The cold hard facts about changing your life

The Truth

Ok. Look. Here it is. This is the straight, unabashed, no holds, tough love truth. If you can’t handle the straight truth, with no chaser then please quit reading now. If you are tough enough to take it straight, knowing that it’s going to burn going down but that it’s what you probably not only need to hear, but need to really listen to and apply to your life in particular then come on in! The water is fine!!!!

Ok. Still here? OK. Here we go….

I love being a BeachBody coach, for so many reasons. First it helps motivate me. Staying involved with my fitness on a daily level and associating with other motivated people just helps drive me. Especially on those days when I don’t really feel so up to it. Second, I make a little extra money doing it. Nothing spectacular, yet. But a few extra bucks never hurt anyone. Finally, I love helping other people. Always have. Anyone who TRULY knows me, knows that. Thus my coaching history among many other examples.

However, I am also a realist. And that part of it gets to me.

I have to tell anyone that is SERIOUS about weight loss, getting fit, etc that it is a lifestyle change, literally. It can not be, except in rare occasions, a “I’ll do this here and there” or “unless I’m busy then I’ll skip here and there”. And “Oh I’ve been doing good, so I can cheat here or there”.

Most just don’t get it. The first resistive statement I get is “I don’t have time to workout 4-6 days a week”. Or “I just wanna do some workouts but I don’t want to mess with that supplement stuff”. Or “I eat ok. I just need to shed a few pounds”.

Physcial Activity

Here it is, ok? We as Americans have developed such a healthy lifestyle that it’s no wonder people actually believe their own excuses they lay out about their weight and lifestyle.

The reality is that the way we are designed is to do light physical activity all day long. If it weren’t for cars, elevators, etc. We would walk everywhere we went. If it weren’t for grocery stores and mass produced food (which is another article forthcoming…yuck!) then we would constantly be out gathering and/or hunting for food. We would gather fire wood, make our own tools, etc.

Now, we get up, take a shower and get in the car. Then we get out of the car, go sit down. Get up to go eat. Come back from eating. Then go home, do few things here and there and go to bed. NO COMPARISON!!!

We have become so lazy that we think that working out twice a week is work.



What we eat

Then the food, ugh, the FOOD. It’ horrible. Let’s again put this in perspective. IF there were none of this technological, laziness around, what would we eat? What was here before everything else? Before McDonalds? Before frozen meals? Before potato chips? Before Coca-Cola? Before Microwaves and deep fat fryers?

I’ll tell you what it was….raw, yes RAW fruits and vegetables. Meat was a rarity. It isn’t meant to eat everyday. That’s why hunting season is in the winter. Meat was used to sustain life through the winter drought of colorful vegetables. It was a means of keeping people from starving.

Thanksgiving isn’t about the hunt, or pizza, fast food! It was about being thankful for the harvest. The harvest of the grains, fruits and vegetables.

Wanna lose weight? Eat properly. Eat a salad or TWO everyday, without fail. Period. Eat an apple each day (“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”). Eat a banana a day. Throw in some grapes to snack on. Eat raw carrots everyday. Eat some broccoli everyday. You would be amazed the anti-aging, anti-cancer, anti-oxidants they contain. Anyone tells you “oh they have sugar” then run from that person. They know just enough about nutrition to get you to believe something you shouldn’t. The sugar to stay away from is high fructose corn syrup and refined sugars. Natural sugars don’t count.

Oh, and fiber….

I could just go on and on, and I will. But that is another day. Just trust me. You eat like garbage. We all do. It take a conscious effort to eat “weird” and go back to how it should be. But it has to be done to get where you want.


Supplements

Next is supplementation. So many people are spinning their wheels working out and not supplementing correctly. Many think it’s overblown and over-hyped (and much of it is). Many think they are dangerous (and some of it can be). I’m here to kinda set the record straight.

Supplementation is key no matter what you’re goals. However, your goals will determine what supplements you need. You wouldn’t put racing fuel in your car. Racing fuel is for race cars. Your gasoline is for family cars. If you put gasoline in a race car it would no loner be competitive, or worse. Vice versa. The same with your body.

The trick is to use an expert. Find someone that knows what they are talking about. Actually, find several people, read, research, use trial and error and adjust to find what works for you. But please, use something. The food you eat can keep up at best. When you work out, your body will consume large quantities of protein, vitamins and minerals during your work outs. Working out is traumatic on your body and it begins immediately working to repair itself, putting you in a deficit in certain areas. The only area you want to have a deficit in is calories. So, supplementation is key to putting back in the important stuff.

However, keep it simple. Use what you need.



The Whole Package

So basically, achieving weight loss and obtaining your fitness goals is predicated on implementing the whole package. It is the workouts, the dietary habits AND the supplementation. Period. Remember the old adage, “two out of three ain’t bad”? Well, it “ain’t good” either! You want different results, then you have to drastically work to change what you’re doing now and have always done in the past. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing you’ve always done and expecting different results. Just ain’t gonna happen my friend!

Now, it shouldn’t scare you. Because trust me. When you follow this road map you will hate it (and probably me) for the first couple of weeks. But one day you will suddenly realize “Hey!!! I feel pretty good!!”. And you will. You will have more energy than you ever dreamed of. You will require less sleep. You will just feel good.

When we started P90X last year, we opened it up and we freaked out! We thought, “6 days a week??? Are you serious??” Well, they were serious. And now, so are we! The first couple of weeks were agonizing. We were tired, couldn’t keep up, hell, we couldn’t even physically do have of the stuff they were doing without falling over or stumbling! But we got the hang of it. It works. If we miss a workout now, we miss it. We can tell. We actually look forward to them.

So, you got it. The cold hard truth. You can’t stay where you are at to get where you want to go. You have to change it. All of it. And it can be done. And it’s tough. Nothing worth having in life is easy. But it is sooooo worth it. It really is a life changing experience.

