Some of the nutrients in Quinoa include:

1) Complete Protein. Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that are required by the body to help build and maintain muscle tissue. Essential amino acids are not produced by the body and must be introduced through diet.

2) Magnesium. Magnesium helps relax your muscles and blood vessels and can positively affect blood pressure. Quinoa contains high levels of this vital nutrient.

3) Fiber. Quinoa is high in fiber, which we need to maintain proper elimination. Proper elimination is necessary to reduce bloating, colon diseases, and gas.

4) Manganese and Copper. Manganese and Copper act like antioxidants in your body to get rid of dangerous cancer and disease causing free radicals.

5) Quinoa is higher in Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, Copper, Manganese, and Zinc than wheat, barley or corn.

Studies have shown that Quinoa has been effective in preventing and treating conditions such as arteriosclerosis, breast cancer, diabetes, and insulin resistance all due to its complete nutritional makeup and has been deemed one of the most complete foods in nature. Do yourself and your body a favor, get some!

Prepare Quinoa like you would rice. Boil twice the amount of water you are using compared to the amount of Quinoa. Rinse the Quinoa in a fine mesh colander or strainer. Add the Quinoa and your preferred seasonings to the boiling water, stir, cover and reduce the temperature to a slow simmer. Cook approximately 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from heat at let it rest for 5 minutes with the cover on. Fluff with a fork and serve. There are many recipes available online for Quinoa preparation. Enjoy!

As the day approached, the butterflies were going crazy in the old gut.  We committed, paid our entrance fee and we were going to do this and we were going to finish strong!  About 3,000 others nuts signed up to this race.  Race day arrived!  Bryan and I drove up together and we agreed that even though we signed up as individuals we would finish the race together.  We had to walk about 1.25 miles from the parking lot to the race start.  We collected our timing chips, pinned our bibs on, wrote our bib numbers on our shoulder/foreheads and arms and hydrated up.  We watched the first wave of racers come down the mountain, mud covered, sweating, and looking miserable.  I thought to myself, “what the hell did I get myself into?” It was too late to back now because it was our turn to join the queue.  The smoke bomb dropped, the siren blared and off we went! The first 2.5 miles was all hill running.

When you have a line of 250 people running over the mountains it’s truly a sight to see.  Just when my lungs wanted to give out we hit the first series of obstacles; hay bales, log jumps, cargo net climbs and running in a dry creek bed.  My lungs got a breather and we pressed on.  We hit the mud crawl next.  Going through mud over rocks, sticks and water is lovely but when real barbed wire is a few inches over your butt and back it goes to another level! We made it through unscathed and thankful for the water station ahead.  We jumped through some walls and hit the balance beam walk.  Rules of the course, you get one chance to complete the obstacle or you get to do 30 burpees as punishment for failing.  As if my lungs needed that!  Successfully negotiated we moved on.  The first of MANY steep hills was upon us.

At the foot of the ridiculous hill lay a fellow runner flat on his back suffering from hamstring cramps.  Several people stopped to render assistance and then we pressed on.  This hill was so steep that only a mountain goat could run up it!  We made it up and had the joy of running back down the mountain to the monkey bars.  Whoever carved this trail of hell needs serious psychiatric help!  One side is scrub brush, the other side is steep drop and the ground is loose dirt, gravel and dust.  Foot placement was critical.  We hit the monkey bars and made it across.  As Bryan came down he informed me that he felt a little tweak in his left calf.  We made it to the halfway point where the first aid/water station was.  We got him some salt, hydrated, stretched his calf and mobilized his ankle.  Next two obstacles were the javelin throw and wall traverse.  I failed on both and had the pleasure of doing 60 burpees after 4 miles of joy and happiness.  From that point on, NO MORE BURPEES!

