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Hot To Not . . . To Hot?

2009-08-21T14:36:00Z

Ran across this interesting piece in my RSS feeds.

http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2009/08/20/personal-trainer-fab-flab/

Basically a personal trainer wanted to see what it was like to gain 90 pounds of gelatinous, overweight flab in order to experience the process of losing it. Hot and handsome enough to work part time as an underwear model, he transformed his six foot two, chiseled 176 pound body to a hefty 266 pounds. And none of it muscle. Watch the embedded video on the link. It isn't pretty. You may want to hide the family pets and small children. Now he's working it off, and finding it isn't as easy as it was to put it on.

He said he ate whatever he wanted, no restrictions. Sounds like the American way. What's interesting is his statement of ailments he felt - the joint and muscle pain, the high cholesterol and high blood sugar. The addiction to sugar and salt. His statement of "it's actually a lot more expensive to be overweight that it is to be in shape" flies in the face of convention when you hear someone tell you the opposite.

Another interesting point he discovered - his medical costs skyrocketed as a result of the experiment. Really? And to think so many people blame the government for the cost of health care, as well as fixing it. I've already said enough about personal responsibility and accountability in keeping one's self as fit as possible. Don't get me started.

Five weeks into the second half of the journey, (getting rid of the weight) he's lost 10 pounds, but admits it isn't easy. Which he says was his intent, to emphasize with the people he trains. What they feel and experience.

It's a bold and gutsy move on his part. What's important to you, as you watch the video and listen to his statements, hear the facts, you have to ask yourself, why are you putting yourself through the deliberate actions of bad nutrition, bad health habits, physical inactivity, and continuing decreasing returns on your life and wellness?

It's Not Our Fault They Like Sugar!!

2009-08-18T14:28:00Z

"If you want to eat food that makes you obese, that's your right," but you should help pay the societal costs.“

This is a quote from an article in USA Today,

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-08-16-fat-tax_N.htm

discussing a tax on soda companies. Democrat Rep. Bill Pascrell states, "There's a good argument that can be made" for taxing the causes of chronic, costly illnesses.”

Of course there is opposition. But how do you mount a convincing argument against these facts, in the article, taken from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

Sugary beverages contribute an average of 8% to 9% of total calories for children and adults.

People in the USA consume about 16% of their daily calories from sugars that are added to all foods.

About 47% of those sugars are from sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as juice drinks and iced tea.

A 12-ounce soda has about 150 calories and 40-50 grams of sugars in high-fructose corn syrup, equal to 10 teaspoons of sugar.
Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed 30 studies on sugary beverages and concluded:
• Many studies show that heavy adults and children are more likely to drink sugary beverages than people who maintain a healthy weight.
• Several show that an increased intake in sugar-sweetened drinks results in greater weight gain over time and greater risk of obesity.
• A one-year intervention trial found that reducing the intake of soft drinks in school-age children reduced the incidence of excess weight and obesity.
Those in the know, those who follow a healthy lifestyle, already know the dangers, the cause and effect of poor eating habits.
When do you decide to join the rest of us?

Get passionate about yourself

2009-08-13T14:08:00Z

Earlier this week the Fox News Morning Blathering Gabfest ran footage of town hall meetings of health care reform and what should be done about it. Overheated tempers, physical violence. I asked myself a very simple question . . .

Why don't people get this motivated and outspoken and vitriolic about their own personal health and wellness?

Let's be honest and not pull any punches here. First, its amazing how people whine and protest about government intervention into their lives, right up until they need someone to blame for their problems. Hey, the White House is still located in Wash, DC, isn't it? It must be their fault! Second, there are far too many health related illnesses and conditions stemming from laziness, slothfulness, personal indolence and a general apathy of taking responsibility for yourself and your body. Last time I checked, the Secretary of Commerce didn't tie your ass to a chair and force you to consume ungodly quantities of anything not categorized as a fruit, vegetable or whole grain. God forbid you gorge yourself with something that doesn't taste sugary sweet.

Side Note: you assholes that borrow a relative's car because it has a handicapped sticker, then park in a handicap spot and jog across the street? Someone who really is disabled needs that spot. Not you. Stop it.

In case anyone hasn't figured it out, there are no free lunches. Everything comes with a price. Everything has to balance. It's the way of nature. The yin and yang of it all. You want your guilty pleasures? It comes with stipulations. It comes with a hefty price tag. And you will pay it. Now, or in the future.

Don't believe me? Then why are you bitching about the spiraling costs of health care? They didn't become what they are because of an undocumented bug in Windows, even though that's the second area you'll point accusatory fingers.

It's called cause and effect. Read this article, taken from Science Daily, located at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090810024825.htm

Here's a snippet from what was said - Research has shown approximately 25 percent to 35 percent of American adults are inactive, Blair said, meaning that they have sedentary jobs, no regular physical activity program and are generally inactive around the house or yard. "This amounts to 40 million to 50 million people exposed to the hazard of inactivity," Blair said in an interview. "Given that these individuals are doubling their risk of developing numerous health conditions compared with those who are even moderately active and fit, we're looking at a major public health problem."

It's a good article, definitely worth reading the entire post. It states what the rest of us have been saying while many of you were trying to convince us the harmlessness of a bowl of ice cream. (True story. I work with a woman who was told "It's only one bowl. It's just a little bit. It won't hurt." That one time became a dutiful, daily religious experience. She now looks like she could play pulling guard or weak side tackle for the local pro football team. And not in a good way. Believe it or not, the government had nothing to do with it. I know, I was just as astonished as you.)

You can either choose to send your already high blood pressure temper towards a mind numbing, arm tingling stroke that your high cholesterol clogged arteries are on the verge of executing . . .

Or you can decide today is Ground Zero. The day you take matters into your own hands, take charge of the direction of your own well being, and stop trying to set records for the amount of food stuffed in your face while awaiting the return of Grissom and his jar of bugs on CSI.

Besides, do you really think Marg Helgenberger, now in her young fifties, is the hottest MILF on CBS because Cookies, Cakes and Pies Unlimited had a midnight blowout sale?

Hell no.

Age With As Little Pain, Physical Disease And Discomfort As Possible

2009-08-01T14:11:00Z

Age with as little pain, physical disease and discomfort as possible. Wow. There's a title worthy of a mouthful to digest. And yet, how many of us really care about the above statement? Enought to actually do something about it? All of us do stupid things or make unintelligent decisions in our lifetimes. I can think of three of them I would not have done in life if I could turn back the hands of time. (No, they aren't felonies. Stop guessing. I'm not telling you.) What really pushes the needle off the dumbass charts is ignoring the facts when they are right in front of you as plain as daylight. Your health and wellness is the most important part of your life. Why needlessly throw it away with reckless abandon?

