When it comes to eating, think twice before you eat. Do you need 32 oz. of soda at lunch or will 12 do? Better yet, will a glass of water be even better for you? Do you need the Extra Grande double whip latte in the morning, or will a small cup of black coffee work. Or better yet, maybe a glass of orange juice is best. Do you need cheese and bacon on a burger or will a grilled chicken get the job done just as well.

Again, I do not want to lecture anyone. I’m just showing you that the choices you make are up to you, no one else. But if that isn’t motivation enough, if you are a parent, the choices you make in your house affect everyone. Your kids probably don’t do the food shopping, you do. Your kids see you do things they copy them. The same holds true for what they don’t see you do. You don’t eat healthy, you don’t exercise…why should they.

We only get one chance with this, let’s do it right.

Why is this important? Because it reminds me of something that we all take for granted when we’re talking about getting and staying healthy…sleep. I end up burning the candle at both ends during football and school season. But sleep is just as important as eating and working out. The difference between going to bed at midnight and going to bed an hour or two earlier is exponential. I realize people get home late from work and have a lot to do once they get home, but try and cut something out of your day and evening that will let you get to bed earlier. Maybe there is a tv show that you can pass on watching, or one less dessert you can eat. There has to be something. I hate the feeling that I’m lecturing here. I totally understand the reality of life and this is all easier said than done. All we can do is try. Do your best.

It’s a very valid question. It’s easy to say what we need to do, but how do we actually do it? One thing my wife and I do is eat dinner about an hour later than we used to. Normally we’d eat around 6pm, but now we sit down around 7p. By the time dinner is done, we’re onto the back half of our night and there isn’t much time to eat a ton of junk, even if we wanted to. Which brings me to the biggest question I get…how do I stop eating all the things that I shouldn’t be eating? I don’t mean to oversimplify it, but the answer is to not have anything in your house that will tempt you. I realize that might sound shocking, but think about it. If you buy ice cream, you are going to eat it. If you buy candy bars, you are going to eat them. If you buy sugar cereals rather than healthy cereals, you (and your kids) will eat them. Life is tempting enough when you’re out of the house, eating lunch on the go, buying lunch at a deli. But at home, think about it differently. Don’t buy it, don’t eat it.

It brings me to the point of today’s blog, which is that you must hydrate! When I was a kid, I always heard the old adage that you should drink eight glasses of water a day. And a few years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles were drinking pickle juice to help provide extra energy and hydration. I don’t know if that worked, but it made for a good story at least. It was probably due to the salt in the water. But even if you are just working out normally, or not working out at all, which I’m obviously not in favor of, you must keep hydrated. Even simply sitting at your desk at work, it helps to drink water. For one, if nothing else, it will suppress your appetite. But more importantly the body needs liquid, because that is what it is made up of.
I apologize for not filing yesterday. No excuses in this world, but I was traveling back from my college football game assignment and had a few flight issues. But you’ll be glad to know that to the people I spoke with in the airport who were enjoying the blog, I say hello and I’m glad this is helping you…

I relate this to the 30-day fitness challenge because as I keep saying, there is no time like the present to make a difference in your own life. I continue to do my running, training, stretching and cardio work, but I often fine tune what I’m doing. Sometimes I realize I might need some more cardio, so I double up on that. Other times I feel I need to increase my strength if I’m feeling sluggish and I work on that.
No plan is perfect for everyone. You need to tailor a workout to what you think will benefit you most. Some people want to trim off pounds, others want to improve their cardio. But it’s important to remember too that you can’t go from 0 to 60 overnight. Start slow. Work your way up to a plan that fits you. If you go out of the gate hard and fast right away, your body is going to rebel and you will not be feeling too well the next day. Try out some various stretches or moves and see what works for you. Patience…

What that means is that I will do 100 reps of a move, maybe 25 at a time, with just 30 seconds between sets. I want to get my heart rate going an keep it going. The heart is a muscle that needs to be used and worked. It’s like a car. If you park your car in the driveway and don’t drive it for a few months or years then the tires lose air, the oil doesn’t make it’s way through the system, the gas dries up and things begin to loosen up if they should be tight and tighten up if they should be loose. It’s the same premise.

