Find A Way

On any path that leads to true and sustainable success, there are a great many excuses "blocking" the way.  A picture that comes to mind is the proverbial elephant with 1 leg tied to a plastic chair.  He perceives that he is tied to an immovable object and never even tries to "break free."  Have you found yourself in that same place with your health and fitness goals or your mindset?  Have you created a prison that doesn't exist in reality?  Have you doomed yourself before even really starting?  Have you manufactured reasons why you shouldn't even try to "break free" from being "tied" to that plastic chair?  Or, have you mustered up enough effort to take a few steps, but then default to: "I am not going to get anywhere anyways so why even try?"

You see, these are all mindset or perspective issues that need to be put in check before you can ever expect to see long term results in health, fitness or any area of life for that matter.  The good news is that we ALL possess or have been given the ability to overcome ANYTHING when we shift our minds to a higher perspective.  Let me show you by example.  Have you ever lost something valuable and been absolutely DETERMINED to find it no matter what the cost?  Say it's your car keys or wallet/purse or wedding ring or worst case scenario...your child.  You would do anything to find them.  You would search day and night, exhaust your resources, never give up and do everything in your power to find them right?  Think of the story of the mother who's baby was underneath a car and she actually lifted the car off the baby.  We all have that ability to DECIDE we are going to do something with no "backdoor" option.  It is an all or nothing attitude...a succeed or die trying mindset.

The problem is that a lack of health and fitness has a death grip on so many people.  Whether it is a cancer diagnosis or suffering from all the "layers" of obesity; it can seem like an insurmountable and unconquerable obstacle.  It can control you instead of you making a DECISION in your GUTS to control it!  We have all been GIVEN this capacity to utilize mind over matter and can apply to any area of our lives...health and fitness included.  Don't sell yourself short with the mindset that you are just stuck with bad health or excess weight.  Don't be fooled into thinking you are a victim either!  Every lemon can be made into lemonade and every victim can SHIFT to becoming a VICTOR!  Don't let your mind rob you of results and submit you to thinking that the power of the mind is only for special circumstances like losing a child.  The truth is that you can utilize that don't quit, not going to stop mindset over your health and fitness no matter what kind of real or perceived setbacks you may have.  Let's be realistic, there are inevitably going to be obstacles in the road,  but you can DECIDE whether they are going to be mountains or mole hills!  All we need is "faith the size of a mustard seed" right?  Just that little Voice inside of you that tells you that you CAN and you WILL instead of the "other voice" that tells you it's too hard, I'm not capable or even I'll "try."

The word "try" really treats people cheaply.  It's a tricky word though because it is often viewed as a positive thing...oh, that person at least tried or you might tell someone, I am going to try to do this or that.  But, in reality, "trying" is saying that I have one foot in and one foot out.  It is a half commitment and doesn't attach your GUTS to what you're doing or committing to.  It is accepting a 50/50 chance of failure and doesn't give a real or concrete commitment.  Just a simple word shift from maybe or try to I WILL and I CAN can position your mind towards achieving your health and fitness goals or not.  If you determine from the beginning that you will FIND A WAY because you can and you will, then there will be no room for excuses or defeat!  YOU ARE CAPABLE AND YOU WERE CREATED WITH AN ABILITY TO OVERCOME AND GET THE VICTORY!  My suggestion is to include God on your health and fitness journey and draw your strength to not quit from Him.  He didn't create us to be broken down out of shape vessels and after-all, the best place to go when you have issues with the creation is the Creator!

Do You Want To Be A Yo-Yo or Do You Want To Be An Anchor?

What's your choice?


Have you ever been vacuuming and had a stubborn little piece of something on the floor?  You move the vacuum over that thing 10...20...30 times and hit it from every angle.  That little devil is just not getting sucked up!  Don't you think it would be easier and more effective to just bend down and pick that thing up?  You could have gotten it on the FIRST TRY, but instead; what you thought was going to be the easiest way (because you didn't have to bend down and pick it up) ended up being more work, more time, less effective and probably frustrated you. AND, in the long term, that little stubborn thing is STILL on the floor!

