"Walking the Talk" Insanity: Day 25 of 60

There is so much noise these days everywhere.  I mean endless, mindless, baseless, and completely unfiltered chatter…everywhere.  As the internet has become the tool of communication choice for folks, the more everyone has something to say and the more everyone thinks their voice will and should carry the day. The most discouraging part of all of this is that, even if your message has real value, and could potentially save lives, it will always fall victim to the “Kim Kardashian Wedding” or the “Octomom.”  Many great messages are falling to the side of the road.  It’s the nature of the game.

So, if you have a valuable message that constantly rings the values of health and fitness…how do you give resonance to that ring?

There is only one real way to do it.  Walking the talk.

The first rule of persuasion or selling is to be able to demonstrate expertise.  It’s the hardest hurdle to overcome.  Nothing fuels the leap over that hurdle like credibility.  If you are a doctor, you are there.  If you are a credentialed Nutrition specialist, you have a distinct advantage.  If you are a certified physical trainer, point for you!  But if you are talking health and wellness, and you have none of these things, you better wear credibility as a suit every day and it starts with looking like you are healthy and fit.  The other key is that, if you are helping people get from unfit to fit, you better be able to relate to and verbalize that journey.

“Walking the talk” gives your message strength and resonance.  Here is another secret.  By “walking the talk” you have a distinct advantage over even those who are actually professionally credentialed!  If you are a doctor, nutrition expert, or personal trainer, and you look like you are not fit yourself…you may persuade some people, but there will always be those who look at you skeptically with one eye cocked.

When I went on the Optifast diet in 2008, the physician running the program was a short, tubby, and kind of jolly looking man.  I have to say honestly that, as he was touting the benefits of weight loss and the value of the program, no matter how good those words sounded, they lost resonance coming out of that rolly polly frame.

Since 2008, many have asked me about my journey.  My blog has been read as far away as New Zealand and some have even emailed me for advice.  The reason they reach out, I believe, is that I practice what I preach.  I have been in their shoes.

I have done a lot of reading and research about nutrition.  I can tell you how the body breaks down food and processes it.  I can tell you how the bad food is processed and stored…and how toxic fat truly can be.  I can talk about the personal issues that being fat can cause.  I can talk about the challenges of keeping the weight off.   I can tell you how valuable exercise can be for you.  BUT, do you know what people respond to more than anything else?  A side by side photo of me in July 2008, in my bathing suit at 285 lbs, and a picture of me in March of 2009, at 205 lbs.

A picture is worth a thousand words.  No kidding.  I know, because I have written HUNDREDS of thousands of words and the pictures do it every time.

My blog helps.  I do have a certain writing style.  Those who know me claim that when they read my writings, they can literally see me saying it.  My writing and my real voice and style carry the same resonance.  Many have called my writing style “graphic”…in the nice way.  They say that when I write about something, it is very descript and you can actually see it happening.  I tell you my entire journey of fitness and many have said that you can feel the work and energy that went into the whole voyage.  It’s a nice complement, because that’s how I like my writing to be seen.

But, in the end, it’s the damn pictures!  Show me.  That’s the world today.  In and amongst all the chatter and blather, you better have something visual to show people.  Because words are cheap.  Hell, they’re free.

Are you walking your talk?  My question today addresses health and fitness but the question and comments apply to whatever it is in your life that you are working to promote. 

If you don’t sincerely believe that your product or service works and is good, or, more importantly, if you can’t demonstrate it, you’re in a tough spot.

“Why is everyone so skeptical of these products?”

“Why don’t they understand that this will HELP THEM?”

“Why do they always say that there are other things that work better?”

“How can I motivate them to make a decision?”

The answer lies with you.  Look in the mirror and ask yourself if YOU believe it.  Ask yourself if you can demonstrate that message.  More to the point, ask yourself if you portray someone who looks and feels better.  Do you?

My old boss Glenn Morin used to have a saying, and he may have heard it somewhere, but he said on a few occasions, “You have to be able to eat your own dog food.”  Now that’s graphic.

So look in that mirror.  Do you “Walk the Talk?”

"Focus on Your Successes" Insanity: Day 24 of 60

The other night, I went to Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.  I went to see the music group America play live.  The fans were very much in my age range…that is to say, they had their teen years in the Seventies and maybe the Sixties.  As I stood there, I struck up a conversation with a podiatrist who is expanding his practice into retail footwear for the ‘pediatically’ (I made that up) challenged.  He had some very interesting insights on this generation of kids we are bringing up.

He said, “Everything with this generation is now.  Now.  Now.”  All they think about (generally) is, “Where’s my stuff?  When do I get what I know I deserve?”  The real point to his opinion was that this generation feels entitled and that they focus on what they ‘don’t’ have and complain far too much about not having it.  I don’t think that is generational though.  I think it is a cultural thing that we are all experiencing in one way, shape or form.  It’s something I try very hard to NOT do, and I will share why.

You cannot be successful unless you are moving in the direction of your goals.  To do that, you need to have knowledge and skill, which we can all get somewhere if we look hard enough.  The other two critical factors, confidence and motivation, can only come from the journey you are on and the other successful journeys that you have had.  Nothing helps breed success like past successes.  They build on each other.  When you have had a few, you then have the confidence that you can have more.  With that confidence, you find ways to self-motivate to achieve the next goal.

It is so easy to focus on what you do not have.  I could do that with my health and fitness goals.  But where would I be?

When I started this journey, I weighed 285 lbs.  That was four years ago.  It has been a long journey getting here.  The life of health and fitness that I now live had to evolve to where it is right now.  It didn’t change overnight, and the reason it worked is because I knew right from day one that it wouldn’t happen overnight.

I went on the Optifast liquid diet with a group of about twenty people.  The diet itself can be (and was) very successful for many.  But, like every other ‘diet’, it works for that period that you are engaged in it only.  To keep the weight off, it is up to you to make permanent and lasting changes to how you live.  Why?  Because if you go back to your old patterns your old friend “Mr. Fat” will be knocking on your door and in no time at all, will be sitting intimately with you on the couch again.  Why, four years later, am I still thin?  Because I knew it wasn’t an “instant cure” right from day one and my focus was life change, not weight loss.

