Write Down and Review!

Today I want to remind everyone of the most important part of achieving your goals. Writing them down and reviewing them periodically.

You need to take your goals seriously or you will never get where you want to be. Stay focused! And an important part of staying focused is writing down your goals. If you aren't willing to take out a pen and paper the goals obviously don't mean anything to you. If it is important and you want to do it, write it down.




Now that you have written down your goals make sure to review them every day. If they are important to you then you will review them every day. Take this seriously.

Persistence. Even a small step is a step.

If there is one important lesson for us to learn and apply in our lives it is most definitely that of persistence. Amazing things can be accomplished with persistence. The Grand Canyon was not formed by powerful flood waters hammering the ground. It was formed little by little. The Colorado River never got discouraged and never stopped flowing. It may have taken thousands of years but the results are fantastic.

Lucky for us our goals aren't as difficult as building the Grand Canyon with hardly more than a trickle of water. Our human being goals on our human being timescales are much more achievable than this! And if we know for a fact a task as monumental as the Grand Canyon can be completed, then there is no reason we cannot achieve our own goals. We just need to stay persistent.

Monks stand and pray in a single spot for so long that their feet make imprints in the wood. This would not be possible without persistence.


The Grand Canyon. Natures shining example of persistence.



Tell me in the comments below how you are being persistent in working on your goals.

The Parable of Salt

It's only over when you quit

Back at it again with another blog post.

Todays lesson is on never giving up! In this post I'm gonna throw a bunch of cliches at you and im going to insist that you think about them instead of just brushing them aside.

#1: A success tries one more time than a failure.

This is one of the most important lessons you can learn about life. Fail. Fail often. If you don't know how to fail you will never figure out how to succeed. Failing sucks and we all know it but each time we do it we learn something. I bet you've thought about events in your past and said, "if only i knew what i know now." THIS IS YOU LEARNING! Imagine if you had 1000s of lessons you learned from your experiences, you would be unstoppable! Start today and one day you will wake up feeling invincible. Go out and try something you know you cant do. Fail at it and learn what you could have done better. Repeat this process until you reach your dreams.

#2: You can do it.

There is nothing that separates you from your ideal self except for you letting yourself believe that you cant win. This is nonsense. When you have an idea in your mind of what you want to become find the person who is most successful at whatever it is. Then copy their every move. People who are successful are that way because of hard work day in and day out. They didnt sit around and wish so neither can you! Don't accept no for an answer. 

#3 Jet fuel cant melt steel beams

When George Bush was getting together with his cronies to set up 9-11 they had a mountain of challenges to overcome. Almost immediately it became apparent that jet fuel doesn't burn hot enough to melt steel beams like those in the world trade center. A lesser man would have given up at this moment but George Bush knew that if he tried his hardest he could make his dreams of war in the middle east come true. George Bush is a classic example of a man with little charisma or talents to speak of, but whose perseverance changed the world. Be like Bush except do something good with your life.

Goal Setting!

Great news everyone I'm back for another blog post.

Todays lesson is on goal setting!

Goal setting sounds easy enough, but most of us never actually take the time to think about our goals. It is easy to say, 'I want to be rich,' or, 'I want a nice car,' but if all we ever do is think about it without taking action we will never achieve our dreams. The first and most important step is writing them down. Take a few moments for this exercise. Olympians do this, you should too.

Grab some note cards and a pen. I want you to spend at least 10 minutes thinking about what you really want in life. Dream big, there are no limits here. Formulate in your mind specific and measurable goals. Don't say things like, 'I want a nice car,' tell the universe specifically what car you want. Go into detail; color, interior, features. Write down five to ten goals and give yourself a deadline for each one. You will want to have goals of differing sizes with different deadlines. This will help you stay on track along the way. If your goals are all about making $10 million they will take years and years and this is great! But you will want to know you're making the right choices along the way. Remember that success is success and you will succeed more often when you start knocking goals off your list. You will literally learn how to succeed through repetition. Start with easy goals to accomplish like taking a fiver supplement or vitamin C every day for a month. Force yourself to succeed again and again and it will become a habit. You. Can. Do it.


Write your goals in the comment section to help keep you on track!

The Parable of Good Luck vs Bad Luck

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.

"Perhaps," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "What great luck!" the neighbors exclaimed.

"Perhaps," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

"Perhaps," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

"Perhaps," said the farmer...


The lesson to take away from this is perspective. Our lives are always changing and things we think are good today may not seem so good tomorrow. On the flip side, the events in our lives that we think really hold us back are often times not as terrible as they seem. Remember that our lives are a journey with many ups and downs. There will be times where life covers you in crap so learn to use it as fertilizer for your soul and you will be unstoppable. 

The Fat Burning Zone Myth

Good Day Folks!

Our topic for today is the Fat Burning Zone! Most of us have heard this before, stay in the fat burning zone to optimize your fat loss, but is it based in reality? Well, sort of...

The fat burning zone is an attractive concept. Who wouldn't want to work at a lower intensity and get better results? Unfortunately I am not here to sugar coat anything for you I am only here to make you a better person and the fat burning zone is a misrepresentation of reality. When you are working at a lower intensity the body doesn't need to work as hard to produce energy for you so it uses it's primary source: fat (stored carbohydrates - body fat, not dietary fat). This means that your body uses a higher relative % of body fat compared with muscle (protein). It is easy to see how the myth arises, a higher % of fat must be a good thing, but are we really getting the most out of our workouts?