Look at some of the people around you. One would be led to believe they think their bodies and lives were meant to be lived with the pedal to the metal and their hair on fire. Vital information staring them right in the face, and they deliberately choose to ignore it. Right up to the point where they hit the brick wall and point fingers at others because it must be someone else’s fault.

Fox Network Morning Blathering Gabfest ran an interesting segment earlier in the week during their discussion of health care reform. About how much money the U.S. spends in costs related to obesity and illnesses related to it, and how the funds could be spent elsewhere in health care.

Here’s a revealing figure, taken from healthaffairs.org - http://healthaffairs.org/blog/2009/07/29/obesity-spending-estimated-at-147-billion-annually/?source=promo

Medical spending on conditions associated with obesity has doubled in the past decade and is estimated to have reached an annual rate of $147 billion in 2008, say researchers in a new study published July 27 on the Health Affairs Web site. The study was presented at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Weight of the Nation” conference in Washington, where the CDC issued 24 new recommendations on how communities can fight back.

Ever notice the healthy ones who keep themselves fit aren’t the ones complaining about the health care system? Aren’t the ones pointing fingers at President Obama and Congress to do something about it? How about YOU do something about it? Take a wild stab at it . . . leading a healthier nutritious lifestyle, including physical fitness? After all, it wasn’t the President and the 535 members of Congress that forced you to eat your way to record setting waistlines.

And don’t get me started on this “I deserve to treat myself, I was good this week.” Who in the hell are you bargaining with?

A smoker says, “I haven’t smoked in seven days. I knew I could quit. I’m treating myself to a cheat day this weekend. Smoke as much as I want, I was good and I deserve it.” How much sense does that make?

An alcoholic says, “I made it! Haven’t had a drink in seven days! I worked hard at it, I deserve a treat. I’m going clubbing and getting my drink on. Besides, it’s only a couple beers. I can handle it.” Really? (True story. Someone from the gym who is an alcoholic went out with a few friends who told him he wasn’t supposed to drink. He said he could handle it. After all, it was only two beers. Long story short, alcohol and drugged himself high, right out of a good paying steady job. How much sense does that make?)

If the above two examples don’t make sense, why do people convince themselves the huge, intensive, ‘Oh, God, that was hard, how will I ever recover’ effort they put in over a blink of an eye time span deserves their original, horrible eating habits that deteriorated their health and wellness in the first place?

You want to lie to yourselves, go right ahead. Wait until your first major health scare. Or second. Or third. Better yet, go to your local pharmacy. Watch some of the people that frequent the place, constantly refilling prescriptions in order to get thru their day. Is that who you want to be in your advancing years? Taking pills every three hours or less, where the side effects are worst than the original reason you are taking the pills?

Check out some of the facts and figures here - http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/critser/

You want to self medicate yourself to a quicker grave? Be my guest. Don’t expect the rest of us to carry you and your pine box for you.

Food Is Not A Treat

2009-07-24T22:46:00Z

Overheard a conversation in the gym this morning. Guy #1 was holding up Guy #2 from completing his workout. After all, it’s a real treat to drag your tired ass to the gym at five in the A.M. to hear about last night’s viewing events on the boob tube.

Guy One was deep into last night’s plot of some cable show he believed to be the Second Coming, or the drool on his chin was the excitement of his riveting storytelling abilities. Anyway, after several minutes Guy Two wished he could retrieve and relive all over again, Guy One commented about his desire to lose weight and get into shape like the rest of us who make the predawn trek to The Temple of Iron and Other Heavy Stuff.

I personally wanted to shout something in the neighborhood of “Then shut the f#@k up and do something”, but that might have been far too obvious. Everyone possessing the ability to detect sound waves was then given the gift of listening to the great new discovered flavor of potato chips, the economy sized bucket of hot wings, the copious amounts of beer and other edible sundries Guy One consumed last night, not to forget the drive thru lunchtime treat awaiting him at the stroke of high noon.

Folks, food is not a substance to provide yourself for no other reason than it is available. Think of your body as a moving vehicle. Just as you wouldn’t fuel your car every time the needle hits the three quarters full mark, you are not required to shove food, and bad food at that, into the chewing portal mounted on your face because the bottomless pit you call a waistline is beckoning. Also, having a gym membership is not a free ride to the all you can eat buffet of life. It doesn’t work that way.

People who have the body, who have the look, put effort into it to make it work. In and out of the gym. Sitting at or away from the dinner table. It’s that simple. They aren’t taking the easy way out. They aren’t making excuses or passing responsibility and accountability onto others.

Wake up and smell it. You aren’t getting any younger. Life is hard. Life is harder when your preferred wardrobe is a loose fitting sweat suit, and you aren’t wearing it because serious exertion is on the horizon.

Pretty Sad When That's The Best You Can Come Up With

2009-07-09T18:05:00Z

While shopping at a local department store, someone approached my gym partner, asks if he lifts weights. My friend replies yes. Stranger asks his age. Gym Partner says 56. And you still lift? As if it’s an unheard thing to care for your health and fitness into your fifties and beyond. Stranger says he used to lift ten years ago. Knowing my gym partner, he tells the guy to get back into it. Here it comes . . . I don’t have the time.

I had to ask. Ten years and he didn’t have a single moment of free or spare time? Where’s this guy been the past 10 years, Witness Protection Program? Always on the move, attempting to stay one step ahead of the law?

Pretty thin excuse. In this day and age, when everyone thinks multitasking is a God given right that you’re supposed to perform so they can have it easy, (even notice the more balls you juggle in the air, nothing really gets done or completed? As the saying goes, there's never enough time to do it right, but always time to do it over). No one has the time. You MAKE the time. Let’s be honest with one another. I don’t have the time means you don’t want to put in the effort. No one is bothering me and a host of other people at 5am when we’re hitting the iron. Many others are either coming home at 5, or trying to get as much sleep as possible before hurrying off to work, still arrive late, and complain they didn’t get the best of the donuts someone left in the break room. And why isn’t the coffee made?

Take a few sheets of paper. Take three to five days out of your week. Each day from the time you arise until the time your head hits the pillow, annotate everything you do, and how long it takes you. Everything. At the end of the experiment, take note of how your time is spent. Three to five hours a night watching TV? Untold hours spent forwarding email jokes to everyone in the three closest time zones? (Trust me, they aren’t funny, hilarious or giggle worthy. Stop it.) Happy hour every night? Really? And that thing you do where you come home, collapse on the sofa and don’t move any faster than the arctic glaciers? Why do you think you constantly feel that way?

