Body, Mind, and Spirit

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Fat Loss Stalls and Plateaus

stall or plateau refers to an extended period of time during fat reducing efforts where there is no weight loss according to the scale and no loss of inches according to the tape measure. If you've been following your routine to the letter of the law, and it seems that the bathroom scale has become permanently stuck, take your measurements. Also notice if your clothes are getting looser, or if you can now fit into formerly tight garments. Chances are, you are continuing to lose fat, but your body is adding lean muscle tissue, especially if you’ve been strength training as well. Muscle is less bulky than fat for the same amount of weight, so your body will be smaller and leaner. If this is the case, you haven't stalled at all; your body is just recomposing itself.

This is why it's so important to record our body measurements at the very beginning, so we'll have a reference as we make progress. Don't just measure chest, waist, and hip. Other key areas to measure are neck, upper arm, thigh, and calf. It's normal for the body to go through adjustment periods while we're losing fat. A plateau lasting 3 or 4 weeks is no cause for alarm, nor is it a reason to quit. Simply check your measurements as noted above, and stick with the program. Remember, this is about making permanent, lifelong changes; a few weeks is just a brief period in the rest of our life.

One other thing to consider–are you within 5-10 lbs of your goal weight? Following a healthy eating routine and exercising may have given you an increased muscle-to-fat ratio than you had previously. As noted earlier, muscle tissue weighs more than fat, but takes up less bulk. Maybe it's time to just rethink your goal weight and be happy with the progress you’ve made. Congratulations! Now you can focus your energies on maintaining your proper weight, instead of struggling to drop a few more pounds.

Possible Causes:

Okay, four weeks have gone by and still nada. No additional fat loss or inches? Now, this sounds like a stall and here are a few things to consider. Perhaps one or more of these factors may be the cause.

Ø Carbohydrate Level is Too High - The number of carbs we consume each day to continue to lose fat varies from person to person. Some lucky individuals may be successful at 50 or more grams per day. Others are metabolically resistant, and must keep the carbs near induction level for most of the ongoing weight loss period.

Ø Hidden Carbs - Carbohydrates can sneak into our food without us really noticing. They’re like Starbucks–everywhere! A gram here and there pretty soon adds up to an extra 10 or more grams a day that we may not realize we're eating. Herbs, spices, garlic, lemon juice, bottled salad dressing–these foods are not carb-free. Processed lunch and deli meats, bacon, ham, and sausages often have added starch, sugar, dextrose, etc. Make sure you are accurately measuring the "known" carbs and keep an accurate food diary. Maybe you will spot a trend.

Ø Undereating – It may be difficult to mentally grasp the idea of a new lifestyle that instructs you to eat 5-6 times a day when all of your other diets were so restricting and left you feeling hungry. Please avoid the temptation to eat less, thinking that this will boost your efforts and speed up the process. In fact, undereating is one of the surest ways to stall your efforts and bring your fat loss to a grinding halt. When you go for more than 4 or 5 hours without eating, your body interprets this as a fast, and will adapt very quickly by slowing down your metabolism and conserving stored energy, i.e. our fat. This is exactly what we don’t want. The more often you eat, the more your body will assume that nutrition is on the way so it doesn’t try to store glucose as fat. Also, make sure you are eating adequate amounts of protein. In general, an average sedentary person requires a minimum of 60 grams per day. If you are large, engage in strenuous exercise; your daily protein requirement is even higher. Ideally, your protein should be distributed throughout the day each time you eat. Protein is required by the body to provide the building blocks of all your muscles, organs, hormones, enzymes, etc. If you do not consume protein in your daily diet, the body will use the only available source–your muscle tissue–to get what it needs. Less muscle tissue further contributes to a slowed metabolism, and reduced fat-burning. So, eat up!

Ø Overeating - In general, it's not necessary to restrict or even count calories while following a truly healthy program. It simply becomes a way of life. You should eat 5-6 times each day and remember to incorporate snacks before lunch and a couple hours after dinner if necessary. Studies have shown that eating smaller, but more frequent meals leads to more fat loss success than eating the same amount in 2 or 3 larger meals per day. Eat slowly, and chew your food thoroughly. Listen to your body, and learn to recognize when it says "enough." Overeating can sometimes be a consequence of meal-skipping as well. You are just so hungry when you finally get around to eating, or may feel you need to make up for the fact that you haven't eaten all day. It can really work against your fat loss efforts if you fast all day, forcing your body into slowed-metabolism "starvation" mode, then eat and eat all evening. This nighttime eating will trigger the release of insulin, which will cause your body to make and store fat while you sleep. This is not what we are trying to achieve.

