A Standing Ovation

I wanted to share a simple lesson I learned yesterday at a middle school honors band concert.  Sidebar: Despite all my athletic prowess, I am a band dad.

There were three bands, one for each grade and it was the 8th grade band director that did something that caught my attention.  The previous two bands stood up after their final of 5 pieces, took a bow and sat back down.  With each of the previous bands the audience stood and celebrated these fine young people.

But the director of the 8th grade band did something different.  After the very first piece he had the entire band stand.  As they stood, the polite applause grew to an ovation.

Then the band sat back down, played their next piece and exact same thing.  The band rose and as they rose so did the ovation.

While not an entirely new phenomena I took something away for you and me.  Each time the band rose, so did the applause.  With the rising applause so did the confidence of the band.  With rising confidence came a better performance by these young musicians.  And by the end of the 5 musical selections a standing ovation was in order!

I realize as we workout, run, exercise, eat healthy and make good choices that there is not an audience of proud parents and grandparents standing there cheering you on to eat your broccoli or finish your burpees.  But what if we imagined there was.  What if at the end of that sweaty push up filled workout when we pulled our hotself of mess off the floor we heard applause?  What if as you finished that last 100 yards of a run in weather that the mailman even refuses to deliver in you raised your hands as if finishing the Boston Marathon in front of thousands of people?  Maybe they are not there, but what if you imagined them there.  In your head heard them cheering you on.

What I have learned in my short time with my own fitness and helping others is that the body is ready to give more, it is our minds that get in the way.  The applause even if just imaginary frees you up to push past the mental barrier that is truly far short of your limits.

It is a thankless job getting healthy and fit, but one that should be celebrated.  Even if your audience in imaginary, I honestly believe the principle holds true.  That with each time your hear the applause your confidence grows.  Each time your confidence grows you perform better.  And with better performance comes better results.

So for you, here is your STANDING OVATION!!!

A Beachbody, A Struggle & The Heart of Father

As is my usual Saturday morning practice, I sit in the stillness of my bedroom while everyone else is a sleep pounding the keys of this computer and sipping my morning coffee.  Last weekend was a struggle...no coffee.  My intimate relationship of 8 years with my coffee pot was broken off last Friday.  Leaving me with just the computer and a less than warm bed.

The struggle spilled far beyond my caffeinated beverage that was missing into something more that needed to take place.  Like many Americans, we fight for every dollar we make.  The coffee pot was the icing on the financial cake of demanding weekend.  There was flag football to register for, there was a band trip to sign up for and there is a little girl who steals my heart and I want to give her everything.  Factor in the utility bill that tips in somewhere around the weight of NFL defensive lineman and we were face to face with a Dave Ramsey More Month than Money type situation.  And it was just not feasible to make all of them happen.

I am a husband and father first and foremost.  As was handed down to me from generations of husbands and fathers from the earliest of my ancestors who hunted and foraged the land for food, you have the responsibility to provide for your family.  You wear that pride as you would a bear skin coat that you killed and skinned with your own two hands.  You want to provide for their needs and give them their wants because they are great kids and deserve that.  You want to give them moments and memories and at times that costs money. So when as a dad you can't, it is like having your bear skin coat stripped from you!

I am by default an incredible dreamer.  On the filp side of the coin, I am terribly lousy and making dreams reality.  So after a conversation with a good friend, who also has a background in ministry, I realized you just don't walk into a $80,000 job anymore.  And if we are being honest, that number just begins to touch what it takes to raise 3 kids, pay for 3 college degrees and I hate to think about it, 3 weddings.  Last weekends big revelation through a broken coffee pot was that whatever it is I do for a "job" will always leave us short of the dreams we want.  Momma always asked if money grew on trees, there's no forest nearby if it does.

If you are reading this post by now you know I am a Team Beachbody coach, in short, I help people with their health and fitness.  No I don't have a six pack, in part due to the cup in my hand that is filled with creamer in my coffee.  I did not join to get ripped, just to improve me.  I joined to get healthy and that I am.  I also joined with the hope of helping others.  

