Jim: Let me ask you this. What are some of the biggest misconceptions people have when it comes to burning fat and losing weight?

Shawn:    I think one of them and I mentioned part of it, but I’ll take it a little deeper which is that it’s kind of like we have this conditioned time and effort response.  It’s the same thing we get in our working.  We think sometimes that I need to put in more hours and work harder and more time and effort.  We live in a results economy today.  If you want to make more money; create more wealth; be in a more abundant life, it’s more focused results you need, not more time and effort.

Same thing stands true for your fitness.  You don’t need to be in the time and effort all the time.  You need to be more focused results which means being clear about what you want; being intentional about it; bringing your mind integrating it and doing the specific steps A, B, C with purpose and clarity and effectiveness.  That means (a) having a plan; (b) bringing your mind to the party.

Jim:    And you see that pretty regularly that people aren’t . . . it becomes just a physical thing where they kind of separate it.

Shawn:    I think they separate it.  I think that a lot of people take up fitness out of at least a subconscious resistance.  It’s an obligation and their obligation manifests them into doing it with reluctance not with passion.

Jim:    Great point.  I always make that point about dieting.  Most of the time when you hear someone talk about dieting and weight loss; they’ll talk about it like someone has a gun to their head.  They’ll be like “Oh I have to go on a diet.  I have to go to the gym.”  It’s true. It’s funny because willpower has been so attached to weightloss and exercise. But, willpower is too hard to maintain.

Shawn:    I always say that willpower and discipline are failing strategies.

Jim:    They really are and I think for a lot of people this is new.  So many people say “Well how come I can start off in the first week and I’m great but then I lose it?”  Well it’s because you’re relying solely on willpower to make the weight loss happen. But willpower isn’t going to work once you get tired; once you get bored; once you get sick or depressed or whatever.  It falls away.

Shawn:    That’s the power of something else I want to bring which is a problem which is that people use a negative motivation to get rolling.  There’s nothing wrong with fear and negative motivation.  I’ll take any kind of catalyst that gets action.  But “I hate my before picture” or “I hate myself forward” has a short lived energy.  It will carry you so far, but it’s not going to carry you the distance.

Jim:    Great point.  Everyone listen and take that one to heart.  So much in this culture is unconscious.  We don’t recognize a lot of the things that motivate us and drive us forward with our behaviors.  The hating ourselves – that’s usually what happens is that people look in the mirror; their clothes don’t fit; they step on a scale and then they get really depressed and sad. That’s where they get their motivation from.

So what would you suggest?  How do you develop that kind of drive that pulls you forward in a better way without hating yourself?  How do you do it?

Shawn:    I break it down in Chapter 14 of my book where I take you through the path which I call “Path to Mastery.”  Most people start from an obligation or an “I should” conversation; the gun to the head.

Motivation – I take people through this and I say “Okay, look.  Whatever it takes to get moving; but if the hating yourself forward is your primary driver, take that” and I give you this practice of really creating a powerful vision.  I think vision is long term.  Vision is inspiring.  Vision is mountaintop.  Then a goal – goals are real and measurable right?

So you have to have both of those because I think we can set great big visions and they’re like Jupiter.  They’re huge, but they’re too far away to have any gravitational pull on us here.  You have to have something that may not have as big a mass, but has a good distance where it creates tension to pull you forward in life.

If you can go from “I should”  and “I have to” into the conversation to “I want to” and start bringing some joy into it; that’s where the presence and mindfulness practice and doing something that gives you feedback.  I start to feel better.  I do yoga when I’m carrying my tray.  There are specific steps to take you from “I should,” “I have to” to “I want to.”  “I want to” is your first step one step away from the ultimate freedom which is “It’s who I am.”  I now am not doing fitness.  I’m expressing who I am.

People don’t look at me or know me or talk to my wife and go “Are you on or off a diet?  Are you going to go and train?”  They know I train.  They know I eat well.  That’s who I am.

Jim:    I love that.  One of the metaphors I use sometime to describe the type of motivation I think you’re talking about – and you understand this as a parent, is beyond willpower, like if your kid when they’re a baby is crying and it’s 3:00 in the morning and you’re sleeping.  It’s not willpower.  There’s something way deeper there.  It’s who you are.  You are a parent and you’re going to get up and you’re going to do it.  It sounds like when you’re training; when you eat the way you are; I love that.  That’s who you are.  That’s who you’ve become.

Shawn:    I tell this story in the book.  Just like that it’s people stand there and they look at what I’m eating and they think there’s willpower.  How do you do that and how do I do what?  How do you brush your teeth every day?  Is it because you willpower yourself to brush your teeth every day?  No, it’s just what you do.”

Jim: I’m always talking about the mind and how to redefine things to gain a new perspective.  How does Strength for Life and your definition of health differ from the generally accepted definitions?