OK...now, let's shift that thinking to dieting and weight loss.  You have "stubborn" fat on your body.  You have tried 10...20...30 times with diets (calorie restriction/low carb, etc. etc.) pills, potions, plans, ab crunchers, "just minutes a day," or on the flip side--exercise overload, and every other angle of weight loss known to man...or so you think! You also think your weight loss method is the easiest and most effective way or you wouldn't be doing it right?  Who doesn't want easy and effective!?  If I were to guess, you have probably done this over and over again with no long-term results, but for some magical reason, you feel that THIS time it will work....this (21st) time of going over that little thing on the floor with the vacuum is going to finally get it!  My question to you is: how many more times are you going to "run the vacuum over that thing" before you DECIDE to bend down and pick that thing up for good?  In other words, if you CHOOSE the right way, you ONLY HAVE TO DO IT ONCE!  The truth is that you are making it much HARDER on yourself and LESS EFFECTIVE by dieting.  In the long run with dieting, you will have put in a lot of work with no results..."that stubborn little thing is STILL on the floor."

In my 15 years, I have seen hundreds, if not thousands, of people throw conventional wisdom and professional advice out the window in high hopes of one of these magical plans somehow over-riding the way the body was Created to work and yielding long-term results.  What is perceived as the easy and effective way in the short term, is really just a disguise FOR LONG-TERM FAILURE!

Now, there IS a way for LONG-TERM results and I have a little weight loss secret for you...lean in...  IT IS EASIER AND MORE EFFECTIVE THAN DIETING!  Instead of burning your muscles up and calling it weight loss, you will burn your fat up and see your bodyfat% drop significantly.  The secret is: IT'S NOT WHAT THE SCALE SAYS, IT'S WHAT THE BODYFAT ANALYSIS SAYS!  To make this happen, there will be no calorie counting, no calories in vs calories out, no calorie restriction, no carbohydrate depletion, no "just minutes a day," and no exercise overload.  However, I'm not saying it will be easy, but easier than dieting.  I'm also not saying you will see it being effective right away, but you WILL have LASTING and EFFECTIVE results!

There IS a right and wrong way to eat and a right and wrong way to exercise.  Yes, everyone is different and there are variations and specific considerations, but there are some concrete, foundational principles that apply to everyone.  The bottom line is that you have to decide if you want to be a yo-yo your whole life or an anchor?  Do you want to settle for the waves of dieting that make your body go up and down; up and down...or do you want to drop your anchor into something that will keep you grounded with long-term results?

Where's The Fat?

"I would rather have FREEDOM and TRUTH with responsibility 

than have comfort with a prisoner cell."  ~CH

This month's blog is actually a snippet of the book I'm currently working on which I know could be life-changing revelation for some and is God-inspired!  

Well, the fat is just about everywhere!  Sadly, you don’t have to look very far to see it.  It could be your typical person these days that is 50-100 lbs or more overweight, on several medications for conditions they are not improving, eating french fries as vegetables and counting tv channel surfing as exercise.  It could also be the kind of fat we can’t see that is even worse for our health like past hurt from a relationship gone bad, unforgiveness towards those who have done something against us or that we hold against ourselves and anger towards God or a person that is unresolved.  Similarly, when considering both kinds of fat, there are numerous circumstances in life that cause both kinds of fat to build or store up.  We have to remember that the “fat” isn’t the issue, but what is causing that fat to accumulate.  Yes, too much “fat” storage will eventually lead to health and life problems, but if you cut off the SOURCE, you WILL cut off the supply.  Once there is no supply, the fat is sure to die.  I realize though, that this is much easier said than done.  The truth is that the “supply” we “feed” ourselves can be deeply rooted and all too often we just try to trim the weeds instead of actually uprooting them.  The weeds keep coming back and sometimes with a vengeance and we can find ourselves “holding” onto more fat than ever.

An important point here to remember is that there are really only 2 directions in life…forward and backward or hot and cold.  There is no standing still or lukewarm.  We are either becoming a better person or getting worse in who we are.  Furthermore, our bodies are either getting healthier or unhealthier.  One of the greatest lies or “fats” that is circulating out there that is stuck in peoples’ minds is that the goal of life is to be happy as well as comfortable with who you are.  That sounds good and positive to many people on the surface, but if you take a closer look, you will see that it is a severely limited mindset that will hold you back. 

