"Tomorrow I will...."

As the New Year approaches, we are thinking about those New Years Resolutions.

Getting fit is on the top of my list - I am about half way there from 15 months ago (I had some starts and stops in there).

One problem with getting started is the phrase "Tomorrow I will..." or "I'll ______ tomorrow". This is usually said with the best of intentions. But it is a stall tactic in most cases. We might think today, when we are satisfied with something unhealthy we have eaten, or lack of exercise we have decided upon, that tomorrow is a new day - and we can start then.

The problem comes when we decide tomorrow that there is another tomorrow right behind it. And we put if off another day.

St. Augustine of Hippo, in his famous work "The Confessions of St. Augustine" talks about his biggest obsticle in his conversion. He had a mistress, and and illegitmate child (who also was converted to Christianity from a heresy called Marcionism and became a priest), and he was having a really hard time with lust. He recounts in the book that he was praying to God to help him to stop his sinful behaviour. But he soon realized that in the back of his mind he was ending the prayer with "Later" or "tomorrow" or "after the next time". He had to get honest with God, and himself, that he didn't want to give it up and had to pray AND allow himself to be helped/changed NOW, not tomorrow.

Are we doing that with our desire to start heading towards losing weight and getting in shape? Are we planning on starting tomorrow? After the next bit of junk food?

Yes, you should be praying for God for help, guidance, and grace to accomplish this change in your life! But like St. Augustine we need to be sure that the time to start is RIGHT NOW! Throw out the junk food now. Go for a walk now. Order your workout program now. Register to JOIN Team Beachbody on http://www.teambeachbody.com/stjohnspriest now - for free support and encouragement by using the calendar to schedule and log workouts (you might even win a daily prize), or upgrade your membership for additional help. And find some workout buddies nearby and/or on line for encouragement and accountability. And yes, if you sign up through the link above I will be assigned as your coach for encouragement as well. I'd be honored to help you as I am working toward getting fit this winter/spring as well.

Now is the time. Let's do this.

Exercise AND Diet are the key - but which diet???

This time of the year everyone is getting ready for those New Year's Resolutions. The most common one is the lose weight. I know I have made it every year since I was in my mid-twenties!

One reason I have become a Beachbody Coach is because not only do they produce GREAT workout programs, but because they are also concerned with nutrition as well. Programs like P90X and Insanity come with a suggested eating plan.

When I first read the nutrition plan with P90X my first thought was WOW, this is a lot of food (and you will burn it doing these workouts!). Each of the three phases has an eating plan attached to each, with different protein/fat/carb emphasis as you get more and more fit. Additionally, if you enroll in as a club member at Team Beachbody site, accessible through www.beachbodycoach.com/StJohnsPriest you have access to meal planning as well.

So what diet is best for you? Take this advice from a guy who has tried many diet plans - the best plan is....(drum roll please)...the one that has good nutrition (sorry, the twinkie diet is out) and the one you can stick with!!! Whether that is the eating plan included with the Beachbody products, weight watchers (My wife knocked off some stubborn last few pounds with this), Nutrisystem (my brother and his wife knocked off a few pounds with this and learned portion control), or even the Paleo eating plan (you will have to google this one for yourself), not all plans work as well for, or appeal to all dieters.

So let me tell you what I can't be, and what I prefer....

Sorry - I can't be a vegetarian. Not that I don't eat vegetarian meals - I had a great black bean dish this evening for dinner. I understand there are some do it for health, others for moral reasons. God bless them all. But I have to have meat. I am an "O" blood type (for more on this "Eating right 4 your type" www.dadamo.com ).

I have found that eating "Lower Carb" works best for me. Okay - brace yourself - but I like Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. His research and writing were ridiculed in his lifetime, but even now groups like Weight Watchers and the Food Pyramid types have moved away from complete "Fat Free/High Carb" model so popular in the 1970's and 1980's and onwards. Their programs have become lower carb, allowing for some fats, and mimic Dr. Atkins research.

A few years ago, when Low Carb became all the rage, many people claimed to be doing Low Carb without having ever read Dr. Atkin's book (or the South Beach Diet materials). They either ate nothing but meat and fat (not a Low Carb diet), or adopted all sorts of eliminations and additions. Worse yet the food industry jumped on the bandwagon and started labeling things not so low carb as low carb and even worse, put out all sorts of "Frankenfoods" (created in a laboratory) that looked/tasted sort of like a low carb dish but didn't change the poor habits of the eater.

Low Carb, in a nutshell, is to lower carbs by cutting way back on (or eliminating) starches, while getting calories from meat and vegetables (which do contain carbs), and a smaller amount of fruits (can be higher carb). Like most "way of eating"( WOE), at the beginning you want to break habits and addictions (and lot of folks are addicted to refined flour and sugar). Plus the lack of starches forces your body to burn stored fat for energy (which is what your body fat is for...fuel storage). The science of all this is available in Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. Then, as time goes on and you approach weight and fitness goals, you slowly re-introduce whole grains into your diet, being mindful of addiction or reversal of weight loss.

So whether it is Low Carb (Dr. Atkins. South Beach), Weight Watchers, Pre-packaged systems, or a guided specific system like those in the Beachbody programs, please do THREE important things

1) Actually read the materials so you are actually doing the eating plan, not just making it up as you go along. This is usually what got us into this lack of shape to start with.

2) Don't claim "Program Failure" if it is really "User Failure" - ie...you didn't really follow the plan, gave up, or cheated your way out of it. Stick with it!

3) Plan your meals and cut way back or eliminate eating out (too much temptation/too large portion size/cost) Instead pack and bring healthy lunches to work/school and eat dinner at home with family (and don't forget breakfast - most important meal of the day.

More thoughts on eating right as we go along.

Banners added, getting focused

As I noted in the last post, I have now signed up to be an Independent Team BeachBody Coach, which means I can help people to get into shape, and point them towards the BeachBody products such as P90X, Insanity, and Shakeology.

As you know from this blog, last year November through Feb/March I lost 50lbs. I have basically (within a few pounds up and down) maintained that weight loss. But with Spring and Summer came baseball coaching and the busy-ness of running around as a parent. I know, excuses, but there they are.

Late Summer/Early Fall I decided I wanted to run the Disney Half Marathon on January 8th and have been training for that primarily, throwing in some P90X here and there. Not as much as I have wanted, or should.

So the race is in two weeks, and when I return from Florida, I start the next round in earnest. If I start January 17th or so (my 22nd Sobriety anniversary FYI and D.v), I should finish the 90 days by Holy Week/Easter. So that is the goal, as well as the rest of the weight I have wanted to lose.

So join me on the journey!!! Stop by here regularly to see my updates, and to get your BeachBody products click on the banners to the right or go to my Coach page http://www.BeachBodyCoach.com/StJohnsPriest

BIG NEWS!!!!! - TEAM BEACHBODY!

As of late last night I became an independent coach for Team Beachbody, the company that makes P90X!
More to come in the coming days and weeks.
For more information
www.beachbodycoach.com/StJohnsPriest