I now do Beachbody health programs to maintain and improve my health.  In addition to the dietary changes I have made (to include high nutrient density foods), I also use their nutritional products.  I have seen awesome results from these programs and products.  P90X took 90 days…but due to some changes I made, I actually did it for 104 days.  I am on day 24 of Insanity.  That’s one-third of a year.  128 days of commitment and exercise every day.  In addition, I follow my diet, which includes the Beachbody Shakeology drink every day.  It’s a long journey.  How do I (or you) keep it up?

Focus on the successes.

I look in the mirror every day for results.  My body isn’t perfect.  Far from it.  I can tell you candidly that when you are 285 lbs and have had a big fat frame, for the number of years that I had one, that shrinking it to the form of the people you see on the DVD’s is very difficult.  Most people who are reversing a lifetime of perverted eating are going to have the exact same issue.  When you have been that big, and you start to lose the weight, it’s like letting the air out of a balloon that has been inflated for a long time.  The shell of the balloon has accommodated itself to that shape and can’t just shrink and depress.  You have fat cells that have been the containers for the fatty substances you use for energy (or not) for a very long time.  They don’t just disappear.  They empty, but they stick around.  Just in case.  Like suitcases waiting to be packed for the next trip.  Only after you have leaned your body for a while do they finally get the message and dissolve and go away.  It isn’t a pretty sight when you look in the mirror.

There are places on my body where I have accumulations of fat that are very slow to respond.  There is an area that was around my belly but now has become kind of like a tire around my lower back.  It’s shrinking and getting there, but slowly.  It has taken a very long time to reduce this.

My point is this.  I could focus on the fitness things that have not just immediately happened.  I could look at the things I really wanted to ‘be perfect’ and be depressed that they are not.  But there are other areas of my body that have had serious positive results.  My performance has also improved.  My health markers (cholesterol etc.) have improved.  If I chose to focus only on the things I haven’t had happen yet, how would my motivation be affected?  I choose (and you should too) to see the real positive results and ingrain that in my head.  Every success recognized contributes to my track record of wins and gives me the confidence that the next steps are extremely achievable.  This goes for health and fitness, but also is for the other areas of your life.   

That’s why you need to focus on your successes.  You need to put those ‘wins’ away like trophies on a shelf and you need to remember them.  You need to recognize them.  When it comes to health and fitness, nothing plays the role of ‘trophy case’ like a mirror.  In a society that pretends everyone should be humble, there are those who will think you are vain for looking at yourself.  Well, when they earn their trophies, they will change their perspective.  Until then, find some noise killing headphones and bask in your own glory.  Find the things you are happy with.  Use that as the fuel for your next win.

 Cardio Recovery tonight and P90X Chest Shoulders and Triceps!

"Hitting the Wall" Insanity:Days 20-23 of 60

When I was doing P90X, I felt just like I do right now.  Worn out.  Serious adjustments were necessary.  I had to change my diet, I had to add good food.  I have to say though, that I am more tired with Insanity than I was with P90X…I am just running down.

A couple of observations…

Sleep.  I am not getting enough.  Last week, I exercised late almost every day due to things that had to be done after work.  This completely threw me off on my sleep for days.  Then, I had to get up early on both weekend days.  My body is simply not repairing the way it should.  I need to focus on getting my exercise done early enough so I can get a good night’s rest.

Nutrition.  I am getting good nutritional efficiency, I just feel like I am not eating enough.  I am actually starting to feel hunger.  I am going to have to increase my food intake…particularly as I ramp up into Phase II of Insanity.  It goes longer and harder so my fuel will have to be a lot better.

Hydration.  I don’t know if it was the New England change of weather or what, but my body is responding differently.  I think I might need to hydrate better.  I know that my routines are always ‘sweat-drenched’ affairs so I am losing plenty of water.  There are some nights when I feel like it takes me a little too long to warm up.  There are two times of the year in New England when I notice my body change to the weather.  One is around the end of May when the weather gets more humid.  The other is around early October when the weather gets really dry.  I can feel the change this past week.

The routines themselves are actually fine…I can go through them most nights without pressing pause.  I may slow down on some of the exercises.  The Plyometric Circuit is a killer on me.  The second circuit with the basketball jumps, the level one drills, the ski hops and the in/outs still is killing me.  By the time I get to the ski hops and in/outs, I am fried.  I am almost considering reversing Phase I and II just to see if I can get full impact from each circuit.  I feel like the second circuit should be done with fresh legs.  Even Shaun T. doesn’t do them all.

Believe it or not, the Pure Cardio with no breaks is actually easier on me than the Plyo Circuit.  I think that’s because my muscles are pooping out from all the work.  It really surprises me that it’s my legs giving me issues because they are stronger than most people’s.

I’m at a point where the routines are kind of blending together.  I have to keep track from day to day because it seems like when I “push play” I always feel like I just did the routine yesterday.  I swear, yesterday I put on the Plyometric Circuit and I put the Power & Resistance on to review and then went back to Plyo…I couldn’t remember which one I did.  I checked my calendar and was still sure I had done the same one two days in a row.  Finally, I just went with my calendar and did the Plyometric…when in doubt, do the hardest one.

I also should mention that I am doing AbRipperX three mornings a week and that I am doing the Chest, Shoulders and Triceps and the Back and Biceps each week as well.

So I feel like I am hitting a wall and I really need to get sleep, eat a little more, and hydrate.

Listen to your body.  If you are in tune with how you respond to your food, drink and sleep, you will know when you have to make an adjustment.

Stay tuned!  I have Pure Cardio tonight.  “Are any of you afraid as I am about for what’s about to happen?”  (you have to do Insanity to get that joke.)

"Forming Positive Habits" Insanity: Day 19 of 60

My work group went to lunch in Boston the other day.  We went to a restaurant that was noted as, “very good and high profile.”  So I sit down to look at the menu.  Soups…loaded with cheese and what must be other dairy like milk or cream.  No salads.  Bowls of pasta coated in cream sauce…many with red meat that looked like it had been cooked in lard.  No chicken or fish to speak of.  Every sandwich was on heavy white bread and loaded with, yes, cheese again.  I looked at this menu and just laughed.

My work buddy, Rick, looked over at me and laughed himself and said, “You won’t be eating much here!”

