…these guys took on the challenge, and wow, that must have been intense!

As you probably know, based on the premise of this blog, my biggest find over the last 10 years in my quest to eat & live healthy was primarily eating single ingredient foods (i.e. fruits, and vegetables, true fruit juices – thank you SunHarvest!, and sticking with grains, nuts, and so forth).

I do a fairly good job of sticking to that routine, but I’m realistic when it comes to eating out, or at parties.

It’s my goal to eat ‘real food’ at least 80% of the time…

With that in mind, I’m not 100% sure I could stick to a 28 day Real Food Challenge, could you?

Be sure to read the entire CNN article for more information.

…to feel the best I can.

I’ve realized over the last few years, that there are multiple things to consider — such as:

• Assuring I get enough sleep.
• Assuring I eat the ‘good for you foods’.
• Assuring I continually have balance (work, and play!)

Recently, I’ve discovered three web sites that have really helped me gain a higher level of understanding of taking my quest to the next level.

I’m going to share them with you, here’s 3 Sure Fire Ways to Feel Better:

1. www.Lef.org – LifeExtension – specifically visit the Health Concerns section, they have top-notch health information.
2. www.VRP.com – Vitamin Research Articles – be sure to visit the Research Center, they’re passionate about nutritional science.
3. www.SparkPeople.com – This is still one of my favorites, because not only does it have great resources, it has a great community you can get involved in as well.

Do you have any other web sites that you reference for hints, tips or techniques on feeling the best you can?  Please share them below!

Thanks so much,

Charly

…and your family?

Who isn’t, right?

Kristin Doyle, an RN, has created a wonderful book called the “Therapeutic Chef” that provides recipes to prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

This book will, quite literally, transform your life.

It is packed full of information on what foods are helpful for preventing illness and disease.

There are over 300 recipes that range from super simple to more complex.  While you’re cooking you’ll get to learn about the medicinal value of the ingredients used, and that, my friends, is invaluable.

There is:

• a pantry list,
• an equipment list,
• a glossary of Powerfoods,
• a section on Herbal Remedies for First Aid, and
• a list of Gluten-Free Recipes.

Every recipe was created to help prevent cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

There is an explanation of what foods are the very best for helping to fight those conditions and what foods you’ll want to avoid.

I think the biggest bonus is that you’ll learn why eating this way is also beneficial for our planet!

Take a look, it’s on Amazon.com, and it’s called the Therapeutic Chef!

Enjoy,

Charly

…called FitBit, and it tests & measures all crucial data regarding fitness & sleep!

FitBit tracks:

• calories burned,
• steps taken,
• distance traveled, and
• sleep quality.

It contains a 3D motion sensor (like the ones found in the Wii controllers) and tracks your motion in three dimensions and converts this into useful information about your daily activities.

You can wear the FitBit on your waist, in your pocket, or on your undergarments.

At night, you simply need to wear the included wristband to track your sleeping patterns.

The coolest part?

Anytime you walk by the included wireless base station (within 15′), data from the FitBit is silently uploaded to the base station!

Learn all about the FitBit by visiting their web site at: www.FitBit.com.

it’s been loud and clear…

I’ve proven it to myself, as have millions of others:

Regular physical activity gives you energy, levels your body out, and most importantly, cuts the risk of heart attack and stroke!

Here’s 5 Ways to take care of your heart (and live longer!) through exercise:

1. Document your exercise goals – in writing!  Look at them daily, try for 30 to 60 minutes three days a week of biking, brisk walking, or running.
2. Use visualization – keep an ideal image of yourself in mind, and readily accessible.  I found my f#$(*1@ inspiration, and it’s really helped me!
3. Make exercise a priority – many times, this is easier said than done.  The big thing that’s changed in my mindset is the fact then I don’t think about doing it, I just DO it.
4. Take action and start moving – keep in mind, a body at rest, tends to stay at rest, and a body in motion tends to stay in motion.
5. Buy a pedometer – “you can’t change what don’t measure” and this plays a key role in elping you understand how much you walk per day, aim for 10,000 steps a day.

Another approach that’s worked very well for me is disguising my exercise – for example, I’ll:

• walk to the bookstore (about a mile away),
• ride my bike to work (about 3.5 miles away),
• walk to a restaurant (about a mile away), and
• take the stairs.

If you’d like to learn more, here are some great books I’ve found.

Take care, and I hope this helps you!

Charly

web site provided by the US Government is a great start!

