The final equation

Just the other day I had someone come into my office and tell me that due to the fact that a specific weight loss clinic was cancelling their Wednesday class and moving it to Thursdays, they were not going to be able to make Thursdays exercising anymore. I thought about that and after knocking it around in my head I want to share my response with you all.

My question to her was, “If I understand you proper, do to the fact that _____ has changed their hours of operations because of lack of participation, you feel as though you need to switch your exercise regiment to compensate for the change in their schedule. Do I have that right?” and she stated that I was right? So I asked her the following:

“What was the initial purpose for joining that organization and what purpose does it serve now?” Her answer was as follows:

“They have taught me how to eat and in proper portion sizes and for the past several years I have taken those lessons and applied them to my life. Now they are just more of a support group but I seem to be the only one going lately.”

Then there was silence in the room and she looked at me waiting for my response. It must have been quite for several seconds and then I stated, “Well then, let me ask you a question. What is the purpose of food? What does it do for us?” She answered the question right by stating that food is a fuel that gives us the energy to do what we do. Then I stated, “So can I say that not eating is out of the question?” (Laughter). “We know that if we don’t eat we will die so we need food, however, the missing part of the equation for so many is not as much the food as it is with what we do with the fuel we have consumed. Most do nothing but just consume more. They will eat and then think that if they eat ‘healthier’ (whatever that means) they will ultimately lose weight. Regardless if we eat healthier or not it won’t matter. It is still fuel and the body will just save it if not used. Are you getting my drift?”

She thought about it for a second and then agreed.

Guys, we have the equation wrong on so many levels. The food we eat will not make us thinner or in better shape. However the activity we do daily will. The food we consume will only give use the fire we need to get going. The activity we do will burn the food we have consumed. For my math majors out there if:

X= proper food
Y=proper activity
Z= healthy living

Then X-Y=Z. Look at it this way, for us to have healthy living “Z” has to always equal “0”. If we are trying to lose weight then we need to increase “Y” and decrease “X” so that the final number still equals zero. If we increase “X” then we will need to increase “Y” to counter act the effects of “X”. Are you getting it yet? Once you do, all the eating sensation programs in the world will not matter. My next blog will be on #16 of why we cannot lose weight and it is we don’t eat 3 square meals a day.

#12 You hang around overweight people

Well does this make sense? Who we hang around complement who we are or want to be. If we are looking to lose weight, why would we hang around people who may not have your same goals in mind? If a person wants to become a world class sprinter, do they hang around high school distance runners? If you want to get fit and trim, why hang around people who are out of shape and overweight?
When someone wants to make lifestyle changes, believe it or not, there is one of the elements of change that is hard to break, our old friendships. Unless they have been pushing you to change, as you achieve your goals you may find yourself distancing away from those friends. If this doesn’t happen, even as strong as we think we are, they will wear us down and we will lose our focus. So, if we are trying to lose weight or get in better shape, find some people that have our same similar goals and hang out with them and watch what happens.