Ø Lack of Exercise - If you have not been exercising regularly, this may be the PRIMARY reason for your stall. Exercise boosts your metabolism and burns fat. Exercise, especially strength training, builds muscles, and since muscles are more metabolically active, it will increase fat burning as well. If you have been exercising, and have hit a plateau, perhaps your body is signaling it’s time to change your routine. Increase the duration and/or intensity. If you've been jogging or cycling only, try adding some free weights to your workout, and vice-versa. If you've only been weight training, you should add some aerobic activity as well. Also consider adding HIIT into regular workouts. HIIT is basically cardio exercise performed at such an intense level that your body will spend the rest of the day expending energy to recover from the pounding you gave it. (See Day 6 of my book Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening for more info about HIIT)

Ø Not Drinking Enough Water - Fat is mobilized through a process called hydrolysis. As the word suggests, hydrolysis requires plenty of water. Insufficient amounts of water in your body will hinder the effective breakdown of fat. If you're exercising, or if your environment is warm and/or dry, you need to drink more water. If you are in active ketosis, you need to drink more water to flush the ketones out of your system. How much is enough? A bare minimum recommendation is 64 fluid oz (that's 8 - 8 oz glasses) of water a day. Some experts suggest that we should divide our current weight in pounds by 2, and this number is how many ounces we should drink each day. There is no disagreement on the need to drink sufficient amounts of fluids every day, but there are some arguments that it's not necessary to drink only plain water. If you choose to not drink large volumes of water, you should ensure that you are consuming adequate fluid in the form of calorie and carb-free liquids. Some diet sodas contain citric acid as a flavoring and this has been known to stall fat loss for some folks. That could be your issue as well. It's best to strive to simply drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day and make it a point to not drink your calories. The 150 calories in each can of soda truly add up–on your midsection.

Ø Medications - There are a number of medications that can and will hinder your fat loss. Most notable are diuretics (fluid pills), both prescription and over-the-counter types. These will initially seem to make you lose more weight, as you lose excess body fluid. But when you are in active ketosis the lack of fluid will inhibit fat-burning. Many antidepressants cause fat gain as well. Steroids and hormones, such as cortisone, birth control pills and estrogens will cause weight gain, as well as some seizure medications. Unfortunately, medications that are intended to lower your cholesterol will inhibit the liver from converting fat to glycogen, thus decreasing fat burning. Insulin and many oral diabetic medications will decrease fat burning and increase fat storage.

****WARNING**** DO NOT STOP OR DECREASE YOUR MEDICATIONS WITHOUT A DOCTOR'S SUPERVISION AND FOLLOW-UP!!!****

Ø Food Allergies & Intolerances - A significant percentage of people report that over-consumption of cheese and dairy products will put them in a stall quicker than anything else. There is some suggestion it may be an intolerance or allergy to the casein protein in cow's milk dairy products. If you have been eating a lot of dairy foods lately, try cutting way back, or even eliminating altogether for a week or two, and see if this breaks the plateau. Food allergies and intolerances are difficult to pin down, but are known to trigger fat gain, fluid retention, sinus congestion, skin rashes, and digestive upsets, diarrhea etc. The most common food allergens are wheat and wheat gluten, cow's milk dairy products, corn, soy, and chicken egg whites. Again, try eliminating any or all of these from your diet for a few weeks. Then, add each food back gradually, and see if symptoms return and your weight stalls again. You may have to avoid the offending food permanently, although many people find that after a few months they may cautiously eat a small amount of the food once in a while without adverse effect.

About the Author: James Hackley earned a B.S. degree in Physics from Longwood College and an M.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Virginia. He faithfully attends Holy & Whole Life Changing Ministries International in Lansdowne, Va., and his latest book, Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening can be purchased by visiting him at www.jameshackley.com , www.Amazon.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

Your Journey Begins

Your journey actually began when God first thought of creating you. Yes, God thinks. Therefore, He put events in motion that not only allowed your parents to meet; but God also orchestrated all the generations on each side of your family tree just so you would have the genetic code that allows you to be the extraordinarily unique individual that you are. Your very existence can never be considered an accident, for although our world is unfortunately filled with many illegitimate parents, God has yet to create a single illegitimate child.

