Tom Venuto and the Body Fat Solution

Listen to my FitTalk interview with Tom Venuto

Tom Venuto

The Body Fat Solution

Attitudes, Beliefs and Emotional Eating

Part 2 of the Big Fat Lies interview

This blog is a continuation from the Big Fat Lies, Burn The Fat interview. Tom and I spoke for nearly two hours. The second part of our conversation was about his new book,The Body Fat Solution. This is without a doubt, the most comprehensive weight loss book I have ever read.


The Body Fat Solutions is not a diet. In this book, Tom talk about Attitudes, Beliefs, and Emotional Eating. The mind has a lot to do with weight loss success and I have touched on this topic on my show. Let’s talk about your book and how the role our attitudes, beliefs and emotional eating play on our weight.

You need tools to stick with your plan and that's what makes The Body Fat Solution different. A lot of what is in this book is how you stick with your program and that's where people get stuck - the mental side of it.

One of the things that holds people back are “excuses”. In the book, Tom provides some great examples of common excuses and solutions. He calls this “Reframing to Eliminate Excuses and Resolve Inner Conflict.” People are always making excuses as to why they can't work out or stick to their diet. Making excuses can become habitual. Tom says, "you need to become aware. Pay attention to what you're thinking and be aware of the excuses you make. It's a negative mindset. When you catch yourself, talk back to it and reframe it with a positive mindset. You will look at challenges with a different perspective - a solution mentality. This is what's called reframing."

Here's a classic example of an excuse: I don't have time to workout. Here is how Tom reframes this classic excuse - "you have all the time in the world. You have the same time everyone else has. Twenty four hours in a day. The same amount of time as Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Warren Buffet and The President." What you haven't done is taken the time to sit down and prioritize your life - put health as a high priority.

One topic Tom talks about in his new book is "Limiting Beliefs". I loved the way he covered “Limiting Beliefs” in his book. Tom presented it in a way that’s different from what I’ve seen in the past and really like how he talked about it. I asked Tom to explain what Limiting Beliefs are and how they can sabotage your weight loss efforts. "Some beliefs you know are not true, and they hold you back. A belief is like a placebo effect and it's involved in the mind-body connection. A belief is an unconscious program that controls your behavior. You may have beliefs on the unconscious level that hold you back. It helps if you analyze your beliefs with a pen and paper to try to draw them out. You can't change a problem if you don't know you have one."

Tom gave some great tips on questions you can ask yourself to discover your limiting beliefs and move past them. You can hear him on the podcast posted at the top of this page.

Another topic in his book we talked about is Emotional Eating. Emotional Eating is one of the biggest sabotages of weight loss. Emotional eating does not require psychotherapy. Emotional eating is done unconsciously to fill a void, to alleviate boredom, stress, depression, etc. Tom maps out a plan on this topic with

the A.W.A.R.E. Formula. I know so many people who struggle with Emotional Eating and could really benefit from this information in the book.

When it comes to Emotional Eating, food is used as a coping mechanism. There are several "triggers" which lead to emotional eating. They are patterns that can be broken via awareness.

A.W.A.R.E formula is a 5 step formula

Awareness - The first step is to raise awareness. Doing something as simple as keeping a food journal is an awareness exercise.

Slow down when you eat. Eat exclusively meaning don't pair eating with other activities such as sitting in front of the TV.

Watch for all your triggers - people, places, events can trigger eating. Make a list of your triggers. Prepare for your triggers so you can handle them. Some common triggers are stress, loneliness, sadness, boredom, TV, etc.

Arrest the behavior before it happens. If you feel the urge, stop it in the act. The word arrest implies that you have been poli

cing yourself, your thoughts, etc. like staking out the scene of a crime. You can "arrest" it before it happens.

Replace the old emotional eating behavior with more constructive alternatives. If you're using food to cope with feelings, you have to find a replacement for the old behavior. Some alternatives are exercise, taking a long walk, meditating, etc.

Establish new reasons for eating. What does food mean to you? Is food fuel? Do you think of food as nutrients? What are your beliefs about food? It's not that some people have superhuman willpower to say no to every temptation. When a behavior violates your strongest beliefs, there is no temptation.

