In today's motivational minisode I'm sharing a short entry from my journal. I wrote to myself, "When I practice what I preach, my life is pretty amazing. When I do what I know to do, life is easier & I am happier".

Guys, progress isn't a mystery. You don't need to know anything more. If you simply do what you know, not only will you make progress, you'll be happier and less stressed.

You don't have to do everything you know, but if you're willing to be honest with yourself, I am quite certain you can identify 2-3 things that, if done consistently, would make you happier and healthier.

Get to work & do what you know! While you're at it, take a listen to the full motivational minisode!

http://primalpotential.com/286-do-what-you-know/

When I get emails from clients or listeners who are sharing a struggle or asking for help, I often respond by asking, "what does your practice look like?"

You might understand the problem and you probably understand many of the solutions, too. But, understanding doesn't take the place of deliberate practice.

It's not enough to say "I want to lose weight" because there are a million different things you could do on any given day to lose weight.

Deliberate practice will dramatically accelerate your results. It requires that you identify one specific improvement you want to achieve and define your practice.

From there you must practice CONSISTENTLY & with great effort. Don't miss today's episode for a deep dive into deliberate practice!

http://primalpotential.com/285-deliberate-practice/

Let's make this year the year of you! Let's make this year the year when your effort isn't negotiable and your progress is consistent.

Today I want to share a personal conversation I had with a client. This particular client is so ready to change but her actions have yet to align with her intentions.

We recently had a tough-love conversation about progress, effort, excuses, negotiation and going all-in on yourself.

I told her that 2017 is my year, it's her year and I want it to be the year of you, too.

If you need a little bit of tough love, don't miss today's episode!

http://primalpotential.com/284-the-year-of-you/

I talk a lot about nutrition, hormones & mindset and their role in fat loss. However, today I'm talking about the precursor to all of those things. Today I'm talking about the foundation of fat loss that is most often overlooked: self-respect. Self-care. Even, shudder to think, self-love.

Our obsession with diets, detoxes, fasts, cleanses and everything in between has taught us to fight against our bodies instead of being on our own side and in our own corner.

You cannot hate your way to a body you love. You cannot continue to resent your body, resist the process and be a complete dick (pardon me) to yourself and expect to reach your goals.

And if you hate your way to progress, it won't be enough when you get there. You'll be left longing for something more or something different because you lack self-respect and an understanding of self-care.

So we're going there. We're talking about self-respect, self-care and how to develop more of each.

http://primalpotential.com/283-foundation-of-fat-loss/

Want to hop on the wait list for the spring Fat Loss Fast Track?

Check out the new Daily Motivations Podcast here.

The book Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind begins with a powerful observation: "In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few".

Undoubtedly, one of the ways we keep ourselves from making progress and getting what we want is closing ourselves off to possibilities that could be the very path to progress.

One of my primary objectives within the Fat Loss Fast Track is to encourage my clients to always be a beginner. I want them to set aside any preconceived notions they have an instead listen to their bodies and find their own answers as opposed to clinging to answers they've adopted from other people.

In today's episode I'm going to talk about some of the red flags of a closed mind and how you can accelerate your progress by deciding to always be a beginner.

http://primalpotential.com/282-always-be-a-beginner/

Quotes from today's episode include:

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few.

Right practice, right attitude, right understanding.

Practice without effort is not true practice. For the beginner, practice needs great effort.

If you lose the spirit of repetition, your practice will become quite difficult.

It is when your practice is rather greedy that you become discouraged with it.

There is no other way of this life than the way of this life

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki

My #1 Fat Loss Recommendation (Journaling) Don't forget! I've launched a brand new podcast! It would mean the world to me if you'd check it out! If you find it helpful & enjoy it, please take a couple minutes to subscribe, leaving a rating and write a review!

Check out the new Daily Motivations Podcast here.

I ask every one of my Primal Potential e-mail readers: how can I help? What do you need from me? Recently, I've seen a number of responses talking about self-sabotage.

I can't say I'm surprised by the number of people who feel like they self-sabotage - like they are intentionally setting themselves up for failure.

Here's the thing though: I don't think it's self sabotage, at all.

I think it's inconsistency and lack of practice. I believe that calling it self-sabotage is way more dramatic than it actually is and I think the drama holds us back and prevents us from seeing a far simpler truth: we're inconsistent and we can change it.

In today's episode I'm talking about self-sabotage, failures and how to change deeply engrained patterns on behavior. Don't miss it!

Hunger is a spectrum and we all experience it differently.

Maybe you feel like you can't stop eating - even if you eat to the point of feeling full, your hunger returns after just 30-60 minutes.

Maybe you feel like you are only in control of your hunger when you aren't eating, but as soon as you start, your hunger takes off.

Maybe you feel like you're always hungry and never full.

Understanding what causes hunger and the options for decreasing your hunger response & improving your response in general can be a transformative change.

That's what we're tackling on today's episode. Don't miss it.

http://primalpotential.com/280-cant-stop-eating/

One of the primary factors that leads to chronic hunger or hunger when you don't truly need to eat is failing to control your blood sugar.

When you overeat or eat foods which are primarily starch and sugar, you send your blood sugar on a roller coaster ride. The higher the peak, the lower the valley. When your blood sugar drops down from it's high, your body has to work to bring it back to a balanced baseline. As this is happening, you often experience hunger and/or cravings. This does not mean you need to eat.

