198 – The Float Tank

Today Dr. David Madow shares his experience in a float tank, also referred to as a sensory deprivation tank, and how it can change your life!

Hold The Eggnog! How to Stave Off Weight Gain This Holiday Season

 

With Thanksgiving now behind us, we are entering that chaotic span of the year we lovingly call “the holidays.” In America, this is a time period that condones gluttony and excess in every sense, from financial to caloric. Belt buckles, purse strings and wallets loosen up to the tune of 50-year-old Christmas anthems, piped into our malls and homes, and with so much going on between shopping, traveling, catching up with loved ones, and more shopping, it’s pretty darn easy to overindulge.

The reasons we tend to put on 5, 10, or even 20 pounds over the holiday season isn’t secret or magical, and the only ways you’ll gain weight are the same old ways you’d gain weight any other time of the year. You have to manage and control your food choices and get active, or suffer the body-expanding consequences.

Make time for activity

Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the first resource that tends to dwindle is time, and thus the first activity we slice out of our schedules is exercise. The winter months naturally make us more lethargic, and this coupled with the fact that swimsuit season feels a lifetime away makes it easy to shirk the hard work our bodies need and deserve.

Even if you’re away visiting relatives who live nowhere near your gym, you can still get your heart rate up through simple bodyweight exercises. Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and simple bodyweight squats are some of my favorite go-to moves. Even if these aren’t part of your regular workout, guess what? Your body thrives off of variation – use this mix-up as a chance to surprise your body into doing something new. If you’re a regular listener, you’ve also probably heard of my golden “4 mile” walking exercise.

If you’re away visiting family (or family is visiting you), walking could be a great way to get them physically engaged, too. Bundle up and go for a walk around the neighborhood or a local park. And if your day is simply jam-packed with activities, consider going to bed a little early and getting up before the day starts to get your blood pumping nice and early. I find it easy to hit the hay in the early evening this time of year with the days as short as they are, and there’s nothing that gets your day kick-started quite like a morning workout.

Limit the crap intake

Holiday parties are mine fields of treat traps. Forget about boughs of holly… pies, cakes, desserts, comfort foods and alcohol are the real things that deck the halls this time of year. Research also shows us that we have a herd mentality when it comes to eating – the more people we’re around, the larger our portion sizes seem to get. So when we feast with family and friends, self-control gets pushed to the wayside.

Plan for the inner conflict before you even get to the party. Personally, I like to eat a small meal before I arrive so I can control exactly what I’m putting into my body. I also take mobile snacks to my parties if I don’t know if I’ll have any edible options once I get there. Remember, you’re there to catch up and enjoy being with those you love, not to gorge. Become close buddies with the fruit and veggie platter as well – it will be your best ally!

If your extended family and friends aren’t privy to your healthy eating habits, you’ll undoubtedly face some friction. “Just one piece, it’s to die for!” Aunt Janice will say. “What’s a party without wine!” you can already hear your brother-in-law lamenting.

Expect this social pressure and don’t see it as confrontational. They’re only insisting because they want you to join in the consumable festivities and have a good time; they aren’t consciously sabotaging your progress, I promise! Be firm and friendly. There’s nothing impolite about having self-control. If your family is anything like mine, any fuss they will put up will be forgotten in 60 seconds anyway.

When it comes down to it, you’ll have to be your own advocate. Call me crazy, but with a little planning and a healthy dose of tenacity, I think you’ll get through this yet. Think how great you’ll feel when January rolls around and you power into 2015 feeling (and looking) awesome!!

Dr. Dave

CONNECT WITH ME AND SHARE
“Thank you very much for connecting! My podcast is literally downloaded by thousands and thousands each week now. In fact, we have passed the 200,000+ downloads mark! Wow! I so appreciate you listening and sharing this show with your family and friends. I love to help people live a healthier life! It is so great that we have listeners from all over the world from the United States to the UK to Canada to Europe to Japan to Australia. I love hearing from people all over the world on Facebook, Twitter, Email, and our phone hotline too!” says Dr. Dave.

Did you enjoy today’s show? Do you have any questions for me? Do you have any comments or feedback? You are not alone! We want to help you live better, stronger, happier, thinner lives!

—>The epicenter of all goodness:
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Check out the podcasts, special bonuses, recipes, blog posts, and more!

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See and hear Dr. Dave in action making smoothies and talking to you from his car with his tip of the week.

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Leave us a question or comment. Please speak clearly because we may even use your question on one of our episodes of the show.

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Tap Into the Workout Motivation You Never Knew You Had

Why do you want to exercise? What’s the draw? I’m going to guess it has to do with either one or both of these: either (a), you want to look better naked (who doesn’t!) or (b), you want to stave off weight-related illnesses like heart disease, obesity and diabetes (also a noble goal).

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with self-improving for either reason, and if you’re exercising at all, I heartily commend you. But if you’re like me, it’s depressingly easy to lose motivation when the end goal always seems to be perched on the horizon.

When one exercises to chase a number on the scale, one individual workout never seems like it makes a difference. And if you shrug it off and watch Netflix instead, the grand scheme of your cosmic fitness goal will only be set back one day. Right?

Such is the dead end of the common workout mindset. Stay with me for a second, I’m about to radically reframe the way you see fitness.

On the days you work out, a very unique chemical transaction takes place. Your brain secretes a dopamine, the brain’s number one feel-good substance. Dopamine makes you feel accomplished. Vigorous. “Strong” in every sense of the word. And there’s a reason neurologists call dopamine release a “reward pathway” – the more you do something that releases dopamine, the more you desire to do that something.

In layman’s terms we call this “addiction,” and it has a very negative connotation when we connect it to things like gambling, drug use or high fructose corn syrup. But rewarding yourself with dopamine is self-perpetuating and can be hugely motivational.

Why didn’t Bill Gates sell off Microsoft when he made his first billion? You or I probably would have. But that feeling of incremental, dopamine-fueled success is thirst-quenching. I’m sure Bill didn’t set out to be the richest man in the world, it just ended up that way because he literally got addicted to the feeling he got from running his company.

When we get addicted to that little dopamine squirt of accomplishment, that’s when BIG things happen before we even notice it.

If you’re climbing a mountain, you can’t just keep your eyes on the peak. You have to look at every handhold, every crevice along the way.

What I’m saying is that we shouldn’t sacrificially live our lives for that eventual “tomorrow” like we’re poverty-stricken farmers stockpiling for winter, just trying to make it to one ultimate point. Our lives are today, and we should make clean, guilt-free choices that make us feel good in the moment.

It’s hedonism, but progress at the same time. I see that little squirt of daily dopamine earned from working out as a means of PROVING something to yourself while IMproving your body.

When you finish a workout and give it your all, stop and think for a moment. You beat something. Surmounted it. Let that sink in. Research shows that the dopamine and endorphins that your brain indulges in during the workout (similar to the “runner’s high”) continue to flood your brain for 24 hours. Our brain and bodies are meant to interact, so movement in our bodies feeds our mind. Motion creates emotion. Working out makes us more energetic, creative and positive. Our brains light up with activity.

Emerging research also suggests that feelings of mental pain – like despair, depression or embarrassment – are chemically encoded in the brain in the exact same fashion as physical pain, like scrapes or soreness. In a very real way, heartache is an actual ache, and endorphin release serves as a marvelously effective counterweight to negative emotion.

If you absolutely hate your workout or dread going into the gym, and if you’re mentally scoffing at me right now, I have simple advice for you… try something new! Between running, hiking, weight training, swimming, spinning, yoga and the plethora other choices out there, I promise you’ll find something that speaks to you and fits your needs and lifestyle. Fitness is a bajillion dollar industry and we’re lucky to have options.

Yeah, sure, thanks to my daily workout I’ll have moved my fitness level up just a hair toward hitting my goal, but if I zoom out and look at it from a “big picture” perspective, the progress seems meager. Nobody can transform overnight, and everyone has different starting points. Just like most things in life, it’s about the journey.

So get out there and sweat. Your brain benefits just as much as your body does.

Dr. Dave

CONNECT WITH ME AND SHARE
“Thank you very much for connecting! My podcast is literally downloaded by thousands and thousands each week now. In fact, we have passed the 200,000+ downloads mark! Wow! I so appreciate you listening and sharing this show with your family and friends. I love to help people live a healthier life! It is so great that we have listeners from all over the world from the United States to the UK to Canada to Europe to Japan to Australia. I love hearing from people all over the world on Facebook, Twitter, Email, and our phone hotline too!” says Dr. Dave.

Did you enjoy today’s show? Do you have any questions for me? Do you have any comments or feedback? You are not alone! We want to help you live better, stronger, happier, thinner lives!

—>The epicenter of all goodness:
Website: http://www.sliceyourage.com
Check out the podcasts, special bonuses, recipes, blog posts, and more!

—> Connect with Dr. Dave on Facebook:
Personal http://www.facebook.com/davidmadow.
Slice Your Age :http://www.facebook.com/sliceyourage.

—> Tweet with Dr. Dave on Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/davidmadow

—>Connect with Dr. Dave and his professional portfolio on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmadow

—>Watch Dr. Dave in action on his NEW YouTube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/sliceyourage
See and hear Dr. Dave in action making smoothies and talking to you from his car with his tip of the week.

—> Send Dr. Dave an Email:
sliceyourage@gmail.com

—> Call Dr. Dave on the NEW Phone Voicemail Hotline: 410-429-7190.
Leave us a question or comment. Please speak clearly because we may even use your question on one of our episodes of the show.

—> Share the show with a friend:
Do you have a friend that needs to hear this show and live a better life and slice their age in half? Share this show with them and send them to http://www.sliceyourage.com.

Seven Beliefs That Are Keeping You Unhappy!

Hey there… it’s Dr. Dave.

Today we are going to dispel seven common beliefs that are floating around out there. I will keep it short, sweet and concise. Here they are. Please let me know what you think!

  1. Work comes before pleasure.

Not true! Work should be pleasurable. I actually love my work. It feels like it’s my hobby! If you do not absolutely love what you do every day, we need to chat!!!

  1. Salad will make me skinny (and that will make me happy).

Not true on many levels. Salad alone will not make you skinny. Or happy. I have actually seen many salads that are over 1000 calories! Over the years I have found that an eating program must be designed right. It’s a lifestyle. I do not agree with the old adage “everything in moderation.” It’s simply not true. If you want to be healthy, you need to be fueling your body with only the foods that will make you healthy! Yeah, it’s basically that simple!

One more thing. There are plenty of people out there that are “skinny on the outside and fat on the inside.” Skinny does not necessarily equate to health. Seriously!

  1. I need to know everything before I can call myself knowledgeable.

Not me! I dive in head first. If I waited until I knew everything before I started a project or a business or anything, I would not be doing anything right now. I still remember the day I got my first computer. It was 1987. I didn’t know squat about computers. I thought a hard drive was something I did returning from a concert.

But I basically took it out of the box, plugged it in, booted it up and learned how to use the sucker. That’s how I roll.

  1. Asking questions will make me look stupid.

Admittedly I used to believe this. But I later realized that asking thoughtful questions will make me stand out as someone who cares and is curious.

  1. Asking others for help will annoy them and make me look weak.

In reality, most people like helping others, and asking for help only means I’m comfortable with who I am. Do you need help with anything? Just ask. I don’t bite last time I checked!!!

  1. Unless I work out every day, my body will start to look frumpy.

My body looks and feels its best when I’m in touch with what it needs: activity and rest.

  1. If everyone agrees with me and likes me, I’m doing it right.

No. I used to try to please everyone. Why? Maybe because I lacked self-confidence. That’s the only thing I can think of. Now, being out there, I know it’s impossible to please everyone. I have actually gotten hate mail from a few people because I recommend a vegan lifestyle.

Listen. I LOVE to teach. I love to help. It seems to be my calling. But when I do, I gotta tell you what I believe is best for you. It’s by no means “my way or the highway.” I still love you if you don’t live my lifestyle! And I certainly understand that my message does not resonate with everyone.

But I still need to get my message out there!

This holds true in business, friendships, relationships… everything. Although you need to be the best possible person you can be, don’t sweat it if everyone doesn’t agree with you!!!

Have a great day!

Dr. Dave

What food would a wild human eat? The answer may surprise you!

As a civilization, our go-to sustenance is hardly static or predictable. One only needs to check out the local cuisine of a foreign country to realize that. So rather than trying to answer this question by assessing the infinite number of foods our ancestors ate just to avoid starvation, I think it’s most pertinent to give our attention to what we are best at eating. That is, which foods are easy to obtain and digest, give us good health and ample energy, and have relative low risks or side effects?