Remember:

When it comes down to it, you either do, or you don’t. Period.

Bradley
Independent Emerald BeachBody Coach
BAM Elite Fitness
bradleyhall@comcast.net
bam@bamelitefitness.com
www.bamelitefitness.com
www.facebook.com/unclefraddy

Bradley is a Independent Emerald BeachBody Coach. He is a full-time firefighter, husband and father of 3 beautiful children. Bradley has coached and trained some of the top Indiana boys high school basketball players. After being diagnosed with a rare condition known as a Chiari Malformation and undergoing brain surgery in January of 2009 I committed to speak out to raise awareness about personal health and nutrition to help others live a long and properous life. BeachBody and P90X have completely changed his life.

What a long day

Wow...what a long day.

Two years ago, after years of being disgusted with the fact that I quit college after 3 weeks out of high school, I decided to go back. Not only did I feel that a college education suited me and I had let myself down, I had two teenage boys who were approaching the college age themselves. Since I believe whole heartedly in leading others by example I also felt I had no choice but to pursue my degree. How could I tell them one thing and have done completely the opposite?

In June of 2009 I graduated with a A.S. in Public Safety. One of the proudest moments of my life was knowing my boys were in the stands, watching me walk on graduation day!

However, I've decided to continue on to pursue my Bachelor degree and actually will more than likely continue on to graduate school. But one step at a time.

So today I was scheduled to for two classes when I left the firehouse. I currently work 24 hours and I am off 48 hours.

Last night, at 3 am, the alarm sounds for a "working" residence fire. This means that it is actually a confirmed fire. As we approached, we saw a typical ranch with fire rolling out the three windows on the "A side" (front of the structure). It looked as if the entire interior of the house was in flames!!!

It took awhile before my crew was able to push the flames back to gain entry. Once inside the rest of the fire was quickly under control. However, in any structure fire the main concerns once the fire is out, are spot fires, hidden in the walls and ceiling. This may take several hours. Last night, or this morning rather, was no exception.

So, after 4 hours of firefighting and about 2 hours of sleep, we roll back to the station. I take a quick shower, mix me up a P90X Shakeology for breakfast and like a trooper, head down to IUPUI for an exciting 90 minutes of Finite Mathmatics, followed by 2 hours of Spanish!!!

Trust me, today caffeine, guarana and nitric oxide were definately my friends!

Oh, the nitric oxide? Well that was the boost I needed when I got home and Michele was anxiously waiting for me, in her workout gear, with the P90X Chest, Shoulders, Triceps and Abs DVD in the player!

Ugh! What a defining moment. I'm exhausted from being up all night and physically working, been to class on campus all day and now, I'm faced with either doing my scheduled workout or opting out, using fatigue as an excuse.

Well, it didn't take me long. In January, when I survived my brain surgery and had to work to get back to normal, I vowed to become a warrior. I made a promise to myself and implicity my family to take care of myself, to be strong, healthy and make better choices. We made a concious decision for a lifestyle change and this was one of those moments that ultimately influence others around you.

P90X it was!

Now, after a long day of fire, mathmatical logic, espanol, and P90X (and the recovery drink that tastes like a dreamcicle), I've had an awesome fresh chicken and black bean wrap cooked by my favorite cook, a shower, and a little snuggle time with my angel (Maleah my five year old daughter), all that's left is my big, soft, plush, comfortable bed.

Good night all!

Bradley
www.bamelitefitness.com
bam@bamelitefitness.com
www.facebook.com/unclefraddy
www.twitter.com/bamelitefitness
www.teambeachbody.com/bamelitefitness

My Journey to Recovery

Hey! This is my very first blog! :)

I am Brad. I am a firefighter in Indianapolis, father to three beautfiul children and married to the same beautiful woman for 18 years!

This blog is going to concentrate on my health and recovery. In October of 2008 I was diagnosed with a Chiari Malformation. A birth defect that causes the skull to put too much pressure on the brain. The diagnoses threatened my career and my physical well being.

In January of 2009 I underwent a Post Fossa Craniectomy to relieve the pressure and help alleviate the symptoms. They gained access to my skull from the back, at the base by making a long incision down my neck. They then removed a portion of the back of my skull that was effectively pushing my brain out of skull and down my spinal cord.

Im sure you could imagine how traumatic the surgery was. I was down and in bed for several days. However I worked to push myself to get up and move around as soon as possible.

Though I felt as if I were healing fairly quickly, I was worried it wasn't enough. I was in danger of losing my paychecks. I was running out of covered sick time. It would have been financial disaster for us.

I was originally scheduled to go back to work April 9th. That wasn't going to work. I had to push myself a little harder to get myself not only to a "normal" level, but a back to work level as a firefighter.

One day I was watching TV and ran accross a P90X infomercial. With an extensive athletic background, a strong interest in fitness and a long coaching/training history, I knew enough that it sounded very intriguing. The more I researched, the more impressed I became about it. So, I ordered it.

Long story short, it changed my life. I went back to work on March 6th, and entire month early!!! On April 23rd, I won a fire engine pulling contest at FDIC in Indianapolis!!! All because of P90X.

I am now on my second phase. The first was to bring up to speed. This phase is to take it to the next level. This time we decided to follow everything exactly as laid out. We are following the diet and taking the recommened supplements. Man, it is doing it's job.

Since January, I have lost over 20 lbs. total. Eleven of that has come in just the past three weeks!!!! Simply amazing.

Stay with me as I break some of this down and elaborate. I'll share more about my Chiari, my gains from p90X, my outrageous cholesterol level and everything else.

Until then, my best

Brad

bam@bamelitefitness.com
www.bamelitefitness.com
www.facebook.com/unclefraddy