The top advisors make their mental and physical health a top priority. Why is that important? They exude confidence, which attracts more business, and shows up in their bottom line. Not convinced?

Consider Jim, an advisor in his 30s who sought my counsel because he had been feeling tired, apathetic and sluggish for the past two months. He said this malaise had started to hurt his production numbers because he had not brought in new business in two months. He also skipped his usual jaunt to Las Vegas with his colleagues, because he felt emotionally drained and fatigued.

The Mind: In our session, we discussed whether "bearish" thoughts, meaning irrational and self-defeating ones, had been affecting his mood and performance at work. I school my clients in a process I call "bullish thinking," as I have described in my columns before, so they can stay disciplined during volatile and uncertain markets or stressful life events. We reviewed his homework assignments involving my patented Bullish Thinking self-monitoring thought logs and determined that he had not had any crippling bearish thoughts. Although Jim's mindset was clear and logical, he was still not as alert or motivated toward success and business networking as he had been in the past.

The Body: Jim was unhappy with his physique, too. He'd gained 15 pounds over the past quarter. As a result of his putting on the weight, James didn't go on his annual Las Vegas trip. Also, he was secretly ashamed of how he looked and believed he couldn't handle the late nights commonly expected of him during those trips. What made his extra weight even worse is that James had vowed to get in shape in 2007 by adding a kickboxing and a yoga class to his regular 45-minute workout twice weekly. He failed to follow through, though, because of extra hours at work in January. To help him grow his business, I had encouraged him to attend more networking dinners and charity events than he did in 2007. Business got better as a result, but my advice backfired in another way. Jim's waistline expanded, and along with that went his confidence and swagger.

The Remedy: When I realize that an advisor is concentrating solely on his or her mental or financial wellness at the expense of physical health, I shift the focus of our sessions. In fact, I'm such a firm believer in building up an individual's mental and physical health at the same time, that I encourage him or her to book sessions with my office suite mate, the author and dietician Tanya Zuckerbrot, M.S., R.D.

As the author of The F-Factor Diet: Discover the Secret to Permanent Weight-Loss (Putnam), Zuckerbrot has developed an eating plan to help busy, demanding people ditch any fad diets they're trying and drop the extra weight. She proposes adding foods to your diet as opposed to cutting out certain ones that so many diets prescribe. Whether you're wooing new clients or dining with colleagues, you're bound to end up at a lot of restaurants, especially steakhouses. The standard fare there, prime rib, hash browns, onion rings and creamed spinach, sure tastes good, but eating all that often will send advisors like Jim on repeated trips to his tailor to have his seams let out, rather than to swimming pools at the Venetian for laps.

No need to panic. Plenty of delectable, yet low-fat and low-calorie, choices are on a steakhouse menu. Zuckerbrot and her associates put together a list of dos and don'ts when dining out.

Start with an appetizer. Ordering a first course keeps your mouth busy and your hands out of the bread basket before the main dish arrives. Hint: Instead of crab cakes, ask for a shrimp cocktail to save you 255 calories and 17 grams of fat.

Choose lean proteins. Good choices are boiled or steamed lobster and shrimp, which are low in fat; broiled, grilled or poached fish; or skinless baked or broiled chicken or turkey. If nothing but red meat will do, keep in mind that not all cuts of steak are created equal. For example if you swap a 6-ounce prime rib for a 6-ounce filet mignon, you cut out 120 calories and 12 grams of fat. In addition to filet, other lean beef cuts are sirloin and flank steak.

Monitor portion size. A hard day's work can crank up your appetite. While the recommended portion size is about 6 ounces, some are quadruple that amount. A 6-ounce filet mignon is 330 calories compared with 24 ounces, which is 1,320 calories. Leave some food on your plate if the portions are large. Then, when eating locally, take a doggie back and actually feed it to your pooch! Your dog will love you and your scale will tip downward.

Skip the sauce. Don't sabotage your meal by eating fat-laden sauces. Some steakhouse sauces include hollandaise sauce and béarnaise, made with egg yolks and butter, and with milk and butter, respectively. Two tablespoons of these sauces will add an extra 14 grams of fat to your meal. Better options are cocktail or steak sauce and ketchup.

Select dessert wisely. Order a scoop of sorbet or fresh berries with a dollop of whipped cream.

If you don't like the way you feel or look, your prospective clients will sense that as well, and you'll lose business. You need to be tough both mentally and physically.

Jim became disciplined in his thinking and that allowed him to realize quickly that he needed to work with a nutritionist and a personal trainer. Changing his diet and adding exercise to his daily regimen was the key to getting him back on track at work. The icing on the cake (although it's best that Jim not eat it!) is that, just maybe, now that he's feeling better and more productive, he'll enjoy Las Vegas next year.