Slim in 6

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Best Meal Replacement Shake on the Planet

Last night I hosted my fit club and was talking to a few of the people that attended about Shakeology. It's funny how people are skeptical about the product, even though it has everything they are looking for in a meal replacement shake, and comes with a money-back guarantee. Not to mention the fact that it costs just about half of what they regularly pay to get an unhealthy, calorie-filled combo meal at most local fast-food restaurants. That's the part that gets me, the fact that they are worried about price, especially when considering the actual price they are paying not only financially, but with their health. But once they finally open their minds to it and try it for a month, all of a sudden it's like they see a whole new side to things. They really notice the difference in how they feel when they don't take Shakeology for a few days after having been on it for a couple weeks. This is true for almost every person that I have introduced to Shakeology. With all the health benefits, and the weight loss my friends have experienced, a couple of them have become coaches on my team so they can have Shakeology at a discounted price. Now they are so excited by the product, they are going around telling everyone they can about it, now trying to convince them just to try it because they too, didn't believe it would do what it does. I love seeing that transition in people. Not just because it helps my business grow, but because I see in their eyes that they can be successful in their health and fitness transformations, and now they actually believe it. And it only takes following simple steps each and every day. For these people, it started with a delicious shake,. Now they are motivate to exercise, and they are encouraging others to join them. It's a great feeling.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

My Birthday Wish

Today I celebrate my 34th birthday.  It seems so weird to say 34, mainly because I truly feel like I'm in my early 20's...actually, I feel better than when I was in my early 20's. Back then, I was beginning my teaching career and tipping the scales at over 200 lbs, but I still thought I was in shape. How wrong I was. Fast forward 10 years and I find myself in so much better of a place with my health, happiness, and life in general. I love spending time playing with my boys and my wife and I feel better not only about each other but about our future as a whole. And just 2 weeks ago I was pitching against a familiar team and the manager comes over to me and says, " I don't know what you've been doing, but you are throwing harder against us now than you were 4 years ago. I can't thank Beachbody enough for what their products have done for me and my wife, and what the business opportunity has brought into our lives. Sure the money is good, but the relationships we have build with other coaches and the people we have influenced to become active in their journey toward health and fitness. It feels so good to pay it forward, you just cannot put a price on it.

I do hear it a lot from people who think I am only in this for the money. What I have to say to them is the small commission I get from an individual buying P90X from me pales in comparison to the tears of joy I get to experience from them when they tell me the doctor told them they were no longer obese, or that they don't have to take a particular medication anymore because their health has improved so much. I offer a fit club for free every Tuesday night, no obligation, no business presentation...just a great workout with a bunch of other folks that could use some extra support or simply enjoy walking the same path as others in similar situations and sharing community together. I truly don't care if you are using a Beachbody product or not. Sure, I'd prefer it, but if something is working for you and you are spreading the good word to others, that is all I can ask of you. 2 out of every 3 people in this country are obese or overweight, I don't need to make everyone a customer, but I want to make everyone aware of this crisis. I am trying to do my part, and I could use as much help as possible.

The reason I am so adamant about Beachbody and it's products is not only because I own my own Beachbody Business, but because they have a system that will absolutely work for everyone. We have fitness programs for those who like to move and grove like TurboJam, TurboFire, Hip Hop Abs, Rockin Body, programs that leave you in a puddle on the floor like Insanity and Insanity: The Asylum, or our most popular workout program of all P90X and coming soon, P90X-2, and these are just a small sample of the over 130 programs we carry. We also have the best meal replacement shake in the world in Shakeology. This is not just a meal replacement shake for weight loss, but for total health with all-natural ingredients that will completely transform you from the inside out.

So my Birthday Wish is that everyone who reads this message decides to make the commitment to improve their own health and helps to influence 2 other people to decide, commit, and succeed in becoming healthier. If you don't have the power to change, contact me and we'll do it together. Get a group to join in and we'll do it as a team. I am committing to do my part to End the Trend of obesity in this country, and I need your help.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Most Unhealthy Fast Food Meals in the US

When you read this article about the very popular foods so many of us eat every day, it's easy to see why our country is so fat and unhealthy. The damage we are doing to our bodies is unbelievable, yet we continue to destroy ourselves every day. We don't have to do this, especially with a perfectly healthy and delicious alternative like Shakeology available to us, and at a much lower cost both financially and to our health. Please read the article below.

