Right now I am in the midst of packing an moving from a house into a townhome in a town just 15 minutes out of Calgary.

The move to me seems straightforward and I am very excited. The kids will be in a good school together, we will have a bit of a more laid back lifestyle and we will have a more family like community to live in.

My wife on the other hand is struggling a little bit. There is all the moving plans, getting the kids registered for school, the idea of moving to a small town for the first time in her life and she bears the brunt of coordinating all of the expenses and hiring the movers.

We have moved a few times in the past and each time our roles are the same but the way that we deal with it is always different. One person or both of us is usually tense we each have our own coping mechanisms and in the end we are always happy with our move and how smoothly everything has gone on moving day. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

I was reading a post at Tom Venutos blog which was a question from a guy in Scotland that says that all of his friends drink, and everyone in Scotland drinks a lot of alcohol and how can he change and entire country so that he can live a healthier lifestyle. Of course everyone just says “change your friends” but as much as this seems like the easy answer it is not an easy thing to do. Tom says to change yourself and let those changes influence your actions. Here is a quote.

Once you accept a new lifestyle to the point that it becomes your identity, you can’t go back. You can’t say to yourself “I am a bodybuilder” and mean it, right down to the deepest subconscious level, and then go out drinking every weekend – it is simply not congruent, and your nervous system will short circuit behaviors that might sabotage you as a bodybuilder.

And the same works in reverse. If your identity is, “I am a drinker,” you cannot fight the automatic behaviors that are generated as a result, because it’s subconscious mind you are working against and thats a fight you always lose in the long term.

Read the rest of this entry »

OK so yesterday I dealt with goal setting as a good method to make new years resolutions instead of just stating out loud that you want to lose weight or want to quit smoking now. Now I wanted to go though a sample plan for how you can best get the process started with a weight loss. This is exactly the way I would plan and write it all out.

Goal: Lose 20 Pounds by April 1st (notice that there is an amount of weight and a date, nice and specific)

Why: I want to fit into old clothes, want to make sure that I am on the road to a healthier lifestyle, want to be more attractive (good reasons although the last one is a little vague)

How will I do this: I will change my diet by taking out refined foods now, eat more fruits and vegetables. I will start doing cardio Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings before work and will do weights on Saturdays and Tuesday evenings to start with. I will read a health book ever two weeks and I will change my evenings to be around more active and health conscious people. (pretty clear although this can always be expanded on, clarity will lead to a higher chance of success)

Measuring my success: I will weigh myself every Saturday morning when I get up and will measure my chest, waist and hips right after. To succeed I will need to lose 7 pounds a month which is just shy of 2 pounds a week. I know that this is a significant amount of weight. (Clarity of the goal and sub goals helps. Must keep top of mind that 2 pounds a week every week is pushing it but possible) Read the rest of this entry »

Well the first full week of the new year is upon us and as I have always seen at this time of year gyms across the country are filling up with new members. As veteran members all know the wait for gym equipment usually peters out by the beginning of February as all the new members stop going to the gym or at least stop coming very often.

I always think of new years as being a very trendy time for gym memberships as the prices drop to get new members and there is a lot of excitement as many people show up for the first time and then get bored, sore and disillusioned and move on to the next exciting thing in their lives. A few people we will see get the bug and do not stop and will become lifelong weightlifters but I always used to wonder what makes the difference between those that stay at the gym and those that leave. Here is my list.

1. No pain, no gain – The problem here is that most people push themselves far to hard and have no time to recover between workouts and after being sore for a month it is impossible to go on. This looks to newbies as a ridiculous lifestyle. To get away from this problem why not just slow down. If you want to look hot for the summer why not take it a little easier. The beach will still be empty next week so don�t kill yourself trying to look like a greek god now.

2. No results – When getting started in a gym you may not get fast results in losing weight. Your workouts are going to lose you fat as well as gain you muscle so you are going to not be losing as fast as you hope. Give it time. As you gain muscle it takes your body more calories to keep that muscle, as well as increasing your metabolism, which in turn will help you lose fat.

3. Tiredness – This relates to number one. You will be tired as your body adjusts and as you gain strength, lose fat and get healthier. After you adjust to the new workouts you will get more energy and not be nearly as tired as you were before you started this healthier lifestyle.

4. No time except for the gym – This is a doozy. When you get started the only thing that matters is going to the gym and then suddenly you have lost touch with the rest of the world and you miss that. Why not just start reducing the time you workout. You do not need to work out two hours a day. 45 minutes to an hour is all you should be spending in the gym as you get started.

5. Boredom – Boredom can definitely creep into your attitude at the gym. This is usually caused, I believe, from not having a plan, goals and a way to make sure that you are going to achieve them. If you just go in and lift weights randomly or do a cardio workout when you can�t think of any muscle groups that you �feel like� doing then you are quickly going to get bored and not know why you are spending time in the gym. Get together with a trainer at the gym that you join and get a plan together for what you are going to do each day in the gym and set some realistic goals and you should be set.

Other than these issues the biggest issue is that the first gym you saw was the one you joined and you just might not enjoy working out there. Try going through my list of how to choose a gym, and my other gym staff articles to make sure that you pick the right place to workout.