Archive for stress

How To Get Your Kids To Eat Healthy Snacks

Thursday, March 17th, 2011

Howdy!

What’s goin’ down?

Life is rockin’ and rollin’ here in the fantastic Midwest!  Spring is in the air, which is my favorite time of year.  We’re out of the cold and snow and muck and junk and into the sweet, sweet goodness.

Nolan is doing awesome.  Growing like a new baby should.  Maren is also doing awesome, although there’s always a bit of adjustment for a 4-year old when a new baby comes around.

One thing that’s always tough for parents with little kids is knowing what to eat for snacks – not only for them, but also for their kids.

It’s very easy to load up on “kid snacks” at the grocery store, but most of them aren’t good, even though the label may make it sound healthy.  They’re loaded with poor quality added nutrients, some type of sugar and tons of artificial colors and sweeteners.

Not only is it bad for the kids, but us parents tend to eat them because they taste so darn good.

Read More→

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How To Fit In Workouts With A New Baby!

Monday, March 14th, 2011

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Hey there!  Fit Dad back with a quickie for ya…

I’m sure that by now you know I’m a daddy once again (at least hopefully you’ve been reading…) and we’re rolling with it.  Nolan is doing awesome – growing like a new baby should – and all is well on the home front.

The ONLY downside is my workouts have been thrown way out of whack – even my short and sweet 10-minute workouts haven’t been happening and it’s driving me crazy…and workouts are just a wee bit important for a guy in my position.

I had to re-group and come up with a new plan that gets my workouts in – no matter the time of day – and will still get the job done.

It may sound odd at first glance given my love for 10-minute workouts, but it has been tough and I’m sure I don’t have to explain it to any parents with new babies.  Trying to come up with a normal routine is a new struggle to contend with.

So here are a few things I’ve come up with for myself, as well as for all new parents trying to fit workouts in when they have more than one wee-one at home.

Read More→

What’s goin’ down in your neck of the woods?  All’s good on this end.  I did eat my lunch a bit too fast, which is never good.  Seems I need to take a bit of my own advice and eat slower and not wait so damn long between meals :(

I initially thought about answering a few questions in this puppy, but I decided to just cover one.

There isn’t a week that goes by where I don’t receive this question, so it’s obvious that it’s a hot-button issue.

It’s all about “How to Get Out of a Weight Loss Plateau”

The most recent question came from my homeboy Shaun.

Shaun has made some pretty nice progress, but thinks he’s hit a plateau and wants to know how to kick start his weight loss again to keep on pace with his goal.

First, kudos to Shaun for noticing he’s hit a plateau and seeking help in getting things going AND a big slap on the back to him for following the Fit Dad’s plan and achieving awesome results!

This is what I told Shaun and am now telling you – and I’ll throw in a few other things as well just to cover ALL the bases. Read More→

Ten Fitness Commandments Part 1

Friday, March 26th, 2010

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For the past couple of years I’ve had the unique opportunity to write columns for a local publication called “L Magazine.”  It’s an awesome experience getting to share my thoughts on health, fitness and weight loss with an entire city and get the response from clients and non-clients.

I thought I’d share with you my most recent article – it’s a 2-parter so I’ll post the second part next month.  I actually had to tweak it a bit because it was a bit too sacreligious the first time around.  Evidently it sounded like I was comparing myself to Moses a bit too much.  My bad.

Anyway, here’s the article…

One of my all-time favorite movies is “The Ten Commandments.”  Seeing Charlton Heston play Moses is a very moving experience.

My homeboy Moses

My homeboy Moses

I’m lying.

I’ve never seen the movie and come to think of it, I haven’t seen a Heston film.  The most I know about it is that it’s looooong.

The reason I mention the movie is because I’ve come up with a list of my own Ten Commandments.

I hiked my butt up my very own Mt. Sinai (the second floor of my house), and came down with these Fitness Commandments to share with you.

1.  Thou shalt add good stuff, while subtracting bad stuff.

This one is easy.  We eat poorly and don’t exercise enough.  Add more good stuff and subtract the bad stuff.

It really is that simple.

2.  Thou shalt keep it in and tight.

I’m referring to your stomach.  Your stomach muscles are weak and it shows in the way you sit, stand and move.  Always be mindful of your stomach muscles.

I’m not asking you to suck your gut in like someone is taking a picture of you in your bathing suit, rather think of it as keeping your posture in check.  Sit or stand up straight and pull or “brace” your stomach.

You also need to do Planks more often – any of the variations…just do them.

3.  Thou shalt not partake in magic pills or potions.

Moses threw a hissy fit when he came down the mountain and saw people worshipping a golden calf.

