Cha Cha Cha Changes...

How well are your excuses serving you?  I would ask if they were holding you back...but really that's a question that doesn't need to be asked does it?  Everyday I hear people saying how much they want to change something, whether it's their physical appearance, career, whatever.  Most everyone wants to change SOMEthing... the other thing that most people have in common is...they all have excuses as to why they won't change, can't change, aren't changing.

So they the stay...stuck. Stuck in the same body, the same job, the same unhappy relationship.  

Change can be a frightening prospect. It forces us out of our comfort zone... we don't like that!  We are afraid we might fail at whatever it is we would LIKE to do and that thought scares the hell out of us.  We're afraid of putting ourselves to the test and not getting that A+.   Chances are though, if we really took a hard look at the obstacles we think are standing in our way, they are most often self-imposed, internal limitations that have to basis in reality.  Just imaginary movies playing on a constant loop in our head.  Do you want to know what real failure is?  It's wanting to do something but being too afraid to do anything about it.  That's an automatic FAIL.

1)  I want you to get a sheet of paper and write down 3-5 REALLY important things that you have been WANTING to do but have been too afraid to do and have been avoiding.

2)   Now, take a look at what you've written down and start writing down the reasons why you have been avoiding doing them!

How many of the excuses/reasons that you've written down are truly legitimate and how many of them are imaginary?

Most likely they are only figments of your imagination that serve you NO PURPOSE in the here and now.   It's okay to LEARN from things we've done in the past....that's how we grow.  However, we can't let things we've done in the past paralyze us from trying to achieve things now.  You've probably at some point in your life burned the hell out of your mouth taking a bite of food that was too hot... have you let that stop you from eating now? NO!  See, we tried something... it didn't work the way we wanted it to so we modified, adapted and now we are successful at eating without burning ourselves. (well, MOSTLY...sometimes pizza STILL proves to be too tempting for me to wait to cool sufficiently.)

Now it's time to start to moving beyond those fears... going past those excuses and reasons you have for not going after what you want.

Just keep in mind... you also do not have to reach your goal immediately.  Again, to make another reference to pizza (can you tell I am writing this during dinner and that I'm hungry) you don't eat an entire pizza in one bite.  You break it down into several smaller, more manageable bites and you just keep after it. Same things for your goals... try to break them down into smaller, more manageable steps that don't leave you overwhelmed but individually add up to YOU achieving what it is you want to DO!  Pay attention to the journey along the way and have fun... you'll achieve your goals before you know it... if you just keep doing things that take you a little bit closer!

The Sweet Life...

For all of you who are still addicted to either your sugary drinks or your drinks that are sweetened with artificial sweeteners... HERE is a new one with some thoughts and concerns.

Maybe we should just drink more WATER and not worry about all of this stuff!?!?

THIS WAS ME!!!

Top 10 Reasons NOT To Exercise

10.  You see nothing wrong with taking up part of someone else's seat on an airplane... shoot, it's not like they PAID for it or anything!

9.  Apparently it's now TRENDY to be big... you wouldn't want to be thought of as unhip would you?

8.  If you're going to pay the same price for a piece of clothing you may as well get the one with the most fabric!  It only makes fiscal sense in this day and age.

7.  Toes? What toes?  If you Can't SEE 'em ya certainly don't need to TOUCH 'em!

6.  If you were busy exercising, how would you POSSIBLY be able to squeeze in enough time to sit in front of your TV?

5.  There's always liposuction... that's safe and easy right?

4.  You always eat healthy... even when you have the occasional fast food meal.

3.   You think gym people are CRAZY and you would much rather prefer being the fatty on the moving sidewalk than the crazy person on the treadmill thank you very much!

2.  Exercise hurts... you get sore and you sweat.  When your joints give out because they are not supposed to carry so much excess weight around, you can just get them replaced... like rotating the tires on your car!

1.  And the number ONE reason NOT to exercise is.... DAMN IT, i would TOTALLY finish this but my Pop Tarts are ready and American Idol is starting.... gotta run, well.. not run actually. You know what I mean!

Doctors Agree With Me

I know pills can be FUN to take, trust me... I like pills just as much as the junkie down the street.  Pills make great "rocks" for certain mixed drinks and can also be used as substitutes for some higher calorie ingredients in some of your favorite dishes.

