What's Your Motivation?

One of the hardest parts of becoming physically active is finding the motivation to get started and keeping that motivation long enough to see results.  Because exercise is sometimes a real pain, we have a natural human tendency to avoid it – a kind of primal survival instinct that tells us to stop doing that which causes discomfort.

Our motivation has to be stronger than that instinct.

Motivation to do anything is an individual trait.  What worked for me won’t necessarily work for everyone.  The burden of motivation, then, falls to each of us individually.

Now, I’m an expert on me.  I know what pushes my buttons and makes me tick.  Thus, I know what motivates me and what doesn’t.  The same is true in your case.  The really difficult part is being honest enough with yourself to determine what it’s going to take to get the fitness ball rolling and keeping it going.

It’s funny sometimes how people can be brutally honest with other people but will lie to themselves.  I used to tell myself all the time that I was in great shape, even when I carried an extra 25 pounds of flab on my gut.  Contrary to the humorous t-shirt slogan, being “round” does not equate to being in “shape”.  I was lying to myself to my own detriment.

Since I can’t specifically tell you what your motivation is (or should) be, I can tell you what mine was and is.  When I first got started on this journey, my motivation was to impress my wife.  Shallow, but true.  In truth – a truth I wasn’t telling myself at the time – I knew my marriage was desperately in trouble, and a lot of the problem surrounded my physical condition.  Not that Alice was so shallow that my appearance caused her not to love me – far from it – just that I was so unhappy and emotionally void that just being around me was unbearable for her.

Imagine what it would be like to be in a relationship with a guy that spent all of his time holed up in his bedroom watching TV and surfing the internet.  I had separated myself from my children and voluntarily checked out of life.  This wasn’t the grand adventure she had envisioned for herself when we got married, so she was justifiably disappointed and ready to escape.

I knew all of this, but what I wanted to believe was that everything – including my health and marriage – was just fine.  When the lie I had told myself was exposed, I found the real source of my motivation – to fix the damage I had created in my marriage by improving not only my body but also my mind.

First motivation: impress my wife.  New motivation: keep my wife and marriage through focused self-improvement on both a physical and emotional level.

I’ve come a long way in my self-improvement goals.  I’m not done – I don’t think one is ever “done” with improving the self – but I’m content with my growth.  Having repaired a lot of the damage my complacency did to my marriage, I needed a new motivation.

That’s where Wo40.com came in.  My fitness and marital successes have compelled me to share my journey with others in the hopes that I can make a difference in the lives of my readers.  So, basically, YOU are my motivation now.  What can I do to make your life more meaningful, abundant, rich, and prosperous?  Those are my driving questions and the very reason I spend time writing articles like this one.

My journey started with a realization of truth – that I wasn’t happy with who I was.  Birthdays have a strange ability to make us introspective as we realize that we are growing older.  On the eve of my 40’s, the truth of my condition somehow became apparent; I realized that I needed to change.

You must be honest with yourself first.  Sometimes it’s hard to face the truth about ourselves, but the longer we avoid who we really are the longer we will stay where we are.  Are you happy?  Truly happy?  True happiness comes from achieving things and making a difference.  It comes from being actively involved in something that is larger than we ourselves are.

Look in the mirror.  Strip down to your jockeys and take a look at yourself.  The Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Does your body belie that sentiment?  Look into your own eyes.  They are the windows to the soul, after all.  What are they telling you?  Are they begging you to help a fading soul, or do they sparkle with the light of life?

Truth.  It will set you free.

There’s no better way to show love for yourself than to take care of your body.  Every time we light a cigarette, down a case of beer, or eat food that we know is nutritionally void, we demonstrate a deeper belief that we aren’t worth it, that we don’t deserve better.  How you treat your body speaks volumes about deeply held self-image beliefs.  Learn to love yourself, and demonstrate that love through action.

Reading this, it might seem a rather simplistic that I would believe that exercise and nutrition could have that big an effect on your overall life.  2 years ago I would have said the same thing.  My only advice is this: try it for yourself.  Tell yourself every day that you’re worthy of being loved and demonstrate that love for yourself through a regimen of exercise and proper nutrition.

What’s your motivation?  You are.  The people you love are.  If that’s not good enough for you, then you’re already dead and your body is just slow in figuring it out.