We vaulted 2 -8 foot walls and went for the second half of the course.  Bryan’s calf locked up whenever he pushed off to jump.  Our paced slowed way down but we were determined to finish.  We had to fill a 5 gallon bucket with sand and carry up and back down a hill, run more hills, carry tires up and down another hill and run some more.  We stretched his calf whenever we needed to, slowed down the pace on the inclines and walked when necessary.   We made it down a particularly long decline and hit the riverbed.  Running through cold water and mud up to our knees never felt so good.  Then we hit the hill from HELL!  This thing was soo long and brutal all we could do was think, “don’t look up, one foot in front of the other.”  We passed people by, heard all the complaining, whining, bellyaching and drama.  We finally crested Satan’s spawn and had to climb cargo nets and run back down.  We hit a few more cargo nets, ran some more and finally were able to see the finish line.  Down to the last few obstacles, I started thinking, “Finish strong.”  Bryan and I were going to finish this thing!  We had to pull a cement block around a mud track, and then sprint to the rope climb.  Again, 30 burpees if you didn’t ring the bell at the top.  I went first, jumped half way up, pulled and clanged that raggedy bell!  Bryan went next.  He was struggling with his technique but I saw his face and there was no way he was doing burpees!  He hung on for what seemed like an eternity when I suggested that he use the knots as a leverage spot and push with his feet.  He listened and sure enough, rang the bell!  We bumped fists and went through the mud pits.  After emerging wet, dirty, and smiling, we had to crawl under barbed wire through the sand.  Four obstacles left!  We jumped over the fire pit, scaled the slippery wall, do 200 yards on the concept 2 skier machine and fight our way through the gladiator pit.  3 hours and 19 minutes after we started our journey, we finished and emerged as Spartans!

The Lessons I learned are as follows:

1)   Leadership:  Whenever you undertake a goal whether it be a race, a business or parenthood, you need a leader.  A leader should always lead by example and never leave their teammates behind.  I could have left Bryan at the half way point as he suggested I do but what kind of leadership would that be?  We started this race together and we were going to finish it together.  If I had to piggyback him across the finish line then so be it!

2)   Teamwork:   All throughout the course we heard people yelling at each other, fighting, complaining and being miserable.  They choose to accept this journey; no one forced them to do it.  You are only as strong as your weakest link.  In this case it was Bryan calf.  He had the mental toughness to keep going when the going got tough.  Working together to overcome the challenges we faced helped us both to exceed what we thought we were capable of doing.

3)   Commitment:  When we first signed up to do this race, we thought how hard could it really be?  Once we arrived at the starting gate and saw the looks of anguish on some of the earlier racers faces, I thought, “ What did I just get myself into?” After a 30 second mental breakdown, I recommitted myself to doing the very best I could.  I may not win, but I was going to do my very best!  Committing to your stated goals gives you clarity because you have a clear path to follow.  A start line and a finish line. If I could do that in the race, I can certainly do that in life!

4)   Overcoming Obstacles:  This was the biggest challenge but also the greatest joy.  Whenever we approached a new obstacle, I thought, “How am I going to overcome this?” If I had to crawl under, jump over, swing over, push through or whatever, I was going to find a way through.  We all have obstacles to overcome in business and in life.  If we adopt the same mindset as I did on the racecourse, we will have NO limits!  Do whatever you have to, to achieve your goals.

5)   Risk:  Life is about taking a certain amount of risk. If you stay in your comfort zone, you will never grow as a person.  Pushing yourself physically can also lead to greater mental strength.  After we crossed the finish line, I thought, “If I can do this, I can do anything.”  Nothing feels better than making a goal, achieving that goal and setting new ones to master.  As soon as we cleaned up, had some BBQ and coconut water, we were hooked.  So we signed up for the Tough Mudder this February.  It’s a longer course filled with new challenges to master and new memories to be made.

I ask you to join me in going outside your comfort zone, setting goals, overcoming obstacles, being a leader and living, truly living, your best life ever!

1)   Eat Slowly. It takes 15-20 minutes for your brain to register that you are actually full.  Try setting your fork down after each bite.  If you are eating with friends or family, engage them in conversation to slow your pace.  Eating slowly will actually help you eat less, saving calories and increasing the enjoyment of your meal.  As an experiment, use a kitchen timer and make your next meal last for 15 minutes.

2)   80% full.   Instead of going for the food coma that many of us know after eating a huge meal, go for 80% full.  You will retrain your brain and body to be satisfied without being overly stuffed.  This secret goes hand in hand with #1.