 

Most Unhealthy Meals Served by America's Fast Food Chains

by Jonathan Berr
Saturday, June 18, 2011
provided by
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From California, to the New York island; from the redwood forest, to the Gulf Stream waters, this land is filled with fatties, lard butts and people large enough to have their own gravitational fields. Yes, America is the land of the "large and in charge," and one of the main reasons for it is our love of fast food.
Though it's tempting to put all of the blame for America's obesity crisis on the fast-food industry -- and experts say they're at least partly at fault -- it's important to view it in context. The industry came of age during the 1950s, as suburban communities saw their populations skyrocket and social mores began changing as women began to increasingly work outside the home. Some of the savviest entrepreneurs in American corporate history sprang into action.
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McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD - News) started the trend in 1955 when businessman Ray Kroc wondered how the McDonald Brothers sold so many burgers at their Southern California burger joint. He opened his first McDonald's Drive-In in Des Plaines, Ill. There are now more than 32,000 restaurants that are home to the Golden Arches. Col. Harlan Sanders began franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1952. Five years later, Sanders began selling chicken in the signature buckets, and today there are more than 15,000 KFC outlets. James McLamore and David Edgerton founded Burger King in 1954, when, as the company's website notes, "flame-broiled beef begins fulfilling its destiny." There are more than 12,500 Burger Kings today. Glen W. Bell Jr. opened the first Taco Bell in 1962 with an investment of $4,000 and eventually sold the chain to PepsiCo Inc. (NYSE: PEP - News) in 1978. At that time, there were 868 Taco Bells. Today, there are nearly 6,000. At the tender age of 17, Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway Restaurants in 1965. They have 32,800 locations today.
Fast-forward to the beginning of the of the 21st century, and many of the same trends that helped create the modern fast food industry are still helping fuel its growth. Many children, especially racial minorities, live in single-parent households -- a whopping 65 percent of non-Hispanic black children and 37 percent of Hispanic children as of 2007, according to Kids Count. Mothers are working outside the home at much higher rates than years past. Women comprised 46.8 percent of the total U.S. labor force in 2009 and are projected to account for 46.9 percent of the labor force in 2018, accounting for 51.2 percent of the increase in total labor force growth during the same period. Add to this mix high unemployment rates caused by the uncertainty of the worldwide economy, and the allure of fast, cheap food becomes hard to resist.
And therein lies the problem.
Obesity rates are a public health crisis. They have tripled among children since 1980. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20 percent, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are obese are vulnerable to everything from diabetes to heart disease, resulting in some $147 billion in direct medical costs annually.
Determining how much fast food is at fault for the poor state of the health of many Americans "is impossible to quantify, but is definitely a factor," says Christina Munsell, research assistant at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University, in an interview. The increase in obesity "definitely would correlate with eating quicker meals that are easier to obtain."
In order to create the rankings, 24/7 Wall St. examined the menus of the top 10 restaurant brands in the quick service category by sales as determined by QSR, an industry publication, looking for items that were the highest in calories, carbohydrates, sodium and saturated fat. We then ranked them against the nutritional guidelines of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
A couple of important caveats to consider: Not all food sold at fast food restaurants is unhealthy. The industry aggressively promotes healthier choices on their menus. Subway, for one, makes a special point of doing this, even though its footlong subs are not healthy choices. Moreover, experts point out that some items sold at sit-down restaurants are actually much more unhealthy than many fast food items. Fast food, though, has gained ground during the economic slowdown, while casual and fine dining chains have suffered. McDonald's alone earned $24.58 billion in revenue in 2010. Yum Brands! Inc. (NYSE: YUM - News), parent of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, made $11.42 billion.
Methodology: We derived the rankings by taking the average nutritional ratings of menu items compared with USDA recommendations. Carbohydrates, saturated fat, and sodium were given the most weight. Calories and protein were also considered.
1. Pizza Hut Triple Meat Italiano
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1280 (49%)
• Saturated Fat: 23g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 123 (38%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,070mg (133%)
Pizza -- plain with cheese and sauce -- is not particularly unhealthy. This gastronomical overkill featuring "all-natural pepperoni, all-natural Italian sausage and baked ham" is terrible. Pizza Hut offers plenty of healthier choices.
2. Subway 12" Italian B.M.T
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 900 (35%)
• Saturated Fat: 16g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (27%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 3,000 mg (130%)
