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©2012 4cyclefatloss.com All right reserved. 1

Copyright Notice

No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without expressed written, dated and signed permission from the author. All copyrights are reserved.

Disclaimer and/or Legal Notices

This information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only. I am not a doctor and this is not meant to be taken as medical advice. The information provided in this guide is based upon my experiences as well as my interpretations of the current research available. The advice and tips given in this download are meant for healthy adults only. You should consult your physician to insure tips given in this course are appropriate for your individual circumstances. If you have any health issues or pre-existing conditions, please consult with your physician before implementing any of the information provided below. This product is for informational purposes only and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities or damages, real or perceived, resulting from the use of this information.


The Macro-Patterning™

“Quick Start” Handbook

Eight Weeks To Cracking The Fat Loss Code Welcome to the rest of your life. That’s right. On the following pages you will begin to understand the four Macro-Patterning™ cycles better and how to use this way of living as a lifestyle instead of an actual diet. During the first three cycles you’ll be aggressively burning fat at a very rapid pace—running to catch up and reprogramming your body about using fat for energy. Remember, your body cares more about its physical needs than about your emotions. Your body doesn’t care if being a little fat has thrown you into a deep depression or made you feel isolated and insecure. To the body, fat is good. Fat is even great. And the body is partially right; we all do need a certain amount of fat in your diet and on your body. But now it’s time for you to treat fat differently. For too long the body has been keeping around lots and lots of fat as its “last resort” for energy. It’s already there; your body is just not using it. Until now. Throughout the four cycles you will teach your body to “go get fat” and use it first, instead of last.

FACT:You will now be the teacher…

And the body will now be your student.


THIS is you. The teacher.

THIS is your body. The student.

THIS is your result. The finish line.


Hopefully you also realize by now that you can’t be on a continuous diet. The 4 Cycle Solution is a lifestyle. Trying to live on a lifelong diet is a recipe for disaster. The basics that I’ll cover in this guide will serve you for the rest of your life. This is the foundation or the “roots”. And when a building has no foundation or a tree has no roots, what happens?? Yep. The building falls over and the tree dies. In other words, do NOT skip this section and go right to your nutrition guides. This guide will give you the knowledge, confidence and faith to move forward properly.

You’ll soon discover that fat-loss can be VERY interesting when you literally can take control of your metabolism and your body through food intake. Your body is an amazing machine and even though God designed it to survive, he also gave us the ability to control and sculpt it. After you read through this guide and moveinto the meal plans (in that order), you’ll be armed with the ability to control fat-loss and your metabolism once and for all.


Putting the Four Cycles in Motion

Cycle 1:

Advanced Depletion – “The 7 Day Diet”

This is by far the most powerful strategy of the 4 Cycle Solution because it reprograms and fixes your broken metabolism to teach it where fat stores are available for energy needs. The 7 Day Diet also serves several other essential metabolic purposes.

First, you’ll learn exactly how to make fat your “go to” energy source. Second, it’s by far the quickest way for you to drain the body of

carbohydrate stores and/or muscle glycogen to achieve the fastest fat loss possible.

Third, it shuts off your body’s dependence on sugars, which further accelerates the break down of ugly fat.

Fourth, it helps you aggressively control and stabilize blood sugar for even more rapid fat loss. Additionally – and most importantly – it actually “sets up” all your metabolic triggers and fat burning hormones for the carb cycling lifestyle. Expect to lose anywhere between 5 and 15 pounds during this first 7 days. Warning: Do not skip this cycle. This jumpstart is essential for your success because it serves as the springboard that will move you through the next three cycles. And you’ll look and feel a lot leaner in just the first few days.


Cycle 2:

Macro-Patterning™

This is where the rubber meets the road – and where your metabolism learns how to love burning fat and carbs as fuel sources on a daily ongoing and reoccurring basis. The first cycle is designed as a catalyst to make sure your metabolism is programmed and ready to go grab fat when we ask it to. And now that your body is already experiencing rapid fat loss, it’s time for Macro-Patterning™. It’s your “official” new way of living the fat burning lifestyle. You’ll start using all the foods you love to help dramatically accelerate your fat loss and you’ll finally crack the fat loss code once and for all. No more plateaus. No more metabolic slow down. No more suffering from adaptation. You’ll follow a simple “turn-key” system to manipulate macronutrients (food) so you can automatically maintain a fat burning environment round the clock while you eat all your favorite carbs and cheat foods.

Cycle 3:

Accelerated Fat Loss Now that you’ve made the leap and you understand how easy it is to Macro-Pattern, it’s time to pick up the pace a little and manipulate your metabolism even further with the Accelerated Fat Loss Cycle.


Even though this may be your first time Macro-Patterning™ your body is smart – super smart – so it’s very good at adapting. The Accelerated Fat Loss Cycle is the first nutrition cycle ever that’s specifically designed to overcome every type of adaptiveresponse the body has to stop you from losing weight. This tried and true fat loss cycle will teach you how to easily control energy and manipulate fat stores so you can stay on the fat loss fast track.

Cycle 4:

The Diet Break [Maintenance] Now it’s time to put your fat loss on cruise control. By this point you’ll have “overcame” every adaptive response related to burning stubborn body fat and you’ll know how easy it can be to force your body to use fat as your primary energy source. Once you’ve moved through the first 3 cycles you’ll have a completely different relationship with food and the way you approach eating for health and fat loss will be changed forever. You’ll stay lean for life while enjoying happy hour every Friday and uncover how to cheat your way through the weekend while maintaining (and sometimes even accelerating) the fat loss process. Just think how awesome it would feel to wake up every Monday morning feeling leaner and lighter. As you can see, the 4 Cycle Solution is a powerful fat loss formula that you can live with day after day, week after week, month after month to outsmart your metabolism and conquer diet plateaus once and for all.


The Macro-Patterning™ Secret Code Ok, it’s not really a “secret” code, but I wanted to make sure I still had your attention. In this first section I’ll lay out the different food “types” (sometimes called food codes) that you’ll see on your meal plans and tell you exactly what they all mean.

For starters, you will find that each type of food has a key. This is listed in a “type” column on each individual day:

P is for protein S is for starch V is for vegetable O is for fat (think Oil) A is for fruit (I know, should just be “F” but people always think it’s fat so we

had to change it.) FF is for free food SA is for Sweets and Alcohol (most times this is the same as free food, but

you’ll see it occasionally) Each week starts with a set of rules; follow these rules as closely as possible. While this not a diet, the closer you stay to the guidelines described in each week, the better your results will be. The rules are usually very simple to follow. I did say simple – not necessarily easy. They’ll require that you plan a little and at least pay attention. After the rules, you’ll find a helpful weekly planner that shows you exactly how each day of the week shapes up. As you begin to study your nutrition manuals more closely, you will be reminded of the types of days you’ll find during this part of your plan.