Last week, I went into some detail regarding human teeth, and what types of foods they are best suited for. (Spoiler: it’s not meat!) This week, I’m moving the microscope over to other parts of the human body that suggest that humans aren’t cut out to be the carnivorous type.

Our muscles.

Even Usain Bolt wouldn’t be able to keep pace with the average gazelle for a second. How could we have a predisposition for meat if we never caught it? Spears and other weapons didn’t roll around until about 60,000 BCE – pretty recently in our species’ story.

By the time we started walking upright and proliferated from the jungles to the grasslands (about 1.5 million years ago, give or take), we entered into a competitive food chain that was way out of our league. We couldn’t contend with the agile predators of the plains, animals that were evolutionary veterans of chasing, hunting and killing. Our bodies frail, our gaits tipsy and our top speeds laughable, the potential prey was too strong, too fast or too sturdy for our kind to even think about killing. We also have flat, small mouths instead of fierce jaws and weak, pink fingernails instead of claws…. Good luck bringing down a wildebeest or an impala with only those tools!

Wild Human

As undignified as it was, early human tribes got most of their calories through scavenging. Just as we picked berries and nuts, so too did we grab a chunk of zebra steak after the lions had had their fill. We weren’t picky; if there was meat we would eat it, but we definitely didn’t have the capability to actively pursue it. When it came to the wily speed demons of the savannah, all we were eating was their dust.

Our taste buds.

If you’re a meat lover, you’re probably scoffing. Well my carnivorous friend, I contend that you have only been socialized to love meat. You don’t love meat the same way a tiger shark or a cougar love it.

When a predator makes a kill, the first thing it does is tear open the stomach area and chest cavity and dine on all the nutrient-rich organs inside. Things like the liver, kidneys and heart have all sorts of vitamins that muscle meat doesn’t have – this is how lions and tigers and bears can get away with not eating their vegetables. If a blood-logged, veiny organ doesn’t whet your appetite, but a sanitized, flame-charred steak on a plate, seasoned with peppercorn, sugar and tomato-based steak sauces, chili powder, citruses, and an endless list of other plant-based fixins does make you hungry, I have bad news for you: you might not naturally be a carnivore.

I could go on and on.

Our hearts struggle when we eat too much red meat, culminating in heart disease.

Our digestive tracks are extremely long and sensitive, as is the norm of an herbivorous animal.

Our stomach acid is less than 5% as strong as that of the typical carnivorous animal, meaning we don’t have the enzymes to quickly break down huge feasts of meat as most predators do.

Just some food for thought on the whole vegan thing!

Until next time!

Dr. Dave

P.S.  If you like this, I have a lot more for you. Please be sure to request my free e-report “12 Baby Steps to the Best Shape of Your Life” at http://SliceYourAge.com.

Week 13 of My Vegan Journey

Thirteen is supposed to be an unlucky number. I don’t think it is. This is an incredible week so far. A lot of things are clicking in.

I am at a conference in Dallas and the very first thing I did when I got into town was to go to the Whole Foods store to stock up on healthy vegan food for my hotel room.  In the old days I would be at the hotel buffet for breakfast stuffing eggs and an occasional piece of bacon into my mouth. After all, it was easy, and of course everything tasted so good.

hotel room

The only meals I will see the inside of a restaurant for while here in Dallas are my dinners, and I will make sure they are either at a vegan restaurant or at least a vegan friendly one. The first night I got Indian and last night I went to an all vegan Asian place. Both excellent!

Another thing I am doing these days is making sure I meditate every day. As many of you know, I have been meditating for quite a while, but just not on a totally regular basis. Now at the very least it’s twelve minutes every single morning. More if possible. I got a great app for my phone called “Insight Timer” that keeps track of each session. Meditation, just like yoga, is a life changer. I believe it has the potential to add many more healthy years to our lives.

One of the most common things I hear from people is that going vegan will be difficult or inconvenient. I beg to differ with those statements. It is easy!

Really easy!

You just need to care.

If animals matter to you and if you believe that we should not impose any unnecessary suffering on them, then you are just about there. You just need to take that next step and not eat them.

If you like this, I have a lot more for you. Please be sure to request my free e-report “12 Baby Steps to the Best Shape of Your Life” at http://SliceYourAge.com.

Dave

Eating Healthy, But Feeling Crappy? Could Be Your Acid Index!

Like a tightrope walker, the human body is always trying to stay balanced. If you’re not in equilibrium on your sleep schedule, food intake, or any other metric that tends to jostle up and down, your body won’t be working in tip-top shape.

Fish in Sour SauceOne such metric that many people don’t know about is the pH value of their bodies, which is basically how acidic one’s cells are. Ideally we want a value of about 7.4, which is slightly alkaline, or un-acidic (the scale goes from 0 to 14, but humans can only survive in a very narrow range between about 7.1 and 7.6).

Why’s all this matter? Because certain foods – namely meats, cheeses, soft drinks, alcohol and tobacco, among many others – are like lead anchors that drop our pH levels far into the dangerous acidic zone.

Rather than just keel over when our pH is out of whack, our bodies counterattack by siphoning alkaline substances out of our organs and bones, which have rainy-day alkaline deposits.


This solution works in the short term, but brings up some not-so-fun chronic problems if we consistently eat too many foods that are too acidic:

  • weight gain / obesity
  • diabetes
  • bladder and kidney problems like kidney stones
  • a shoddier immune system
  • acceleration of free radical damage, a big factor in cancer development
  • hormone imbalance
  • accelerated aging and wrinkles
  • weaker, thinner, more breakable bones
  • joint pains and muscle soreness
  • lower energy levels
  • tumors

Do I really have to go on?

We’re always hearing about how tobacco, alcohol and sugary soft drinks are terrible for us… but meats, like chicken and fish, are often touted as heath foods despite the fact metabolically, these two are some of the most acidic things we put in our bodies.

Some alkaline-forming foods that best counteract an acidic imbalance include dark green and yellow veggies, beans, seeds, nuts, essential fats (omega 3s and omega 6s), and low-sugar fruits like avocados and lemons. (What a coincidence these foods also happen to be vegetarian!)

It’s unreasonable to try to live your life by constantly trying to stay keep a harmonious ratio of acidic foods to alkaline foods, but just tucking away which food is which in the back of your mind can vastly improve the way you feel.Alkaline-rich foods honestly aren’t hard to incorporate into your diet, most of them are traditionally known as healthy anyway. Just beware: just because it’s low in fat or sodium doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good for you.

 

A diet that’s too acidic literally sucks the life right out of you!

Until next time,

Dave

P.S. Please be sure to check out my PODCAST!  I have all kinds of ways for you to live Stronger, Thinner, Healthier and Happier!

 

Your dinner plate is trying to tell you a secret – will you listen to it or just ignore it?

One of the secret virtues of being vegan, I’ve recently discovered, is how easy it is to wash the dishes after dinner. No matter which plate, bowl or pot I’m cooking in, serving out of, or eating directly from, the clean-up is an absolute breeze. Plant-based meals rinse off instantly, even when left out for extended periods of time.

“Big deal,” you’re thinking, “I own a dishwasher and a sponge; you’re not going to get me cast off meat because it’s so easy to dispose of vegan meals.”

Well you’re right. I don’t expect this alone to change your mind that easily. But there’s more to this matter than saving a few minutes scrubbing or a few cents on dish soap.

Try making a pot roast, chicken flambé, or a New York strip without having to use some serious muscle scratching and scraping meat residue from your dishes after the meal. It gets baked on, then caked on, and can even be tough to remove from a dinner plate that wasn’t even directly heated up. Even an open-flame grill you have to mercilessly assault with a grill brush between uses in order to un-crust the grill of dried-on meat juices.

THINK: if it’s this hard to get the meat off of glass and porcelain, how much meat is clogging up our squishy, delicate insides?

empty_plate

It’s an eye-opening analogy. Yes, our bodies have lots of enzymes and bacteria to digest the food we eat, but how successful are they?

Meat is broken down in our bodies by a process called “putrefaction,” which is just a fancy way of saying rotting. Unfortunately, putrefaction isn’t all that efficient. A traffic jam of decaying meat is the culprit behind Crohn’s disease, colitis (an irritation and swelling of the colon) and inflammatory bowel disease.

Research shows that putrefaction also results in all sorts of toxic by-products, namely sulfides, histamines and ammonias to name a few, which are by definition poisonous to our bodies and minds. If and when these substances get into the blood, it puts strain on the liver to filter the gunk out. On the surface, you’ll feel fatigued and have a higher likelihood of getting sick. You’ll also look older faster.

That gelatinous brown film on the bottom of your dishes is also in the bottom of your intestines, slowly being churned around and quarantined. Not exactly my cup of tea!

The evidence speaks for itself – check out your plates next time after a big, hearty, meat-based meal.

I hope I didn’t just ruin animal products for you.

Well, actually I sort of do hope that! Become your healthiest self!

Dave

FLAX SEED – How I “super-seeded” my diet!

The diet of the average American just plain sucks. As a nation, we eat wayyy too much sodium, sugar, and processed foods, and our food in general just isn’t as varied or as nutritious as it used to be.

I could go on and on about our skyrocketing obesity rates, nutrient-barren food and ghastly food industry, but I’m sure you get the gist. This blog post is about looking forward, not backward.

I consider myself a pretty healthy eater – I’m gluten-free and just a few short months ago I became vegan. Recently, I stumbled upon the incredible nutritional power of flax seeds. About the size of a grain of rice, these brownish-yellow seeds can be bought in bulk at almost any natural grocery store or health food store.

What’s so great about these little guys? Well, if nature made a health supplement, it would be flax seeds. Flax seed shells have an abundance of lignans, chemical compounds that basically super charge the human body. The lignans in flax seeds…

  • …boost the immune system, making your body more resilient against disease and infection.
  • …pack a whopping 2.8 grams of fiber per tablespoon, which helps in digestion and lowering cholesterol.
  • …have powerful antioxidants that help keep your cells functioning properly and help you look and feel young. (We suffer age-related problems because our cells get worse at replicating as time goes on – antioxidants counteract this decay.)

In addition to this, cutting edge researchers are publishing scientific papers that suggest that flax seed might actually have cancer-fighting properties. Pretty exciting stuff.

does-flaxseed-help-you-lose-weight

The body most easily absorbs all the nutrients flax seeds have to offer if you pulverize them first. This honestly isn’t all that difficult to do – I personally use a NutriBullet blender, though I have heard a coffee grinder works well, too.

The fine seed powder can be mixed into almost anything. Add it to your marinades, put it in smoothies, even bake it into cookies. The seeds have a very subtle, almost non-existent flavor and the texture is pleasant and complimentary to everything I’ve tried them in.

Flax seed oil, though similar sounding, has a completely different health benefit. The oil doesn’t have the antioxidants and lignans that the seeds themselves offer, but it does contain huge amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, which improve the function of brain cells, keep the blood healthy and clotting properly, and prevent heart attacks and strokes. Most Americans aren’t getting nearly enough omega-3s.

I recommend buying a bottle of cold-pressed flax seed oil and gulping down one or two tablespoons per day. Consider it part of your daily health routine.

Superfoods like flax can’t help you if you don’t eat them. That’s why I was so drawn to flax initially – it’s easy to sneak flax seeds into almost any recipe, and the oil can be taken quickly out of a spoon, cough syrup-style.

If you have any questions or comments about flax seed or flax oil, I’m all ears! Let me know what you’re thinking in the comments below.

Dave

Slice Your Age Update

Hey there…

Hope you are well! This message is coming to you today from one of my favorite places on this planet… Breckenridge, Colorado. I normally spend at least a month here every winter where I write, read, clear my mind, meditate, learn, work on goals, and of course…

SKI.

Do you have a little fun place where you can go to relax and reflect on your life? If not, I would highly suggest trying to find one. It does not have to be an exotic location. Probably the simpler the better. The idea is just to have a peaceful retreat somewhere special for you.

“Slice Your Age” podcast is now in its sixth month and I thank you for helping to make it so successful. I have had close to 30,000 downloads of the 23 episodes in the short time I have been producing the show! Fun stuff! This is not a money maker for me. It is more of a passion… a hobby! I am doing this solely out of my love of teaching and helping people live better lives. Now one day if someone wants to throw some money at me for doing this… well, we’ll see! But money is not my motive. 😉

I love hearing your success stories. A fan named Scott Mahnken just posted a few days ago thanking me for helping him lose 33.7 pounds. Even though I am not sure how he measured the .7 part, it made me feel so good to hear that! Congratulations Scott!! You are awesome and you have officially Sliced Your Age!

