Life, Death, and The “Trap of Tomorrow”
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My cousin, big brother, friend and mentor… R.I.P. Mr. Gaines
In my experience, procrastination is one of the biggest motivation stealing behaviors in existence. It robs progress, momentum, and success from too many people for no good reason. To be perfectly transparent, I’m guilty of it myself with certain things in my life. I know when you come here every week and you read my column, and think “I should really do this”, that you probably won’t. I’ve heard many many times “I love your column, I read it every week. I don’t do what it says, but I read it…”, and I would usually just laugh and keep it moving. But the reality of not doing it personally hit home recently. If you only read one of my columns this year, please take this one to heart.
Growing up, my older cousin Carlton Gaines was a major influence on me. I looked up to him like a big brother, more than a cousin. He was a trememndous athlete, excelling it both track and field, and football, for which he would recieve a scholarship to James Madison University. He was heavily involved in high school clubs and student government, and was very social making friends wherever he went. His room was decorated with various medals and trophies that he’d won, and I remember always wanting trophies because HE had trophies. As I began to compete in activities from drum corps, wrestling, and bodybuilding, the first person I wanted to brag to about my achievements was guess who? I always called Carlton first. I wanted him to see that I was a winner just like him.
When I began my fitness career as an adult, I remember he came to me one day and said that he wanted to get into better shape, as he had fallen out of condition due to the usual reasons why men typically do, work and family, and civic duties, I was excited. The student got to become the teacher! I got him a 3 week pass to the club I was working at, and I designed a program for him to follow 3 days a week, a good start. He came to the gym once after I saw him that first time. For the next several years I teasingly reminded him pretty frequently that he “punked out” on me, and he was now my Jedi Padawan (he was a big Star Wars fan). I pointed to the paunch he had developed as a result of not exercising, and kept threatening to revoke his letterman’s jacket if he didn’t get back to the gym soon. It was always friendly teasing, but I really wanted him to get back on track, maybe we could train together and hang out like we used to. “One of these days” was usually his response”.
It wasn’t to be.
A few years ago, Carlton suffered a devestating heart attack that left him hospitalized, severely weakend for an extended period of time. I was shocked to hear that this man who had always been such a strong person in my life was left in this condition. When he finally began to regain his strength, and went back to work, I called him. I asked him if he was ready to start taking care of himself, and prevent as best he could another event like this from happening agian. He told me “one of these days”. As time went by, he started working for a major food service group, and was doing well as was the norm for him because he was a very focused, hard working person. He got busier and busier, and when that happens to many people, priorities beging to shift towards doing more to get more from employers and less on taking care of self. It all came to a head about two weeks ago when Carlton had a massive heart attack while eating dinner. This time, at the young age of 46, it claimed his brilliant life. It took my cousin, my brother, my friend and mentor. He was 46. I love him and I’ll always miss him.
It’s time to get serious about your health. It’s time to stop saying “I’ll do it when I have time” and MAKE time. Losing someone is never easy, especially to a traumatic event. Get up earlier, throw your tv out of the window, say NO to things that don’t really matter. Take care of YOU…today. Don’t fall into the trap of tomorrow. Take control of your time, your, physical, condition, and your life. People love you and want you to be around for a long time. I need you around to keep reading my columns and help me keep my job. In 2013, commit to making this THE year you do whatever you have to to get your life in order beginning with your health.
Eat the right food, train hard, and get good quality sleep. Start today.
Chad Smith is a MD personal trainer, columnist, and speaker. Get his FREE 5 day eCourse:“How To Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” by CLICKING HERE.
3 Steps To Creating Personal Change
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What do you want to change about yourself?
Is it the way you look or feel, or is it your current general situation in life?
We’ve been conditioned to think that change is hard, that it takes a long time. But it really doesn’t have to.
I’m here to argue that lasting change happens in the speed of thought.
This goes completely against the grain of common belief. Most people believe that change is a struggle. We expect to try and fail several times before ultimately giving up.
Think about this: How many people do you know who struggle with weight loss? They want to make a healthy change, but the change never seems to happen.
What’s keeping people from making this change in their lives?
According to personal development guru, Tony Robbins, it’s the preparation for change that takes time. In the end, there’s a single instant when the change occurs.
Here are the three steps to instantly create change that leads to a new you.
Step No. 1: Believe that something must change.