Here is another truth that I know, my Beachbody business is not another "job".  While my day work has an income ceiling, my business doesn't.  While my 40 hour struggle could never mathematically take my family to Disney, my Beachbody business can.  While money may not grow on trees, I have the opportunity to invest in a garden that if tended properly will produce great fruit.  While the glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel has always been there, I have often been reluctant to run towards it.  (There is a whole nother blog post to deal with that).  As a dad of 3 amazing kids, what I hold in my hands is opportunity.  Opportunity to not put limitations on our dreams.  Opportunity to provide for their everyday needs and some moments they will never forget.

What I have is an opportunity to end the struggle!

6 Reasons to Stay Home

We know the terms like gym rat or gym junkie.

We know the people – bulking up guy grunt, princess pink on a slow walk on the treadmill, weird creepy guy just walking around talking to everyone. 

We know what gyms have to offer.  There are some great fitness centers and gyms here in Lexington and I am sure in the city where you live.  And gyms and fitness centers do a great job at helping people get results.  Yet, we also know or have been that person who buys a gym membership, pays monthly and never goes.  The alternative to hitting the gym is pushing play at home.

 So here is the question I want to pose, why workout at home?  Here are 6 reasons: 

• No drive time.  When I was going to the gym I would get up early, drive 15 minutes across town just to get to the place that I was going to run on a stationary treadmill for 30 minutes.  Then drive 15 minutes back home.  So it adds up that I spent an hour to get in a 30 minute workout.  Bad math!
•  Your own shower.  This mostly applies to those of us that get our workout done first thing in the morning before we go to the office.  While the shower smells like that funky fresh cleaning stuff,  I am not sure how clean it is.  Factor in shaving for us guys and hair drying, curling, crimping and product necessary for the ladies, this is just done better from the comforts of our own vanities.
• The equipment battle.  This is the 10 minutes you spend on that “one” machine  working a muscle group that you are not sure exists because the exercise machine or the equipment you want to use someone else is on.  So you kind of put in effort all the while ready to sprint to that machine once that person gets off.
•  Any time.  Here is what I love about my home based workout programs, it is always open!  I have a world-class fitness expert available on my schedule.  I pop in a DVD and press play and I get step by step instruction on an amazing workout.  No need to schedule a time with a personal trainer.  I have several on standby.
• Gymtimidation.  One of the fitness companies coined this term about the all the grunt, mirror posing meathead and dolled up princesses at the gym that emotionally detract us from wanting to enter the doors.  At home, you get to come as you are.  And fall dead on the floor of your own house after you get your rear handed to you in a great workout.  There is no Barbie in corner or Arnold in the front of the mirror flexing. Just you focused on you.
•  Something for everyone.  What I love particularly about Beachbody and the array of programs is that there is something for all fitness levels.  If you want dance off the pounds, we got that.  If you want to punch and kick your way to fit, we got that.  If you want to get INSANE results, we got that too.  If you have not worked out since your senior year gym class in the 70’s, we got something for that too.  Beachbody has put together an amazing collection of fitness programs that deliver results and help you reach your goals.

I still hit the gym from time to time.  I will still pop into a fitness class.  But for me the time saved, the schedule flexibility, the options I have and level of training I get, I will keep pushing play at home!

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!

Focus T25 Review

Beachbody, the world leader in home fitness, took it to a whole new level!  As a Insanity grad, I was anxious to try Shaun T's new program Focus T25.  While I loved, loved Insanity, that second month of workouts lasting up to an hour were physically demanding and tough to always squeeze into life.

So what excited me most about Focus T25 is that workouts were just 25 minutes, 5 days a week.  Fridays on the calendar are double workout days.  You can, if desired, move the second workout to Saturday and take just one rest day, instead of 2.  Included and to be used on the rest days is a 25 minute stretch video which will improve flexibility and stretching.

Now admittedly, I was a skeptic that just 25 minutes would deliver the results, but I know Beachbody does everything with excellence and would not put out a product that did not deliver the results.  And Focus T25 DID JUST THAT!

Here are my 10 week before and after photos.  I lost around 6 pounds but the proof is in the pudding, my body was totally transformed. I finally saw some abs show up.  My arms no longer looked like spaghetti and my overall shape was better than when I was 16 years old. In full disclosure, I was running on Sundays as well.  The weather was just too nice not to run.  