Cycle 1: Deplete Days

Cycle 2: Baseline, Carb Down, Carb Up (Re-feeds), Cheat Days

Cycle 3:Fats Up/Carbs Zero, Fats Down/Carbs Down, Fats Down/Carbs Up, Fats Down/Carbs Baseline, Cheat Days

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=secret+codes&hl=en&biw=1608&bih=802&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=l3unb188Nr1YlM:&imgrefurl=http://herb5.blogspot.com/2007/06/secret-codes-for-spies.html&docid=Om9HDt_qfr3dNM&imgurl=http://www.mlab.uiah.fi/%7Emalappal/infoaesthetics/jpegs/code.jpg&w=640&h=480&ei=YDHeTsu4HcSW2AXLibSCBQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=736&vpy=418&dur=416&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=158&ty=87&sig=101153319352056365346&page=3&tbnh=133&tbnw=177&start=73&ndsp=36&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:73


Cycle 4: Baseline, Carb Up, Cheat Days

I even provide a bonus, long-term Macro-Patterning™ Rapid Fat Lossnutrition plan schedule that alternates Deplete Days with Baseline Days and provides the all important Cheat Day as well. The beauty of the system is its flexibility. Within each specific day, you’ll find a full substitution list of all the various foods you can have. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how many of your favorite foods are on these lists and how much of them you can have. Truly, the combinations are endless. We are truly excited that you’ve made the decision to join us, and we hope this mini road map provides you with the enthusiasm for the life-changing journey you’re about to undertake.

Understanding The Carb Cycling Lifestyle One of my favorite sayings is “abs are made in the kitchen”, which basically means 75% of the results you get from this program (or any program) are going to be from properly structured nutrition and your ability to adhere to the nutrition guidelines. Your success with 4CS is going to be dependent on three primary pillars.

Proper food and nutrient timing

Proper food and nutrient combinations

Proper food and nutrient portion control Of course these pillars won’t work effectively unless you use the proper food choices and substitutions. So let’s quickly discuss how you can make the best choices as you move through the four cycles.


Then we’ll review how you can put the four cycles in motion and move into proper timing, combinations, and portion control. Even though we provide you with a detailed food choices list inside every meal plan, it’s vital to understand the basic info below for your immediate and long term results. Remember, you’ll also see a master grocery list (food choices and substitutions sheet) below that you can always refer to when putting together your food combinations.

Lessons In Leanness from a CAVEMAN…

You’ll notice a wide variety of food choices throughout the entire 4CS system. Everything from the cleanest, purest fat loss foods to more convenient on-the-go choices like gluten free high fiber wraps and even certain breads are acceptable. We do this for reason. People are picky and they get bored quickly. I know this for a fact because I work with them everyday and I’m personally one of them too! So I think it’s important to address “good”, “better”, and “best” options. There’s no doubt that you can follow the meal plans to a “T” and knock the ball out of the park with your fat loss. But for those of you who are a little more anal and want to be as clean as possible when required – this section will serve as a great road map for all your choices and substitutions. Let’s start with processed foods vs. foods from “nature”. Foods from nature that come from a plant, tree, roots, animals, etc. are ALWAYS going to be the “best” choice – hands down. In fact, I recommend you choose


unprocessed whole foods as much as possible while you move through the four cycles. It’s completely useless to pay attention to the “traditional” food pyramid or other silly rhetoric that big food companies push on us. It’s confusing and the majority of these foods are made in a factory and don’t come from nature. Food for thought…literally.

For example, a potato or yam is always going to be a better choice than a wrap or an acceptable bread option. Gluten free slow cook oats are always going to be a better choice than some trendy so-called healthy cereal. Even if it is Ezekiel. However, all of these will still work on this plan. Again, it’s all about your lifestyle, likes and dislikes. Certain breads, wraps, and healthy cereals are a lot easier to prepare and stay on track if you’re in a hurry; you just have to make sure you’re sticking with the choices below. But non-processed, all-natural foods from nature, just like our Paleolithic ancestors (cavemen) ate, are always going to work best for fat-loss. Your body will digest, absorb, and respond better to all natural choices straight from Mother Earth. Always remember this. Now and forever.


With that being said, you’ll still get tremendous results by using the recipe guide and sticking with everything in the meal plans – but you can feel free to substitute foods or meals at ANYTIME during the program. Just follow the food code guidelines by always making sure your “types” match the exact combinations provided. And do your best to follow these nutrition rules to maximize the results of the 4 Cycle Fat Loss System.

4 Cycle Fat Loss Nutrition Rules and Guidelines

for the BEST health and the FASTEST Fat Loss…

CUT OUT wheat and limit your intake of grains.

Avoid corn, soy products and all types of fructose, especially high fructose corn syrup.

Try to limit your intake of dairy to one or two servings daily and avoid consuming store bought milk. If you must consume milk, use it on weight/resistance training days within one hour afterwards to take advantage of the extra insulin and milk sugars.

Try to buy your dairy, eggs, meats, and produce from a local farm or local farmer’s market. You can find some of the healthiest, best tasting foods in the world at dirt cheap prices at these local markets.

Use raw cheese and raw nuts and limit intake of these foods.

Buy organic produce and fruit whenever possible.

Find a local meat market that has grass fed beef, cage free eggs and poultry, pasture raised pork, etc.

Avoid canola oil and all vegetable based oils and stick with small amounts of extra virgin olive oils, coconut oils, and grass fed butter.

Choose your carbs based on your activity level using the chart below.


There’s dozens of reasons I make the above recommendations. Most folks don’t even realize that today’s modern wheat is TOTALLY different from the wheat our ancestors ate, or even the wheat from just 10 to 20 years ago. Just look at this snapshot from the back of the NY Times Best Selling book, “Wheat Belly”.

Activity Level

Sedentary Active High Intensity

Exerciser

Desk job or someone who has other limitations that

prevent them from exercising

Moderate exercise 3 - 4x per week

Weight lifters, high intensity exercisers,

and endurance athletes who

exercise 5x or more per week

Type of Nutrition

BEST carb types

Paleo with very

limited starches and moderate amount of

fruits

Paleo + low

glycemic starches and fruits on

exercise days only

Paleo + Glucose: Lots of pure white

starches allowed pre and post workout

All non-starchy veggies

with organic berries and small amounts of other fruits and

berries.

Things like quinoa and squash are

acceptable in small amounts.

Lower Glycemic Based Starchy

Carbs:

Yams, Sweet Potatoes, Brown & Black Rice, Lentils, Slow Cook Gluten

Free Oats

*All organic fruits and sedentary carb choices

allowed

Gluten Free Glucose Based

Carbs:

Potatoes, White Rice, Ripe

Bananas, Brown Rice or Black Bean Pasta

*All low glycemic

starches and other organic fruits are

acceptable


And this is only the beginning.

Store bought fruits and vegetables are now loaded with pesticides, herbicides, and even genetically modified organisms (GMOs). These residual chemicals block the absorption of vitamins and minerals and have been links to several diseases including cancer.

Corn fed beef and pork has been shown to contain 9xs the bad estrogen than natural pasture raised pork and grass fed beef. It also tends to be too high in omega 6 fats compared to its grass fed buddies.

Over the counter dairy is loaded with fillers, hidden chemicals, and poor quality protein. Cottage cheese and Greek yogurt are the only two exceptions to this rule, but watch for hidden sugars and other fillers.

Store bought egg yolks can tend to be loaded with hormones passed along from the cage raised chickens.

Roasted nuts are an “ok” source of friendly fat, but the roasting process basically destroys all the “good” fats.

