Are you the 1 out of 3 New Years frogs? Last week I shared some motivational tips and ideas on how to start 2010 on the right track. This blog is for you if you need the un-sugar coated version to clean out the ----- sort to speak in your head. Call it psychological junk, baggage, stinkin thinkin, excuses or whatever it is that has been piling up in your head for months or years and preventing you from leading a healthy life you are intended and given.

Continually heat up a frog in warm water. I've heard it will die. Throw a frog in hot water and it will jump out and survive. Bad habits are like warm water, they are subtle. They start overnight and before you know it are hard to quit and erode your life. Only 1 out of every 3 people in this country do NOT live a lethargic lifestyle with bad posture, are overweight and out of shape. We as a country and as a individual need to take responsibility starting with our own mind, body, family and community.
I hope you don't require hot water thrown upon you to burst into greatness and by no means do I suggest that. However, I do suggest you strongly look at those warm water habits and take aggressive action to get out of them before they eventually burn you.

Accept that if you want to lose weight, the bottom line is moving more and eating less. There is no big secret. Plan ahead or plan to live the same as you are. It starts with a strong intention of change. Before you go to bed you had better have a plan about how you want your day to unfold tomorrow. Otherwise tomorrow will be next week, next year-- you get the point. You need to plan your food and exercise carefully.

Get some decent sleep. Nothing will erode your life faster or make you life healthier than the right amount of sleep. Generally speaking at least 7-8 hours for an adult and 10 or more for a child. If you doubt this or need to fully understand the gravity of this, simply google sleep deprivation. We as a country somehow expect to sleep the least and work the most and expect to be happy. Need I say more. So plan to get your sleep if you want your brain and body to have a chance for real change.

Eat a reasonable breakfast, lunch and dinner and eat slower so you give your body time to let yourself know that you have had enough food. Eating to your full is not healthy. Another words if you can't get off you duff and go for a fast walk you ate too much. Healthy snacks are not handfulls of nuts, juices, bagels, sodas, coffee, crackers and cheese. That is what overweight lethargic people eat thats keeps them overweight and lethargic. How about water, fruit or leftovers and not calorie dense foods. Eating more because of boredom, fatigue, unhappiness, peer pressure, birthdays or other conditioned reasons are poor excuses that need to be buried. Bury them or they will bury you with guilt and eventual unpleasant diseases such as diabetes, organ failure, heart disease, depression, cancer, joint disease etc. Your body and mind are a temple of greatness-- treat it like your parents intended it to be. Obstacles are challenges to make you stronger and happier not imprison yourself.

Clean the house of junk food and rid yourself of temptations. Having kids is a lame excuse to have junk food in the house unless of course you want them to be in the same predicament as you. I think not. What good is a smart kid who is unhappy about how they look and feel from bad food, watching tv and playing mindless video games? All of which is greatly contributing to the childhood obesity epidemic.
Check out mypyramid.gov if you have forgotten why we have learned about healthy foods and portions in grade school.

Finally, do the right exercise program. An exercise program is not an exercise routine. I am routinely asked, "What is a good exercise routine?" My answer to that is that there is no such thing as a healthy exercise routine. A routine implies that if I do "xyz" set of exercises 3 or more times per week I will somehow be successful. NO! We were not born and did not evolve to do the same "set" of exercises as a typical "gym" instructor or salesman would have us believe. Changing our program is not switching different weight training and cardio machines once a month. That is not ever going to work long-term. 3 out every 4 people quit because of a lack of results in a few months. We quit because we lack education on how to use our brain and body! It's that simple. We are made to always be learning and changing are program as needed to have mental and physical challenge. A routine is the long version of a rut and a rut is not much shallow than a grave. A routine, causes muscle imbalances, repetitive stress injuries, postural distortions and gets boring. Your exercise program is not like a food program. It requires more continual evaluation and should change minimally once every 2 weeks to once a month from strength training to stabilization training and should focus on enhancing full body movements, core strength, flexibility and posture that actually enhance your daily life movements. Do yourself a big favor and learn more about the basics of biomechanics, posture and adaptation to avoid injury, boredom and get over plateaus to lose weight. Remember when your body adapts you burn less calories and store more fat.

Habits are hard to break and easily restarted without continual focus. With that said there is no faster way to a healthy and fit body than knowledge and guidance from someone who can help that is actually really qualified. Get the knowledge you need from someone who is highly experienced in psychology, nutrition, biomechanics, anatomy, phyisiology etc., not from your friend, a gym rat, a simple book or what everyone else are doing. If losing weight and building muscle were easy we wouldn't have the worst obesity epidemic and worst posture in the history of mankind and its related diseases. Cookie cutters work for cookies not exercise routines.

If you have any questions about what you need I will be happy to freely help with a free and complete assessment
Thanks for reading and I look forward to your candid comments about how you have taken strong action towards your temple.

Kickoff Your New Year The Right Way

Here are some great motivational tips to remember and adopt now and for January to move you toward your fitness goals in the new year!

Empower yourself by taking responsibility for your current state of health. Nothing looks and feels as awesome as getting and looking fit, youthful and in control of your life.

What's holding you back from getting the body and lifestyle you dream about? Here is a common excuse list and what to do about it now.

Boredom? Get your heart and head in the game and get creative with food, exercise and goals. If you don't know how, talk someone who can help.

Poor attitude/Limiting beliefs? Realize sabotaging yourself gets you nowhere except more unhappy. Instead focus on what you REALLY want to achieve your goals. Then take some physical action to get you out of the disempowering mood and physical position. It works every time.

Family or friends unconsciously steering you off course? First of all, NEVER, EVER let others get in your way of your goals and happiness. Second, plan ahead with healthy snacks, healthy choices on the menu, and rehearse what to say or do when you are encouraged to eat unhealthy or do less exercise. Learning to say yes to your health is hard to do when you are on the spot so practice ahead of time to stay out of trouble.

Time? Identify the biggest thieves of your life, health and happiness such as the tv, internet and the phone. Cut these down to a minimum and focus on quick and healthy eating and exercise routines that actually make you feel much better about yourself when your done.

10 minutes a day of planning and execution can be all you need to get yourself going in the right direction.

Stay tuned for more motivational tips next week!

Latest update from New York Health News

Check out this controversial short video about drinks with sugar!

http://wcbstv.com/health/anti.obesity.fat.2.1368606.html

While we are on the topic, for those who want to lose weight, here are some important holiday reminders:

1. The fastest way to bigger clothes are processed foods that store as fat quickly.
   
2. Healthy food is great but if you are decreasing your physical exercise it will store as fat.
   
3. Try to stick with generally the best and healthiest wt. loss method -high fiber low calorie foods such as lots of greens and fruits.

In fact, the USDA recommends 5- 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day for adequate health. Are you getting yours?

Please stay tuned for the straight facts and strategies for rapid and long-term fat loss.

Healthy and Happy Holidays to you!