“The universe knows how to organize itself. Stand back and let it come to you.” -Marianne Williamson

When I first set out to lose my baby fat and create my dream body back in 1999, I modified a photograph of Mark “Marky Mark” Wahlberg to have my head on his body. Creepy? Maybe. But I put the picture everywhere: on my bathroom mirror, my computer desktop — I even made a sticker and put the image on the back of my drivers license!

Back then I was 189 pounds and 29 percent body fat. Today, I weighed in at 215 pounds and 12 percent body fat. That means I’ve lost 29 pounds of fat. My body may not look exactly like Mark Wahlberg’s — but it is astoundingly closer than I ever could have dreamed back in ‘99. There’s something to be said for the power of visualization.

When I used to meet with a client for the first time, one of my initial questions was “what kind of body do you want?” People usually answered by saying, “well I’d like to get rid of my spare tire” or “I’d like to be bigger” or “I want to (fill in the blank).”

The problem with most of these responses is that they’re not measurable. For every “spare tire” a person loses, another “smaller” one, inevitably, appears. And what does getting “bigger” mean, exactly? How does a person know when they’ve gotten “big enough?”

So instead of faulting the answer, I have learned to adapt my question. Now I ask prospective clients: “Can you think of a celebrity whose body most closely matches the one you’d like to achieve?” When I ask the question that way, the answers pour out: Brad Pitt, Jerry O’Connell, Jennifer Aniston, Halle Berry, Kate Winslet. It’s really quite amazing!

I too turn to physiques for inspiration. I’ve put a few of them here for you to see. The first one, at the top, is Brady Quinn, from the University of Notre Dame football team. The second is bodybuilder John Kesler. These guys have totally different “looks” and levels of muscularity, but basically the same frame. (more…)

I look into the window of my mind.
Reflections of the fears I know I’ve left behind.
I step out of the ordinary
I can feel my soul ascending.
I am on my way…
Can’t stop me now.
And you can do the same.
What have you done today
to make you feel proud?
(It’s never too late to try).
You could be so many people
if you make that break for freedom.
What have you done today
to make you feel proud?
-Heather Small (more…)

HEY SAM, I’m trying to lose 50 pounds but I seem to be in a rut. Can you tell me what I should be doing differently? —Karen, Long Beach, CA

Karen, life never stands still. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. Keeping a fitness journal is one of the best ways to ensure that you move in a positive direction.  You have to set goals for yourself and continue to strive for positive results.

The best way is to keep a personal fitness journal.  I like to use a small spiral bound book of lined recipe cards. (more…)

My mantra of the moment: “Beyond our ideas of right and wrong, there lies a field.  I’ll meet you there.” -Rumi

You are not your past.
The future? An illusion.
All you have is now.

This was sent to me by a friend on his 40th birthday…

• Just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.
• We don’t have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
• No matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
• True friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. Same goes for true love.
• You can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
• It’s taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
• You should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
• You can keep going long after you think you can’t.
• You are responsible for what you do, no matter how you feel.
• Either you control your attitude or it controls you.
• Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
• Money is a lousy way of keeping score.
• Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you’re down will be the ones to help you get back up.
• Sometimes when I’m angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn’t give me the right to be cruel.
• Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you’ve had and what you’ve learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you’ve celebrated.
• It isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
• No matter how bad your heart is broken, the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
• Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
• Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
• Even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you—you will find the strength to help.
• Credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
• The people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.