Avoiding Failure is Avoiding Success

When it comes to our health sometimes the biggest mistake we make is trying to avoid failure. 

When we try to avoid something that is unavoidable like, failure the impact of the failure is usually negative and harmful instead of helpful. When we see failures as they are: part of the process of success, we embrace the lessons we learn when we fail. When we see failure only as a failure we learn little to nothing from the failure. 

This is why fad diets are mostly ineffective. I say mostly because there are always a few success stories (even know most of those don't pan out long-term).  

Trying to avoid failure by adhering to some crazy restrictive fad diet doesn't actually help us avoid failure, unfortunately, In most cases, it causes an endless circle of failure.

How many people do you know that have tried more than five different popular diets to only be looking for the next one because even though they may have lost weight on the last five they gained it all back and a few more to boot?

Failure is something we will all face and when we try to avoid it we end up delaying the inevitable and feel much worse about the failure.  

So what do I do?

No matter what you do failure is going to play a part so embrace the opportunity to learn from your failure because that's really what is going to bring success 

Failure doesn't mean you are a failure it just means your learning; more about yourself, more about how your body reacts, more about nutrition. You are learning.

So ditch the latest diet fads and start learning about your body, your strengths and build personal eating habits that allow you to eat the foods you like in a way that promotes health and vitality. 

Eat Slower -  This is a great habit to help build a healthier you and yes sometimes you will fail and from these failures, you will learn strategies to better eat slowly and the more you fail the more you learn until one day you will find yourself being the slowest eater at the table.

Eat until satisfied (Think 80% full) - Another great habit to build a healthier you! Again you will fail but those are the times you will learn the triggers that cause the failure and before you know it you will be eating less because you're done.

Eat less processed food (avoid highly processed food) - This is the food that feeds more than our appetite, it feeds our body with nutrients for a healthier you.  

Listen to your body and don't let the latest confirmation biased weight loss book convince you that: Carbs are bad, Fat is bad, Grains are bad, Dairy is bad, Fruits are too high in sugar, Alkaline is the way, Meat is evil, putting butter in your coffee is the secret to good health.

Now if you don't feel very good after eating dairy, stop eating it. You have stomach problems after eating bread, stop eating bread. You don't like bananas, stop eating bananas. You love butter in your coffee, drink it that way. 

Be careful not to stop or start eating certain foods because someone else is trying to create a fear narrative that's not real, in hopes of promoting their preferred lifestyle.


www.zaofit3.com 

How can a penny help you get healthy?

The other day when I was on a morning run with my wife and a friend, I was thinking about some of my clients and former clients and I found myself asking why some really struggle and others flourish? If I could just find out "the why" I could be a better coach. I understand we all have stories that can give some insight, and there are a lot of great resources that I use (school, books, mentors) to help be the best coach I can be, but this particular day as I was running, and I started thinking about my wife, and she found change project. Boom! I realized it's all about the penny! So here's how it works: If while running she sees money she stops and picks it up, most the time its pennies but she has found all kinds of different coins, even some bills and other things like pocket knives and even a posable bunny. 

 My wife's old jar and new jar (first got too small)

Most people when running with her for the first time laughs when she suddenly stops. Usually, the person looks back and asks; "did you drop something" and she responds "No I found a penny" and at this point, she proceeds to tell them how she collects money that she finds regardless of its denomination. Most people laugh when she tells them she's saving money to pay for her trip to run Boston (marathon) someday, but others that have run with her for any period of time are inspired. Some even collect pennies themselves. Why? Because she has made believers out of us by collecting over a hundred dollars the last several years.

What do My clients and their health have to do with my wife and her coin collecting endeavor (obsession)? I believe it's the same reason you and I don't stop and pick up a penny, well, at least why I don't. When I see a penny I think its value is not worth me stopping in the middle of a run to pick it up; well it's only a penny and some of the pennies are barely even recognizable. Now if a see a quarter I think about it, I still don't pick it up but I do think about picking it up and if I see a dollar it's mine. What I have learned from my attitude towards her found change project; Is that because of her faithfulness to pick up everything she sees no matter the value, she has collected about one hundred dollars, a couple of pocket knives, a cool rock that says "Jesus Lord of all", a pretty shell and has inspired others to start their own found change jar.  

