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Tips for our lifestyles and making the changes that get big results.

The Role of Structure in Reshape - New Video by Chris Powell

Reshape the Nation is about results by design…creating patterns and sticking with them…if you allow any flexibility, then you will allow destruction to that pattern and structure that is so delicate.  Watch Chris’s video to understand how sticking to a pattern creates the foundation for a better quality of life. Let that structure carry you through to the next day, allowing you to build upon it, one day at a time… building a history of a set pattern in order to break the old pattern that you had for so long, you know, the one that’s so easy to fall back on. 

Chris explains and stresses the importance of structure and setting new patterns, and how delicate they truly are.
When ABC 20/20 first aired Chris Powell and David Smith’s story, the inspiration they caused spread like wildfire.. And even though Chris and David are still forging ahead to “pay it forward” to anyone they can, sometimes you may think you can’t, or will forget to workout one morning or afternoon, and then before you know it, you’ve gotten out of your new routine just as quickly as when you started it! You are worth forging ahead for yourself, we are with you, Chris is with you. You can do it!

Chris and David Give the 5 Best Tips for a Successful Weight Loss Journey

David Smith and I put together our best tips for long lasting, weight loss success. It is a long and sometimes bumpy journey to successful weight loss, but it’s one that is both rewarding and physically satisfying.  We always tell our fellow Reshapers and team at www.reshapethenation.com that this, all of this, is about the journey, not the destination.

Of all the advice David and I have given over the years on diet and fitness, these five tips are at the top of our list as being the most effective on your journey to reshaping yourself:

1. Create an Environment for Success

Willpower is overrated when it comes to those certain foods that you just cannot say “no” to. Face the facts, if it is in your house, you’re going to eat it, period. To be successful in any nutrition program, you need to remove the following “Reward” foods from your house, workplace, and hiding spots. Don’t worry, you can always have them on your reward day. But in order to succeed, you need to get them out of the house. Let’s create an environment for success!

2. Start Moving

Movement of any kind will help you along your journey. Whether you’re on your feet all day, or you sit in a cubicle for 40 hours a week, a lifestyle of movement is equally important to your long term health! Walking alone has been proven to be one of the most effective ways to optimize fat-burning.  There should be no secret as to why the most incredible weight loss success stories have been accomplished through good nutrition and walking. Let’s reshape ourselves, get out there and move!

3. Set the Pattern

When starting a journey with a transformation goal, we must strive for “results by design”, and set a pattern for success. Create a routine! Fortunately, this isn’t rocket science. We need a structured and patterned nutrition program and light exercise. With a routine structure designed to meet your goal, you can troubleshoot any obstacle you encounter. Plateau?  No problem. Adjust the pattern and you’ll easily break through the plateau. Knowing that you can, and will have continued success as long as you keep some structure… that is priceless and lasting!

4. Hydration

Water may be the easiest, yet most overlooked weight loss tool. While everyone knows drinking water is essential for survival, what they don’t know is only slightly less important is consistently drinking the right amount of water. Water is essential to our wellness and to our weight loss success. Did you know water consumption can even affect our metabolic rates? Because when we don’t drink enough water our livers have to work overtime to help compensate for our water-deprived kidneys.

It’s easy to forget to drink water so I prefer to carry around a gallon of water to keep me accountable to my hydration. But carrying a quart or the smaller 16oz bottles is fine!  To stay hydrated, I like to use the 10-gulp rule: When the water touches my lips, I have to take 10 gulps before I put it down. It is surprising at how quickly it fills you up!

5. Stay the Course

On our journey there will be obstacles:

Our weight loss will plateau.
We’ll get knocked off for a day or two when we get sick. Pick up where you left off. Do not backtrack. 

There will mental and emotional struggles.

There will be physical challenges.  

There will be vacations. 

We’ll have conflicts with our spouse or partner. 

We’ll have conflicts with our kids, our families, our friends.
We’ll have time and money conflicts. 
We’ll have high energy days and low energy days.  Stay the course!

By the time we reach our destination, our course will not have been a straight line, but if we stay the course, it won’t matter!  With a good support system; family, friends, the www.reshapethenation.com community, and co-workers, we can stay the course!

David Smith and Chris Powell - Still on the Reshape Journey

Chris Powell and David Smith are still on the Reshape The Nation journey, and it has been over five years.