This article didn’t turn out as expected, but sometimes it’s a good thing to just let go of the outline and speak from the heart.

Be well.



Parking Issues

It's kind of funny actually.  People go to the gym to get fit - to get in their daily dose of exercise so they can look and feel their best.  For whatever reason, however, they feel compelled to park right in front of the door.  As if crossing the parking lot somehow is too much of a chore for them.

We noticed this on Sunday as we were pulling into the gym parking lot.  Every spot (6 of them) in front of the door was full.  Like we always do, we parked across the parking lot and walked the extra 75 feet or so to the door.

These are the same people who probably drive around and around the parking lot at the grocery store or Wal-Mart waiting to catch the person who parked closest to the door as they are pulling out of the space.  Unless I'm in a real hurry, I don't mind parking at the cart return, which is about halfway across the lot.

It was just a casual observation, but it got me wondering what the thought process of such people is.  Why go to the gym and park almost inside the gym?  If the purpose of going to the gym is to exercise, why not just count walking in from the parking lot as part of the process?  If getting enough activity during the day is an issue, why not park across the lot from the store or from the front entrance at work?

Every calorie counts when trying to drop fat.

Be well!

Labels and Self-talk.

What’s your identity?

We assign labels to ourselves all the time – sometimes intentionally, sometimes not so.  We also allow, usually passively, others to assign labels to us.  Some of those labels are constructive.  Too many are destructive.

Think for a moment: how do you describe yourself?  Here are some possible labels that you might have used: “I’m fat.”  “My thighs/butt/hips are big.”  “I’m too tired.”  “I don’t like to exercise.”  “I love food too much.”  “I hate vegetables.”

Statements like those have an impact on how you see yourself and how you behave.

We reinforce beliefs about ourselves by repeating them, either to ourselves or others.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve looked in the mirror or stepped on a scale and reinforced to myself that I’m fat.  I also used to tell people that there were 3 things of mine that you shouldn’t mess with – my family, my money and my food.  Because I reinforced my identity (as a fat glutton), I lived my life accordingly.  I ate poorly, rarely exercised, and my body reflected my behaviors.

Personal labels can also be unspoken.  I’ve seen people wear clothes that tell me they embrace a slothful lifestyle.  A year or so ago I saw an early teenager (13-14ish) wearing a bright yellow shirt that looked like a Lay’s potato chip bag.  It said “Lays-e” No surprise this kid was obviously overweight. 

Do a quick search for “Lazy t-shirts” or “Fat t-shirts” and you’ll see that many people don't mind assigning the ‘lazy’ and ‘fat’ labels to themselves.

You might be saying, “Those shirts are supposed to be funny.”   That may be so, but the fact of the matter is our brains can’t tell the difference between truth and fiction.  Every time our eyes see the message on a self-deprecating shirt, a message is sent to our brains that tells us we’re lazy or fat.  Our subconscious mind files away that assertion and helps us conduct ourselves accordingly.

Looking at this from another angle, we sometimes passively allow others to label us.  I know a mom who used to call her son “little Buddha” due to his abundance of baby fat.  Not surprisingly, the child has been noticeably fat through toddlerhood and into childhood.  Unless the child is de-programmed (by parents or by himself), that label may well follow him into his adult life.  Spouses label each other all the time – often as a term of endearment – but with similar negative overtones.  The labels often become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Any of my readers own a La-Z-Boy recliner?  The chairs are not so named because they encourage 30 minutes of physical activity every day.

The offset to all of this destructive input is to identify ourselves with uplifting descriptors.  “I eat healthy foods and live a happy and active life.”  “I eat exactly what my body needs every day.  Nothing more.”  Think healthy thoughts, say healthy words, and your brain will help you behave accordingly. 

Make your thoughts and words action oriented rather than person oriented.  Saying, “I’m a good person for choosing water over soda,” actually sets us up for future self-recrimination later on (e.g. does drinking soda make me a “bad” person?).  This goes for talking to others as well.  Saying “good job” beats “good girl” every time.

Don’t let negative labels sabotage your progress.  Over the next few days, try paying particular attention to what you say and think about yourself.  Notice whether your self-dialogue is uplifting or desctructive.  If you find yourself being "mean" to yourself more often than you are being "nice," it's time for some re-programming.