Intense workouts, those at 80% of maximal heart rate or above, demand more of the body than less intense ones and often times our body can't burn off body fat fast enough to keep up so it resorts to using the protein in your body to provide you with energy. In our more intense workouts we are burning our carbohydrate stores at the quickest rate our bodies can handle and are therefore losing as much body fat as quickly as possible. The % of carbohydrate calories burned might be lower but the total number of calories will be much higher, resulting in more weight lost. Moral of the story? The harder you work the faster you'll reach your goals.

NEVER GIVE UP

There is only one thing you need to know to reach all your goals in life, fitness or otherwise. Stay positive, never give up. I always tell my clients, "if you never stop walking you have no choice but to reach your destination," and I whole heartedly mean that.

Too often we compare ourselves to other people or to a hypothetical person who already has what we want. When we do this we make a few mistakes that hold us back in life and in health. The most common mistake I see in my clients is thinking they should have already reached their goals. It is easy to wish that we already have everything we want but things that come easy to us will also leave easy. Life is about the journey to our goals, not the goals themselves. Second, we have a tendency to think that other people are different than us or that they know a secret that we don't. I hate to burst your bubble if this applies to you but the secret is: There is no secret. Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.

It is understandable why we humans want to already have everything we want, life would sure be easier. But the analogy I like to make is that of the pyramids. Each layer of the pyramid takes a little but less stone to build than the one that comes below it. Each layer, therefore, takes less time to build. We spend the largest portion of our efforts building the base and for good reason as it is the most important layer. Without a solid foundation our pyramid will collapse. So we stay persistent, knowing that if we keep building we will eventually have a great pyramid. After much hard work we have several layers of a pyramid built but to a passer by it looks like we have accomplished very little. No one is impressed by what is basically a huge platform. We don't let this stop us, however, and we continue to build. After years or persistence we are nearing the top of our goal. When we have 90% of the layers of our pyramid built people will start to notice. These layers are much smaller than the lower levels so we can complete several levels very quickly. Passersby see us completing several levels in a short period and think it looks easy for us. This is what happens when we see people in better shape than us and we think it is so easy for them. But we know better. We know there isn't a difference between them and us. We know that to have everything we want in life all we need to do is work hard every day and never give up. We can build a great pyramid.

The Miracle of Fiber

Hey everyone!

Today's lesson is on fiber and fiber supplements. In a recent study done collecting the user data from MyFitnessPal (an app you definitely need, it's free) the most common thing among people that lost weight was an increase in fiber in their diets. Fiber has a wonderful amount of benefits including helping controlling blood sugar levels and lowering cholesterol levels, not to mention how it helps you do your business. In short, fiber is the best thing to add to your diet to achieve your weight loss goals, but where can we get fiber?

We can kick start our days with a healthy breakfast made in part with fruits. Raspberries have 8 grams of fiber in one serving and with the daily recommended amount 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men we can get a good head start on our goals. Adding split peas to your lunch can be another great boost to our fiber totals at 16.3 grams per serving. Toss an artichoke on your dinner and ring up 10.3 more grams of fiber and achieve your dreams!

Little changes repeated day in and day out can and will make all the difference over time.

Weekly Challenge - No Soda, More Water

Hey everyone!

This week I want to talk to you about the dangers of soda. One of the best things we can do for our bodies is to give up soda. The human body loses about 8 cups of water (64 oz) during a normal day with no physical activity and this number can double or more if we work outside on a hot day. When we drink water our bodies can naturally absorb it and use it to replenish our cells. If we drink soda the caffeine and sugar will cause us to urinate more than we would have leaving us more dehydrated than if we had not had anything at all! Your body is more than 2/3 water and water is vital for every cell to function properly and if we don't replace the water we lose our bodies will suffer.

My challenge for everyone this week (and every week) is to give up soda! Not only will your body function better but the extra calories you are no longer consuming will really add up. A can of soda can have 150 calories in it and many people drink two or more each day. After one month of drinking soda you will have consumed 9,000 extra calories, after a year 109,500 useless calories. There are 3,500 calories in one pound of fat which means 31 extra pounds each year! For many of us 30 pounds is our entire weight loss goal. Imagine if you could reach your target weight without having to change your diet. Little changes can go a very long way.

Good luck this week everyone. I will be sure to check in. Leave a comment letting me know how you are doing on your challenge.

Team Weight Loss Day 1

Welcome Team!


I want to thank everyone for joining us for the start of our new blog. We are team weight loss and we are here to provide you with free motivation and advice on your weight loss journey. My wife and I are both personal trainers by trade and one thing we noticed was that it is easy to stay focused when someone is there with you, but most people can't afford a 24/7 life coach. This leaves the vast majority of your life open with no one to guide you in the right direction. Something as simple as a blog can provide the community feel and support you need to reach your goals.

In this blog my wife, Lauren, and I will offer tips and training advice each day. But more than that we will offer diet advice. The success of your weight loss journey is only 20% based on exercise while your dietary habits make up a whopping 80% of your success. We love to see our friends make progress not just in the gym, but out of the gym as well, where it really counts.


We don't want you people to be passive in your weight loss journey. Take control of your life today. Decide on some goals, make a plan for accomplishing them, and get started. We want to hear from you in the comments section. We want to read your weight loss blogs. We want to know some recipes you have tried on your own. We are a team here at Team Weight Loss and we will win the war against our excess weight. Thank you and good luck.

-TWL