Chris helped David lose over 400 lbs, and now, David Smith is “Paying it Forward”. Smith, now a trainer in the Phoenix area, is helping others in the way Chris does, using the same methods and meal plans. And although David is a far cry from where he was when Chris and him first met, he sometimes faces the some of the same struggles that he once did on a daily basis. This is David Smith’s blog from yesterday:
Help!
I fell off the wagon, what do I do now? It is frustrating to be giving a 100% then all of a sudden not be motivated anymore. It happens to everyone, even me. What I have learned is that what you need to do is to move on and learn from your mistakes. You just can’t go back in time and fix, what happened. Ask yourself why? Why did I fall off? I asked myself the same question. Well I had an injury, I might have a torn labrum (shoulder), and I couldn’t workout the way I wanted to the last six months, so I gained 30 pounds. I feel I have let down a lot of people, but I have let down myself the most. It is always too easy sometimes to blame something or someone else. In the end though, I am responsible for myself and my actions no one else is. These past few months, I have felt guilty and remorseful instead of responsible. I could have done cardio, worked out my legs, and eat how I was suppose to, but I chose not to. I know I can’t dwell on my mistakes and misfortunes, not anymore or I haven’t learned anything from this experience. Now my choice is to get back on track and do what it takes to be a better person and role model.

David Smith

Watch ABC’s 20/20 tonight for Chris Powell and David Smith’s full story or check out ReshapetheNation.com

David Smith on ABC’c 20/20 - Chris’s New Video!

Check out Chris’s new video blog!!
He and the rest of the Reshape the Nation team are really excited about Friday night!!

Why, you ask? Well, ABC’s 20/20 will be featuring a story on Chris Powell and David Smith, a follow-up piece to the weight loss story of David Smith when he originally lost 400 lbs with the help of Chris!  After losing that weight, David was featured on the Morning Show and Oprah, sharing that amazing weight loss story with the world, for everyone to see!

Where are they now… How has David kept the weight off and how does he manage on a day to day basis? Well, to start, he is actively involved in ReshapeTheNation.com, to those in need.
These answers and more, on Friday night, on ABC, tune in!
David Smith…. is on the scene!!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

My old workout buddy, Daniel, wasn’t the most muscular guy in the world. But when he was lifting weights, you might never have known it. He’d regularly plop down on a bench press next to a guy twice his size and then proceed to out-lift him. And not by just a couple pounds. We’re talking 50 to 100 pounds more. Same thing would happen on the cardio side. He’d look like your average weekend jogger, only to go zooming by the seasoned marathoner. No one who saw him ever understood how or why this was possible. Why could Daniel, a toned but by no means “ripped” person, regularly out pace and out lift people who looked to be in much better shape?

The answer is a good lesson for our expectations. The first is a valuable lesson about what following Reshape The Nation means in terms of our personal weight loss and body transformation goals. While some people might see results in the range of David-Bekham-like-abs or Angelina-Jolie-legs, others won’t. But being physically fit and healthy doesn’t necessarily mean great abs, a killer butt, long legs, and every other airbrushed appendage on the glossy supermarket magazine covers. So don’t mistake “healthy” for “attractive.” While healthier habits can help with attractive features, attractive features are not the direct result of healthy habits. Sorry.

Just in case he’s reading today’s Reshape Blog post, I should point out that I don’t mean to say whether Daniel is or isn’t attractive—he’s a plenty-handsome fellow, I’m sure. My point is, however, that the body chemistry determining features humans find physically attractive are in part, but not entirely, related to those features considered healthy. Fat, for example, isn’t unhealthy. In fact, your body NEEDS fat. However, we all store our fat differently, and while we might be able to obtain the same BMI as Attractive Celebrity X, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll look like Attractive Celebrity X. Or have the same wasteline. Or be able to lift the same amount of weight. Or be able to play basketball just as well. Or be able to fit into the same outfit. Or… well… you get my point.

I’m not writing today’s post to dissuade people from getting healthy… I’m trying to be realistic. Too many weight loss program spend too much time selling ideals and not enough time selling real products. Being honest and open about the weight loss process is Reshape’s goal. We’re not trying to sell you a magic pill or a some lose weight quick scheme. And we’re not plastering our websites with bikini-clad women to imply that losing weight will equal instant super-model bikini-wearing status. It certainly can, but it’s not going to happen in a week. At Reshape, we work with you to build a healthier and happier lifestyle. The results of that new lifestyle—whether it’s being able to pose for a swimsuit calendar or just being able to play ball with your kids—is entirely up to you. But no matter where you envision your end point to be while on this weight loss journey, know that Chris Powell, David Smith, and the entire Reshape The Nation Team will be here supporting you.