My coaching philosophy is a slow process of building habits and learning to make choices that are a little better. One of my favorite sayings is "Think a little better"  When it comes to your nutrition and exercise we can always do a little better. The problem with this philosophy is that it's like collecting pennies and most people don't want to collect pennies we want dollars! But you see if my wife only collected dollars she would be at a fraction of where she is, as a matter of fact, she might not have anything saved, because why save the dollar when it's sitting in your jar for over a year all by itself, it's a little discouraging so we might as well spend that dollar, right?

So what am I trying to say? When reclaiming your health you can be like my wife who no matter how tired she is, or how hard she has to push to catch the pack, how the run is going or how small the denomination of money is, she picks it up, because she understands that the Boston (marathon) is expensive and every penny gets her one penny closer to her goal.

Or you can be like me and pass the pennies hoping that you will find the stockpile of money that will pay for Boston all at once and end up with nothing. 

There is no magic bullet (short cut) to get you to your health goals, it comes one penny (small habit, little better choice) at a time. The awesome thing is that some days because of your faithfulness to the small things (pennies), big things (dollars found) will happen.

If you are looking to reclaim your health and are willing to build habits that bring long-term results by making small changes (collect pennies) I would love to talk to you about some options that will give you the tools needed to collect all the pennies you need to reach your health goals.

zaofait3@gmail.com

A Script can save you lots of regret!

I want to take a minute and talk about the importance of scripting when it comes to change.

Scripting is thinking about what you would like to happen in a difficult situation.

So why is it so important to your health?

The other day I was at a leadership meeting for a conference that I help plan in the Spring every year. Our meeting was at Izzy's and one of the leaders while eating his mound of pizza and fried foods said he was on the Mediterranean diet as prescribed by his doctor. He went on to tell us that he has done very well for the past two weeks and wanted us to know that he was just enjoying this one meal, but would be right back on it tomorrow. Now there are a few things that made me sad about this conversation, but let's focus on how scripting could of made all the difference in the world for this guy. I could tell by his conversation and conviction, that he had every intention of making good choices when he got there, but there was so many good (Bad) choices that he was overwhelmed and just grabbed what he knew.

So how could scripting help?

I like the things on his plate as much as he did, but I scripted out a head of time.

Here is my Script: Go strait to the salad bar and fill my plate with highly nutritious food and when I'm done and mostly full I return to get something from the not so nutritious area.

So what did I do at that meeting? You guessed it. I went by my script and had a spinach salad lots of fruits and veggies some cottage cheese and for extra protein I got a friend chicken breast and pulled off all the skin and ate the meat, then I went and got a bowl of soft serve ice cream concoction (I think), yes it is a red light food!

Do I have more self control? No I don't believe I do. I scripted out what I would do so I was not left with lots of options, yes I was tempted, and I usually am, that's why I have a script to follow when I know things will be tough!

The more choices we have the more likely we are to pick what we know, and what were familiar with. But when we script out a plan we are more likely to choose what we have already decided to eat.

Try using a script when your going into a tough situation and share with me how it works out for you.

What does health have to do with character?

What does health have to do with character?

We have a health crisis in America and there are few if any that would deny this fact, but the truth is the way things seem is that we are more concerned about our weight than our health. What do I mean? Well just look around you for a moment and look at how we as a country approach this problem. think back at the TV ads, magazine covers, social media ads, and how companies get you to buy their products. Now that you have taken a minute to think about it, doesn't it seem obvious that the message of the day about our bodies is: We can help you lose weight and lose it fast. There are cleanses, 21-day challenges, heavily processed meal bars, and miracle shakes. Just to mention a few. All with the promise to help you shed that unwanted weight. We know that all this advertising is based on what we are buying; Weight loss. As a health coach that has the privilege of working with so many people. When it comes to weight loss, I know that health really is more important than weight loss to most us, but so many have mistaken weight loss for good health. Unfortunately, weight loss doesn't mean healthier body. If we are pre-diabetic/overweight than getting healthy will equate to weight loss, but weight loss doesn't always equate to better health. 