3)   Live in the moment. Practice being mindful, not mindless. Turn off all distractions when eating, no phones, TVs, computers or books. Pay attention to the tastes, smells and textures of your meal.  You will find that your meal tastes richer and is more enjoyable.

4)   Sleep. In this fast paced world where we all strive to get as much done as we can everyday, we neglect a crucial element to our health and happiness; sleep.  You need to get at least 6-8 hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep per night. Turn off the TV, lights and cell phones.  You heal, burn fat and recover from your daily stresses when you sleep.  Sleep in complete darkness and avoid sweets and dessert before bed.

5)   5 hours of exercise per week.  You have 168 hours each week to live your life.  Use 5 of those to help secure your healthy future.  Do 3 hours of resistance work and 2 hours of high intensity interval training.  You could do 45 minutes per day and achieve your fitness needs.  Remember that quality of exercise is more important than quantity.

6)   Change your environment and systems.  If you have a bad habit of snacking or eating junk food at home, don’t buy it!  If you don’t have it in the house, you can’t eat it!  Choose to spend your time with friends that live a healthier lifestyle.  Model your health habits after theirs.  Small consistent steps toward your ultimate goal win every time.   Change the way you prepare your food.  It’s just as easy to cook 6 chicken breasts, as it is to cook one.  Plan your meal just as would plan your weekly schedule.   Use two days per week to cook and prep your meals.  Pack them in containers and bring a cooler with you wherever you go.

7)   Take Action.   All of the best plans and ideas are worthless without taking action on them!  Break your ultimate goals down into small steps that will achieve.  If your goal is to lose 100 lbs. this year, break it down.  100 lbs. divided by 52 weeks is 1.92 lbs. per week.  1.92 lbs. is equal to 6,720 calories. 6,720 calories divided by 7 days is 960 calories.  30 minutes of intense cardio will burn up 500 calories, reduce your caloric intake by 460 calories and your goal will be accomplished!  Now that you broke it down, it is easy.  You have an action plan.  Here is a link to determine how many calories you are burning when exercising.  Remember that you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1lb of fat.  http://k2.kirtland.cc.mi.us/~balbachl/calorie.htm

8)   Hire a coach or a trainer.  We all have coaches, teachers or trainers to help us reach our goals in life.  You didn’t graduate high school or college without them.  What is stopping you from using one now?  I have business mentors and a trainer as well.  The role of a coach is to push us to new levels and become our best.   Even pro athletes have trainers and coaches to help them reach new levels of fitness and excellence.  A great coach will ask you what have you done in the past?  Why didn’t it work? And how can they best help you reach your goals?  Their purpose in life is to help you become great!

9)   Laugh more often.  Laughter really is the best medicine.  Stress levels are at an all time high and we simply do not laugh enough.  Children laugh in excess of 300 times per day! Adults laugh about 5.  Laughing changes our whole endocrine system.  It tempers the stress hormones and increases the healing hormones.  Try this, the next time you are stressed out, put on your favorite comedian and see how you feel after a good belly laugh.

10)  Recharge your batteries.   Just like your cell phone battery needs a daily recharge, your spirit needs one also.  Go to your healing place as often as possible.  It may be the beach or the mountains or even spending time around children.  Unplug from your daily stresses and recharge yourself.  Spending quality time in nature without electronic gizmos is very therapeutic.  Whatever your special place is, take some “me” time and go there.

This is something that I see becoming a bigger problem, as more information is made accessible.  We are constantly bombarded with stories and articles telling us one thing and then the next day, something contradictory to the first.  Case in point, in Tuesday, June 28th health section of the San Diego Union Tribune, one article states, “ the “dirty dozen” are apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, bell peppers, domestic blueberries, lettuce, kale and collard greens.”  This is list the Environmental Watch Group just published relating to the fruits and vegetables with the most exposure to pesticides.  They further suggest that washing all fruits and vegetables thoroughly is critical and that the bell pepper you’re eating may have been treated with as many as 97 different bug killers!  On the NEXT page is an article stating that certain foods are proven to be extra healthy and beneficial for the heart.  That list includes: salmon, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, oatmeal, nuts and soy protein.