Do you sort of want to get into shape, or do you absolutely have to lose the weight? Does dropping a few pounds sound good, or is living another day in your current body simply unbearable? In order to make a lasting change, you must believe wholeheartedly that things must change.
Step No. 2: Believe that you must change it.
It is vital that you take full responsibility for making the change rather than assigning responsibility elsewhere. Sure, others might help you, but in the end, you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this change enough to make it your personal mission. No one else can do it for you.
Step #3: Believe that you can change it.
Don’t let past failures get you down. The truth is that you are capable of amazing things when you put your mind to it. Believe that you are able to lose weight or to make any other positive change in your life.
Why do most people fail to make change stick? They rely on willpower. This works for awhile, but you’ll soon revert back to what’s comfortable. The solution? Change what you are comfortable with.
People are motivated by two things: 1) to avoid pain; and 2) to gain pleasure. When you want to change a behavior, the key is to associate pain with the behavior that you don’t want and pleasure with the behavior that you do want.
You know that you want to lose weight and that to do so you need to quit eating comfort food late at night. You also know that you need to start exercising on a regular basis. Up until this point your brain is trained to associate pleasure with eating comfort food late at night and to associate pain with exercise.
It’s time to retrain your brain to feel good about exercise and to feel bad about eating late at night. Think about all of the negative things about being overweight and connect these unpleasant thoughts to your late night snack. Now think about all of the wonderful things about being in shape and connect these pleasant thoughts to exercise.
You are capable of making big changes in your life, and it can happen at the speed of thought.
Chad Smith is a MD personal trainer, columnist, and speaker. Get his FREE 5 day eCourse:“How To Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” by CLICKING HERE.
4 Types Of Foods To Avoid For Fat Loss
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Healthful eating starts with supportive nutrition. This means clean eating, or choosing foods that provide you with essential nutrients, including healthful fats (such as Omega-3), antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and especially protein.
The easiest way to start eating clean is to get rid of the food in your day that supports your goals the least.
What you are about to read consists of four unsupportive, unhealthful foods, but it is not exhaustive. But replacing these foods in your day with better options will go a long way to ensure you are on the right path to consistent clean eating.
Here are my top four “do not eat” foods:
1. Processed, packaged foods. Processed packaged foods are loaded with preservatives, sodium and other harmful ingredients. Sodium, for one, has been linked to hypertension. It is best to “buy fresh.”
2. Refined sugar and sweeteners. Sugars and artificial sweeteners are added to lots of drinks and foods. See a so-called “healthy” yogurt in a 100-calorie pack? Read the label. Chances are it is so loaded with added sugar that it’s like eating a 100-calorie candy bar. Totally empty.
As for artificial sweeteners, studies show that people who drink diet sodas with artificial sweeteners simply crave sugar more often and end up eating more sugar as well.
3. White bread, cereal and pasta. These are hard foods to stop eating for most people. They are essentially just carbohydrates and little else. You should focus your energy on getting carbs from fibrous fruits and vegetables. Fiber is harder to break down by the body, and it requires more energy expenditure to digest. Simple carbs like those found in white bread, cereal and pasta do not have much fiber and actually cause insulin spikes. An added note: Most sweetened kid’s cereals (i.e. Cap’n Crunch, Reese’s Cereal, etc.) are basically like eating candy for breakfast. Skip ‘em.
4. Alcohol. Alcohol, like a soft drink, is an example of a high-carb, low-nutrient beverage. The calories from alcohol can’t even be used as energy, so they are converted into body fat rather quickly. You want to get most of your calories from healthful foods, not from unhealthful drinks. Ever hear of a beer belly? I thought so. Excessive alcohol consumption will undermine your best fitness efforts if you let it — so don’t let it.
Begin replacing these foods in your daily nutrition immediately, and you’ll begin to watch the extra pounds and inches drop off quickly and more consistently. Don’t replace them and, well, get used to looking and feeling the same next November. Train harder, and eat smarter for a healthier 2013.
Chad Smith is a MD personal trainer, columnist, and speaker. Get his FREE 5 day eCourse:“How To Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” by CLICKING HERE.
How To Build Healthy Meals In 5 Easy Steps
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Are you eating as healthfully as you think you are?
If your weight loss has slowed, or even stopped, then there’s a good chance that you haven’t been.