MyPyramid Blast Off is an interactive computer game where kids can reach Planet Power by fueling their rock with food and activity.  The game assures they understand what food goes in what food group, and helps them understand how their choices fit into the pyramid of what you’re supposed to eat.

It’s a great way to help kids understand the value of different food.

If you’re looking for other uplifting, education material online, be sure to check out HaveFunTeaching.com, ColorMeGood.com, and Free-Worksheets.com.

Mark, the founder of HaveFunTeaching.com, also has a “Songs for Kids” CD available on Amazon.   My girls love “Hey Bully“, “The Noun Song“, and their absolute favorite is “The Verb Rap Song“.

Enjoy!

Charly

Here’s 9 proven ways to beat stress:

1. Socialize – see friends, relatives, go to club meetings.  Stay connected.
2. Talk, laugh, cry, get angry – let it out!
3. Exercise regularly – studies show exercise reduces anxiety, releases tension and makes your brain pump out endorphins, which are chemicals that create a sense of well-being.  Try for 30 to 60 minutes three times a week.
4. Eat a healthy, balanced diet.
5. Block stress by losing yourself in activities you enjoy – shopping, reading, visiting friends, watching a movie, playing video games.
6. Get perspective – remember the past, learn from it, think about how you made it through tough times.
7. Live in the moment – go for a walk, count your blessings, play with kids.
8. Practice slow, deep breaths.
9. Do yoga or meditation – there’s an amazing feeling that will overcome you once you get going.

I hope this helps you, it sure has me!

Charly

…is the most inspirational to me for:

• visualizing how I want to look (skip the tats ),
• making a change that lasts a lifetime,
• exercising, and
• losing weight.

Phil Anselmo (the lead singer of Pantera, which is arguably the heaviest metal band on the planet) has been very instrumental in helping me “do” rather than “think of doing” (there’s a huge difference).

The most inspirational Pantera song, that my mind has tied to that photo of Phil, and that has generated huge success for me over the years is:

A New Level (listen to a sample, if you dare )

from the CD that is what I consider to be Pantera’s best work:

Vulgar Display of Power.

The lyrics that ring through my head are:

“New life in place of old life – unscarred by trials”

They totally inspire me — and it’s these lyrics that deliver for me on the follow up:

“Forget the past, present tense works and lasts”

If you listen to the entire song — the lyrics play a key role, but for me, it’s the intensity and delivery that really send it home.

I use Pantera’s music in other ways for inspiration as well:

• listening to it while biking for an INTENSE workout,
• listening to it before having a meeting that I know is going to be unpleasant, and,
• being thankful my friends are alive and well (re: Hollow).

I’ve discovered that passion plays a huge role with success for me (which might be why I was selected to be in Success Magazine talking about passion!)

Aside from Guns N Roses, and Sebastian Bach, Pantera is the most passionate band I know of, and that really fires me up.

Who would have thought Pantera could be so inspiring, right?

SO, what’s your inspiration, and what does it do for you?

When you’re ready to start living your new lifestyle, you need to pick a start date.

Personally, I hate start dates because…

…they create a sense of scarcity around what I’m eating & drinking before I start, making me want to shovel more in, and drink as much soda as possible before starting.

So I skipped the Start Date, and just started living it!

It’s interesting, because this is the very article that kicked it off –

What Happens To Your Body Within An Hour of Drinking A Coke

It not only made me never want to drink Coke (or any other soda) again, but it was that moment I said “NOW is the time!” and committed.

(I haven’t touched soda since!)

If you’re not ready to commit, ‘testing’ the lifestyle worked beautifully for me.

Here’s a few suggestions for setting your Start Date:

• REMOVE all temptations (yes, give away, throw out soda, candy, snacks, etc),
• Assure you’re fridge is stocked with the good stuff!
• Reduce, or stop, going out to eat (at least for a while, until you get used to your new lifestyle).
• Follow the other 9 steps I’ve documented.

Good luck, and if you need to talk to someone who will support you, contact me!

I think that’s the biggest compliment I’ve been hearing in the last few months – and that makes me very happy.

You can see the difference when you compare the photo above, taken on a recent trip to DisneyWorld, to this one.

It’s refreshing to hear those comments, however, it was much more amazing to me to see these results –

Click to enlarge

That’s 15 POUNDS in one month!  No special pills, no diets, just eating differently.

Amazing (to me anyway) was the fact that I did NO exercise, purposely, during the first few months of my new lifestyle — just to see how much weight would naturally fall off.

I figured I’d restart my exercise routine to help me through any stopping points along the way.

