When it comes to my body – I have this process down pat. I know that if I’m 20lbs overweight it’s going to take a bit to get lean again. I understand that getting up and doing the proper thing for 3 days in a row isn’t going to do very much to further me toward my goal.

I know that doing a cardio session is a drop in the bucket when it comes to losing 20lbs, and that doesn’t bother me!

I’m telling you, I can tackle weight loss with no problems whatsoever. I’m patient, relaxed, determined, and I realize the time frame for losing 20lbs is 10-12 weeks, maybe even more. It doesn’t bother me at all. I grind it out and get it done.

I think this is because I’m so familiar with how the body works – how to lose fat – and how to “get it done” when it comes to fitness.

My problems lie in having that same patience in other areas of my life – namely my business. I work daily on my business – and still often feel lazy and unaccomplished. I feel like one day of hard work should take me right to the threshold of my goal.

I’ve noticed that no matter how much I do; how many productive things I get done, at the end of the day I still seem to feel like it’s not enough.

That folks is something we must battle. For me it’s in business, but if fitness is your problem – then it’s likely you have this same syndrome.

You work out hard and try to eat better for a week and end up losing a measly pound. “What a waste” you think, “I should have lost 10lbs with that much effort.” So you proceed to get discouraged – and finally you quit.

What you don’t realize is that a pound of fat is about the size of a grapefruit. That pound is actually a huge accomplishment. In fact – it’s amazing that we can lose that much tissue off of our bodies in that short of a time.

I’ve even talked to folks who thought 2lbs a week wasn’t a lot – trust me folks, losing two grapefruit sized chunks of unattractive tissue from your body in a week is a whole lot!

This basically stems from two things:

1. Mis-education about how much fat a pound really is.

2. Lack of Patience

Pounda Fat - Lookat Dat

The truth of the matter is that anyone successful at anything didn’t do it overnight. A few people have won the lottery, and a few people have been “discovered” I suppose, but trust me when I say Bill Gates didn’t decide one night to become a billionaire, go to his basement, create Microsoft and pop back upstairs the next day with his pockets bulging.

Big goals (and fat loss is certainly one of them) take some time to accomplish – and when you do accomplish them you have really done something remarkable.

Also the act of accomplishing these goals is a “built in” way to appreciate and respect the goal, be thankful, and maintain it for the long haul.

I’ll give you an example. If I were to magically zap all of your unwanted body fat off instantly – then set you loose on the world, how long do you think you would maintain that fabulous bod?

I’d venture to say – without the discipline and knowledge required to get to the goal in the first place, you would certainly not have the discipline and knowledge to maintain the goal.

You would look fantastic – but immediately your body would start reverting back to what it was before the magical fat zapping. That means within a month you’d be well on your way to your “old self”.

Because no discipline was required to attain it.

That’s the problem with lottery winners. They don’t have the discipline to wield the power of money…so almost all of them end up unhappy, blowing money and even going nutso.

If it grew on trees; the jack wouldn't be worth jack

That same person, if they had acquired the discipline by actually earning the money, would have a much higher chance of enjoying the power and prestige that money can provide when used properly.

So the point of this blog is to let you know that good things must be earned through work and dedication  – and that most of the time they take a while to attain…

And if they didn’t? Well, then everyone would have these things – and they just wouldn’t be that special anyway. Nobody would want a Ferrari if everyone in the USA was given one yearly (OK well I’d still like doing some burn outs now and then but you get the point).

The United States is a very very obese country that wants someone to “zap” the fat off of them. They want to have their cake and their abs.

After reading this blog I’m sure you can see the problem with that – and that not only does a weight loss holy grail not exist, but even if it did it wouldn’t fix a thing.

Only you can fix this. Only you can attain the mindset, knowledge and discipline necessary to get and maintain your fitness goals.

So keep reading the blog and stop looking for that miracle. It’s a myth about a myth. A double lie – something that not only doesn’t exist, but wouldn’t work even if it did.