Just some observations here.

This menu disgusted me.  Not after I thought about it, which is when these thoughts usually hit you.  It was while I looked at it.  As I scanned it, every food choice was bad.  Red meat, dairy, processed food…an endless menu of very beautifully prepared junk.  Even the soups had been ruined.  The plates came out and were very decoratively prepared…as though chef school must teach them how to make beautiful looking food using the worst possible material.  At first, when you start to eat well, you will be discouraged but still tempted to just pick something on the menu.  After you have eaten well for a while, it will occur to you how bad this menu is, after you give it thought.  Once clean eating has become your life, you move to where I am now.  You look at the menu and, without a thought, put it down.  I scoured it for something I could eat.  I had the one soup without cheese…mussel soup.  Basically, it was five mussels in a broth.  Then I ordered the asparagus appetizer.  Six sticks of asparagus and two halves of a boiled egg.  Needless to say, I had to stop on the way back to the office for a clean salad of nutrient rich vegetables.

The second observation I would make is that many around me not only know of my dietary discipline, but have seen its impact on me and accept it.  My eating habits have become so well known that people close to me just need to look at the menu and then say, “Dick won’t eat this at all.”  My dietary routine has become so ingrained in me that others accept it as gospel.  That’s kind of neat.

The third observation is that others around me are actually judging what they eat in comparison to me.  I am making others think about their food choices.  I’m not doing the judging.  I never say anything about what others eat (with the exception of my kids because I see that as an obligation and teaching opportunity).  I just will do everything in my power to eat right for myself.  Sometimes people will try to help by saying, “Why don’t you have the Blah-blah-blah?”  I will just smile and tell them, “No.”  When they persist (and some will) I will explain why it is a poor choice.  And then I won’t eat it.  I find a lot of people with me looking down at their plates.  Very soon, I expect that either the people around me will eat well or I will get no invitations to lunch!  

It has taken some time, but I have gotten to a point where my food choices are healthy or none at all.  There is no meal that I cannot wait to eat.  There is nothing so urgent that I have to “sacrifice” and “give in” and eat junk when it is offered.  My eating habits have become a discipline for me.

It has paid off.  After four years, I have managed to keep the weight off and I have learned that a diet of fruit, vegetables and some lean meats will allow me to live a healthful life for the remainder of the time I have left on this planet.

Let me say this about my eating habits.  When I describe them to folks, I hear a lot of people remark, “I could never do that.”  That bothers me a little bit.  I know that many would love to do what I have done.  I know that many think that it’s ‘hard.’  It is difficult, but there are many things waiting on the doorstep of your life that will make watching your food intake look like a walk in the park.  It’s simply not that hard.  The benefits far outweigh the work involved.

Over the past four years, with constant vigilance and thoughtful choices, I have managed to solidify a foundation of habit for my health.  I look forward to every meal, but not like many do.  I don’t romanticize it.  I simply enjoy it as the food that it is.

So remember…food as fuel.  It’s not entertainment.   It’s not a love affair.  You don’t have to become engrossed in it.

And…if you ARE going to treat your body like an amusement park, make sure you inspect and do maintenance on the rides daily.  With P90X and Insanity.

Have a great day!

THE WORKOUT

Tonight was simple.  Pure Cardio.  At this point in Insanity, it’s Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.  I have been doing Ab Ripper X three days per week and some weight work…so I am leaving the Cardio Abs out for now.

I have been tired all week.  Every day it seems, I have had to do things after work and then have to work out late.  But, I have not missed a day.  Friday is my off day and I am looking forward to it.  I think my body is telling me I need a break.

That’s important.  Listen to your body.  But, make sure it isn’t just tired.  If it’s sore and broken, it needs a break.  If it’s ‘tired,’ you may have to really think about the break you are going to give it.  Is it real?

Have a great day!

"Is Your Toxic Body Poisoning You?" Insanity: Day 18 of 90

For over 65% of the people in this country, reserve stores of energy are being packed away in the form of fat on their bodies.  Calories not expended and poor food choices have turned our own bodies into “hoarders.”  Yes, just like those TV shows where people have piles and piles of useless junk in their house, we are stockpiling fat at a dizzying and obscene rate.  We must be worrying that some natural disaster or Armageddon will occur that will have us never see a stitch of food again.  If that is the case, then I applaud your insight.  Until that time though, those of us in the “fat hoarder” category are risking their lives on that bet.

Risking their lives?  How so?  It’s just fat cells right?

Wrong.

When your body starts hoarding the fat, it creates the fat cells like little receptacles and begins filling them up.  Yes, they fill up with the fatty material we stockpile for future energy needs.  But, they also stockpile other things.  All the toxins in your body that your liver can’t eliminate end up stored in your fat cells with the fat.  The more toxins you have taken in, the more poison it is that ends up there.  Toxins can be directly put in your body, like nicotine.  Toxins can be created or occur as byproducts of things you put in your body, like the saturated fat, cholesterol, and arachidonic acid you will have after a diet heavy in meat and dairy products.  Toxins are everywhere in our food, especially in the growth chemicals for natural foods and the artificial sweeteners in manufactured foods.  Most carcinogens we are exposed to in our environment or ingest (cancer causing, by the way), end up stored in the fat cells.

So, along with the fat we are hoarding (for which it could irrationally be argued that there is some disastrous dyer future need), we are also piling up toxins and wastes that sit it our bodies just waiting to poison us and cause long term medical issues.  The fat alone is bad enough.  The presence of all the fat cells, in addition to the severely bad habits around eating and the constant barrage of our digestive and metabolic systems, is crippling our bodies.  But, while we fight the effects of the excess fat cells, we leave our bodies dangerously exposed to the harmful effects of all the toxins being piled up in the fat cells.

If there was ever a good reason to improve your diet and to lose the fat, this is it. 

When you are obese, and I know this from personal experience, the first week or so that you begin a weight loss program, you feel strange.  It is not uncommon for there to be feelings of general malaise or even actual illness to occur.  When you stop taking in the excess calories, and if you also complement that with exercise, your body begins the process of glucogenesis and begins to convert the materials in your fat cells into energy for the body.  As your body processes the fatty materials, it also has to process the toxins in your fat cells.  That can make you feel ill.  It was fine when the junk was just sitting idle in your fat cells (like old asbestos in a building) slowly poisoning you, but now that you have disturbed it, like asbestos, there are the toxic effects of the dust as you remove it.  Your body is left to deal with the residual effects of ridding it of the toxic junk you have been hoarding.