By the way, I am accepting a limited number of speaking gigs, so if you would like me to WOW your group with up to a one hour presentation that is guaranteed to change lives and “Slice People’s Ages,” please let me know! I honestly have very little time due to my busy work and travel schedule with The Madow Brothers, but if you have a really cool group and the date works with me, let’s talk! My email is rundrdave@gmail.com and it’s always turned on!

Lastly, I just did an episode with a mom/dentist named Ritu Rao who describes exactly how she went from the couch to running ultra-marathons. It is really inspiring and even if you never want to run a marathon or an ultra, it is a great listen surely to motivate you. You can listen in by clicking http://SliceYourAge.com/23.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Dave

34 of the Most Powerful Health Tips EVER!

REMEMBER – Please be sure to check out our podcast for the most up to date health tips ever!  CLICK HERE!

Today’s post comes from my friend Tony Ferrante. Tony is a 51 year old father of three from Winder, Georgia. A couple of years ago as Tony was getting ready for a funeral for a friend of his that died before the age of 50, he realized that he had no clothes that fit him. As the scale underneath him read 300 pounds, Tony knew that if he did not do something fast, the next funeral may be his own.

Tony made it his mission to lose weight. And lose weight he did. One and a half years later he was standing on the same scale at 165 pounds (a 135 lb. weight loss)! His life is all about health these days and it’s his mission to help others. I did a live show with him a few months ago (https://www.davidmadow.com/slice-your-age-in-half-episode-5-david-madow-explains-how-to-lose-weight-and-keep-it-off/). Below are the rules that Tony lives by. There are 34 of them now (from his Facebook page)
and he may add more later! It is long but I recommend that you read these very carefully. They will change your life.

Tony Ferrante

Tony Ferrante – before and after!

 

34 of the Most Powerful Health Tips EVER!

1- Drink water like it’s your Job! You should take your present body weight and divide by 2. That number is the daily amount of fluid ounces of water you should be drinking. At a minimum. Most folks don’t drink enough water. If you’re committed to losing weight and staying healthy, water intake is just as, if not more important, than your food intake. And I mean good, old fashioned water. Unless you’re juicing entire fruits to keep their pulp and fiber and nutrients, fruit juice is really just flavored sugar water. Soft drinks are bubbly sugar water. Diet soft drinks have artificial sweetener that has been proven to increase cravings and decrease brain function. I don’t know about you, but my brain function doesn’t need any further handicapping if I can help it. Alcohol is purely empty calories that also reduce your willpower to stay away from foods that are bad for you. And most energy drinks are sugar water with extra caffeine which is a diuretic; negating the fluid intake by making you pass the water you’re trying so hard to have working in your body. Increasing the amount of water flowing through your body fights against dehydration. It facilitates cellular growth. It helps the digestive tract. It improves your skin, hair, and nails. It flushes the body of waste and lactic acid, helping you to be less sore after a workout. And it can help regulate your blood pressure and blood sugar. People on Blood Pressure and Diabetes medication can oftentimes find themselves no longer needing the medicine once they lose weight and become more healthy and fit.

2- Burn Calories whenever you can, not just when “working out”. Losing weight boils down to a simple mathematical equation. If you burn more calories over the course of a day than you take in, you are working toward shrinking your fat cells. Studies show that keeping your heart rate elevated for 20-30 minutes at a stretch is the most efficient way to receive all the benefits of cardio exercise. However, some people get discouraged because they can’t work this into their busy schedules and lives. Don’t give up if you can’t hit the gym or walking trails for a dedicated workout. Every single calorie burned and every muscle stretched is putting you one step further down the journey toward fitness. Think of different ways to change your lifestyle so that you’re burning calories instead of remaining sedentary. Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator. Park further away from the door at the mall, grocery store, or work and then walk briskly. Take time out of your lunch break to do some walking instead of just sitting at a restaurant or break room. Set a time every hour where you do stretching exercises while at work or doing your chores. Actually get involved and play with your kids or grandkids instead of just watching them. (Believe me, chasing a Frisbee or baseball or football after a child’s errant throws can burn TONS of calories). Learn steering wheel isometrics where you do curls, triceps extensions, and chest presses while driving – as you warm up to doing these exercises you can really feel the burn every time you drive anywhere. Just remember this. The human body was not created to sit behind a desk, or in a car, or on the couch; it was designed to hunt animals and grow its own food sources. Get moving. Get your heart and muscles working. And slowly but surely you’ll be getting fitter and healthier. Have a great day, Teammates!

3- Make up your mind to follow a healthy diet plan. In order for your desired weight loss or fitness plan to work and become a long-term lifestyle change, you have got to be fully committed mentally that this is what you desire for yourself. If your brain is not 100% convinced that you want to be thinner, more fit, and live longer through proper nutrition, you’re ability to withstand the onslaught of poor eating habits and bad foods and drinks will not be there. Where the mind goes, the body follows. My mental breakthrough came when I realized that being fat was going to make me die sooner. I was ashamed at being fat. I hated wearing big clothes. I hated not being able to fit into them properly. I was embarrassed to see pictures of myself and my double/triple chin. I became actively angry at myself and the years of wearing blinders to my own poor nutrition and exercise habits. Acknowledging my own shortcomings, getting pissed off at myself, and making the dedicated commitment to do something about it finally allowed me to regain control over my diet, my exercise, my body, and my life. Until I was brutally honest with myself, and set up a game plan to change myself, anything and everything I would have tried would have been doomed to the same failure that allowed me to balloon up to 300 pounds. My maternal grandmother died before she was 50. My father died before he turned 58. I’m 50 today. I consciously realized that I want WAY more than 8 more years on this earth. I have too many things that I want to do. My Bucket List is too long for me to ever accomplish my heart’s desires if I’m fat and unfit. I want to live to 100. I want to be the old, funny, happy guy organizing wheelchair races of the hallways of my nursing home, then running beside the participants or pushing them as we have our Golden Years flings with naughtiness and fun. If I’m fat, I’ll never live long enough. Please decide why you want to lose weight and get in shape. Decide to do whatever it takes to make this happen. Commit yourself to a plan to extend your life and make it more than it can be without being physically fit. If your mind wants your body to carry you happily through the next 40-50 years, the constant 24/7 struggle to exercise, eat right, and take care of your body will become a lifestyle change and not just a temporary diet or fitness fad. Good luck on your journey, and I’m here to help. I’m throwing a huge 100th Birthday Bash on January 23, 2063 and everyone’s invited. Drinks are on me!

4- Plan on slow and steady weight loss. Be prepared for this to take more time than you’d like, and proceed slower than you would wish for, with frustrating plateaus where the numbers on the scale just won’t budge. There is no weight loss Silver Bullet or fitness Magic Plan. Persistence and Dedication will triumph where “Quick Fixes” and instant gratification fails. The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, and be prepared for it to be a long, slow trip. Be patient. You put on weight and got out of shape over an extended period of time; reversing this may take months or even years, and require a lot more effort on your part. But you’re changing your WHOLE LIFE, so you have the rest of your life to accomplish this. Your own journey toward weight loss and fitness will begin with the conscious decision that you want to regain control over your body and your health. Then you have to choose the nutrition plan and exercise program that fits your personality, lifestyle, and physical needs in the best way that you can stick with until the end. I’m not going to promote any single plan or program over another, because we’re all different. Meal replacement shake programs work wonders for some people, while others crash and burn if they try to replace real food with “astronaut food”. When these folks finally do eat they sometimes overeat or choose poorly because they feel like they’ve been depriving themselves. Some diets require pre-purchased foods. People on these plans enjoy having the decisions made by someone else ahead of time. Other diets have numerical points assigned to certain food types. The simple equations and the ability to track your diet through numbers appeals to their followers. Again, go with what you’re comfortable with. A nutritional plan that you can embrace fully and comfortably is the most important decision you may have to make in your life, because let’s face it, without getting your weight and health in line you are shortening your life. You have the ability, RIGHT NOW, to embark upon a path that will extend your life and improve the quality of the rest of the years you will spend on this earth. Explore all of the many, varied Diet Plans out there and choose the one you like the best. I’ve had remarkable success using the P90X fitness program and Nutritional Program, along with the Beachbody supplements, but I fully realize that the extreme intensity may be too much for some folks. There are many other choices out there. Taking on an exercise program that is above your fitness level can be counterproductive and discouraging. Talk to your Doctor. Talk to a Personal Trainer. Talk to the people at your gym. Talk to me. Talk with us, your Teammates. There are literally TONS of exercise programs tailored to your specific weight loss and fitness goals based upon your current abilities. Had I jumped into P90X in September, 2011 when I weighed 300 pounds, I wouldn’t even have passed the initial Fitness Test. Then, if I’d been too hardheaded to follow Beachbody’s advice and jumped into the program anyways, I might have lasted 1 day. Might. And I’m pretty sure that the next day when I was too sore to even brush my teeth, that would have been the end of that ill-formulated Plan. Money down the drain, and a terrible feeling of being a failure. You’ve made a decision to change, don’t bite off more than you can chew and shoot your attitude in the foot by setting yourself up to fail. Instead, I decided to walk on the treadmill, use the elliptical, or the exercise bike for 30 minutes a day in order to keep my pulse rate in the target zones printed on the machines. I lifted weights every other day because resistance training builds muscle, which helps increase your metabolism. As my abilities increased, my exercise loads increased. I chose other avenues of exertion that I personally find to be fun. Hiking in the mountains, karate, Brazilian Jiu jitsu. For you it may be soccer, or running, or tossing the Frisbee or football with your kids or grandkids. The point is, if it is fun and you enjoy it, you’ll keep doing it. But proper nutrition is going to be tantamount to your fitness journey. Losing weight is 20% exercise and 80% diet. Great abs are built in the kitchen, not the gym. You can do all the crunches, situps, and Ab Ripper X workouts you want, but if you don’t lose the fat covering your belly, you’ll never see them. Go into this with your mind fully made up, your eyes wide open, and as well informed and you can possibly be. If you prepare yourself for the long, hard journey, you will stay on the path for the duration, and the roads will lead you to places you’d only dreamed of before. Good luck as you travel along this weight loss and fitness trip. I’ll be right there, walking beside you.

5- Everybody’s working for the Weekend, but your Body only considers it another day in your life. Don’t let yourself overindulge just because you don’t have to wake up and go to work the next day. Your weight loss and fitness is a lifestyle change requiring constant preventive maintenance, not a quick set of repairs that you’ll turn away from and go back to how you were before your Program. If you’ve eaten clean, drank your water, and exercised faithfully during the work week, why shoot yourself in the foot this weekend? Sure, relax and enjoy yourself. But instead of sitting on the couch and eating a bag of ruffles with a tub of french onion dip, try relaxing through physical exertion. Go for a run. Hike in the mountains. Find an indoor pool and go swimming. Use this free time to do something fun and active that you don’t have the opportunity to do during the week. Eat clean and healthy. Don’t drink to excess. If you’re changing your life in order to extend your life, the drunken binges of your college days need to be nothing more than memories. Your health and quality of life is more important to you now than drinking, right? I weigh myself each Friday morning and look at the weekend as an opportunity to make tangible strides toward my goal. It makes Monday morning a fun experience (imagine that!) if the numbers on the scale are smaller to start the next week. Have a great weekend, Teammates! Push Play, Bring It, and Sweat Until You Drip!

6- Know all that you can about the food and drinks you put in your body. Pretty much every food or beverage has nutritional information available so that you can find out how many calories, fat, protein, sodium, carbs, etc. you would be consuming if you chose to eat or drink it. Most restaurants either have their nutritional info posted somewhere, or it is available online. Make it a habit to check this before you put this stuff in your body. It can be eye opening to find out that something that you’d thought was healthy is actually loaded with calories, fats, carbs, or whatever; but you just weren’t aware of it. The listed ingredients may shock you too. High fructose corn syrup has been linked recently to many problems, yet unless you check the labels you may be eating this in some foods without even knowing it. Pay attention to the portion sizes and servings per container. A 16oz bag of some snack may show that it only has 150 calories per portion, so you think that’s okay. But if you read further you may find that they’re tricking you because a portion is actually broken down to 2oz, and there are 8 servings for that bag. If you eat that whole bag thinking you’re only getting 150 cals, you’re actually going to be adding 1200 calories to your fat cells in one little sitting. That can blow a day’s clean eating goal without even feeling like you’ve splurged. You’ve got to educate yourself so that you can make informed choices on your nutrition. If you’re consciously aware of every morsel that enters your body from this point forward, chances are that you’ll make better and better choices, allowing you to regain control over your body and your life. Always remember the adage “Garbage in – Garbage out.” Reading the labels will let you see if you’re about to eat garbage. Provide your body with proper and good fuel and you’ll be running like a finely tuned race car for many years to come.