A good remedy for destructive self-talk is to write down the negative labels you assign to yourself and thoughtfully consider alternatives that put your situation in a positive light.  For example, instead of “I’m fat,” you can say, “My body is in a state of constant improvement.  My actions are in line with that process.”

Give it a go, and see how your body (and mind) reacts.

Be well!

It's Never the Perfect Time

It’s never the perfect time.  “Perfect” doesn’t exist.

The time to start your fitness journey is now.  Right now.  Not next week.  Not Monday morning.  Now.  Waiting for that “perfect” point in time to start anything is a sure path to starting nothing.

Consider your relationships.  Did you start dating at the “perfect” time?  If you’re married, did marriage wait until the perfect time?  Or having kids?  Did you take your job or start your business because the timing was perfect for it?  Probably not – I know it wasn’t the case for us for all of the above.

In 2008 when I started this whole fitness lifestyle blogging thing, I had been waiting for about 7 years for the “perfect” time to start.  Every week I said I would start doing something about my weight issues on Monday.  Then Monday would come, and I’d screw up my diet or oversleep and miss my morning workout.  That imperfect start meant I couldn’t start that week.  I’d just wait until the following Monday to get it right.

The whole time, I was just getting more and more frustrated with myself.  And I was getting fatter.

Eventually I realized that perfection wasn’t a prerequisite to starting a new lifestyle.  Doing better today than yesterday was all that mattered (and is all that still matters).  For example, my usual breakfast in 2007 consisted of a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit with a soda – about 800 calories – purchased from the little grill near work.  Doing better simply meant that I would eat a bowl of cereal – about 400 calories – in the comfort of my own home (that change alone saved me 2000 calories during the work week).  Doing better meant taking walks in the evening rather than sitting on my butt all night.  Small steps would yield positive results.

The changes weren’t profound, nor were they based on it being the “perfect” time to do something.

I spent a lot of time being preoccupied with whether it was the right time to get started with taking back my health.  Here’s what I discovered: as long as you’re breathing, you’re capable of starting.  It shouldn’t take a heart attack or major medical diagnosis to get you started down the path.

Now is the right time to get started.  Do one thing better today than you did yesterday, and do that every day from now until they put your remains in the ground.  The sooner you start the former, the longer you have before the latter occurs.

Be well!



Energy Drinks - A Closer Look

One of our readers, Josh L., asked that I give him a little information about a popular product group that's generating billions of dollars in revenue every year - the energy drink.  I told him I'd get on it, and made my first stop at the grocery store to take a look.  The findings were interesting to say the least.

Currently, there are approximately 150 different energy drinks on the market, so a product-by-product review is impossible (well, actually it would be way too time consuming).  Instead, I'll stick to making some general observations based on some of the reading I've done.

Instant Energy

People buy energy drinks for a variety of reasons, but the most prevalent reason is, by far, sports performance.  Athletes of all stripes, particularly teens, down beverages like Red Bull® and Amp® prior to and during training in order to enhance sports performance.  They believe these products give them an edge that they couldn't otherwise get without the drink.

The sources of this energy are varied, but the main stimulant is caffeine.  Take a look at some of the caffeine contents of popular sports drinks:

• Red Bull: 80 milligrams per 8.3-ounce serving
• Tab Energy: 95 mg per 10.5-oz serving
• Monster and Rockstar: 160 mg per 16-oz serving
• No Fear: 174 mg per 16-oz serving
• Fixx: 500 per 20-oz serving (Yikes!)
• Wired X505: 505 mg per 24-oz serving (Yikes, again!)

In comparison, according to Griffiths:

• Brewed coffee: 200 milligrams per 12-oz serving
• Instant coffee: 140 mg per 12-oz serving
• Brewed tea: 80 mg per 12-oz serving
• Mountain Dew: 54 mg per 12 oz. serving
• Dr. Pepper: 41 mg per 12-oz serving
• Pepsi Cola: 38 mg per 12-oz serving
• Coca-Cola Classic: 34.5 mg per 12-oz serving
• Canned or bottled tea: 20 mg per 12-oz serving

(Source - WebMD)

When you look at it, the caffeine content in energy drinks seems fairly consistent with brewed coffee.  So what's the big deal?  It's the junk you don't really pay attention to: other hidden stimulants that come with funky names like guarana, bitter orange, and synephrine.  Considering there is no regulation from any governing agency as to how much of these substances can be put into energy drinks, the amount of actual consumed stimulant (caffeine + other stimulants) is unknown.