Why do I love it?  25 minutes, 5 days a week and results like this!  What's not to love?

The first 5 weeks is the ALPHA phase.  This is a building phase.  Workouts build on themselves, no equipment required and the bonus is the modifier.  A modifier is a person demonstrating a lower impact way to do the exercise and still get great results.  I saw a lot of fat loss during this first 5 weeks. 

The second phase is BETA.  BETA builds on ALPHA.  Some of the same exercises are carried over, now with increased intensity. Additionally, this phase will require some equipment either the resistance band included or dumbbells.  What I saw in this phase was increase muscle building, especially in the upper body.  

Here are the workouts included:

Your FOCUS T25 program includes:

ALPHA Cycle 25-Minute Workouts:

• Cardio. 25 minutes of calorie-burning, sweat-drenching cardio.
• Speed 1.0. Ignite your quickness. Burn the fat. Fast-paced for fast results.
• Total Body Circuit. Focus on strength and resistance—without lifting a single weight.
• Ab Intervals. Cardio and ab intervals that shred the fat from your midsection.
• Lower Focus. Focus on your lower-body muscles—the key to burning fat and kicking up your metabolism.

BETA Cycle 25-Minute Workouts:

• Core Cardio. Get your sweat on! This progressive cardio-core workout is about you getting shredded fast.
• Speed 2.0. Rev it up with Shaun's calorie-scorching, core-focused speed drills.
• Rip't Circuit. Cardio … upper body … legs … abs ... repeat! This is how you get ripped in 25 minutes.
• Dynamic Core. You'll go from vertical to horizontal and back again in this dynamic, crazy core routine.
• Upper Focus. Shaun will help you develop the upper body of your dreams. All you have to do is FOCUS.

Plus T25 Nutrition guide:

Meals are quick and easy to fix with just 5 ingredients in most meals!

Beachbody has an upgrade third phase called GAMMA.  GAMMA steps up the game one more level for increased results! 

This is perfect workout for everyone, even those just starting out on their health and fitness journey.  When put together with Shakeology you will get the results you desire!  

Are you ready to focus?

Where do I begin?

Here is what I don't doubt, the fact that you want to change.  

Here is probably the question you may find yourself asking: "Where do I begin?" 

Begin by asking a different set of questions.  Let's start by defining the change into smaller portions.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next 6 months?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish in the next month?

Now smaller.

- What do I want to accomplish this week?  

The daunting part of changes is that it seems so big.  And truthfully, we tackle the biggest elephant in the safari thinking we can eat the whole thing in one big bite.  But the adage is still true, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. (Although, I have never eaten elephant and don't plan on it, but you get me.)

My heart is bent toward helping people move closer to their potential - it comes in the form of their personal, spiritual and health and fitness.  But this reverse thinking applies in every situation.  

If you want to graduate college, it starts with taking a class.  Then by getting this weeks homework done.  

If it's weight loss, well let's start by setting fitness goals for this week and planning meals for the week. 

If it's to become an accomplished public speaker.  Then start small, speaking to church groups, non-profits, business groups.  

You only start at the end to work backwards to find a clear starting point.  

But get started!  If it's your dream, goal or ambition don't let it pass!  Start!

A YUGO of a Ferrari

I dogged it this morning...

Not proud of that, but it's the truth.  Here's why:

I believe that we have the capabilities to find the physical fitness of a Ferrari.  A Ferrari is a high powered, sleekly curved, sexy machine.

Truth be told, I have treat myself a little more like a YUGO with all it's economical, boxy shaped, 3 cylinder, top speed of 40mph styling.  There are drive-through bags on my floor board.  It is way past having any kind of maintenance done.  And I feed it whatever I can find.

And this morning I felt it.  

At the starting line of my daily workout when I stepped on the gas to push through,  I got what I put into my body, a sluggish, slow result.  

In order to operate physically as a Ferrari, instead of YUGO, you have got to fuel your body like a Ferrari.  This means fueling up on whole foods, plenty of H2 and the O.  This means knowing the difference between treating yourself and going full on buffet on holiday dinner.

Lesson learned...

Do you feel the difference in your workouts when you eat clean?

