Julian's Rules

When it comes to fitness, there are some rules that I have found easy to follow.  The first thing you will notice is there aren't any numbers.  When you put a number in front of something people always think you are listing the items by importance.  When it comes to Julian's rules no one rule is more important than the other.  Adhering to all the rules will insure success when trying to reach your goals.  

Make no bones about it, if you want to be successful you have be willing to make a lifestyle change.  Part of making change is being able to accept a certain level of discomfort and turn your excuses into goals.  

Move more than you eat

 No amount of exercise will help you lose weight if you are taking in more    

 calories than you can burn in a day.

Accept discomfort 

Want to lose weight fast?  Want to lose a lot of weight?  The magic pill does not exist.  In order to become fit and healthy you have to be willing to do things that are not comfortable, like eating healthy and breathing  heavy.  The good news is that if you embrace discomfort for a while it will become your new comfort.

Variety is the spice of life

Don't be afraid to change things up.  Working out doesn't always mean going to the gym, or going out for a run.  You can do push ups and lunges in the yard or in the park.   Go for a hike or a bike ride to change up the cardio.

Take time for you

You have to take time each day and do something for yourself mentally.  Read a book, or meditate.  I like to get up early and just enjoy the quiet.  

Heart rate, Heart rate, Heart rate

If you want to take the weight off fast then you have to work out at a higher heart rate (HR). The higher your HR the more calories you burn per minute and the more calories you can burn each minute the more Fat you burn.  It really is that simple.  

Finding time to workout is the biggest obstacle for most people.  The higher your HR the less time you have to spend working out!

The few hands the better

When it comes to eating the fewer hands that are in contact with your food the better.  If it has an ingredient list with names that belong in a chemistry textbook put it back on the shelf.  Eat grass fed, free range meat, locally grown seasonal vegetables that are pesticide free, and lots of fruit.  

Accept that you are human

We all make mistakes.  Just because you ate one bad meal, doesn't mean you have failed. You fail when you let one bad day turn into a bad month or year.  Try to be a responsible cheater.  You can have a slice of pizza every now and then, just don't eat half a pie.  

Proper Hydration: Chemicals and Calories

When you are tired or not feeling alert what do you reach for?  For most people it is time for a caffeine boost.  Did you know that caffeine is not what the body wants?  What your body wants is water.  At only 2% dehydration the body loses 12-15% of its work capacity.   Adults should be trying to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day.  The nice thing about water is it is natural and our body wants it, after all the human body is about 60% water.

I can’t talk about hydration and not mention why you need to stay away from soda (this also includes diet drinks my misguided friends).  Studies have shown that your favorite zero calorie diet soda may actually be worse for you than regular soda.  Diet soda has been linked to metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that include increased waist size, increased blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar  just to name a few.  Wait I thought that because they put the word diet on the bottle it was supposed to be good for you.  Guess the soda companies lied to us again.   A research study at Purdue University gave a group of rat’s artificial sweetener, and another group regular sugar and the artificial sweetener group gained more weight.  The other problem with soda is chemicals, chemicals, and more chemicals.  Anything that can dissolve a penny has no business going into your body.

If you are tired my recommendation is drink some water and get a little exercise instead of drinking soda and checking Facebook or Twitter.  In most cases the reason we are tired is that we have been indoors breathing stale air and looking at a screen.  It doesn't take much to get refreshed, all you have to do is go outside and stretch your legs for 5 to 10 minutes and you will feel better.

Diets do work!

Diets do work!

In our society we have worked incredibly hard to make everyone comfortable, to the point that we have started telling people that diets don’t work.  You have to make a lifestyle change in order to be healthy.  In the words of Lee Corso, “Not so fast my friend!”  What does the word diet actually mean?  According to www.dictionary .com the origin of the word “diet” is based on the Latin word ‘Diaeta’ meaning “a manner of living; a way of life.”  Sooooo if we are making a lifestyle change then we are actually going on a diet.  Why do we need to sugar coat it?  The reason that most diets fail, is because we STOP dieting and expect to keep all of the accomplishments we gained while dieting.  Juan Carlos Santana stated, “If they (diets) did not work people would not lose weight when they go on them.  What does not work is the idea that we can go off a diet and maintain the benefits of the diet.”  Juan says it is time for a reality check.  Ask yourself, do I live a normal life?  If the answer is yes then look in the mirror and get a look at what you will always look like.  After all this is how you “normally” look.  If you want to lose weight you have to say good-bye to your normal life and adopt a life that seems abnormal to you.  In the words of my friend Michelle Berry, “Enough already”!  It is time to stop doing things to make everyone feel “normal”, it is time to become uncomfortable.   It is time for you to take responsibility for the way you look, and feel.  In order to make change you have to become uncomfortable and make DIET and EXERCISE a priority in your life.  If you don’t, “You will always get what you have always gotten.”  If you don’t know what that is, take a look in the mirror.