If you know me I'm a huge fan of fitness toys and gadgets and ever since I was a kid I always wanted a rock climbing wall in my house. In my DREAM version it was an entire wall with multiple slants and craziness but seeing as I live in a studio apartment in LA I'm going to have to compromise.

I need to drink more water each day. I know it. You probably know it too. Why is drinking 'enough' water each day so hard???

For most people it's a mixture between just forgetting to and not wanting to make a hundred trips back and forth to the bathroom.

A question I get all the time. "Which program is right for me?" My answer is always the same, "what are your goals?" With that in mind I've decided to simplify the program library and let you know which programs I believe are right for YOUR goals.*
*Please note: Time, trainer personalty and money aren't the factors I'm considering here, primarily goals. Any workout program and healthy diet will get you results, I think these specific ones will get you there faster.  

If you want...

... the COMPLETE fitness package.
Looking good is great but over health will keep you from aging. This one mixes just about every aspect of fitness out there including yoga, weight training, plyometrics, kick boxing and more. There's nothing you won't be able to do after this program. GET IT


...to LOOK GOOD.

Okay Thanksgiving is over, Black Friday is over and Cyber Monday is over.  All the deals are gone and if you didn't get your Christmas shopping done then it's probably on your to do list.  Is the end of November and all of December all about shopping and deals now?  I thought Thanksgiving was about you know... 'giving thanks,' and Christmas (at least for me) was about spending time with loved ones and celebrating the holiday season together.

I admit I do enjoy November because many of my friends partake in the every day in November "I'm thankful for..." post on their Facebook walls.   I also secretly enjoy the hearing about Black Friday craziness that has happened all over the country (ironically happening after Thanksgiving where we all just gave thanks).  I even check out the deals online but rarely ever buy anything.

With all that craziness and even more coming in December it can be hard to 'keep your eye on the prize,' and use what these holidays were meant for in my opinion; removing yourself from the daily stresses of your life and simply being happy and celebrating life.

I have TWO questions for you...

ONE - Giving Thanks and Thanksgiving
Why are you only thankful during November?  Or is it easy to put a 'cap' on the number of thankful posts you are required to do because there are only so many days until Thanksgiving?   Look, I'm not trying to 'knock' anyone who partakes in these posts but why not take it a step further, continue this all year round.

I've learned that in order to create a happier life we must always be giving thanks and praise to the people around us.  If you're not comfortable posting publicly then make sure to contact your friends, family, co-workers, etc every so often and just say thanks!  These actions have actually been proven to help make you a happier less stressful person.

TWO - Shopping and Black Friday
Okay so you've accumulated a bunch of stuff, now what?  Fine if your TV is broken and you want a new one I get it but I think most people just buy stuff to well, just buy stuff.  Is the new TV that's 4 inches bigger making your life any better?  Has waiting outside for hours on end for the latest deals made your life any better?  I can't tell you how often I look around my apartment at 'stuff' that hasn't really added any value to my life.  I mean, I wanted it at the time and now I can't remember why.

Here's my formula for everything I buy now.  I ask myself...
1.  Why am I buying this?
2.  Does this purchase improve my life?
3.  Does this purchase help me achieve my personal goals or dreams?

If I answer 'no' to the last two questions then I rethink why I'm buying whatever it is. This doesn't just work for buying things, it also works for spending you time.  We all complain about not having enough time yet we're constantly wasting it on things that don't matter.  YOUR health, YOUR family and friends, and YOUR dreams matter the most.  Spend your time, money, effort, and love on those items and less on everything else.

Conclusion
I read a quote once that went something like, "on your deathbed you're not gong to have wished you worked more, spent more time on the computer, or watched more TV.  You're going to wish you spent more time with friends and family, tried new things and experienced all that life has to offer."  I'm paraphrasing and adding my own words in but I think you get the point.  Spend your time, money and emotions where it matters the most.

This holiday season I challenge you to step back from the sales, the marketing, the traffic, the lines and all the stresses and think about what really matters the most to you.  Remember to breath when something doesn't go your way and start the New Year off with an entirely new view of the world and what you want to accomplish in it.



P.S. If you liked this post please check out one of my favorite speakers on 'Happiness' Shawn Achor.  He has an amazing TED Talk you can watch which I share with all my friends.  I listen to it about once a month.

Disclaimer:  I'm not a nutritionist.  I'm a normal person trying to find a healthy balance of working out, eating right and living a happy life. That being said these are some general rules to live by that will help everyone's lives. 

1.  You ACTUALLY aren't hungry, you're bored and thirsty, DRINK SOME WATER.

2.  There are too many rules on "this ingredient is good, this one is bad," and quite frankly most of them don't have conclusive scientific evidence either way.  Regardless, if you want to beat the system, eat single ingredient foods, then you don't have to worry about it.  Keep it simple!