Upon birth, you had to rely on your parents, or parental figure(s), to care for, nurture, and help shape your future. However, around 17- to 18-yrs-old, you began to make your own decisions that have largely influenced and led to where you are today.

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When you examine “the dot” and “the line” above please know the dot represents your time on earth, which for most of us will be 70-80 yrs, God willing. The line represents eternity. This blog will help you rethink the dot of your earthly existence in preparation for eternity. Once you truly begin to understand how everything you do today matters forever, you will begin to make different choices–better choices. For in the grand scheme of things our existence, “the dot,” amounts to a simple blink of an eye when compared to eternity. Unfortunately, many of the decisions we make are motivated by the pleasures sought during our temporal earthly stint at the cost of the eternal rewards received by simply obeying the Word of God. This may be man’s greatest forfeiture.

When our less-than-healthy way of living leads to unhappiness and poor health, we find it extremely easy to look beyond our own culpability and assign blame. Why? Because it’s easier to cast blame than to fix the issue; it’s easier to criticize those who are already successful instead of improving ourselves. So instead of rolling up our sleeves and solving our own problems the right way, we are inclined to limit our activity to blaming, criticizing, and very little else. Therefore, our problems remain our problems.

So when it comes to your own body, mind, and spirit, assume control and accept full responsibility. It’s the only way that you’ll ever be able to not only look at yourself in the mirror with pride, but see the reflection of that same pride in the eyes of those who love you.

The one thing I've discovered over the past few months is that once the mind has been expanded there's no going back. Therefore, I truly thank God for trimming my body, expanding my mind, and speaking to my spirit...With that said, it is my sincere prayer that you unearth some valuable pearls of wisdom that will help on your journey to improve total wellness. Although I am a Christian who fully believes in the Trinity as well as the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; this blog is intended for any faith and even those who may see themselves as faithless. The one thing I’ve learned is that God doesn’t make mistakes, and if you are reading these words it was meant for you to do so for a glorious reason.

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A Child's Prayer

If you've ever attempted to ask a 6-yr-old what they either did at school or camp today the answer is usually pretty short and vague at best--"We played." However, the past few nights I've encouraged my daughter Landon to break from her typical "Now I lay me down to sleep..." and opt for a "big girl prayer" where she could just talk to God about what's been on her little heart. While listening to these conversations, I really got the opportunity to see and hear what's been rattling around in her little head. Tonight as she kneeled down to pray, she began a 5-minute long devotional asking God traveling mercies for Angela's safe return trip home from Cali. Wooow!

Parents, godparents, aunts, aunties, and uncles, I encourage you all to take a few minutes and listen to what our little ones are saying to God. In fact, it's really not a bad idea if we simply join them in sending up a knee-mail thanking Him for all that He's done and all that He'll do when we rise.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

May Peace During Ramadan Be Upon You

n Islam, the month of Ramadan is a great month (9^th month of the Islamic calendar) for over one billion Muslims throughout the world. It is a time for inner-reflection, devotion to God, and self-control. Muslims think of it as a kind of tune-up for their spiritual lives. It is also the month in which Muslims believe Allah revealed the Qur’an as guidance for the whole of mankind. The gates of Heaven are opened, the gates of Hell are shut and the devils are tied up. Finally, the reward for good deeds, acts of charity and acts of worship are multiplied in this month. Fasting during the month of Ramadan is obligatory upon every adult, sane, settled (i.e., not travelling) Muslim who is able to fast and has no medical or physical conditions preventing him or her from doing so. Muslims are required to abstain from several things each day just before the beginning of dawn until sunset. These things are as follow:

Ø Food and Drink

Ø Sexual intercourse

Ø Masturbation (most Muslim scholars believe this is forbidden even when not fasting)

Ø Deliberately causing themselves to vomit

Ø Foul language, negative actions or thoughts

Ø If any of these things listed above are done deliberately, a Muslim’s fast will be broken.

   Even as a Christian, I truly respect the month of Ramadan because it forces all practitioners to forego some of life’s most fundamental things that may ultimately inflict the most stress in our lives. Which of these things would you be able to forego for an entire month?

   As I write these very words I’m also watching my Muslim sisters and brothers (shout-out to Tariq and Brak!) observe the Holy month of Ramadan. I can’t help but think that the other Abrahamic religions are missing out on an incredible opportunity to recharge their spiritual batteries thru prayer, fasting and self-denial. If not now, when? I believe that the world is simply addicted to “material realism” and because of this addiction we refuse to deny ourselves of anything—especially those very things that often lead to our suffering.