Stop Kicking Yourself

Have you ever kicked yourself over and over again for some choices that weren’t, well, choice? If you haven’t, are you even human? If you answered no to the second question, well, move on to the next planet then, this isn’t for you.

Kidding aside though, beating yourself up for some choice or decision you made has a bigger effect than you may be aware of. As a participant of ReshapetheNation.com, there’s not a ton of room for that type of behavior and losing weight, and here’s why…

Have you ever tried the body connectivity test? Place a garlic clove between your big toe and your second toe (if you’re not allergic to garlic), and in no time, you will be able to taste the garlic, literally, in your mouth. That’s a good demonstration to experience the connectivity of your body as a whole. It’s connected, all your cells, electrical impulses from your brain, thoughts, breath, and all the tissues in between. And given that experiment, why wouldn’t beating yourself up have a physiological effect on your body? Well the answer is that it does, because it’s connected; your thoughts and your physical body.
Your thoughts of yourself can impact your progress and successes, either negatively or positively, depending on the intent. Your thoughts, breath, and intentions are connected to your physical body, so be careful with your negativity toward yourself. No program, not even ReshapetheNation.com, will be as effective as it can be if you don’t allow yourself to fall, make some mistakes, and work through them. Forgiveness for the minor set-backs will leave you with little to no lasting impact on your future success with the program. Be kind to yourself; love yourself, that is a big part of Reshaping your life.

I will elaborate on this more as we go, but I wanted to put the thought out there for all to digest and get used to. The connectedness in everything and everywhere exists with you and your body, and with the world at large.

Don’t Let Obesity Stats Bring You Down

We need to make changes. I think that we know that.  We know the statistics, we’ve heard the startling effects of being overweight or obese; the high blood pressure, back pain, immobility, and in some cases,  even mortality.  But let me stop myself right there. We know all these things, that’s why we are chipping away at the pounds, one day, one second, one moment at a time. Reshapethenation.com gives us the opportunity, bringing Chris Powell and David Smith’s vision to life. It’s clear that it’s not an easy task, and the following information reads that….

“Despite education campaigns about the obesity epidemic and U.S. government reports that obesity numbers may have reached a plateau, a new study finds obesity rates increased in 28 states last year. Researchers found obesity rates in Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Arkansas topped 30 percent of the population last year. Previously, only four other states had obesity rates as high as one in three adults obese—- Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and West Virginia.”

“The annual “F as in Fat” report from the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation included obesity rates by geographic area and race as well as studies on attitudes about obesity.”  20/20 Abc news health 10 July 2010

Being that things are still not looking up, whether or not we receive help from our government, it looks as though we are going to have to take control ourselves. It seems like there are always new reports and new studies being released that have the power to dampen our spirits and bring us down. And though it may be true that the are trying times for the health of our nation, we have to be positive and remember that we can help ourselves! If only to lose a little weight, move around more, and fully appreciate our bodies for what they can achieve, then we are further ahead than any report will give us credit for. In order to Reshape the Nation, it will take us all doing a little more, pushing a little harder, and helping those around us to make that ultimately happen!

Sharing the stats from above is nothing that you haven’t heard before, but it’s just yet another reason to help each other out, even if only to avoid being a statistic. We can do it guys, keep up the good work!

 

Reshape Yourself to Reshape Your Community

At the 116th minute of the 2010 World Cup final, Spain scored the winning goal against the Netherlands, creating a wave of frantic excitement that was felt around the world.  This morning, the echoes of that success and reaction are still reverberating in the air, everywhere you look, in everything you read, and on every radio program. At the time that the goal was scored, the Spanish commentator had trouble holding it together as his country had won the World Cup title, awarding them the championship 18kt gold trophy. The mass of spectators stood on the tips of their toes as the Spanish soccer team brought them all together and unified them. Spain, as a whole, won, so every individual from Spain, having ties with Spain, or solely liking the Spanish soccer team, all feel a sense of victory together.

This idea of having unity through a common goal reminds me of Chris Powell and his vision with David Smith to Reshape the Nation, one person, one community at a time. When one individual, like yourself, experiences success and transformation in your life in any area, you will cause inevitable change around you and in your community.  When communities experience change from an individual, it has a water drop rippling effect. Starting as a single drop of water, the ripples from that can be felt to no end. The changes that occur within a community can travel just the same, affecting the neighboring cities, countries and on the grandest scale, the world. Any transformation in your life, whether the changes be large or small, will be felt around you, causing a unified sense of success on all accounts.