And you say you can’t find 30 to 45 to 60 minutes, at least three times a week to devote to your health and well being?

There’s a great YouTube Nike video about excuses. It’s pretty comical listening to the many excuses, until the very end, when you realize why the particular speaker was tapped by Nike to do it. Give it a watch, then ask yourself if you really can’t be bothered because time is a factor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA

What's More Important . . .

2009-06-28T20:52:00Z

Physical fitness, like many other endeavors, is a journey. Somewhere along the way obstacles appear to test your mettle, your resolve. When it does happen, success is predicated on a deciding factor - what’s more important - advancement, or failure.

The more we age, the easier it becomes to pack on the extra pounds. What’s the answer? This is a no brainer. More physical activity, eat less. And consume quality foods. No, baked potato chips do not count as a quality edible substance. If it makes your fingertips glow orange, it does not belong in the dairy section of the four basic food groups, no matter how large the manufacturer printed the word ‘Cheesy’ on the packaging.

Placed in this situation, one should ask themselves, “What’s more important . . .?”

No matter if your goals are the ripped, shredded six pack look, or being able to ascend a flight of stairs without the assistance of a cardiac team on standby, you should always ask yourself how important it becomes to you whenever temptation lurks around the next corner or boldly stares you in the face. Stop blaming the dry cleaners. The button on your pants didn’t shoot across the room, mortally wounding an innocent bystander because a different fabric softener was used this week. Your ass was fat long before the invention of pants, stop asking some poor soul in the nearby vicinity to drop a huge pile of horse manure and lie for your benefit.

In a previous article I mentioned the seriousness of diabetes. Another cause for concern is a completely different condition, known as the silent killer. It sneaks up with the stealth of a skilled ninja, striking when you least expect it. As you read this you may be one of many who have this affliction and don’t realize it.

It may not be a huge deal now, but think about this, taken from Science Daily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070928180348.htm

High Blood Pressure May Be Due To Excess Weight In Half Of Overweight Adults

ScienceDaily (Oct. 3, 2007) — As many as 50 percent of overweight men and women with high blood pressure may have hypertension as a result of being overweight, researchers reported today at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.

Researchers in Italy found that about 50 percent of overweight, hypertensive adults, ranging in age from 29 to 65 years, achieved normal body weight and blood pressure after six months of treatment with a reduced-calorie diet.

"This is important because it means that in these patients with elevated blood pressure who were overweight, the blood pressure was not a form of essential hypertension but was hypertension secondary to body weight," said Roberto Fogari, M.D., lead investigator of the study and professor of medicine at the University of Pavia, Italy.

Or this one, taken from Harvard Science Medicine and Health http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/smoking-high-blood-pressure-and-being-overweight-top-three-preventable-caus

Smoking, high blood pressure and being overweight top three preventable causes of death in the U.S. New study finds hundreds of thousands of deaths each year due to diet, lifestyle.

APRIL 27, 2009

TODD DATZ
HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Smoking, having high blood pressure, and being overweight are the leading preventable risk factors for premature mortality in the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), with collaborators from the University of Toronto and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

The researchers found that smoking is responsible for 467,000 premature deaths each year, high blood pressure for 395,000, and being overweight for 216,000. The effects of smoking work out to be about one in five deaths in American adults, while high blood pressure is responsible for one in six deaths.

It is the most comprehensive study yet to look at how diet, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors for chronic disease contribute to mortality in the United States. The study appears in the April 28 issue of the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.

“The large magnitude of the numbers for many of these risks made us pause,” said Goodarz Danaei, a doctoral student at HSPH and the lead author of the study. “To have hundreds of thousands of premature deaths caused by these modifiable risk factors is shocking and should motivate a serious look at whether our public health system has sufficient capacity to implement interventions and whether it is currently focusing on the right set of interventions.” Majid Ezzati, associate professor of international health at HSPH, is the study’s senior author.

The researchers also found large effects from a series of other preventable dietary and lifestyle risk factors. Below are the numbers of deaths in the United States due annually to each of the individual risk factors examined:

• Smoking: 467,000

• High blood pressure: 395,000

• Overweight-obesity: 216,000

• Inadequate physical activity and inactivity: 191,000

• High blood sugar: 190,000

• High LDL cholesterol: 113,000

• High dietary salt: 102,000

• Low dietary omega-3 fatty acids: 84,000

• High dietary trans-fatty acids: 82,000

• Alcohol use: 64,000 (alcohol use averted a balance of 26,000 deaths from heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, because moderate drinking reduces risk of these diseases. But these deaths were outweighed by 90,000 alcohol-related deaths from traffic and other injuries, violence, cancers, and a range of other diseases).

• Low intake of fruits and vegetables: 58,000

• Low dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids: 15,000

All of the deaths calculated in the study were considered premature or preventable in that the victims would not have died when they did if they had not been subject to the behaviors or activities linked to their deaths. All of these risk factors are modifiable through a range of public health and health system interventions.

While earlier studies had quantified deaths linked to a few factors, like smoking and alcohol, this is the first to look at a wide range of risk factors, including those linked to diet, lifestyle, and metabolic factors, and the first to do so for the whole U.S. population. This is also the first to use methods that allowed a true comparison of a diverse set of risks in terms of how many deaths each of the risk factors is responsible for. The researchers analyzed data from a number of public sources, including from the National Center for Health Statistics and numerous published epidemiological studies and clinical trials.

The researchers also found differences between the preventable causes of death among men and women. High blood pressure was the leading cause of death in adult women, killing nearly 230,000 American women each year, 19 percent of all female deaths. By comparison, that is more than five times the 42,000 annual deaths in women from breast cancer.

Smoking was the leading cause of death in men, killing an estimated 248,000 annually, or 21 percent of all adult male deaths.

The mortality effects of many other risk factors were about equal in men and women, with alcohol use being a major exception. Seventy percent of all deaths caused by alcohol were among men and represented 45,000 deaths, a result the researchers said reflected the fact that men consumed more alcohol and engaged in more binge drinking.

“The findings should be a reminder that although we have been effective in partially reducing smoking and high blood pressure, we have not yet completed the task and have a great deal more to do on these major preventable factors,” said Ezzati. “The government should also use regulatory, pricing, and health information mechanisms to substantially reduce salt and trans fats in prepared and packaged foods and to support research that can find effective strategies for modifying the other dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors that cause large numbers of premature deaths in the U.S.”

It’s a large mouthful to digest. So ask yourself.

What’s more important . . .