Reminder Pants - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In my closet are lots of pairs of pants, but more specifically two specific pairs of pants.  I call them my "reminder pants".  

The Good - 
These are a pair of black suit pants.  They are a size 38.  To be honest, my chubby buns and dunlap belly I am sure stretched it past the 38 inch waist line.  There were Sundays when I would pour myself into those pants and uncomfortably suffer through the service. 

Now I am a true 34 inch waist!  Woot!

Those pants serve as a reminder of where I have come and how much progress I have made.  These are just a simple reminder of the good!  They remind me of the wins in my health and fitness.  The wins in my weight loss journey!

It's amazing reminder!

The Bad -
The skinny pants that I wear to work.  Like all of you I have moments of slipping back into poor habits.  There are days I skip workouts and feed my face fattening foods.  As I slide into those pants and pull that waist line across my belly I am reminded that I need to get back on track.  

Just the feel of those pants snuggling up under that little pooch belly that rares it's head when I make excuses for my health and fitness.  It reminds me "Jeff you need to refocus".

The Ugly -
Simply get rid of these.  Just a reminder that sometimes you make terrible clothing choices.

Enough said!

A Moving WHY

As many of you already know if you have read any of my previous blogs, my main reason I started on this journey of health and fitness (other than running out of clothes that fit) was my three kids.  While that reason remains true, what I have found is that my WHY has become somewhat fluid.

My weight loss journey started as a runner and about a year and half ago progressed into being a Team Beachbody Coach.   Since then I have tackled programs like P90X, Insanity, Les Mills Combat, Focus T25 and two very uncoordinated weeks of Turbofire!  I became a coach for two reasons. One to help me stay accountable to my own health and fitness.  Two, in order to create some secondary income for my family.  While neither of those reasons have changed, I had my eyes opened wide this week.

My beautiful 6 year old daughter has tumbled into loving gymnastics and she's good!  In just 8 weeks she has progress from Division 1 to Division 3, which is an amazing accomplishment!  I have already done the math, we are on track for the 2024 Olympic Summer Games!

Here where my eyes were opened!  In a conversation, with another parent of an older gymnast, I found just what the price tag is on competitive team gymnastics.  Let's just say I could drive a very nice car for what the monthly fee is. I mean VERY NICE!

Nothing is more a driving force toward success than the needs and desires of your children.  While I wanted to be successful in my business for multiple reasons, that WHY expanded greatly knowing what lies ahead of our family if our little tumbler stays on beam toward becoming a world class gymnast.

Author George Barna wrote, "Realize the future is not something that just happens; it is a reality that is created by those strong enough to exert control over their environment."  That is the challenge that lies ahead.  Taking control of my environment to create a future where Avery has every opportunity to succeed.  This goes beyond her gymnastic future and spills into every opportunity for all three of my kids.  As a parent, your heart always bends toward wanting to give them everything.  While I may never be able to give them everything, the provision for the future will not just happen.  It requires a vision and a plan driven by one really BIG WHY that I want it to accomplish.  And today that why is the dreams of this little girl...

Chachachanges...3 questions to ask

Let's face it NO ONE likes change.

At best we tolerate it as a part of life, just like paying taxes, traffic and another Law and Order spinoff.  But change does happens.

As a matter of fact change happens all around us.  If you are a parent you watch it take place daily in your house.  That infant you held snuggly in your arms becomes a pre-pubescent boy with a smart mouth (experience talking).  Change is all around you - the light changes (at least we hope), seasons change, styles change.  Thank God!  I could only wear a mullet for so long!

So at some level we need to quit fighting change and embrace it.  Is it scary?  Yeah, like Nightmare on Elm Street scary, the first one.  Is it hard? Of course.  Is it worth it?  That is the million dollar question.  Most likely if we never see value in making a change, we will never change unless forced to.  We will never quit smoking, start eating healthier, exercise, or move out of your momma's basement without facing change.

Here are a couple questions to ask yourself if the change is worth it:

    1) Is it going to make my life better in the long term?

Is the change that I intend on making going to better my life in the long term?  Weight loss can extend your life, quitting smoking can keep you from cancer and improve the smell of your wardrobe, eliminating negative influences can help you create an atmosphere for long term success - "attitude determine altitude."  What we have to negotiate is whether the short term sacrifice or discomfort of the change is worth the long term result that comes from changing!