Get to work. No more excuses. If you want it, you have to go get it. The time is now.

Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.

Tags: kentucky, lexington, personal trainer, personal training

I was walking around at the grocery the other day and wandered down the cereal bar isle. These bars include fiber-one and nutri-grain bars, among others. As a personal trainer, I notice a few things that others wouldn’t I suppose.

I noticed that many of the boxes bragged on the health benefits of the bars. “No High Fructose Corn Syrup” exclaimed one; “Rich in Fiber, Low in Fat” shouted another.

The fact that these bars have good ingredients and some helpful qualities for the body is not the issue here. The issue is the fact that people think that just because something is low in fat, or doesn’t include high fructose corn syrup – that they can chow down without ramifications.

I hate to be a “bubble buster” but these bars are rich in calories the same as snack cakes. It amazes me how often I have to tell people that they can get just as fat on healthy selections as their “junk food” cousins.

At Least This Cat Is Straight Up With You…No Hidden Agendas Here!

Get up and eat a bowl of granola cereal and a protein shake and you could be looking at a whopping 600 plus calories. Get up and eat a hostess cupcake and a protein shake and you’ll ring in around 300 calories.

That’s not opinion. It’s fact.

Fat made from “healthy foods” looks exactly the same on our bodies as fat made from “junk food”. It’s still jiggly, it’s still nasty, and it’s still unhealthy.

Now I’m not telling you to go out and buy snack cakes and have them for breakfast, but the fact remains that too many people are eating trail mix, nuts, granola, and other “healthy” foods and thinking they won’t get the old blubberoo from them.

Trust me, you will – and it will be just as ugly as fat made from Hershey bars or fried potatoes.

So keep an eye out for calories in disguise – they like to talk about how nice they are – how they don’t have certain ingredients – how they are the nice guys.  Well in this case the nice guys are only as nice as the amount of them you consume.

I’ve said it over and over – when it comes to your waistline – calories are calories.

Don’t fall for the tricks, check out the label – the one on the back – and see how much fuel is in this so called “healthy” choice. Only then will you know how much of the food you can consume – and if it’s a good return of investment.

Whether you like it or not, if you don’t want to be overweight, you have a set amount of calories you can consume in a day. Go over and you wear it. And like I always say: “Wearing fat around is worse than a polyester leisure suit, it’s uncomfortable, it’s ugly, it’s out of style, and if you don’t burn it – it lasts forever.”

Talk soon.

Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.

Tags: kentucky, lexington, personal trainer, personal training

Hey everyone, Jay Scott here again – and as promised I’m going to help you out with the old seasonal seven! If you are like the average person you probably managed to pack on about seven pounds of holiday cheer (fat) between November and January.

Now if you are a frequent reader of my blog, you’ll know I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. The reason for this is simple; I believe every day of the year is the “right” time to start a fitness/nutrition program.

But if you read the above sentence carefully – you’ll see this has a double meaning. Since every day is the right time to start getting fit – New Year’s Day is the right day as well.

As good a day as any - but no better...

That mean’s those of you starting your journey on the first day of 2012 have my support as well. In fact, I’ve created a guide to make this the year that your Fitness Resolution dreams finally come true!

So without further ado – here it is. Behold the…

NEW YEAR FITNESS RESOLUTION SUCCESS GUIDE: 3 Tips for making this Year’s Fitness Resolution Work

Tip #1 – Look at your goals in sections – not as a whole

When you look at an entire year at a time you can get overwhelmed – especially when it comes to fitness and health. The best thing to do is to make changes in small “chunks” that can be digested. You didn’t eat your plate of Christmas dinner in on bite – you took in in chunks (at least I hope you did). So undo it in chunks as well.

Breaking things down into “doable” chunks is the best way to get things done with anything in life. Want to lose weight and get in shape? Why not start exercising 2-3 times a week for a very short period – and cutting out high calorie snacks? This is a much better and more “attainable” goal than working out for hours on end (counterproductive anyway) and eating nothing but salad and grilled chicken for the entire year.

