Guidelines for Eating Simply (and nutritiously), While Traveling

Summertime.... many folks are out and about taking in the colors, warmth, and energy of the season.

I'm frequently asked, "What do I do when I'm traveling?"

For some reason, we tend to believe that everything is going to go to pot when we travel, in particular, that we won't get exercise, and we're going to eat like crap and/or carelessly, and come back with many regrets, 5 lbs. or more heavier, etc.

It's a myth my friends. You CAN go on vacation and still get exercise and eat well, provided you're willing to make the EFFORT to do so. Almost anywhere you travel now, there is a gym available either where you're staying, or one nearby you can get to. You can go it alone, or begin a new standard by getting as many other like minded people on board, as possible. Chances are, you will find others who want to do the same thing.


As you know, I went to Mexico. I choose as best I could, granted I could not read Spanish. I was utterly disappointed to find the tortillas (I had consumed 18 of them), were largely made of fat, pure lard. Well, I had already eaten them. I used better judgement once informed, yet it was what it was. I enjoyed them. Surprisingly, one gets a lot of exercise in Mexico, whether planning to or not, and I burned off a lot of that lard before it made way elsewhere.

If I had done my homework, as I do for my clients, BEFORE I left the country, I would have known what to consume and what not to. In Mexico, they sell fresh mangos and cucumbers right on the beach! Take advantage of seasonal, fresh produce. I encourage you too, to do your homework. Know how foods in your area are generally prepared. Are they fried? Grilled? Laden in sauces? If you don't know, ask.
 

Whether you're going for a long day hike, a weekend away, a couple weeks of hitting different locations, or taking off for a month or so, I'd like to share with you a few simple guidelines to help you 'stay the course'. This is especially helpful for those who are on meal plans. As meal plans, like any other plans, must remain flexible...especially when traveling.

Whether you prep food on your own, are joining friends at their place, or having a meal at a restaurant, the following will keep your body energized (provided you choose foods accordingly), happy, healthy, and satisfied so you can enjoy your trip to it's fullest!

Guidelines:

Protein: Portion is to be likened to the palm of your hand. Same diameter, and thickness. Choose lean sources of protein, and those you feel are the healthiest choice available.

Vegetables: Cup your hands together. Fill your plate with two servings this size. Be sure to choose plenty of greens.

Fruit: One piece for apples, oranges, bananas, etc. For melons, berries, pineapple, keep it to 1 cup. Keep in mind what's in season and readily grown in the area you're in. Take advantage of what's fresh, grown locally, and of course, organic is best.

Fat: Sprinkle fat (cheese, pure butter, nuts, oils, avocado, etc.), sparingly over protein and/or vegetables.

Tip: When filling your plate, keep it as colorful as possible: purple, red, orange, yellow, blue, green, etc.

If you find yourself looking for a snack in between meals, follow the same guidelines depending on what you feel hungry for.

Drink plenty of water, and if you feel you'd like dessert, consider sharing it with someone.

It's that simple!

Now, some wise words from Mr. Rohn:

FOUR WORDS THAT MAKE LIFE WORTHWHILE

Over the years as I’ve sought out ideas, principles and strategies to life’s challenges, I’ve come across four simple words that can make living worthwhile.

First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN . What you don’t know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences—negative or positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people’s experiences, both positive and negative. I’ve always said that it is too bad failures don’t give seminars. Obviously, we don’t want to pay them so they aren’t usually touring around giving seminars. But that information would be very valuable—we would learn how someone who had it all then messed it up. Learning from other people’s experiences and mistakes is valuable information because we can learn what not to do without the pain of having tried and failed ourselves.

We learn by what we see, so pay attention. We learn by what we hear, so be a good listener. Now I do suggest that you should be a selective listener. Don’t just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read, so learn from every source: from lectures, from songs, from sermons, and from conversations with people who care. Always keep learning.

Second, life is worthwhile if you TRY . You can’t just learn; now you have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. It doesn’t mean you can do everything, but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

Third, life is worthwhile if you STAY . You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project, see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. And that’s the end, but just don’t end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

And lastly, life is worthwhile if you CARE . If you care at all, you will get some results. If you care enough, you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care.
What difference can you make in your life today by putting these words to work?

Personal Planning / Learning Lessons

"The most important things to know in life take a lifetime to learn. Our first lessons come early -- but we grasp only the surface. As we gain life experience we gain deeper understanding. All great truths are both simple and complex, easy to understand yet difficult to master. " - Mark Ford

What are you learning today? 

Opportunities lie all about us for learning each moment of every day. Knowledge is recognizing them and Wisdom is learning from them. 

Whether it's building a stronger body, a healthier one, mastering the art of fishing, painting, writing, or communicating, it all takes time. In today's society, where many things that use to take hours, days, weeks, and even months to come to fruition... much is completed within minutes, with a few clicks of a mouse, and so forth.

