This is it - there are two months left before the clothes get smaller and tighter. Are you ready? Do you have a plan? Is the "WHY?" big enough? For me, it's now or never. As many of you, who have been patients of mine for a while, know, I have been at the forefront of wellness for the last 15 years. I have trained with elite doctors in various fields, spoken at seminars all over the country, and contributed to 2 NY Times Bestselling Books. Because of my involvement and training, more often then not, I could share with you cutting edge information long before it became mainstream.
Well, over the last two years I have pulled back in many areas of my life. Some where for a good reason and have paid off; one of which was MY WELL BEING. I have been just like everyone else you know ..... BUSY. In fact, I allowed my "busy" life to get in the way of what should be most important to me - My Health. The truth is it doesn't matter what's going on in someone's life - there's no excuse for getting sloppy. And that's what I allowed to happen to me. Does that sound familiar? Do you know anyone (maybe yourself) who doesn't feel or look as good as they should? Well, with 50% of our country heading toward obesity - there must be a lot of it going on. What are you going to DO about it (notice I emphasize the word "do")?
First, take an inventory of your life. I am not going to guess how you feel and what areas of your life are being affected by your weight/fitness, but I can share with you some of the things that put me over the edge. Here is a small list (does it sound familiar?) - everything hurt on some level (hips, back, knees, shoulders, etc), fatigue - getting tired throughout the day and feeling like I needed another cup of coffee all the time, sleeping poorly - waking up throughout the night and in the morning not feeling refreshed in any way, skin changes, getting 'winded' walking my dog up the slightest hill, frequently irritated eyes', NOT ABLE TO WEAR 1/2 THE CLOTHES IN MY WARDROBE (that's a good hint, right?), having a difficult time bending over to put on my socks and shoes' (was there something in the way?), etc. There are other ways my body told me it was time, but the list goes on.
Second, ask "HOW?". There's a VERY important concept that everyone needs to know. It's called Mirror Imaging. We use it in the practice when we are helping people to get better physically and with their spine, but the same can be said about lifestyle. In our first book, Body by God, we discussed how we researched Sumo Wrestlers to see how in the world they are able to gain so much weight so rapidly. The idea was to show the readers that Sumo Wrestlers are the best at GAINING weight so if you want to LOSE weight - just do the opposite or "mirror image". What most people do is they eat very high calorie meals that combine too much carbs, proteins and fats. In addition, whether we are busy or not, we seem to eat few meals during the day. And finally, we usually eat those meals and stop moving physically. Guess what - that's what Sumo Wrestlers do. The eat a maximum of two times per day. Each meal is HUGE (tons of different kinds of foods mixed together) and as soon as they are done - they take a nap. What does that equal? FAT gain.
Third is to have a SMART PLAN. Most people have a dumb plan - they say "On Monday it's all gonna change. I'm going to stop eating this and that, drink more water and go to the gym.". But the truth is - most normal people can't handle that. Just like in healing you have to remember - YOUR BODY REQUIRES TIME TO CHANGE. The reason soooooo many people fail with diet and exercise is that they try to do too much at once. The solution is to make small changes at a time and then to add changes as you get going. For example, I will not have any alcohol during the week. Think about how easy it is to have one or two glasses of wine. Those are empty sugar calories that go straight to the gut. Also, no more desert at night (Ben and Jerry Heathbar crunch be damned!). I have cut out my 3rd cup of coffee for the day as well. I will do this for a full week and then the next week I will begin back at the gym. Small changes are easier, more relaxing and simpler to stick to. So give it a try. I don't have to tell you what to eat - you already know. I don't have to tell you what NOT to eat or drink - you know that, too. And finally, I don't have to tell you that moving is better then not moving. You just have to DO!
One more thing - it helps to hold yourself accountable. My staff will split $1000.00 if I don't lose 25 pounds before May 1st. It's written in the office - right above their time cards. My goal is to keep the money - I am motivated!!
Watching your back,
Dr. Brad
201-651-9100