7- Focus on the lifelong Big Picture constantly so you can have the willpower to choose correctly every minute of every day. Each morning when you wake up you are starting with a fresh slate upon which you are going to write the decisions you make that will impact your fitness journey. Throughout the course of the day you will make spur of the moment choices that can either aid or hamper your progress. If you focus on your Goals and the Big Picture you can use that focus as incentive to choose wisely. Here are some quick thoughts to keep in mind when you decide to pass by the cookie tray at work, or order the grilled chicken salad at McDonalds instead of the Supersized Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal, or get out of bed to Push Play and Bring It instead of hitting the snooze button just one more time: – Losing weight will extend your life. – Losing weight will make you feel better about yourself and how you look. – Your clothes are going to fit better. And as you get smaller you’ll be able to wear clothes you’ve been storing in your closet for years. Be really successful and you’ll be rewarding yourself with a whole new wardrobe that will be fabulous and you’ll look great! – Carrying fewer pounds of fat on your frame will lessen a great deal of the chronic pain you may have had for years. Lower back strain, sore knees and ankles, calluses and corns and bunions on the soles of your feet, and many other aches that you’ve attributed to getting older may all go away and be a thing of the past as you lighten the load you are carrying about. – Your heart will be able to work so much more efficiently and less hard as you reduce the amount of capillaries required to carry blood through your entire body because you are making your body smaller. I have reduced my total body mass from 300 pounds to 178.5 as of this moment. 121.5 pounds. Divided by my original 300, that’s 40.5 percent less body for my heart to have to deal with! I can just imagine the old ticker celebrating because it gets to work so much easier these days. – As you look better, feel better, and view your body image in a new light your attitude and general happiness will increase. The same BS and problems and stress will still be there; you will just be able to deal with it all so much better if your moods are elevated through floods of endorphins through exercise and your outlook on your life is better. Think of these 2 Rules. #1 – Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff. Rule #2 – It’s ALL Small Stuff. Have a great rest of your Weekend. Get busy. Get after it. Eat Clean and Sweat Until You Drip!

8- Push Play, Bring It, Dig Deeper, and Sweat Until You Drip! You’re priming your body for years of extended, better, and healthier living. You have to push yourself to limits you may have never thought possible. Get out of bed, get moving, eat clean, and when you feel like you just can’t do anything more, do 2 more reps anyways! You’ll surprise yourself with what you’re actually capable of. Most people don’t see the results they’re expecting from a fitness program because they quit too soon. Go beyond your comfort zone. That comfort zone got you to where you are today, so it obviously isn’t so great. Push through it and see what you’re actually capable of!

9- Keep a backup supply of healthy snacks and/or water with you at all times. I carry a cooler in my truck that has a ready supply of Pure Protein bars (20g protein vs 200 calories and about $1/bar at Target and Walmart), bottles of cold water, and usually a spare meal of chicken breast and fresh veggies at all times. This gets me through my day with a backup emergency plan to the inevitable cravings and temptations that bombard me constantly. It helps me put something healthy in my body at a moment’s notice that doesn’t cost me any money that I really shouldn’t be spending anyways. It helps me drive past Arbys and drink water instead of a Jamocha Shake. It gives me the power to eat a protein bar instead of grabbing a brownie off the tray sitting in the break room at work. And I have a healthy meal ready for me so that I don’t go off with the guys at work and hit Five Guys Burger and Fries. Every choice you make today will impact your life and your lifespan. Years from now, won’t you enjoy spending just a few more days with your loved ones instead of making the wrong nutritional choices today? Eat Clean, Drink your Water, and Sweat Until You Drip!

10- Be sure to get your Rest! Resting and providing your body with a chance to recover is just as important as exercising to the point of failure and eating clean! It’s all a matter of balance. If you want the best possible results as you work on improving your body, mind, and spirit; you have to set aside time to rest, relax, and recuperate. Studies have proven that people who get adequate sleep each night build more muscle and lose more fat than folks who are sleep deprived. Plus, your mental attitude is so much better when you’ve had a good night’s sleep. And make it a point to set aside time for quiet reflection. Pray, meditate, stretch, listen to calming music. Whatever it takes to move your mind, your thoughts, and your dreams to a place where the outside world and its stresses can’t interfere. You’ll be glad you did!

11- Don’t let the numbers on the scale get you down. Scales lie sometimes, inches tell the truth. As you progress on your fitness and weight loss journey you are constantly in need of positive reinforcement. Yet, your bathroom scale may be providing the worst negative input possible. Today I weighed more than I weighed Monday morning when I started Insanity. Yet I’ve been working hard and eating clean. How could this be? If I focused on the numbers it would be easy to get down on myself and rationalize poor decisions through my day. “Why not have a brownie? I’m not losing weight anyways, what’s the point?” The point is, if you’re doing everything within your power to do things right, pay no attention to the crappy numbers showing at your feet. There are other, truer ways to monitor your weight loss. My belt and pants are just a little bit looser this morning. And my scale is also a high tech body composition monitor, so even though my weight is showing to have increased, by body fat percentage is at its absolute lowest this morning at 9.6%! Many, many factors can negatively impact the numbers on the scale. If you’re drinking a gallon of water a day, you are adding over 8 pounds a day just in water. Sure, you’re passing it too, but if you happen to retain more than you pass, your weight will be greater. Plus, you’ve got to eat to lose weight. Everything you put in your body weighs something, so if you haven’t passed it, you’re going to weigh more. And, as you build muscle through exercise remember that muscle tissue weighs more than fat. You could be losing fat in your tummy but building muscle in your legs, arms, and shoulders, so you might still end up weighing more. If weighing yourself daily seems to be getting you down, stop doing it. Pick a day to weigh in and then stay off the scales on the off days. Some folks only weigh in once a week. Just remember, as long as you’re doing your best, forget the rest. And that includes the numbers on the scale if they’re giving you conflicting information!

12- Do not allow yourself to eat to satisfy your emotions. Don’t use food as a “comfort giver”. This is personally my biggest struggle. When I’ve had a terrible, horrible, rotten, no good, very bad day I can come home and find myself trying to eat everything in the refrigerator except the lightbulb. My clouded logic says things like, “Today sucked so bad, and I’m so downtrodden and unfairly treated – I deserve this!” or, “Hell, I’ve been depriving myself for so long, why not?” or even worse, “Its here and someone’s gotta eat it. Might as well be me!” If you see glimmers of yourself here, try to realize that this temporary binge eating is what helped you develop this weight problem in the first place. If you can’t control it fully, try to make it hard for this temporary insanity to be really bad. Police the types of food you have in your fridge and pantry. If it’s something you shouldn’t be eating anyways, it has no place in your home. If your family members would rather string you up than do without their snack cakes and cookies and cokes and candy and fried chicken nuggets, try making a “safe zone” where you can keep your healthy food and a “fat zone” where you keep their junk. STAY OUT OF THE FAT ZONE! Try to start convincing your mind that food is your fuel. Only. Eating is not a social event, or a reward for a crappy day, or something to do when your bored. You eat to sustain your body on your quest to life a long, healthy, and happy life. Wolfing down a box of Ho-hos may make you happy in the moments that the chocolaty gooiness is running down your throat, but you’ll end up making yourself unhappy in the long run. I could go on and on, like I said, this is my particular struggle. If I wake up on the wrong side of the bed I’d love to go eat the “Fat Boys Special” Grand Slam breakfast at Dennys, but if I want to live for 50 more years, I’ll be better off hitting the gym and eating a balanced breakfast. My body will thank me, and my emotions won’t have to deal with the guilt of my binge.

13- Provide yourself with constant motivational reminders as you make your fitness journey. Be creative. And make sure it’s geared specifically to you and your situation. You are undertaking the reshaping of your body and your life, so this is something you will need to stay focused on practically every moment of every day. If you’re surrounded by plates of cookies, candies, and brownies at work left laying around by co-workers, you will need to use your willpower every single time you pass by and decide not to grab one and munch. Working out and exercising may require that you change into special clothes and/or go to the gym. The path of least resistance usually would mean to skip that workout. When you’re on the road and just have to stop in a fast food restaurant because you’re famished and there’s nothing else for miles, it could take Superhero strength to get the grilled chicken salad instead of a triple cheeseburger, large fries, and a shake. I took very unflattering photos of myself on my 49th Birthday when I weighed 282.6lbs. I let it all hang out and did it from the front and side. Then I have kept a printed copy of these pictures in my back pocket every single day since then. When they wore out, I re-printed them. I have been able to pull them out and look at my fat body each time I felt my resolve slipping. I even stored them on my iPhone, just in case. Another good way for some folks might be to put these pics on your fridge or pantry. Wouldn’t you tend to make better decisions if you were reminded of how you never plan to look again? Take weekly photos of yourself and arrange them in a folder so that you can see your progression. Be proud of the changes and continue to positively reinforce yourself. As you reach certain milestones you can print those pics and carry them too so that you can see what you’ve accomplished so far. Use the notches on your belt as a tangible reminder of how you’re shaping up. As you cinch your belt just a little bit tighter, each time you progress down a notch, celebrate it! Be proud of the fact that this leather band around your belly is logging your weight loss. Heck, when I was at my fattest I couldn’t even wear a belt usually. Now I have 2 different belts hanging in my closet where I can chart the progression down from 46’s to 34’s. I wish I’d logged the dates on the reverse side with a pen or something because it’s almost a time line of my journey. As you lose weight, your fat clothes will no longer fit, so get rid of them! Donate them to Charity because your loss needs to be someone’s gain! Then make sure that you congratulate yourself, and then get a receipt which itemizes what you just unloaded from your closet and your dresser. Motivate yourself through knowing that sooner or later you’re going to have a whole new skinny wardrobe and you’re going to look fabulous! I’ve become enamored of shopping at these same thrift stores when I make my donation because the size I am right now is not the size I plan to be. Why pay retail for a brand new pair of size 34 jeans when I only plan to be renting them for a little while until I’m wearing size 32’s? And then again down to 30’s? You might have a specific piece of clothing that you plan to be able to wear once you’ve achieved your goal. Your Wedding Dress, or your Dress Uniform from the Military, or your Letter Jacket, whatever. Give it a place of honor in your closet and try it on every few weeks or so. As the buttons come closer together, you’ll be motivated to keep on pushing to where you want to be. And lastly, feel free to share your pics with others. A close group of friends or Teammates can provide you with the reinforcement you need, or you may just be the driving force behind someone else’s motivation. You never know. And that includes when you’re having trouble seeing results in yourself. We are our own worst critics. I was disappointed with my Day 30 P90X pics, I just couldn’t see the results that I was hoping for after a month of bringing it hard every day. But my Team saw things that I couldn’t see because I was wearing blinders to myself. They pumped me up and pointed me back in the right direction. Remember, we’re all in this together. The more people you have supporting you, the better the journey will be. But your prime sources of determination and focus need to come from within yourself!

14- Today you have a clean slate upon which you can write your fitness and nutrition program for the rest of your life. Your past is behind you and you cannot change it, so ignore it. No matter what you ate, or drank, or didn’t do over the weekend; you start fresh each day and can make the decisions that will improve and prolong your life. Don’t skip meals today to compensate for overeating this weekend. You gotta eat to lose weight. Concentrate on eating clean, healthy, and often. Drink your water! Flush your body of any toxins or impurities you may have picked up at a Super Bowl celebration. Do your exercises as planned, but don’t overtrain just because you might have slacked off over the weekend. If you were sedentary for 2-3 days, then hit the gym today for supersets of maximum weights, then an hour on the elliptical, then 2 rounds of P90X or Insanity!, then end up so sore tomorrow that you can’t get out of bed, or you injure yourself, you’re accomplishing nothing. Be smart, but be active. Have a great Monday, Teammates! Dig Deeper, Bring It, and Sweat Until You Drip!

