That’s one reason I don’t have a weight loss program but a Best Life Program, which I selected after 20 years of observing those who are successful. They are focused on their entire lives. What successful people do is look at their coping mechanisms, how they eat and, to a smaller extent, how not exercising and treating themselves right contributes to the problem. It’s about stepping back and saying, “I have so much time on this planet, how can I live the best life?” That’s the question of those people who are successful. They ask themselves: “How can I improve my life? How can I get to the heart of what’s important about my life?”
That’s the opposite of someone who’s focused on what to eat - it’s on a much deeper level. Everyone I know who has struggled with this and broken it has had a major revelation in his or her life, not related to food and not even related to exercise. It’s more about how they treat themselves, how they cope and how they deal with relationships. That’s the only time I find profound, permanent change.
To get people to focus on their lives, with food and exercise being just a small part of that puzzle, will lead to much greater success.
What can people do to bring that kind of change into their lives?
Laying down a strong emotional foundation and stop looking for a food, a pill or a miracle to solve your problems. You’re going to solve them through hard work and a great desire and belief that you deserve the life you’re after. It’s a way of thinking that is very different from most people going into the weight loss process. You have to be open to that and the tough work is looking at the things in your life that disappoint you. When I hear things like, "I can’t do this because my spouse would never let me have time to workout," or "My spouse would never eat that food for dinner," that’s a sign that someone may not be ready to take on the challenge.
When someone is vulnerable, that’s a starting point for change. That vulnerability is the key, almost a way of breaking down and saying, "I’m disappointed in myself." Those are very powerful words. If you defend what you’ve done in the past or that your life is complicated, that’s hanging on to your old life. Recognizing how you’ve disappointed yourself means you’re ready to change on a deeper level.
Your Best Life Program encourages that kind of change. Tell us about your Best Life Program and what people can get from it.
I look at the Best Life like a chain with three links. One chain is what you eat and how much is appropriate for you to eat and the second is how active you are. I see them as somewhat equal in the results, but I actually give the edge to exercise, because that seems to be harder for the majority of people to install in their lives.
The most important link in the chain is about your emotions, your willingness to change the rest of your life. The Best Life Program addresses all three chains, the most difficult being changing your life. You have to look at relationships, what you do for a living and whether you are happy with how you spend your hours roaming the planet. On the site, our members get articles from a wide range of professionals who deal with human behavior – dietitians, psychologists, physiologists, exercise professionals and eating disorder experts.
We take it a step further with the Best Life Seal, which is on food products that fit into the Best Life way of eating. The foods that get the seal contain whole grains, healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other essential nutrients. The Best Life Seal program is enormously powerful, particularly for our members. We find that people actually look for it now and that foods with the seal outsell other foods by 9.6%.
The best thing is, we’ve had a number of large food companies taking out trans fat, lowering sugar, lowering sodium and adding whole grains to get the seal. That’s one of the most important things we do, changing what’s on the shelves and educating people.
I’m a little more concerned about exercise because we’re becoming less active. Food is starting to get better, but exercise is still going the other way. We’re finding creative ways to not have sidewalks and do everything we can to keep people from moving, such as getting rid of physical education in schools. The Best Life Program also addresses this, helping people learn how to add more activity into their lives.
You’ve done a lot in that regard and I know you collaborated on the EA Sports Active game for Nintendo Wii. Do you think exergames are a good way to get people moving?
Yes, they are. I look at people’s excuses and a big one, which I can identify with, is having kids. I have a newborn and it is challenging. You’re both working and you have children to look after. That’s why I saw the potential for games like EA Sports. There is a great potential for home-based, computer-based and TV-based exercise. However, what was out there wasn’t very vigorous, so I thought there was room for more challenging workouts. It’s one avenue people can take to get active and still spend time with the kids, if that’s a problem. This is great for stay-at-home moms because they can have their kids present, or even participate, or the babies can be in their cribs and they’re still getting their workout while they keep an eye on them.