First, let’s look at “being happy.”  Happiness is not a destination; it is something we have to strive for everyday of our lives.  It is a journey.  We don't just reach this magical place of being happy and stay there.  No, happiness is a choice that we have to make every day. It is an attitude that we carry around with us.  It is a way of thinking and a way of life.  Also, happiness in and of itself is a self-serving purpose because it is centered around the individual. We were created for a much greater purpose than to just simply be happy.  Many people choose shallow purposes of life like "happiness," but those that live out a much greater purpose have TRUE joy and peace in their lives.  They are focused on a bigger picture in life than just themselves.  Life is not about a certain amount of money, material, fame or fortune. It isn't about accomplishments, achievements, comfort, how we appear to everyone or what our circumstances say.  We weren't created for ourselves, but a much higher purpose to impact generations and to fix our eyes on things not of this world.  The things of this world will come and go and once we die, they won’t matter to us anymore.  We need to consider the purpose of continually improving our own lives as well as the lives of those around us so that everyone may be able to see and live the TRUTH and ditch the lies. 

Second, let’s take a closer look at being comfortable.  If you get too comfortable with your life or with who you are as a person, you are setting yourself up for a future ambush.  You will eventually become bored, tired, frustrated, disappointed and/or disgusted with the person you are or the life you are living, whether it is concerning your relationships with people including yourself and/or your own body image and health.  All of these things will hit you like a ton of bricks.  It could be that you end up realizing that all of the things that made you “comfortable” in the past have left you with a big void in your life currently.  It could be that you continued to justify and make excuses for your life or your health, all the while there was an elephant sitting in the corner that just kept getting bigger because you chose to keep feeding that elephant.  It could also be that you stayed in your “comfort zone” because you didn’t have the right things driving you or you feared the unknown.  Well, I promise you that if you always stay in your comfort zone, you will never have TRUE peace, joy and fulfillment in your life.  Furthermore, if you never step out of your comfort zone, you will never be able to face and defeat your fears and be victorious.  We were created to be VICTORS, not VICTIMS!

Staying in your comfort zone and just trying to have happiness are 2 of the most life-sucking ”fats”.  It could be eating too many comfort foods or being comfortable not exercising and buying into lies like “I will always be fat” or “My parents were unhealthy and I guess I will be too.”  These are absolute LIES that too many people begin believing and then create a reality with these lies.  These lies can develop such a stronghold on your life that you begin basing most of your decisions on them.  It really is a debilitating disease of the mind and spirit, but will manifest physically on or in your body in the form of fat or health problems. 

Another destructive fat that accumulates from staying in your comfort zone or just trying to be happy is pouring yourself into things like work, relationships, tv, video games, hobbies, etc. that are comfortable for you, but never cause you to become a better person and help you to grow into the person you were created to be.   Furthermore, if you choose to stay in your comfort zone, you will never have true happiness and will get OBESE INTERNALLY and most likely externally.  The things that make you “comfortable” are external things, but true happiness comes from the inside or the unseen things.  We need to identify the external “fats” in our lives before we can focus on getting “lean” internally.  Think of trying to focus on saving money without first establishing a budget.  You need to first figure out what the problem areas are or the areas that have an excess of “fat.”  Then you can begin doing the things that will help you to get lean and healthy inside and out.  As you do these things, you will see the fat begin to sizzle off.  You will feel better, look better, live better and be better to those around you.   You will begin to experience a more fulfilling life and will have more to offer.  As each piece of fat sizzles off, you will be one step closer to unlocking the life you were meant to live…the life you were created for.  In the upcoming chapters, each one will focus on an unhealthy fat and healthy ways to “burn” that fat for good.  Let’s get burning!

Get Healthier & Live Better With My Personal Top 10 List

                                      


Are you ready to take control of your health?  Are you tired of feeling like CRAP?  Is the medical system failing you?  Do you not know what steps to take?  No worries mate...follow these 10 principles and you will be kicking disease/sickness to the curb, turning back years, looking and feeling younger, getting super fit, and transforming your body inside and out.  So here it is.. my top 10 ways to achieve optimum health and vitality...