What you’re doing for yourself, your health, mind, and body is great! Do not underestimate the beauty and power of the things you do each day, a part of Reshape and otherwise, that have a significant effect on individuals around you and so on…None of us are perfect, keep up the effort of being the best you that you can be, and in unity, we’ll all feel like champions!

Team Reshape Introduces Elle

Hey everyone!  My name is Elle I am the newest member of the Reshape the Nation team.  I am here to get involved and share my experiences with health and fitness.  Health and exercise have played a major role in most of my life.  I started playing tennis when I was 7, I played soccer and swam competitively in and after high school, and I currently enjoy still playing tennis, hiking, and rollerblading in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ).  I am a vegetarian and have been for about 8 years, but I am not a meat hater, I just don’t like the taste or texture of it, so I make a few different choices according to the meal plan.

I can appreciate what Chris Powell, trainer and David Smith have done to inspire people around the world to make changes in their lives for the benefit of their health, myself included.  I want to pay that inspiration forward and speak to the power and awesomeness that all of our bodies possess and what they are capable of!  I hope to share Chris’ vision with you as often as possible, this is a responsibility that I want to take on!

As one of the newest members of the Reshape the Nation Team, I am stoked to be a part of a continuously growing community that is striving to be healthier and happier.  Ultimately, I would love to be part of your journey in becoming the ‘best you’ that you can be!

I will share personal stories with you about my own journey that you can hopefully draw from and translate to some of the things that you are experiencing while you are a member of Reshape the Nation.  I will also inform you of other programs and diet plans that are out there, so that you can get a good sense of making the best choice for you in your life!  If there is a topic that you would like more information on, contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and let me know what you want to read about! 

Are You Happy?

Are you happy?

It’s a strange question, but when it comes to your overall health, it’s an important one! Being happy reduces stress and anxiety, two of the leading causes of overeating and heart disease. Being happy also keeps you motivated to get active and stay active!

One of the most important transformations I try to get people to make is to help them start leading more fulfilling lives. What that entails is up to you. What do you like to do? What have you always wanted to accomplish? What actions or activities will make you feel fulfilled and satisfied?

The problem for many of the people who come to me for help is that they THINK food fulfills them. But food doesn’t really fulfill them. Food is serving as a sort of placeholder standing in for something else—a significant other, charity work, a better job, and so on. In order to remove food from its place of fake-fulfillment, we have to be sure to replace it with something that’s actually fulfilling. For some people following Reshape the Nation, the fulfilling component in life becomes exercise, which is great! But exercise might not actually be your cup of tea, and that’s OK, too. The important thing is that you figure out what will fulfill you… what will make you happy. From there, I want you to pursue that dream. Because even if you can’t achieve your ultimate goal, you’ll often discover that, in the pursuit of your goals, you’ll find true happiness.

Take me for example. I know I can never Reshape the entire nation. It’s just not logistically possible. But I can try my best to help as many people as I possibly can. And doing that—trying to Reshape the Nation—is helping me lead a happy and healthy life!

Emotional Transformations

A lot of people think Reshape the Nation is all about physical transformation. It’s not. A big part of weight loss, especially extreme weight loss, is the emotional transformation that comes with it. David was a perfect example. The documentary we did together, The 650 Pound Virgin, was obviously about the physical changes that took place, but it also emphasized the emotional transformations. David Smith was a guy who, because of his weight, had trouble making friends. And now, not only does he have lots of friends, he’s even my best friend!

While most of us view the ability to have easy social interactions with friends as a natural part of life, remember that’s not true for everybody. And as we make transformations to our bodies, we might also see transformations in other parts of our lives.

And I’m not just talking about losing 400 pounds. A guy who goes from being overweight to being muscular and athletic might find himself getting picked first for a baseball game instead of last. A woman who loses fifty pounds, slims down, and shapes up might find herself being approached by a lot more men when she goes out. These transformations might sound like great things—and they are—but they also carry societal pressures and expectations you might not be used to.

As you progress with Reshape the Nation, remember that our transformations aren’t entirely physical. They’re emotional, too, and having support for those components is a critical part of the support system we’re trying to build.

Too Busy To Get Healthy? Not With Chris Powell Supporting You!