Who, me? I didn't do anything . . .

2009-06-21T21:22:00Z

Fitness Spotlight recently posted a great article, (it's true to life, go read) located at http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2009/06/11/5-urgent-vocabulary-today/ about five well worn and well traveled excuses used to deflect responsibility for your own health. If you look at some of the bad behavior perpetuated every hour of every day, continuously without fail, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise when an individual feels like yesterday’s discarded crap when everyone else around them are on the top of their game.

Cigarettes are being taxed to new record highs, and people still haven’t read the memo. Just to use round numbers for the mathematically challenged, a pack a day smoker shells out a hard earned five dollars to deliberately ruin their lungs. (Just because you have two doesn’t mean the second one is a spare.) At thirty five dollars a week (7 x 5, keep up with the action) multiplied by fifty two weeks, we’re looking at $1820 being pissed away, per year. A two pack a day smoker, $3640. Tell me that wouldn’t purchase a sweet HD big screen TV and still have change left over for gas to drive it home. And you would have enough energy and lung capacity to suck your ass off the couch and search for the remote.

Bad eating and alcohol consumption habits, extreme sedentary lifestyles, at what point did you earn the right to complain about the cost of health care? You’re the reason it costs so damn much. Of course you contribute to it. You can’t swing a dead cat without striking a doughnut shop (or three), and at least two or more brand name coffee shops hawking hot ice cream in cups as large as a three year old toddler. And let’s be honest, coffee is a regular eight ounce cup, black. Everything else is an excuse for today’s version of a large banana split - sugar, whipped cream, more sugar, a syrupy topping and sprinkles, and no banana. Let’s not omit three of four competing burger joints, more twenty four hour convenience stores, and the ongoing battle of which is tastier, Coke or Pepsi, with the other sodas clamoring “Look, at us, we’re caffeine free”, when they never had it from the start.

Why do you think these places appear quicker than pimples on teenagers? You keep spending money at these places, chasing the same downward spiral, until one day your co-workers are passing a jar around the workplace while you’re listening to a doctor tell you about the expensive prescriptions and meds you have to purchase due to your lifestyle induced heart attack / high cholesterol / block artery / failing liver / bad kidneys / diabetes / cancer / or just plain grossly overweight.

On second thought, maybe you’re right. It probably is due to your advancing age, bad genes, some alien mutating virus from another world, a sinister CIA plot, or some hateful co-worker is out to get you.

It’s never your fault.

Ask Yourself One Simple Question

2009-06-12T11:50:00Z

Depending on your approach, learning a language is what you make of it. Your studies can flow, leaving you questions why you previously spent so much time resisting it, or it can become an unenjoyable undertaking. Start, stop, quit. Bitch and moan. Rinse and repeat.

One of the barriers of learning a foreign language is trying to make the second language fit into your native patterns, instead of bringing your methods and thought patterns into the new language.

An excellent example would be Japanese. There are far too many words and phrases that have no direct translation into English. Which means you have to direct your thoughts, your preconceived methods (which weren’t working so well) in a different direction.

You ask, “I know you're steering this comparison towards fitness. Is this going to require effort on my part?”

Yes. (Damn, I knew you were going to say that.)

Six months into the year. Now that beach/bikini season is in full swing (it never ends in Florida) how close are you in reaching your New Year resolution. You are still pursuing them, aren’t you? See, that’s why it’s time for a change, a different method to attain the same goal.

One of the most successful methods of learning a new language is immersion. This involves jumping into the deep end. Getting off the porch and running with the big dogs. Every possible available moment is spent reading, listening, watching, studying, thinking and absorbing the new language. Does it work? Hell, yes.

You’re asking how this applies to you. (Yes, you are.)

I once read on a website of someone who used this very immersion technique, an interesting yet very true observation - do you know why young children are so adept at learning a language? They don’t have an adult’s lifetime experience of making excuses.

How many times have you said, “Yeah, I know I should be doing this. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t eat this. Yeah, I know I should do something about it. Yes, I need to get my butt in gear. I know my current routine isn’t working, but the exertion factor is low, the comfort level is high and the amount I bitch about it is acceptable.”

Since you’ve said all of the above, maybe there’s something you should start asking yourself - “Is this going to help or hinder my progress?”

Is that fifth doughnut/pint of ice cream/bag of barbeque-salt and vinegar-sour cream and cheese chips you think no one notices going to aid or detract you from your goals? Is that time honored excuse of “I’ll do it tomorrow” going to assist, or impede your moving forward? Is that ninth pitcher of beer going to improve or obstruct your daily musings about your growing waistline, which, unbeknownst to you, recently applied for its own zoning laws.

Here’s a final example of two bodies in motion, traveling in two different orbits . . .

A very good friend recently lost 20 pounds in two weeks. I’ve noticed the shape of his face has become more slender and his waistline has definitely slimmed down. (Even though there was that late night french fry incident several weeks ago, but he paid for it the next day. We surmised the oil used to fry the potatoes was in direct existence when the dinosaurs roamed the earth.) I asked how he did it, and this is his direct quote. “Clean eating, running, tennis, strength training, improved diet, increased water consumption, plenty of indoor/gym cardio and jump rope.”

Another person I recently met follows the time worn creed sung many times over - “Since I come to the gym, I figure I can eat whatever I want.” Second verse, same as the first. His personal mantra is clearly on display. As we were comparing notes on our eating habits, his was so bad I thought I gained weight merely by standing near by, listening to his culinary regimen. I started to reach for my own jump rope in order to ward off the evil food spirits.

Which direction are you heading towards?

Maybe its time to change directions. Immerse yourself towards the original goals. At this point, what do you have to lose, other than the old, unsuccessful habits holding you back from meaningful strides forward.

Progress now awaits.

Exercise Wasn't Meant To Be Easy

2009-05-31T21:53:00Z

I love to read. One of my favorite modes of relaxation. Give me a great, interesting novel that makes me care about the characters and the situations they have to resolve, I become voracious. Can’t put the book down.

One of the first novels I began reading sight unseen, no prodding necessary, had to purchase the entire series and never miss a book, was Robert B. Parker’s Spenser For Hire.

For those unfamiliar with the book, Spenser is a Boston P.I. who follows his own code of honor. Spenser and his close friend Hawk, used to fight on the same undercard as boxers. Back in the day they trained at Henry Cimoli’s Gym. A real boxer’s haven - a ring, a bag, a speed bag and the unmistakeable atmosphere of sweat and hard work. Individuals who came to train and put in the time, to dish out the pain and accept it as well.