Even national grocery store chains who are known for selling more “natural” products have been shown to carry so-called “healthy” foods that contain GMO’s, which is basically “fake” food that causes aggressive cancer tumor growth in mice. I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point. Today’s food systems are designed to be fast and convenient. As a result, the nutrient quality is not only poor…it can be downright dangerous for your health. I’m not trying to be a fear monger. I’m just trying to raise your level of awareness.


Because awareness is HALF the battle.

So now that you’re “aware”, here are some of the best and acceptable store bought food choices you can use… I usually save pasta for my cheat days or re-feeds, but it’s possible to incorporate them into your daily meal plans if you choose brands like this Gluten Free pasta made from brown rice flour or this gluten free organic black bean spaghetti.


Here’s an awesome pasta alternative you can use on your low carb days. It’s shirataki spaghetti. It only has 4 grams of carbs per serving and it’s gluten free and vegan.


Here’s a great gluten free wrap from the same company that makes Ezekiel (Sprouted Grain) Bread. It’s made from brown rice flour so it’s an acceptable starch.

Paleo Bread. Each slice contains only 60 calories and it only has ONEnet gram of impact carbs per serving. So nearly all the carbs from this bread are fiber. Addtionally, it contains no wheat, no GMOs, and it even has a decent dose of protein. Also, toast it. It makes it stick together better and gives it a little crunch.


If you don’t have access to raw cheese (which is “the bomb” by the way…tastes deeelish), here’s a great alternative. It’s cheese made from almonds and it’s actually pretty tasty if it’s melted on something. Just make sure you monitor portion control on ALL cheeses and treat cheese like a fat, not a protein source.

Also make sure you don’t fall for “fakes”. Make sure your oils are unrefined and organic whenever possible. This particular coconut oil below tastes excellent. Again, just monitor portion sizes with oil (nuts and nut butters) because they yield over double the calories as proteins and carbs.

I recommend you avoid cereals altogether. But if you do decide to have cereal, make sure you use almond or coconut milk (plain not flavored) and choose your brands VERY carefully and READ the labels. Here’s a famous so-called healthy cereal (on right) that’s frequently advertised as a weight loss cereal compared side by side with an Ezekiel brand (on left).


As you can clearly see, there’s no comparison. Also, keep this mind. Even if the cereal is “healthy”, each serving most likely packs a ton of carbs and calories. Something to be consciously aware of as you move through the 4 cycles.


How To Use The Fat Loss

Food Pyramid For FASTER Results…

Now let’s talk about the Fat Loss Food Pyramid and cover food timing, food combinations, and portion control. It’s critical to understand these three factors because it will help you control insulin, which is a storage hormone.

Just remember, that in the presence of HIGH insulin levels it’s almost impossible to burn body fat. What raises insulin? Food intake. But it’s the food timing combinations and portion sizes that will determine how insulin is controlled. And there are times (like before and after workouts) that we want to purposely spike insulin to help “shuttle” nutrients and “partition” carbs into muscle tissue for repair and growth. However, the majority of the time our goal is to keep blood sugar and insulin stable so you can remain in a fat burning state. Just follow these guidelines and you’ll consistently maintain an anabolic fat burning environment every minute of every day.


Pillar1. Food Timing Food timing is critical to understand for long term success. There are a few basic rules and guidelines that will NEVER change. Here they are.

1. Eat your meals every 3.5 to 4 hours apart. No more, no less.

Don’t eat meals too close together OR too far apart

If you eat meals too close together your blood sugar will be elevated throughout the day, which means your body will be in more of a fat storing environment. Additionally, you’ll always feel full and sluggish

If you eat meals too far apart you could potentially enter a catabolic (muscle wasting) state

(*IMPORTANT Note:One exception to this rule is post workout. You can get away with having a couple post workout meals closer together because your metabolic pump is primed and revved up to utilize extra nutrients for the 2 to 3 hour magic window after high intensity exercise.)

2. Eat or have a nutrition shake within 1 hour of waking up

This will help you take advantage of a higher metabolic rate and better insulin sensitivity

3. Always eat your starches and fruits early in the day (before noon) OR

afterhigh intensity workouts

Again, this will ensure your insulin sensitivity is high so the carbs will be utilized for energy, repair, and growth rather than “spilling over”


4. Try to get some type of lean quality protein an hour or two before bed

This will provide your muscles with a steady stream of amino acids before bed and also prevent going into a catabolic (muscle wasting) state

5. Time your meals to be 2 to 3 hours before a workout and within 45 to 60 minutes after a workout

2 to 3 hours before a workout will give your body enough time to partially digest your food, provide energy for exercise, and give your muscles a steady stream of amino acids – while at the same time putting you in a slightly fasted state to maximize the release of more hormones that burn fat during the workout

45 to 60 minutes after a workout will provide nutrients within the “magic” window where your muscles are like a wet sponge that’s been rung dry and they literally want to “suck up” nutrients

Pillar 2. Food Combinations

Now that we’ve covered food timing, let’s continue cracking the fat loss code with proper food combining. Here are the general guidelines.

1. NEVER eat a carb by itself

Carbs tend to spike blood sugar (raise insulin) more than other foods which creates a fat storing environment inside our body


2. ALWAYS have some type of high quality protein in every meal

This will keep your body in a consistent “anabolic” (muscle preserving) state

Protein provides muscle tissue with a steady stream of amino acids to help assist in muscle growth

This will help keep blood sugar more stable throughout the day to keep you in a high energy – fat burning environment

The thermal effect of protein will help prevent metabolic slow down and burn more calories (in other words, your body will burn more calories digesting and breaking down protein than it will digesting and breaking down fat and carbohydrates)

3. Always LIMIT fat intake when eating starches or fruits (carbs)

By keeping fat intake lower in meals that contain starches and/or fruits you’ll avoid insulin AND fatty acids being present together in the blood stream. Remember, insulin + fat = potential fat storage – NOT good

A good rule of thumb is anytime you see P/O/S (protein, fat, starch) together in a meal, just make sure you keep fat at 10 grams or lower

4. Keep fat intake to a minimum before AND after workouts

Fats tend to slow digestion and keep insulin stable. This is a great benefit during other times of the days, but pre and post workout are the only 2 times of the days when we want to speed up absorption and intentionally spike insulin. This will help force more nutrients into muscle tissue because insulin is a “storage” hormone. It’s also very “anabolic”, which means it helps create a muscle building environment inside your body during exercise.

Always combine proteins and carbs together before and after your workouts, but keep fat intake below 10 grams in both these meals


Pillar3. Portion Control

Last on the list is portion control. Although we recommend weighing your food and being a little more anal for the first 7 days, it’s not realistic for the long haul. After cycle 1 you can use the guidelines below to eliminate the headache of counting grams or calories for the rest of your life. Believe it or not,the size of your hands can help you burn more fat. Ok, I know it’s sounds weird, but this is THE best way to monitor your food intake to consistently maintain a fat burning environment round the clock.

Your fist, palm, and thumbs are directly related to how many calories and grams you should be consuming on a daily basis to burn more fat. Here’s how it works.