Many people who begin a diet, at this point, say, “I feel like crap.  I can’t do this.  This diet is not right for me.”  They couldn’t be more wrong.  If you are feeling this way the first week, you are successfully ridding your body of waste.  Over time, your body actually gets used to this process of reverse engineering your fat cells and it becomes better at processing the toxins in the fat.  The human body has an amazing capacity to adapt to processes, both good and bad.

You have to go through this if you are going from severely overweight back to healthy.  You have to experience the feelings that go with ridding yourself of the toxins.  You could quit.  The net result to that decision is leaving the toxic time bomb sitting in your system just waiting to cause illnesses like cancer and dysfunction of your system (bringing on functional problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, nervous system disorders, etc.).

So, as I was saying, when you are considering the benefits of losing weight, nothing compares to this one.  If you are storing fat in large amounts, you are storing toxic byproducts of your environment as well.

Think about this very carefully.  Many who tell you that losing weight is important will tell you that you need to do it to (a) lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, (b) help physical structure damage caused by muscle and back issues associated with the extra mass, or (c) look better and more attractive.

The best reason that I can think of is that, for your own long term health, you need to do it because you are carrying around every toxic byproduct you ever came into contact with in your own fat cells.  As it sits there, it slowly and efficiently invades your body and poisons it.

Is that a good reason for you to consider fitness?  I am betting that it is.

Think about it, enjoy your day, and plan your next round of exercise! 

THE WORKOUT:

The workout last night was Cardio Plyometric Circuit.  I did AbRipper X before starting it, but as I got into the warmups, I was tighter than usual.  That’s when I started thinking about my day.  Very little hydration…in fact, I hadn’t had as much as a bottle of water all day.  Great time for that to occur to me.  I did the routine, of course.  I felt it though.  The calves and thighs were a little tighter.  The second circuit (Basketball jumps, Level 1 Pushups and Runs, Ski Abs, and In/Outs) was brutal.  I got through it, but I had to pause here and there.  I always know when it’s due to poor hydration because I am not tired from all the cardio, my muscles are sore from the exercise.

In order to get the most out of your cardio, the muscles have to be totally ready for the journey.  Mine weren’t last night, but I made a mental note for the future.  Insanity is the toughest thing I have done so far when it comes to nutritional and dietary discipline.  When you deviate, it shows up in spades in your routine.

Another thing, in Cardio Plyo…what’s up with Shaun T cutting short (or cutting out!) some of the stretches.  I know he thinks they are very “im-paw-tint” so, what the heck?  Just an observation.

"Home Exercise or the Gym?" Insanity: Day 17 of 60

Things have been kind of hectic lately.  When that happens, you have to work around certain priorities.  It isn’t easy.  What suffers?  A lot of time, it is the stuff you are doing for ‘you.’  Like Exercise.  It happens very easily.  When your day has been a little too long, and you’re tired and mopey, you can very easily rationalize that you can’t work out because you’re exhausted.  I was at that point last night.  Just too damn much running around etc. had finally caught up with me.

There was a time, when I would have listened to that inner voice and just cracked open a beer and sat down to watch television.  I would have good reason, too.  Not only would I have been tired, but to work out, I would have had to go to the gym.  Let’s see how that used to play out…

Thirty minutes to get my workout stuff together, hop in the car, get to the gym and get the treadmill warmed up.  Almost an hour on the treadmill, (forty-five minutes on light days), and then cool down and towel off.  Twenty minutes to drive home with Air Conditioner blasting in my face to cool off.  Ten to fifteen minutes to shower and fully dry out.  Let’s count it up…two hours.  Two hours had to be allocated to working out.  The treadmill did get old too.  It could be boring.

Back then, at 8 O’clock or even 8:30, no workout was going to be contemplated.  If I didn’t get out of the house by 7:30PM or so, it was really easy to convince myself that tomorrow would be better.  That happened a little too often.  Also, I was only running three to four days a week!  So you miss a day and the week goes from four days of exercise to three.  What was the culprit here?  My busy life.

Last night was different.  Why?

Yes, things had been hectic and I was tired.  It was 8:50PM.  My wife was already laying in bed reading.  The kids had finished homework.  All household signs and indications were that this day was over.  A year ago, this was an easy decision.  Not a great decision, but an easy one.  So, last night, what happened?

First I asked myself, how much time do I need?  Typically, with Insanity in the first month, it’s about 40 minutes.  If they throw in Cardio Abs, it’s another twenty, but let’s shoot for normal here.  I need about 45 to get my workout clothes on, push play, and do the routine.  In fact, I get dressed faster because I just throw on any old workout clothes.  Number one, no one on the DVD cares what I look like and they never judge.  Number two, these Beachbody workouts make you sweat so much that your clothes will have to be wrung out anyway, so they might as well not be your snazzy cute workout sweatpants.

So, by 9PM, there I was in front of the DVD player with Shaun T. saying, “Yo what’s up, this is Insanity!”  By 9:40PM, I was drenched in sweat and feeling pretty damn good that I had made the time and checked off another box on the wall calendar.  By 10PM, I was back on the couch with my Recovery drink and a mango (my new favorite fruit of choice).  A little over an hour was burned.

The second factor here is that, because I need to carve out less time for my workout, I do it more.  Doing it more (six days per week) actually gets your body in a cycle.  It becomes a rhythm where you get used to that flow of endorphins that comes with a rigorous workout.   In the back of your mind, with repetition, your brain begins to instinctively respond to thoughts of exercise with pleasure, not pain.

Home exercise versus the gym?  Seriously, it’s a slam dunk…home.  The reason most people don’t like home exercise is that they either don’t have a disciplined program or don’t have the equipment.  What if you had a disciplined program and didn’t need equipment?  That would work.  Know what?  It does work.