As each novel progressed further in time and in Spenser’s life and cases, Henry Cimoli’s Gym became Cimoli’s Fitness Club and Spa. Brand spanking new machines, silver dumbbells glistening in the bright florescent lights, plants hanging from the ceiling, a juice bar, complete with young hip and with-it types happy to get through three sets of ten and calling it a day. As a homage to Spenser and Hawk, Henry keeps the speed bag, punching bag and Olympic bench in the back room for their personal use.

Two guys bringing it - pain, sweat. Every time.

Cut to reality - Pick an infomercial. Any infomercial. Has the simple act of working your abs become such an arduous task, that it requires pulsating belts, rotating seats, moving handles, rolling cages and other apparatus found in any S&M workshop, all for three easy payments of $19.95?

“But it hurts my neck when I do crunches.” How about using proper technique? “But this is easier!” Ever think that’s the problem? Or the guy doing 25 pound dumbbell curls because that’s going to carve his size 48 size waist into the sleek, chiseled likeness of Apollo, the Greek god of messengers whose position on Earth is the timely delivery of floral arrangements for FTD. Why biceps curls? It’s easier.

How about the home fitness system sitting in the bedroom corner. Pretty sweet on the big screen with the hot blonde and buff stud with the gleaming teeth (in HD) working the machine as if it was a frolic in the lilac fields, majestic mountain range in the background, small woodland creatures of nature in the foreground, purple hued sunset tinged skies setting the perfect mood.

How long have you employed the home system as a second clothes rack?

Let’s face it. Moving out of your comfort zone hurts. Lots of exertion, sweat, hard work, heavy breathing. You’d swear we’re discussing sex, only not as satisfying. (By the way, who do you think is having all that sex you hear about? The ones leaving their comfort zone. Lots of exertion, sweat, hard work, heavy breathing.)

We live in an era where we want it, but it has to be effortless. We have more hypocrites bashing anyone caught using performance enhancing drugs. What do you always hear? Cheaters taking the easy way. Don’t allow them in the Hall of Fame, they’re ruining the integrity of the game! What about the children??

When you decide to circumvent correct technique, stay well within your comfort zone, patronize the latest apparatus guaranteed to sculpt the body you want in only a few minutes a day, and gee, doesn’t it look fun to use? And look, no perspiration necessary! Let’s not forget the latest over the counter supplement, complete with 3-D visuals depicting a slimmer, toned personage of your former self, and ignore the fine print because the warnings on the label really doesn’t pertain to you. Why do you think it’s so small?

Through all of this, who are you cheating? Yourself.

Amazing how so many accusatory fingers are pointed to our sports heroes seeking an edge, but it’s perfectly fine if we cut corners. (Side note: Get off A-Rod’s back. Stop the hypocrisy. Really. “But he hasn’t won a World Series championship!” Neither have you. Stop it.)

Here’s a barometer to determine if it’s time to get serious and get busy. With years of corner cutting shortcuts, jumping from one quick fix to the next, how much real, long lasting progress have you made?

The Mental Is In The Way Of The Physical

2009-05-24T21:03:00Z

Everyone has had those days. And I mean everyone. You had the best intentions when you left the house. You didn’t charge into the gym as if a majestic fanfare was going to sound upon your entrance, as it does any other day. (That does happen for you, doesn’t it? Or am I the only one?)

You find your place among the other patrons, hit a couple warm ups sets, you’re ready to go for the gold. Except today it’s not happening for you. The weights are feeling heavy, your body feels off, you’re losing the war of iron versus gravity. You give it your usual rest period and take another stab at it. No joy. That fire just isn’t there. Forget about intense animal ferocity, you aren’t even in the same part of the zoo with the real carnivores.

So what’s up?

You’ve been eating good, maybe a little too good. Stopped staying up late waiting for your weekly fix of Marg Helgenberger, CSI MILF (personally Fiona on Burn Notice does it for me. Hot and deadly.) You even became organized and started packing your gym bag the night before. Sucks when you forget to bring the MP3 player and left your towel at home.

You get through the rest of the workout the best you can, dejectedly drag yourself back to you car, lamenting your crappy output, pushing the entire experience far back into the recesses of your mind. Very far.

So what’s up?

Biorhythms off kilter? Didn’t get a good tarot card read from 1-800-CALL-A-PHYSIC infomercial?

Maybe it’s mental. Your head’s not in the right place. Stressing about problems without immediate answers will creep into the physical realm. Take a hot shower, eat (not an excuse for that quart of Haagen Daas hidden in the back of the freezer. Yeah, we see it) and look at what you did accomplish.

A less than stellar workout is better than none. Take the time to flesh out the source of the mental/emotional roadblock. Break it up into smaller manageable parts, knock each one off the to-do list of resolutions and breathe a sigh of relief when your head is back on straight.

Soon you’ll be back to your norman self, able to chew nails for breakfast, ready to hit the iron and show gravity and the laws of physics and motion who has the larger cajones.

That's your excuse? You can't do better than that?

2009-05-18T00:48:00Z

I’m at a small get together the other night, hanging with some friends (see, there is life outside the gym. I know, could have knocked me over with a feather), watching the NBA playoffs and generally having a good time. I’m staring at the refreshment table, trying to decide which empty calorie sugar/salt laden ticking time bomb is the least dangerous to my internal system, my waistline and my workout regimen.

Off to the side, I detected movement, swooping like a huge condor, its silhouette blotting out the sun as a talon targeted its prey, a huge chunk of frosted cake. With nowhere to flee, the confectionary treat hovered in mid air, as I awaited a straight transfer from hand to mouth. To the delight of Ms. Manners and The Book of Etiquette, the chunk of cake preformed a successful landing on the runway of a napkin.

“Come on, look at you. You can afford to splurge. You must workout, I can tell. It won’t hurt.”

I stood stock still, afraid I was next on her menu and the cake was just filler to kill time.

“Honestly”, I said, “Last time I had it checked, my pulse was below normal. I’d like to keep it there.”

The piece of cake, now quivering for its remaining existence, was hoping she would keep talking until the end of time. “I don’t know about you, but I deserve it. I worked hard today.”

My lips started to move but my brain hit the circuit breaker in the nick of time. My response remained internal. That piece of cake is the size of a small child. What did you do, cure cancer? Nobel Peace Prize Committee pay you a visit?

“I work in an office. Nothing special.”

I counted no less than three other trips to the food supply. (Still internal). I’m sure on trip number two you single handedly caused the death of the Costco size bag of chips. (You’ve seen them. Holds two potato fields, costs about 3.99 plus applicable sales tax). Tell me you discovered a more efficient way to split the atom.

