By Robert Imbriale, Business Coach

I know what you're thinking because I've heard it a thousand times. What in the world does your diet have to do with your business life?! Let me put it to you this way. Do you think you can be successful at whatever it is you do if you were to lose your health? I doubt it. So, why not take care of your health while you can and in the process be more successful in your business too?

It was about a year ago that I first thought seriously about nutrition and eating right. Before that time, eating was just something I did to stop the my hunger pains. I never gave it a second thought. I ate whatever I found and ate lots of it. Anything to quiet those hunger growls! I thought that eating was one of those things that took time away from my business, so I spent the least amount of time possible eating.

What that meant was a lot of fast food, but even worse, it meant a lot of processed junk foods! Lunch? Simple, 2 slices of pizza and a coke. Dinner? Well, I always worked late hours, so maybe a candy bar to tide me over until I got home, then a burger, or I'd pick up some fast food on my way home. And, I'd usually start my day off by eating half a box of sugar crunchios soaked in "lowfat" milk. And I thought I was doing O.K.!!

Well, the reality was that I had never had any education in the area of nutrition! Like most people, I'd listened to the media as they touted dairy, meats, and other apparently "good" foods. I heard pizza was the "perfect" food offering a good blend of dairy (cheese), bread (crust) and veggies (tomato sauce)! Boy, was that a crock! But I not only believed it, I lived it and was nearly 50lbs heavier then I am today! I never thought of myself as being overweight by more than "a few pounds."

Did that affect my business? You bet! I was so much less energetic, quick to tire and found myself staying away from anything that seemed physically taxing. That meant that I'd pass on certain jobs, and never take part in any physical activities when asked by both clients and friends. I had been cutting off not only income, but a great deal of social activity too!

I'd really never given it a second thought. I guess you tend to tell yourself that eating healthy and exercising is for "other" people. It's not "you." You work, and have no time for going to the gym, or worrying about every piece of food that you pop into your mouth. No, instead, you think you're invincible. I know I thought that way.

Then one day, all that changes. It may be that you suffer a heart attack, or develop a cancer, or maybe it's not that severe and you just find yourself out of breath all the time. Or, maybe, like me, you meet somebody who opens your eyes to the realities of the foods you eat and something clicks in your mind and you decide to give good health a try.

That's what happened to me. I tried it, but I was only committed to it for 10 days. I had no plans on ever continuing any longer than ten days, and would have never thought I'd be writing this column a year ago!! But all that changed in ten short days. I began on Thanksgiving. I decided that if I were to be committed for the next ten days, I had to be able to get through the most difficult time of all. I did, and have never looked back! I immediately lost weight, but more importantly, gained a firestorm of energy that burns inside of me and keeps me going 18 to 20 hours a day!

Can you do that right now? I couldn't either! But now that I've discovered what it takes to eat right, I can easily keep up my non-stop pace six or seven days a week! I'll bet you could think of a few ways to earn some extra money with all those extra hours and all that extra energy added to your day!!

Think about it... if you were able to work just four more hours a day, that would equal and extra 20 hours a week, over 80 hours a month, and over 1,000 hours a year!! It's like getting an half day everyday, and extra half a week of work time, every single week!! Are you excited? I know I was!

So what did I do? I began, what I thought at the time, was a very radical approach to nutrition. I gave up meat, all meat, and that includes poultry! I gave up dairy products of all kinds, including eggs and cheese. I added, all types of fresh vegetables, fruits, and grains to my regular diet.. I had a blast. I made it fun. I looked at my new diet as an adventure and tried eating something new everyday.

Some days, I'd eat things I'd couldn't even pronounce, but tried them, even if they didn't "look" appealing. Some were great while others I'd never eat again in a million years! If you think you "hate vegetables," then I can guarantee that you have never really tried vegetables! There are so many vegetables out there, you will absolutely find many you'll like. I tried them all, or so I thought, but somehow, I keep finding new ones I've never eaten before. So I buy them and give them a try. You'll never know unless you try!

So, let me tell what you have to do to immediately have more energy, lose weight, and be healthier too. It's actually very simple, and drugs are NOT part of this diet! In all honesty, it's the healthiest "diet" I've ever seen, and it works because it is so simple. In fact, the word "diet" is really the wrong word to use. You see, if you go on a diet, you immediately begin to cut out and deprive yourself of the food you enjoy. And you know as well as anybody that sheer will power can only go so far.