I throw a hissy fit whenever someone tells me they’re taking a diet pill, or other “wonder supplement” that comes from the farthest reaches of the earth.

Supplements have their value – I take them every day – but any pill whose marketing tells you it’s the easiest way to lose weight is lying.  If you want to learn more about the supplements I take, click here.

At best, it’s an expensive diuretic and leaves you with less money.

Deep down you know the truth, so listen to your gut and don’t do it.

4.  Thou shalt sleep.

Sleep is probably the most underrated aspect of health (and weight loss).  You NEED to sleep more.  Your body does some pretty amazing things while you’re sleeping, and the less you get, the more you screw it up.

Besides, the Late Late Show isn’t that great and you’ve already seen all the Seinfeld reruns.

5.  Thou shalt move…often.

As a society, we sit way too much.  We sit in our car.  We sit at a desk.  We sit on the couch.  We sit at a table.  Sit, sit, sit.iStockBeachCoupleB

Get off your butt and move around once an hour, preferably every 30 minutes.  Stretch, go for a quick walk, do some push-ups and squats…just do something.

Just like Moses had 2 tablets, I have to cover the remaining Commandments in next month’s issue, so stay tuned lest I go in a Moses-style rage and break the second tablet.

I hope you enjoyed part 1 of this article and I’ll be sure to post the second part next month (hopefully I remember…my brain has been a bit fried lately).

Talk to you soon!

And remember…

…Be A Superhero Today!

Ed

I Can’t Lose Stomach Fat

Monday, September 14th, 2009

I want to share a quick conversation I had with a client last week.

She walked in the door, we exchanged the obligatory “Hey, how ya doin’”, then she said…

“Okay Ed, I know I’ve gotten stronger over the past few weeks.  My clothes fit better in my arms, chest and legs, but I’m not losing weight and my stomach isn’t shrinking.  What the hell is going on?” (A direct quote)

Sound familiar?

It does to me.  I’ve heard it dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands of times over the past several years.

My first response to her was to congratulate her on the progress she’s made in only a few weeks of committing herself to working hard and consistently. Read More→

My Weekend Challenge To You

Friday, October 17th, 2008

I just had an awesome workout and I’m pretty fired up.

I’m fired up because there is no better feeling than what you feel after you’ve had a good workout.

Your energy levels are through the roof.

Your body feels as though you’re doing something good, rather than killing it by sitting around doing nothing.

Your mind is “open” and free of clutter.

Your stress levels are minimized.

And if you’re like me, your creativity soars.

So that got me to thinking about you.

I’ve got something I want you to do for me this weekend.  It’s not that creative or “mind-blowing”, but it’s just a small personal challenge from me to you. Read More→

4 Minute Abs Workout

Monday, October 13th, 2008

I love weekends.

I love getting away from the office for a little while and just relaxing and hanging out with my wife and daughter.

I love being able to watch football (that’s American football for you non-Americans) and I almost jumped for joy as my Huskers nearly pulled off a huge upset on Saturday.

I also take a break from my regular workouts on the weekends.  Don’t get me wrong, I still try to remain active, but I just don’t do my regular workouts.  I give my body a little rest, as you should too if you do your workouts throughout the week.

But I get to the point where I’m ready to get back into the swing of things and get back into my workouts, especially now.

I’ve got a new goal and I’m really fired up for it. Read More→

Wedding Cake Fat Loss Diet

Monday, September 22nd, 2008

I love wedding cake.

On Saturday Andrea and I went to a friend’s wedding and I have to tell you that I kinda like weddings.

I know that sounds weird for a guy to say, but I do.  I’m kind of sappy in that I enjoy seeing people at one of their happiest moments in life.

Although, like every guy, I want the wedding to be done with as quickly as humanly possible so I can get to the real good stuff.  The wedding reception.

I’ve told you before that I’m not afraid to eat.  I’m not a health nut and I will never, ever deprive myself of a food that I really enjoy.  I just know when to stop.

But one thing I have trouble stopping with is wedding cake.

I love wedding cake.  Have I said that before?

I do.  I don’t know what it is about the stuff, but I LOVE it!

And thank goodness we had some really good wedding cake on Saturday.

I stopped myself at one piece, even though I could’ve had more.  I didn’t though because I didn’t want to look like a crazy, sugar crazed person running back up to the cake table shoving little old ladies out of the way to get another piece of cake.  I’m slightly more dignified than that…only slightly, though.

The mother of the groom asked me how many calories I thought were in a piece of that wedding cake and my first reaction was to say “I don’t know, but not that many.”

She was kind of surprised at my reaction, and after I thought about it, my reaction was pretty stupid.

I started doing a mental inventory of what goes into wedding cake, and the frosting, and it wasn’t pretty. Read More→