The other reason that people don’t like working out at home is that they get lonely and there is no encouragement.  I understand this, but I think it’s an excuse.  You either want to be in better shape or you don’t.  When I am at the gym, I don’t talk to anyone.  I’m not there to socialize, I’m about to run five to six miles on a treadmill.  I won’t even have enough breath to talk and run.  I do ‘people watch,’ but only when the bank of televisions has nothing of interest on.  With the home exercise programs that I have been using since February, there are enough people on the DVD’s to keep my eyes occupied.  You can count on them too…they are ALWAYS there!  Not to be rotten here, but they are all in great shape and easy on the eyes.  That is not always the case at the gym.  I am laughing as I write this.  I’m no Prince Charming either!  It’s just an observation.

Home exercise programs can be cheaper as well!  Some gym’s cost thirty to forty dollars per month.  That’s $360-$480 per year.  A Beachbody workout program (like P90X or Insanity, that I use) costs about $120 retail…but once you spend the money, you can use the DVD as often as you like.  When you take that cost and divide it by the number of times you use it, the cost efficiency is much lower than a gym membership.  Not to mention the online advice and support you get.  If you want to socialize about working out, do it online!  It’s what we do now anyway…why do you think they call it social media?

So, from my experience, home exercise with a great program that can’t be beat.  It takes less time, is enjoyable, will be repeated, and will bring you better results (if for no other reason than that you will use it more).  It also is cheaper than a gym and can be reused.

The best reason of all though is that it keeps your excuses to a minimum and the increased usage will bring you better health and fitness.

Isn’t that the real goal?  You do have a goal…right?

I’m smiling.  Now go work out!

Have a great day.

THE WORKOUT

The workout today was actually not a workout.  Okay, that’s not completely true because I was sweating when I was done.  Today was Fit Test Number Two.  You take the fit test before you begin Insanity and then you take it along the way to gauge your performance.  Last night was the first retake since starting Insanity.  My results were actually pretty good.  Keep in mind, I started Insanity on the heels of P90X and considered myself to be in the best shape of my life.  That said, in only two weeks, my results were somewhat startling.

Switch Kicks: 116 Kicks to 122
Power Jacks: 63 to 70
Power Knees: 86 to 118 (I was not using the right form on Day 0, so you can toss those numbers)
Power Jumps: 44 to 54
Globe Jumps: 12 to 13
Suicide Jumps: 17 to 19
PushUp Jacks: 39 to 48
Low Plank Oblique: 61 to 73

I was happy I beat all the people on the DVD. Except the suicide jumps. I still don't believe the girl beat me. Not cause she's a girl, but because I was keeping pace with her...I might just go back to the DVD and count her reps!

Where will I be on Day 60???

So, Insanity, like P90X, actually does what they say on TV and does get you in very good (okay, excellent) shape!

"Call Me When You're Serious" Day 16 of 60

It always amazes me that, after four years of being thinner (not skinny, thinner than I used to be), some people still wonder how the weight stays off.  I end up in the most curious conversations.  I truly believe that people think that some people are normally thin and some people aren’t.  It is always funny with me because, forever, I was fat.  Also, some of the people that I end up talking to, for the longest time, were thin.  I wasn't always this way...and neither were they.  But the conversation always takes a turn that makes it seem like that is the rationalization that works best at the time.  I had a dialog this past weekend that kind of sums it up.  Just as a side note, it was not my wife.  I always have to put in that old disclaimer.  It went something like this.

She glanced at me sitting on the couch and said, “So, you’re still keeping all that weight off.”  (it wasn’t a question, it was an observation)

“Yep…plan to for the rest of my life.”

“Yeah, I should do that.  It’s not easy.  What are you eating these days?”

“Oatmeal for breakfast, fruit as a mid-morning snack, salad at lunch with veggies and no starchy junk, protein bar mid-day, Shakeology for dinner, and nuts/fruit mix before bed.  If I get hungry during the day I might grab a fistful of nuts or eat two halves of a Klaussen dill pickle…only 20 calories in the whole massive pickle.  What are YOU eating?”

“It’s kind of like that. (said, to the snickering of her son) Do you use regular dressing on your salad? (it amazes me the things people focus on)”

“Yeah, I don’t worry too much about that, given that I’m exercising from 40 minutes  to 90 minutes on any given day with this new exercise program.  So if YOU eat like that, what kinds of snacking are you doing in between?  Because if you eat like that, it shouldn’t be really hard to stay at a good healthy weight.”

Nervous laughter.  “Oh, that might be a little of the problem.”

“How about alcohol?  Even a drink a night can lower your will-power and make you crave sugary things you know.”

“Oh, I really only have a few drinks on the weekend (to more snickering from her son).  Well, here and there.”

“I’m not your doctor,” I laughed, “I don’t care, it just makes it harder to not snack…not to mention that you don’t feel like exercising.  What kind of activity or exercise do you get?”

“Well…I walk.”  (Again, not my wife, but I know this person and the walking is basically making sure the dog moves it’s little legs enough to poop)

I chuckled, “No…exercise.  Exertion.  As in walking fast enough or exercising enough to break a sweat and know that your body is working a little bit.  Do you do that?”

More snickers from the son, and she responds, “Well, no.  I probably should.”

Someone else gets up and begins to go to the kitchen, “Anyone else want another beer?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, the person I am speaking to says, “I will.”

And then I start laughing.  Then she sees me laugh and she starts laughing too.

I’m not judging here, this is real life.  This is how many weekends go for a lot of people.  This is NOT about the person I was talking to.  It’s a rhythm and a pattern that everyone gets used to and ends up comfortable with.  It is not easy to change that pattern.  It’s funny to me because I now go through my new pattern so effortlessly that many think it’s easy for me.

It is much easier than it used to be because habits have been formed that I don’t think about anymore.  That said, those habits were changed as a result of a lot of daily decisions being made very consciously over a period of a couple of years.  That sounds like a lot, but when you consider 46 years of really crappy decisions about eating and exercise, two years is a walk in the park.

The other thing is, I’m not casual about my health.  Many are.  To many, they will not get serious until something critical happens that puts them over the tipping point.  You don’t know how you will prioritize your health until you question it.  Someone may be overheard making a nasty remark at a party that truly embarrasses you.  A child might make a very public comment about your size.  You might have to be left behind on something physical because ‘you can’t keep up.’  A doctor may look at your cholesterol and say things like, “Lipitor” and “heart attack risk.”  You may find you are winded just moving around with the kids.  Your doctor might take your blood pressure and show that alarming look which you realize can’t betray what they are thinking.  You might just look at the mirror one day and have a glimpsing memory of the smaller ‘you’ and feel an inner sadness.  It might be affecting your marriage or relationships.

