Day #16 3 Things Winners Do

There two fears that run perpendicular in our lives that hamper us from reaching our goals.  At times I feel like I deal with both.  One we have already addressed and that is the fear of failing.  The second is on the flip side is the fear of success.  It is not that I don't want to be successful and not that I don't know how to become successful, it is not knowing what to do once I get there.  So the fear of becoming a success keeps you at mediocrity.  So what I thought on today are the 3 traits of winners.

1.  Be Consistent  - Winners are those that do it over the long haul.  They are the Peyton Mannings and Tom Bradys of the world.  They are the individuals that year in and year out WIN.  Success is often measured in being able to do it over the long haul rather than just in the moment.  Your health and fitness is not about a quick fix, weight loss solution, but making a life change to where you win over the course of your life.  Consistency is the key to success!

2. Work Harder Than Others - There are stories of Michael Jordan as high school coming back to the gym after everyone else has left.  Winners tend to do more and work harder than everyone else.  Success comes out of the hard work that is put in when no one else is willing to put the work in.  A winner puts in the extra effort to become better at what they set out to become.  Put in the extra!

3. Do Things The Right Way - There is never a short cut to success.  True success never comes at the expense of others.  Most often success is achieved through the efforts and supports of others.  While cheating others and cheating yourself might bring a moment of success, it will most create a lasting success of your life.  When it comes to exercise and nutrition, you can't keep eating pizza and fries and shake something on it and call it healthy.  All the magic pills might make you skinny, but they will never make you healthy.  Go about your physical transformation the right way.

While this list is not exhaustive it does give a glimpse into what it takes to be a WINNER!

Day #14 Full Swing

Missed the blog yesterday, but no worries, I did not miss the workout.  Here are some thoughts for your today!

Back full swing, sort of.  

While I am a huge advocate of exercise that is organized and planned out, I am also a huge sports fan.  Today was the start of baseball, well sort of.  My sons play and today we started winter hitting practice.  Remember as a kid when you just went and did.  You played baseball, skipped rope, hide and go seek, and just ran to run.

I think we need to get back to that youthful mentality.  As adults we become calorie counting, treadmill running, heart rate monitor wearing individuals in order to achieve a certain goal.  There are times when we just need to go to go.  Go golf, go swim, go for a walk, go be active.  No calorie counting, no heart monitor wearing (unless doctor recommended), what is the point of being fit and healthy if you are not enjoying it.

Here is why I love being a fit and active dad.  This Spring I will take hour long stretches of throwing pitch after pitch to a 9 and 11 year old.  I will hit ground ball after ground ball.  I will throw fly ball after throw ball.  I will run after errand throws, demonstrate 500 times how to properly chase down a ball in the gap and how to round second base.  I won't count calories burned, but count myself blessed.  Blessed that I have the health and energy to do these things, which was not always the case.

I exercise and eat right so that I spring and summer can be spent giving my best at the ballpark, because they deserve my best....

What activities can you do or do better because you chose fitness?  POST IN THE COMMENT SECTION

REST DAY

Day #11 A Plan

Do you know you are going to eat tomorrow?  Most of us do not know what our next meal is.  Having a food plan keeps you on track and less likely to get your hand into something that you are going to regret.  Part B of that whole concept is to stick to that plan.

I had my food planned out today for lunch.  And then it happened.  I thought what a great partner to my vegetable shop but some tortilla chips from Qdoba that were in our break room.  Halfway through my lunch I punch my foods into MyFitnessPal app only to find out my expected amount of calories on my lunch had just doubled...that's right doubled.  My serving of chips that I assumed were about 120 calories were 250. YIKES!

Now 130 extra calories is not the end of the world.  Yet it was a failure to stick to my plan that cost me the extra.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me...What I and you need to make sure is that we don't get fooled into extra calories by not A. failing to plan out meals in advance and B. fail to stick to the food plan you set out.

Knowledge is POWER, but only when that knowledge dictates and determines your behavior.  PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!  Stick to that PLAN!

EXERCISE:
Insanity - Pure Cardio

Day #10 Halfway to a Habit

It is said that it takes 21 days to create a habit, while just 4 days to end one.  Well then, today marks my halfway point.  In actual truth, I have exercise everyday of 2013 but one (we were traveling home from IL).  But since January 7th I have been focused in on my fitness and my nutrition (with an occasional nibble of chex mix).

