My why...the two things I want to do rest of my life

The Walt Disney World Workout

I was 33 years old the first time I stepped foot into the Magic Kingdom, but inside (and truthfully outside) I was a boy of 7.  It was a city, no a universe, that was bubbled into our world.  It was something completely perfect and magical...

I know you did not tune to hear me recant my childhood dream lived out as an adult, but there is a point here and it relates to your fitness.  While, yes, you will walk nearly 47 miles in a day around the park, you are also going to consume a gazillion calories.  Why, because your internal 7 year old is making all the decisions.  So this blog is not about a step to calorie ratio at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Walt Disney World does something better than any other park in the world, they make you believe in the impossible.  It happens on every ride, with every show, with every "Character" strategically placed.  The entire design of this World unlike any other world is to make you believe.

And believe you do...

If you are like me, and some of you are, it is not the want to change that is your obstacle.  It is the belief that what is impossible is possible.   Most of us don't have physical limitations that hold us back from our own personal Magic Kingdom of success.

I think our greater struggle is we live with a mental belief of the traveling carnival that comes to town.  While yes it is fun, you always walk away questioning the safety of the ride and criminal background of the guy controlling it.  There is no magic in the carnival, just some kid through up on the tilt-a-whirl and teenager kids making out on the Ferris wheel.  And 2 days later it packs up and moves on to another town.

Here are three tips to making your fitness a little more "magical":

1.  Clear all trash.
  Disney works hard to make sure every person who walks through the park has the same experience.  No trash in the park, bathrooms clean, no gum stuck on fence posts. No matter your role from a person checking tickets to the CEO, if you see trash, you pick up. Why?  To make it magical everytime.

When you approach your fitness, clear all the trash.   Take out the mental obstacles that you build up in your mind.  Take out the garbage about how you "can't".  Clean up all the "I'll nevers".

2. Stories
You don't just wait in line for a ride at Disney.  You wait in a moving storybook.  Every line for every ride prepares you by telling you a story about the ride.  The ride is set up by every section of the line, it is all part of the story being told.

Your journey is a story, not a destination.  With every step, every workout you are writing your own story.  While the line to the ride may feel long, there are important pieces to your story being written.  Don't try to skip to the end.

3. Shh...It's not really magic
The magic of Disney is hard work and ingenuity.  Ask anyone who has worked for the company and they will tell you that it was the hardest work they have ever done, yet the most rewarding.

Health and fitness is not magic.  There is no magic pill or shake or sprinkle of Pixie Dust for your food.  It is still hard work.  The results look like magic as you make a part of you disappear, but you and I will both know how you got there -  hard work, sweat, positive attitude and maybe just a little magic!

Walt Disney World makes us all feel like kids and the one thing a kid does better than any adult is dream big dreams and believe for the impossible!

What is your Disney experience and how has it helped you?

You'd Think I'd Know By Now

The number 1 lesson in health and fitness is this "you cannot out exercise a poor diet."

I know this, I have taught others this and I have experienced it's truth -- on both sides of the success scale.

So you think I would have perfected this lesson.  You would think that I would not struggle with this.

Where I don't struggle is exercise.   I have no issue lacing up the sneaks for a 5 mile run, pushing play on Insanity or Focus T25.  Exercise is not the issue...food at times is.  I at times playfully play this off that there is a 10 year old inner fat kid that wants to be fed who lives inside me.  While just a joke there is some truth to this thought.  Here is why I am maybe you struggle this nutritional lesson:

1) I eat my feelings

Food has been and at times is my coping mechanism.  Stress enters my life and so does pizza, Oreos and any carbohydrate within arms reach.  Remember that 10 year old boy I said lives inside, he comes to life when my stress levels rise.  Stress sends a flight or fight survival response to our brain, so my survival skill is to load up on food like a bear going into hybernation.

2) I didn't know

While not true now, this has been a reason for a long time.  Simply, I did not know what a correct portion looked like.  As Americans, our sense of portions are way out of whack. Bigger has always been better!  If you go out for a meal,what you are getting most times is the equivalent to 2 to 3 meals.

A second piece to the portion puzzle is a balance of nutrition.  The what I eat was out balance between proteins, carbohydrates, veggies, fruits and good fats.  One of the tools that really brought this to light was the 21 Day Fix.  This is a program that has really helped me understand balance and portion control.  (Now just to put it into practice consistently).

3) Feeling Left Out

Food is a social commodity.  We gather, we eat and eat some more.  It is hard to be the outsider who ate a salad before attending an event.  Food is placed before us at nearly every social event I would attend.  Bagels at church, cookies at the school function, hot dogs at a cookout.  It is a difficult decision to stare down a Snickerdoodle and turn the other way.  Plus, food and beverages actually tend to make us more comfortable in social situations.