As I keep saying, get out and do something…anything. Everyone drives to the mall and tries to park right in front of the door. Try parking at the other end of the lot and walking to the store. When you go to the grocery store, park away from the front. If you are visiting a neighbor, walk to their house instead of driving. Take a stroll around the neighborhood and breath deeply. This is the time to change how you approach life. Yes, diet and exercise are key, but begin to change your mindset and the rest will follow. Don’t eat the whole plate of French fries, skip the sugary snack. We’re all human, but slowly you’ll see you can do it.

Has anyone changed their habits yet? Let me know.

We all ate lunch together in midtown afterwards and it was interesting to see the various ways people handle an upcoming change in diet and lifestyle.  Here we were, just spending the morning talking about health and fitness and yet when the lunch menus come you can see the wheels in people’s heads still turning about what to order.  The point is that you can workout all you want and you can rationalize sneaking various foods here and there, but if you don’t change your overall mindset you won’t change.  

These moms were only a few hours into a 6 month long challenge and I’m confident that they will be fine because they are all dedicated to improving their health.  But are you? Do you still order a large order of French fries and eat it all?  Do you still drink the super size soda at lunch or sneak the pack of candy in the afternoon?  This behavior is not unexpected but it does go back to the point that you need to change your overall behavior.  Instead of the French fries, go with the side of veggies.  Instead of a big size soda, drink water.  Instead of a bag of candy, grab an apple or pear.  Each small thing you do might not seem like a lot, but they add up.  Baby steps…

I’m not telling you this for the self promotion, but because what we are doing you might find interesting and informative. I have worked with the Professional Football Players Mothers Association for years, helping them define a path to better health. This year we will be doing this program along with Dr. Oz. Our goal is to inspire the moms of various NFL players, as well as their families to work towards a healthy life As I always say, it’s not about what you have done, it’s about what we’re going to do going forward. This program is something that you can follow at home as well.
Start to change your eating habits. Do a little more exercise than you did the day or week before. Think about eating healthier, walking more, cutting down on bad health habits. All of these things are doable. It just takes getting started. I realize my own workouts are not the norm, but you can do whatever makes you feel better. I guarantee that if you simply do some of the things I suggest, you’ll feel better. Maybe it’s starting with improving your diet. That alone will help. Then add in some exercise and walking. If you build up to weights or aerobic work of some kind that’s a bonus. But do something. You’ll see how much better you feel right away.

As always, eating right is important. Especially on hot days, your body loses a lot of fluids and vitamins and they need to be replaced. Sitting down with a pizza might sound great, but the reality is that you need some healthy items going back in you. Drinking a ton of water is always advisable and of course some grains and protein are great. Fire up the grill and grill some chicken.
Part of the reason you also need to do something on Sundays is that your body doesn’t want to be shocked when you start up again on Monday. You can’t go from 0 to 60. You need to do something to loosen up the body before hitting the field again on Monday.

When you’re young and athletic, you feel that nothing can stop you. You can eat what you want, drink what you want, stay up late, get up early, drive recklessly and whatever else. As they say, youth is wasted on the young. I’m not here to preach to anyone, but from a health and fitness standpoint, you do need to think about everything you do. Before you eat that second cheeseburger, you might want to think about things from weight to cholesterol. Before you decide to skip that workout so you can hang out with your buddies, think about when you’ll reschedule it, or if you even will. And certainly before you take a drink, tell yourself as many times as it takes not to get behind the wheel.
Being on a college campus always reminds me how fun that time of my life is and just as importantly that I’m not in shape as I get older and can equally enjoy the next stage of my life just as much.