It's easy to see why Subway does not list this sandwich under its "low fat footlongs" on its website. It has a whopping 3,000 mg of salt, 130% of the recommended allotment in a daily diet. "The problem with Subway is the portion size," Munsell says, adding that the problem with this sandwich is the salty luncheon meats. Subway is getting the message about salt. As an April USA Today article noted, "Beginning today, sodium content in Subway's 'Fresh Fit' sandwich line in the U.S. will be cut 28% vs. 2009, when Subway first began to cut salt. And sodium in its overall sandwich line will be cut by 15%, compared with the same period."
3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 790 (30%)
• Saturated Fat: 37g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (20%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,970mg (86%)
Salty and high in calories, there is little positive that can be said about the KFC Chicken Pot Pie. A Yum! Brands spokesman had this to say: "It's all about providing our consumers with choices, and each of our brands has introduced products that are lower in calories and fat, such as KFC's Kentucky Grilled Chicken, Pizza Hut's Thin 'N Crispy Pizzas and salads and Taco Bell's Drive Thru Diet Menu with seven items less than 9 grams of fat."
In other words, diners have a choice whether they eat something with almost a full day's allotment of sodium in one sitting.
4. Sonic SuperSONIC Bacon Double Cheeseburger with Mayo
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,370 (53%)
• Saturated Fat: 36g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 55 (17%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,610mg (70%)
The name alone should make a diner want to grab a fistful of Lipitor. Those brave enough to chow down on this 1,370-calorie monstrosity probably shouldn't eat much for the rest of the day. Once a regional operator in the South and Midwest, Sonic (Nasdaq: SONC - News) now operates in over 3,500 locations.
5. McDonald's Angus Chipotle BBQ Bacon
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 800 (31%)
• Saturated Fat: 18g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 66 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,020mg (88%)
The Angus Chipotle is big and has bacon, two red flags for any dieter. "It's problematic," says Munsell, adding that the Golden Arches have borne the brunt of negative publicity about fast food. That's unfair. "We did find that McDonald's did have more healthy options" than other chains, she adds. Indeed, it ended its Super Size promotion a few years ago, no doubt spurred by the publicity surrounding the movie "Super Size Me."
6. Taco Bell XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 880 (34%)
• Saturated Fat: 3g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 94 (26%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 2,130mg (93%)
Taco Bell has mastered the art of blending meats and cheese in ever-creative caloric combinations. The XXL Grilled Stuft Beef Burrito is a monument to gluttony. Taco Bell calls it its "biggest burrito yet." It has "a blend of three cheeses -- cheddar, pepper jack and mozzarella -- flavorful seasoned rice, hearty beans, reduced-fat sour cream, chunky guacamole, avocado ranch and fiesta salsa, wrapped up in a warm flour tortilla." Taco Bell's sales have been hurt by the publicity surrounding the quality of its beef.
7. Wendy's Triple
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,030 (40%)
• Saturated Fat: 28g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 43 (18%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,800mg (78%)
Anyone eating this monstrosity might not realize that the USDA recommends that people eat a portion of meat roughly the size of deck of cards. This Wendy's monster burger clocks in at a whopping 423 grams. Wendy's (NYSE: WEN - News) has struggled for years against larger rivals. It unloaded its underperforming Arby's chain earlier this week to private-equity group Roark Capital Group. Wendy's did not respond to a request for comment.
8. Subway Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 750 (28%)
• Saturated Fat: 2.5g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 117 (41%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,810 mg (79%)
Subway unhealthy? In some cases, the answer is "yes." While this sandwich is low in calories and fat, it is high in salt. The portions of Subway's footlong sandwiches are too large, Munsell notes. Subway did not respond to a request for comment.
9. Burger King Triple Whopper with Cheese
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 1,180 (44%)
• Saturated Fat: 30g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 52 (16%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,330mg (58%)
The Triple Whopper makes the Quarter Pounder with Cheese seem like health food. At 1,180 calories, it packs more than twice the punch of the McDonald's burger, which has 535 calories. In a statement to 24/7 Wall St., the company referred to the Triple Whopper as an "indulgent option for our guests." Burger King says it encourages customers to eat healthy choices that provide 650 calories or less -- approximately one-third of a 2,000-calorie diet.
10. Wendy's Baconator Double
• Calories (pct. daily diet): 930 (36%)
• Saturated Fat: 25g
• Carbohydrate (pct. daily diet): 41 (13%)
• Sodium (pct. daily diet): 1,840mg (80%)
Who says you can never have too much bacon? Anyone with sense, that's who. Rudd's Munsell noted with amusement how fast food chains "combine every type of meat on one sandwich." The Baconator was relentlessly hyped for a while. A Wendy's spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
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Friday, June 10, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 30