1. Protein = the size of your palm

An acceptable range is 15 to 25 grams per serving for women and 20 to 40 grams for men

If you’re not consistently exercising, these amounts should be lower

2. Carbs = the size of your fist

Acceptable range should be 25 to 50 grams per serving – post workout should be more toward 35 to 40 for women and at least 45 to 50 for men

3. Fats = the size of the end of your thumb x 2


Carbs and proteins only yield 4 calories per gram while fats yield 9 calories per gram, which indicates you have to monitor fat intake and use smaller portion sizes for fats (ex: 12 to 15 nuts, not HALF the jar!)

Acceptable range should be 15 to 30 grams per serving (approx. 1 to 2 tablespoons)

What to do if you’re anal and WANT to count calories and grams…

I gotcha covered. Here’s a general ballpark figure on how you can count calories for fat loss.

1. 10xs your body weight = lose weight/burn fat 2. 12xs your body weight = maintain 3. 15xs your body weight = gain weight/lean muscle

Again, this is just an estimate. Genetics, exercise intensity, sleep, recovery, and supplementation can ALL affect overall results as it relates to burning fat and/or gaining muscle. Bottom line: controlling calories and being in a calorie deficit of some kind is still king when it comes to burning fat. Now let’s move onto your “Quick Start” and Pre-Planning Checklist!


The 4 Cycle Solution

Quick Start Kit & Pre-Planning Checklist

1. Food Scale for The 7 Day Diet

Not necessary to use during the other cycles, but this will help you understand portion control as you move into carb cycling

2. Containers to store your food

Always pre-cook and pack your meals so you have them ready to heat up and eat

3.

Water bottle (bpa free) Consume half your body weight in ounces of water (make sure

it’s filtered or from a clean source) everyday (ex: Women 70-80 oz, Men 100-128 oz per day)

44.. Lunch box and/or Cooler with Ice packs Use this for traveling, appointments, meetings, work, kid’s

activities etc. to stay on track when “life happens”

55.. Blender, Shaker & Whey Protein Powder You must always have access to on-the-go protein and be able to

make a quick shake when life happens

66.. Print Out Your Success Tracker & Food Log Log your food for the first 8 weeks or until you’ve built some new

habits

77.. Print Out Grocery List & Go Shopping Make sure you shop once or twice a week and prepare meals

ahead of time

http://getleanin12.biotrust.com/Shop.asp?p=LowCarb&sid=4csquickstart


1. _____ Did you purchase the necessary supplements? (Whey protein powder, krill oil, and greens supplement) We highly recommend using BioTrust for most of your supplements (see supplement guide for details).

2. _____ Did you take a “before” picture with revealing clothes?

3. _____ Did you establish a starting point by weighing in, measuring your

body parts and getting your body fat tested?

4. _____ Have you written down your specific weight loss goals (the exact amount of weight you want to lose by the end of the 8-week program)? Make sure you hand write your goal(s) down on a 3 x 5 card(s) to review daily?

5. _____ Did you schedule out the entire first week’s food and exercise plan?

6. _____ Did you decide how often you will prepare your meals (daily, bi-

weekly, or weekly)? Twice weekly is recommended and most common.

7. _____ Do you have quick and convenient snacks and/or meals that you can fall back on when you’re in a hurry or haven’t planned properly? (See Recipe Guide for examples)

8. _____ Have you planned out your meal schedule and customized it for

your personal schedule?

9. _____ Did you go grocery shopping for all the foods and ingredients needed to prepare your first week of meals?

10. _____ Did you decide what cheat meal and cheat dessert you would like

to reward yourself with after the 7 Day Diet?

11. _____ Did you print out your success tracker and food journal for the 7 Day Diet?

12. _____ Did you review your exercise guides to plan your workouts?

13. _____ Have you checked off all the items on this list? If so, congrats!

You’re ready to get started.


Be a Bottle Baby…

Get Your Water Daily

Fast Fluid Facts:

50% of your body weight is the number of ounces of water (minimum) your body needs each day.

Drinking 10 to 12 glasses of water per day can help increase energy, prevent headaches, & curb your appetite.

Adequate Water intake on a daily basis works as a natural detoxifier to help rid our bodies of excess waste and potentially harmful toxins.

The more water you give your body to use, the less your body will retain and hold onto, so drink more water to help you feel more lean.

Extra hydration through water intake serves as great damage control after using cheat foods or re-feeds and helps get rid of carb bloat after a cheat day.

Almost every metabolic process that takes place in the body requires consistent, fresh water.


Intermittent Fasting and 4 Cycle Fat Loss

My team and I get dozens of questions and requests about using Intermittent Fasting with the 4 Cycle Solution. Although Karen and I are big believers in intermittent fasting and we use it weekly as a part of our lifestyle, it’s not for everyone. But for those who are interested, here’s a quick Q and A for ya… Q: Can I use I.F. when using your 4 Cycle Fat Loss Plan? A: Yes. But you have to make sure you’re getting the prescribed nutrition and macro-nutrients during your “feeding” window. This will most likely require 3 larger meals rather than 4 to 6 smaller meals. See details below for different fasting options. Q: What if I exercise first thing in the a.m.? Can I still use I.F.? A: Yes. But I recommend you have a low carb nutrition shake with a greens supplement mixed in about 45 to 60 minutes after exercise. This will prevent muscle loss and keep cortisol (stress hormones) to a minimum, but it will still “mimic” the effect of I.F. This is a similar protocol to Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet and it works extremely well. At the very least, have some 10 grams of amino acids after your a.m. training. Q: If I use I.F. should I eat a few hours before exercise? A: I recommend you try to time it so that you “break” your fast with an exercise session if possible. This will maximize the hormonal response of low insulin and high amount of growth hormones. However, not everybody can exercise in a fasted state. If that’s the case, break your fast with a low carb nutrition shake with greens mixed in. This would also be a great time for a dose of krill oil or EPA/DHA (algae or fish oil) supplement. Then exercise about 3 to 4 hours later. Q: Do I still eat the prescribed 4 to 6 meals a day if I’m using I.F. with 4 Cycle Solution?


A: I recommend you use three larger meals instead. You can still use your meal plans, just make the 2 meals after your workout (or the first two meals after breaking your fast) larger portion sizes. This will help with insulin AND leptin sensitivity and make it easier to adhere to. Q: What fasting protocol is the best to use during the 4 Cycle Solution? A: I personally believe fasting for 16 hours and feeding for 8 hours is the most realistic and effective protocol for most. This was originally developed by Martin Berkhan and his Lean Gains philosophy. Again, you can see more details below. Another great fasting tactic to use is the 24 hour fast one or two days of the week instead (pioneered by Brad Pillon). Ideally, after your high carb or cheat days is best. This will maximize the hormonal effect of the cheat day and your body’s metabolic triggers are perfectly positioned for Rapid Fat Loss. This is also known as the Feast/Fast protocol. I.F. should be used and adjusted on a case by case basis. It’s not necessary to use an I.F. protocol at all, but I believe it has many benefits so it’s worth experimenting with…especially if you’re tired of always trying to eat 5 or 6 times a day. It’s simple not realistic or necessary.