It could be any one of a hundred things.  The bottom line is, 95% of the people will not do anything about their health and fitness until the “lack of it” becomes an issue they want to move up the priority chain.  The motivation has to come from inside them.

When people ask me about my weight and fitness, I never fail to tell them how I did it.  I don’t judge.  I’m not pushy.  People have to want to do it.

So I tell my story.  I don’t judge.  I was there.  I can see that most of the world still is.  I can talk about why I changed.  I always hope the best for people and wish for them that they would be proactive about their health.  I hope that they do not have a life changing event that causes them to need to do this, one that damages them in such a way as it limits the quality of the remainder of their life.  Because I was close.  I just will keep the word out there in front of me and, when they are ready, I will be standing in front of the line to speak with them.

My thoughts until then?  And, I don't say this in a nasty way...

 “Call me when you’re serious.”

"Exercise Discipline" Days 14/15 of 60

It was a very busy weekend.  Weekends like this are a good exercise in discipline.  It's easy to get out of rhythm.  Last week was the three day weekend of parties and family and parades...this weekend feels like the one where you have to get 'stuff' done.  It's real easy to sidetrack your workout.  I got out of the groove...I always work out in the morning on the weekends.  Yesterday (Saturday) I worked on the new MetaMorpheSys website and got deep into it.  I didn't get to exercise until midday, Cardio Plyo Circuit.  It was odd.

Today, no morning workout, I waited until after dinner.  It was Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.  I threw in the treadmill for kicks.

The key is making sure you find a way to do the exercise.  The diet is important, but somehow, the diet is easier to stick to...at least for me.  To exercise, you have to put the time aside and then the time to do it.  After that, you need the time to shower and clean up.  This time of year, when the heat gets turned up, it takes me longer to turn those sweat valves off.  I find that if I get it done in the AM, I am much better off.

My blogging took a hit this weekend too...I will have something more profound to write tomorrow!

Have a good night, hope the weekend was great, and I hope you found time to exercise.  I think of it as the time I selfishly keep for myself.

Good night!

"Walking Before You Run" Insanity: Day 13 of 60

I am known to be a pretty fearless person.  There is nothing that I think I cannot do.  The things that I will not try can probably be counted on one hand and are pretty much in the life and death category…like bungee jumping.  When it comes to a “Challenge” (like P90X or Insanity), all you need to do is say the word and I am there. 

“Am I as good as I think I am?” 

“Am I better than the kids?” 

“Can I make it through this?”  

I have an internal mechanism that makes me say "yes" when I hear "challenge."  Call it confidence, call it uber-optimism…hell, call it lunacy…it’s just there.  Growing up, I heard all the time that I was lazy.  I never believed it.  But that challenge looms in the back of my mind all the time and drives me.  It’s weird sometimes that the thing I hated hearing the most is probably the most responsible for my successes in life.

I am self-aware enough to know that fact about myself.  I am also aware that others know that about me.  As a friend once said, “You reek of confidence.”  That’s me.  That’s not the rest of the world.  I have to accept that because it’s reality.

When it comes to these intense Beachbody workouts like P90X or Insanity, there are many who believe they cannot do it.  I can point to my own success with the programs but, while I am very credible, my known personality works against me.  Many think there is something about my personality that they do not have…and they think that will sabotage their success with the same program.

Then there are the infomercials on TV.  I love them.  I love them because they challenge me.  Inside, I look at the people on the infomercial and say, “I can do that.  I can probably do it better.”  But, and this is a big "but", they are intimidating.  They are meant to challenge people, and they do that.  Many people, however, will not accept the challenge.  In fact, more than most will forgo the challenge.  Many look at those commercials and say, “I think I need something easier,” or “I could never do that.”  Could they do it?  Yes, they could.  But, is it hard?  Yes, it’s hard.  But, you know, it’s not that hard.  What’s hard is doing it daily and making sure your schedule can accommodate the plan.

Here is the big secret…

It’s not the program that gets you to lose weight and be fit.  It’s your dedication to the program.  Any program.

To me, knowing that one secret is the key to overcoming the real barrier to entry for health and fitness.  Everyone thinks there is a magic formula.  If Dick St.Jacques is fit, it must be the P90X.  It must be the Insanity.  He must be special.  That’s not true at all.  It’s the dedication to deciding to exercise six days a week for at least 40 minutes.  It’s making the right choices when I eat.  That’s the secret.

The program is important, don’t get me wrong.  The program you pick is important for only two reasons.   The first big one is that the program is motivating enough that you WANT to do it.  The instructors have to be fun and engaging.  The workouts have to be energizing.  The second is that the program has to be designed in such a way as to actually be achievable six days per week and it has to have that discipline of executing the exercises.  There is a reason that the programs from Beachbody come with a calendar to plan the workouts for you.  You don’t have to think, the discipline is built in.  The achievability factor is also a part of the programs.  They have been designed so the parts of you that you work on Day One are not hampering the Day Two workout.  Your body has time, within the calendar, to rest and heal.

The most important thing to getting anyone to embrace a health and fitness mindset is to encourage that first step.  Walk before you run.  Most of the people who will reject a challenge on P90X or Insanity, would maybe try Slim In 6, TurboJam or Hip-Hop-Abs.  They may try other programs as well.  You have to know the person you are talking to.  The most important thing is to do anything you can to encourage that first step.  The first step is the discipline of execution.

I love the Beachbody products.  Every single one I have tried has helped me succeed.  My ultimate goal, however, is to be an example to my peers on how modifying to a more healthy lifestyle of exercise and eating properly can improve their health, increase their longevity, and sustain the best quality of life possible.

What is the best exercise program?  The one that the person you are talking to will do every day.  Even if it is just walking daily at a brisk pace for 40 minutes…that might be the best program.  If they like the program, they will be motivated to "push play."  The discipline will be right behind the motivation after a couple weeks.  Once the discipline is there, the results will follow.  After results, you get confidence.  Big results follow the consistent execution which accelerates motivation and then, yes then, you have someone making a permanent change.