   Luke 14:25-33 ~ “If anyone comes to me without ‘hating’ his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be a disciple of mine. The man who will not take up his cross and follow in my footsteps cannot be my disciple. If any of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t he first sit down and work out the cost of it, to see if he can afford to finish it? Otherwise, when he has laid the foundation and found himself unable to complete the building, everyone who sees it will begin to jeer at him, saying, “this is the man who started to build a tower but couldn’t finish it!” So it is with you; only the man who says good bye to his possessions can be my disciple.”

   You may argue that the Christian equivalent to Ramadan is Lent, but to this I must respectfully disagree. True, once upon a time Christians would actually give up all food during this period of preparation for Easter (much like Ramadan) but now most folks will only volunteer to give up chocolate, dairy or something else they can do without over the 40 day period. But not all food! Just imagine the brotherhood and global significance if all the Abrahamic religions fasted for one month at the same time? Wow!

   It’s no secret that food is essential to our survival, but over the years we’ve begun to use it as a form of comfort, medication and even as a replacement to fill a spiritual void. Since the growth of agriculture more than 10,000 years ago, man has always had an abundance of food that led to our deteriorating health and fitness level. Prior to planting crops and raising livestock, our forefathers were hunters & gatherers that had to daily set out and find food or risk starvation. Maintaining body fat was simply a natural method of avoiding starvation during winter months and other periods where food was scarce to find. With the advent of agriculture, we are now flush with food, and as a result it slowly became an addiction that even today keeps many of us in bondage. Fasting is an excellent method of freeing ourselves from this detrimental over-dependency.

Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening

Most of us are OK with our lives being out-of-order as long as we have no desire to put it in order. In fact, we often get our Al Bundy on by fooling ourselves into thinking that we are still the person we used to be until reality hits us with a Riddick Bowe upper-cut (Shout-out to my D.C. Homie!) and reminds us that our delusion is no longer true. When confronted with this uncomfortable realization, we may initially deny or dismiss the truth or simply hope the reality disappears on its own. When it doesn’t, we start with small and relatively easy steps to change the situation, because suddenly the discomfort of the truth becomes more unbearable than the comfort of denial. Finally, if those small steps prove to not be enough, we recite a few verses from the Apostle Popeye who so famously stated, “That's all I can stands because I can't stands n'more!” Suddenly, emotions kick into gear and give us the courage to take other steps that may be a bit more difficult, but are more likely to solve the problem once and for all.

In the poem “Little Gidding,” T.S. Eliot writes, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time.” In other words, our life is a journey that doesn’t require us to go anywhere. It’s a journey without distance because we travel it within. Make no mistake–we are all on a journey, but some of our paths are simply leading us in one continuous circle. When we find ourselves overweight, absent from God and doing the same things we were doing more than 20 years ago; this is a perfect indication that our evolution has ceased and we’re not living the lives we were intended to lead.

After more than two decades in sales & marketing, I knew the key to getting folks interested in improving their total lives was to advertise the changes they would first see in their body. Let’s be clear–we live in a society where physical attractiveness trumps mental and spiritual maturity, and the majority of us are more interested in learning how we can lose 50+ lbs in less than four months, rather than strengthening our minds and growing closer to God. Just think about how many infomercials you’ve seen and radio spots you’ve heard in the past few days to get your body ripped. Now compare those to the advertisements you’ve either seen or heard focused on quieting your mind or improving your relationship with God, outside of viewing a Christian television network or listening to a Christian radio broadcast. The answer… crickets chirping.

When I tell folks I’ve lost more than 50 lbs in just four months, the first question is “What’s your secret?” When my response is God, many unknowingly change their facial expressions instantly as if to infer (Imply is what the speaker does, and infer is what the hearer does. I learned this distinction watching an episode of Law & Order), “That surely can’t be the answer.” Unfortunately, we’ve been programmed to believe that the primary reason people lose fat rapidly is the d-word. The next most popular method assumed is weight loss surgery (WLS). Third, “He must be on ‘dat stuff!” In my case, the only stuff I was on descended from Heaven like manna and my life and those around me has not been the same.