15- You are your prime motivator and source of courage. Do not rely on others to encourage you, and don’t allow the abilities of others to discourage you! The only competition you are in is against yourself and the person you were yesterday. Celebrate your small victories every step of the way. Only you know for sure if you’re able to walk a little further, or do 1 more rep, or modify your exercises just a little bit less. Don’t wait for other people to tell you that you’re looking good, tell yourself that what you’re doing is making for a better you. There will always be someone out there who can run further, jump higher, or lift more. Let them motivate you, but don’t allow yourself to get discouraged because you can’t keep up with them. They are not living your life, you are! Do your best and forget the rest! If I was to lose my mind and sign up for an Ironman Triathlon or the Spartan Race this spring all I would do is fail miserably and possibly hurt myself. Know your limitations! I’m going to take this year and do all the 5k and 7k extreme obstacle races I can because I know I can succeed at those, then I plan to be able to compete with the big boys and girls in 2014 on the really hard stuff. If your exercise goal today is to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes at a fast pace, do that and be proud of the fact that you did! You’re still further along than the people still sitting on the couch. And maybe next time you can go for 25 minutes. Be your own best cheerleader. You’re the one who gets to live with yourself for the rest of your life, be proud of what you’re doing to prolong and enrich your life.

16- Start keeping a pair of tennis shoes and a set of workout clothes in your car at all times so that you can get out there and hit it whenever the opportunity arises. As you progress along your fitness journey you will be presented with chances to work out, exercise, and explore the great outdoors that you might have to pass on if you’re not prepared. People have been randomly calling me, texting me, or messaging me at weird times to invite me to join in at the gym, or hit the nature trail at the local park. The times when I’ve been available and prepared have given me an opportunity to exert myself, experience new things, and engage in fellowship that I might have otherwise had to pass on. The sight of a beautiful sunset while taking a brisk walk in the woods with a friend is something you don’t want to miss just because you left your tennis shoes sitting at home. Remember, if it’s not fun, you probably won’t stick with it for too long. Search for the “fun quotient”. You’re working on improving your entire life, not just your waistline.

17- Be aware of your body’s need for recovery. The Yin and Yang. Schedule days of stretching, yoga, or slowly controlled movements while you’re working on high intensity workouts. You can’t be fully prepared for explosive movements if you’re not in tune with slow movements and balance. Your muscles can become overburdened if all you do is concentrate on lifting and high intensity movements all of the time. You have both fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers. Each type is important to work on in a balance as you progress on this fitness journey. Plus, your ligaments and connective tissues need to be stretched and supple in order for you to prevent injury during your workouts and daily living. Yoga routines and specific stretching programs done in between your strenuous exercise days will allow you to improve and recover at a much faster pace, increasing your abilities in all areas of your fitness. If you think that Yoga is boring because it’s slow, serene, and doesn’t have you breathing like a freight train, try going deeper into your stretches and poses. You control the amount of effort necessary to do your exercises. If you continually push and breathe through the movement, you’ll get plenty of work in, and see changes you never thought possible! I can touch my head to my knees for the first time ever in my 50 years, and I’m getting stronger and more flexible every day! Remember, this is a lifelong journey to lengthen and improve the quality of the rest of your life. Take time to relax and enjoy the ride!

18- Your mirror can be your biggest ally or your harshest critic. Focus on liking the person staring back at you and you’ll be able to mold the body that you see in your reflection. You as a person are much, much more than the beer belly, double chins, or love handles you may see every morning when you’re getting ready for your day. Your body image is just that, the image of your body only. Your physical being is the vessel for your soul and essence as a person. Work on loving the person that you are, and don’t let a poor image in the mirror dictate who you are. Reshaping your body will enhance and lengthen your life, so enjoy it, and learn to enjoy being who you are. Have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend! Sweat Until You Drip!

19- If you’re having troubles with losing weight you might want to consider keeping a Food Journal. Logging every morsel that you put into your body is extremely helpful, especially for people like myself who have tended to “graze” all day by popping food into our mouths whenever the urge strikes us. I’ve always had a bad habit of nipping at my food as I’m cooking it, usually being too full to eat by the time dinner’s ready to serve. It was really bad when I managed restaurants because I’d nab a piece of cheese, or test the guacamole, or sample the fries as I passed by on my normal rounds. I’d wonder, “Why can’t I lose weight? I eat sensible meals.” It’s the hidden sneaks of food and drinks that can really add up. And adding up is what you need to do. Grabbing a handful of M&M’s every time you pass the candy dish adds the same calories as if you took them in during a normally scheduled meal. Chugging a pint of chocolate milk at the gas station counts just as much no matter when you drink it. Plus, by keeping track of exactly what and how much you consume might help you balance your nutrition better. If I’m particularly weak and listless during my workouts I have been able to look over my journals and see where I haven’t been taking in enough carbs on the previous days. “Carbs” seems to have become a bad word these days so I shy away from them a lot, but they’re very necessary for your nutrition, especially if you’re exercising regularly. It’s “excess carbs” that you need to beware of. Your water intake is important to monitor too. The cellular water that you use on a day to day basis comes from staying regularly hydrated. If you only drink water when you’re thirsty, it’s generally too late. In short, your body is a machine that you need to keep regularly maintained. Your Food Journal can be your Maintenance Manual.

20- Choose your exercise program wisely. Pick one that fits your lifestyle, body, goals, and abilities. But most importantly, pick something you can commit to! Biting off more than you can chew can kill you literally, and figuratively if it involves your choice of a fitness program. Know your limitations. Explore your options. If you’ve been sedentary for years and are overweight and out of shape, an aggressive program like Crossfit or P90x might not be the best thing for you to jump right in to. Just because “round” is a shape, that doesn’t mean that your shape is going to go from circular to Mr. Universe right away. Killing yourself with too hard of a workout is the quickest way to discourage yourself and drop out. Walking, aerobics, bicycling, and resistance training are all good areas to explore as you’re starting back on the path to better fitness. You can tailor your speed, resistance, and weights to suit yourself and your abilities. Constantly strive to do more, and set your sights on achievable goals based upon your current levels of fitness. If you can walk a mile at a brisk pace today, see about upping that to 2 miles a day in about 2 weeks. If you’re doing dumbell exercises with 10 pounds, maybe you can be using 15 pounders in a month. You get the picture. There are thousands of home fitness programs out there, all of which are fantastic. The key is that you have to commit to actually pushing play and doing them. Find stuff you like, and can do on a constant basis. Dance, Zumba, Tai Bo, Hip Hop Abs, Insanity, P90X are all wonderful, but worthless unless they’re actually playing and you’re doing the exercises. Stationary bikes, home gyms, and treadmills are great pieces of fitness equipment to have. If you’re going to use them. Again, you have to make up your mind that you’re going to do this, and regain control over your life. A bowflex machine is an expensive and ugly piece of furniture and modern art if its just going to sit there unused. Joining a gym is wonderful, as long as you go. If you’re not committed, why waste your money?

Decide, Commit, Succeed. It’s a progression that will enrich your life beyond your wildest dreams.

21- A continuation of yesterday’s train of thought, because it is of vital importance as you work on improving your fitness and your life. Decide, Commit, Succeed! Each facet of this equation builds in a progression, so that in order to Succeed, you must first Decide and then Commit. Committing is the determining factor because without commitment, you are going to fail. As my weight progressed upwards over the years, steadily gaining about 10 extra pounds annually, I decided to do something about it constantly. Practically daily. But I was never, ever able to make the total commitment necessary to succeed. I’ve tried probably every weight loss program out there. I went like gangbusters for a while, then without commitment I fell away from the fold and failed miserably, regaining the weight I’d lost and adding more just to make it hurt worse. I’ve done many different types of exercise programs with the same results. Lack of commitment caused me to lose interest, make excuses, and just find reasons to do something else. Another crash and burn. It was only after I’d made up my mind to give myself over totally to reshaping my body, fitness, and lifestyle that I was able to commit to total dedication and focus on achieving my goal. I had to, being fat was shortening and hampering my very life.

Without commitment, you are running an uphill battle against yourself. Change your mindset. What you believe, you can achieve. Where the mind goes, the body must follow. Losing weight is 95% mental and 5% physical……I got a million of them folks.

I think you can see where I’m going from here. Please make the Decision to regain control over your life. Above all things, Commit to doing so. Totally. Fully. With all your heart. And I promise you, you will Succeed!

22- Train your tastebuds to accept new cooking and seasoning styles to accommodate your new lifestyle change. You’re trying to extend your life by getting your nutrition in line with being healthy. You need to cut out the fats, gravies, excess carbs, fried foods, sweets, etc. that got you to where you never wanted to be. Learn to compensate by using healthy substitutes for these things you’ve always savored. Spices like garlic, onions, basil, oregano, and all kinds of hot peppers can provide extra “pizzazz” to the dishes that you’re cooking, without sacrificing the healthy nature of the fuel you’re providing for your body. Lemon juice is a wonderful substitute and useful as a marinade for cooking fish or chicken breasts. Try substituting olive oil for anything you’ve ever prepared using vegetable oils or even margarine. Pure olive oil is great for you in measured amounts, over processed vegetable oils will counteract your healthy choices. Fresh fruits can supply you with a sweet fix when you’re craving a brownie or cookie. Try a “lite’ salt if you’ve just got to have salt added to your dish. I have always been a saltaholic. Moistening my fingertip to get the last bits of salt out of the pretzel bag, loading my popcorn at the theatre with extra butter flavored salt, and every other way I could think of to add salt to my poor diet. No wonder I was a Blimp. But you can, because I have, learn to live with less salt on your food. Train yourself to accept and enjoy these dietary changes so that you can enjoy your food, because you need to be doing this for the rest of your life. Please don’t think that you’re on a “Diet”. Diets fail. A proper nutritional plan will allow you to improve and extend the remaining days you have on this earth. Buon appetito!

23- Sleep! Get your sleep! You need your sleep! You MUST sleep! We all have busy, active lives where we need to actually have 30 hours a day in which to accomplish everything we should be doing. So sleep is usually the first area where we sacrifice time. Exercise is the second. But it’s all an equation that adds up in a balance to improve your fitness.

Proper Nutrition plus Good Exercise plus Adequate Sleep equals Total Health.

In controlled test groups, people who had the same nutrition and exercise programs were screened for their results based upon the amounts of sleep that they got. The people with good sleep habits lost more fat and gained more muscle than the people who were sleep deprived. You have to hit a happy medium that works for yourself. If you only have 60 minutes to spare, do you exercise for an hour or sleep for an hour? Maybe you could split the difference and exercise for 30 minutes and get an additional half an hour of sleep. If you’re committed to improving your health and being fit for the rest of your now extended life, it’s a lifestyle change that you need to strive for. Think of the time wasters that now occupy hours of your day that you really should do without. Are they worth your sacrifice of exercise or sleep, thus shortening your life? I guarantee you, as you approach the end of your days, if you are fit and healthy you will appreciate being able to spend more time with your loved ones instead of checking out early because you constantly passed up on exercise and adequate sleep so that you could watch 2-3 hours of Duck Dynasty and The Walking Dead every evening. Unless the TV is playing an exercise show that you’re involved in, what benefits do you receive when it’s turned on? Have a great day and Push Play!

24- Do not let anyone else’s opinions or negativity cause you to focus on anything other than your own personal success! The people around you do not live your life, you do! If someone tells you that you’re crazy for trying to become fit at your old age, or that there’s no way you’re going to regain control over your body, or that you’re just destined to be fat, or that you’re not tough enough to complete an exercise program; PISS ON THEM! Take their negatives and turn it into a positive. Use their ridiculous input as fuel to fire your angry, determined, committed focus on reshaping and extending your life. Prove them wrong. And then plan on how you’re going to celebrate your new body and make them eat their words. You’re getting fit for you. Negative people may want to see you fail because they have no self confidence. After you’ve proven them wrong, maybe you can reach out and help them achieve what you’ve accomplished. You’re on a journey here for the rest of your life. Don’t let negative speed bumps become roadblocks.