I get annoyed when people advertise how busy they are. You see it on their Facebook messages: “OMG… crazy work week… can’t wait for it to be O-V-E-R!!!!” You hear about it every time you suggest getting together for dinner: “I’m sooooo swamped right now, but I haven’t seen you in so long, so I’ll figure out a way to grab dinner with you on Thursday night.” By advertising their busyness, I feel like they’re somehow trying to compare their lives to mine… with theirs implicitly being more important.

What these people don’t seem to understand is that we’re all busy. That’s what life is about… we stay busy living it. Whether you’re a big-time corporate lawyer working 80 hour weeks, or a retired Floridian playing golf 8 times a week, you probably consider yourself busy. And in that busyness we all face, a lot of people see building a healthy lifestyle as something we have trouble making time for.

I agree. I would love to be able to cook healthy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; I’d use all-natural ingredients to make delicious foods that still help me lose weight. And I would love to be able to exercise five hours a day; I’d lift weights, then I’d go for a run, then I’d play some basketball, followed by some swimming, and maybe even a little biking. I would be lean, I would be toned, and best of all, I’d still be able to eat whatever I wanted. But if I cook three hours a day, and I exercise five hours a day, I’m not going to get my work done. I’m also not going.to get to spend time with my fiancee, or see my friends, or do any number of other things those eight hours might allow. Instead, we have to strike a balance, and that’s where Chris Powell and his Reshape the Nation program help most. Instead of thinking of Reshape the Nation as a diet plan or a fitness regimen, let’s try looking at Reshape as a tool for efficiency. For example, we know we need to eat healthily, but we don’t always have time to cook up healthy meals. No problem… Chris Powell shows you, with videos, how to prepare healthy, delicious meals fast. And we know we need to exercise, but we don’t have time to spend five hours at the gym. No problem there, either… Chris Powell provides quick, efficient workouts that maximize weight loss in a minimal amount of time.

Yes, there’s still a time commitment involved in following Reshape the Nation, just like there’s a time commitment to any healthy lifestyle. But a lot of that time commitment is in the learning curve. Give Reshape a few months, and you’ll be doing efficient workouts, making quick, delicious meals, and spending more time than ever before living your life. Best of all, the Reshaped you will be in a much better position to enjoy the busy life you’re already living.

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

You’ve probably heard the phrase:  “The bigger they are, the harder they fall.” It’s the kind of quip a movie hero says after he takes down the bad guy. And while a lot of things that are true in movies aren’t so true in real life, this little statement rings true, particularly when it comes to weight loss. The heavier people are, the more weekly weight loss they’ll see on a diet. In other words, the bigger they are, the harder they’ll fall.

In the weight loss world, this beginning weight factor causes a lot of misconceptions, confusion, and, worst of all, giving up. These problems are generally the result of one of two things: Either an extremely overweight person begins his weight loss journey by dropping double digit pounds each week, only to see that number decrease as he loses more weight, and, as a result, he becomes discouraged; or, a less overweight person—more in the 50-100 pound range—tries a diet program advertising extreme weekly weight loss, only to give up after not seeing the same results. These misconceptions about weight loss are exactly why Chris Powell and Reshape the Nation never promote a specific weight loss number. Hopefully you’ve noticed that. Nowhere will you find Reshape the Nation or Chris Powell claiming you’ll lose 15 pounds a week or cut 5 inches off your waist in a month. We won’t give you exact numbers of success because we know weight loss is an individual endeavor. Yes, you can have trainers and supporters. But getting healthy and losing weight depends on you. It depends on your body. It depends on how quickly you can make your lifestyle changes. And, to be honest, there are even some factors of luck.

So if the pounds aren’t dropping like they were, or if you’re not seeing the same results as someone else—even someone else following Reshape the Nation, don’t be discouraged. Always remember, weight loss is secondary. You’re primary motivation should always be improving your overall health.

Just Give Up!

When I was a Freshman in college, I made a life changing decision. I realize normally, when people uses the phrase “life changing decision,” they’re referencing something they struggled with for days, weeks, months, or maybe even years. They put a lot of thought and consideration into that decision, and when they finally made the choice, it permanently altered their worlds. If, by chance, it wasn’t a great and long-debated struggle, then someone was faced with a “do or die” scenario and had to make an immediate decision. My story, however, doesn’t involved any of that drama. Sorry. My life changing decision was spur of the moment, precipitated by absolutely nothing, and just about as anti-climactic as a decision could possibly be.

How’s that for buildup?