As we were nearing the end of the interview, I asked Tom if there was any one point he wanted people to walk away with. He paused for a moment, thought and this is what he said - "A lot of the biggest lies and myths in the industry are based on refusing to accept or not understand the fundamental cause of obesity and that is a caloric surplus.

That is the simple truth. A lot of people believe it has to be something else. Obesity and body fat can be very complicated but when you trace it all the way back to the point of causation, it's the caloric surplus.

The confusing factors is how much you really eat and how many calories you burn. There's so much that affects that caloric equation and it's not just exercise physiology and not just nutrition. It's your attitudes, thoughts and emotions and how you respond to your feelings. It's also social. The people you hang out with affects how much you eat and exercise.

You need to accept calories in vs. calories out. You need to dig deep and understand why your caloric equation is out of whack. If you don't accept that 1 piece, you're going to keep falling for more myths and lies, but if you get that one point, your caloric balance equation, you're going to continue to be a victim of the Big Fat Lies.

To learn more about Tom's Burn the Fat program and the Big Fat Lies,Click Here! If you're serious about losing weight correctly without all the hype, I highly recommend Tom's Burn The Fat Program.

You can order Tom's newest book: The Body Fat Solution

To read Part 1 of this blog, Click here: http://sharifitness.blogspot.com/2009/10/tom-venuto-reveals-big-fat-lies-in.html

Simple Weight Loss Tips

Listen to my FitTalk Interview with Jen Hendershott
Weight Loss Made Simple

Simple Weight Loss Tips

with Jen Hendershott
http://budurl.com/jenhnutrition




I had the opportunity to trade weight loss tips with two time Ms. Olympia and Ms. Fitness International, Jen Hendershott on my FitTalk show.


It’s certainly no secret that as a country, we are very unfit and very unhealthy. Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about the growing obesity rate in this country. Most people say they are unhappy with their weight and wan to lose weight and make the mistake of looking for a quick easy fix which in most cases don’t work. Jen and I agree that people tend to make weight loss more complicated than it really is, don’t get the results they want and give up.


We’re overworked, underpaid, and very stressed and we’re always looking for the quickest, easiest, solution to everything. When it comes to weight loss, the cold hard truth is that there really isn’t a quick fix. If there was, someone would be a multi-millionaire for inventing it and obesity wouldn’t be an issue.


In addition, the obesity rate among children is rising. Children are watching and observing what you do. They learn from you and develop lifestyle habits from the adults in their lives. Not only do you need to start developing better habits for yourself, but also for our children.


When it comes to weight loss, knowledge is power. We’re simply uneducated about nutrition and it really isn’t taught in the schools. One of the easiest things you can do to start making changes is to start a food journal and track everything you eat and drink for 5 days. At the end of the 5 days, look at your journal and see how many sodas you drank. You’ll also see how many meals you ate came from a restaurant or drive through. Ask yourself of all the choices on the menu, did you make the best choice? By looking at this snap shot of your habits, you can get a clear picture of what you chose to eat or drink, identify what choices you made were unhealthy, and give some thought about better choices you can make.


If you and your children are drinking too much soda and want to cut back on it and have your children drink more water, you can add Crystal Light or Sugar Free Kool Aid to your water.


It’s a matter of making small steps towards better habits. Jen came up with a simple suggestion that you can do to develop better eating habits and turn it into a lifestyle instead of a temporary fix. Jen suggested making 8 major changes in 8 weeks. Every week, pick a new good habit to replace a bad one.


For example, Week 1 you won’t skip breakfast and get into a habit of having breakfast every day. It can be something as easy as a protein shake with a piece of fruit.
Week 2: Prepare a healthy lunch the day before so you don’t have to eat fast food. At the end of the 8 weeks, you’ll have 8 new habits that will stick for life.


Another simple thing you can do is be pro-active about your diet. Jen’s motto is “Your cooler is your purse”. If you fill a small cooler with healthy snacks such as apples, low fat yogurt, cottage cheese, almonds, etc. you will always have something nutritious to snack on throughout the day.