25- Set up your Weekend so that you can succeed and continue on your fitness journey. Don’t go into it with a plan to take a few steps backwards just because you expect to be able to get back into it again on Monday. Your body functions constantly, 24/7, and the weekend is just another set of days in its long life span. A lot of times we tend to overeat or overindulge from Friday-Sunday just because we think we “owe it to ourselves”. There are always reasons why we can rationalize our unhealthy behavior, but in the long run, do we really need to cave in to binge eating and binge drinking just because of what day is listed on the calendar? I slowly progressed upwards to 300 pounds because I did just this. I’d indulge in eating like a lumberjack all weekend, telling myself, “Oh well, I’ll just burn it off in the gym on Monday”. And then Monday would come, and guess what, I’d find an excuse NOT to do the necessary work to burn it off. After a period of time, these caloric food fests all add up. I’m not saying to deprive yourself or crash diet over the weekend. Deprivation fails. Diets fail. A constant and steady nutritional plan will get you through the weekend safely and extend your life. Small pleasures and indulgences are not the problem, being blind to what they can mean over the long haul can be a problem. Have a great weekend. Eat clean, drink your water, and Sweat Until You Drip!

26- Water, Water, Everywhere……

The start of the New Year seems to always begin with someone encouraging you to take care of your health in one way or another (guilty as charged). When embarking on your fitness program, there are several fundamental keys to having a successful end game. The one that I might argue is as important as anything else you could list is….maintaining your hydration levels religiously. That simplest of all nutritional components, the one with which we are all very familiar, has a profound effect on what we are trying to accomplish. Why is hydration so critical? Something Doesn’t Feel Right

Imagine if all the store shelves were completely vacant of water bottles or if nothing came out when you go to turn on your faucet! While you can survive several weeks without food, if you go past 2-3 days without water, you are in serious trouble both physically and mentally! We all know this instinctively, but, many of us would be hard pressed to specifically explain this gut level reaction. I Just Didn’t Know

When you weigh yourself on a scale, approximately 70% of that number staring back at you is water, which means that water makes up the majority of who you are. Your blood, the delivery system of oxygen and nutrients to your cells, is composed of around 80% water. Your brain, your computer, is also at this same level of water content. Your lungs, which supply the body with oxygen, are also in the 80% range. These are essential components of your body. Since we do not store water, you have to drink it all during the day. If your 100 trillion cells are limited in their access to H2O, your lungs, your brain, your whole body cannot function the way it was designed. One of the simplest decisions you can make in regards to your health is drink more water! D.E.B.T.S.

You are beginning to understand that hydration is critical to both your short term as well your long term goals. Almost every function of your body is impacted positively or negatively depending on your hydration levels. I have composed an anagram to cover some of the major ones. The following are the D.E.B.T.S. you own your body to maintain good hydration.

Digestion: You will digest your food better when you are hydrated. “When there is dehydration, the digestive system, especially the colon, is the last organ to receive water” (Natural Health on the Web)

Energy: If the water level around your cells is down approximately 5%, your energy levels can drop 10% to 15% or more. Maintaining good hydration will help alleviate your fatigue factor.

Blood Pressure: While your body prioritizes water distribution to the blood and the brain because they are essential, if you allow yourself to get too dehydrated, the blood can become more viscous. Since the heart is already working 24/7, how do you suppose this will affect the workload on the heart which will now have to pump this thicker fluid?

Toxins: If you don’t hydrate, you can’t eliminate. Your body is constantly trying to clear out toxins and the main ways are thru sweat, number 1 and number 2. A dehydrated body is retaining the toxins, not eliminating them. If you are ever constipated, the first corrective action you should take would be to greatly increase your water intake.

Skin Condition: Over the coming years, if you are mostly on the dehydrated side of the equation versus maintaining a quality level of hydration, how do you think your skin is going to look over time?

And the list goes on:

Helps you lose weight Helps reduce headaches Helps lubricate your joints Helps your body regulate its temperature Makes you more productive ….and more! The Bottom Line By now you are getting a clearer picture why drinking enough water is vital to everything you do. The goal is to consume half your body weight in ounces. In my own case, I am 176 pounds, so I drink (a minimum) of 88 ounces each and every day. On workout days, I will up the ante. Now, the tough part for those of you who haven’t focused on this aspect of your health is implementing a plan. A couple of suggestions. Carry the water with you wherever you go, preferably in something over 20 ounces. Having it in hand means you are more likely to drink it. Some people claim they don’t like the ‘taste’ of water. Ok, then add a small amount of flavor from lemons, cranberry or orange juice. Ultimately, you should now understand that excuses don’t cut it. That list you just read is a potpourri of positives, positives that you will turn into negatives if you don’t start taking responsibility for this fundamental fitness principle. You cannot go over, under or around this issue. Proper hydration must be in your future if you want to have a brighter future. Have a great weekend! Drink your water and Sweat Until You Drip!

27- Do something today to improve your mind, spirit, and emotions. We can’t function every day physically at a high level if we ignore the other facets of our lives. We have to enjoy life, all of it, and in order to do so we must be mindful of our thoughts and feelings. Sundays tend to be good days to recharge all of our batteries. Pick up that book you’ve been reading. Go to your house of worship and spend some time with your Maker in fellowship with others. Get together with friends and family. Watch a sports even or a good movie. The list goes on and on. Be involved in the things that make you happy. If it’s supposed to be your “Day of Rest” from your particular exercise program and you can’t just “do nothing”, be active in a fun, lower intensity way that still gets your body moving without overtaxing the machine. Tomorrow’s Monday, whether we like it or not, so just ignore it and experience TODAY to the fullest!

28- It’s a new day, new week, new beginnings, new opportunities, and a new life. If you’ve been sitting on the fence and waiting to start your nutritional plan or exercise program, TODAY IS YOUR DAY! It is truly the first day of the rest of your life. If you’ve been taking a break, now’s the time to jump back in and pick up where you left off. And if you’re sticking with your plans and following the path toward your goals, keep it up! Every day continues your Winning Streak! Have a great Monday, great Week, and Great Life! Sweat Until You Drip!

29- Be open to new foods, prepared in new ways as you explore options to improve your nutrition. The stuff you’ve always eaten in the manners you’ve always prepared them may have gotten you in the rut where you want to get your weight and fitness in line. So why not branch out and experiment? Quinoa, endame, spinach, avocados, etc. may have never entered your mind or your body before, but they could be providing healthy benefits for you if you just try them. Substituting olive oil for over processed vegetable oils and margarine. Oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs. Fat free yogurt instead of sour cream. Websites are chock full of ideas. Today’s experiment for me was adding spinach to my chocolate Shakeology breakfast. Initially it sounded gross, but in actuality it was very good and even healthier for me. 1 scoop of chocolate Shakeology, 8 oz skim milk, ice, 1/4 cup raw walnuts, and 1/4 cup leaf spinach in the blender. The spinach didn’t alter the taste one bit, and the green flecks were rather interesting. Years ago I would probably rather have skipped breakfast instead of trying something new. That’s why I was 300 pounds and destined for an early grave. As I prepare for the next 50 years I plan to be open to all suggestions and recommendations that might help me in my day to day nutrition, since the rest of our lives will only happen one day at a time.

30- Stick with it! Never Quit! Don’t allow “taking a break” to become, “I give up”. Turning your life and your fitness around is hard. It was a million times easier to get out of shape and overweight than it will be to become fit and lose weight. But we’re talking about our very lives here. Do you want to spend extra time with your loved ones? Are there things on your bucket list that you want to accomplish before you die? Well, if you change your nutrition and exercise for the rest of your life, you will enable yourself to live longer and healthier, accomplishing the things you want to do before you leave this earth. Each morning when you get out of bed you have a clean slate upon which you will write the plan for yourself. Will you eat clean, drink your water, and exercise? If you’ve been taking a break, now is the perfect time to jump right back in. Your body doesn’t care if you’ve eaten like a pig or stayed on the couch like a slug these past few days, or weeks, or months, or years; it wants you to do something positive for yourself. TODAY! The walking you do today, the brownies and fried chicken you skip at lunch to eat a grilled chicken salad, and the water you drink instead of a Coke today will enable you to have just a little more time at the end of your life to hug your loved ones and tell them one last time that you love them. Compared to having the opportunity to see Sicily in my golden years, a double quarter pounder with cheese today pales in comparison. Have a great day and Sweat Until You Drip!

31- Make it a point to reach out and lend support, assistance, and encouragement to others who are on their fitness journey. Your help might be the catalyst that enables them to regain control over their lives and their bodies! This morning at the gym I saw an overweight young man struggling with the machines and the treadmill. In him I saw myself as the middle-aged, seemingly hopeless, fat guy that I was less than a year and a half ago. He looked scared and out of place and discouraged. I could almost hear him saying to himself, “What am I doing here? Look at all these fit people, why am I doing this to myself? It’s hopeless.” I went up to him right away and told him, “I just want you to know that I’m so proud of you for being here and working so hard. 17 months ago I weighed 300 pounds and I’ve lost 125 pounds so far by doing exactly what you’re doing now.” I showed him some pics on my iPhone of me as a fat slob, and told him, “Don’t ever give up. You can do this, and if you ever doubt it, find me at the gym and I’ll help you.” It took me all of 45 seconds to convey this message, but I’d like to think that this man will play it over and over again in his mind as he strives to regain his fitness. Just as Jesus came to help the sinners, not the righteous; fitness clubs and trails are to help the overweight and out of shape. Don’t look down on the people who are struggling, be proud of the fact that they are working. Give them words of encouragement and advice. Be their support system. You’ll get more out of helping them than they will out of being helped. I started the free motivational fitness group, Fit Over Forty, on facebook to provide positive motivational inspiration and it’s doing just that, but without interpersonal, face to face interaction with the people who need it the most I feel like I’m only scratching the surface. We can all do so much more as a team because we’re all in this together. To paraphrase Mr. Spock – Let’s ALL Live Long and Prosper!

32- Be prepared to adapt your nutritional and exercise programs to adjust to lifestyle changes. Just because you are traveling, or on vacation, or doing something different for a little while, do not take a break from working toward acheiving your goals. Your body runs 24/7 and doesn’t care if its waking up in a hotel room in a strange city. It needs proper nutrition and exercise to function well. Your fitness goals are long-term to enable you to extend your life, don’t take a break from doing the right thing for yourself just because you’re not sleeping in your own bed tonight, or this week. You may have to change your workout program for a few days, but still get your exercise in. Or you may get lucky and you can bring your Insanity DVD and play it in your laptop. If you belong to a national Gym chain, like Anytime Fitness, you may have a club nearby where you can go. Running on the beach in a new town can be a beautiful way to exercise. Do whatever you can to continue your fitness journey. Eating at strange restaurants in strange towns may present a problem for your nutrition. Prepare and pack a bunch of chicken breasts, fresh veggies, and fresh fruits. Bring your Shakeology and shaker with you. Pack protein bars. Bring a cooler. There are plenty of ways to not “fall off the wagon” regarding your proper nutrition even when you aren’t comfortably at home. Printing a copy of Michi’s Ladder and keeping it with you will help you choose healthier alternatives when you’re eating at restaurants or banquets so that you’re not feeling the anxiety of guilt when you get back home and prepare to step on your bathroom scale again for the first time. Enjoy the changes of scenery and explore new opportunities, but most of all, stay focused on the goals you’ve set for yourself and be prepared to do what it takes to achieve them.

33- Have your goal set in a way so that you can provide tangible, obvious positive reinforcement for yourself. As you’re working toward becoming more fit and thus, extending your life, you need to be your best Cheerleader. I’ve touched on this before, but it bears repeating because staying focused requires a 24/7 constant commitment to your nutrition and exercise plans. Measure yourself regularly and log your results. Photograph yourself in a variety of poses, and set it up on your computer so that you can compare and contrast his you look now versus how you looked earlier. Mark off the notches on your belt as you cinch it tighter and tighter around your waist. Take regular fit tests and be proud of how many more push-ups, or pull-ups, or switch kicks, etc that you can do now. Keep track of your running, or biking, or walking times and distances; then be aware of how your speed and endurance is increasing. And my favorite, have a great article of clothing that you want to be able to fit into, and keep trying it on periodically to see how much closer you are getting to being able to wear it. I have a pair of size 32 jeans that were bought for me in 2001 at Christmas under the hopes that my Post-Divorce Starvation Diet was going to have me losing enough weight to wear them. (I was in 34’s at the time). Unfortunately for me, starving myself halfway to death back then was an unhealthy way to lose weight. So once I started getting my life back in order I started putting weight back on with a vengeance. Those 32’s have hung in my closet, with the price tags still affixed, for over 11 years now. I haven’t been able to comfortably wear 32’s since 1988 before I was married. I try them on about every 2 weeks or so. They’ve been buttoning recently. I’ll wear them when the muffin top is gone. Maybe this week, maybe the next, maybe next month. No matter what, those jeans hanging in my closest help me stay focused on doing what it takes to achieve what I want to. And yes, I already have a pair of size 30’s hanging so that I can work on the next stage. Have a great day and keep your eyes on the prize. Enjoy the journey it takes to get where you want to be, and never, ever, give up.

