It’s January 5th. 

Some are still "riding high" on the goals they set for 2011.

Sadly, though, some have surely started to slip through fingers like quick sand!  Already.

That’s why we’re here with 3 SUPER simple ways to see all your goals through to completion!  ZERO Excuses for the best year EVER!

1. Find a Buddy.  The magic of Mohr Results Boot Camp is the accountability.  Well, that’s one of the reasons the Fit Chicks in our camp are so successful.  When you go at it alone, you’ll struggle because it’s easy to give in to your own excuses — "I’m tired" or "I’m too busy" etc.  Your friend/spouse/co worker/sibling — you’re all there to support on another. 

   One time a woman in one of our studies told us this story.  She was obese and admittedly never purposefully exercised a day in her life.  In fact, she said her only form of exercise was lifting her remote to order off QVC.  Seriously.  Well, lo and behold, she joined one of our studies.  The study was to measure the effectiveness of social support …

   …she called her friend and told her a light switch went on and she was going to start exercising and taking care of her body.  Why?  The gadget she bought off QVC to help her "burn fat" didn’t fit around her waist and she was disgusted.

   In other words the ‘quick fix fat loss solution‘ wasn’t a quick fix after all! 

   Her friend said she’d support her and they’d meet daily to walk and to call her if she felt like she was struggling with her food intake. 

   While the walks started small — 1 block — they gradually increased and increased until, one day, she was able to walk 60 continuous minutes!  She kept that up.  Continued with the changes in her diet.  And within 12 weeks, she’d removed nearly 40 lbs! 

   She attributed her success to ONE thing and one thing only.

   Not exercise.  Not diet.  But her support crew who kept her accountable. 

2. Write Process Goals — AND Endpoint Goals.  Daily.  What’s a process goal?  Process goals are how you’re going to achieve the endpoint.  For me at one point my endpoint goal was to finish the Ironman on August 31, 2008.  The process goals were the daily "tasks" I needed to do to achieve that.  

   I had a training partner and coach (fulfilled #1) and I wrote my goals daily. 

   I finished the race.  Felt great.  And it was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.  This is certainly not something to overlook.  Unless you want to be working on the same things come 2012.

3. Keep Tempting Foods Out of Your House.  This is seriously the most simple of them all.  Yet the hardest at the same time.  Why?  Because there are lots of excuses as to why they’re there…for the kids, my husband/wife, company, they’re left over from Christmas…whatever the reason, it’s a bad one.

   Your kids don’t need to have ice cream or whatever sweet treat lying around the house, just like you don’t.  And if it’s there, it will be eaten.  Trust us.  Make a list for the grocery store, stick only to the perimeter, and you’ll ultimately achieve your goals.

Here’s to creating the Greatest Year of Your Life!

We’re not huge fans of "New Year’s Resolutions."

Our thought is that if you have a goal … start working on it NOW.  Don’t want until tomorrow, the next week, or January 1.

Did you know that 88% of people fail to keep their New Years Resolutions? 

That’s a crazy number.  But we know you’re different than the majority. 

So let’s work on achieving together. 

Share your goals.  One thing we know that helps people achieve your goals is to share them.

Be accountable. 

And the more people you’re accountable to, the more successful you will be.  Guaranteed. 

So we need your comments.  Share what you’re working on, will continue to work on, and will achieve in 2011. 

The more comments, the better.  We will all hold each other accountable.  Leave a comment below.

With all the hype and ads trying to pitch "fat burners" it’s no wonder people are consumed.

We’re at the park last night with Ella — our daily routine — and as we’re playing with her, we overheard a conversation between two moms.  What was it about?  Losing their "baby weight" even though they both joked because their youngest were now 5.

Our ears immediately perked up when they then brought up how they saw in a magazine that drinking tea burns fat, so she’s recently started doing that everyday. 

Let’s take a look at this.

Tea is known for it’s health benefits.  Some data suggests it may reduce heart disease, other data suggests it can improve mental focus, and several studies have also suggested drinking green tea may boost fat loss.

And, actually, although a lot of the data and marketing has suggested green tea to be the magic bullet, there has been some other data suggesting all tea is beneficial.  "All tea" meaning green, black, or white teas, which are from the same Camellia sinensis plant. 

Herbal teas, on the other hand, don’t have the same powerful health benefits that actual tea does have.  

Let’s explore this fat loss thing a bit more, though.