1.  Pray regularly and hang around others who do as well.

2.  Drink 1/2 your bodyweight in ounces or up to 120 ounces daily of filtered/purified water that is free of heavy metals, chlorine and fluoride.

3.  Avoid GMO (Genetically Modified) foods and eat a variety of preferably organic produce like spinach, broccoli, berries, avocados, tomatoes, apples, etc., unprocessed whole grains like quinoa or steel cut oats, raw nuts and seeds, legumes/lentils, healthy cold-processed virgin oils like coconut and olive, grass-fed/farm-raised/hormone and anti-biotic free organic meats, wild salmon, omega 3 loaded tuna, free range eggs and if you consume dairy, make sure it is raw/semi-raw/grass-fed or don't consume at all with the exception of unsweetened Greek yogurt.

4.  Say NO to drugs (of course "street drugs" but also PHARMACEUTICALS)

5.  Supplement daily with a HIGH QUALITY multi-nutrient complex, Greens powder and fish oil.

     AND, don't just supplement with Vitamin D, get out into the sun regularly, but be wise about it. 

6.  Avoid unnecessary and harmful exposure to chemicals/toxins in things like many household products, environmental, vaccinations (especially the flu shot), and radiation.

7.  Ensure that you get 7-9 hours of high quality sleep most nights.  There are many things that can get in the way of this and you have control over just about all of them.

8.  Don't hold onto negative feelings, thoughts, emotions, past experiences, etc.  Things like anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, past pain, jealousy, grief, worry, unhealthy relationships, etc., will eat away at the body and can cause sickness and disease.  In addition to this, find something you are passionate about and LOVE to do and do it regularly as an outlet to release negativity and feel your best.

9.  Exercise at a moderate to high intensity most days of the week and include cardio intervals and full body strength training and conditioning.

10.  Be generous and kind and love people including yourself.  Don't be selfish and self-serving, but continually pour yourself into those around you in the best ways you know how.  Give everything your best and expect the best...don't just hope for it.  Continually declare TRUTH over your life and those around you.  Believe the best and put your hope in something larger than yourself!  Be blessed!

There you have it!  Now you have MOST of my secrets!  :-)  Of course there is a lot more to say on most of these things, but you get the general idea.  Getting healthy shouldn't be a mystery and it IS attainable for everyone!  Now,time to get busy getting healthy!  You only get 1 body and 1 life...you might as well take good care of your body so you can live this life better and more fulfilled!  

Slow & Steady Finishes The Race; Healthy Momentum Wins First Place

I'm baaacck! Did you miss me? Kidding! I have been out of the blog game for 2 years but it's time to fire it back up again. I will be publishing a monthly blog at the beginning of each month that will focus on various aspects of fitness, nutrition, wellness and health. The mission will be to educate, motivate and inspire people to DEFEAT THE FAT in their lives so they can live healthier and better lives. So, let's get started!

March is an interesting month in the fitness world.  There are 2 dynamics going on!  First, you have most of the New Years resolutions dying off like the plague.  It is well-known among fitness professionals that the resolutions rarely last after 2 months.  All of the good intentions default back to bad habits.  The second dynamic is that you have the WAVE of people that have had the revelation that "skin season" (summer) is now around the corner and they are horrified with how much "skin" they are going to be showing.  This then causes them to resort to desperate measures...usually short-term fad diets, crazy fat-burning products, extreme exercise programs where they bite off more than they can chew, etc.  So basically, the healthy habits never get the momentum they need to get established and are laid to rest until "maybe somewhere in the future."  This then causes a default mindset to rise which is something like this:

I am not willing to make sacrifices NOW and establish LONG-TERM healthy habits because it is too hard, takes too long and I am not seeing results "fast enough."  So, I'm going to bypass science and truth and do it the way I feel best so that I can get (try to get) the short-term results I want now. And so the vicious yo-yo cycle begins again.  It's amazing that people will frown upon making healthy changes now and be consistent with those changes over say 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc. as if that is too much time to invest in getting results, YET, they will yo-yo diet/exercise for 20 years and get nowhere.  I see it too often where people will finally make some healthy changes, but then before those changes can even stick to become healthy habits, they default back to what they have been doing for years that has never given them any long-term results.