So from this we can deduce that strawberries and blueberries are both great for the heart and part of the “dirty dozen” of pesticide filled fruits!  Is there any wonder why people are having a hard time believing what is being reported?  In my opinion the answer is this, K.I.S.S., keep it simple stupid.  We know what we are supposed to eat and we know what is right.   Our parents were raised on a higher quality of food than we are being given now.  The milk we drink, the beef we consume and even the air we breathe is dirtier than ever.  The life expectancy in this country is not advancing and the quality of life is declining.  Why is that? It is because our foods are laced with hormones, pesticides, insecticides and poisons.  Children are developing faster than ever.  The sexual characteristics of young boys and girls are starting earlier and earlier.  A seven-year-old girl should not being having a period or developing breasts!

Our parents worked longer and sometimes harder than we do and they still managed to succeed.  They were raised on REAL foods, not processed junk that we happily ingest everyday.  Meals were freshly prepared on a daily basis and we sat around the table to eat them.  When was the last time your family made a meal together and sat around the table eating it sans cell phones and TV?  We know what is healthy; we can feel it in our gut.   We know that organic meats and produce are better for us than conventionally grown products because they don’t contain the high levels of pesticides, insecticides and poisons.  They may cost a little more and don’t stay “fresh” as long as commercially grown products but that’s OK.   We invest in our bodies every time we consume food and drink.  If we eat what we know to be right we gain a surplus of nutrients and longevity.   I tell all my clients that their body is a Ferrari.  If you spend $250,000 on a car would you put sugar in the tank?  Or put cheap gas in it? Of course not!  Then why would do that to your body? (Which is worth way more than $250,000 by the way)  You can always buy a new car but you can’t buy a new body!   Jack Lalanne said it many times throughout his lengthy career, “If man made it, don’t eat it!  If you can hunt it, pick it, gather it or fish it, eat it!”

The only true control we have in this world is over ourselves.  We control what we think, what we do, how we feel, what we eat and what we want to accomplish in life.   Make the best choices for yourself.  Don’t believe what the media says.  If you want answers to questions, research the answer or consult with a professional.  We at The San Diego Boot Camp are always here to assist you in your quest for health and fitness.  If we don’t know the answer to your questions, we have a team of professionals that will find it for you!

Let’s start out with the definition of fatigue.  Fatigue is defined as weariness or exhaustion from labor, stress or exertion from exercise.
James Wilson N.D., D.C., Ph.D, stated that “80% of adult Americans suffer from some level of adrenal fatigue at some time during their lifetime.  It remains one of the most under diagnosed illnesses in the U.S.”  Fatigue shows itself in many ways that we tend to shrug off with a cup of coffee or a Red Bull.  The most common signs of fatigue are:

1. The Snoozer.  This is the type of person who always presses the snooze button hoping to gain another 10-15 minutes of sleep.
2. Mind clutter.   This is the type of person who has brain fog or clouded thinking throughout the day.
3. Food coma.   This is the type of person who and falls asleep soon after eating a meal.
4. The Napper.  When 3-5p.m. hits, its lights out!
5. Wire-but-tired.   This is the type of person who lives on stimulants to make it through the day.
6. Low blood sugar.   When your blood sugar levels fall, the first thing this person reaches for is some sugar!  Sugar will act as a quick pick-me-up but ultimately will cause an energy crash.
7. Irritable.   Getting irritated easily is a classic sign of fatigue and sleep deprivation.  Stress is common, and we should be able to handle it.  When fatigue sets in, watch out!
8. Slow recovery after exercise. When your body is fatigued, it will not be able to bounce back after a workout.  Being comatose after a workout is not supposed to happen.  Tired, yes; laid out, no.  If your soreness lasts for more than a day or two from a workout, make sure you eat right and get more sleep!
9. No motivation.   Have you lost your mojo?  Can you not get going at all?  When this happens, your entire system is out of whack.
10. Crave sweets.  Sugar is stopgap attempt to raise your energy levels.  Much like caffeine, it is an artificial way to make it through the day.
11. Sick all the time.  If you always seem to catch a cold that lasts forever and a day, then you are probably fatigued.  Immune system depression is very common when you are fatigued.  For every 1 teaspoon of sugar ingested, the immune system gets depressed for 2 hours!