I still can’t believe I did it – I found a way to really live and lose weight.  It’s amazingly inspiring, even now!

Not only did I lose a big chunk of weight, but I could tell there were other changes as well:

• I felt much more alert,
• I was able to focus more clearly, and for longer periods of time,
• At about 218 pounds, I didn’t have to do the fat man roll in bed.

Thinking about it, I think these changes were probably more from eating healthy, than from weighing less, as so much of the food I’m eating now is food for the brain, and fuel for muscles.

However, it’s pretty clear — eating more healthful foods definitely plays a big role in losing weight!

Feel like you’re ready to experience a new you?  Get started NOW!

“You can’t change what you don’t measure”

as a matter of fact, I’ve made some big life changes using it.  (I saved 50% on my car & boat insurance because of it.)

The most helpful change I’ve made, that has played a key role in helping me create & maintain my new lifestyle is…

…keeping track of what I eat in a daily food log.

The snapshot above is a typical day in loss mode for me.

When I stopped losing weight in loss mode, it helped me realize I was eating too few calories per day (1400!) and my body went into starvation mode.

Once I got back in the 1700 to 2000 calories per day range, I started losing weight again.  Whew!

Download my Daily Food Log Template (PDF)

Aside from my simple spreadsheet – here’s a few solutions for daily food logs:

• Prevention.com’s Health Tracker (click Foods Eaten)
• MyNetDiary (FREE iPhone Application)
• DietController (for the Mac)

DietOrganizer has versions for practically every mainstream device and computer out there –

• DietOrganizer (for the Windows Mobile)
• DietOrganizer (for the Palm)
• DietOrganizer (for the Blackberry)

…eating half of what you normally do!

It’s as easy as it sounds!

If you try it, and have the determination to make it work — it’s quite possibly the easiest way to lose weight.

Here’s how you do it:

You take whatever is on your plate (see above), half it (see below), and only eat one side!  (Save the rest for tomorrow!)

Not only do you:

• effectively reduce your caloric intake by half (remember 500 calories a day equals a pound a week),
• enjoy whatever you want to eat, without having to cut foods out of your life,
• stop chowing down & start to learn to enjoy each bite,

BUT you save money and lose weight at the same time!

It’s a total win-win situation, and I know of a few people who’ve done only that to get to their target weight.

So here’s a comfort challenge for you — try eating half for the next 3 days, and see how you feel.

Be sure to monitor your success by getting a scale and using it daily!

As you test some new approaches to living, don’t be surprised to find out family & friends aren’t so supportive.

They may not say it, but their actions will definitely show it.

In general, people don’t like change, and on occasion, they’re known to do things to try and stop it. (Try not to get upset about it – it’s human nature.)

A few years back, I caught an episode of Dr. Phil where a 700+ pound gal cried for her life, and begged Dr. Phil to help her.

She:

• couldn’t walk,
• couldn’t drive,
• couldn’t fit out the door anymore,
• could hardly go the bathroom herself, and,
• was a living time bomb – her poor heart was ready to give up!

After listening to her beg, Dr. Phil asked:

“Who brings you the very food you eat to stay at the weight you are?”

She quickly answered:

“Oh, my best friend, and my boyfriend!”

I think you get the point –

It’s important to realize that the lifestyle you choose will either need to be supported by those around you, or need to be accomplished by you, on our own.

I suggest not saying too much when you try some new approaches to your life, and see the reaction you get.  It’ll become pretty apparent what you’re up against (if anything at all?!)

I can tell you from personal experience over the last few years, after realizing I couldn’t work with those around me, I tried to go it alone — and it didn’t work.

The temptation was way too great and I slipped back into my old lifestyle.

Today, my wife & I support each other wholeheartedly, we’re both committed to living a healthy, supportive lifestyle.

I truly believe it’s the only way you can achieve long term success.

…I knew I couldn’t continue on the path I was on (look at my extra chin in that photo!) so the thought came to me:

“I HAVE to do something – I’ll just try a new approach to my life, even for a day or two, to see if it feels right!”

And it was that breakthrough — that idea I didn’t have to completely commit, but I could try it and see if it worked for a trial time — that lead to my success in the big picture.

Initially, I decided to develop some ‘test lifestyles’, and try them for a few days.  At first, I’d try them for a day, and then two.