“How” to use Intermittent Fasting I know sometimes it’s hard to accept change when we’ve been programmed to adhere to silly dieting rules for so long, but I’ve actually skipped breakfast now for 4 or 5 days of the week over the past 2 years to prove the validity, efficacy and simplicity of intermittent fasting. Am I crazy? Kind of. :-) The end result? I have more energy, I get more accomplished, I eat less junk food and I haven’t lost ONE ounce of muscle. Additionally, it’s been MUCH easier to stay lean as I get older and deal with declining hormones.

Best of all, I’m only eating 3 or 4 times a day now. Not only that, I’ve had HUGE breakthroughs in controlling my emotional attachment with foods in general.


But this isn’t about me. Who cares about me? This is about YOU.

And I’m not here to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. I’m here to educate you and let you know how “IF” has worked on my clients and myself.In my opinion, Intermittent Fasting can be easier to adhere to than trying to eat in 5 or 6 smaller meals a day. It’s also the easiest way to put yourself into a healthy calorie deficit and has an awesome hormonal benefits So first, let’s look at the reasoning behind the “IF” strategy and why it makes a lot of sense. Then you can make an educated decision to see if this approach is a good fit while you move through the 4 cycles.

Intermittent Fasting or “IF” (in case you didn’t already know) is essentially not eating or drinking anything that contains calories for a set time period. Generally this time period is between 16 and 36 hours. And even though we’ve been told over and over again if we don’t feed ourselves every 3 hours our metabolic rate will slow down, it’s simply not true. It’s a big fat myth. There are now multiple peer reviewed studies indicating you can literally fast (not eat) for up to 36 hours before your metabolism will slow down. Based on this approach, you’ll also be skipping the traditional time of day you would normally consume breakfast.

Although there’s a lot of solid research indicating breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you have to keep in mind what the word breakfast means – literally. Let’s look at the word itself. “BREAK-FAST” or to “break” your “fast” is the true definition of breakfast. Keeping that in mind, the research hasn’t really looked at the timing of that meal. Instead, it’s all about the actual food choices you make to start your day or “break” your “fast”. So we’re not really “skipping” breakfast. We’re just changing the time of day breakfast is consumed.


Now I will be the first one to admit that I held up a cross like a vampire was attacking me when I initially heard about this strategy a few years ago.

And although it goes completely against the grain of traditional approaches, the science and real world results can’t be denied. When applied properly, intermittent fasting is not only great for your metabolism, it’s also a killer way to break bad food habits or shock your body mentally and physically. How Intermittent Fasting Gives You CONTROL Over Your Hunger Hormones… I also noticed after a few weeks of using the intermittent fasting protocol, that I NEVER got hungry anymore. In other words, over time fasting has become a lot easier and skipping breakfast doesn’t even faze me anymore. After discussing this phenomenon I was experiencing with my good friend John Romaniello, I discovered it was because I had “retrained” my hunger hormone Ghrelin. Simply put (to save you from all the science jargon), Ghrelin is the hormone that controls your body’s hunger response to food. It’s secreted when you’re about ready to eat. In other words, you can reprogram Ghrelin to respond at a different time of the day. This process only takes a few weeks (sometimes less) with intermittent fasting. Also, Ghrelin is a potent stimulator of growth hormone.


So if you combine the growth hormone release that occurs naturally during fasting with your body’s ability to “re-train” Ghrelin, you get a potent one-two GH punch. Research also shows it lowers insulin, increases growth hormone release, and raises catecholamine levels by ramping up the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). More on this below. So in many ways Intermittent Fasting actually “mimics” high intensity exercise. Weird but 100% true. Every hormonal trigger activated by Intermittent Fasting seems to help you burn more fat and preserve muscle. Mentally, it can also help break you of bad emotional habits or negative neuro-associations you may have with food and provide you with new found energy and focus. As always, with any great tactic, more is not better.

If you abuse this strategy your body may start shedding lean muscle to slow down the metabolism and the end result is no weight loss at all. Essentially, your body thinks you are starving yourself so it will have to use amino acids from precious muscle tissue to survive and fuel itself. Research shows this only happens if you overdue it. Over the past year, I’ve found that the 16/8 (16 hours of fasting, 8 hours fed) protocol works best and is easiest to adhere to, but you have to do it RIGHT. For example, you could start your fast at 9pm and end your fast with a noon workout the next day. Then you would go ahead and consume your largest meal of the day after your workout – around 1pm. So this would be considered your real “break-fast” or your first meal of the day. Remember, after intense exercise your body is highly sensitive to nutrient uptake and protein synthesis (aka – nutrient partitioning). So when you break your fast with a high intensity workout you should eat your largest meal of the day within 30 to 45 minutes after. Now don’t freak out about this. I guarantee it’s a lot easier to follow and more effective than you can ever imagine.


I personally start my fast at around 10pm and workout at 1pm so I’m eating my post workout meal and breaking my fast right at 2pm, which is the 16 hour mark. So I eat 3 or 4 larger meals between 2pm and 10pm, then I fast from 10pm until 2pm the next day. Rinse and repeat for 3 to 5 days of the week. There are also many days where I workout first thing in the a.m. at 6 or 7am in a total “fasted” state. I just make sure to consume 5 to 10 grams of amino acids before and after… Then I wait until 1 or 2pm until I break my fast (“break-fast”) with the largest meal of the day. You can also use a traditional 24 hour fast once or twice a week to put your body into more of a calorie deficit. It’s always best to use this method AFTER a cheat day or a higher carb day. If you’ve never fasted before, the first time can be tough, but it quickly becomes easier, especially when the fat starts falling off your body. Remember, IF isn’t the “holy grail” or anything, but it sure is a simple way to take control of fat-loss when it’s applied properly.


BONUS SECTION

My TOP 5 Commandments of

Life-Long Rapid Fat-Loss

The “Hidden” Intangibles to Living a Lean Life… Before you dive into the 4 Cycle Fat Loss lifestyle, I wanted to end this guide with some vitally important intangibles that NOBODY ever seems to talk about. Bottom line, nutrition and exercise is only HALF the equation when it comes to fat-loss. The other half is all about the intangiblesof fitness that allow us to live amore fulfilling andremarkable life.

A life that has purpose and meaning.

A life that has a positive impact on others.

A life that makes this world a better place. That’s why I admire and respect all my readers who follow through. Most of them start out overweight, depressed and frustrated. Then they end up turning their whole life around with their results and soaring with new found confidence.

That’s because ANYTIME you take control of your body it automatically forces you to take control of your day-to-day life.

This is a bonus side effect of fat-loss that will never change.


After all, it’s the internal changes that take place that REALLY matter. Although this is something everybody desires and wants, unfortunately only a few select people will ever achieve it. That’s why I wanted to make sure and include this section. It reveals ALL the “hidden” intangibles of fat-loss that will guarantee success. Consider these TOP 5 commandments as wisdom keys to get and KEEP you lean for life. This is the stuff real champions are made of and it’s the same philosophies I use with all my private coaching clients. I can assure you these gold nuggets will open your eyes to a whole new way of looking at fat-loss – and life. If you take these 5 Commandments to heart and really, really, use them…prepare for some BIG changes in your life. Here. We. Go...