Now that we’ve seen some of the signs of fatigue, let’s discuss what causes fatigue.

1. Excess stress.   Prolonged emotional, physical or mental stress that doesn’t seem to end.  Think of it this way – you have a cup and it fills up slowly with the daily stresses of life.  Sooner or later your cup is going to fill to the rim.  When one more stressor hits you, BANG! Your cup has now overflowed.  That is the precise moment symptoms start to appear.
2. Acute stress.  Acute stress is our primal fight-or-flight response to a dangerous situation.  These normally have quick resolutions, but with greater reoccurrence, cortisol levels remain high in the body.
3. Chronic stress.   These are the long lasting stressors that don’t have easy release.  The more stress you carry, the more likely you will get an illness.
4. Dehydration.  Dehydration raises cortisol levels.   Even a 2% drop in hydration significantly impairs mental function.
5. Overtraining.  Overtraining causes undue stress on the muscles, tendons and ligaments throughout the body.
6. Roller coaster blood sugar levels.   When blood sugar levels rise and fall like a roller coaster, hormones get out of balance, and we tend to use sugar to rise out of the valleys.
7. Protein deficiency.  Lack of protein in the diet causes the body to break down skeletal muscle leading to further stress.
8. Carb fest.  Too many processed carbohydrates cause large spikes in blood sugar levels.
9. Medications.   Some medications can cause fatigue.
10. Absorption issues.  Digestive enzymes weaken over time and even though you may be eating well, your body may not be absorbing proper nourishment.
11. Ergonomics.  Your workstation may be causing undue stress on your body by misaligned chairs, keyboards and monitors.  You should also check the position of your car seat for proper alignment.
12. Sleep issues.  Almost 43% of Americans rarely or never have had a good night’s sleep!  Sleep deprivation is on the rise as more stress and responsibility are placed on our shoulders.  The CHP says that driving while drowsy is worse than driving under the influence.

Here are some suggestions I have learned from some of our best nutritionists to help solve fatigue.

1. Hydrate!  The optimal amount of water you should be ingesting daily is half of your bodyweight in ounces.  For example, a 200-pound person should drink 100 ounces of pure water.  On top of that, try to drink 25% of that amount first thing in the morning.  Be aware that other fluids (soda, coffee, tea, juice, milk, mineral water, sports drinks, etc) DO NOT count toward your daily water intake goal.
2. Blood sugar regulation.   Cortisol control is dependent upon blood sugar regulation.  Skipping breakfast or having coffee and donut just won’t cut it!  By eating a healthy breakfast, you glucose levels will be stabilized throughout the day.  When it comes to choosing breakfast foods think fiber, not carbs.  All carbs are NOT created equal!  Vegetables are the best choice for carbohydrates along with whole fruits.  There are two kinds of fiber we need – insoluble and soluble.  Insoluble fiber helps to keep your digestive system working properly and helps with glucose control.  Soluble fiber feeds the good bacteria in the intestines to help break down the foods we eat.
3. Eat protein.  Protein is brain food!  Protein also boosts your metabolism and gets your motor running.  There is debate among free-range chicken, wild seafood and grass-fed animals compared to farm raised products as to which is better for you.  Animals that are raised on proper food sources have a higher level of Omega 3 fatty acids compared to Omega 6 levels.  Animals that run around have less fat and higher levels of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid).  The saturated fat found in animal protein helps reduce inflammation in our bodies and is necessary for healthy metabolism.
4. Sleep.  This is where most people feel that they can make do without.  Sleep is REQUIRED for our bodies to heal from exercise and combat the constant break down of our cells and tissues.  A minimum of 7-9 hours of solid, uninterrupted sleep is necessary for most adults while children need 10-12 hours of sleep.  Contrary to popular belief, you cannot make up on lost sleep!  A dark room is best for sleeping.  Lights stimulate cortisol levels and wake up the mind.  If you need light to sleep use a candle.  Avoid stimulation before bed.  Watching the news, a violent or scary movie also raises cortisol levels and makes it much harder to sleep soundly.  Control bedtime blood sugar levels.  That glass of wine or beer after dinner will skyrocket your blood sugar levels.  The problem with that is that your body responds by producing more insulin.  You will fall asleep as your insulin levels fall, but when your cortisol levels rise to balance out your falling insulin levels, you will wake up at 1:00 or 2:00 a.m.  I’ve experimented this on myself, and it sure changed the way I look at an after-dinner drink or sweet treat.  Your growth hormone and thyroid hormone drop to almost nothing after two drinks!   The more we disrupt our sleep cycle through alcohol, stimulants or bad choices, the less time we spend in our repair and recovery stages of sleep.