And don't forget - there is a LOT of sugar in energy drinks, adding to the energy boost that you get.

Energy drink manufacturers have talking heads who declare that their product is no more dangerous than a cup of coffee.  I have to point out a couple of logical fallacies being employed by such statements.

First, most people do not slam a cup of coffee immediately before or during an intense workout.  This is the primary use of energy drinks - athletes trying to gain an edge or energy boost during training.  During training, athletes' heart rates are already accelerated.  Consuming unknown quantities of metabolic stimulants prior to a workout can put additional, perhaps excessive, strain on the heart.  In athletes with undiagnosed cardiac issues, the restult could be fatal.  Further, in hot and humid climates the effect of the energy drink is compounded by the fact that caffeine interrupts the brain's ability to peceive pain and fatigue.  This dulled perception in combination with hot humid conditions can lead to a higher risk of exertional heat stroke.

The second logical fallacy is that coffee takes time to consume.  How many hot coffees can you down in a 3 minute time frame?  Personally, I take about 15-20 minutes to take in my large fat-free latte with Sun Crystals sweetener.  A cold energy drink can go down in a few seconds, and a good many people don't stop with just one.  In researching this article, I came across the story of a 17-year-old high school basketball player who downed at least 7 (SEVEN!!) Red Bulls® between games in a basketball tournament.  He collapsed, conveniently enough, in a hospital while visiting a relative.

The fact of the matter is simple: when you dump 400-500mg of caffeine, loads of other stimulants, overdoses of vitamin B complex, and a ton of sugar on your system in a matter of minutes, the body goes into a state of emergency.  Symptoms include nausea, insomnia, nervousness, anxiety, rapid heartbeat and, occasionally, death.  That's a heavy price to pay for a little bit of sports performance.

Other Associated Risks

Like the informercials say, "But wait!  There's more!"  With the amount of stimulant being consumed, there are bound to be multiple physiological effects.  Here are a few to consider.

Caffeine is a diuretic - it promotes water depletion.  People who consume stimulant rich beverages (including coffee) incidentally deplete their bodies of water.  If you want to test this theory, here's an experiment: drink a couple bottles of water over the course of about 30 minutes.  Wait a little while then down a can of soda.  Feelings of urgency should begin shortly.  Be prepared to beat a path to the bathroom door at least 4-5 times per hour.

Users of energy drinks should be consuming at least equal amounts of water.  8 oz of energy drink should be followed eventually with 8 oz of water.  Failure to do so will make the resulting crash even more unpleasant, since a classic symptom of dehydration is fatigue.

Further, caffeine is technically a drug that comes with all the pains that drugs can bring.  Withdrawal can be a very unpleasant experience with its resultant fatigue, headaches, and irritability.  Those who continue to use energy drinks require more and more caffeine to reach satisfactory threshhold levels, furthering the addiction and making cessation of use more and more difficult.

Overall, research clearly indicates that adverse effects of high levels of caffeine outweigh the boosting effects of consuming levels such as those found in energy drinks.  Unless you're a fan of such things as insomnia, gastrointestinal issues, fatigue, hypertension, and heart disease, keeping use of energy drinks in moderation is a must.

Summing it Up

Energy drinks do have the capacity to increase energy output for a short period of time.  In that regard, they are true to their labels.  However, it is important that the user be aware of multiple factors:

• Moderation, moderation, moderation.  An occasional energy drink is acceptable, but frequent use (multiple servings per day) is not recommended.
• Drink water.  Lots and lots of water.  Since caffeine can aid in dehydrating the body, more water intake is necessary to offset water depletion.
• Those in hot and humid climates should not consume energy drinks prior to intense exercise.  The possibility of exertional heat stroke is too real to be ignored.  The body does not perceive the brain's warning signals, so the stroke can occur before the victim is aware.
• Avoid the energy drinks Fixx, WiredX505, and Cocaine, since they have 350% of the caffeine found in other energy drinks.  For the mathematically challenged (like me), that's around 300mg/8oz serving.  Bad, bad mojo there.
• Nothing boosts energy like being in good physical condition.  Never forego regular exercise by thinking that energy in a can is a suitable replacement.

 Be well!