That is a sure fire way to fail and never reach your goals. So don’t set unrealistic fitness goals and you’ll be way ahead of the game. You’ll also still be in the game when most people are down and out at the end of January!

Tip #2 – Visualize the end Result

How can you ever get where you are going if you have no clue of your destination? You can’t. You’ll just float aimlessly towards an unknown goal and end up never getting there at all – and even if you get there you won’t know you are there, you will think you are somewhere – and that leads to nowhere fast. That was a killer run on sentence!

The point is you need to visualize what you want to achieve, then take small steps to get there. Take a moment and close your eyes – see what you would like to look like. See your goal. Imagine how you feel – how others look at you – and how your life is better. Imagine your doctor saying that you are doing a fine job – and that your blood pressure and resting heart rate are getting better and better with every visit.

See it...then become it...

Your goal is the reason you will perform your exercise routine, the reason you will lower your calorie intake, the reason you will eat more nutritious foods and less junk food.

Remember that being overweight is not a condition, it’s a symptom of a much deeper problem. When those deeper problems are fixed, goals are attained and you end up with a healthy, fantastic body you can be proud of.

It all starts with the mind.

Tip #3 – Don’t Burn Out

By far the biggest enemy of the Fitness Resolution is the dreaded “Burn Out”.  So many people start working out at the beginning of the year that gyms and studios are often at full capacity! It’s great! Everyone is working out – and I don’t just mean working out – they are sweating, grunting and pulling. Day in and day out – endless reps, sets and classes.

They are so sore they can barely move – and still they go to the gym or pop in that exercise video. When they open the cabinet they are knocked to the floor by the tidal wave of tasteless rice cakes and whole grain cereals.

Milk becomes Skim, bread 100% whole wheat, and wine becomes water. Hunger pains run rampant – pounds fall off – and arms and legs feel like they are going to at any minute.

Then it stops.

Milk goes back to 2%. Bread becomes white. Water becomes wine. Arms and legs heal and return to “normal”. Waistlines stay put and people talk about how “it’s just not worth it – those fitness people have no life.”

Run a car on Redline for too long and that sucker is going to blow. And blow it does – right around February 1^st (or sooner).

I’m just throwing this out there, but could it be possible that going from Turkey and Dressing, pecan pie, and dumplings to rice cakes and tasteless grilled chicken – and absolutely no exercise (besides putting a turkey in the oven or opening a present) to 3 hours a day 7 days a week of mind numbing aerobics and weight training might have been too big of a jump? Maybe? Huh?

We humans are strange creatures for sure – all or nothing seems to be the consensus of most of us (and trust me I’m the same way).

But I’ll tell you one thing – and I’ll tell you this from experience – going from 0-200mph in fitness and nutrition will blow you up faster than a C4 pancake.

You won’t make it. So what’s the solution?

The solution is to not run into that mine field in the first place! Take it easy man! Cut out a few things that you know are condusive to inflating the old waistline (I bet you can think of two or three right now) and start being more active. Do it slow and easy.

BOOMSHAKALAKA!

The last time I checked the Tortoise beat the crap out of the hare.

So there you have it – 3 Tips that will ensure you get to your fitness goals in 2012. Don’t be a hare – all talk and sore arms until February and then out of the race completely. Be a Tortoise – Kaizen – constant steady improvement. I’ll see you in 2012 with a new body and life. Cause’ I’ll tell you one thing, everything in life is better when you are strong, healthy, trim and in shape. Everything.

Jay Scott is an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, NPC National Level Bodybuilder, Fitness Model, Author and Nutrition Coach. Jay owns CE-Fitness, a Personal Training business in Lexington, KY. Jay has been helping people lose weight and transform their bodies since 1998. Contact him at jay@cefitness.net or visit his site at www.cefitness.net for books, products, training options and more.

Tags: kentucky, lexington, personal trainer, personal training