Well, I've reached the end of the road in my 30 Day experience with Asylum and I couldn't be more proud. Sure, I still have a long way to go and there are a lot of improvements to make not only in many of the exercises in this workout, but in my general health and fitness as I strive to lead the quality of life that I want to live for years to come. There is an odd sense of satisfaction mixed with a let down that it's over. I will never again experience this program for the first time, and it's bitter-sweet in a way because the first time you set out to accomplish something there is this drive that wants to see things through to the end. Future endeavors are just as satisfying, but to me they just aren't nearly as meaningful as that initial experience, when you believe you can do something but you still have questions about how it's all going to play out.

Well, in my case with Insanity: The Asylum, I am very proud of how it went.  In going back and reading my posts covering the previous 29 days of this program, I noticed that I often claimed that although I know I'm improving I just didn't feel it. That my shoulders and legs were just as weary in the late weeks as they were in the initial ones. My Fit Test result speaks for itself. I showed improvement in every category with the exception of X Jumps. But my explanation for that is my form improved and I was jumping higher during this last test, so it would take longer between jumps, and my ass hurt like hell when Shaun T yelled "TIME".  I was blown away by the improvements I made in the other stats, especially the ones involving the ladder where you have to go up and back to complete a rotation, which means 6-8 movements for every rotation which is huge. Take a look at how things went and just remember, you can do anything if you really want to!



I want to thank everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, your messages of encouragement and inspiration have been fantastic. For those of you who expressed your thanks for my posts giving you the motivation to push yourself, I am humbled, grateful, and encouraged to see that what I am doing is having a positive effect on others as they improve their own health and fitness. God Bless every one of you, and good luck in your own transformations.

Signing off of my 30 Days in the Asylum as a GRADUATE. As Shaun T would say, "Peace, Out".

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 29

The final workout of this 30-Day Program before the Fit Test is Speed & Agility. I know I'm overly critical of myself when I review my workouts, expecting to see remarkable improvements, but often focus on what still needs work instead of highlighting what I'm doing well. I do see a significant difference in my performance, both in form and endurance. Although by the end of the workouts, I'm just as drained now as I was on Day 1. I still have difficulty with the later rounds of the In & Out Progressions, Bear Crawls, and moving push-ups due to fatigue, but I am enjoying the speed moves and the jump rope work. My shoulders continue to be a weak spot for me, and half way through the workouts my calves and quads feel like they are on fire. Those are areas I will concentrate on beyond The Asylum. Now I'm gearing up for my test tomorrow and I can consider myself and Asylum Grad!!!

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 28

Day 28 allows you to restore your body with Relief, a workout designed to help your flexibility and gives your muscles a break from all the hard work you've been putting into your workouts. I enjoyed this, but since I took a bit of a break the other day with a workout substitution, I added Insanity's Cardio Recovery workout on top of it with my fit club.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 27