Commandment #1: Thou Shall Feed My “Winner” and

Starve My “Loser” Daily There is ONE poison that you must learn to avoid on a daily ongoing basis if you really want to stay healthy and keep your belly flat for the long haul. What is it? Your Evil Twin.


Seriously – lol. Let me quickly explain and I guarantee itwill all make sense. You’ll instantly “get it” and be able to relate. I promise. You see, on the surface I may seem like a lean guy who’s in control of my life. And sometimes I am. But MANY timesI’m NOT. Deep down inside I have an evil twin. He’s this guy who has no clue what to do with his life.

One guy wants to goget my workouts done, eat clean, be a great dad and husband, give back to the world, and change people’s lives. But my Evil Twin wants to sleep in without an alarm clock, skip my workout, slack off, eat cheat food, surf the internet all day, and snuggle with my “blanky” on the couch. BOTH of these people exist and are alive inside my head…

And they fight with each other all day long like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde trying to see who can win.


And guess what? YOU have the same two people inside YOUR head too. The “Winner” in you is who you want to be. In control and emotionally stable. Confident but humble. Driven yet balanced. Focused and productive. Unselfish and kind. Patient and persistent. On the other hand, your evil twin is the person you must learn to despise.

It’s the person we’re embarrassed about. The one we’re not proud of. The one who opens their mouth and says stuff we regret. The lazy ass that gives up when things get tough and makes usfeel like a friggin’ loser. And here’s the thing… Your Evil Twin isalways there. Inside your head ready to take over and screw everything up. But don’t try to ignore or deny your Evil Twin. Acknowledge their existence. If you don’t, they’ll take over your life. Then STARVE them. The ONLY way to do this is to FEED the “Winner” inside you BEFORE your Evil Twin takes over.


When you do, the “winner” in you becomes like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither...whatever you do will prosper (Psalm 1:3). THIS is how you take away ALL the Evil Twin’s powers and paralyze him from taking over your life.

So remember: you have TWO people living inside your head… The “Winner” and your Evil Twin. The Winner in you wants to live everyday with a lean-healthy body and have an extraordinary life. Feed him like a sumo wrestler on his cheat day (not literally of course). But your Evil Twin strives for mediocrity, constantly trying to beat you down and make you average. Go ahead; acknowledge your Evil Twin’s existence.


Then stomp him out like a fire by FEEDING the Winner inside you. It’s the only way to AVOID the everyday poison of your Evil Twin and prevent him from making you fat. I’m thinkin’ you probably can relate to Commandment #1…but this is only the beginning. I’m just getting started.

Commandment #2: Thou Shall Use and Apply The #1 Law of Leanness

DAILY (The Law of Giver’s Gain) I do everything in my power to follow this law on a daily, ongoing basis because I know the impact it has on my life to keep my stomach flat. Not only that, this law has the ability to keep my body, my head, and my spirit in the right spot for maximum effectiveness AND overall happiness. I’m extremely confident you’ll experience the EXACT same benefits if you apply this law. I call it the Law of Giver’s Gain, which states: “The secret to getting everything you want in life is helping other people get what THEY want by performing random acts of coolness and kindness.” Now before you dismiss this as a bunch of B.S. or think this has nothing to do with living a leaner, healthier, more fulfilling life consider this fact: The body you want, the health you want, all the material things you want, the relationships you want,and the LIFE YOU WANT is hidden inside this law. And whether you believe in God or not -- it’s just how the energy in our world is wired.


What you make happen for others, God and the world will automatically make happen for you. Good OR bad. You just gotta have patience and faith to know your good deeds WILL be rewarded. I’m not saying you’ll get your rewards back DIRECTLY from the person or the relationship that you apply the Law of Giver’s Gain on. I’m not that naïve. ;-) Think about it. I’m sure there have been timeswhere you have done somebody right and bent over backwards to be a good steward or servant to help them out… Then they turn around and do you wrong. I know I’ve been damn good to people I love and care about (and even to strangers) whether it’s free advice, financial help, or just sacrificing my time and resources. And I never got a thing in return directly from them. But you should still do your best to apply the Law of Giver’s Gain in your life as much as humanely possible. Why? Because the world has clearly revealed throughout mankind and history that when you follow this law…

http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1143&bih=737&tbm=isch&tbnid=NkZiL03UcndqyM:&imgrefurl=http://www.photo-dictionary.com/phrase/3813/wired-world.html&docid=pSfvLibw5puLYM&imgurl=http://www.photo-dictionary.com/photofiles/list/3813/5133wired_world.jpg&w=700&h=525&ei=Nk0yUMihLYT8yAHw-IC4BA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=117&vpy=146&dur=429&hovh=194&hovw=259&tx=153&ty=109&sig=101153319352056365346&page=1&tbnh=128&tbnw=173&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:73


The world will give it back to you 100 fold. So never forget…the greatest exercise you can perform is to reach down and lift SOMEBODY ELSE up.

It’s human nature. When we help other people it fulfills us on an emotional and spiritual level that can impact EVERY AREA of our lives positively. And this is the fuel that ultimately will drive our health and fat-loss goals too. In my opinion you’ll eventually feel empty, unfulfilled and unmotivated if you don’t try to apply this law in your life on a consistent basis. At the end of every day and every week I ask myself this question and I highly recommend you do the same: Did I make more deposits into other people’s lives than I did withdrawals? I always try and make sure my emotional bank account makes way more deposits because I know this will drive my motivation to excel at EVERYTHING else. So if you’re not feeling motivated or happy on a daily ongoing basis, maybe you should ask yourself whatvalue you’ve added to other people’s lives.

- Have you solved any problems?

http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&biw=1143&bih=737&tbm=isch&tbnid=NqUy-bGsSxD_4M:&imgrefurl=http://www.mondayquotes.net/if-you-want-to-lift-yourself-up-picture-quote-for-monday-july-2/if-you-want-to-lift-yourself-up-lift-up-someone-else/&docid=CbgYbGCf6uiaoM&imgurl=http://www.mondayquotes.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/If-you-want-to-lift-yourself-up-lift-up-someone-else.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=y04yUJivH8rJyAGcz4D4CA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=519&vpy=218&dur=332&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=118&ty=118&sig=101153319352056365346&sqi=2&page=1&tbnh=115&tbnw=115&start=0&ndsp=27&ved=1t:429,r:16,s:0,i:123


- Have you helped anybody lately? - Have you contributed to a worthy cause?...or - Volunteered your time or resources?

I wake up everyday with this goal in mind. And I really hope this reminds you to try and do the same. That’s why Get Lean In 12 sponsors and pays for housing, food, and education for two kids in third-world countries. And by the end of this year our goal is to buy a house for a family in need. Yes, a house. It’s the LEAST we can do when you consider two thirds of the world wakes up everyday without running water or a toilet to flush. Plus, it just plain FEELS good. Trust me, there have been PLENTY of times where my emotional bank account was in negative territory. In fact, I’ve had seasons lasting more than a few years where Ithought things would NEVER turn around. But they eventually did. And in hindsight it ALL came down to this law. I was taking MORE than I was giving and it createdsome very painful consequences.


I’ve experienced enough emotional pain to realize we all need to stay focused on using this law as much as humanely possible. What about you? Are YOU using the Law of Giver’s Gain? If you’ve never stopped to consider it, I encourage you to do so now. I promise it will change your life.