This information isn’t intended to diagnose or treat fatigue.  These are some of things I have learned that I want to share with you so that you have the information to make better choices.  If you think any of these situations applies to you or your loved ones, call your doctor.

There are a growing number of people who are depressed or on medication for depression.  These medications decrease metabolism regardless of changes to the diet, and the medications can change hormone levels in the body.  This impacts our ability to lose weight and keep the weight off.
9. Underlying Disease/chronic disease

A growing number of people have underlying conditions like Thyroid Disease, Diabetes and Cushing’s disease (increased production of cortisol in the body) .  People end up gaining weight and medical treatment is necessary to help in weight loss or slowing weight gain down.   Due decreases in hormone levels, the body is unable to raise metabolism which burns extra calories

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8. Genetics

Research shows that genetics may play a part in weight gain.  Evidence shows some people may have higher chances of weight gain.  However, even though genetics may play a role in weight gain, environmental factors and individual choices play a much bigger role in a person being overweight then genetics.

7. Stress

Our natural defense against stressors is the Fight or Flight system.  With increased stress levels, our bodies prepare for us to fight or run.  When stress levels rise, cortisol is released in the blood stream, causing changes in the body.   Cortisol helps release sugar, stored in the muscles and liver, into the blood stream for quick energy use. This hormone is responsible for accumulation of fat in the abdomen which is hard for the body to get rid of.  Cortisol suppresses the immune system making it harder to fight infections.  Stress is always there so our cortisol levels are always high.

6.  Portion Size

Have you ever super-sized your meal at a fast food chain? I am pretty sure most of us have.  Portion control is a leading factor in weight gain.  We tend to over eat foods that are high in fat and calories, and do it on a constant basis.    We have lost our control over our portion control.  Plates and cups are bigger, so taking in extra calories is easier.
5.  Skipping meals

Skipping a meal is just as bad as portion control.  It slows down your metabolism because of lack of calories and nutrients in the body to refuel us.  When you skip a meal, 9 out of 10 times we overeat when the next meal comes.  Food choices are usually affected and portion sizes become monstrous.  This leads to too many calories, lethargic moods and storing those calories being stored as fat.
4.  “Low-fat” Labeling

How many of us have been duped into thinking that low fat is low calorie?  Low fat labeling means that there is 3 fat grams or less. Just because a label says low fat does not mean lower calorie.  So before you grab that low fat product, remember look at the label and see how many calories and what the serving size is.   We tend to over-eat low fat products, because we think low fat means low calories.  Sometimes, eating the “real deal” can be better for you because of the serving size.

3.  Lack of exercise

Strength training and cardiovascular exercise help increase the amount of calories that we burn.  We find ourselves doing less and less exercise and eating more calories.  The combination of lack of exercise and high calorie intake is why we gain weight.  The more strength training, the more muscle we have, which leads to higher metabolism.  This helps us burn more calories at rest and during exercise.