My simple suggestion is to pre-cook all your meals once a week. I do this every Sunday and it takes me about 90 minutes. When I come home and I’m tired or in a hurry, I can heat up one of these meals very quickly.


Of course, there are times when you have to get something “to go”. Rather than hit a drive through, I will go into a local supermarket and pick up a rotisserie chicken and salad in a bag. I’m literally in and out of the store in the same amount of time it would take for me to place my order at the drive through. This is a low cost, healthy meal that can also quickly feed a family.


Another habit you can develop is regular exercise. Set aside at least 30 minutes a few days a week to exercise and give it a chance and realize how good you feel. Exercise helps you feel strong and empowered. When you feel empowered, you do things which make you feel successful, happy and creates self confidence.


I had created a Vision Board of my role models and images that represented a healthy, fit, body along with pictures of treadmills, dumbbells, spin bikes, healthy foods, etc. I would look at these images every day and was inspired and motivated by them. When I went to the gym, these images would be in my head which helped fuel my workouts.


If you are looking to learn everything over a weekend, Jen has created a program that she has been touring the country with over the past few years called PHAT Camp. PHAT camp is a camp designed for women who want to learn about being the best they can be. It’s not just for fitness competitors. People of all ages, shapes and sizes attend the weekend long camp. Jen has had participants as young as 13 and as old as 70 attend camp. Jen teaches you creative ways to make cardio more fun, you will learn exciting new exercises, and so many great ways to eat and cook healthy. Learn things you didn't know and get your questions answered. This is something I highly recommend that will get you motivated and on the right path. To learn more about Jen’s PHAT Camp, visit her website: http://budurl.com/jenhnutrition You will also find exercise DVD’s and other products that can help you reach your goal.


You really don’t need to get hung up on counting calories. Focus on eating foods that are what I call quality calories. Foods that are rich in nutrients and are as natural as possible. Avoid foods that are loaded with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Be aware of the sugar content in the foods you eat. Read the nutrition labels. If you do these simple things, the weight will start to come off and you will start to feel better.

Incorporate strength training and cardio along with improving your nutrition and you’ve got the basic, simple formula for weight loss.

EFT and Weight Loss Interview with Brad Yates

Listen to the interview I did with Brad Yates to learn about EFT and weight loss and hear the weight loss EFT Session he did with me. Click on the BlogTalk Radio button above. You will be redirected to my Blog Talk Radio Page.

EFT and Weight Loss With Brad Yates

I had the opportunity to talk to one of the most renown and highly respected EFT practitioners, Brad Yates about EFT and Weight Loss. EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique.

How I came learn about Brad and EFT, is through my friend, Bob Doyle, who is one of the teachers in the movie, “The Secret” which is about the Law of Attraction. Bob is an advocate of EFT and highly recommends it as an effective tool to help make the Law of Attraction work for you.

Brad has been a presenter at a number of events, including several International Energy Psychology Conferences and the Walk On Water (WOW) Fest in Los Angeles.

He has done teleseminars with “The Secret” stars Bob Doyle (who has been a guest on my FitTalk show), and Dr. Joe Vitale and is also the co-author of the best-selling book, Freedom at Your Fingertips: Get Rapid Physical and Emotional Relief with the Breakthrough System of Tapping as well as a featured expert in the film “Try It On Everything” along with Jack Canfield, Bob Proctor, Dr. Norman Shealy and Dr. Bruce Lipton.

In addition, Brad has teamed up with another guest on my show, Clinical Hypnotherapist, Steve G. Jones, M.Ed. to create a program called Confidence Beyond Belief which combines the power of EFT and Hypnosis.

What is EFT and how does it heal people?

I asked Brad this question and he explained that EFT is an incredible healing modality which is based on the same principles as the age old techniques found in acupuncture only without the use of needles. It basically works by changing the body’s energy system. It is very effective in helping people overcome pain, fear, emotional trauma, chronic physical pain and addictions which are driven by our emotions. EFT is the quickest, easiest form of stress relief and clears out negative feelings like fear, anxiety, cravings, etc.