What needs to be realized is this, the things that matter most are the things that need day after day nurturing, awareness, observation, experimentation, patience, and perseverance. It takes years of managing emotions, reactions, and gaining an awareness of where you started and the markers of growth you've made along the way.

Personally, I recommend people either make and record these observations on their birthday each year, or at the start of each new year. For example, write down five areas you want to monitor your progress in, say: Health, fitness, communication, building a quality relationship, and a learning endeavor, such as learning a new language or something similar. 

Next, write down an ACTION you can take for each of these areas, for each of the 12 months. Next, a week before the new month commences, break down your monthly goal into one thing you can do towards it your monthly goal each week. For the really ambitious: Break those weekly goals into what you can DO each day to accomplish your desired outcome.

Do this year after year, and you cannot help but progress. The key here is determining the specific five areas that are most meaningful to you at the start. Be sure to put the time, energy, and thought into what areas mean the most to you.

Now you have a plan! You know when you go to the grocery store when you're hungry, and without a list, you end up buying all kinds of things you wouldn't have, and waste time walking up and down every aisle looking for food.

When you bring a specific list of items you can breeze in, go directly to find them, and be done shopping.

Same plan works for life. Create your list. Break it down into manageable actions to be taken. Look at your progress each year and you will be astounded at the lessons you've learned along the way, as well as, the abundance of personal growth!!!!

Happy planning!!!!

NORTHWEST NATURAL 2014

Finally, some pictures came in from the competition in Boise! I decided to step on stage after several years and give it a go and had a wonderful time! I placed 7th, not bad considering I'll be fifty this year. There was no breakdown as far as age categories went, all Figure Pro's. I had such a great time!!!

There was never a dull moment. I hopped into a taxi upon arrival, and discovered the driver spoke very little English, had no GPS, and when I showed him the hotel address, he shook his head indicating he had no idea where it was, and asked me to call and get directions!!! True story. LMBO!!!!!

I took another cab later to my polygraph test, only to discover I left my phone in the cab 20 minutes after I was dropped off. I passed the poly, and must have done a good job because the tester himself offered me his son's 13th birthday present to use (his birthday wasn't for another week), it was an iphone 5. Meanwhile, my cell cruised around Boise for a few hours... until the nice driver hand delivered it back to the hotel.

Fast forward another few hours, where I got my spray paint, I mean tan, lol, and am too embarrassed to tell you the condition in which I rode home. Chalk it all up to CRAZY!

I met some fantastic people. The most amazing tanning EVER was done by Sun Envy!! Never have I seen such a crew that was so on top of things! Dena (the owner), is truly a Rock Star! This woman has everything down to a fine art. I wouldn't use anyone else but Sun Envy. 

You'd think I'd spend most of my time socializing with competitors, but due to circumstances, I found myself spending more time with the cabby's, maid's, testers, and spray tanners. I'll tell you, there's an interesting and/or amazing story behind everyone you meet!

Thank you!!! to my family and friends, and for all their support!!! A huge shout out to Atomic Designs for a stunning suit!!!! The color was perfect, stone work so beautiful, intricate design, and the best of all perfect fit! No bikini bite!
Thanks M.J.! Wouldn't go anywhere else. :)

 

"We are what we repeatedly do." Aristotle

Such understanding, and this came from the 300 BC time frame. Man has advanced in many ways over the years, yet, in many ways still keeps the basics... complex.

So...... what is it you're repeatedly doing???

Seriously, stop what you're doing right now and write down the top five things you repeatedly do. I don't mean get dressed, comb my hair kind of things. I mean the things in your life that are NOT working in your favor. I mean the nitty gritty. Are you repeatedly hitting the snooze button and sleeping in, running late daily? Are you repeatedly having a 'cheat', because it's 'just a couple bites'? Are you silently bombarding yourself with negative self-talk? 

Now, what are five things you repeatedly do that's working in your favor? Exercising daily? Educating yourself? Eating healthy? Managing stress in a healthful way? Enjoying time with the people you love?

We are surely what we repeatedly do. We are also not what we eat, rather we are what we assimilate. I believe life is much the same way. Life is what we assimilate from our experiences. 

I'm quite certain if Aristotle where writing this, he'd simply say, "If what you're doing isn't working, change it." Yep, that simple. I challenge you to change whatever it is that's not working for you. Create something new and useful for yourself. Health!

DISCIPLINE

Reaping a Multiple Reward by Jim Rohn

For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards. That's one of life's great arrangements. In fact, it's an extension of the Biblical law that says that if you sow well, you will reap well.

Here's a unique part of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. Not only does it suggest that we'll all reap what we've sown, it also suggests that we'll reap much more. Life is full of laws that both govern and explain behaviors, but this may well be the major law we need to understand: for every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards.

What a concept! If you render unique service, your reward will be multiplied. If you're fair and honest and patient with others, your reward will be multiplied. If you give more than you expect to receive, your reward is more than you expect. But remember: the key word here, as you might well imagine, is discipline.

