It's called survival of the fittest for a reason.

Who do you think would win this fight? If you hadn't seen the movie? Lets break it down before you decide. Although most of you will not heed my words, and say Maximus won, because he is a god in a man's body. If we look at the actual facts you can tell who will win easily. First off lets look at the favorite for this fight. The big guy looks like an obvious champ, and he is. Yet the rolls of fat on his back tell a different story. One of full shameful gluttony, and animalistic lust. You see it is easy being the champ, and this guy indulges in all it has to offer. He sleeps with all the women who jump at the chance to sleep with a champion of the arena(this is Greek times we talking about so today he would be as popular as lil wayne). He eats roast hog day and night, and then he eats the left overs. To wash it all down he reaches for a cup of wine. What time does that leave him to train? Assuming he can train in that state of excess. Now the Tiger, is a victim of circumstance. He didn't want to be there, and he doesn't need to be there. So why the hell is he there? Someone kick the guy who shouted "Lets add a fucking Tiger to the arena". The crowd cheers with anticipation(again Greek times). Though the tiger is strong and fast. He is no doubt starving for added amusement, and he is chained down. The odds just arn't good for him. So on to the unlikely choice Maximus! You look at him you think hes small, hes food, hes dead. Yet he eats his rations at the right times. He trains day and night to drown out the horrific scenes of his families murder. He has only two things on his mind. One revenge, and death to all those who stand in front of it. Two reuniting with his family in the Elysian Fields(kinda like heaven to the Greeks). He has no fear of death, and yet his revenge keeps him safe. We all know who won in the end, but I wanted show why he deserved to win. Survival is all about keeping your body in top condition at all times. That is the way it has always been(look at the Greeks). We were given this wonderful gift of life. Why wouldn't you want to fight your hardest to keep it as long as you can, and enjoy it longer and stronger. Not a shell of your former self, but the whole damn suit. Minus a few buttons.

What kind of fuel are you getting today?

Lets put money to the side for a minute ok. Which one of the octane ratings above would you choose? I doubt anyone will say 87. Most of you will say it is for the speed, but deep down you know its better, cleaner, more powerful for the car. I know we all love our cars, but do we feel the same about ourselves? We definitely should, I know I do, because I won't be sitting in that car 50 years from now. I will be in this body, and I will feel as good as I feel in my youth. I will feed it only the best fuel(vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, unsaturated fats, and fruits). I will give the best maintenance I can(high intensity full body training). If I total this body I can't go buy a new one. So the next time your at the pump thinking about the health of your car. Take a minute to think. What kind of fuel am I getting today?

Why are the rules for smoking advertising NOT the same for food advertising?

Anyone ever seen "warning this item contains trans fat that will cause heart disease and stroke". I didn't think so, but yet cigarette deaths are constantly declining. As for unhealthy food, well they just decided to allow food stamp use on fast food. No one wants to hear someone say that they are eating unhealthy. Seeing a warning, and thinking about it for yourself might work.

Nutrition Education?

That is probably how you are responding to this post right now. I would have responded the same way 10 years ago. Back then it was all about buffets, anorexia, and bulimia. Some how between worrying about being to skinny and living the american dream. We all forgot to learn about nutrition, and we all got over weight the new epidemic of today, tomorrow, and the future. High school gave us drug awareness, pregnancy awareness, anorexia awareness, alcohol awareness, and who could ever forget STD awareness. Where the hell was the nutrition awareness? I for one think it would have been good to know that those french fries I love were clogging my arteries with potential brain clots. Or that almost every product with wheat has tons of the same heart clogging trans fats in them. That the bacon burgers I carelessly swallowed can thicken my blood and harden my veins. That alone gives the chance of a stroke happening 3 to 1 odds, and all the diet coke drinkers are doubling their risk. This all sounds like important stuff to know doesn't it. So why am I just now finding out about it? Perhaps, I loved food too much to care. Maybe, I didn't care because I would never see any harmful side effects. That is until the day when I get diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. Why would you sit and wait till it is too late?

Something to fight for?

My favorite show growing up was dragon ball Z. This show started my journey into health. The show focused on a fun loving, family man, friend, teacher, and fighter living on earth named Goku. Whats the catch? He is a saiyan humanoid slash monkey slash alien from another planet of the strongest fighters in the universe. It sounds corny now, but it was a very good show. What does this have to do with health? Well, I wanted to be Goku the strongest man in the universe lol. This got me into weight lifting, which got me into nutrition, which got me into being healthy. The point I am trying to make is not about a kids show, but what it takes to motivate a person to want to be healthy. On the show Goku did not have the same vanity as me. He trained hard in 100 times gravity for a week, so he could transform into a super saiyan(above pic). Why? To save his friends, family, and earth. In your life it could be a family member worried about your health. Whatever it is find your something, and start fighting for life.

