Where are you playing it safe?

Unlike nutrition more broadly, with nutritional programming you are looking deeper into the individual aspects such as micro nutrition (vitamins and minerals). All of the finer aspects can be adjusted as your clients progress through the coaching process, but the priority for the majority of your clients is going to be body composition. One of the first stages, therefore, is to create a nutritional programme that supports energy balance (the relationship between energy in and energy out). One of the most common questions that the team at M10 and I get asked every week is, `What diet do you think my client should be following to achieve X result? There are many factors that you have to consider when you create any type of programming for your client, be that exercise or nutrition. Your job as a coach is to collect all of the information from your clients at the start of the coaching process (from questionnaires and speaking to your client) and decide which is the most appropriate starting place for them. One of the most valuable things you can do as a coach is to sit down with a skilled and more experienced coach and go through each of your client case studies with them. There is no article that can tell you what to do with each client - that only comes with experience - but you can save yourself a lot of time by asking someone who has been in the same position that you are now in to help you. Make sure, however, that you ask someone who is currently working or has worked with the type of clients that you are working with. If you speak to a physique coach who is used to working with bodybuilders and body transformation clients, often they'll suggest a calorie-focused plan. OVERALL TREATMENT PLAN Reduce depression, hopelessness, and anxiety; Improve functioning, social interactions, and self-care Increase positive affect Improve self-image and confidence Prevent relapse VALUES, ASPIRATIONS, AND GOALS Values: Family, being a good person, responsible, useful Aspirations: To get my old self back; Goals: Get a job, spend more time with children and grandchildren, reconnect with friends, get apartment in order, get along better with ex-wife (if possible), take better care of self (exercise, sleep, eating)

In trying to manifest something into your life, the key is to want it in a natural, relaxed, non-attached way, like it doesn't matter if you get it or not, as if either way, you're happy, then this is fine and won't harm you in any way. If you can desire for happiness for yourself and others, with a feeling of peace and equanimity, of pure love, with no counteractive, underlying guilt, we'd not only be blessed by the Buddha, we'd be a manifesting genie! One thing the Buddha did say about desires that may have been meant as desires was. Those who are slaves of desires, run into the stream of desires, even as a spider runs into the web that it made. I'm sure we can agree that if you are a slave to desires, then this could have adverse, karmic effects. We wouldn't give in to sexual misconduct, ie sleep with someone else's partner or sleep with someone else while we had a partner for example, but we are allowed to have sex with a consenting partner when we feel the urge, while honouring our morals and other people's values and desires as well. Just don't let desires control you; Desiring for the wrong reasons creates attachment issues. If you think that the only way to be truly happy and make your life better is to get your desired thing, then this will make it hard for you to manifest it since your desire is coming from a place that feels like your life is rubbish without it, which makes it more of a craving. It helps to realise that all things are impermanent and all things are unsatisfactory anyway. We've all heard stories about a driver who gets stranded in the desert and a week goes by before he's found. And maybe you share the same thoughts I used to have. Not a problem. I don't drive through the middle of nowhere. But you don't have to travel through remote areas to get stuck in a vehicle emergency. Case in point, look at all the people who spent the night on an Atlanta interstate during a freak January snowstorm in 2014. With all the time we spend driving, it's only wise take the following steps to make sure our vehicles are ready for the unexpected. EQUIP YOUR CAR WITH EMERGENCY SUPPLIES In addition to your Get Home Bag, every car should be equipped with basic emergency supplies meant to handle roadside emergencies. Even though roadside assistance plans like AAA are smart to have, you shouldn't rely on them as your only plan.