Think of the "debt snowball."  You start chipping away at 1 debt and it may seem like you are making little to no progress because there is so much debt and not a lot of money to pay it down in the short-term.  However, if you are CONSISTENT with paying it down over time you will not only put a big dent in it; you will eventually ELIMINATE it FOR GOOD!  Most people don't get that "snowball" rolling fast enough down the mountain to see that "debt" get paid off completely.  Furthermore, they never get to experience the "magic," which is once you switch your fat-burning switch on and KEEP IT ON, the momentum of the results picks up and compounds...just like interest...the more money you have the more interest you make.  Sadly, too many fall into the trap of hopping onto another mountain like dieting and end up going too fast down the mountain and crash versus a slow, steady pace that builds healthy momentum.  In other words...CRASH DIET!  And then there is the "I'm joining a gym" or "reactivating my membership."  Just like being a member of a church doesn't make you a christian, being a member of a gym doesn't equal fitness. It's also about the right mindset, proper exercise selection, appropriate intensity/time/frequency/sets/reps/rest.  It is not uncommon for people to basically quit their gym membership before it ever really gets started or follow a proper nutrition plan (not a diet) for a week or 2 and then throw in the towel.  The KEY is MOMENTUM doing the right things CONSISTENTLY over a long enough period of TIME to see the desired results.

The good news is that if I am speaking to YOU, no worries, because you can start your HEALTHY INVESTMENT today by getting into the right mindset, following the right nutrition plan and getting the right program design.  Regardless of how much "debt" you have tried to pay off in the past, how many crash diets you have been on or how many gym memberships you have purchased or re-activated, your DECISION today to start BUILDING MOMENTUM and getting that "debt snowball" rolling is WITHIN REACH.  If you establish the healthy foundation NOW, you can save yourself years of "accumulating debt."  ARE YOU READY to do it RIGHT and keep the LONG-TERM goal IN SIGHT?

In Health & Fitness,

Clayton Halls BS-ESS, NSCA-CSCS, ACE-PT, NS

P.S. And 1 more thing on the whole momentum idea...

A Healthy Ferrari

Are you what you eat? 

Maybe you are watching what you eat? 

I guess this means that any food you can watch you can eat? 

If I am even in the ballpark of describing your nutrition so far, you may want to tune in.  Ok, now that I have called you out, it is time to help you.  I’m sorry to rain on your parade, but french fries are not vegetables and froot loops don’t give you a serving of fruit. 

Seriously, there is a lot of misinformation out there.  Consider the food pyramid…turn it upside down, shift this over there, take this out, move this down, why isn’t this in there?  I think you get my point.  It can be like trying to find your way through a dark jungle.  This is why it is good sometimes to just breakdown and let someone who knows what they are talking about help you. 

“I don’t need help with my nutrition, I know what I should be eating.”  Ok know-it-all, then why are you 50 pounds heavier than you were 5 years ago and on your way to some major health issues? 

Alright, what I am trying to say is that whether you are lost in the jungle with your nutrition or you think you already know what to eat, you can benefit significantly from someone like qualified personal trainer or holistic nutrition specialist.  Hey, it may even save your life and will surely add life to your years and years to your life.

Of course, nutrition may not be the only thing that you need to consider getting on track with… 

If you are anywhere between a couch potato and a bodybuilder…listen up!  It is not just about putting premium fuel in your Ferrari and expecting it to get you to where you want to go.  You also have to take it into the shop for “regular maintenance” or in other words, get your butt up off the couch or out of the chair and get moving.  That Ferrari does no good just “sitting in the garage” right?