My goal this year is to reach a goal weight of 170 pounds by April 1st.  What I know about achieving success, whether health and fitness or any other field, consistency is king.  Good eating and exercise have to become as integrated in your life as brushing your teeth or showering (one time is not enough).  While most of the Americans who stated in proclamation on New Year's Eve that this was the year they were going to get fit, lose weight or get healthy, most of those who made those resolutions have fallen off the wagon.  As a matter of fact, they are once again riding high in the saddle of McDonald's and Dunkin' Donuts.

In order for me to get to that goal will take staying on track, staying focused and having a plan.  The stumbling block to most, including myself is not knowing what to do or what to do next.  So here is my plan to get through the spring:  complete Les Mills Combat (7 more weeks) and restarted (dramatic pause) Insanity.

So how are you doing on your goal of becoming fit, getting healthy, or losing weight?  Are you on track to create your healthy habit?

EXERCISE:
Les Mills Kata 45

Day #9 What do you believe?

I was challenged by a video I watched today on something that had already been stirring in me.  If you are anything like me, you are gifted, skilled, talented and even capable.  The one thing that keeps me from reaching my dreams more than anything else is a big fat ME.  I am the stumbling block, I am the hindrance.

Here is the things I believe in when it comes to health and fitness: one exercise and diet are the keys.  As a Beachbody coach, I honestly believe in Beachbody fitness programs and in Shakeology. They are not the problem.  Where my struggles comes in is believing in me.  I know I touched on this earlier, but this is such a truism.  If you put the work in, the work works.  Yet, somehow, when I quit believing in myself, when I quit caring enough about the person inside, I quit caring for the person on the outside. And then I quit putting the work in.

Health and Fitness are more than physical things.  They are very much emotional.  Let me put it into perspective...you never reach for a bag of carrots after a big breakup. No, of course not, it's a tub of ice cream.  Our emotions are indicators and at times dictators of our physical well being. Our emotional well being is intertwined with our physical well being.  The two are inter-locked.

My problem many days is that I let my emotions and the way I view and believe about myself dictate my physical well-being.  I don't quit exercising because I believe it doesn't work.  I don't shove greasy food in my mouth because I think it makes me healthy.  No, I resort to laziness and bags of goo when I quit feeling worth the work.

So let me pass on the tips shared with me today.  When negative thoughts fill your space and try to push out the positive you believe about yourself, do this.  Write down the negative thought.  Draw a line through it.  Write the opposite, something positive.

My struggle has been with this (honest confession moment, prepare yourself):  No one cares about you or really likes you, so why should you care about yourself. 

Truth is:  People care greatly for me and I am worth caring about and worth caring for myself.

The question is what do you believe about you?

EXERCISE: 
Les Mills Combat HIIT Power + plus some free weight work

Day #8 - My 5 Struggles

Weigh in day!  It is a day of hope that teeters on being a great celebration or a possible deflation.  Today was somewhere in between.  I was down to 181.2 and a BMI of 25.98, a total weight loss of 3.6 lbs.  Pretty good for a weeks work, but honestly was hoping for better.  I know, maybe that sounds like I was looking for a miracle.  This got me thinking about the struggles we face.  So here are the 5 struggles I face and how I do my best to overcome them.

1) FOOD -
Inside of me is an 11 year old chubby kids who still buys his jeans in the "HUSKY" section.  That kids loves sweet tea, pizza, and especially Chex Mix.  While the grown up healthier Jeff has grown to enjoy eggplant, cabbage, zucchini and other veggies.  There is a part of me that still has the urge to tear open a bag of party mix and eat it 'til it is gone.

How I deal: For starters, try not to keep it in the house.  Secondly, to make a better choice if I do get the urge.  And at times, I do treat myself to some Bold Party Blend Chex Mix, but I pour an amount in a bowl and try, try, try to not go back to the bag.

2) TIME -
Probably the second biggest hiccup we have to our health and fitness is squeezing out the time to do it.  I have a wife, three kids and a whole heap of responsibilities.  I feel ya on this one...So I schedule my workouts in my to do list.  I tell my family that this is when I am working out and try to manage other activities around it.  Try to establish a set time to do it - early morning, after the kids go to bed, just after work.  If it becomes part of the daily routine, then you and everyone else will work around it.