As she left the table, I noticed I was holding my breath. With a sigh of relief I quietly inched my way back to my seat before she changed her mind and decided “Game on!”

By now you’ve heard all the excuses, and may have used a couple. Yes they range anywhere from funny to knee slapping hilarious to absurd. What isn’t a laughing matter is the rising cost of health care, as well as decent affordable health care for every man, woman and child in this great land of ours. And as we age, wouldn’t it be to our advantage to keep sickness and ailments at bay by taking better care of our bodies? When diabetes, brought on by obesity has become a leading health issue and problem, as well as obesity itself, reaching all time highs, it’s a wake up call you should heed.

From Wellness International Network Ltd - web.winltd.com -

58 Million Overweight; 40 Million Obese; 3 Million morbidly Obese
Eight out of 10 over 25's Overweight
76% increase in Type II diabetes in adults 30-40 yrs old since 1990

80% of type II diabetes related to obesity
70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity
42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals
30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity
26% of obese people having high blood pressure

Hospital costs associated with childhood obesity rising from $35 Million (1979) to $127 Million (1999)

New study suggests one in four overweight children is already showing early signs of type II diabetes (impaired glucose intolerance)
60% already have one risk factor for heart disease

Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity.
Whereas 4% of Childhood diabetes was type II in 1990, that number has risen to approximately 20%
Of Children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese

(I had to show facts and figures, I knew you wouldn’t believe me.)

I can understand when you say you have to work late, can’t make a workout today. That one hits everyone. I have a debilitating condition I caught while roaming the Amazon forest in search of the mysteries of the universe. Doctors only give me six months to live - free pass. But when it lead into something such as Jack Bauer is dying, I have to see if he survives the two hour season ending episodes, now you’re pushing the lazy card. Stop it.

You have to take direct, unequivocal responsibility for your health. No one can do it for you. And stop waiting for that pill or foul tasting swamp colored solution that promises instant weight loss while you eat a small country, swears it will do your child’s homework and in a pinch will seal a flat tire until you locate a service station.

Your health. Responsibility on you. Take it seriously. You work hard and deserve it? I work two jobs, doesn’t give me the entitlement to eat twice as much.

Another excuse I heard - “But its only one . . .” What is this, the Lays Potato Chip Challenge? You’re going to eat one of what, a box set? One at a time until the dead carcass of an empty carton is all that remains? No, the box is not fiber, don’t eat it.

“It’s my birthday . . .” I’l give you a pass on this one. Just save some for the rest of the neighborhood to enjoy.

“I’m on vacation/holiday . . . ”Now you’re not even being creative in your excuses. Pretty soon it escalates into “I have to, it’s a weekend.” After all, the “I worked hard today” already covers the other five days of the week.

“Is this a fat day?” You’ve given up all hope haven’t you? Just tell yourself, no more pretense, it’s a must. After all, the sun came up today . . . somewhere.

Divide And Conquer

2009-05-10T21:19:00Z

Humans, or at least the mere mortals of this planet who put their pants on one leg at a time, are a creature of habit. Drive the same way to work, pretty much eat the same food in a routine or pattern, (Wednesday. Must be roast beef night. Friday? Order a pizza. Too lazy to cook.) Wear the same style of clothes . . . you get the picture.

This same dull, drab, monotonous trend can carry over to the gym. It is one thing if what you are doing provides the desired results. After all, you need to give your routines a chance to take hold and sprout results. Constantly jumping around from one fad to the latest and greatest wave of the realm doesn’t do justice if it works and you don’t give it a shot to earn results.

But, it is a disservice to you if you continue down the same path, expecting the landscape to change. I don’t know about you, but O-Dark Thirty seems to arrive the very second my head hits the pillow the night before. A dark drive to the gym, no traffic to be found (even Batman has called it a night and retired to Wayne Manor to hit the 1000 thread count sheets.) Some warm up sets to get it in gear, then slap on the iron, hit it hard and hit it often. Hopefully a hot shower if there hasn’t been a water problem (one of the gyms I belong to rhymes with Rally. Yeah, I’m looking at you.) Then the return trip home. Added up, week in and week out, that’s a considerable amount of time and effort, pain and sweat invested not to be able to stand proud and say “Quality”.

Somewhere in your workout database, there should be a flashing neon sign, a red circle with a slash running through it - ‘Stagnation Not Allowed’. Could your day in, day out pattern benefit from a tweak or two, a change here and there, or a total adjustment overhaul?

Analyze your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the same in your program. Keep what’s working, throw out the things holding you back. Now you have an idea of where to concentrate your focus. Strive to resolve any imbalances.

Once you arrive at your new destination, continue to take stock of your growth and your progress.

Possess your own measuring stick of success, and revel in the day when you can stand and say -

Quality.

That More Bang For Your Buck Stuff Really Works, Or . . . A New Way To Wear My Ass Out

2009-05-04T17:44:00Z

Couple of weeks ago, came across an article that proved to be beneficial, because it supported what I found out as well.

http://www.gymjunkies.com/how-to-lose-weight/ - or aptly sub titled - How I Lost 13.4 lbs In Three Weeks.

Why this article had meaning to me, was the recent change I had made in my routines and schedule. I had already moved away from the daily isolation of body parts, working each one a separate day of the week as if they were part of a team of Siberian Husky mushers dragging some clown in the Iditarod for 17 days straight.

(Side Note: Over the course of two and a half weeks, many of these beautiful dogs are injured or die. All because some asshole wants his name in a record book. If you want the record bad enough, do it without the dogs. Leave them alone. Stop killing them. Now.)

The April 14th 2009 entry of Fitness Black Book had an article that piqued my interest.

http://fitnessblackbook.com/strength-training/drop-isolation-exercises-to-get-through-sticking-points/

Basically the article discusses focusing on a main lift in order to break through a stall, to get past a stagnation. Performing three or four different lifts for a certain area? Drop it down to two. Concentrate on the two. After a while, concentrate on the main one, the basic move. Get in the groove. Perfect the technique, work it until it becomes as second nature as breathing.

Focusing on deadlifts, overhead presses, squats, bench presses and rows, plus the addition of power cleans, I also increased the number of sets. About eight to ten per lift, heavy, keeping the reps in the three to five range. A couple warm ups, then into the main thrust.

The results?

Without cardio, or very little of it (mainly because I didn’t have anything left in the tank to do it) I lost 8.8 pounds in a week. I also noticed in the mirror (because the bathroom scale can be off, the dry cleaners can shrink our clothes, but the mirror has no reason to lie) a difference in muscular structure. The kind of difference that makes you aware you are on to something. Let’s work it.