You take your car into the shop, so why not take your body into the “shop?”  How much more important is your body than your car?  Take proper care of it and it will not only last you a long time, but also give you many quality miles.  A qualified health AND fitness professional may be your solution to putting the right fuel in your body and combining that with getting all the parts working the way they were designed to work.  Remember, you can’t drive a Ferrari if it stays parked on the couch.  Take it out and drive it and put premium fuel in the tank, unless of course you are content with putting around on an over-sized moped. 

You don’t get to trade this Ferrari in for a newer model…you just need to take proper care of the one you’ve got.  It’s time to REV up the engine and transition to some premium fuel…what are you waiting for?

Eat More and Exercise Less To Lose Weight?

What?  This concept is a monumental shift for most people as usually, when someone is trying to lose weight, they buy into the idea that they have to restrict calories and exercise their brains out if they want to shed the FLUB.  Ok, let me give you an extreme example that will truly put this into perspective for you.  I had a client a few years ago that was very frustrated that she had been gaining weight for 1 year.  She thought she was doing everything perfectly, yet she still gained 10 pounds in 1 year.  What was she doing?  Well, she exercised for an hour or more per day 6-7 days a week and ate under 1,000 calories a day!  WOW, I sometimes eat that much in one sitting.  Anyways, I'm sure the average person would be stunned that she GAINED weight doing this.  Not me!  I knew what her body was up to.  What do you think was happening in her body?  You have to keep in mind that our bodies are designed with incredible complexity.  They are pretty smart too!  You see, when our bodies sense that we are not eating enough calories to "fuel the fire," it goes on preserve mode.  It turns down heat and uses significantly less "fuel" for the fire.  Essentially, it holds onto fat like a bear hibernating in the winter.  It realizes that if it keeps burning fat, there will eventually be nothing left of it because of the minimal amount of calories coming in.  Some people may lose weight initially, but you can't get away with tricking your body forever.  That is why DIEts never work long-term.  People, you can only trick your body so long before it realizes what you are doing to it. 

Now, regarding exercise, we are basically looking at the same idea...especially considering there is the combo of a lot of exercise and a little amount of calories.  My client's body was like one of those little economical cars on cruise control when she exercised.  Her body was in preservation mode and was burning minimal fuel as she exercised.  She was burning about as many calories as a bear does while snoring in hibernation.  To make a long story short, as soon as we started to bump up her calories and shorten her exercise duration and add in an extra rest day, her body began burning fat like an old muscle car burns fuel in a wide open throttle.  You may not be this extreme, but many people fall somewhere into the category of not eating enough and exercising too much or too long.

You don't necessarily need to become a calorie counter, but you do need to understand how much food you should be eating everyday to unlock your metabolic furnace.  And it is not just any calories, but the right calories and combination of protein, carbs and fats.  That is for another day though.  So, a good place to start is take your bodyweight and multiply it by 10.  You should at least be eating around that number of calories per day.  Then, you can add on 10-25% depending on your activity level.  If you are trying to gain weight, that is a whole different story.  Then, you should do your best to break this number into 4-7 equal portions.  How many times you eat depends on your age, gender, activity level and your daily schedule.  Remember, it takes calories to burn calories.  You can't burn fat if you're running on fumes. 

When it comes to exercise, the intensity is more important than the duration.  It is also critical that you take rest days so your body can recover and progress.  Unless you are training for a long distance sport or event, more than 60 minutes can have adverse effects on your body.  As a matter of fact, I reccomend 30-45 minutes of higher intensity exercise most days of the week taking 1-2 days off for rest as needed.  You burn just as many, if not more calories in less time and get your metabolism charged up more post-exercise.  Steady state exercise, especially for 60 min or more can cause cortisol release in your body which can cause your body to hold onto fat while you exercise and burn muscle.  It can also cause your body to go on cruise control and conserve calories burned during exercise.  I reccomend interval training (H.I.I.T.) for most of your cardio days, and on your resistance training days, you should minimize rest time inbetween sets.  String the exercises together and keep moving.  Get the job done in 30-45 minutes.  You will spend less time and get better results. 

So yes, I am telling you to exercise less (but more intense) and eat more (of good quality foods) to unlock the fat burning furnace in your body.  I am proof that it works.  There you go, I have just given you one of my secrets to staying lean and fit!  Now, go rev up that muscle car engine!