3) EXERCISE
Simply put, if you don't love it, you won't want to do it.  Find a program that you really enjoy doing.  Don't have one, then I would love to recommend a few.  I tried to doing TurboFire, similar to TurboKick classes.  I felt like a dancing bear and hated it.  I found myself not wanting to do it.  If you hate it, you won't do it.  Find one you LOVE! It makes it easy to do.

4) THE MIRROR
I may struggle the most with the man looking back at me.  I have some convincing of myself to do that I deserve to look and feel better.  Obesity is mentally and emotionally crippling disease.  When you see change it fuels the fire.  When you bust your can and don't see change, you start to question why you are doing it.  You look in the mirror and say "why?"  I have worked hard on my Jack Handy and telling myself that I deserve it.

5) WHY
Losing sight of your WHY is the quickest way to lose motivation.  About 3 years ago, I checked in around 220 lbs, ate whatever I wanted and to use a country song reference treated my body like an old honky tonk - minus the booze, smokes and loose women.  Our youngest was an infant, we had one in school and one about to start school and they needed and deserved a dad who could go play catch in the yard, chase after bicycles, and have the energy to be active with them.  My wife deserved a husband who had energy at the end of the day.  I deserved to be healthy and have a long life..see my kids become adults and live out their lives.  They are my WHY.

MEALS: updated later

EXERCISE: 
Les Mills Combat Kick Start 30 -- my eleven year old son was my workout partner

Day 7 - Finding Insanity

To rest or not to rest was the question of the day.  I chose not to rest. As a matter a fact did something on the far opposite end, Insanity. Now I believe that rest in your exercise routine is essential.  It allows the fatigued muscles to rest, restore and rebuild. Don't short change yourself on rest.

Rest is an interesting idea.  It is Biblical principle as foretold in the creation story.  It is cultural principal based in our 5 day work week.  Yet, it something we probably don't do enough of.  We live in noisy, loud, busy, overwhelming worlds.  We have demanding schedules for ourselves and for our children.  The one thing we probably don't do enough of or do properly is rest.

Where I am now focusing my attention is improving my productivity.  If you are productive in your working time then what you have freed up is time to rest.   I am personally working through Chalene Johnson's 30 day push challenge.  It is a 30 video based personal development on being organized and efficient...leaving time for rest.

If you life has been life mine typically when you go looking for rest all your find is insanity!

MEALS:  (just the calories)
Breakfast: 383 (I did treat myself to French Vanilla creamer in my coffee)
Lunch: 370
Snack 1: 315 made my Shakeology with Silk Fruit and Protein.  SO GOOD!!!
Dinner: 360
Snack 2: 360

EXERCISE:
Insanity Cardio Resistance and Power...sweaty is mess!

Day #4 Determination and Big Things

*Disclaimer - I told you from the start this was half health and fitness and half emotional well being.  I got a feeling today is a little more emotional well being.

I weighed in this morning was down 3.1 pounds.  Not bad work for three days.  Most of that is shedding the junk I consumed over the week I was home in Illinois.  But as I have dug a little deeper inside what I also realize is I have a satisfaction level for small things in my life.  Don't get me wrong, I absolutely believe in celebrating little wins.  My issues is being settle with little wins.  Settling for little wins and then stopping which is more dangerous.  What this really drives at is belief that I deserve big things.  I deserve a better paying job, I deserve to have the life I want, I deserve to lose the weight and have the body I want, I deserve to have a great Beachbody business.  It is this core belief that triggers determination inside of us to go work like crazy to achieve those things.

I don't believe, just because you believe you deserve something that it is automatic.  Although, our achievement bone is directly connected to our thinking bone.  In short you have to believe that you can achieve and overcome obstacles in order to have the determination to do that.  Here are my goals:

1) Weigh 170 pounds by April 1st

2) Reach Diamond Status Coach with Beachbody by Summit in June

There are some other personal, financial and emotional goals that I have set for myself that I won't bore you with.  Here is the crux of today, I have to believe that I am worth good things and big things.  I am worth the goals I have set.  If I believe then I will keep my eyes on the prize and push through to reaching those.

Thanks for taking this journey with me!

MEALS:

Breakfast - total calories: 315
Snack #1 - total calories: 270
Lunch - total calories: 380
Snack #2 - total calories: 340
Dinner - total calories: 225

Total Calories: 1530

EXERCISE:
Les Mills Combat LIVE 30

Follow Through

My brain has a funny way of taking little bits of information and turning them into life lessons.  My middle child, who is about 8, is all boy.  Slightly bull in a China shop meets a solid rock.  When he shuts the door, he SHUTS the door.  It is not simply a push to create momentum to get the door to the latch so that it catches.  No it is a full on SLAM.  Hand on the door all the way through until the latch catches and the whole car shakes...