    2) Will my choice of change positively or negatively affect my relationship with others?

The answer: likely both.  What you will find is that there are those who are going to celebrate and support your choice.  You will also likely find that there are those that will question your reasoning, criticize your attempts and even try to pull you back into a poor habit.

Yet, what you are more likely to find is that making a positive change will help you create connections with like minded people.  People set on achieving similar life goals.  Your choice to change may actually open up the potential for new relationships.  Who knows Mister or Miss Right might be right at the corner of Choice and Change!

    3) Am I worth it?

This is a question of self value.  So often we stay in poor habits due to our belief that we are undeserving of anything better.  That is just not true!  YOU ARE WORTH IT!  YOU ARE VALUABLE!  Quite possibly the greatest change that has to be made is how you see the image of the person staring back at you in the mirror.  Oftentimes the choice to change is one of belief in yourself.  That is where it has to start!

The greatest change you can make is one of going from unbelief to belief!  You are worth it!

Change is hard, yet so often change is exactly what your life needs!  What changes do you need to embrace?

Work to Play

The overriding question to ask is WHY?

   Why be healthy?
   Why to active?
   Why improve your fitness?

What I realize is that everyone has a different specific reason as to start and pushing through their personal health and fitness journey.  Yet, I  believe that each of us could agree that there is one common reason for all of us.  We put in the work in order to play.

It doesn't matter what your play is.  It could be hiking, rafting, rock climbing.  That type of play requires you to push toward a peak physical condition to thrive in that type of hobby.  If you golf, play softball or just some YMCA basketball, being better physical condition means that at the end of those games you are less exhausted, less sore and recover faster.

Yet, maybe your play is shopping or singing KAROKE on a Friday night.  Does being in better health improve these?  Why not!  Isn't more exciting to shop for clothes that fit you better?  Isn't enjoyable to go the store and buy something a size smaller?  And what about KAROKE?  Well, sure.  Better cardiovascular will help you belt out those Celine Dion notes from the Titanic Soundtrack, you diva!

No matter what your play is, improving your physical conditioning and health can make that activity even more enjoyable.  Improving your health will prolong your life giving you more time to enjoy those hobbies and activities.  Improving your health will in the long term lower your medical expenses and give you more resources use toward enjoyable activities.

So why do you put in that work, why do you sweat, strain, push and dig deeper?  In order to play!  Go make the most of your work and enjoy your play time!

Jeff Pitts Fitness

Macy's, Taylor Swift & Me

Two Christmas ago I took a part time job at Macy's through the holiday.  When you have three kids, the Christmas season is never cheap.  We were a paycheck to paycheck family which makes spending an additional $500 on Christmas tough.

I got placed in Women's Fragrances.  I was that guy handing you a little card spritzed with perfume, trying to get you stop and spend your hard earned money on a luxury item of life.  As a matter of fact, I was asked to focus on Taylor Swift's Wonderstruck line.  So some Sunday afternoons I would be wearing a purple t-shirt with the words Taylor Swift Wonderstruck scripted across the front.  Not a glamorous life, but it was what was necessary to provide for my family.

I would pick up almost any shift.  I would be out of my house and away from my family 3 nights a week after spending 8 hours at my job.  I would give up Saturdays and Sundays missing valuable family time in order to help provide for my kids and my family.  All this to make an extra $500...

Why do I tell this story?  Because last week I through out the Macy's name tag with big block letters that read Jeffrey on it.  Why?  Well, glad you asked.  In the last 3 weeks I have made $500 doing something I love, helping others.  I am a Team Beachbody Coach which means I get the honor to help others reach their health and fitness goals and better yet, get paid to do so.

Here is the win for me.  I don't have to go spend 4 to 5 hours a night in a loud mall coming home smelling like a blend of 20 different women's fragrances.  I don't give up every weekend to make an extra $50.

What I do get in return is the reward of seeing others succeed.  What I do get in return is time for my kids - time to go to concerts, time to coach baseball, time to be present with them.  What I found for myself was a healthier way of life.  I found a renewed sense of self and belief in me as my own health and fitness have improved.  I have grown as a person and am finding a sense of fulfillment!  How many people can say they love their job.  I CAN!!!