There is nothing wrong with this approach for their clients, because the majority of them have short time frames to work with and their clients are more disciplined and likely to be more experienced. If you have clients who are quite new to exercise, the appropriate approach for them might be as simple as general guidelines. Trust me, I have got it wrong many times. When I started to get into bodybuilding, I thought that all of my clients should be on the same style of plan as me and preparing six meals per day. As you'd expect, a handful of my clients did well following what I was doing (the more muscular clients), and the remainder couldn't stick to it at all. After scratching my head, I moved them onto a more appropriate strategy. Throughout your career, you will come across all body types, experience levels and goals, which is why it's important to understand the needs of your clients before you start to programme anything for them. If you want to achieve results for all of your clients, take some time to review each of their case studies at the start of each week, and ask yourself if the strategy that you created for them is appropriate for where they are right now. Alongside studying the subjects that I have covered in this section, reach out to experienced coaches and review each of your clients with them. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable as a coach is one of the best things that you can do. POTENTIAL OBSTACLES Pessimism, hopelessness, anxiety about future Low motivation, lack of energy, desire to avoid, inactivity Negative self-image, self-criticism, rumination Conflict with ex-wife POTENTIAL INTERVENTIONS Provide psychoeducation about depression, anxiety, the cognitive model, and information processing, moving from the depressive to the adaptive mode, the importance of activity scheduling, the structure of sessions Increase positive emotions by creating positive experiences; Increase attention to and draw positive conclusions about these experiences Reconnect with family and friends

To align your desires in the right way, sense how they feel to you when you think about them. If they feel bad, then it is a sign that deep down, you feel in lack and are possessed by your desires. The desire will feel like it has an emotional hook into you which will make you feel clingy or as if you are grasping for it desperately. Desperation repels your desires and hinders manifestation. But if you can visualise what it's like to have it now, feeling love and appreciation for it, you will energise beautiful thoughtlings (thoughts and feelings together) that will end up attracting your desire. The Buddha also said. To live a pure, unselfish life, one must count nothing as one's own in the midst of abundance. The Buddha only challenged us to not grasp and cling, or feel the negative, possessive stuff that comes with a physical craving but instead to share your wealth with those who are needy. Feel how nice it would be if you had it, but not because you lack it. If you can't do this, try not to think of it at all, just sit being mindful and accepting and appreciating what is while clearing all thoughts to find peace. As the saying goes, two is one and one is none. Always have a backup. HALF FULL IS YOUR NEW EMPTY Running out of gas is never convenient. That alone should motivate you to get in the habit of refueling when the gas gauge reaches the half-full mark. But if you're still not convinced, here are three more reasons. One, in extreme winter weather, moisture in the air causes condensation in near-empty tanks. As a result the fuel line may freeze up and prevent your car from starting. Two, gas pumps rely on electricity so during a blackout you won't be able to refuel. And three, do you really want to be waiting for hours in gas lines after a natural disaster?

At the end of many of the courses that I attended, I would pay the lecturer to go through some of my clients' case studies with me. This helped me to fast track my results. Milos Sarcev was kind enough to help me with many of my clients. This was in my early days of working with physique athletes, and I wasn't skilled at manipulating calories when bringing someone's body fat levels right down. If it wasn't for his advice at the time, I wouldn't have pushed my clients to where they needed to get to. This set a new standard for what I could help my clients achieve, and it played a big part in helping me develop my reputation. For many of you, this article will be your first introduction to the subject of hormones. Some of you may have heard plenty about hormones, but you won't have considered the role that they play in helping you to achieve results with your clients. Before I continue, it's important to remind you that you are not a doctor, so at no time are you qualified to diagnose or treat your clients. Why am I covering it, then? Decrease time in bed and on the couch; Break down large tasks into smaller components Give self credit Examine advantages and disadvantages when making a decision (eg, how to approach ex-wife, what kind of job to look for) Evaluate and respond to dysfunctional thoughts and beliefs, using guided discovery, Socratic questioning, and behavioral experiments Teach mindfulness skills to decrease rumination Do problem solving (especially of obstacles that could arise in coming week) Teach communication skills (eg, role-play interactions with ex-wife and job interviewer) LENNY's initial treatment plan. PLANNING TREATMENT TO ACCOMPLISH A SPECIFIC GOAL