Shawn:    What you’re talking about Jim too and I think you’re really picking up on is I’m big into distinctions and distinctions offer a new way to see something that you may . . . it’s like to see through something.  A lot of us have this vague idea of fitness or this general or specific yada yada where we know about diets; we know about this.  I like to take and look deeper in there and find the radical distinction; the differentiating point which allows people to really see something for the first time; a fresh perspective.  Is that what you’re talking about when you say I’ve got a way of seeing things?

Jim:    Yeah, absolutely and it is this fresh perspective.  So go into it.  The idea of strength and health – you define that differently than most people do.  I think it’s valuable.

Shawn:    What I do is this – and I looked at this deeply – I believe adamantly that most people in America’s  definition of health is from the  Webster’s Dictionary – which I happen to be looking at right now.  Webster’s Dictionary defines it as the absence of disease or the absence of illness.  It really is that.  We talk about it; we slam down a little Jamba Juice; maybe a little wheatgrass and we hop over to yoga class, but we don’t take it much more seriously than that.

I think health is a wonderful thing, but the idea that I’m going to wait for my doctor to tell me I have to do something before I get really serious about caring about it; before it means as much as it should mean – because if you’ve ever seen somebody lose their health – you’ve been sick.  Even to get the flu, you have this whole understanding of how important health is when you don’t have it.  When you have it, it’s kind of like a bird in the hand “Okay, whatever.  I’ve got my health.  I could be in better shape.”

To me, strength is the new health.  It’s the new definition of health.  I define strength as not just the presence of health, but the abundance of energy, vitality and the capacity to make a contribution in the world.  I believe ultimately our lives are to be in service and it’s what we can do.  People will gain more, be more and do more in the service of others.  So strength is to be more than enough for me; it’s an abundance.  It’s kind of going back to the scarcity abundance mentality of something like The Secret.  I live in scarcity and I say I’m healthy or good enough or I live in abundance and I accept strength which is physical, mental, spiritual, etc.  It’s all strength as abundance on all levels.

Jim:    What are some general food nutrition guidelines that you recommend to live a life of strength?

Shawn:    I’m going to be frank as I tend to be.  I think Body for Life is the first book really to take what was learned through body building.  It’s a little like what we learned by going to the moon – bring the science back.  You go to the edge and you come back.   What we learned is that balanced protein rich meals and frequent feedings work.  We learned them.  We practiced them.  We brought them to the mainstream through Body for Life.  Now ten years later those things are becoming more and more true and more and more accepted.  Every single day you see more protein value; the importance of protein; the satiating factors of protein arising every single day.  Those have become truer.  That said Body for Life called for six small meals a day.  I never could quite do the six meals a day.  How about you?
Jim:    No, I can’t do that.
Shawn:    I struggle with it.  Honestly, I’m a five meal a day guy, but I take it down to the strength level.  I like to go down to the simple.  Let’s be real.  We’re a social society and we structure our days around breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I like to go what I call the three plus two method.  I eat three main meals and as long as those meals are balanced, healthy and I mean having – I start with protein job one.  Every one of those meals should have a good solid source of protein which buffers your carbohydrate release; get some vegetables in there; get some fruits.
Do not skip breakfast.  Breakfast is A Job #1 of food nutrition guidelines.  Please, eat breakfast and then in between there I call it mini-meals.  I don’t like the word “snacks.”  I say they can be a little bit smaller, but still.  You can use your nutrition shakes in between there.  Full Strength is such a meal.  I use Full Strength to start my day as my primary kicker for the day and then as an afternoon meal.  You can have your egg whites and oatmeal which I did for 20 years in the mornings.  Have consistent meals.
One of the other tips I want to give people is to get out of the mindset that every single meal needs to be some sort of diner smorgasbord – all you can eat buffet deal.  Food is a wonderfully enjoyable activity.  We love to eat.  Let’s save our love for eating for the meals that are really truly sociable and where we’re really expressing that love for food.  Don’t make every meal – so I call it repeat performances.  For literally 18 years of my life I had the exact same breakfast 90% of the time.  I love it because I felt great; not because it was so darn delicious.  That’s pretty simple.
I have 10 simple strategies in there, but I like to show you how to end dieting together and some tips there – really that inside out awareness practice.  Basically, my food nutrition guidelines are that I really believe in basic balanced meals; the frequent feedings; the simple approach; lots of water; protein stable carbohydrates; vegetables; healthy fats.

I interviewed Shawn Phillips this week and he explained this idea in such clear and profound ways that it could change the way that you think about strength for the rest of your life. He became famous for having world class abs, and since then he has continued to go deeper into teaching how you can create the body of your dreams, from the inside out. You can listen to a replay of this powerful seminar for a limited time by clicking here.