While this is just a part time opportunity.  My vision is to make this so much more.  Something that provides long term in the big picture for my family.  My vision is to help hundreds and thousands of people make health changes and find hope.  Do you have a similar vision?

#TEAMHOPEDELIVERED

Focus T25 Review - Alpha Phase

I am a self proclaimed Insaniac.  I got hooked into Beachbody with the high interval training program by Shaun T, Insanity.  Shaun T and the good folks at Beachbody have gone back to the studio with the crazy idea that 25 minutes a day, 5 days a week is all you need to get in the best shape of your life.  Honestly, the skeptic in me came out.  Just 25 minutes a day!!! No way!  But anything that allows me to a few more minutes of sleep in the morning is worth trying.

After just 2 weeks, I can tell this is another world class program from Beachbody!  The key, as Shaun T will reiterate over and over is to Focus.  Each move asks you to focus on a specific area of the body.  As you "focus" you maximize the effectiveness you get from each exercise.  And water breaks...forget a water breaks.  This a non-stop 25 minute sweatfest!

The first 5 weeks is Alpha.  This is the base for what will come in the second 5 weeks, Beta.  There is a third phase which you can add as an upgrade called Gamma which includes some added weight work.  The base kit is just the Alpha and Beta phase, along with a resistance band that is to be used during the Beta phase of the program.  The program is a true 25 minutes with an additional 2-3 minute cool down after the workout!

I look at this as a working man's workout.  One of the most common excuses for not exercising is not having enough time.  This program eliminates that excuse.  In a very short and quick 25 minutes you can get in the workout you need and want!  I am really excited to see my results and will post before and after pics once completed!

After just one week I broke through a plateau and tipped the scales under 170 pounds for the first time since my junior year of high school.  I am stunned at the quick results.

To Shaun T: Thanks for an extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning!

Rowboats and Ocean Liners

I have always been okay with just enough.  Whether that was in a relationship, in business, in faith, in my fitness, in my health, in my finances and in general, life.  I have felt like most of my life has been spent in a tiny one man rowboat where I have done nothing but tried to fix the holes to keep it floating.  Moments of peace have come in between times of constant repair of the tiny boat.  I have often been envious and even jealous of those on the ocean liners of life.

Today was a watershed moment in my life.  Today, I decided I was done trying to fix the rowboat of my life.  No, I haven't quit, but I have decided to take on a new project.  I have parked the boat along the shore and decided to leave that boat behind.  I am going to build an ocean liner, the S.S. Hope is what it will be called!

My little rowboat was my personal dingy that on occasion was capable of taking along a passenger or two.  The rowboat kept me from achieving bigger things in the life.   The S.S. Hope will have the capacity for hundreds if not thousands of people to go on the journey with me.  What I have realized is that life is done better with others.

Many of you are like me and you find yourself in the sinking ship and busted boat.  You find yourself fighting just to stay afloat.  You have come to the intersection of despair and overwhelmed.  You have hit walls that you can't break through.  The end of your rope does reach the end of the dock.  Your ship is sinking!

You are in the sinking ship of a broken and unhealthy life.  You may be in the sinking ship of broken financial situation.  You may be in the sinking ship of a broken marriage.  You may be in the sinking ship of unsatisfied career choice.  You find yourself in a  sinking ship of your life!

What I realize is that an ocean liner takes time, even years to build.  It is not an overnight project, but a lifetime endeavor.  Building an ocean liner is not something that one man can build alone, heck even Moses had the help of his sons.   Building an ocean liner takes a team of people to dedicate their time and energies and life to make it happen.

My hope is that you will become a part of the S.S. Hope.  My hope is that you will join as a passenger in finding hope through changing your own life, through a physical, emotional, and mental transformation.  My hope is that you will find this ocean liner to be a place of refuge, a place of inspiration and place of motivation.  A boat of hope!  If that is you, the S.S. Hope is now boarding.

Some of you will choose to be join the crew of the boat of hope.  You will sign up to be a coach and share hope and help to those in need.  You will join because you know that all of us can do more than one of us.  You will join because you recognize people need hope.  You will join because you have been a passenger on the boat and found your own hope.  You will join this crew because you believe in the mission of offering hope to people!  You will join because you know that one single row boat does not have the capacity to bring the change that needs to happen!  If that's you, then we want you on board as part of our crew!