Happy Friday!  It’s my ‘off’ day again.  You know what that means.  I did AbRipperX this morning.

Enjoy your day!    

"Shouting into the Noise" Insanity, Day 12 of 60

Has there ever been a time in our culture when Health and Nutrition guidance needed so desperately to be listened to?  If you look at the statistics on overweight and obesity, you would have to say, “No.”  As a nation, 60% of us are overweight while 30% of the total is classified as obese.  Child obesity statistics are mortifying.  We are eating more manufactured “food” than ever before.  Nutrient deficient foods, refined sugar, and toxic sweeteners/additives are in 85% of what you see in a grocery store.  Our daily lives, over the age of eighteen, are sedentary with fewer and fewer jobs requiring physical effort to perform.  Medical costs to the “over forty” group of adults are skyrocketing due to chronic illnesses caused by these extremely poor eating and exercise choices.  Heart conditions, cancer, blood issues, edema, acid reflux, sleep apnea…the list is endless.  All of these conditions are avoidable with the right life choices.  That’s a fact.

So if you walked into an Emergency Room in a hospital loaded with these people…the overweight, the chronically ill, the overmedicated…how many do you think would hear you when you said, “If you make a few changes, eat right and exercise, I can show you how to avoid all of this.  I even have a few items that are proven to help you, and I can show you how to use them.”  How many?  Few?  I bet a couple would listen.  How many would listen if you said it in a medical office?  Fewer.  How many if you said it at a grocery store or mall?  None?

Why is that?  How could it be that a horse dying of thirst, when a bucket of water is put under them, would refuse to drink?  The main way is that the horse doesn’t know it’s dying.

With people, it’s a little bit different.  People are a lot more complex.  They refuse to drink because they are hoping that the lifestyle they have been living, the one they are very used to and think is bringing them pleasure, can somehow continue without consequence.  It’s maddening…believe me, I know it.

It’s strange how even the medical issues these people are facing or enduring are not enough to make them decide to change.  The not so funny part is that I get it.  I took two ambulance rides that were caused by my physical condition and job stress.  The job stress was bad but the real condition was that I was so physically broken that my body couldn’t handle the effects of that stress.  Many think that stress is psychological but in reality, the physical effects of stress are far worse.  The over stimulation of cortisol and the other metabolic changes that happen in the body due to stress can kill you.  I know that.  But that’s not what made me change.

For me, it was an ‘aha’ moment when I was simply turning a screw on a July day and I was sweating a puddle under my face.  I am dead serious.  That snapped me.  That’s the day I decided I was changing and not going back.

So here we stand with all this information and we wonder why there is so much resistance to the message.

I have spent the last ten years selling bank products on the internet.  Getting someone to open a checking or savings account online is very difficult.  To be successful, you have to be patient and understand why people decide to buy things.  “Buy” means that they decide they want to invest time and/or money in a product or service.

The first three things you need to be successful are you need to have expertise, honesty, and likability.  Expertise has to be complemented with credibility.  People have to believe that you actually believe the message.  You can’t fake that.  Honesty and likeability are things we all have come to appreciate and try to aspire to, but you also need to complement those two things with sincerity.  Absent sincerity, looking honest and likeable is hollow and sniffed out very quickly.

You would think that once you get over this hurdle that your job is done.  Oh no.  Not at all.  That just takes care of your side of the selling equation.  Selling any concept, service or product requires the other person to do something too.  The next question is, “What would this product have to do for them to inspire them to change?”  That’s really the issue here.  Change.  We live today in a culture where we have so much that there are very few products that are needed that we don’t already own.  So the trick is getting people with too much and very busy lives to see your product as so essential that they need to have it.

So, if your product is health and fitness, what would trigger someone to decide to embrace the message?

Does the service fulfill a basic need?  Health and fitness?  Oh , yes…it does.  Do THEY think it’s needed?  Maybe not.  They may think they are healthy enough and have moved on to satisfying other needs in their life.

Does the service offer a benefit of convenience?  Nothing is more appreciated than a solution to something that is fast and effective.  Ever wonder why more diet pills are sold than exercise DVD’s?  Perceived convenience.

There are many other reasons that people buy things…scarcity, replacing something they already have that either broke or requires a significant upgrade, low price, great value, fills an emotional void.  But with Health and Fitness…it is obvious.  THEY NEED IT.

So what need is it fulfilling?  Is it a basic need?  Maybe they have had a health crisis.  Maybe they have been warned that things are so bad that a health crisis is imminent.  So maybe it would fulfill a basic safety need.  Is their health affecting their relationships?  Better health could improve their need for love and affinity.  Do they want desperately to be held in regard by others (an esteem need) ?  The closer the need is to the basic needs, the more they are likely to be receptive.

Regardless, I have been pushing a pro-health message for four years now.  I have been living it, so I have some credibility.  After that, people will only move on becoming more fit when THEY are ready.  Don’t get frustrated and just keep pushing the message.  It is desperately needed.

THE WORKOUT:

Last night’s workout was great.  I finally figured out why my thighs were getting ripped up in the routines.  I was not squatting properly.  My knees were out over my toes and, when I dropped my butt into the squat, I was bending my knees at an angle less than 90 degrees, which is really tight.  My poor form was actually killing my legs.  I made and adjustment last night and it was great.

Same result for tonight’s workout.  Better form and all went really well.  I am still sweating like crazy but my endurance is building.  One observation though…and this is how I know that I am in week two…some observations on the other participants.

I am jogging my butt off in the Pure Cardio.  WHAT are some of the people in the back doing?  Their feet aren’t even leaving the floor!!  They are ‘flashdancing’ as the legs barely move and the arms pump. It’s all I can do to not hum ‘Maniac.’  Also, there is a guy that gets caught huffing and puffing with a painful look on his face and when the camera cuts to him, he turns on the gas.  The surprise look makes me laugh every time.

Okay, signing off.  AbRipper X in the AM.  KEEP IT GOING!!  