The addition of the clean and jerk, and the barbell/dumbbell snatch to my schedule is already a given. The addition of a workout journal has already proven successful. It leaves no doubt to what I did, when I did it, how much I did, and how many times I did it. I’ve already added 50 pounds to my deadlift for no other reason than using the journal instead of guesswork. And being addicted to deadlifts.

Shaking up a routine, giving it some needed punch is worth the venture.

Countdown - T Minus 60, 59, 58 . . .

2009-04-26T20:46:00Z

I’m in the checkout line at the supermarket, a serious large fruit salad about to be consumed the very second my butt arrives home. As I await, in this day and age of debit cards, for someone in front to remember with great difficulty the current date in order to complete a year long thesis on how to write a check, a prominent fitness magazine declared in bold Arial 48 size font - ‘How To Get Great Abs In One Minute!’

At last!

Someone has finally cracked the three minute barrier, and a set of six pack abs capable of repelling gale force winds as well as the running of the bulls at Pamplona, has become an achievable feat. Sixty seconds! A three minute soft boiled egg couldn’t come close to shaving two minutes off its time. Why in the world The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times didn’t print this athletic masterpiece is a grave travesty of modern journalism.

OK, we’ve had our fun. Don’t fall for the hype. Our society has become an ideology of “I want it fast and I wanted it yesterday.” (And I don’t want to work hard to get it. Is it in my possession yet?)

Eighty percent or better of achieving great abs comes from a handy culinary tool found in every household - the fork. (Sometimes in my personal habitat, as well as most of Asia and Japan, chopsticks.)

It’s about what you eat, and how much of it. You can set world class records for performing ab routines from now until you break the laws of thermodynamics, relativity and motion. That protein bar you had doesn’t count as a basic food group against the three breakfast donuts, the fried appetizers you couldn’t stop eating the weekend before, the two colas you needed to stay awake during another snorefest of a staff meeting, the vending machine munches attack, the two pints of mint chocolate chip with extra cookie dough because it was a gripping, heart rendering episode of ‘Grey's Anatomy’, and that complete meltdown leading to an extended cheat day because your boss is a horse’s ass, and when is Amazon.com going to send that voodoo doll replica? Your revenge needs to be sated!

Following the media hype isn’t going to do it. Short cuts lead to a quicker path of frustration. Hours of endless cardio? How many people in your local aerobics class sports a set of abs worthy of a magazine cover?

It takes work, discipline, consistency, just to get your body fat down to 10 percent or lower. Want a proud set of abs? 7 to 8 percent gets you closer. (Yes, those words discipline and consistency are a constant mantra. But you can always count on them when success matters. In fitness and in life.)

Complete starvation? Not the way to go. Now you’re losing strength and muscle.

So how do the more fortunate, sleek, desirable bodied humans achieve it? Full body workouts, incorporating strength training and kicking your metabolism in the ass, sensible ab work, a couple quick high intensity cardio sessions during the week, then employing the most important rule - what you eat and how much of it. Cut back a little on the calories, make sensible food substitutions and remain consistent.

Don’t believe me? Catch an episode of Animal Planet or National Geographic. It’s always the sleek, trim, buff looking cheetahs who capture their prey.

Small Change = Big Gains

2009-04-19T20:30:00Z

Want to shake things up a bit? One or two changes in your routine could lead to meaningful strides forward to your eventual goals.

Two routines I love performing are deadlifts and power cleans. I wake up in the morning anxious to hit the gym, the anticipation building since the night before.

Using good technique, deadlifts tax more muscles and muscle groups than any other exercise (arguably on par with squats). Name any other exercise that works and strengthens your upper back, your lower back, the glutes, the hips, your entire legs, hits your arms and especially your forearms, stresses the shoulders and traps, and works your grip as well as lots of core stabilizers. And it will tax the hell out of your body. Ever watch someone deadlift some serious iron? They weren’t in the mood nor had the energy to present a meaningful yet provocative discourse on world events afterwards, were they? If you’re going to put in the time and energy, why not get the most bang for your buck?

Ever bend towards the floor to pick up a small child or object? Ever pack up and move from one location to another? Who ever enjoys that little slice of life. In essence, each and every time you’re performing a deadlift. Real world application at its finest.

The other routine I mentioned? Power cleans. I love how this one works everything from your calves up through your hamstrings and quads, continuing through the glutes and lower back, the hips, the middle back all the way to your shoulders, triceps, traps and forearms. And the explosiveness of the movement gets my blood racing and my heart pumping without fail. Love it. Isn’t that why we show up day in and day out?

Whenever it’s deadlift / clean day my mental and emotional states are hitting all cylinders. I attack the gym expecting to exceed my personal best and leave the gym spent but feeling great.

There are several web sites and YouTube videos that provide excellent detailed descriptions of how to perform either exercise. If you are in the market for a change, something to stimulate your workouts, give the deadlift and power clean a try. Or find your own piece of variety.

Captain's Log. Stardate . . .

2009-04-12T20:49:00Z

World Fitness Network, http://worldfitnessnetwork.com, one of several fitness pages I follow via RSS, because after all, knowledge is power, recently did an article dated April 4th, 2009, ‘Are You Keeping A Workout Journal’.

After reading the entry, one of the main reasons I decided to get back to using a journal was the same fallacy Darren, the author of the article and the site, had experienced.

What did I do last time? How many sets and reps? How much weight? What order did I perform my routine? Especially when you get into the meaty portion of your workout where information in making progress past your max becomes very important . . . if you can successfully remember all the finite details, such as how you arrived at that level, what weight increments did you use, how many reps, how many sets of reps, how long did I rest in between sets, what was the weather report that day . . .

Since I also decided it was time for a major shake-up of my routines and workout schedule, keeping a workout journal became a seamless integration.

After the first day, I was re-energized and had a kick ass workout. I now have documentation of what I did. A baseline I can refer back to. Now I can set small goals, such as increasing my max deadlift by five pounds by the end of the month (I’m writing this April 10th. Gives me three weeks. Felt like I could have hit it today.) Increase it another fifteen pounds by the end of June. (I know, I will probably hit it sooner). Also, I want to increase my power cleans by another ten pounds by the end of May. (I know, I will probably hit it sooner). I can see what weight I used in increments, the number of sets I performed, and each max achieved becomes the basis for the next goal. As Darren mentioned in his article, each session gives me something to beat.

Isn’t that why we persist? To continually improve? To see and feel changes? To know we aren’t wasting time, doing the same things over and over and not receiving any benefits from our efforts?

Take Darren’s advice. Start your own workout journal. If nothing else, it will point out to you in black and white where improvements need to be addressed.