It was Saturday morning on February 26^th, 2011 and my wonderful wife Angela had to meet her dad very early over in Southeast D.C. (District of Columbia). Every Saturday morning during the prior few weeks I would wake up and go running, but if I wanted to get my 4-miles in on this particular a.m., I would have to rise & shine and hit the pavement before the sun had even yawned. I had logged many miles on this same route consistently over the past few weeks, but on this particular morning things would never be the same. About a mile into the run, I entered into a transcendental zone where I would travel hundreds of yards and not know how I had gotten there. The single transcending thought that had dominated my mind during each pounding stride was simply:

"You have to write a book titled, ‘Body, Mind & Spirit.’"

Usually after running four miles I would be winded and my muscles would be stiff, but one of the most incredible things about this unforgettable run was that I was not winded at all after my last stride! In fact, I felt as refreshed, as if had just gotten out of bed after a very restful sleep. Looking back on this life-changing run from a heightened spiritual perspective, I had received an anointing.

Upon entering the house, the first thing I told Angela was, "Baby, I think I'm going to write a book." Perhaps she may have thought I had slipped and hit my head, but her response was rather encouraging and she even brought a book home from the grocery store later that day that provided some valuable insight into my task at hand. My help mate took the very first step in the incredible journey that my wonderful family would later take as one.

Unfortunately, like most good ideas, doubt and negativity began to enter my mind as the day went on, but for every reason I may have thought of why I shouldn't invest the time, energy and money into writing and publishing this guide, 20 reasons emerged why I should. I've long believed in the power of speaking things into existence, so I immediately posted my public proclamation in the Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening Facebook group (please look for us and ask to join) and vowed to donate one-half of all revenue (not profit but revenue!) generated from the sale of the book to my new church home of Holy & Whole Life Changing Ministries International located in Lansdowne, Va. I kind of felt like Moses who, despite his speech impediment, God allowed to do great things. God sent Aaron to Moses and I truly believe He sent me the wonderful folks in my Facebook group to offer assistance, encouragement and various perspectives.

So what is this guy talking about?

You see, since January 3^rd, 2011 and that life-changing run on February 26^th, 2011, I had already lost 30 lbs of fat. At the time I sat down to write Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening on April 1^st, 2011, I had lost a total of 43 lbs. That’s 43 lbs in three months! People simply couldn’t believe that I had lost such a significant amount of fat in just a few short weeks and I’m sure most were convinced that I would inevitably gain the majority of it back–and then some. What most people didn’t realize is that I had totally undergone a change of mind. I had an amazing epiphany of how the body, mind & spirit were all connected and that we would never truly accomplish any lasting fat loss objectives if we didn’t:

1. Put God first and accept the fact that fat loss needs to be for the Glory of God and not the vanity of man if we expect it to be lasting.

2. Realize diets should be considered the d-word because the only lasting results they yield are the eternal feelings of failure.

3. Learn new ways to focus and strengthen the mind, as well as the body to resist the inevitable urges to return to bad eating habits and an unhealthy way of life.

4. Accept the fact that improving body, mind & spirit is not a destination but a lifelong journey that will continue until God calls us Home.

To date, I’m proud to say that I’m now more than 50 lbs lighter, I have found a new church home for my entire family, and have found ways to quiet and center my mind in the midst of the daily chaos that attacks us all. In addition to the personal success, my life has been a source of inspiration for a number of family members and friends. Even more, God has allowed me to chronicle much of the information I’ve read, lived, and observed into Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening that will hopefully inspire others to either continue or begin a journey towards total wellness in their life and the lives of those around them.

Each of us has a unique story that has been steeping in our soul for far too long. When we get the opportunity to pour that story into another’s vessel, we should find solace in that single act of kindness. Therefore, when you get a chance to share your story with others, please don’t hesitate. You could be the answer to someone else’s problem. For each of our stories is a simple pebble tossed into the ocean of humanity, and we can only dream that a tsunami of change will emerge in the lives of our unknown brethren on a distant shore.

About the Author: James Hackley is an author, inspirational speaker, and a philanthropist who earned a B.S. degree in Physics from Longwood College and an M.S. degree in Engineering from the University of Virginia. He's the founder of Omega Consulting Enterprises, chaplain of a local chapter of Omega Psi Phi fraternity, and faithfully attends Holy & Whole Life Changing Ministries International in Lansdowne, Va. His latest book, Body, Mind & Spirit: The Awakening can be purchased by visiting him at www.jameshackley.com , www.Amazon.com, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com.