  So what does health have to do with character? Let me first share a quote by John Wooden: "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are". Now let's replace Character with health and reputation with weight.  Be more concerned with your health than your weight, because your health is what you really are, while your weight is merely what others think you are. When I first read this quote it really hit me hard, because it's easy to get caught up in what people think of us and forget that's it's more important who we are, than who people perceive us to be. It's the same with our bodies; it's more important to be healthy than for people to think were healthy because of how we look. But a lot of the times we are concerned with how we are perceived and so we shoot for weight loss above health. I know this not only because I'm a health coach and personal trainer, but also because of the numbers. Take a look at these numbers: 

The annual revenue of the U.S. weight-loss industry, including diet books, diet drugs, and weight-loss surgeries is 20 billion dollars, there are 108 million people on diets in the United States, and Dieters typically make four to five attempts per year, and 220,000 people with morbid obesity in the United States had bariatric surgery in 2009, and most people, well over 90% do not keep the weight off. 
  So what can we do about it? First, we must fight the urge to make weight loss our focus, and then refuse to jump on the next weight loss fad that comes along; because they will keep coming. And then remind ourselves that making a conscious decision to get healthy will always lead to a better body. just like a good reputation doesn't always mean a good character, a drop in weight doesn't always relate to better health, but a good character will lead to a better reputation, and good health will lead to a better body.  

The Go in Pokemon Go!

The GO in Pokemon go? 

Yes the Pokemon go craze has hit and I have something to say about it. Not much of a surprise since most of the world has something to say about it. There are those who love it and have anticipated the game for months (I never heard of it until just a few days ago), then there are those who despise the game, at least that's what the latest Facebook posts would lead you to believe. he haters are probably bothered even more now that it's a reality game played by millions all around in broad daylight! How could it be Pokemon on the street corners?!? Well I have a little bit of a different take that might not fit so well in either category.  Wait! You might be thinking I fit neatly in the, "I don't care" category but I would say: "I don't fit in that category either, because I Do Care.

 I do care and I care greatly, but it's not about Pokemon or a bunch of weird named creatures that I can track down with my phone and capture, and I definitely don't care if I ever control or own, or what ever you called it; a gym! So what do I care about? I care about my twelve year old boy who wants to win a gym, and he wants to raise and capture and evolve lot's of Pokemon's and he wants to do it with me! yesterday we went on a 5 mile bike ride came home and took a break and went out running/walking for 3 more miles, all the while talking about things that mattered (the in an outs of Pokemon) to him and so they matter to me! Because you know, we also talked about a lot of other thing and we exercised (hunted pokemon) for three hours. This morning we went out and walked another 3 miles doing, you guessed it; hunting Pokemon. 

 I think there is a couple of things we should all be excited about Pokemon go; first Nintendo has given us parents, grandparents, youth/children's leaders a tool to connect. I know we can connect without Pokemon, but with the popularity of this game I think it would be crazy not to leverage it for relationships, instead of thrashing it and everybody that plays it. Also the last two days I've seen more kids and adults out walking around than I have ever seen, and I'm not exaggerating in the slightest, and we as a nation need to move more! Being one of the largest Countries in the world we need the Go in Pokemon Go. Yes we should thank Nintendo for getting us moving more, I would much rather my son be walking around looking for monsters on his phone than pushing buttons on a controller or watching a TV screen for hours. 

  Yes I do play Pokemon Go, but no I don't understand or like the whole Pokemon world and honestly I never did. But this game that has my son asking me to go bike, run, walk and spend two to three strait hours with him is a winner in my book, so whether you hate me for playing or for playing and not really caring about the game I will keep playing (spending quality time with my son) regardless of what other may think or say. 

Help Youth Trips are killing me!