How do I respond?

As REO Speedwagon sang, "I can't fight this feeling anymore."  I have to learn better response to my stress.  I am a novice runner, but find that getting away and hitting the pavement with music pulsing in my ears is one way to be the stress.  If you are like me, you will have to find a way to battle fat kid inside that wants to emotionally eat.  You have to be stronger.  You have to find alternatives and healthier ways to deal with stress and emotions.

Measure.  I know it sounds annoying, but it will get easier with time.  I measure my portions.  Plus, I only take what I am going to eat.  So when I pack a lunch, I only take exactly what I am eating.  Don't leave it to guess work.  Secondly, our family does best when meals are planned.  Plus, then I have an answer to that one single question I will be asked til I have an answer "What's for dinner?"  Taking the guess work out will keep you from snacking before a meal.

This is the tough one.  It requires you to be weird.  It requires you to say no.  It requires you to push against the norm.  If dining out decide on a healthy options and stick to your guns.  If you can order first.  Studies have shown that the rest of the group is more likely to change their mind based on what the first person ordered.  Say no.  You might feel like you are being offensive, but you have goals and a plan.  You can say no with a smile!  That softens the blow.

Who do you win the battle of eating to match your fitness?  Post your comments below.

The Lie The Church Told Me (A Response)

I wanted to take a few minutes and respond to the response.  First it has been quite unexpected.  I am glad I am not the only one who sees and feels the way I do.

To those in the midst of the struggle, I write this.  Have HOPE!  Despair keeps us where we are.  The belief that it can never get any better is a lie.  Don't believe it.  Change is not only possible it is within your reach.  It is completely possible to become a healthier version of you.  I was that guy once upon a time.

To those who might not understand, I ask you to be GRACEFUL.  We are not trying to become "sexy" we just want to be healthy.  We want to be healthy for our spouses, for our children, for our families, for ourselves.  We are just trying to reach a point where we look in the mirror and am proud and happy with the person we see looking back at us.  Have grace.  Just because you don't understand doesn't make you right and us wrong.

To those wanting to start, I say START.  Do something.  Start walking, running, a class or even a at home program (I recommend a few, haha).  Trade your COKE for water.  Trade a Pizza slice for apple slices.  Just begin.  Surround yourself by people who will encourage your new journey.  Find an exercise that you will enjoy.  And do it for you!  Do it because you deserve it.

To Pastors and Leaders, this is a real issue.  ADDRESS IT.  First address it in you.  Pastors pay one of the highest insurance premiums due to the stress of they jobs and the overall unhealthy nature of how they live.  Address in your congregations.  Encourage people to live healthy.  Encourage your sheep to be more active.  Encourage your body of believers to become healthier.

To the guy writing this blog, KEEP GOING.  You have battled to become healthy, some days winning, some days losing.  KEEP inspiring and sharing.  There are those inside and outside of the kingdom who need  your help.  KEEP believing that HOPE is not something to be lost like car keys and that everyone needs a little more of it.  KEEP working on being authentic.  People don't expect perfection, they just want you to be you.  So on emotional greasy cheeseburger, double stuff Oreo days, don't be afraid to ask for help and share in your struggle.

To everyone, we win best when we FIGHT together instead of against one another.  So let's keep FIGHTING.

The Measure of Success

We have all stood there.  We put in a great week of work.  We watched and tracked what we ate.  And then the scale reads....no change!!!!  This is when we start with the explicatives...

Don't get discouraged.  Let's take a look at what we are truthfully measuring as success.  While most of us have a number we want to see on the scale, our goal should be more about living a healthy and fit life.  Still, you want to see the numbers move.  But when they don't, lets look at the what else we can measure to see if we are being successful.

- Body Measurements
We have all seen the picture of 1 pound of fat versus 1 pound of muscle.   So I won't re-post that viral image.  But measuring your body let's you know where the change is happening.  So when the scale doesn't move, take a look at where you are losing.

Measure these areas: chest, waist, arms, legs, hips and neck.  Compare those numbers and look to see where change is happening.  I recommend measuring every two weeks.

- Clothing Test
This is simple enough, how are those clothes fitting?  Are you noticing a difference?  In honestly, we all have those "skinny" pants hanging in the closest.  Check and see how those are fitting.

-Before and Afters
We look in the mirror everyday.  We see ourselves everyday.  There is an incredible visual evidence in comparing side by side pictures of yourself.  These are best done either every 2 weeks or every month.  Take front poses, profile poses, back poses, and one where you flex those guns!

-The "DANG" wat cho been doin' effect
 Sometimes other people take notice when we don't.  So take the compliment and share what you have done to reach those amazing results!

So when the scale is not going the right way, measure these other areas to find success!