The God Particle

The God Particle

“By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.” ~ Hebrews 11:3

Several weeks ago while the Nation was celebrating its Independence Day on July 4^th, the rest of the world was celebrating the likely discovery of a highly theoretical Higgs boson subatomic particle aka, the “God Particle.” The God Particle nickname actually arose from a book The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? published by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Leon Lederman back in 1993. Since then, this term has taken on a life of its own because of the monumental questions about matter that the God Particle may be able to answer. Being an avowed atheist, the man who first proposed the Higgs boson’s existence, Peter Higgs, is still around to witness the discovery and obviously isn’t all that amused by the nickname.

So what does all this mean? In layman’s terms, different subatomic particles are responsible for giving matter different properties. One of the most mysterious and important properties is mass. Some particles, like protons and neutrons, have mass. Others, like photons (light particles), do not. The Higgs boson, or God Particle, is believed to be the particle which gives mass to matter.

When Sir Isaac Newton popped on the scene in 1665, he truly changed the world. If you spent your Saturday mornings in the early ‘80s, plopped in front of a television with a big bowl of Honeycomb cereal like I did, I’m sure you are already aware of how the School House Rock episodes depicted Newton discovering gravity. There are many variations of the popular story that Newton was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell and bopped him on his head. Suddenly, the Universal Law of Gravitation was born. However, I submit that apple also helped to usher God out of humanity and science, and those who understood it became the new gods. Newton went on to revolutionize science and along with James Clark Maxwell is responsible for the classic understanding of physics and how all, so it was thought, worked and could be explained. Prior to Newton, the unexplained was often attributed as simply an act of God. Now, everything could be explained with a Newtonian-Maxwellian equation.

   Following Newton, the next 400 years of science was largely built on the notion that everything was based upon matter. Matter is anything that can be touched physically. Everything in the universe (except energy) is made of matter, and, so, everything in the universe is made of atoms. Therefore, an atom is a fundamental piece of matter. As a refresher, atoms combine to make molecules, and molecules combine to make matter. Therefore, Newtonian Laws were used to explain how everything worked down to the atomic level.

However!!!

   Nearly 60 years ago scientists discovered that the atom could also be divided into subatomic particles consisting of a nucleus (neutron & proton) and an electron. Even at the subatomic level God provided a Trinitarian clue for man to discover once he was mature enough to better understand. Unfortunately, the old Newtonian ways of explaining things failed to hold up at this level and therefore ushered in a whole new level of science known as quantum physics.

It is in the field of quantum physics that the God Particle was first theorized when scientists began to imagine that neutrons, protons, and electrons could also be divided into leptons and quarks.   Bottom line, despite the billions of dollars (that’s billions with a “B” ) and legions of scientists who continue to journey down the quantum physics rabbit hole, in the end man will never be able to see what God created from the unseen.

Indulge Now, Pay Later...

I spent last week in sunny Tampa FL (80 degrees!!!) on business and decided to conduct a little experiment. Many of you are well aware that for the past year I’ve been watching what I eat and working out hardcore M-F. However, I was very curious to see what would happen if I went an entire week indulging in whatever I wanted to eat and not working out. Well, after a few nights of enjoying Capital Grille’s porcini rubbed Delmonico steak with 12-year aged balsamic (BTW…this is the BEST steak I’ve ever had) and their lobster mac ‘n’ cheese (the BEST!!!!), Texas De’ Brazil’s unlimited meat extravaganza, Selmon’s (the late Lee Roy Selmon’s restaurant who played for the Bucs), the Wood Fire Grill’s delicious hand-made veggie pizza, and every carrot cake and crème brulee I could find; I returned to Sterling Va. tipping the scales at 185.7 lbs (note: I left Sterling weighing 180lbs). During the week in Tampa I only hit the gym once and was simply content with sleeping-in instead of getting my a.m. exercise on.

In the end, it came as no great surprise that I would have gained a little weight during this experiment, but 6 lbs in four days!!! Besides the additional heft, another thing attempted to follow me home from Tampa and that was laziness. However, after I dropped my daughter Landon off at the bus stop, Monday morning, it was back to the gym and back to watching what I ate. Today as I type these very words, the scale has once again returned to normal in just four short days. However, if I had listened to that lazy spirit that tried to convince me to continue my Tampa gluttony, I would be writing an entirely different commentary today.

So what’s keeping you from getting back on the wagon? Why did you fall off? Was it football season? Pressure on the job? Stress at home? No longer can we simply eat whatever we want and refuse to exercise. There is indeed a price to pay for our gluttony. Unfortunately, the price is often obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and heart disease. As long as you are still on this side of Zion, you have a choice. Please choose HEALTH!