34- If you’re just starting out on your Fitness Journey, make sure to check with your doctor to discuss your plans. Injuries and medical complications are nothing to play around with. If your doctor recommends that you start slowly, follow this advice! Beware of biting off more than you can chew. I’d recommend starting with stationary bikes and ellipticals first because they don’t pound your joints and feet. Getting good shoes is very important, but the soles of your feet take a beating. When I started this journey the best $50 I spent was at Walmart at the Dr Scholls kiosk in the pharmacy. You stand on sensors that evaluate your feet, arches, and your natural pressure points. Then they make a recommendation on the correct insole for you. Before I got the insoles, the soles of my feet would scream at me after walking, biking, or being on the elliptical. Now they never, ever hurt. I have 2 pairs that I alternate among my work shoes and athletic shoes. If you take care of your feet and the joints in your legs your chances of success in losing weight go way up!

Thanks to Tony Ferrante for his incredible inspiration!!!

REMEMBER – Please be sure to check out our podcast for the most up to date health tips ever!  CLICK HERE!

 

Dave’s Ultimate Weight Loss Secret From Colorado!

Those of you that know me know that I have been spending my winters in Breckenridge, Colorado for the past several years. Why? It’s simple! I love skiing and I love the lifestyle here in the mountains. And as long as I have my MacBook, an internet connection and my iPhone, I can pretty much work from anywhere.

Anyway, I want to tell you about something very interesting that happens to me every single time I come to Breckenridge. I lose weight!

That is correct, and I’ll tell you something else. The weight comes off without having to think of exercise or what I’m eating. It just happens automatically! And after experiencing this mountain weight loss for many years in a row, I am prepared to tell you exactly why I think it happens.

First, let me tell you about my typical day in Breck. I normally wake up anywhere from 5:00 – 6:00AM. I don’t set an alarm, I just wake up. I don’t eat anything immediately. Maybe I’ll just have a cup of herbal tea.

After waking I go to my desk and do some work. This is generally consists of writing on the computer. Shortly thereafter, when people are awake on the east coast, I am possibly on the phone or attending a videoconference.

I have breakfast around 8:00AM. This consists of one egg, a piece of gluten free toast, some good juice and a little more tea. I then prepare a sandwich, some chips and instant miso soup, which I will carry in my backpack when I am skiing.

I will hang out at my place a little longer and finish any work I may have. By about 10:30AM or so I will change into my ski clothing and carry my skis down two flights of stairs to the ground level. Instead of jumping on the heated shuttle to take me to the ski lift, I chose to take a slightly uphill 10-15 minute walk to the lift. It is a great warm up for a day of skiing.

I ski until about 3-4PM. I ski fairly challenging terrain. I choose steep bumpy terrain over the groomed slopes. I don’t know why but the groomed slopes really bore me these days. I’m always looking for moguls, trees and the like! The reason I am telling you this is because when I ski I burn calories. A lot of them!

I take breaks when I’m tired. I am not out to set any records. I find a nice indoor place on the mountain where I can eat a relaxed lunch (from my backpack). I don’t generally buy the expensive high fat rip-off food that the high mountain lodges sell.

I come down from the mountain in the afternoon and finish any work that I need to. Some days I will get a massage to help my muscles feel better. Sometimes I’ll get in the Jacuzzi. After ski time is relaxing time for me.

Typically in the evening I will either have dinner home or will walk to a restaurant in town. I hardly ever drive anywhere since almost everywhere in Breck can be a walk. I go to bed around 9:00PM and start the pattern again the following day!

Below are the reasons that I think I always shed the pounds without trying.

I go to bed early in the evening. I am usually so tired after a full day of working and skiing that I pretty much fall asleep by 9PM. I believe that going to sleep early helps with weight loss.

I get at least 8-9 hours of sleep every evening. Research this if you like. Healthy sleep helps you maintain a good weight.

I eat a small breakfast. Breakfast is an important meal but you don’t need to overdo it. I don’t overdo it!

I walk when I can. The walk to the ski lift every morning certainly burns a lot of calories.

I exercise. My exercise happens to be skiing in the winter. I love it. I do it almost every day. It is part of my routine. I don’t have to think about when I can get to the gym or when I can take a run. This is what I do every day.

I don’t eat a lot during the day. I always carry an energy bar with me while I ski. I frequently eat half of it before lunch. But I am never tempted to hang out around the fridge because I am skiing – I am keeping myself busy!

I pack my lunch and keep it relatively small and healthy. This beats eating out.

I walk almost every evening, even if it’s just a walk around town. This definitely burns calories, especially when it is very cold outside!

The results? Weight loss. I am always down to my ideal weight during the winter skiing months. And I feel strong and healthy.

Can you do this? Yes you can. You don’t have to come here to Colorado to ski. Just study the principles that keep me in shape in Colorado and apply them to your life. They will work!

 

 

 

 

New App Easily Turns Your iPhone, iPad or Droid Into a Portable Scale

April 1, 2012

Dear Friend,

If you have been following my health advice for a while, you most likely know how I value weighing yourself every single day because it is by far one of the most important measurements that will help you know how you are doing with your eating and lifestyle program. As I say, “without the scale we are working blindly.”

For those of us that travel frequently, it’s not always so easy to do this as most hotels do not routinely provide scales in their rooms. A few months ago I did purchase a good travel scale but I only bring this with me on extended trips that are greater than one week.

I always knew there had to be a better solution in these times of smartphones, tablets and the internet. I actually came up with an idea and a very short time ago I sat down and developed an app for mobile devices that can turn any device into an actual scale!

I call it iWantToGetWeighed and it is available through most app stores for $1.99. I wanted to make this app so affordable that anyone in the world could download it and use it to improve their lifestyle. The results have been incredible. Morning TV shows and practically every news and health show have been calling me to come on and talk about iWantToGetWeighed. This has become an overnight sensation.

I just created a very short video showing how this app works. Feel free to check it out below!

(NOTE!!!! This was an April Fool’s post back in 2012! No such app exists as we know of right now but we are working on it!)

If you would like more info, or would like to have me come speak to your group about how to become Stronger, Thinner, Healthier and Happier, please click HERE!

Follow me on Facebook for a daily health tip http://www.facebook.com/SliceYourAge

Download my latest book for Kindle! 

Rock on my Friends!

 

iWantToGetWeighed Coming April 1, 2012

Please check out this video!

Stay tuned to this site!!! More information coming April 1.

Spring Training With Dave!

Spring has sprung across most of the country! It’s early, but even for Mid March we are in the mid 70’s in Maryland, and the weather is GREAT to be outside.

For those of you that have been dormant all winter I am asking you to proceed with caution into your “spring training.”  The most common cause of serious injury is not being ready enough for the task you are about to undertake.

If you decided to start lifting weights, your first lift would not be 400 lbs., nor should your first run of the season be five miles.  As children we had to learn to crawl before we walk, and to walk in order to be able to run.  Running now as an adult is no different.

So here is my best advice to those of you in spring training:

Get a good pair of running shoes.  If you have any questions about how to buy a good running shoe or what you need in a shoe, here is a link to a blog I wrote about a year ago on that very subject.

Then I suggest WALKING a mile a day until that becomes easy. Then walk 2 miles a day until that becomes easy. When walking at least 2 miles becomes easy, then run a mile. Once that is easy run 2 miles.  Then run 3 miles, and so on.

Congratulations! You are NOW ready to run a 5K (3.1 miles). That was easy enough, wasn’t it?

Once you can run a 5K, I suggest training to run a 10K (6.2 miles), and once you successfully run a 10K – congratulations… you are NOW ready to start training for your first half marathon (13.1 miles).

Once again once you can successfully run a half marathon you will be ready to start training for a full marathon (26.2 miles). Here is a link to an earlier blog about training for a marathon!

I overheard someone the other day say that it was nonsense to have to do a 5K first before running their first marathon and WOW I thought that was crazy talk!  Remember, crawl before you walk and walk before you run.  Train, build the skill, and complete your run successfully and uninjured.  Life will be glorious.

Eating to fuel your running machine is also very very important.  Make sure you are eating lots of slow burning carbohydrates like vegetables, beans, lentils, steel cut oatmeal, bananas, yams, broccoli, almonds and whole grains.  Here is a link to a blog I wrote on what and how to eat when running a race.

Lastly, when you are ready for your first race, there are some essentials you will need. A good hydrating system, a good energy gel, sports slick, some plastic sports tape, a good electrolyte replacement, a GPS watch, a good bandana or head wrap, and a dark pair of sunglasses.  Here is a great article I recently wrote on this subject!

Post run there are several other things you will want to have on hand and to be prepared for:

1. A hot bath or shower – for more than the obvious reasons, the hot water will allow your muscles to start processing out the lactic acids that have built up while you ran.

2. If possible, a good full body massage. This will make you feel great. Oftentimes there are massage therapists giving complimentary massages after races. Take them up on their kind offer!

3. You will want to have a pain relieving spray or gel on hand. I like Cryoderm. Your local chiropractor should stock this; it’s in-expensive and totally helpful for your strained and sore muscles. Because it is cryotherapy it will help stop any inflammation. I also love Tiger Balm, available at many natural and Asian grocery stores.

4. A good meal (see above). This is no time to diet! Your body needs to be refueled!

5. Lots of water!

6. Gentle stretching about an hour post run so that your muscles keep moving.  Seriously folks, the worst thing you can do is come home from a run and lay down.

Run safe my friends!

David Madow’s book “Impress The World With Your Body now available on Kindle!!! 

Be sure to check out David’s Facebook Page Healthy at 102! Great health tip EVERY DAY!

Dr. Madow’s “Cult Following” Book Just Released for Kindle!

“Impress the World With Your Body in SEVEN Days” has been changing lives since 2007.  

Up until now, it was officially only available in a hardback edition. This past week my publisher has released a Kindle edition and it is selling like crazy! We have made it extremely easy on the wallet at $6.99.

Are you ready to be healthier than ever? It is easier than you think. Sure, there are certain things you will need to change in your life but I am telling you, none of it is really difficult.

Summer is getting closer and closer and I have a feeling this is going to be your best summer ever. You will not only look your best but you will have more energy than you have ever had in your life!

You may find the Kindle version of “Impress the World With Your Body in SEVEN Days” by clicking HERE!

Also, please stay in touch with me on my Facebook Page called Healthy at 102! I have a great healthy tip for you every day of the week!

Rock on!

Dave

You? Running a Marathon?

Congratulations on deciding to run a marathon.  If you prepare properly both physically and mentally, it could possibly be one of the coolest things you will ever do in your life!

The marathon is 26.2 miles. That is longer than you can imagine. Get in your car and drive 26 miles. I bet you’ll be tired. Running a marathon is more than twice as difficult as running a half marathon. Although it’s different for everyone, when you approach mile 18 or so, your body generally starts to seriously protest. And at that point, you still have eight miles to go, which most likely is longer than your average run right now. Do not take the marathon lightly or you will get into trouble.

There are three reasons that I will mention right here that I think are cause for not running a marathon right now.

  1. You have never run a half marathon.
  2. You have been running less than a year.
  3. You have an injury or a medical condition that would preclude this.

If you fall in any of the above categories, please do yourself a favor and hold off for now.

I have completed numerous marathons. I try to do one a year at this point but my goal is to always be “marathon ready” these days. I am very slow, generally keeping towards the back of the pack. My goal when I run a marathon is to finish “comfortably” and be ready for the next one.

I often get asked how to prepare for a marathon. I hope the advice that follows helps you in your preparation.  I will keep things as simple as possible here. Here are some of the most common questions I am asked.

Q: I’ve just started running and I would like to enter a marathon. Do you think this is a good idea?

A: Actually I do not think it is a good idea for a beginner to run a marathon. In my opinion, you should have at least a year of running under your belt before even thinking about a marathon. There are too many new things that a beginning runner will face; things such as figuring out proper nutrition, hydration, dealing with chafing and pain, what clothing works best, finding the best shoes, and much more. The marathon is a long, grueling run. If any of the above are not tweaked during shorter runs, the marathon will become a nightmare. My goal is to make sure you actually have fun running a marathon.

Q: OK, so I have been running for a couple of years now. Am I ready for the marathon?