Once I started getting serious, I was able to go 4 weeks at a time — and finally found the lifestyle that I could really see living, here it is, in a nutshell:

• I weigh myself daily.
• I eat the simple, healthy foods with one or two ingredients, first.
• I treat the foods that aren’t so good for me as ‘desserts’.
• My home has healthy “go to snacks” readily available.
• My home doesn’t have the foods that aren’t good for me available.
• I have a great support system of family & friends.
• I enjoy all of the foods I’ve always liked, just in moderation.
• I exercise at least once every three days — 5 mile, moderate pace, bike ride, and 30 minute endurance-based workout.

It’s amazing how long it took me to get here, but I’m extremely happy I made it!

Think about how you can trial some changes, and carve out a day or two to give them a spin.

…leaves little room in my stomach for the bad ones.

In the last year, I’ve gotten real clear on two things:

• I eat more things with a simple, and understandable, ingredient list (preferring foods & drinks with one ingredient).  A few examples are: water, apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, celery, cucumbers, strawberries, blueberries, green & red peppers, onions, tomatoes, romaine, walnuts, 100% whole wheat bread, tea, organic chicken, organic turkey and organic yogurt.
• I eat (much) less things that people have screwed around with.  A few examples are artificial sweeteners, soda, french fries, potato chips, white bread, most processed cheeses, and most candy.

If you are serious about successfully losing weight, and keeping it off, you’ll want to create your loss & maintenance lifestyles around simply, healthy foods with one ingredient.

It’s important that you set up your environment so the nutritious & healthy foods are close by, and the foods that aren’t so good for you are far away.

The biggest benefit I’ve noticed to this lifestyle approach is not only having a lot more energy, but having consistent energy throughout the day.

I used to buzz in the afternoon after lunch from the soda & sugar, only to bottom out an hour later in a ‘food coma’ (many times ending up in a short afternoon nap!)

My suggestion for you, as you set up your environment, is to:

• Discover what healthy foods you like,
• Begin filling your refrigerator & shelves with those foods, and
• Eat, or get rid of the not so healthy foods & drinks.

Be sure, also to read and follow my previous blog entry called “Get a scale & use it daily“.

The only way you’ll succeed in losing weight, is if you weigh yourself daily.  It’s very important to do this under the same conditions every day.

For me, it’s after I get up (this time varies), but before I have my tea & organic Stoneyfield Farm yogurt, AND I’m in my birthday suit (these conditions don’t vary).

Simply put:

• Get a decent scale, I suggest this one.
• Get a red pen.
• Get a blue pen.
• Use this spreadsheet to track your weight loss.
• Weight yourself the exact same way & time of day, everyday.

On the very first day you start your loss mode lifestyle, get on your scale, and write down your weight in blue in the appropriate box.

Every day your weight goes down or stays the same, write your weight for that day in blue.

Every day your weight goes up, write your weight for that day in red.

You’ll quickly become upset with yourself when you have to write in red.

I’ve been known to say things like:

• “I can’t have that delicious piece of key lime pie because I don’t want to write in red tomorrow, however, a small sliver would be great!”
• “Nope, I’m going to stick with one serving of mash potatoes because I don’t want to write in red in the morning!”
• “Ha!  I’m not having that bag of Peanut M&M’s, because I don’t want to write in red tomorrow!”

Once you have your scale, put your spreadsheet and your pens by it — you’ll be using them daily.

Also, make sure you keep your old spreadsheets, you’ll really enjoy reflecting back on them, showing your family & friends, as you lose weight!

1. Your BMI, or Body Mass Index.
2. Your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate.

Your BMI is a quick way to tell if your weight is appropriate for your height.

You can use this Body Mass Index calculator to figure yours out.

When I was my heaviest, at 262 pounds, my BMI was 36.5!

A healthy BMI is 18.5 to 24.9, overweight is considered 25 to 29.9, and obese is anything over 30.

Your BMR is basically how much energy your body consumes at rest, as in, if you stayed in bed all day.  The BMI is represented by the amount of calories your body needs daily at rest.

You can use this BMR Calculator to figure yours out.

Once you have these two numbers, write them down.

Then go do the calculations for your dream weight (mine is 178 pounds).

• My BMI at 262 pounds: 36.5
• My BMI at 178 pounds: 24.8

• My BMR at 262 pounds: 2348 calories
• My BMR at 178 pounds: 1825 calories

That’s a caloric difference of 543 calories a day, or in terms of one of my favorite candies back in the day – about 53 peanut M&M’s!

(One peanut M&M is about 10 calories.)

Remember though, this BMR number doesn’t account for any activity.   You can use the BMR Activity Multiplier to figure your actual calories consumed per day based on how active you are (or aren’t ).