Everything of value requires care, attention and discipline. Our thoughts require discipline. We must consistently determine our inner boundaries and our codes of conduct, or our thoughts will be confused. And if our thoughts are confused, we will become hopelessly lost in the maze of life. Confused thoughts produce confused results.

Remember the law: "For every disciplined effort, there are multiple rewards." Learn the discipline of writing a card or a letter to a friend. Learn the discipline of paying your bills on time, arriving to appointments on time, or using your time more effectively. Learn the discipline of paying attention, or paying your taxes or paying yourself. Learn the discipline of having regular meetings with your associates, or your spouse, or your child, or your parent. Learn the discipline of learning all you can learn, of teaching all you can teach, of reading all you can read.

For each discipline, multiple rewards. For each book, new knowledge. For each success, new ambition. For each challenge, new understanding. For each failure, new determination. Life is like that. Even the bad experiences of life provide their own special contribution. But a word of caution here for those who neglect the need for care and attention to life's disciplines: everything has its price. Everything affects everything else. Neglect discipline, and there will be a price to pay. All things of value can be taken for granted with the passing of time.

That's what we call the Law of Familiarity. Without the discipline of paying constant, daily attention, we take things for granted. Be serious. Life's not a practice session.

If you're often inclined to toss your clothes onto the chair rather than hanging them in the closet, be careful. It could suggest a lack of discipline. And remember, a lack of discipline in the small areas of life can cost you heavily in the more important areas of life. You cannot clean up your company until you learn the discipline of cleaning your own garage. You cannot be impatient with your children and be patient with your distributors or your employees. You cannot inspire others to sell more when that goal is inconsistent with your own conduct. You cannot admonish others to read good books when you don't have a library card.

Think about your life at this moment. What areas need attention right now? Perhaps you've had a disagreement with someone you love or someone who loves you, and your anger won't allow you to speak to that person. Wouldn't this be an ideal time to examine your need for a new discipline? Perhaps you're on the brink of giving up, or starting over, or starting out. And the only missing ingredient to your incredible success story in the future is a new and self-imposed discipline that will make you try harder and work more intensely than you ever thought you could.

The most valuable form of discipline is the one that you impose upon yourself. Don't wait for things to deteriorate so drastically that someone else must impose discipline in your life. Wouldn't that be tragic? How could you possibly explain the fact that someone else thought more of you than you thought of yourself? That they forced you to get up early and get out into the marketplace when you would have been content to let success go to someone else who cared more about themselves.

Your life, my life, the life of each one of us is going to serve as either a warning or an example. A warning of the consequences of neglect, self-pity, lack of direction and ambition... or an example of talent put to use, of discipline self-imposed, and of objectives clearly perceived and intensely pursued.

FROZEN BANANAS

This is a 'no brainer' for many of you, but I just had someone tell me the other day how hard it was to get the peel off their frozen banana, and cut it up to put into their blender.

Folks, be sure to first, peel your bananas, then slice them into one inch pieces, and put into a freezer bag. I find it most convenient to cut up 4-5 bunches of bananas at a time, and cut and store them in a gallon size freezer bag.

Tip: Wait until your bananas develop speckles on them before you cut them. Bananas are starchy until the speckles show up, making it harder on your system to both assimilate and digest. The speckles are a good indicator that the bananas natural enzymes have kicked in. They will be sweeter with speckles, and easier to assimilate and digest.

SABOTAGING SUCCESS

"A champion is afraid of losing. Everyone else is afraid of winning." - Billie Jean King

Odd name isn't it? So contradictory, yet people do it to themselves day in and day out, complaining along the way why they haven't been able to succeed with this, that, and the other thing.

Here's a few scenarios:

- A person wants to lose weight (body fat), ever so badly. They hire a qualified trainer, spare no expense in training wear, buy the best shoes on the market.... and then eat fast food 3-4 times a week, and have a few glasses of wine here and there.

- The student who complains how taxing school studies are, yet spends hours at a time playing their favorite games on the their smart phone, Facebooking, and watching their favorite nightly programs.

- The person who's always commenting how they wish they could do this, that or the other thing with themselves, or their life, but fail to take any directed action and know they don't take any initiative to change it. 

Do you ever stop to ask why people sabotage their own success? It's sure easy to look at someone else and determine why they aren't successful at such and such, isn't it? Obvious, you say. But what about yourself? Is it as obvious? Probably not, but deep down  I bet you have a feeling about what it is, it may even be knawing at you.... for years!

Today, I encourage all of us to take a reality check. Take inventory. Stop judging others and instead, apply that energy towards yourself, in a positive way. Stop sabotaging yourself! 

I believe many times people already know, not only what the issues are in their life that's sabotaging their success, but they also know the solutions. Stop procrastinating. 

Bring that dream to life. Make it a reality.