A: Well, I don’t know. Do you think you are? What is the longest distance you have ever covered? If you have never run a half marathon, why don’t you try that first? A half marathon is 13.1 miles – a long run by almost anyone’s standards. Enter a half marathon, train for that and see how you feel. If you complete it with no problems then I think you are on your way to the full marathon.

Q: Some of my friends are registered for a marathon six months from now and even though the longest distance I have ever run is eight miles, I would like to join them. Would this be OK?

A: Again, I am going to stick to my previous answer and say no, you’d be better off running a half. Many marathons these days have an accompanying half marathon so you should check to see if the one your friends entered has that choice available. But either way, I would not enter the full right now. There is plenty of time for you to do this. Marathons are not going away. They are more popular than ever now. Get the proper base before taking the plunge.

Q: I have been running off and on for seven years now. I have my site set on the Chicago Marathon, which is eight months away. I ran a half marathon a couple of years ago and finished slow but comfortably. My average run these days is 3-4 miles. Will I be OK?

A: Yes, you are ready to take the next step to the marathon! Even though your runs are fairly short, you are a seasoned runner who has completed a half.  Eight months of training is a very adequate amount of time. Assuming you are in good health, go ahead and enter Chicago!

Q: I am about 30 pounds overweight and I would love to train for and run a marathon to help me lose weight. Is this a good idea?

A: It is a great idea as long as you have been running for at least a year and have completed a half marathon comfortably. If not, please go ahead and work on those. Running any distance is a great way to lose weight when combined with a good eating program. Running a marathon will not guarantee weight loss. Again, it would be so much better for you to work on the basics first.

Q: I am 42 years old and have occasional chest pain upon exertion. Would running a marathon be safe for me?

A: There is no way I can tell. Please see a sports medicine physician for evaluation.  I have been going to The Cooper Clinic in Dallas, TX for about ten years now for my physicals. The reason is that all of the physicians there understand exercise physiology and how it relates to my body and my health. I am willing to travel for the best care. Wherever you go, make sure your doc understands and believes strongly in exercise. In my opinion, a doc that is a runner himself or herself would be ideal.  Also, please note that I have no association at all with The Cooper Clinic except for the fact that I am a patient there.

Q: I am training now and when I get seven or eight miles into my run, my feet really hurt. Suggestions?

A: Make sure you have shoes that fit properly. That is key! Go to a running store that has experienced runners as salespeople that can evaluate your gait. There are so many types of shoes out there these days that are made for different types of feet, bodies, running styles, etc. that I bet there is a good pair waiting for you.

And please understand that just because a pair of shoes is expensive does not mean they are the right type for you. Many years ago when I was a beginner runner I went out and bought a real expensive pair of shoes. They really killed my feet and I had to give them away. Turned out that a cheaper pair worked perfectly for me.

If you do all of the above and you cannot find a pair of shoes that work for you, please seek out a good sports medicine podiatrist. You may need orthotics or some other type of corrective device.

Q: I am a diabetic. Can I run a marathon?

A: I am not supposed to be giving actual medical advice here so my first response will be to please check with your doctor. But having said that, I believe that a running program that includes proper training as well as nutrition is a positive thing for diabetics as opposed to a negative. I actually know people that have seen marked improvements and reversal in their diabetes through good exercise programs.

Q: My goal is to run a spring marathon next year. Good idea?

A: Well it’s hard to say, as I am not sure where you live. I have found spring marathons difficult due to the fact that most of the training needs to take place over the winter.  If you are living in a warm climate, this should not be a problem. But if you are in Minnesota, it could be a challenge.

Q: What is your feeling about training on a treadmill as opposed to running outside?

A: There is nothing like running outdoors because it simulates the surface that you will actually be running on for 26.2 miles. Don’t get me wrong, treadmills are great and many people swear by them. I have used them successfully in the past. These days I do not own one.

My feeling is that if you ONLY train on a treadmill and then go out to run the marathon, it is going to feel very different to you and you may have some problems.

Q: How many times a week do I need to run to be able to complete a marathon?

A: Great question. Ask many coaches and you will get many answers on this one. My personal opinion has changed over the years. I believe you can comfortably complete a marathon by running three times per week, and I am not talking about three high mileage runs.

I have found that I just need one long run every two weeks and shorter runs in between to complete the marathon. Please remember that I am not an elite or competitive runner. I will never come close to qualifying for Boston. I run to finish comfortably and am generally much closer to the back of the back as opposed to the front. But I have been running for over 35 years now injury and burnout free. And there is a lot to be said for that!

Q: How long should my longest run be to be adequately trained for a marathon?

A: My answer is 26.2 miles or longer. Because if you complete this distance in your training, we know you should be able to run the marathon. But having said that, there are many successful marathoners that do not believe they need to complete the 26.2 mile distance in their training. I would personally try to get as close to the full distance in training as possible though!

Q: Is it OK to walk part of the marathon and still say I finished?

A: Absolutely! You are a finisher whether you cross the line in 2:15 or 7:15. As a matter of fact, I will say that crossing the line, no matter what your time is, makes you a winner!

I take walk breaks during the marathon and it’s the best thing I have ever done to get me through. Jeff Galloway, an ex-Olympian marathoner swears by them and has actually proven that your time can improve by inserting walk breaks. To know more, I would suggest buying one of Jeff’s books on marathoning. Perhaps one of the best investments you can make!

Q: This all sounds great. I think I am ready. What should I do now?

A: I am glad you are ready and have decided to run a marathon. First of all, I would suggest researching which marathon you would like to enter and run. I happen to love Chicago because it is a great flat course through an incredible city. The energy of the people in every neighborhood helps to carry you across the finish line!

The Baltimore Marathon (in my hometown) is another great fall marathon. Same with the Marine Corps Marathon, in Washington, DC. But I suggest that you take a look at all available marathons and then decide which one you will enter. I believe running a fall marathon is ideal because that will allow you to train all through the spring and summer.

Next, simply decide what your goal is and plan your training accordingly. If your goal is simply “to finish,” your training will be very different from an elite athlete that is competing to win! My personal goal in the marathon is to finish comfortably. As I said, I combine walking and running to take me across the finish line.

If you are curious, look for a future article where I will give you more tips as well as outline my very own training schedule for Chicago in October.

Rock on!

Dave

Please make sure you are connected with my “102 Page” on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/HealthyAt102

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Read full book “Impress The World With Your Body in Seven Days” for free by clicking here!

Buy hard cover copy of “Impress The World With Your Body in Seven Days” by clicking here!

 

 

The Final Post (of the Year) – You Should Read This!

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year to each and every one of you. It has been a great year for some of you and a tough year for others. No matter what, I am here to make sure that next year is your best year yet. 

I have tons of great tips, ideas and helpful ways for you to live your BEST life ever coming up just after the New Year! And some really good recipes as well to make sure you are only putting healthy food into your body.

EXCITING NEWS! I am going to be starting work on a brand new book which will answer some of the most common (and uncommon) questions about your health, working out, eating the right foods, happiness, etc. So if you have ANY questions, please send them over to me and not only will I answer you personally, but the question just may show up in my book (and you will be famous)!

Also, if you have not yet read my first book, here are the links! It would be a great read for the new year!

Read full book “Impress The World With Your Body in Seven Days” for free by clicking here!

Buy hard cover copy of “Impress The World With Your Body in Seven Days” by clicking here!

Lastly, I would like to thank my friend Terry Chaney for giving me the push to start my “Healthy at 102” Facebook page. I started the page less than a year ago and already have over 900 people that have “liked” it!  We give a “Quick Tip” every day, 365 days a year, so please be sure to check it out!

So again, Happy New Year and as I used to say to my classmates before winter break when I was a little kid… “see you NEXT YEAR!”

Rock on!

Is it OK to “Indulge” During the Holidays?

Q: Dave, is it OK to “indulge” or just “live it up” a little during the holidays?

A: This is actually a question that I get asked quite often. And my answer goes something like this:

I am not sure what you mean by “living it up” or indulging. Does it mean eating four pieces of your mother’s pumpkin pie? Drinking alcohol like you’re back at a college fraternity party? Devouring a bucket of ocean fries drowned in mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise?

Or do you mean eating some dessert when you normally try your best to avoid all desserts like the plague? Or cheating a little bit because you would love to have a half of a loaded baked potato that you have not had all year long.

Since I am not clear on what you mean by “living it up,” I am going to tell you what I do. I try my best to eat healthy food every single day.  I do this by combining fresh, organic, raw, natural, free-range foods as much as I can. Am I perfect at it? No way. Do I do a pretty darn good job? Yes I believe I do!

So this means if I am at a party and everyone is fueling up on alcohol, I politely ask for a glass of fresh water or a cup of tea. By the way, I generally stay away from big drunken parties. They are just not fun for me. If I am out at a restaurant and everyone is “doing” dessert, I do not succumb, unless fresh fruit and green tea are available. Simply put, I never feel the peer pressure to do what everyone else is doing.  I do try to avoid situations where others around me are being unhealthy.

I do not look at my eating program as a “diet” or something that is restrictive. Nor do I look at a plate of fried chicken, an ice cream sundae or a sugar-laden drink from Starbucks as a “reward” for having been so good.

Listen: you and I have the right to basically eat anything that we want. I simply know that if I put something into my body that is not good for me, there will be a price to pay somewhere down the road. That price may be weight gain, a health issue, or most likely, both.

Eating and drinking in an unhealthy manner are just not fun for me. Just because “everyone else” is doing this does not make it a good thing.  Please remember, this is a lifestyle. Do the best you can. Hang around healthy people – it really does make a big difference! And if you decide to “indulge,” do it in the smallest way possible!

Happy holidays to YOU!!! Please be sure to visit my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/HealthyAt102. There is a brand new “quick tip” every day!

Rock on!

Dr. Dave’s Winter Holiday Survival Guide!

Holy moly, I cannot believe it’s THAT time of the year again!

Yes, the “holidays” are upon us!  

And no, it does not matter which, if any of the winter holidays you celebrate. The fact is the next couple of weeks can be incredibly stressful, irritating, and will very likely increase your waistline if you are not careful.

So here are my survival tips to keeping this a fun, light and easy time of the year. Trust me… I have been doing all of these for many years.

  1. Recognize that saying NO to certain things is perfectly acceptable. You do not have to say yes to everything you are asked to do or attend.  Be selective and say YES to ONLY the things that are most important to you.
  2. Plan your activity routine. It’s much easier to plan out where you need to go and then travel in a straight line. For example, if I need to go to the dry cleaners, bank, shoe repair, and natural food store, I will figure out which one is the farthest away, and which one is the closest. Then I “connect the dots” in-between. This way I do not feel like I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
  3. Realize and be ok with the fact that these winter holidays are NOT about the biggest, most expensive gifts.  ALL of the winter holidays are about being with family, friends and enjoying the JOY of this season, NOT counting the gifts.  So instead of rushing out to purchase your loved one some gift that two months from now they will have forgotten, how about planning an afternoon together or fix them their favorite meal?
  4. When attending holiday parties, always remember – if you can use a smaller plate, do so! If there is only one size plate available, please aim to only fill it up about halfway. A full sized dinner plate that is packed with food is simply too much. And while we are talking plates, try to go with the healthiest foods. No fried foods! Please try to avoid the sauced veggies. I know that the sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows look good but the marshmallows and other unhealthy ingredients take away all of the benefits from the sweet potatoes. The same applies to the green beans smothered in fried onions and cream of mushroom soup. But you know all that, right? Just use common sense. Fresh meats and unadulterated veggies are best. Beans and nuts are also good. As my good friend Terry, says – NOTHING IS EVER GOING TO TASTE AS GOOD AS BEING HEALTHY FEELS. She is so right.
  5. New Years Eve is the night we celebrate the ending of one year and the beginning of the next – not the night we get as drunk as possible, eat everything in sight and wake up feeling horrible the next day. You all know that I do not drink alcohol. It is incredibly fattening and in my opinion, does not contribute to overall health no matter what the “studies” say. But if you feel the need and desire for a glass of wine or champagne to celebrate the New Year, I will not tell you no, but please limit it to one glass.

There are probably many more holiday tips I can give you, and maybe I will do so very soon. But if you follow just these simple guidelines, I am pretty certain that you will have a wonderful, fun and stress-free holiday season. Enjoy!

Happy Holidays

Dave

P.S. Make sure you “like” me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HealthyAt102. A new tip awaits you every day!