So what does my son shutting the door have to do with you and me and our journey to getting healthy...well simply these words "Follow Through".  My son doesn't just do enough to get the door shut.  He finishes it!  He pushes til the point that he knows that door is going to close.  Where most give a passing push, he gives all he's got everytime.

Most of us give it all for a short while or we start off out of the gate quick, but fail to finish.  I have been known to get all jacked up to begin something -- whether that be eating healthy, an exercise program, or even a new book -- then get half way through and fail to follow through.  In an our efforts to achieve the health and fitness that we desire, we have to keep giving the same effort we gave at the start.

Here some ways to keep you following through on those commitments:

1) Set goals and make it a priority to reach them.  This might be an amount of pounds, level of fitness or a specific program like a race.

2) Community and Accountability.  While not impossible, it quite a bit more difficult to do on your own.  To make eating healthy a lifestyle change in your house everyone in the house must agree.  One person cannot bring kale chips and the other person bring french fries.  To achieve best results it is essential to find the nutrition support as well as partners in fitness.

3) Find mental strength.  Your mind will tell you to quit long before your body is ready.  Your mind will tell you to skip a workout.  Your mind will tell you to stop, that it is okay.  That is when you have to find that inner voice that say "bring it" or "dig deeper" or "push harder" or "one more".  You have to find the voice that pushes you to be louder than the voice that tells you to quit!

Finish!  Follow through!  Push that door until it's shut!   

Fallen and I can't get up...

The journey to health and fitness is much like a mountain climb.  You journey over difficult terrain -- over rocks, cliffs, dusty trails, rivers and gorges.  At times along that journey you slip and fall -- fall into 3 slices of deep dish pizza, you tumble over a busy week where you don't exercise, you trip over excuses that give you permission to return to old unhealthy habits.

When I was a kid there was a commercial that was as much the punchline of joke as it was a critical piece of advertising.  The commercial was a little old lady on the floor who was unable to get herself off the floor.  She pushes a button and hollers out "I've fallen and can't get up."

As we climb this mountain, there are moments where we are the little old lady on the floor.  There comes a point where we have to do one of two things -- either we A) muster the strength and courage to pick our self  back up and continue that climb.  We get back on the treadmill, push play on that program, say no to the Krispy Kreme and yes to healthy meal.  

OR B) we cry out like the little of lady "I have fallen and I can't get up".  This is where support is critical.  What I have found as a truth or axiom in my life is this scripture:  "Two are better than one, for they have a better return for their labor."  You are more likely to find success in a partnership or group.  You are more likely to get up from the side of the mountain with the help of someone else.

Reach out for that help!  If you are looking for someone to be that support, let me put you into Challenge Group to get you off that floor!

Gaining Confidence

Let's play word association.  I say workout, you might say sweat, fitness, exercise, lifting, smelly gym socks.  The word that may not come to mind is CONFIDENCE.  The origin of the word comes from the Latin word confidere which means to trust, to have faith in.  This definitely does not bring to mind images of bulking up, trimming down or getting fit. Yet, there is an interesting correlation between personal confidence and your level of fitness and health.  Self-image and self confidence are linked!

As you push the limits of your body and achieve new levels, you start create a belief in yourself of accomplishing new limits.  As your body begins to take shape from that of a pear to that of healthy and strong, you start to see yourself differently.  Every time you achieve one goal there is a drive ignited in you to push to achieve a new goal.  This attitude bleeds over into other areas of your life. In turn that affects how you present yourself to others, resulting in a greater level of confidence.

When you feel good about you, others take notice!  When you believe in you, you show it!  Run the next mile, do the next set of push ups, push play on Insanity or P90X.  Not only will you be rewarded by building a stronger, faster, learner physique, you will be rewarded with a greater sense of self-worth.  The changes you find will be more than just physical...they may just change your life!

Rinse, Lather, Repeat...

So I know the title boosts of washing your hair, but in it lies a key piece of wisdom.  As a Beachbody Coach, I realize that we offer some amazing program, but this rule applies universally beyond just the programs.  What so many find during a structured exercise and diet programs is amazing results.  What also tends to happen is the post program let down.  When the program is done, most people don't have a plan what to do after that.