"The Diet That Changed Me" Insanity: Day 11 of 60

I am reading a book on nutrition called “Eat to Live” by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.  As I read it, it occurred to me how the diet of food that I eat today is so radically different than four years ago and how similar it is to what is being prescribed in the book.  The strange part is that, after you make a change, and after you literally ‘make it you’, you forget what you used to have as a routine.  When I begin to tweak my memory and note it, the contrast literally spells out how my physical appearance and overall health has seen its dramatic change.

I have been very open about needing to do a liquid diet called Optifast to originally lose the weight.  LOSING the weight is not the challenge we all face.  In fact, the Optifast diet has an 80% recidivism rate (they gain the weight back.)  The real diet is the one that has kept the weight off for almost four years now!

Breakfast

THEN: My breakfast over four years ago used to be that I would grab coffee in the morning and make myself toast with peanut butter and jelly on most mornings.  When I got to work, if I hadn’t stopped to grab a donut on the way in to work, I would hit the cafeteria around 10AM to get more coffee and a muffin. 

NOW: Oatmeal with all natural applesauce and cinnamon.  Coffee.  My mid-morning snack is usually a piece of fruit or nothing.

Lunch

THEN: At lunch, I would generally eat a sandwich wrap of some type, but if there was a hot meal (like ziti and meatballs or fried chicken or steak) I would have that.  Around 3PM, I would be hungry again and might grab a pack of pop-tarts from the vending machine.

NOW: Salad in healthy portions with lots of vegetables in it.  3-4 oz of lean chicken or fish.  At about 3PM, my mid-day snack is usually a protein bar.

As a side note here, at this point in my day I probably would have consumed about 1800-2000 calories on the old ‘meal plan.’  If there were an office birthday celebration or if someone had brought in snacks, all bets were off.  Today, at this point in the day, I am probably somewhere in the 1300 calorie range.  When it comes to dinner though, that’s where the real game changer happens.

Dinner

THEN: Whatever was cooked for the family in one big portion, sometimes two.  If it was spaghetti night, two portions easy.  If it was steak, the steak was a pretty big one.  Hamburgers?  Always two.  In the summer, many meals were complemented with macaroni salad (a starch and mayonnaise combo) and a vegetable.  At about 9PM, my stomach would be looking for something else, which three to four times a week would be ice cream from the refrigerator.  On the other nights, I would grab whatever was there.

If we ate out, I usually ate something very tasty…prime rib or some other meat portion, big seafood combo, etc.   Dessert was hard to pass up…that usually happened only if I had been such a glutton at dinner that I couldn’t physically put more in the tank.  Beer with the restaurant meals…usually two and not Coors Light…usually a hearty brown ale.

The weekends were also sprinkled with family gatherings that would bring on many more snacks, desserts and beer.

On the old “eating plan”, the calorie count from about 1800 at noontime could skyrocket easily to 3200-3500 on a weekday and probably 4000 plus on a weekend.

NOW: Shakeology at dinner with fruit blended in.  4-6 oz of nut and raisin trail mix.   At 9PM, after my recovery drink, usually another piece of fruit and one more nut and raisin trail mix serving.

If we eat out, I generally stick to chicken or salmon grilled on top of a large salad.  The same goes for family gatherings.  Grilled meat and salad is the choice 95% of the time.  Dessert is in play only when I am on vacation and even then, very infrequent.  On birthdays I will have a small piece of cake with a scoop of ice cream.  I may have a seafood menu item but it is usually some type of fish and double vegetables…never potatoes or French fries.  No alcohol…ice water and maybe a diet-coke here and there.  I am trying to completely avoid all the diet drinks these days due to the toxic sweeteners in them.

My current total calorie count probably goes to about 2000 during the week and a little more than that on the weekend.  If you are wondering how I keep the calorie count that low, the real leverage is the Shakeology meal replacement shake.  It has all the nutrients of a complete meal plus nutrients you would NEVER get in a meal.  When I blend in a banana and/or blueberries, it comes to about 220 calories and fills you for hours.  No kidding.  On the weekend, I usually don’t have a morning or afternoon snack.   

Epilogue

So the diet contrast is from about 3200-3500 per day then to about 2000 during the week and about 4000 plus to about 2200 on a weekend day.  With all these numbers, consider too that my diet now is almost completely made up of natural foods and vegetables instead of breaded items loaded with refined sugar and white flour.  The sugar content of my food has been cut by about 80% and is now limited to sugar in the form of solid fruit.

I had calculated, some time ago, that when I was eating this I was also not exercising.  I was probably burning about 2800 calories a day and consuming 3500 to 4500 calories on any given day.  I may have been burning less calories for the exceptionally sedentary life I was living, but it took some energy to push around 285 pounds of girth…so let’s say 2800.  The extra 800 to 1800 calories per day…where did that go?  3500 calories is equal to one pound of weight gain.  You can do the math or go and look at my ‘before’ pictures.

I now exercise every day and burn about 800 to 1000 calories during exercise (maybe more on the weekend).  That is on top of my 2200 calories that I expend on a daily basis just moving around.  So I am burning 3000 to 3200 calories per day and taking in about 2200.  Where is the 1000 calorie per day deficit going?  3500 calories is one pound.  Again, the math is the same!

There is no doubt that the exercise gives my diet extra leverage in terms of staying lean and in shape.  It also allows a few indiscretions here and there, like pizza for dinner on Friday night.  But, without the exercise, the weight would be stable.  My conditioning would be pathetic, but I would still be a healthy weight.

This change has also resulted in my cholesterol going from close to 270 to 163.  So I have gone from a solid diagnosis of "You need Lipitor" (for the cholesterol) to, "You did all this without drugs?"  All my blood test markers were optimal for a man of fifty.  My resting blood pressure is 100/80.  I am leaner and in better shape than when I was 25 yrs old.   

So there you have it.  This is how I changed from one person to another.  I enjoy eating what I eat, I just make very deliberate healthy choices.

Which of my two eating plans are you on?  That’s a question everyone should ask themselves in private.

Have a great day!

WORKOUT:

Last night was Cardio Recovery night so I did 35 minutes of Insanity and 35 minutes of P90X Triceps, Chest and Shoulders and then did 25 minutes on the treadmill.  The recovery night is kind of bland.  On the plus side, the P90X TCS workout went real and I was able to really push it hard since I only planned to do half the workout.

Have a great day!!