I’m going to end the confusion, and guessing, once and for all. In this week’s column, I’m going to share my five steps to building a healthful meal. If you stick to this plan you’ll know that your meals are healthful and goal supportive. And as a result, you can expect consistent, and healthy weight loss.
Here are my five steps to building a better meal:
Step 1: quality ingredients
These are the building blocks to a healthful meal. While you certainly don’t need to dine in gourmet restaurants in order to ensure quality ingredients, you should pay attention to the quality of the foods you eat.
Choose foods that are:
Fresh and locally grown
Pronounceable ingredients
Whole foods
Step 2: cooking method
The way a meal is cooked determines how many calories, how much added fat and the number of nutrients that survive. This simple factor will make or break your weight loss goal.
Avoid foods prepared like this:
Fried and battered
Processed and packaged
Doused with cream sauce
Sauted
Choose foods that are prepared like this:
Grilled
Baked
Broiled
Steamed
Step 3: mostly protein
The bulk of your calories should be coming from a quality source of protein. With the first two guidelines in mind, these will be high-quality and healthfully prepared.
Good choices of protein include:
Fish
Chicken
Turkey
Egg
Lean red meat
Beans
Step 4: lots of fiber
Fiber is a huge part of eating healthy and being lean. Fibrous foods will fill you up while delivering vitamins and nutrient in low-calorie packages. Fill at least two thirds of your plate with fibrous vegetables.
Try these forms of fiber:
Salad
Seasonal vegetables
Fruit
Legumes
Step 5: lay off the starches
Here’s where many well-meaning dieters lose it. The facts are simple, in order to maintain the low-carb, high-protein diet required for healthy weight loss, there is no room for starchy foods.
Starches to avoid:
Potatoes
Pasta
Rice and cereal
Bread and crackers
For faster results, pair your clean eating with a challenging, progressive exercise program. The fast track to steady weight loss is the knockout combination of supportive nutrition, and hard training. Build better, more supportive meals, and you’ll see better results than ever before.
Chad Smith is a MD personal trainer, columnist, and speaker. Get his FREE 5 day eCourse:“How To Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” by CLICKING HERE.
3 Tricks To Make Halloween Fitness a Treat
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For those watching the scale, Halloween can be the beginning of a downward spiral if you aren’t careful. A house full of candy, too many costume parties and beginning to slack in your training can lead to the beginning of the end of your chances of finishing 2012 in your best shape. Here a three tips to make sure you avoid that often slippery slope.
1. Use total body workouts: Total body training saves time and burns more calories than traditional “body part” training. Three total body workouts per week builds a strong metabolism, and allows more variation in the workout that alleviates boredom. Plus, if you miss a workout it will only be 48 hours before the next one is scheduled so your body won’t lose it’s conditioning as opposed to traditional body-part training where if you miss a workout, you might actually get weaker.
2. Make healthier Halloween recipes. Look online to find some great tasting treats that won’t kill your diet for some much needed damage control this Halloween season. The most popular Halloween recipe among my clients is my pumpkin pecan shake loaded with muscle-building, fat-starving protein plus the optimal dose of healthy fats, fruit and fiber for a “complete better body meal.” It is imperative to be able to think outside the box by substituting healthier ingredients where possible without overly sacrificing the taste you crave for a more figure-friendly Halloween.
3. Use common sense:
Only buy enough candy so that you expect to run out before the evening is over. It’s crucial to weight loss success to not have “trigger” foods lying around — the temptation is often too great.
Allow yourself just one piece of candy in the morning and then one at night. Skip any desserts that you would normally eat after dinner. Also, be sure to increase your exercise activity by 30 minutes on every day that you eat your two pieces of candy. This will counteract the increase in calories that you are consuming.
Also, consider if you indulge a bit too much it’s important to forgive yourself and move on. Dwelling on the past will not help your success.
To finish 2012 strong, you’ll have to break out of the frustrating emotional eating patterns that sabotage our fat loss efforts during the holidays.
Our brains are wired to crave the nonsupportive, sugary treats that typify the Halloween season. So, your approach has to be to take the exact opposite with your habits.
Instead of using Halloween as a reason to justify eating a bunch of junk food, spin the seasonal event to spice up your workouts. Halloween then becomes a fat-loss tool — this approach is key to adopting a healthy lifestyle for long-term success.
Chad Smith is a MD personal trainer, columnist, and speaker. Get his FREE 5 day eCourse:“How To Lose Belly Fat Starting Today!” by CLICKING HERE.