So you wore out 9 weeks of Insanity or 90 days of P90X or you just finished training for the Tough Mudder - what now?  That is the huge question!  Repeat - okay, so maybe not go through the same program or same training.  But what was the why you did the initial program - weight loss, healthier lifestyle, a specific event to complete.  Repeat establishing a new why - build muscle, train for a new event, lose more weight...  By repeating the steps that drove you your why in the first place will move you towards your next why.

If you accomplished something tough like completing a program or training for an event, you have established great habits to reach that goal.  The interesting thing about good habits is that they are just as quickly broken as they were established.  If you get out of the habit of exercising, training, and eating right even for just a week - it breaks that pattern you had established is nearly as difficult as the first time you started.

So rinse, lather, repeat...find a new why.  Pick a plan to accomplish it.  Stay in the habit!

When in doubt...try!

All my life I have heard the expression "When in doubt..." then followed by some sort of lame advice.  Doubt is one of the things that creeps into our minds that can prevent our bodies from achieving maximum success.  Doubt is the thoughts that keep us from putting in the work.  Doubt is the thing that keeps us from making wise choices with our food.  Doubt can single handily set you back on progress.

If the workout looks hard, you "doubt" you can do it.  Not big on veggies, you "doubt" you can eat healthy.  Here is your homework...replace doubt with try.  If the workout looks hard give it a TRY!  Don't like broccoli, give peppers or asparagus a TRY.  Doubt will keep you from trying things.  Let me help you out, you will fail.  You may fail to complete every sit up, push up, burpee.  You will fail and munch on some high fat food.  Fail TRYING, then you are not failing at all.  You are attempting to make progress.  The greatest failure is to fail without ever trying.  So try, try, try!  And when you fail pick yourself back up and try, try, try again.

The Fat Kid Inside...

While I was active and athletic as a kid, I was also quite a "chubbs".  Losing and gaining weight is a matter of math - burn more calories than you take in.  I had no issue burning calories as a kid, but had a greater love for taking them in.  End result: a chubby, athlete.

Inside me is still that "fat kid".  The internal battle I face is the same as it was at 12 years old, now with the metabolism of a 35 year old man.  Like a magnetic force I am drawn to Chinese buffets, sweet tea, pizza parties and holiday feasts.  Like a drunk with his bottle, I never know when to put down the plate.  It is always just one more piece of chicken, one more serving of potato salad, one more...won't kill me.  True enough one more won't, but a life of one mores will.

I have spent the past three years is essence overcoming the inner fat kid.  My journey to a healthier and fitter lifestyle faced many challenges, but the greatest one was controlling my food intake and my desire for food.  Inside still lies that 12 year old kid who longs to shove his face full of whatever is in front of him.  The desire still lies deep inside me so as to win the war on weight comes by beating that "inner fat kid".

A couple of tips to beat the inner fat kid:

1)  Control what you can control:  Bring your lunch to work instead of ordering out; put proper servings on you plate; serve from the stove and not from the table, this prevents from picking more. The more you can control the food, the better your chance of not over indulging.

2) Eliminate piece by piece:  starting changing things out little by little, change from sweet tea to unsweet tea or soda to water.  Little changes start to add up.  Begin cutting back on sodiums, butters and little things that add calories to vegetables or proteins that naturally full of flavor.

3) Say NO:  it takes will power but walk past the doughnuts, the cookies, the sweets that open the abyss of endless snacking.

4) Don't buy it:  because the kids like it is not an excuse ti keep it in the house.  If it is not available, you won't eat it.

Win the war on the inner fat kid and win the war on weight!

The Most Powerful Word

As you launch out into your journey to a fitter you, one of things you will notice a shift in your language.  You will use expressions like "dig deeper" or "you can do this" and everyone's favorite "NO".  Really, no?  Yes!

You will have to use the word NO in place of "sure", "why not", "but I deserve it".  You will have to say "NO" to seconds or even firsts (of certain things).  No is not word of weakness, "no" is a word of strength.  "No" is powerful.  You see although it is a negative its power is found in the positive results.  When you say no to overeating or sugary sodas or high sodium, high fat foods you are really saying yes to things like health and wellness.  You are saying YES to those goals you are aimed at.

The word "NO" truly empowers you.  Although the first time or two may be difficult you will find it easier with each opportunity.  Use the word "NO" often enough and you will be at your goals quicker than you realize.