In today's episode we talk about how to respond to those sensations more intelligently and how to avoid that blood sugar roller coaster all together.

We also discuss ghrelin, the hormone responsible for triggering and/or suppressing hunger signals and how we can optimize it's expression.

Episodes mentioned in today's podcast include:

The Golden Rules of Carbs & Fat Loss

051: Real Hunger & False Hunger

Q&A 34: How To Manage Hunger & Cravings

137: Always Hungry?

174: Hacking Hunger

Oh! And there was a huge announcement at the top of the episode! I've launched a brand new podcast! It would mean the world to me if you'd check it out! If you find it helpful & enjoy it, please take a couple minutes to subscribe, leaving a rating and write a review!

One of my clients, Chris, joined the Fat Loss Fast Track because though she had already lost a lot of weight, she was beginning to put it back on.

This wasn't a new cycle but it was one she didn't want to continue. She didn't want to keep doing what she'd always done - losing weight, gaining it back, working hard to lose it again.

Today we're having a candid conversation about why she turned to the Fat Loss Fast Track to help avoid weight regain and how she broke out of that cycle.

Not only does Chris talk about what worked for her like journaling and switching to more fat loss friendly breakfast options, but we discuss what's not going so well. We talk about overeating at night and struggling with the pursuit of perfection.

I think you're really going to enjoy Chris's story!

http://primalpotential.com/279-avoid-weight-regain/

After beginning to put on weight she had lost, Chris joined the Fat Loss Fast Track. She shares that some of the most effective strategies she adopted include journaling and eating a fat loss breakfast.

I've shared my thoughts on journaling here and go over the details of what makes up a fat loss breakfast here and here.

We also talk a lot about implied apologies for imperfections and the all-or-nothing attitude which I've talked about here.

Check out the all new Daily Motivations Podcast! If you enjoy it, please leave a rating & review.

If you have no idea how to leave a review, I've put instructions here.

To join the winter 2017 Fat Loss Fast Track, click here.

For more on Breaking Barriers, click here.

I used to set a lot of goals. I didn't achieve most of them.

I thought about them a lot & wanted them badly - I even had a plan for achieving them. But routinely, I failed to do the work and, year after year, I had less confidence in my ability to achieve.

Fortunately, things have changed. I have changed. And in today's episode I want to share with you my 2017 blueprint for achievement, completely goal-free.

http://primalpotential.com/278-2017-blueprint/

2017 Blueprint for Achievement

When I set goals, I didn't realize at the time that I was basically convincing myself that things, as they were right now, weren't enough and I was always wishing for some future point in time.

When I lost weight...

When I had more money...

When my relationship was better...

By always wishing for a different time, place, or circumstance, I wasn't fully present in the moment. And not being fully present, I couldn't really take advantage of the ONLY time & place where change was possible: the present.

But, I'm a high achiever. I don't want to settle. How to remain fully present in the current moment and also reach my highest potential?

I do that by having a manifesto or a blueprint.

By creating the standards by which I want to live my life and focusing on them each day, the results take care of themselves.

When I live according to my values and principles, the outcomes are a byproduct without sacrificing mindfulness and gratitude.

In today's episode, I'm sharing with you my revised manifesto.

I created it and put it up on the Primal Potential blog in August of 2015 and boy does it ever need some updating.

I hope you'll tune in to hear my blueprint for success in 2017 and also take some time to create your own.

I am strong with purpose & light at heart

I give myself the best

I look for chances to make myself proud

I travel light, refusing to carry what's not mine to hold

I cherish those who cherish me

No matter what happens, I am not a victim

Life is hard, and I'm grateful for the challenges

I am unapologetically authentic and those who don't accept that help me ensure my inner circle is true & real

I spend for more time acting on what I want than thinking about it

My attention flows to solutions, not problems

I challenge myself to go a step further than I think I can

I make no assumptions – when I am unclear, I ask questions

I never lie, especially to myself

I am generous with my time, my heart and my money

I am patient with myself and everyone I meet

I appreciate moment and maximize minutes

I outwork yesterday's best

Doubt is a liar and courage will set me free

I know just about everyone & their mother is talking about how to set goals. Except me.

I actually think we've made goals way too important.

The magic isn't in the goal. The magic is in the work you do each day.

We all need to focus more on the work we can do TODAY to help us get what we want instead of perfecting the art of goal setting.

I'm not suggesting that goals aren't helpful - they might be for some people.

No matter what though, the magic is in the work. In the process. In what you do, not in what you want to achieve.

Today I want to help you get what you want in any month, week, day or year, and I want to put the focus where the focus needs to be - knowing what you want and staying focused on the work that will help you get it!

http://primalpotential.com/277-get-what-you-want/

1. Define ONE THING that will make the most difference (it doesn't have to be a big thing, but it does need to be tied to a primary thing that is holding you back)
2. Identify "the work" you can do on a daily basis that will help you get the one thing you want. These are the steps, choices, actions & inactions that exist as opportunities TODAY.
3. Be honest with yourself by acknowledging what thoughts, circumstances or actions could get in the way
4. Evaluate your progress every few days by asking, "Am I doing the work? Is it helping? What could I do differently today?"
5. Have a positive attitude about it!

"His goal attracts him because he doesn't let anything enter his soul that might oppose the goal" ~ Siddhartha

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

To join the winter 2017 Fat Loss Fast Track, click here.

For more on Breaking Barriers, click here.