Your diet may last a few weeks, or even a few months, but eventually, you'll go right back to eating those foods that you enjoy, regardless of how much weight they make you gain or how much energy they rob from you. So, how do you make it work for you? First, make a commitment to not only to give it your best effort, but to make it a fun too! You'll stick to it if it's fun, but you won't if it's painful!

I begin each day by eating fresh fruit. Now, you may think that fresh fruit alone is not going to be enough to satisfy your "bacon & eggs" appetite. Don't worry, it'll more than satisfy you!

You see, the goal is to allow you stomach to be empty for a few hours, so you will feel some hunger pangs an hour or so after eating your fruit breakfast. No big deal. Have a drink of water and ignore them. In 20 minutes, they will have passed and you'll forget all about how "hungry" you felt just a few minutes before.

When your stomach is empty, and your body has used very little energy digesting your fruit breakfast, you'll find yourself energized and you'll find that coffee is no longer necessary to get you going! The natural sugar burst you'll get from the fruit will be more than enough to get you up to speed in the morning. Imagine, a life without coffee? Yes, and you'll do your whole body a BIG favor by staying away from that stimulant and the damage it causes to your internal organs.

But there's another reason for a fruits-only breakfast - cleansing. Your body will have an opportunity to cleanse itself of toxins and fat during the time when your stomach is empty and not in digestion mode. Drink water to keep yourself hydrated during this time by taking a sip every 15 minutes. Never take big gulps of water because the weight of the water in your stomach will start the digestion process and that's not what you want to do.

Wait a minimum of four hours before eating lunch. Begin your lunch with a fresh salad, but do not drink anything 10 minutes prior to eating your salad and ten minutes after eating it. Let your stomach secrete the proper acids to digest your food without diluting those acids with water. Lunch can also include fresh dairy-free, and meat-free soups, vegetarian pizza, brown rice and any number of fresh vegetable dishes. Keep clear of the breads. These will make you gain weight and most of them contain dairy products such as milk and eggs. Also watch out for salad dressings that are loaded with dairy and vinegar. Vinegar has the same degenerative effect on your liver as wine, so use it sparingly, if at all.

For dinner, begin with a fresh salad. Then you can have whole wheat pasta, soups, and other vegetable dishes. Get yourself a good vegan vegetarian (vegan vegetarians do not eat any meat or dairy products) cookbook and try a new recipe everyday! Remember, the goal is the have fun and to enjoy your new diet.

Never eat during the last 4 hours before you retire for the night. You don't want your stomach digesting and burning up all your energy as you sleep. Sleep is a time for your body to regenerate its energy.

A few other things to keep in mind for a healthy diet are: never mix fruits with anything other than fruits and fruit juices; eat comfortable amounts at any sitting; eat in a relaxed state; and eat slowly allowing yourself plenty of time to completely chew your food before swallowing it.

The goal of this way of eating is simply to reduce the amount of stress on your body and reduce the amount of energy required by your body to process your food into energy. The process of digesting meats robs your body of an incredible amount of energy over an extended period of 12 to 16 hours! Digesting vegetables requires much less energy and is generally completed in one to two hours. Can you see the difference? Well, wait until you feel the difference in your body. You won't believe it!

If you can do this for just ten days, I guarantee that you'll see an immediate change in not only your energy levels, but you'll also see a reduction in your waistline and an increase in your bottom line too! A year ago, I would have been skeptical, but today I live this way and teach others about this "magical" diet that helps not only the physical body, but the mind, and the sole too.

You see, if you're happy about how you look and you feel great too, the odds of you being in a great mood most of the time are multiplied ten-fold almost by default! Go ahead, you owe it to yourself to try it for ten days. If you can't stand it and are not seeing the results you expected, you can always go back to your old ways... but you won't!

Remember, you won't see anything unless you give it a try for yourself! Call me if you have any questions. I'm very passionate about diet and health issues and would be more than happy to share my knowledge with you! Good luck! You'll have a ton of fun and you'll uncover the powerful, energetic individual that lives inside of you.

(Mr. Imbriale is a nationally recognized business coach specializing in business development.