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.

I was watching the movie The Flight of the Phoenix (2004) the other day and one of the characters said something I'll never forget. He said, "Religion divides people. Belief in something (referring to spirituality) unites them."

Now this isn't a blog about religion or spirituality but that statement got me thinking to how often 'labels' divide us. Think about politics, sexual preferences, food choices, job titles, diseases and the list goes on. We meet someone and right away we begin forming opinions based on these labels. Why do we put ourselves in these little "boxes" as my friend Derek would say?

It's these boxes that end up dividing people. Isn't it more important to unite people?

The 4th of July weekend is upon us and for many of us our healthy habits go south. It really doesn't matter if it's the 4th of July, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas.  We tend to give into social pressure and indulge.  Think about it that's all it is... SOCIAL PRESSURE. Imagine spending all those holidays completely by yourself, would you still eat as bad?!? Probably not... but I'll leave that for another blog.

Okay so Jimmie's Top 5 Tips for maintaining healthy habits during a holiday weekend...

1. Eat before you go
Don't show up to these event starving looking to dig in. Get a healthy meal in before you go and you'll be much less tempted to dive into gobs and gobs of empty calories.

So you're looking for more info on this 3 Day Refresh by Beachbody. What better place to come then from someone who's actually done it! I tell you it came out at a great time because my closest friends and I had just spent a week in Las Vegas, I needed a good cleanse.

I'm going to assume you've done a bit of research already and been to Beachbody's website (LINK) so I don't want to waste your time with all that. I just want to give you my thoughts, meals and results. If you haven't check out this quick video explaining the program.

Is there a habit you want to change? Of course there is. Let's be serious we all have habits some big, and small that we want to change but for whatever reason we just can't. I'd like to offer up a possible solution that recently worked for me.

Have you ever tried your hand at online dating?

For me it's turned up a big fat zero but I know friends who have built successful relationships so I remain hopeful. I'll go through phases of trying it, quitting and trying again but maybe I'm missing something that others seem to know. But this isn't about me. THIS IS FOR THE LADIES OUT THERE.

I've thumbed through my share of photo's online and with aps out there like Tinder, going through people is becoming faster then ever so if you really want to catch a guys attention you need to rethink your photo gallery selection.

That being said I'd like to share with you some major NO NO's I see all the time.  I want to share this because maybe you're an awesome women truly looking for the right guy but you're making some simple mistakes.  

Here We Go...

I've read about this before and kept it in the back of my mind as something I would do when I remembered. Time passed and I forgot until a friend of mine posted that she tried this same thing with good results.  Well I had 5 minutes to spare so I figured why not try it?!?

Day01 Results - Monday







Day02 Results - Tuesday

So what's the secret??? Here it is... using Activated Charcoal to whiten your teeth.

 

Trust me I am no cook... I don't mind cooking and on many occasions even enjoy it but I only enjoy it when I'm cooking for someone else.  If it's just me, I've often been known to skip the meal instead of taking 10 minutes out to create something.  That being said, for the times that I do get off my lazy boo-tay this is typically what I create.  

It's nothing special but it's cheap, quick, healthy and I always feel great after the meal.  I can save a lot of time by chopping up my food all while the stove and oil is being heated up.  

To Do:
- Turn stove on and begin to heat pans and oil
- Take out veggies, meat, etc and begin chopping (Smaller pieces cook faster and also save time later dealing with a fork and knife).
- If steaming add foods to steamer.
- Add rest of food to pan and cook.

- Don't forget to add spices for flavor.

Fun Tip: Steaming, or so I've heard, takes out some of the nutrients during the process and leaves them in the water below.  I have no idea if there's any scientific proof to this or if it's even enough to matter but to combat this effect I simply use that water to make green tea!  The water is already hot so all I have to do is pour it into a glass and add the tea bag, viola!

That's it.  I always keep some kinda of veggies and meat around for a meal or even a quick snack.

Happy cooking!

If you're here I want to say congratulations because you already know 95% of the information you need to know in order to get a 6 pack.  Why do I say that? Because as much as we all don't want to hear it, a 6 pack is not a " I don't know how to get it "thing, it is a " I'm not willing to do what it takes " thing; AND for some it may also be a " It's going to take some time " thing.

Let's clear the air here.  I'm not here to sell you any fat burning crap pills, newly discovered exercise equipment, cheap DVD's or systems that don't work.  BUT Jimmie you're an Independent Beachbody coach don't you promote DVD's and nutrition systems? YES I DO. But these things aren't required to get 6 pack abs or the results you want. They're merely tools to help make life a little easier and FOR ME that's exactly WHAT I NEEDED.

So this is my gift to you, 3 simple rules I've learned over the past 2 years from experience and programs that have helped me get AND maintain my 6 pack.


1.  Count backwards
"Getting Abs" in my opinion is a bad statement, more correctly we should be saying "Seeing Abs." You already have abs but they're covered in belly fat. If you want to see them you need to remove body fat. Counting calories, tracking macros, fasting and dieting are all methods to get there but I've found they're all a pain in the ass and it's a hard method to sustain unless you're in some form of body building.

For me I count FATS, SUGARS and SODIUM. The idea here is to play these three categories like a game of golf, the lower your score the better.

Ohhh and another huge 6 pack killer is ALCOHOL. Have you been on my Facebook page, do you know me? You could make the argument that I drink and it doesn't seem to effect me. Well... I got the results first. It's easier to maintain a 6 pack rather then get one but believe me the first thing I cut out when I really want my abs to pop is alcohol.



2.  Sticking to what makes the biggest change
This is where I see people making the biggest mistakes. The truth is that some activities have a greater impact on a 6 pack then others. So isn't it reasonable to attack those activities with full force first? You wouldn't play $5 blackjack if you wanted to become a millionaire, you'd go to the high stakes tables.

NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) says.. "70% of your daily caloric burn comes from your RMR or Resting Metabolic Rate... and 20% comes from your workouts."

What does this mean? Well it means you need to keep working out but you can make much larger strides towards your goals if you can amp up what your RMR is burning. Body size, body composition and food intake are some of the factors of RMR that are changeable. This also why it seems that skinny people stay skinny and fat people stay fat.    

So, if you want to see your abs, build the muscle required to change your RMR. Muscle is your best friend and fats worst enemy, so build it. Get done the work that needs to be done first, then work on the finer details.


3.  Fast or Sloww AND everything is not always in moderation
Would you like results fast or sloww? The majority of people will say "I want fast results" but are you really willing to do what's necessary to get them? Most people aren't so they chose the sloww route but there's one thing you need to understand, slow is sloww.  It could be the difference between 3 weeks (like me) or 6 months.

In my opinion this is not an everything in moderation situation.  Getting results is much easier being consistent with good habits rather then trying to space out 'cheat meals' throughout the week. Do the required work for longer periods of time, get the results and then you can go back to 'everything in moderation.'

Find a partner, find a trainer, get motivated and do what's necessary to get the results you want. Sure that month or two may be hell but once you're there it'll be much easier to maintain and keep!


Conclusion
In my opinion you don't need fancy meal plans or insane workout plans but you do need to work hard. Lift weights and eat single ingredient clean foods (if you have to ask if they're clean or not they're NOT) and you will be on your way.

AND if you're like me and need more help and a system to follow, then find the time and money to spend on one that will get you there. The results you get will more then pay themselves off.