Commandment #3: Thou Shall Work My #1 Fat Burning

Muscle EVERY Day of The Week Did you know that out of every 100 individuals who start at the age of 25 and “believe” they will be successful - that only 5 will make the grade by age 65? FIVE. That’s it. One will be wealthy. Four will be financially independent, five will still be working, and a whopping fifty four will be broke. Now don’t get me wrong here, this isn’t supposed to beabout money. However, money is one of the easiest measuring sticks.

As Earl Nightingale says is in famous 1950s audio cassettetape; “The Strangest Secret”, success by definition is… “The progressive realization towards a worthy ideal.” But whether it’s monetary or it’s your body or just overall health and happiness, the numbers don’t lie. So what happened? WHY do so many fail? THIS, as Earl refers to in his audio is: The Strangest Secret In The World. But ultimately the difference is working the ONE muscle we should be working EVERY day of the week.


Our mind muscle.

We must learn to focus our mind on worthy goals. If you honestly think this is “no big deal”…I’m here totell you that you’re sadly mistaken. Just read how Earl reveals the undeniable facts about controlling our mind and the impact it can have on our lives…

[Directly from The Strangest Secret, by Earl Nightingale] “The difference is goals. People with goals succeed because they know where they’regoing. It’s that simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe that their lives are shapedby circumstances ... by things that happen to them ... by exterior forces. Think of a ship with the complete voyage mapped out and planned. The captain andcrew know exactly where the ship is going and how long it will take — it has adefinite goal. And 9,999 times out of 10,000, it will get there. Now let’s take another ship — just like the first — only let’s not put a crew on it, or acaptain at the helm. Let’s give it no aiming point, no goal, and no destination. We juststart the engines and let it go. I think you’ll agree that if it gets out of the harbor at all,it will either sink or wind up on some deserted beach — a derelict. It can’t goanyplace because it has no destination and no guidance.


It’s the same with a human being. Throughout history, the great wise men and teachers, philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one another on many different things. It is only on this one point that they are in complete and unanimous agreement — the key to success and the key to failure is this:

WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT This is The Strangest Secret. Now, why do I say it’s strange, and why do I call it asecret? Actually, it isn’t a secret at all. It was first promulgated by some of the earliestwise men, and it appears again and again throughout the Bible. But very few people have learned it or understand it. That’s why it’s strange, and why for some equallystrange reason it virtually remains a secret. Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor, said:“A man’s life is what his thoughtsmake of it.” Disraeli said this:“Everything comes if a man will only wait ... a human being with asettled purpose must accomplish it, and nothing can resist a will that will stake evenexistence for its fulfillment.” William James said:“We need only in cold blood act as if the thing in question were real, and it will become infallibly real by growing into such a connection with our life that it will become real. It will become so knit with habit and emotion that our interests in it will be those which characterize belief.” He continues… “ ... only you must, then, really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things just as strongly.” My old friend Dr. Norman Vincent Peale put it this way: “If you think in negativeterms, you will get negative results. If you think in positive terms, you will achievepositive results.” George Bernard Shaw said: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe


in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want,and if they can’t find them, make them.” Well, it’s pretty apparent, isn’t it? We become what we think about. A person who is thinking about a concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it, because that’s what he’s thinking about. Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn’t knowwhere he’s going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion,anxiety, fear, and worry will thereby create a life of frustration, fear, anxiety andworry. And if he thinks about nothing ... he becomes nothing.

*End Excerpt* ------------------------------- I personally think this says it all. When we learn to consistently control our thoughts towards the progressive realization of a worthy goal…

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Whether it’s:

- Health and Fat-Loss - Career, Hobbies, or Passions - Finances or Giving back to worthy causes - Spirituality or Personal Growth - Relationships or Family

We just “feel” better about ourselves and have a senseof purpose and fulfillment in our lives. But don’t forget, it does require ACTION too. You can’t just “think” your way to a worthy goal. BUT – your thoughts are the starting point. They become the catalyst for massive action to take place. Remember, God made the birds and the worms…but He didn’t go around dumping them in their nests. Take action and learn to “control your thoughts”.

It’s worth the fight.And I promise you’ll see a positive impact almost immediately. If you’d like a *FREE* copy of Earl Nightingale’s world famous audio, “The Strangest Secret” just click this link and download the pdf or listen to the audio: =>The Strangest Secret, by Earl Nightingale (pdf and audio option)

https://www.google.com/search?q=the+strangest+secret&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a


Commandment #4: Thou Shall Hang Around Like Minded Successful People Commandment #4 probably contains the most powerful 2-minute exercise you’ll EVER do. This has easily had the largest positive impact on my body and life of any other exercise I’ve ever performed. However, there is a small catch. It’s actually not a physical exercise.It’s a written one. In fact, this is probably the smartest way to assess and measure your progress – or lack there of. It’s also the easiest way to precisely predict your own future. I know that sounds weird, but you’ll see exactly how thisexercise works its magic in a second. And without performing this 2-minute exercise youcould easily be wasting half your potential in life. In fact, every wildly successful mentor and role model that I’ve ever knownor worked with (in any area of life) has used and recommended this ONE strategy. Here it is: Write down the 5 people in your life that you spend the MOST time with. Next, take a good hard look at this list and consider the “influence” it’s having on your life. Why is this so powerful? Because this is your personal Crystal Ball.


It’s THE biggest predictor of what your future looks like. In fact, I can100% guarantee that the five people you spend the most time with will have the biggest influenceon the outcome of your goals in every area of life. I’ve experienced this first hand and believe me – I’ve been on both sides of the fence. And every single time my success or failure is directly related to whom I’m spending my time with. What about you? Just think about the times you’ve been with great people vs. the times you’ve spent the majority of your time with losers or negative people. There’s probably a HUGE difference in your experiences and outcomes. Many authors and big shots have always said, “success is a choice.”…but it all starts with “who” you spend all your time with. I’ll never forget the first time I actually did this exercise and really took it seriously over 10 years ago. It was like a big giant punch in the nose.


I realized no matter how disciplined I was or how hard I tried to get ahead in life I was spending a lot of time in the wrong environments and with the wrong people. And even though I loved and cared deeply for many of these people, I still had to make the tough decision to change it. Since then I’ve focused on spending more of mytime learning from higher level mentors, coaches, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders and fitness business experts. If you’ve never done this exercise before it won’t take you long to see the light and reap the rewards. The people you hang out with will determine the environments where you spend all your time and this will ultimately control your outcomes and your destiny. I’m not saying you should ditch all your friends and family if they’re dysfunctional or abusive. I truly believe we should make our best effort to have unconditionalacceptance of everybody regardless of his or her shortcomings. After all…every time we point the finger wealways have three pointing back at us. :-)

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But it’s still in your best interest to do everything you can to spend time with quality people who support your goals and have a positive influence on your life. So don’t delay. Do this powerful 2 minute exercise today:

1. Take out a piece of paper and write down the five people you spend the most time with.

2. Make a column that says “pros” and “cons” and start listing the positives and negatives for all five relationships.

3. Make the necessary changes to brighten your future and improve your quality of life.

It may be a big wake up call and you may need to find some new friends or seek a mentor or coach… …Or you may give yourself a pat on the back because you’re consistently hanging around like-minded successful people who lift you up and improve your life.