The S.S. Hope is now in production.  The S.S. Hope will soon be boarding. The S.S. Hope is a place for you!

6 words of my life

I was taught six words that would forever change my life. These words are not of great scientific insight. They are not even proverbial in and of themselves. Actually, they are quite simple.

They come from a biblical passage where Jesus says "freely you have received, freely give." If you are a regular reader of this blog you are wondering where the nutrition and exercise content is. Being healthy is more than having a body that is healthy. Being healthy is about all if you.

Here is my thought: we all have something to give away. I am not just talking money or even time. But we all have been given something. Personally as a follower of Jesus, I believe I have been given a lot. I have been given freedom, grace, love, truth, and honestly more than I ever deserved.

Here is why these 6 words make so much sense in ours lives (follower of God or not) by giving away we create space for more. The Dead Sea is dead because water has no place to flow out. It just gathers and stays stagnant, because of that no life can exist in it. I am working in my life to give away more. Honestly, of substance there is little margin to give, but of non tangible yet life-giving things I have an abundance.

2013 is a year I am going to try to give more. Yes, I hope to pass along the wisdom I am gaining on getting healthy, on nutrition, on exercise. But I am not limiting it to that. I hope to give more love, more grace, more kindness, more joy. I hope and plan on giving more of me to others. And as God blesses, I hope to give more away even financially.

Everything I have received, especially in the non-tangibles, I received freely. It cost me nothing to give it away. But limits me greatly to not give it away. If I hold back on giving I become like the Dead Sea a place nothing healthy can stay and live. If you and I give away what we have freely received we open up our lives to gain more to give away. "Freely you have received, freely give." Six life changing words. So what do you have to give?

From the inside out

A friend of mine once told me that fixing the outside if the inside is broken tends to only accentuate the brokenness.

My disclaimer is that I am not a licensed psychologist, psychiatrist or even a psychic, so anything posted on this blog is intended as an unofficial helping hand.  

Self image and self perception are huge issues in relation to your health and fitness. There are some who no matter what the result never see themselves any different.  Their body might be healthy, but the inside still isn't.  Your heart health is just as important as your physical health.

Your heart is more than just the thing that pumps blood to the rest of your body.  The heart in a lot of cultures was consider the center or the seat of your being.  It is widely considered that the source of life both physically and spiritually/emotionally was the heart!  All this being said your health goes far beyond a flat tummy, bulging biceps and skinny waist.  Health is an emotional issue.  Health is a spiritual issue.  Health is a wholistic issue.  All of you needs to be healthy.

While focusing in on your fitness improves you body, focusing in on your relationships will improve you heart condition.  While locking in on what goes in your mouth, lock in on what you put into your mind.  Surround yourself with positive and encouraging people.    Read books, blogs, posts that will fill your heart and mind with peace, joy and love.

Take aim at making all of you healthy!  Here some tips:

1) Read personal development type books.  Books that better you!

2) Find a faith community - church, synagogue, Bible study.

3) Find friends that build and support you in your dreams and in your health goals.

4) Continue to exercise.  Endorphin make you happy!

5) If necessary find someone or place to help you deal with the emotional stuff - a counselor or psychologist.  There is no shame in asking for help.  We all need some help!

Your heart and your spirit are just as important as your body.  Get all of you healthy!

Another Reason WHY

This weekend our family took a short getaway to Caribbean Cove Hotel and Waterpark in Indianapolis.  The waterpark was your typical indoor facility with kiddie area, activity area, lazy river and 3 water slides.

My youngest child is my little diva.  She is 5 years old and working on 15 most days.  It took me a little convincing, a couple dollars cash to get her down that first waterslide, but once she did...it was I could do to keep up.

Here is a little perspective, the waterslides stand 40 feet up in the air, 4 stories high, 4 stories of steps...multiplied by the enthusiasm of a 5 year old girl who kept saying "daddy, one more time."  Every one more time meant picking up our bright yellow intertubes, lugging it up those 4 stories of steps, to sit her down on that tube and give her smiling face a push down that slide.