Here was the big decision: toward the end of my first semester in college, I decided to stop drinking all carbonated beverages. That was it. That was the monumental choice. It wasn’t premeditated. I hadn’t been considering it for months. I didn’t do it because I was feeling particularly unhealthy (though I probably was). And I didn’t do it because someone suggested I do it. But I distinctly remember the moment. I was at one of the on-campus cafeterias and the soda fountain was out of Sprite. I was about to fill my glass with Coke when I decided, “I don’t really want any. Actually, I don’t ever want anymore cola ever.” And that was it. My soda drinking days were over.

I told you it was anti-climactic. I do, however, have a reason for relating this story to the Reshape the Nation community. Over the next couple months, giving up soft drinks resulted in a loss of about 10-15 pounds. In the past 10 years, even if I didn’t necessarily lose anymore weight, not drinking all those sugary drinks certainly has helped me keep weight off. I also feel better, have more energy, and (while Chris Powell might not love this) give myself some leeway to eat other unhealthy treats that taste much better than a Coke. It was one of the healthiest decisions I’ve ever made. It was also one of the easiest. No routines, no major lifestyle changes, no programs. I just filled my glass with something that wasn’t carbonated, the pounds came tumbling off, and, most importantly, they’ve stayed off.

So I tried it again. A few years back, I gave up french fries. No other changes. No other routines. No other life altering decisions. I just started ordering something else on the side. Sometimes it was healthy… a salad. Sometimes it maybe wasn’t so healthy… like a baked potato. But rarely was it any less healthy than french fries. And guess what… I saw the same results.

I haven’t exactly heard this method as an approved weight loss program, so let’s give it a name. I’ll call it the “Just Give Up” method because it puts a positive spin on a negative. I’m not suggesting it’s the only change you should make. But I am suggesting you give it a try. Find one thing in your regular diet you know is unhealthy—sodas, coffee, sugar cereals, whatever—and just stop. Just give it up. It’s actually not very hard, but it’s quite effective. And, just as importantly, once you’ve done it, it leads to other healthy changes. For example, soon after giving up carbonated drinks, I started going to the gym. I don’t think one decision directly contributed to the other, but I do think healthy choices build on themselves. Once you make the first healthy choice of your life, the second one becomes much easier.

Take Vacations From Work, Not Workouts

Ah… short work weeks. Who doesn’t love a good vacation day cutting down on a little office time? I hope you enjoyed your Memorial Day, and if you weren’t able to read yesterday’s Memorial Day post because you weren’t “working” (i.e. using time at the office to do other things), do take a minute to read it. It got a lot of positive feedback, and I think it’s an important way to view the significance of the holiday from a Reshape the Nation perspective. Other than that, hopefully you enjoyed some good friends, some good sales, and maybe even thought twice about eating that second hamburger at the Memorial Day barbecue you went to, right? RIGHT?

Actually, that reminds me of a topic I’ve been meaning to discuss for some time. While we can take vacations from work, and even take vacations from our daily lives, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking they can take vacations from their newly formed healthy habits. They reach a holiday weekend and decide they can “treat themselves.” Or they leave town for a week and think they can “cheat” while away. But here’s the bad news… an extra 1,000 calories is still an extra 1,000 calories, even in another country. Sorry, but it’s true. All those wonderful new habits you’re building can be easily destroyed in a week. Heck, they can be easily destroyed in a weekend.

Part of the problem with the “I’m on vacation, so I’m going to take a vacation from my diet” mentality is it approaches our new, healthier lifestyle like a job… like work we have to do for someone else. But that’s not why we’re following Chris Powell and his Reshape the Nation weight loss program. We follow Chris Powell in order to help ourselves. Keeping who we’re actually helping in mind, think about how funny taking a vacation from Reshape the Nation (or any diet plan) sounds: “I’m going to take a break from giving myself a happier, healthier life.” Strange thing to take a vacation from, right? Isn’t enjoying life the entire reason we take vacations?

I know weight loss isn’t always easy, and I’ve never claimed it is. Chris Powell has never claimed he’ll show you easy weight loss, either. Anyone (or any company) that does claim they have the solution for quick and easy weight loss is lying. But a weight loss plan isn’t a job. Exercising isn’t something we do for someone else. We exercise and eat healthily for the same reason we take vacations—to enjoy our lives. So when you take a vacation, instead of leaving your healthy habits at home with the pet-sitter, consider how you can bring the joy of healthy living to the joy of your vacation. Go for a hike. Go for a swim. Sample the fruit and vegetable specialties of the local cuisine. Take a bike ride around the city. Explore the island on foot. Stay active, stay healthy, and stay passionate about enjoying your healthier, happier life!