Three Special People

September of 2004 something happened in the town of Oconomowoc, Parkers Place opened its doors at 125 North Fowler Street. Here I was in a new city and the people did not know me or what I was about. I needed to find some good people and fast to get my business going. Then one day while I was sitting in my office a gentleman comes in and introduces himself and states to me that his wife was looking and that she had been in fitness for a while. After all the information he gave me about her, was really stoked to meet her. A few days later she came walking in and we must have talked for hours.
I have always considered myself a judge of good character and when I met Joni Boelkow I knew from that moment that she would be the perfect person for Parkers Place. She is friendly and caring. She goes the extra mile and is very loyal to those she cares about. She has a great sense of humor and very hard working. She has had a lot of life experiences that, when I think about, it humbles me because of her attitude towards life. She is a strong Christian woman with great values. Her knowledge in senior fitness is second to none and it shows by her following. To this day she still has the same people as she did 10 years ago. Here is the kicker… she has added more people to her Monday thru Wednesday Senior classes. She is one of a kind and she is very special to me. I could not run my business without her.
Then there is Tony Hilbert. I met tony just as he was entering High School. I remember him coming into Parkers Place and asking me for a job. I told him no at first because he was so young and I was looking for responsible people. But he kept insisting that I hire him. Finally, to get him off my back, I told him that I needed a note from his mother. I remember him leaving and I thought I would never see him again. Well I was wrong. 30 minutes later here he comes walking in with a note that he stated to me was from his mother. I did not believe him at first but then I locked outside and there she was waiting for him in the car. Well ten years later, he is my weekend man. I have all the faith and trust in Tony’s abilities. He is by far the most intelligent man I know and I respect his loyalty and faithfulness to Parkers Place.
Finally there is Mark Skumatz. At the same time that I met Joni, I met Mark. I remember having a conversation with him and his wife about the prospects of him joining me here. He told me that he always wanted to do something like this for a living. I was skeptical at first but I decided to give him a chance. It was the best move I made. Mark is by far the most loyal, most friendly person I know. He exemplifies everything an Eagle Scout is supposed to. He is very honest and hardworking. People love him and he is well respected in the community. He cares for Parkers Place I think even more than I do sometimes. When I am having a bad day he knows just how to motivate me to get out of my slump. When I just want to give up he knows just what to say or do to get me back on the right track. He cares for the members and is willing to do whatever is necessary for their ultimate fitness success.
These three people are my pride and joy. I am glad we met and I am glad that, after 10 years, we all still work together. They truly are Parkers Place. Thanks guys!!!!!!!!

Great News!!!!!!!!!

Great News!!!!! It’s about time!!!!

I was watching my favorite show on television Mad Men (Sterling, Cooper, Draper & Price) and in the latest episode the agency decides to never work with cigarette manufacturers (Lucky Strike American Tobacco). According to their reasoning, it was mainly because of the health risks associated with cigarette smoking and they could no longer feel good about helping tobacco companies make money, while understanding that tobacco smoking caused cancer. Good for them!

Now I know that Mad Men is not the reality of the world as we know it today however my wife tells me today that CVS has decided to STOP selling cigarettes in all of their stores. Their reasoning was that if they are going to be known as a health and wellness place they cannot sell something that is known to be the opposite. Good for them! They also went on to say that the profits associated with the selling of cancer sticks is not worth it. Well I can tell you that I have a lot of respect for them and will go out of my way to spend my money at the local CVS stores.

OK so let’s get some facts out of the way here:
Fact: Cigarette smoking does cause cancer.
Fact: Cigarette smoking ruins your teeth.
Fact: Cigarette smoking ages your skin.
Fact: If everyone who smoked saved those dollars, they would save over $2000 a year and this is for a one pack a day person.
Fact: If someone stops smoking they WILL gain at least 40 pounds in 6 months regardless of who much exercise they do.
Fact: Nicotine has a half life in our bodies and it takes much longer than just 6 months to get rid of in our bodies.

CVS is doing something that I am hoping many more corporations do. They are understanding that they can still make money and do well for the public and they don’t need to sell their soul to do so. My hope and my prayers are that soon enough no corporations will sell cigarettes and tobacco companies will have to go out of business. For years they have killed billions of people and regardless of how much good they say they are trying to do, their main profit come from cancer sticks and they are not willing to give that up.

Good for you CVS!

You don't value your health enough to make it your number one priority

HELLO!!!!! This one is a wakeup call for so many. You think that you really value your health, but a wise man once told me that if you really wanted to see what you valued, look at your bank account. Where you spend your money tells what you value the most. Is it vacations or movies or cars? Is it retirement plans or bigger homes? Is it food or other forms of entertainment? What is it for you?

Our health is the most important thing we have. Without it we have nothing and I mean nothing. In this country we spend more money on medications just to keep us alive. Our health is declining so fast that not even modern science can keep up with it. If we go to the doctor and something is found to be wrong with us, the first thing we ask him is whether or not they have a pill to help us. Even doctors know that if we took better care of our health and exercised regularly we would not have at least 80% of the issues we now have. High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, and even cancer are all at all-time highs. My personal opinion is that all this would go away if we could get one thing under control, obesity. Obesity leads to more issues then we really realize. I have seen so many people lose weight and then go back to their doctors and because of their weight loss they are taken off of the medications they were on. This has happened time and time again too many of the people I have personally trained.