2. Slower Metabolic Rate

A slower metabolic rate helps with weight gain.  Muscle is more metabolically active (meaning it burns more calories) than fat so we need more muscle than fat.    One common myth is that as we age, we lose more muscle.  If we stay active then this is not true.   Continuing to do strength and cardiovascular exercises will keep the lean mass on our bodies which keeps out metabolism burning.  Then we can continue to eat those extra calories and not worry about gaining weight.
And the Number 1 Reason why people gain weight is….
1. Unhealthy Diet

Let’s face the facts: generally our diets are not good.  Our diets are filled with processed foods that are easy to prepare and probably are not good for us.   Portions are out of control and meals are lacking essential foods like fruits and veggies, and complex carbohydrates that help fuel our bodies.  Fast food and prepackaged foods can lead to extra weight around the waist due to a lot of fat and extra calories.

Diet and exercise help monitor weight gain as we get older.  Making better food choices, monitoring your portions and not skipping meals will help you lose weight.  Substituting a healthy snack or meal replacement will help you not to skip meals and will give you plenty of nutrients to satisfy you until you eat again.
Our friends at Prograde Nutrition sent this to us.  I hope it helps you achieve your personal goals and a slimmer waist line.

John Sims

This was written by Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES

Let’s talk about choices. We have the choice to breathe or to die.  Plain and simply, life is all about choices.

We are the most blessed race in existence, the human race.  We have opposable thumbs, we can make fire and we can make food!  We are the intelligent race on this planet and yet we act like fools! We choose to poison our bodies with fake foods and pollute our minds with junk on TV.  We CHOOSE to not realize the magnificence of our being.  Life is what we make it!  We aren’t promised tomorrow or a better today. What we do is our own choosing.   We have the choice to be great or average, be successful or to fail.   If we are blessed with the opportunity of choice then why not choose to be extraordinary?  We all have dreams of what we would like our lives to be like but how many of us actually do something about realizing them?   Success is a personal definition.  Some us define success as having lots of money, toys and a fancy house.  Others define it as having a loving family, wonderful friends and a balanced lifestyle.

What is your definition of success?  Or happiness?  At the San Diego Boot Camp as our motto states, “we exist to educate, motivate and empower people to achieve THEIR goals in fitness and in life.” Our goals are simple; we want to help you reach your goals whatever they may be.  You have the choice to sit on the couch and watch life pass you by or you can hop on the train of life and ride it til the wheels fall off!   Lets talk about the power of choice for a minute.  Choice is a conscious decision that you make about what you want to do.  Nobody has the power to do that for you except yourself.   If you give that power away by making excuses and laying blame on others for your lack of action you still have made a choice without realizing it.  You chose to play the victim role.  The old saying, “excuses are like a**holes, everyone has one” doesn’t have to apply to you UNLESS you want it to!  We are all born perfect.

Throughout life we are constantly bombarded with rules, social demands and labels.  If we agree with the negative things people say about us then we have chosen to accept it as truth.  Someone might try to poison our being by saying we are fat or ugly or stupid or whatever garbage they may say.   If we act from a place of power and do not accept the negative poison placed on us then we can understand that those trying to hurt us are really hurting themselves.  If you want an honest, unbiased opinion ask a child.  They do not possess the same politically correct filters that we have as adults.   Young children do not say things out of malice, they speak the truth!  If your breath stinks, they will tell you!  If your outfit is pretty, they will say so.  We can choose to be more child like and search for the beauty in the world and to speak the truth.  Spending time with my girls, Simone and Soraya, is always a breath of fresh air because I know they will speak the truth and find joy in the littlest things.  At birthdays and Christmas they have more fun with the wrapping paper and boxes than with the gifts in them.  What if we did the same thing with life?  What if we chose to slow down and smell the flowers?  What if we really lived every minute of everyday as if it was our last?  What would your day look like then?  Would you choose to worry about the bills, buying a bigger house or getting that next promotion?  Or would you get busy crossing things off of your bucket list?  If you don’t have a bucket list I would highly suggest writing one immediately!  Writing ideas down on paper give them legitimacy.  Taking action on them gives them life and life is what we are living!

It all comes back to choice.  We have the intelligence to choose what we want to believe, what we want out of life and what life we choose to live!  Make the best choices possible and live an extraordinary life!

Come join us for fun exercise, rain or shine!

Come join us for fun exercise, rain or shine!

Come join us for fun exercise, rain or shine!