Either way, I’m sure you can see why this exercise is great indicator of where your life is headed. I’ll end this commandment with one my favorite sayings:


There are 2 types of people in this world.

Those who brighten a room when they enter it, and…

Thosewho brighten a room when they leave it. [Silent Giggle] So which ones are you spending your time with? Even more important, which one are you? I have to admit it’s not always easy, but it’s definitely worth it because weALL rise and fall to the level of who or what we follow.

And if you’re struggling with your health or fat-loss right now this exercise is something you should take to heart. Maybe your friends can help make you thin after all. :)


Commandment #5: Thou Shall Seek and Find a Mentor to Maximize My Human Potential

Commandment #5 is a great follow up to #4.

It hit me when I was meeting with a small group of businessmen recently and the head of our group asked, “How many of you have a mentor or a coach?” I was shocked when only two of us raised our hands – me being one of the two. No wonder most of these men were struggling with their weight AND their business goals. Having the right support system around you is critical to achieve consistent fat loss or any goal in life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years…

There are two different ways we grow, learn lessons, and acquire wisdom:

1. The mistakes we make 2. The mentors and leaders we follow

And following a mentor is MUCH less painful than making a bunch of unnecessary mistakes. So that’s the big question I want you to ask yourself for this Commandment. Do you have a mentor? Whether it’s your health, your career, your family, or even your spirituality we all need positive role models to follow and mimic.


Mentors make the difference between poor health vs. great health, pain vs. pleasure, loss vs. gain, deterioration vs. restoration. (Wow…that was pretty deep. ;-) But remember, your mentor is hardly EVER going be one of your best friends.

Your best friends love you the way you are. They are comfortable with your past and your present.

Your mentor is only concerned with brightening your future.

Your best friends tend to ignore your weaknesses.

Your mentor REMOVES your weaknesses.

Your best friends are your cheerleaders…and thisis a good thing, but…

Your mentor is your accountability coach. And that’s WAY more important.

Your best friends usually see everything you do right.

Your mentor identifies what you’re doing wrong,then corrects and encourages you.

THIS is how you grow and learn. THIS is how you’ll make faster progress. THIS is how you’ll maximize your full potential on this earth. Additionally, you’ll have fewer regrets in life.


Plus your mentor will “see” things you simply CANNOT see. This will help you prevent a thousand headaches, avoid dozens of mistakes and save you from a LOT of unnecessary pain and suffering. BUT -- you have to make a conscious effort to seek outand find mentors in areas of life that you want to succeed. Even though various mentors will enter and exit your life, keep searching for them and they will appear. It’s just how the “Big Man” above wired the world. -Ask and it shall be given. -Seek and ye shall find. -Knock and the door shall open. Remember this Proverb: “The way of a fool is right in his owneyes: but he that seeks counsel (mentors) is wise.” I’m currently being coached every week by a business mentor and a spiritual mentor. What about you? Are you using a mentor or coach?


Conclusion:

How to KEEP Your Life Balanced (Use the Circle of Life to do a Checkup from the Neck up)

I wanted to quickly end this guide by providing you with a one page tool that has helped me keep my life balanced for the last 15 years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years… Life is what you make of it. And since we all live in a crazy-busy world, sometimes life gets extremely hectic, so itcan easily fall out of balance. This is usually when exercise and nutrition slip to the bottom of the “to do” list and the next thing you know it’s 10 pounds of belly fat later. Yikes. If you’re not careful, this can be a downward spiral.

Just look at all the important areas of our lives that we have to pay attention to on a daily and weekly basis.

Family and Relationships Love Life or Marriage Health and Fitness Spiritual Growth Career, Hobbies, and Passions Money and Finance Personal Growth (Mental / Education)

Gets me overwhelmed just looking at the list. You? This is something that typically affects everyone. In other words, if you breathe and have a pulse you’ve probably struggled with balance in your life at one time or another. Welcome to the reality of today’s fast moving day and age.


But what if there was a simple, 5-minute trick that you could use to instantly get your life right back on track and help keep your fat loss consistent? Below I’m going to share a very powerful little tool (that you can download 100% free) for you to keep your fat-loss consistent and your life balanced. I call it the Circle of Life, and it will help you keep and maintain optimum balance in your life. It’s also a great “wake-up” call for a lot of people. One of my very first mentors and life coaches introduced me to this several years ago - and it’s been a mandatory tool for measuring progress and balance in my life ever since. Remember, there’sone key area that will positively impact and fuel every other area. Health and Fitness. Like I mentioned above, it’s a strange but powerful phenomenon—but when you give your health and your fat loss consistent attention, several things will happen – automatically.

1. You’ll create more time in your schedule for the other important areas. 2. You’ll have more energy and focus to serve the other important demands

and relationships in your life. 3. You’ll always maintain a higher standard of living from the emotional

renewal of exercise and nutrition. 4. You’ll potentially live a lot longer, feel a whole lot better, and exude

unstoppable confidence to attack every other area of life with more courage.

You might have heard me say this over and over and over again…but the discipline and energy you use to make time for your health and fat loss will automatically “flow over” into the other areas. THE IRONY: Most people think the exact opposite.I’ve heard all the excuses for years:

“I don’t have time to exercise.” Or…

“I’m an emotional eater.” Or…

“I don’t have enough energy or motivation to follow through” Or…

“I’ll start next week.” Or…

“I’m just not into it right now.”


Don’t fall for this. It’s a disease called “Excusitis” and it will suck the life out of you like a vacuum if you’re not careful. Make exercise and healthy eating a priority and I promiseyour life will become MORE balanced…not LESS. This is where the Circle of Life comes in to enhance this entire process and journey.

Here’s how it works. Using the circle above to rate yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 for each of the key area of your life. Number 1 means you’re pretty much failing miserably and not giving that area any attention. A 10 means you’ve achieved everything you want to achieve in this particular area you’re giving it your full attention.


After you’ve rated yourself on a scale of 1 to 10, connect the dots in a circular type of fashion. You’ll automatically see where your circle is off-balance so youcan arrange your schedule to give the neglected areas the attention they need and deserve. Here’s one I recently completed…

As you can see, I’m off balance a little bit in the area of personal growth, but everything else is very consistent right now. Trust me, it’s not always like this but I’m feeling pretty balanced right now. Also, you’ll notice that Inever rate myself as a “10” in any area because, in my opinion, we should always be improving. In other words, if you’re a “10”, it should mean that you’re dead because... You’re either regressing or growing…nothing stands still. I recommend that you use this tool at least 4 times a year to give yourself a check up from the neck up.


No matter how hard we try, some areas will always be out of balance a little bit. It’s the nature of the beast. BUT, just by using this tool you can identify your weaknessesbefore your life gets out of control. It’s another secret of the journey and a fat-loss ritual to help you STAY on track. Use this link to open and save the Circle of Life to your desktop so you can print this bad boy out a few times of the year and do a checkup from the neck up. =>Download the Circle of Life PDF by clicking this link.

http://www.14dayrapidfatlossplan.com/pdf/circle-of-life.pdf

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