3.  Try new ways of eating and use your own personal experience to determine what's right for you.  Try paleo, try vegan, try whatever, LEARN about how YOUR body reacts.

4.  Eat for YOUR goals, not someone else's.  Just because a super model or actor is eating a certain way, doesn't mean it's right for you.  Invest in a nutritionist now.  It may be a big investment but you can use the lessons you learn for the rest of your life.

5.  Vote and vote often.  Every time you buy something from the grocery store you're voting on that product being sold there.  If a store isn't selling a product than they'll stop stocking it.  Grocery stores are businesses.  It's simple, stop buying crap and the stores will stop selling it.  Together, we actually can make a difference. 

6.  If it's labeled as 'diet', 'healthy,' 'natural,' 'fat free' or any other lingo that is out there it generally isn't.  Companies use this as marketing to make you feel better about buying it.  The real foods (fruits, vegetables, etc) don't need these labels, because everyone already knows they're good for you.  Read twice before purchasing these items. 

7.  When in doubt look for labels that are HIGH in vitamin's & minerals, protein, and fiber; AND LOW in fats, carbs and sodium.

8.  Have cheat meals instead of cheat days.  Once you've mastered that, have cheat snacks instead of cheat meals.  After that, see how long you can go without cheating.

9.  Learn portion control.  It takes time for you stomach to tell your brain that you're full so give it some time.  When out to eat, order less then you plan on eating, you'll save money and maybe some inches off of the waist.  If you're still hungry, you can always order more.  I doubt the kitchen is going to run out of food.

10.  You're 100% in control of what you put in your mouth and body.  Period.

This blog post is a current reflection of my own actions, habits and lifestyle; good and bad.

While looking back at my own health & fitness goals I gotta say, I'm on a pretty good path.  At least much better than I was any of the years before now.  I have found a good routine of maintaining my health & fitness which has taken me years to achieve.  Still... currently I don't seem to be moving forwards and I'm not moving backwards.  I'm comfortable; and being comfortable for me isn't comfortable!

I must admit my biggest hurdle for taking my health & fitness to the next level is drinking.  I LOVE MY MARTINI'S and I'm having an issue cutting back on them.  Hell it's taken me a few years to perfect my martini recipe, why would I waste all that time spent?!?  Ohhh they're so good and if you ever come over I'll make one for ya!  I still have the occasional beer or two but for the most part I try to stay away from them after reading this article (http://foodbabe.com/2013/07/17/the-shocking-ingredients-in-beer/).

Now to be fair to my little liquid friend the martini, he's not the full culprit of this story.  It's the decisions I'll make after having one of two of these suckers, usually leading me into some kind of late night crap food fest. It's a sad snowball effect.  Not to mention all of the other side effects alcohol has to your body that we rarely think or know about.


That all being said, one of my goals is to etch off those last few percentages of body fat, and this liquid heaven isn't helping.  I must say I've made some huge strides over the years.  It used to be that I would have 2-3 beers a night justifying my actions by complaining about the stress of my job or life in general.  It was an easy 'out' and it seemed to work, although I know there are much healthier ways to de-stress!

Now I keep my 'partying' to Friday and Saturday nights.  I'm not saying that I don't sway from that every now and then but it's kind of the deal I've made with myself.  So here's the problem, I'm a numbers guy.  If I'm drinking 2 nights of the week that's nearly a third of my week!  What the hell?!? How come the week seems so long and the weekends so short, yet somehow 2 days is almost a third of my week???  It sure doesn't seem like a third of my week is 'weekend time.'

What's also hard is that I love going out with my friends!  If you know me personally or follow me on Facebook you know we do some really fun and unique things almost every weekend!  The problem is many of these events include or have alcohol and I fall into peer pressure far too easily.  Okay okay I'll admit that I'm sometimes even the instigator!

So here's what I've come up with... I've created this card to help me with my goals.  I figure I can keep my schedule of 2 nights a week 2 drinks per night but that's it!  If I want to go crazy one night, I have to sacrifice a full night.  But the best part of this card (at least for me) is I won't want to cross off all the little martini's.  It's now a game and each time I cross one off I'm losing.   Also by having a visualization of what I could be giving up by having my little martini's, I'm hoping that will be enough to keep me away.  I'll let you know who wins!




I challenge you to this, if you're having problems quitting a habit that is keeping you from your goals do the same.  Track it, learn about it, and then come up with a plan to correct it.  You may not always win but progress is progress no matter how small.  In my example I turned my strength of loving challenges against my weakness the martini.  Do the same yourself.              

I don't have all the answers, I just take it day by day.  I look at the progress my own health & fitness has made over the past years and all I can do is be proud.  I know I'm on the right course and maybe by writing about this it will give me the push I need to do even better.  But in the end everyone has to make their own decisions and choices on what they want and what's important to them.

If you're having similar issues what are they?  And how have you found ways to overcome them?

Calories vs. Nutrition: Keeping it simple.