We are about two weeks into the "test phase" of the new PEERtrainer Cheat System, and I wanted to share some of the feedback with you.
1. We are seeing a lot of success from people right out of the gate, especially from people who know the basics of portion control, and know the benefits of vegetables. Here is one email that I just got this morning, and it contains some pretty interesting observations:
"The cheat system is working really well for me.
I don't follow it religiously, but the principles of it are really helpful. I generally am a fan of vegetables, but my policy was to try and cut down on portions, including vegetables, in order to get into the habit of eating less in general.
The problem was, after skipping the salad that went along with dinner, I would become hungry a couple of hours later, and find an excuse to eat a slice of bread with cheese or something of that sort. With your system, there are multiple advantages for me:
1. I eat a lot more vegetables so I do get more energy, like you said.
2. I don't eat more than I need in meals in order to not be hungry later, because I know I can always eat later at any time, as long as it's on the "left column".
3. I don't have to spend so much energy resisting the urge to eat, and I can focus on my work a lot more."
2. Some people who have not read the PDF are resisting use of the word cheat. As we explain in the guide, our intention here is to turn a negative into a positive. So many people on a variety of plans fall off track and very often use the word "cheating" in a negative way. Our two main objectives here is to present something that people a) wouldn't feel badly about, and b) be able to do.
We know from hearing from so many of you that you can do this "for life" and as this mornings emailer said, you don't have to follow it religiously.
3. Guys are a huge surprise. We have tended to be a little "touchy feely" with a lot of things we have done at PEERtrainer. Emotions are a big deal, and we have paid close attention to them. But with the Cheat System, we are hearing from guys who are saying, "I read it, understood the basic principles, and I just do a lot of it." Guys like easy and uncomplicated.
4. The athletes love this and are getting more energy from the plan. We are getting strong feedback from people who exercise a lot that they are finding the system easy to follow, and are getting more energy. We will work to post some detailed feedback and insights from them. In general, many people are feeling more energized.
5. People who have already been healthy eaters but have not embraced the concept of portion control, are finding it harder to follow than others. We are paying very close attention to this group, and will be posting more detailed feedback from them.
6. People are sharing this system with others. What is interesting about this is the first thing we have done that is not about emotions or support or any of that. Which makes it easier to tell others about. Because of the focus on health and energy, it makes it much easier to share.
If you do share, please use this link:
http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html
We are rolling out new versions of the PDF as we make changes. (Which we did this morning) and will be sending that new link out to the people who signed up for the download.
If you have some feedback you would like to share, please hit reply to this email and tell me or please post it on our Facebook Wall.
7. Finally, we know people have a LOT of questions about why we have done certain things with this system. We are going to be awaiting feedback, but we will start "spilling the beans." Stay tuned!!