The Scale Factor

Every day, millions of people receive horrible, depressing, and frustrating news. Cautiously looking down, they take a deep breath and stare at the numbers between their feet. They step off their scales, then back on a few more times, to make sure it is working correctly. But the numbers are unchanged. What’s the one common denominator these people share? The same look of disappointment. Wouldn’t it be great if your scale stopped being the bearer of bad news? Is it possible for your scale to become a positive factor in your life? Could you look forward to stepping on your scale again? Can you lose the weight you need to? Yes, it absolutely is possible to do all of these. The SCALE Factor will not only show you how to lose weight, it will show you how to keep it off. Losing weight is not easy. If it was, everyone would do it. But losing weight is simple. Unfortunately, most people try to lose weight by focusing only on their bodies. Wait a minute... isn’t that the whole point? Accomplishing your weight-loss goal ends with your body, but it begins with your mind — your thoughts. What you feed your mind is equally as important as what you feed your body. In fact, how you exercise your mind is also as important as how you exercise your muscles. When you fail to harness the power of your thoughts, you fail to use the greatest weight-loss tool you have. Let’s take a quick look at the typical way most people approach their weight-loss goals. As the year comes to a close, they think about the shape they are in, and decide to do something about their physical condition. They make the commitment to go into the New Year with a new body. With the best of intentions, a pen and paper in hand, they excitedly write down how much weight they want to lose. At that moment, they have completed one of the world’s most common New Year’s Resolutions — to lose weight. Millions of people set this life-changing resolution every year. It is always exciting to envision the new body that will be taking shape during the coming year and thinking about how amazing you will feel. You can even start to picture how fantastic you will look, and how much better your clothes will fit. You know that your energy level, self-esteem, and passion for life will be at an all-time high. What a great resolution this is. It is too bad that most people will achieve nothing. Most of these eager folks wrote the same resolution last year and will probably write it again next year. Why do so many people fail to accomplish something that could be so life-changing? Quite simply, they start off wrong. How you start a weight loss plan will ultimately dictate how you finish. I know this because I tried to lose weight many times — and failed. I continued to fail until I learned how to harness the power of my thoughts, then combine them with a simple meal plan and a basic exercise routine. The SCALE Factor will teach you how to start with the right thoughts and end with the body you desire. Like many of you, I did not intend to gain extra weight and get out of shape. As my life began to head in a different direction, so did the meter on my scale. Unfortunately, it was pointing in the wrong direction. For most of my life, I had always been in great shape. I was an active child. I played soccer, basketball, baseball, and was on a swim team. Three weeks after turning eighteen, my active lifestyle took on a whole new meaning as I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Boot camp was 90 days of intense training, packed with physical and mental challenges that kept me in peak shape. As reveille blared across the base, four intense drill instructors woke us up each morning before sunrise. Their mission was to transform an undisciplined group of recruits, known as Platoon 1095, into United States Marines. By the time I graduated from boot camp and earned the title of U. S. Marine, I could run for miles, march for hours (with a full backpack and rifle), negotiate any obstacle course, and perform countless calisthenics, especially push-ups. Our transformation took 90 days. You can accomplish great things in 90 days. Keep that timeframe in mind because we will be discussing it in greater detail later (Chapter 4). I served in the Marine Corps for four years and was honorably discharged just after the first Gulf War ended. I was excited to begin my new civilian life and start college. I transitioned from camouflage trousers to blue jeans, and I enjoyed not having to wake up each morning before the sun was out. No longer required to get a haircut every week, or even shave each day, my hair grew over my ears, and I had a permanent 5 o’clock shadow. There was no one around to tell me what to do anymore, and I had no orders to follow. But there were also no requirements about my appearance. I was no longer required to “fall out” and exercise with my platoon or qualify for my Physical Fitness Test (PFT). I alone, was responsible for keeping myself in shape. At first, it was easy to maintain my “Marine” physique. I regularly went to the gym, and I even became a certified fitness trainer with the YMCA for a short period. I really enjoyed training my clients and helping them get into the physical shape for which they were striving. I always asked them what their physical fitness goals were, and as you may have guessed, most of them had the same one: to lose weight.