Yesterday I completed Day 27 of Asylum and the workout was Back to Core. Now, although this workout is at a much slower pace than all of the other ones with the exception of Relief, it is one of the more grueling workouts in the program (well, it is for me anyways). I don't think I have ever worked my lower back so much in my life, and this workout really pointed out that I need to pay more attention to it. Over the last 27 days, whenever I saw this workout was on the schedule I just thought to myself, "Oh Great!", because I knew I was going to be in pain in a few minutes. Well, nothing has changed, it still hurts, but it hurts GOOD. I have improved tremendously in all of the movements, and can make it through most of them without stopping. The only one I seem to still have trouble with are the flutter moves during the Split Lunges. My lower back burns, my core is torqued, my supporting leg starts to buckle and the rear shoulder feels like it's on fire half-way through the move. I have to take a second or two off before jumping back into position, but that is much better than the first attempt at this workout where on many of the moves I would take a break, and the breaks would be much longer. The other move I see a lot of room for improvement on are the reverse swimmers. By the time you get to them, you are pretty far into the workout so my back was pretty fatigued. With it being harder to keep my chest up, it made it more difficult for me to slide my elbows through without giving myself a rug burn, so I tried to slow down and simply concentrate on form when that happened. I think that's the main thing, my form. I am noticing that on all the moves my form has improved significantly, thus I am working my muscles more and lasting longer, and therefore just as tired and covered in sweat as ever by the end of the workout. What a fantastic program. 3 more days of digging deeper until "graduation!"

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 25

This was my best performance to date in the GAME DAY workout. For 40 minutes I didn't have to stop in the middle of an exercise to catch my breath or give my muscles a break. The only problem with that, is the fact that GAME DAY is 60 minutes. I hit a bit of a wall at that point, and really felt it in my shoulders more than anything. especially during the rock climbing exercise. I ended up kicking the ladder out of position because I couldn't generate enough strength to raise my feet while moving backwards. I felt much better during the swimming and surfing movements. Not close to perfection, but I was able to last without feeling like my shoulders were going to catch on fire and my kicking motion was better even though I still feel awkward at times. I opted to not do the Overtime workout, and instead, jumped in my pool and swam a couple of laps so I could get in some more work and take advantage of a beautiful sunny evening. I felt great waking up this morning and I'm ready for what today will bring. Dig Deeper everyone.

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 24

Yesterday I completed Day 24 of Asylum, and STRENGTH was on the schedule. I really like using the bands with this workout, but go to the dumbbells for the chest exercises to give me better resistance. I also opt to do the floor work for my back rather than go into the other room to perform on the pull-up bar, although I think that may be having a negative effect on my progress because I really need to work on my pull-ups. I am getting better at the moves where I have to jump on and off of my bands, so I get a better overall workout. Now that things seem to flow smoothly from one move to the next with the bands, I actually think I prefer using them to free weights, but it may be just because of the type of weights that I have that makes them inconvenient to switch the weight quickly.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 23

Yesterday I completed Day 23 of Asylum, which simply means that I still have an entire week to go! This workout was about Speed & Agility, and when I look back at my video I notice that I really am not all that gifted in either of the two. Actually, although you can't really see it in this video, I do feel like I've gotten stronger in most of the moves. I did feel a sharp pain in my right knee during the opening jump rope exercises, which did cause me to stop momentarily a couple of times. But once my legs warmed up and fluid was lubing up my joints I felt a lot better. Where I truly felt gassed was during the repeated Bear Crawl exercises and the Progressive Mountain Climbers. At that point my quads have hardly any strength left, my back is tired and my shoulders felt like they were ready to give out. But as Shaun T says, that's when the real work begins. And you can tell that I was working hard by looking at how my shirt changes from light gray to almost black from all the sweat that poured out of me. Keep Digging Deeper everyone!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Insanity: The Asylum - Day 21 substitute

It's funny how when you get into the habit of doing something on a daily basis, that once it's part of your routine even the slightest break from it seems like an eternity. Two days ago I held my Fitness Ministry Fit Club, so I substituted my Back to Core workout that was on my schedule with Insanity's Plyometric Cardio Circuit. It was well worth the sacrifice, because as much as I love digging as deep as I possibly can with my Asylum workouts, I truly appreciate the hard work and determination that my group gives off every time we get together for a workout. As for yesterday, Shaun T was merciful and placed an actual rest day on the calendar as we go into the final 7 days of Asylum. So I had the benefit of a night off to celebrate my brother Andrew's 21st Birthday! But now it's back to work and time to get back into action with Day 23 of Asylum. That entry will be posted soon. In the mean time, check out the work that my fit club put in and make the Decision to join us and Commit to your health and fitness so you can Succeed with us too!