Fat ain't pretty

You wouldn't leave a giant pimple on your face would you? So why carry around a bunch of unattractive baggage. I used to wake up in the morning feeling ashamed. Now I wake up to an impressive looking body, and a feeling of pride for all my hard work. You can pop fat the same way you would pop a pimple lol. You can release it from your body slowly and safely. You just have to choose to do it. The choice is all yours. Jeet Kune Do can be a great way to start. All you need is a small cheap heavy bag. So get started now, and walk out of the house self confident. Not self conscious.

Elastic cords and a little bit of grit is all you need.

You have everything you need. Its true, you can get started right now. Push ups, even on your knees can be hard if you spread your body out more. Squats are harder than you think, but if you think your a spartan jump squats can be challenging. I prefer running, but it can be rough starting out. Squats will build the basic muscle you need to get started. So you can't do a pull up. Grabbing an elastic cable on both ends, and raising your hands above your head. You can simulate a pull up. You just pull your arms down, and apart like your doing a pull up. Its o.k. if the cord touches your chest. Soon you will be up on a pull up bar, and stronger than ever. Like Ab work of course you do. New research says holding your Abs still is a better muscle activator than crunching them. That is right no more stomach wrinkles. Get on your forearms in push up position, and stay there still don't move better yet squeeze those Abs tight. Pretend there is a hot candle under you that is my favorite mind trick. Speaking of mind tricks don't forget the music rock is my favorite. Another science study said music can reduce your perception of pain. That means a harder workout every time. You could do all these workouts in the bathroom at work in 15 minutes, but I have and I wouldn't recommend it without gloves. So get started there is no excuse not too. Fight for your body, and it will fight for you.

Here I am this year at 170lbs

Now that the weight is gone I have a whole new lifestyle. I look at food more than I used too. I cook all my food now instead of order out. I stay away from wheat, because my wife can't have gluten. It actually isn't that much of a difference. I think if everyone went on a gluten free diet for one week they would see all the junk in their diet instantly. I exercise at least 3 to 4 times a week, but I wish I could do more. I know that rest is as important as training, so I try to get 8 hours a night. I try to vary my workouts to fight boredom. My favorites are jeet kune do and sprinting vs weights, but lifting weight is important to keep up my metabolism. I eat filling foods now so I am rarely hungry. The best stomach fillers are almonds (try dark chocolate), fruits (apples), veggies (celery), whole grains (sweet potato chips), and protien (chicken, milk, whey). Eating healthy and high intensity exercise are the key to keeping weight off, and being healthy for life. I still can't believe I did it, but now I know anything is possible with hard work.

This was me 2 years ago at 260lbs!

I think I'll start this blog at the beginning. Raised by a hard working single women. I stayed home a lot. Does a kid home alone with unlimited supply of money eat healthy? If you've seen home alone 2 you already know the answer to that question. If you haven't seen one of the 3 home alone movies. Its about a kid left home alone . So big surprise the answer is pizza and Chinese take-out. I got married young, and those eating habits stayed with me. I know a lot of people who are so fine with being overweight, and it actually gives them great personalities. Many of my best friends growing up were overweight. So It was surprising to see how much shame I felt being overweight. I could ignore it easy enough, but every morning I'd wake to face the mirror. I get those feelings of shame again. I decided it was time to change. You will be surprised to find how much dedication is inside yourself. The first two months was pure diet and will power. I ate 800 calories a day, and my body felt it. I was hot, sweaty, and exhausted. Not to mention tired of water, almonds, grilled chicken, and ceaser salad. After two months of that I was exhausted, and decided to work smarter. I did lots of health research, and changed things up a notch. I started doing something that was slowly getting popular HIIT. High intensity interval training changed my life. I started lifting heavy weights with less than 30 secs of rest in between. I started running stairs and sprinting. I should have made a Rocky Montague. The funny thing was that I was now eating over 1500 calories, and still losing weight. I could even eat cheat foods sometimes. I found out later that building muscle and intense workouts can both boost your metabolism. So here I am today stuck 180lbs. My metabolism is so high now I can cheat a lot, and not gain anymore weight. As long as I eat filling whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and nuts. I also have to continue pushing my muscles to see growth, and keep my metabolism speedy.