We abuse our health on so many levels. We drink and smoke way too much. We don’t get the proper night sleep. Then we put ourselves on these ridicules diet plans thinking that it will get us back to the way we once were, only to find out that in the end we have gained an extra 10 to 15 pounds minimum. So many of us need to put our lives back into balance and we must first start with taking control of our health. This needs to be first in our lives. Put this first and everything else will fall into place.

Children in sports

Now your little darling is in at least 4 sports. He or She is in a winter sport and a summer sport, 2 spring sports and a fall sport and you wonder why they are so tired. Most of us believe that if we keep our kids busy that they will become well rounded athletes and that they will stay out of trouble. Whereas the latter may be true, the part about becoming a well-rounded athlete is just not true.
I truly believe that sports can and does play an important role in a child’s development. They learn team work, how to work hard, how to put team before self, they learn selfless play, they learn that for a team to succeed they must do their part, they also learn how to interact with all people whether they like them or not. They learn how to focus on the common goal and put emotion aside. I believe that every child should play some sort of a sport or be part of some team.
The problem that I see is that we have our kids in way too many things. In the winter Junior is playing basketball. In the spring Junior is playing soccer or playing baseball or both. In the summer Junior is part of the swim team and volleyball. In the fall Junior is on the cheerleading squad or playing football. What is wrong with this picture? What are we teaching our children? Don’t you know that because they are in so many activities they are more prone to injury and burnout? I believe the only thing we are teaching our children is that busyness is more important than achievement.
Ok so that last statement I made is a loaded one because I have a lot of parents that truly believe that their darling needs to be in all those activities. So let me further explain. Have you heard of the saying, “Jack of all trades master of none”? Well that’s what we would be developing if Junior stayed in all those activities. The average middle school child is in at least three different sports (this is a study done by me 2 years ago. My population group was both 7th and 8th graders from three different middle schools and I asked their parents about Junior’s participation in sports. My population sample totaled 386 families) and by the time they get to high school they are just burnt out. Most of them don’t even think about going out for a sport.
If you really want to see your son or daughters thrive in the area of sports, have them only go out for one or two sports. Why? Because then they can become the very best at what they do. They won’t find themselves overly stretched. They will give their bodies time to develop and keep from lots of injuries. It will allow them to concentrate on other parts of their life such as school work (education) and social development. I know that in my household my kids are only allowed to do two sports and each sport complements each other. I do this because I want their very best efforts on the field of play. They get it and it shows. Try it with your kid and see what happens.

9) You don’t get enough Veggies

9) You don’t get enough Veggies
Vegetables need to be a very important part of our daily diet. Vegetables are our best source of nutrients such as vitamin C. I know this sounds really bad but vegetables give us the roughage we need so that we don’t become constipated.
In the American diet today we have become a very starchy society. We love our potatoes, rice and pasta. We love our red meats and poultry and then on some rare occasion we may just sneak some fish in our diet. Whereas these food groups are not bad for us without our vegetables we are missing something important. Vegetables give our bodies the vitamins and nutrients that we just can’t get from eating our starches and meats. But most important, without them, well… can you say “constipation?” That’s right, if we ate more vegetables we would not need over the counter medications when we get constipated.
Vegetables need to be a main part of our daily consumption of food. We should be eating more vegetable and less starch. I truly believe that if we did that, we would see a huge difference even in our waist sizes. We eat too many simple carbs and not enough fiber and vegetables are very fibrous. I tell all my clients that at night we need to eat less carbs and more vegetables. My reasoning for that is because our body knows what to do with the veggies but with the starches, all our bodies will do is store them for later use.
Do you want more energy? Do you want to lose weight? Are you constipated sometimes? Do you feel run down or your stomach just doesn’t feel right? Eat those veggies and watch what happens.