In a small town in Pennsylvania, there is a long-standing tradition with the Famous groundhog, Punxsatawney Phil. On February 2nd, the furry little critter crawls out of his den and if he sees his shadow, it means there will be 6 more weeks of winter. Usually he does, though I always hope otherwise – I would prefer an early spring! Anyway, seeing this amusing American holiday on the news again got me thinking… for most people, weight loss is a lot like groundhog day…
Why Weight Loss Is a Lot Like Groundhog Day
Before I became a full time author, writer and online publisher, I used to work in health clubs. For 14 years, I was a trainer and gym manager, and every January, there was a huge influx of new members.
Unfortunately, most of them were GONE by February! I swear this is not “urban legend” or an exaggeration – it’s absolutely true. I used to print out the attendance records to prove it!
The attendance spike in January and the subsequent dip in February were unbelievable. So much for new year’s resolutions.
Did you ever think about what the word “resolution” implies? If you look at the roots of the word, it comes from comes from “resolute” which means a firm determination.
But here’s something that most people rarely consider: Words carry certain associations and ambiguities, not necessarily related to their Latin roots
What I find ironic is that if you sound it out, “resolve” sounds like “RE-solve” as in: to solve the SAME problem again and again, and again and again.
Did you ever see that movie (1993), Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, where he wakes up every morning only to re-live the same day over and over again?
Well, for most people, this time of year is like “Groundhog Day for weight loss” – re-living that same 20 pound weight loss from past years, over and over and over again.
What could be more frustrating?
Isn’t it finally time to stop that madness?
You can make your goals and intentions stick this year – all year – and keep your progress steamrolling forward for life… an unstoppable YOU. It simply takes a different approach than the way most people are doing it every January.
Forget the old approach:
Once a year resolutions
Quick fixes (pills, food restriction, etc)
Losing weight
This is the new, superior approach:
Continuous goal setting combined with purpose
Lifestyle change
Burning fat & building muscle
People know that resolutions usually don’t stick, but rather than learning the art of constantly setting real goals which move them step by step along a lifetime path with purpose, they make resolutions again every year anyway.
They pursue the latest, trendiest, newest diet or exercise fad instead of working on the admittedly boring, but effective fundamentals and proven principles (which never change).
They’re focused only on quick results without a long term growth mindset.
And, they’re so caught up in the scale, that all they care about is how much weight they lose, not their all-important body composition (the ratio of muscle to fat).
Thus, with the old approach:
You temporarily lose weight and fit in smaller clothes, but you don’t look good out of clothes – you’re just a smaller but still squishy version of your old self… a “skinny fat person.”
You start out in a fiery burst of New Year enthusiasm, only to burn out, sometimes in less than a month, and gain back all the weight you lost… Where it sticks on your belly until next January, when you start the cycle of insanity all over again.
Insanity: Continuing to do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.
If you want to make real health and body changes that stick, it’s time to change your approach.
A lot of people are talking lately about my 49-day fitness and transformation contests (because there’s another one coming up soon). But some people said, “Wait! 49-days? ! Has Tom started going the quick fix route like all the others?”
Nothing could be further from the truth…
My fat-burning program, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is THE NEW SUPERIOR APPROACH, not the old one, and there’s nothing “quick fix-sh” about it.
In our Burn the Fat community we have simply proven that you can use this approach to begin seeing extraordinary results in as little as 49 days. Yet the 49-day time frame we use in some of our Burn the Fat contests is simply one of many short term goals – just one of many stepping stones along a journey that lasts a lifetime.
After 49 days, YOU DON’T STOP! You set more short term goals, and you keep going – and
you get better and better. You can keep using the program until you reach your long term goal, and then you can keep using it to maintain your ideal weight for life.
At that point, you will discover new health, fitness and performance goals to set – trust me, you will – so the health and fitness journey never ends.
“Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see farther.” – Thomas Carlyle
To make this happen, you have to change your mindset
Here’s the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle difference:
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle teaches you REAL goal-setting skills (the kind you can apply in your business, financial and personal life as well)
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle also gives you a lifestyle program. It’s a maintainable and flexible plan designed from day one so you can stick with it! Everything is maintainable. There are no forbidden foods… no crazy types of exercise you must do even if you don’t like them…
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle teaches you how to measure and track your body composition – not just how much you weigh, but how much of your weight is muscle and how much is fat.
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle is NOT just a 7 week program, it’s a lifestyle. We simply sponsor fun fitness contests throughout the year, to give you some external motivation and social support, and some of them happen to be 49 days long.
Do you want the Groundhog day cycle of weight loss and regain to finally stop… to Burn the Fat and keep it off forever? If so, then we have the tools for you…
Not only can you keep reading this Burn the Fat Blog every week for free fat burning and muscle-building tips and advice, you are also invited to enter our fitness or body transformation challenge contests, (it’s also free!)
The next challenge is starting soon, and you can always get the details for our current and upcoming contests by visiting this page: www.BurnTheFatChallenge.com
The official guidebook to the challenge is Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle book, now available all over the world in both print, digital editions and audiobook.
If you want additional support and unlimited access to me, you can also become a part of our members-only community at Burn the Fat Inner Circle, and for a limited time, you can even try it out for only $1: Simply go to: www.burnthefatinnercircle.com/public/Join-For-One-Dollar.cfm
Train Hard and Expect Success!
Tom Venuto
Author, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
Founder and CEO, Burn the Fat Inner Circle
About Tom Venuto
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural (steroid-free) bodybuilder, fitness writer and author of Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle: Fat Burning Secrets of Bodybuilders and Fitness Models and the national bestseller, The Body Fat Solution, which was an Oprah Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine pick. Tom has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, Muscle and Fitness Magazine, Ironman Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine, as well as on dozens of radio shows including Sirius Satellite Radio, ESPN-1250 and WCBS. Tom is also the founder and CEO of Burn The Fat Inner Circle – a fitness support community for inspiration and transformation