Last week I was at a youth conference and a friend walked up to me and said, "Jerry you should write a blog on how to survive on a youth trip" he was referring to our physical health. I immediately thought, that is a great idea! So here we go. As a youth pastor of nineteen years I have led between four to six overnight youth events per year since 1997, so somewhere around a hundred trips, and I know what it's like to go on a youth trip with no concern for my health, but more recently, I also know what it's like to be concerned and make adjustments to honor God.  Let me start by saying over the years youth trips were the times I treated my body worse than any other 3-5 day period of my ministry, but thankfully I have grown in my knowledge and desire to make adjustments on these trips.
So how do we have a great youth trip, with the focus on our students and at the same time do practical things to manage our own health on the trip?
  FitPastors an organization that I work with to coach church leaders from all over the country has a very simple illustration that we use of our bodies; That illustration is that of a vehicle. Just like our vehicle carries around the most precious people in the world to us; our family, our bodies carry around the most precious part of all creation; our soul.  I won't go into all the details here, but I want to use what we call the four tires, to help you make better choices on your next youth trip. What are the four tires? 1. Move 2. Lift 3. Fuel 4. Rest, and our goal is to balance all four of these tires so we can keep our vehicle (body) on the road in working condition, fulfilling God's call. Out of our four tires, There is one tire that I still haven't figured out how to balance on a youth trip, but it is a tire that can be and should be focused on right after the trip, and that's the Rest Tire. Trying to get rest on a youth event is like watching our students try to speak Spanish for the first time in mexico, yes they try but it's more amusing than it is effective. So my advise on taking care of your rest tire is it take two to three days off immediately following the event; I know there is a lot of work to do after an event, but I also know that you getting rest is way more important for your long term ministry, and if your church doesn't make you take days off (It Should), you let the leadership of your church know your need for rest, and start making it part of your post trip routine. So let's talk about the three other tires. How do we balance them on the trip, or do we also just push through and worry about them afterward the trip also? Absolutely not! You can and must learn how to manage these other three tires while on the trip, and this goes for any church leader at any multi-day conference.
  Let's talk about the fuel tire first. Depending on the type of event this could change considerably, for camp you are pretty much at the mercy of the camp, but you can make good choices and even be willing to bring some more healthy snacks with you to the camp. Stay away from the white breads, white pasta, and rice. Eat lots of salad but stay away from the creamy dressings. Example for a Mexican food meal: hold off on the rice, and choose Corn tortilla over flour or even better make a taco salad with meat, chicken if available, with beans and salsa. And always pick fruit over fries or tater tots. How about a youth trip where you are buying breakfast and eating out for lunch and dinner. First you have total control over the morning food so make sure that you say no to the Costco muffins (I know they use to be a staple in my breakfast too) and go for the boiled eggs, Greek yogurt, maybe a few whole grain cereals, whole grain bread and peanut butter, and of course fruit. When you choose places for lunch and dinner try to find an area that will give kids an opportunity to have options, a lot of kids if available will choose better options, and it will give you an opportunity to do the same. If your stuck at a fast food place like McDonald's or Burger King, here are some small hacks that will make it a little less toxic (bad for you). Choose no bun or take the top bun off and go open faced, get fruit instead of fries and skip the sugary or fake sugar drink and get water. Speaking of sugary drinks this is definitely the most significant change you could make. Get rid of all the sugary drinks and carry a water bottle and drinks lot's of water! There is one exception that I make to this and it's coffee, not black coffee that's great, drink up if your a black coffee drinker, I'm talking an annihilator at Dutch Brothers, Yes caffeine is a need and unfortunately I can't do black coffee yet. If you too need your fluffy coffee fix don't over do it, maybe that one for a morning pick me up, and cut out all other drinks besides water and drink lots of it. If the conference has a green room, be conscious of what you eat, most of them are filled with both decent snacks and snacks that have little or no nutritious value. The top rules are: grab a water, pick fruits and veggies, and stay away from the candy bars. I know it's tempting but just walk away!
 Now lets talk Lift and move tires which is Cardio and strength training. Now at first glance these two tires might seem tough; you can't run or lift weights at a youth trip, right? actually it is quite easy to keep these balanced if you are willing to be intentional. In the youth group bonding time this is happening, swimming, basketball, Ninja, and horse play all throughout the conference or camp. Then you can add, parking further away from the church, hotel or restaurant, so you have to walk, take the stairs instead of the elevators, or how about serving the ladies by having a small group of guys including yourself take their bags to the rooms. This one maybe a little tougher, but getting up thirty minutes early and hitting the gym if your at a hotel, I've been able to pull it off some mornings on some of the trips over the last couple years and I have never regretted it, one time I even got the boys in my room to join me. I realize that this is not an exhausted list but I guarantee you that you will come home feeling better and weighing less if you take time to implement these simple youth travel hacks to your next Youth trip.
If you would like connect or specific questions or comments that you would like to discuss I would love to connect with you, and help you reach your health goals. I am a certified personal trainer, weight management specialist, sports nutrition, DotFit Instructor, Certified health coach, with both Dr. Sears Wellness Institute, and Precision Nutrition, and Pastor who has a passion to see others succeed in every area including but not limited to their physical health.



If you would like to know more about coaching, email me at zaofit3@zaofit.com. Iwould love to help you reach your health goals.