And in the world we live in, it seems like there is a pill for EVERYthing.  We are obsessed with pharmaceuticals and their ability to magically cure whatever it is that is bothering us.

However... sometimes the solution to a problem, much like Dorothy discovered in the Wizard of Oz, has been with us the whole time.  It's the healing power of laughter! (The University Of Maryland Medical Center)

"Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a new study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. 

The researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease."

According to WebMd we change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face, we increase our pulse and breathe faster which sends more oxygen to our tissues.  They even say that laughter can produce some of the benefits of a mild workout.  (NO, that DOESN'T mean you can skip your workout today if you watched an episode of The Office.)

"We could perhaps read something humorous or watch a funny video and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously," Dr. Miller says. "The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be -- exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day."

Think about the last time you had a GOOD laugh either from reading something, watching something or hanging out with those friends of yours that you can't HELP but laugh with.  How did you feel?  Lighter? Happier?  A little less like the world was conspiring against you?  I know if I don't laugh regularly I feel stale and even a little sad... but after a couple of good laughing sessions, I start to find the humor in everything again and nothing seems so bad anymore.

There you have it... PROOF that all you really need to do is sweat. laugh. live.

Intro To The Paleolithic Diet

I have been trying to figure out the best way to introduce you all to the concept of the Paleolithic diet... well the wait is over.  

My friend Rusty Moore at Fitness Black Book has not only a great article that sums up the idea in an easy to understand format... he has also put together a GREAT VIDEO that, in 5 fun-filled minutes sums up what could take HOURS and HOURS of reading to really "get."

Why are you still here...go check it out. NOW!

Be The Change.

With the new administration in office now, I know there is a lot of talk and speculation going on about the current state our healthcare is in and what is going to be done about it.  I just read this great article in the Los Angeles Times that suggests that instead of us sitting around waiting for change to happen...we need to take on a little more responsibility for our own health...

"During Obama's campaign, the soon-to-be president spoke frequently of sacrifice and self-responsibility. When it comes to healthcare, however, he's failing to hold people accountable for their own unhealthful behaviors and the overwhelming financial effect they have. He needs to insist that everyone play a part in solving our national healthcare crisis."

This is not political, at the heart of this debate is Americans health and fitness and how 

that impacts our daily life.

The current health epidemics we are facing today are largely due to our 

bad habits 

such as smoking, overeating and the fact that we are so sedentary.... to most people, 

physical activity has become an anathema.

Below are some alarming statistics from the article...

"Overeating has practically become a national pastime, and the percentage of people who are overweight or obese has soared to more than 60%"

"We not only eat too much, we eat all the wrong things. Fewer than 25% of adults consume the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and fewer than half of children get adequate amounts of calcium in their diet."

"Soda has emerged as our national drink; recent surveys estimate that roughly 40% of young children and more than 60% of adults drink soda each day. "

"We live sedentary lives. According to statistics maintained by the Department of Labor, men and women in the U.S. spend between two and three hours each day watching television and less than 20 minutes participating in sports and exercise." 

If you read those statistics and thought...SO!?!?! Take a look below as the article goes on to point out the effects those statistics have on government spending. Then it starts to become clear the impact it has on all of us.

"According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medical expenditures associated with being overweight or obese may exceed $78 billion annually. For smoking, the numbers are thought to approach $75 billion each year."

"Inactivity is estimated to cost us an additional $24 billion, according to a Harvard University study published in 1999. Sexually transmitted diseases run more than $8 billion a year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Drug-use costs roughly $15 billion, says the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and alcohol abuse $26 billion, says the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism."

The article goes on to say that for some people a change in behavior may be difficult and for some nearly impossible.  For a very small number of people that may be the case.  For the majority of people, I don't buy it.  There is no chemical addiction to soda, people need to reach for water or a glass of milk instead of reaching for a coke.  Same thing with our sedentary existence... there is no SOUND REASON why people are watching  2 to 3 hours of television EVERYDAY (which I think seems conservative) but "can't find time" to spend just TWENTY minutes doing some form of physical activity.

It is time that we ALL, collectively take on a little more personal responsibility for our health and managing the care of it.  Some of the choices that need to be made are NOT the easiest or they are sometimes NOT the most fun. That being said however, we owe it to ourselves, our loved ones and everyone else to take responsibility for our actions for the good of the whole.