While the research suggesting drinking tea can burn belly fat has never been too strong, there was some early on to at least give a bit of hope.  And we always suggested that even if that fat loss benefit doesn’t pan out, tea is still great for you, so drinking it daily is smart.  It’s also a calorie free drink that gives an alternative to plain water.  So while tea itself may not be a magical fat loss supplement, according the latest data, it’s a fantastic option.

Let’s take a look at the study published this month in the esteemed American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Effect of green tea catechins with or without caffeine on anthropometric measures: a systematic review and meta-analysis — January 2010).

This meta-analysis (an analysis of the results of multiple studies) looked at the overall effects of green tea catechins on body mass index, body weight, waist to hip ratio, and waist circumference.

As an aside, catechins are the antioxidants that are particularly high in green tea.  They are responsible for many of the health benefits and supposedly for the fat burning properties of tea.

Here’s the summary of this analysis:

• Researchers reviewed 15 Green Tea studies.
• Green Tea catechins helped reduce body weight an average of 3 pounds in the studies, but only when combined with caffeine (the studies without caffeine showed NO fat loss benefits)

But:
 
Although statistically significant, the researchers concluded the clinical significance of the fat loss benefits is modest at best (read: useless).

In my opinion, the final word on this after looking at this entire study is:

Green tea (and all tea) is super healthy and definitely suggested.  If you’re looking to tea to shed extra body fat, however, you’re not going to have much luck.  If you instead replace other higher calorie beverages with unsweetened, real brewed green tea, you’re making a great decision!

What do you think?

We're nearing the end of the January …

Statistically that means 95% of the population has given up on their New Year's Resolutions.  We're trusting that's not you.

If you were planning to lose fat in 2010, have you heard people suggesting you should "eat more to lose weight?"

Sounds almost too good to be true, doesn't it? Aren't calories important? 

As promising as it may seem, it’s impossible to truly defy the laws of physics and take in more calories than your body uses to lose fat.

But lo and behold, the husband of a woman we work with told us he recently lost 12 pounds pretty quickly. He went to his doctor and when asked what he did to lose weight, said “I ate fast food twice this week.”

The doctor applauded him, suggesting that may have “jumpstarted” his metabolism enough to kick that weight loss into high gear.

Seriously?  Fast food "jumpstarts your metabolism?"  I must have missed that nutrition class in school!

The man was ecstatic – suggesting to his wife that she too eat fast food that evening to bump up her already impressive weight loss.

The result? She was sick the entire evening after taking his advice and “enjoying” a crispy chicken sandwich; foods she hadn’t touched in months. So why didn’t this strategy work for her like it did him?

Can’t you boost your metabolism by eating more?

This is where that physician got his nutrition information a little mixed up – a common problem with many physicians, unfortunately. I digress.

Here’s the truth.

When you eat, your metabolism increases. This accounts for about 10-15% of your overall calorie expenditure. It’s not a huge chunk, but every bit surely helps.

Protein causes the biggest increase. Carbohydrates are next. And fat has a nominal effect.

This is one reason many suggest higher protein diets for fat loss. Again, every little bit helps.

With that said, however, the total amount of calories a person eats will always be greater than the resultant increase in metabolism, regardless of the food selection.

For example, sitting down to a protein rich grilled chicken and mixed veggie meal may provide around 400 calories. That doesn’t mean you’ll burn 500 calories, though, because it’s high in protein.

But it is one reason we suggest smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day. And, yes, we do suggest protein with each meal.

Every little boost in calorie burn helps, so dividing 2000 calories over 3 meals vs. 2000 calories over 4-6 meals may give a little extra "boost."

But going back to the original question, eating, or refeeding high calorie, junk food, like what the physician suggested, is far from a smart eating strategy for long term, permanent fat loss.

These 10 strategies are what you truly need for permanent fat loss :

1. Eat smaller, more frequent meals (not larger, more frequent meals).
2. Include lean protein with each meal and snack.
3. Use veggies and fruit as your primary source of carbohydrates.
4. Replace liquid calories with non caloric options like water.
5. Add high intensity exercise to your routine, like we do with our Mohr Results Boot Camp.
6. Eat breakfast, but nothing with a cartoon on the box. Click here to see the healthiest breakfast in the world.
7. Add 3+ cups of unsweetened tea each day.
8. Move more – we suggest 5+ hours of general movement each week, outside of structured physical activity.
9. Plan ahead.
10. Reduce packaged food items – the less ingredients, the better.

By the way, you CAN eat more volume, yet still eat less calories. So it's not really "eat more, weight less" — it's eat more VOLUME, weigh less.  

More on food volume later.  Until then, be smart about your intake and never fall for the quick fix “FAUX – lutions” not SO – lotions.