It was just 7 seconds of bouncing and bumping down that yellow tube on that air inflated tube to get to the bottom of the pool only to find her their soaked by water but having the time of her life.  And then those words "one more time" was reason enough to pick up that tube and travel up those 4 flights of stairs one more time.

There is a difference between being a dad and being an "active" dad. Being an active dad means not sitting on the sideline and watching them slide, but traveling along side them down the slides of the journey.  It has been a journey for me to lose the weight, get healthy and get fit.  But days like yesterday make it worth it.  Worth every step, worth every slide down, worth every water soaked smile on her face.  Just one more reason why I am stay healthy!

I ate my feelings and...

In our continued stream of thinking along nutrition and my continually belief that confession is good for the soul...I am an emotional eater.

When it rains, it pours highly carbohydrated snack foods in a Noah's Ark style flood.  In order for me to achieve the success of my goal weight and maintain that healthy, the one thing I have to find control over is my emotional eating.  I tend to eat when the stresses of life become overwhelming.

So here are 3 alternatives to eating my weight in snack foods:

1) Workout - pop in a DVD and sweat it out.  Pushing my physical fitness and releasing endorphin keeps me from binging.

2) Run - while similar to working out, running allows me to put my body on cruise control and engage my mind in some thinking and processing.  It gives a chance to escape to another place (both physically and mentally) and avoid the snacks.

3) Laugh - The proverb says that laughter is good medicine.  Being able to find humor in laugh is healthy.  While whatever the situation was may not have be funny at all, there is plenty in life to find laughter in.  So laugh, smile, and take your hands away from the sweets and salty.

I have not perfected being an overcomer of emotional eater.  I am working on it.  I try to use these alternatives to stuffing my face.  In an honest reflection, I really don't feel any better by eating.  While I satisfy my taste buds, I upset my belly and worse really don't emotionally feel any better.  (SAD FACE)

A Recovering Fat Kid

If you have ever worn anything with Husky in the title...you might be a fat kid.

That was me, the chunky, husky kid (with a brother that wore jeans with slim in the title).  I was that slightly overweight athletic kid.  While always good at sports, I was even better at a buffet.  I loved food and food loved me back.  For whatever reason I could not out run the calories I was taking in.  I was active, energetic and played outside.  I was part of the pre-video game society.  We played hide and seek, kick the can, and ghosts in the graveyard.  And I was still the chubby kid.

Here is the intriguing piece of this puzzle, most of us grow up to still wrestle with that fat kid.  I am Jeff Pitts and I am a recovering fat kid.  This is because over time our metabolism slows down and so do we.  The one lesson that we continue live out is how we still eat like a kid...pick at our green veggies and sliding them off to the dog.  We must muster through some mustard greens in order to fill a bowl full of ice cream.

As a recovering fat kid I have had to swear off sweet tea, end my love affair with Chex Mix and close the bag on my deep seeded desires for Peanut M&M's.  I have had to mature into a passionate consumer of broccoli, a master chef of veggie medley and daring daredevil of things that fall in the vegetable category.

There are not meetings for people like me, but there is help.  I have found support in the caring arms of the Beachbody community.  Beachbody is more then the company behind the eye catching informercials for the world's leading fitness programs.  It is a group of fitness minded, exercise lovin', nutrition learning recovering fat kids like me.

Maybe you found yourself in some Huskies in your youth...then I invite you to join me and thousands of others who are recovering fat kids!

Day #22 The Hardest Workout

No it is not P90X or Insanity Pure Cardio...it is the workout that you don't want to do.  Tonight was one of those nights.  I was fighting a headache, so every time I jumped my head throbbed.  I watched the seconds tick slowly as my only thought "oh Lord, when is this going to be done!"

Sometimes the hardest things are the things that you feel least like doing.  On the flip side of that coin is that those workouts are oftentimes the most rewarding.  I may not have burned as many calories as a workout that I felt fresh and ready to go, but the emotional reward of pushing through a difficult workout is as much a gain as workout you attacked.

These are the moments that are a test of grit, a test of determination, a test of discipline.  Tonight I had all three....

EXERCISE:
LES MILLS COMBAT Extreme Cardio 60