Tag Archives: results

Fitness, health, healthy living, martial arts, Spirit, Uncategorized

The difference between success and quitting is GRIT

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Let’s face it, starting anything is easy.  A new workout plan,  a new meal plan, a new book.  We all want the *NEW* thing.  Think about it, anything new has a sense of excitement around it.  There is a sense of adventure and optimism.

A *NEW* iPhone

A *NEW* car

A *NEW*  job

A *NEW*  vacation

The possibilities of a *NEW*  workout plan

Just imagine the possibilities!!! 

This excitement around *NEW* is why:

  • 95% of diets fail over a period of 1-5 years
  • Over 50% of marriages end in divorce
  • Only 6% of Boy Scouts ever reach the rank of Eagle
  • Less than 1% of all those who start a martial art achieve the rank of Black Belt (my own observation on this stat in full disclosure)

The point I am trying to make is that with any endeavor worth doing, at some point the “new smell” is going to wear off and it is going to look a lot like (please forgive me for saying it)……..WORK!!  Nothing can stay *NEW* forever.  Every *NEW* car gets its first scratch.  Every *NEW* career becomes a job.  Every *NEW*  workout hits a plateau.

So if everything new becomes old (and all of it becomes new again), why is it that some are able to achieve great things in these endeavors while the vast majority allow themselves to fall by the wayside?  And more importantly, what can we all do to ensure we are a part of the minority vs. the majority?

The minority decide early they are not quitting:

I cannot over emphasize how important this differentiator is.  If you go into an endeavor with the attitude of “let’s see what happens”, you are giving yourself the out.  There are certainly times that would be appropriate but if you are serious about achieving anything, decide early that you will succeed and never think about it again.

The minority learn to embrace the grind:

This is a term that I stole from Martial Arts and Wrestling training.  Training for these endeavors can be physically and mentally brutal.  I also call it “suck training”.  Suck training is different for every endeavor but learn to make this your favorite training.  You progress more in those times than any other.

The minority identifies the little things but focus on the one big thing:

In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins introduces us to the concept of a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal).  A goal so big that it inspires your endure all the little things.  Envision the end goal when you are doing the smaller, seemingly tedious, tasks that need to be completed to get you there.

The minority celebrate the small victories along the way:

If I had waited to celebrate anything along my martial arts journey till I received my black belt, I would have been waiting for nearly a decade.  There were plenty of smaller celebrations, belt colors, tournaments, techniques achieved.  Set small goals that lead to the larger BHAG and celebrate those (just not a Big Mac and ice cream for hitting a weight loss goal)

So there you have it.  My plan for becoming a part of the minority and developing a steadfast resolve.  So what are you trying to accomplish?  What is your BHAG?

I’ll start…..I want to end the trend of obesity in the US.  How is that for a BHAG?

Diet, Family, Fitness, My Favorite Things, Product Reviews, RoadWarrior

Lessons from The 21 Day Fix Extreme

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Fitness has become a big part of my family.  I have a passion for keeping people from letting a life lived on the road kill them slowly.  My wife has a passion for helping people live their best, healthiest life possible regardless of travel requirements (you can read her story here).  After surviving breast cancer, she dedicated herself to getting healthy and feeling like herself again.  One of the great joys I have is being able to work out with my wife and this past month we went on a fitness journey together by completing the 21 Day Fit Extreme program.

For those of you not familiar, 21 Day Fit Extreme is a short term, highly focused plan around fitness and diet – particularly portion control…..and it works.  Here is your chance to get a free preview of the lessons I took away from the program

It is more fun when you are doing it with others

I cannot stress how important accountability is in fitness.  Even when we were both traveling, my wife and I were checking in with each other to see how our diet was holding up.  Did you get your workout in today?  Is your attitude staying positive even when it gets difficult?  Are you eating enough?  Have you had all of your water today?  Having someone on the journey with you makes it all the more tolerable.  Get yourself a partner, or an accountability group, or an online community….heck – comment to me below and I am in with you.

Discipline = Results

I have been roughly the same weight and size for the last year or so.  Now I do watch my diet and work out regularly but I will not be on the cover of Men’s Health any time soon.  However, in the 21 days I was on the program, I lost 11 lbs and 4 inches off of my overall body.  I completely attribute this to the discipline around the diet.    Focused nutrition, attention to portion control and timing of meals made all of the difference.  It is one thing to watch what you eat, it is completely different to have real discipline around your diet.  Tie that to daily workouts and I literally watched the pounds and inches fall off.

21DFX

Specific eating plans are hard to follow on the road

I am not going to lie about this one, sticking to an eating plan that is very specific on your Protein/Vegetables/Carb ratios and portions is really difficult – especially when you are not doing the prep/cooking yourself.  So give yourself some slack but stick to the principles of the plan.  I was front loading my carbs for the day in the mornings and focusing on protein recovery in the afternoons and early evenings.  I made sure my portion control was in line (you have complete control over that no matter where you are at) and I also did not lose my mind if I wasn’t able to have a healthy fat on any given day.

‘Extreme’ is just a word

When I was first informed I was going to be participating in this adventure (yes, I was informed by my lovely wife that ‘we’ were doing this), I was not overly thrilled with us going to the ‘Extreme’ version.  I am not trying to downplay the results this program can deliver but it is not exactly like you will end up on a 600 calorie a day diet plan.  The diet is more than manageable and the exercises are challenging but modifiable for all fitness levels.  My point here is don’t be scared or put off by marketing efforts.

Don’t let results become ‘short term’ results

When we were done with the 21 days, I did what most Americans would do – I immediately had a BBQ with my kids and ate all of the items I shouldn’t.  An eleven pound weight loss quickly became an eight pound weight loss (see the before/after pic below).  Make sure that the principles that you put in place – stay in place.  Focus on the big picture disciplines – portion control, nutrient balance and timing of meals.  Keep the discipline around your diet and keep the results.

before - after 21dfx

So there you have it, my 5 takeaways from 21Day Fit Extreme.  Thanks goes to Autumn Calabrese for putting together a great program and for my wife for putting up with me through the 3 weeks.   Let me know about your results!!

See you on the road.