Something to GET EXCITED About!

Listen up gang, swimming pools open in one month! Are you ready to expose yourself? Beach trips are right around the corner, are you going body-surfing in your t-shirt?

If you haven't already been prepping yourself for this time of the year, it's time to get your ass in gear! Today is Monday...who doesn't like to start a workout program on a Monday right? In the northeast, which is where most of the people reading this reside, it is 90 degrees outside today and tomorrow it will be 80 degrees. You have NO excuse to not dust off and lace up the running shoes, refresh your iPod playlist, and get outside and MOVE!

THIS IS YOUR 1 MONTH WARNING!

Why "WWGPD?" Actually Worked

I know what you're thinking, "what the hell is "WWGPD?" "WWGPD?" was an off-the-wall form of fitness motivation that was used by my former business partner and I, and it actually worked.


What

Would

Gregg

Plitt

Do

?


Yeah, thats the acronym...it probably doesn't make sense to any of you reading this, but hear me out.

First off, who's this Gregg Plitt guy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx_EzEO8eew
Gregg is a trainer and fitness model from Baltimore that many of you have probably seen gracing the covers of many a fitness magazine as well as starring in the former Bravo reality series "Workout." Secondly, I do like women! I am just a fan of the fitness and fitness modeling industry and am envious of people that excel in the discipline, so relax! "Not that there's anything wrong with that though."

Anyway, here is what you need to do.

1) Find someone with a similar body type as you that you admire simply because of their physical make-up. Looks, personality, nor wealth should have no bearing on this decision. This person does not even have to be famous or known. Just be realistic, if you are a five foot tall female weighing 200 pounds, do not select Marissa Miller as your target.

2) Think about how they got that body and think of the sacrifiices that they have made to get there...research it.

3) Plug their initials into the WW_ _ D? acronym

4) Write it down or key it in somewhere you always look. Cell phone, planner, iPod, etc.

5) Every single morning you wake up, think about that acronym and plan how you will incorporate it into your day.

6) When it comes time to go to your workout, read it again and think about what it takes to get what you desire. Don't let anything stop you from completing your workout! If you try to stop short, think about it again! How bad do you want it?

I know this may sound unprofessional or stupid, but I challenge you to try it.

Take measurements before you start your own personal WWGPD? journey. Set a time scale for how long you plan on embarking on this journey. Invite friends to join you (find that "model" for each of you). Have fun with it and be amazed at how incredibly stupid this is but how incredibly simple this is and how incredibly persistant you will become with your strict dieting and exercise routine.

I'd love to know who is in your acronym and why you chose them. Update me on your progress and let me know what you think of this form of motivation. Like I said, it's not particularly scientific or professional, but it's effective and that's what matters most!

You Give Me a Bad Name

Dear Bob and Jillian, I understand you are changing people's lives and inspiring them to reach goals they never thought possible, but let's be realistic. The average overweight person watching "The Biggest Loser" is not really able to accomplish the ridiculous amounts of weight loss the contestants on this show attain.

Any trainer knows that healthy and safe weight loss is 1 - 3 lbs per week. The contestants on this show are dropping much, much more than that on a weekly basis. How can you be sure this is done safely and how can you be sure that once this show is over that weight isn't going to come flying right back? Where are past contestants, do you still care about them? Have they kept the weight off?

I must now admit that I do watch the show and enjoy seeing the success stories and how losing the weight changes people's lives. It is inspiring, motivational, and heart-warming, but it's really giving us "real world" trainers a hard time when we have clients that struggle daily with weight loss. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "How come Jane Doe lost ten lbs in one week on The Biggest Loser and I can't lose one or two pounds?"

Well, Jane Doe has 24/7 nutritional monitoring limiting their caloric intake and four to six hours per day in a state of the art fitness facility. One more thing Jane Doe has is "Hollywood" trainers! I am not saying that you (Bob and Jillian) don't have more health and fitness knowledge in your pinky than I have in my entire body, because you very well may, but I feel you are there to get FAST, spell-binding results for us the TV viewer to keep coming back to watch. "Hollywood" trainers are there when Jessica Simpson needs to get ripped in six weeks for her role as Daisy Duke or when Hugh Jackman needs to be ready for his role as a kick-ass sci-fi character in some awful comic book film. You push normal everyday people far beyond their limitations thus exposing them to injury, stress, and unnecessary hyper-over-exertion!

Bottom line is this, people struggling with weight loss need to keep their expectations real and not get discouraged when they cannot accomplish the same thing as their Biggest Loser counterparts. There is a healthy, sane way to lose weight and keep it off and that is not what is being portrayed on this show.

The Bachelor's Grocery List

Do you despise cooking, don't have time to cook, or flat out have no idea how to cook? You are not alone, you are most likely a bachelor or young professional not lucky enough to have someone at home to cook your clean and nutritious meals for you. When you go to the grocery store, do you think quick, easy, and cheap? I do...and here are my grocery store "staples" and explanation of why they are a staple and what is good (or bad) about them.

1) Skim, 1%, or 2% Milk - 1 gram of protein per ounce

2) Eggs - Learn how to seperate egg whites out or just purchase liquid egg whites

3) Whole Wheat or Multi-grain Bread - look for high fiber breads and be sure they do not contain HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)

4) Special K Protein Plus cereal - tastes horrible alone so you'll need #'s 5, 6, or 7 but each serving contains 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber per serving

5) Special K Red Berries cereal - mixes amazingly with #4. A little high in sugar, but you only need a tad to sprinkle on top of your protein cereal for taste

6) Bananas - Nothing is better than a banana in cereal and if you don't know about the other tremendous qualities of the banana I'm not gonna tell ya!

7) Blueberries - 2nd best tasting fruit in cereal plus they are LOADED with free-radical destroying antioxidants

8) Chunk Light or Albacore Tuna in water - tons of protein, but high in sodium too

9) Lo-fat mayonaise - to mix with that tuna...go easy with it though

10) Low sodium deli turkey breast - anyone can cook a sandwich

11) 2% swiss or provolone cheese - to go with that turkey or tuna

12) Skippy Natural Peanut Butter - MY #1 FAVORITE! Best tasting PB on the market...and it's all natural!

13) Chicken breasts - it's not cooking if you have a Foreman Grill

14) Microwave in Bag Mixed Veggies - So easy, so nutritious

15) Lean Pockets - I get a ton of slack for eating these, but in a pinch they are a decent high protein mini-meal. Don't abuse them, because they are loaded with preservatives and sodium.

16) Yogurt - My favorite brands are Rachel's, or one of the high protein Greek brands Chobani or Oikos (slightly more expensive, but worth it)

17) Unsalted Almonds or Walnuts - toss a few in your yogurt and enjoy a perfect night time snack

18) Baby Carrots - perfect nutitious snack or side to your sandwich

19) Green Tea - high in antioxidants; helps lower cholesterol and burn fat

20) Apples - no comment necessary

21) Zone Bars or Clif Builder's Bars - Not so cheap, but these high protein meal replacement bars are great pre or post workout

What are some of your "staples" and why? Please comment.