EFT has been around since the 1980’s and was discovered by a psychologist, Dr. Roger Callahan while working with a patient with a life long fear of water. Dr. Callahan had been studying different modalities, one of them being acupuncture. By chance, he tried tapping on one of the meridians of his patient and her fear of water was gone.

With acupuncture, there are meridians or pathways of energy that run through our bodies and when these energies are out of balance, we experience illness, and when these meridians are brought back into balance, we experience wellness.

Dr. Callahan started teaching this “tapping” technique and one of his first students was Gary Craig. Instead of tapping on one point, Gary decided to tap on all points with his patients and was getting great results. Gary called this technique “Emotional Freedom Technique,” AKA EFT.

Stress, Negative Emotions and Emotional Eating

I brought up the subject of Stress and Negative Emotions with Brad with my viewpoint about it. One issue we hear about constantly is the Obesity Rate which is alarming. One area most people struggle with and are unhappy about is their weight. Weight loss is equally mental as it is physical and lot of our behavior is driven by our emotions. For instance, stress and negative emotions tend to make some people use food as comfort or a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, or a way to cope with stress. Once you get used to using food to feel better, it’s hard to break your routine.

We all know that most of the foods consumed “socially” are mostly unhealthy snacks and/or meals. When it comes to social gatherings, food tends to be at the center of it and most people feel that if they aren’t participating on eating, that they’re not being social. In addition, via advertising, food subconsciously becomes associated with having a good time, particularly the unhealthy snacks and/or meals, making them addicting. A lot of people have a hard time resisting these types of foods, yet consciously know that they are bad for them and will hold them back in their goal to achieve weight loss.

According to Brad, our actions are a result of our thoughts and feelings and there are many people who are trying to change their actions without changing their thoughts and feelings. Letting go of your judgment of yourself regardless of your current physical weight or health, allows you to cleanse yourself of your negative self-judgment. You need to change your belief system in order to change your behavior. Brad made the analogy of trying to make an accounting software program do word processing. It can’t change because of how it was programmed. You need a different program in order to make it work.

Brad talked about how food can become an unhealthy addiction. In the moment, your subconscious mind will tell you the Pop-Tart, cookie, French fries, ______ (fill in the blank), is going to fulfill a need right then and there and that it will make you feel good NOW. Worry about how you feel later.

EFT is a great way to clear negative beliefs

I told Brad that while listening to one of his seminars, something he said really resonated with me. What Brad said, and I quote, “weight loss is thought of as getting away from something, but it’s more about working towards a goal. People are already in a negative mindset. My body is terrible, there must be something wrong with me. You can’t create a healthy body with hateful motivation”.

Brad responded by saying our thoughts are the building blocks of our reality. Basic LOA. We’re building our future, our next few minutes, our next hour, our next day, etc. With the thoughts and feelings you have, what kind of future are you building if the thoughts you have are, “oh, I’m such a pig, I’m a lazy slug”. You simply can’t attract good things with that kind of thought process. We are programmed to expect the worst.

EFT is a great way of clearing negative beliefs and judgments of ourselves. When it comes to weight loss, some people are of the belief that they need to feel pain to motivate themselves. With EFT, before you feel better, there is the chance that some uncomfortable emotion will come up.

At that point Brad took me through a basic EFT session and then a more advanced one. Although I don’t have self esteem issues with my body and I enjoy eating healthy and working out, I can honestly say that after the session Brad did with me, I felt really good. All this can be heard on my show with Brad. (simply click on the BlogTalk Radio Logo at the top of this page to hear it)

If you’re struggling with weight loss, particularly with getting your self motivated to workout or with making better food choices, than I recommend you look into EFT and giving it a try.

I have listed links to information about Brad, EFT and the book he co-authored.

To hear the interview I did with Brad and the EFT session we did, click on the Blog Talk Radio logo at the top of this page or go to www.blogtalkradio.com/sharifitness

To learn more about Brad Yates, -------->> Click Here!

The trailer for the EFT Documentary that Brad was a part of,

--------->> Click Here

Freedom at Your Fingertips, the Best Selling EFT Book written by the top EFT Practitioners. Click on the book to find out more about it.