Be The Person Willing To Do Things Others Aren't Willing To Do

2009-04-06T02:51:00Z

Have you ever noticed how some people always manage to land feet first, no matter the circumstance? Do they hold some precognitive abilities in hiding, employed as a power and a force to be used for good, never evil? Or are they better prepared, do they make themselves do the things you aren’t willing to do?

Ever meet someone who rises at O-dark thirty, ready to hit the gym at the crack of ‘when are the doors going to open?’ What was your reaction? Surprise? Shock? Revulsion? Did you ask if they were from another planet? How was their physique and levels of fitness? Bet they resembled the poster ad for physical fitness with the heading ‘You could look like this, too.’

I’m not suggesting you arise before roosters, farmers, old west ranch hands or military special forces planning a pre-dawn strike (“We get more done by 9AM than most people do all day”), but you get the idea. Some people are content to allow circumstances dictate the excuse, others say screw it and create their own contentment by doing the unconventional, thinking outside the box. Making it happen when and where others tell themselves it’s too hard, not worth the effort.

Look at every accomplishment and invention around you. Somewhere, someone said screw it, I’ll do the things others didn’t want to do. I need answers, I want results. They held themselves accountable and responsible for their own solutions and their own path.

When it comes to making excuses, which ones do they give? None. Procrastination doesn’t exist in their world. Complacency isn’t allowed.

Do you want what they have? Then follow their lead. Start doing the things they do to stay in the game, in and out of the gym. Make them a habit. And remember, excuses don’t count.

I Can't Believe You Put That In Your Mouth

2009-03-29T21:27:00Z

Remember sitting at work, enjoying lunch, happy your boss remembered you need to be fed and left alone sometime during the day? There you sat, happy as a fish with a new bicycle, when someone came along you couldn’t resist. Eating fresh fruit and a salad while you were performing major damage to a bag of chips and a frisbee sized cookie chaser. You labeled them health nut. Asked if they treated their body like a temple. Looking back, they knew something important.

Due to the fast paced rat race lifestyle, you’ve been hammered by advertising to purchase their salt infused can goods or the sugar laden goodies. Let’s not get started on the heart attack, artery clogging effects of fast food. It is true, you are what you eat. It’s time to rethink and retrain your culinary habits.

There was a time when food arrived on your plate as close to its natural state as the day it was grown or slaughtered. For those of you who believe in the meat fairy, sorry. It was either farm fresh, fresh off the boat, or recently surrendered its life to satisfy my hungry palate. And we were raised in a seashore/beach resort town. Growing up, very rarely did our meals originate from a box or a can.

Today it is all about chemical longevity, chemical processing, chemical additives, chemically induced flavoring - since when did we become walking science kits? On top of that, more foods than ever have been labeled ‘healthy’ or ‘low cholesterol’. Really? Read the fine print. Since when did butylated hydroxyanisole become an essential ingredient civilization and mankind in general require for the continuance of life? Adam and Eve never ingested sodium metabisulphite and Noah certainly didn’t stock extra crates of Blue #2, Yellow #5 and Red #40 to keep the food appearing fresh because it might get a little wet.

So why are these things being shoved down your throat? Big business. Advertising. Marketing. If it says ‘Healthy, All Natural, good for you and fun to eat’ in huge colorful lettering all over the package, you purchase it for no other reason than it is prepackaged, requires very little effort by you in preparation, and their financial coffers have swelled once more to their satisfaction. Meanwhile, you wonder why you constantly feel sluggish, tired, no muscle tone, increased susceptibility to illness, and a host of other conditions that previously didn’t exist. Is it any wonder why obesity and diabetes has overtaken cancer as an illness?

You want an answer? Stop eating empty calories. As a friend once commented, she does all her shopping on the perimeter of the supermarket. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, real unprocessed whole grains. You won’t find a single package featuring a clown or animal or woodland creature with opposable thumbs anywhere in her kitchen. Super Sugar Bombs, now fortified with 8 essential vitamins? Not happening. The results? She lost a great deal of weight and has entered the ‘hot zone’ in terms of her figure. And enjoys her abundance of newfound energy.

Take a test. For one week, write down everything you eat and drink. You might even want to take note if it was processed or fresh. Those extra condiments of oil, mayo and special sauce you just had for lunch on your 12 inch super sub? List it. That zero calorie soft drink with a littany of chemicals and additives that would do a chemistry teacher proud? Make sure you write that one. You can use an extra can of it to strip varnish off the furniture later. By the way, does every liquid not known as water have to contain sugar?

End of the week, tally it up. That ice cream you had? Does not count as a healthy milk substitute. Not when it contains diethyl glycol, the same chemical used in paint removers. Look it up. In fact, sit down and do your own research on how synthetic ice cream has become.

If you’ve been honest with yourself, your list probably screams “Time for a change!”

Now it’s up to you.

Association Brings On Assimilation, Or . . . Never Say Never

2009-03-22T20:43:00Z

Do you have people in your life who put down your efforts of improvement? Have absolutely nothing encouraging to say no matter what you do? Maybe it’s time you made new friends. No, really.

The subconscious is a very, very powerful influence on your thoughts, your mental state and your emotions. If you continually tell yourself you can’t do it, if you constantly let others remind you of your failures and your shortcomings, you will never progress forward. Stagnation isn't something to be worn like a badge of honor.

Take a trip to the bookstore, browse any book written by any smiling, grinning, successful individual. Somewhere within the pages they will tell you they never take ‘no’ for an answer. They surround themselves with positive, like-minded people.

My closest friends, who I trust with my life, are my gym partner and my chiropractor. I’ve known these two for close to 15 years. I’ve acquired a third good friend in my fellow security bouncer where we watch each other’s backs in a night club, and we support and encourage each other in our endeavors away from work.

Why is this important? Your mental and emotional health follows right along with your physical well being. Positive people keep you in mind for good things. Keep you moving forward. Enablers, on the other hand, need you to hide or support their own insecurities. Destructive behavior never has and never will bring about positive change.

The next time you feel an “I can’t, it’s too hard” or “you’ll never do it” coming to the surface, remind yourself of how many others have done it. Found a way to get it done.

Years ago, one of the most memorable ad campaigns was the Nike ‘Bo Knows’ commercials, and the several parodies. Bo Jackson, a two sport professional football/baseball phenom, was seen in various activities, playing off his versatility. (YouTube it). The running theme was that Bo didn’t allow anything to stand in his way. He just did it.

How about you?

Overcome the mental and emotional, and watch the pieces fall into place. You'll wonder what took so long.