Fit Dad Nation

So, it's almost time for New Year's resolutions and in all honesty, I'm not a fan. And it's because I don't believe in waiting for an arbitrary date to start changing your life.

I mean, if you're ready and willing to make a change, then do it now. Waiting until January 1 makes no sense to me.

But there are hundreds of millions of people who disagree with me and set resolutions so today I'm going to share why the vast majority fail and what you can do to avoid that failure.

I read a statistic that only 8% stick to their resolution all year and that's crazy to me. Why is it so low?

It's because of these reasons:

• Resolutions are nothing more than goals and goals need to meet a few criteria to work. Using the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting method works well for most and most goals are set far too vague and broad. "I want to lose weight and be healthier" isn't a goal. It's a wish. Instead try "I will lose 30 pounds by March 1 by following XYZ program and cutting out all fast foods and soda".
• Most people know "what" they want to accomplish, but few know "why". Having a deep emotional reason to see your resolution through is critical yet most don't take the time to find it. Just wanting to lose weight or get fit is nice, but if you don't have a deep desire to do it, it will likely fail.
• Most people try to achieve their resolutions on sheer willpower. Willpower is a very finite resource and when it runs out, you're back at square one. How about having a written set plan of action instead? Not only that, take action every single day.
• Many make the mistake of choosing resolutions that aren't in alignment with their beliefs, values, and actual wants. Make sure your goal is something you truly desire.
• Many people also don't actually believe that they can accomplish their resolutions. For example, someone who has failed on multiple diets over the course of years and has all but given up hope of finding success will likely fail again if they set a goal that isn't realistic and believable. Meaning that if they don't think they can do it, just merely want it, then it's really just a wish. Instead, set a very small and attainable goal and reward yourself for each small victory. Don't try to lose 50 pounds and reward yourself, do it at 10. Break it down into scalable and small wins.
• Another huge issue that can lead to crushing failure is not having a support system around you. If you've been struggling with your goal and you don't change the people you're around, you'll likely struggle. I've seen firsthand the immense power of having a tribe or group of like-minded people working together and it can definitely mean the difference between success and failure. Our Inner Circle is proof that working as part of a tribe helps us become better. See FDNIC.com for more on our group.

My hope is that you take some of this advice and use it to make the changes you want in your life. Don't waste another day waiting for a certain day, do it now.

So for today's episode, I wanted to do something a little different. I decided to share the results of a survey I sent out to the Fit Dad Nation with the question "how would your life be better if you were in the best shape of your life?"

It was an anonymous survey and I asked each man for their honest feedback. 

The response was awesome and within a few hours, we had a ton of survey answers with some quality feedback. And as I read through them, I saw a few trends repeating over and over.

Things like "having more confidence", "being a better role model for my kids", and "having more energy" were the most common answers.

Also things like "living longer", "not worrying about my health", and "having a better outlook on life" were mentioned and these are monumentally important things.

I had also asked the men to tell me what kind of shape they were in on a scale from 1-10 and the overwhelming response came in at the midway mark, between 4-6. That's f*cked up.

Think about that. The vast majority of men in the 35-45 year old range are living at an average to below average fitness level. It kills me to read through some of these answers and see how much dads are struggling and how so many obstacles are getting in their way to better health.

This is an immensely important topic and I've decided to take a new direction with my content going forward in an effort to better help the men who need it most.

Last week I got sick. Really sick.

It was the worst I've ever felt and a day I won't ever forget.

We were out on our new boat and while fishing, I suddenly lost my balance. We were in dead calm waters so it was odd.

A few minutes later I was on all fours trying to focus because everything was spinning like crazy and I was intensely nauseous. So much so that I couldn't even pick my head up or open my eyes.

I figured I'd had too much caffeine or was dehydrated and it would pass quickly, but it didn't. After 45 minutes of lying on the boat floor trying not to move at all, we decided to call 911 for help.

My girlfriend and I had no idea what was wrong as I'm in excellent health. Was it a heart attack? Was it a stroke? Was it something else? I literally had no idea and have never had this happen before. I don't even get sea sick.

At this point I could barely move at all and as our police boat escort took us to the dock, all I could hear were sirens and people talking.

I remember being pulled off the boat by two paramedics and wheeled into the back of the waiting ambulance. They ran every test they had on me and came up with nothing. All my numbers were excellent and they strongly recommended I head to the hospital immediately.

We made the hour-long drive home and I was dropped off at our local hospital ER and was met by a nurse with a wheelchair.

For the next three hours I underwent more tests, blood work, CT and chest scans, and dexterity tests to check for a possible cerebellum stroke.

I was still unable to open my eyes or walk and was freaking out because this wasn't passing. I was just as sick as I was initially and 7 hours had passed. Not good.

Finally the meds they gave me for anti-dizziness started to work and I was able to stand on my own. A few hours later, I was feeling well enough to go home to sleep.

Three days past and I was still unsteady on my feet and I met with a few doctors and physical therapists who thought that it might be the "crystals" in my inner ear that were out of alignment and causing this vertigo.

But after a series of tests, the crystal theory was ruled out and I was left with no answers again.

I recorded this show 6 days after my initial incident and although I don't feel dizzy anymore, I'm overly tired and sluggish.

I don't know what it was or why it happened. I guess it was just a random thing. But whatever it was, it scared the hell out of me and made me realize I'm far from invincible. That day on the boat could have been my last and I have a newfound respect for what my body can and can't do.

It also served as an incredibly important reminder of how fragile life is and to cherish each day I have.

The food and diet industry want us to be fat.

There are billions of dollars to be made on highly processed, low quality foods and they're taking full advantage of it.

Walk into any grocery store and you'll find upwards of 40,000 items, most of which are junk. The food industry spends more than 7 billion dollars a year advertising this crap to us.

Look at the most popular weight loss programs out there. They all have astronomically high fail rates. 84% of Weight Watchers members fail and end up back in their system, adding more money to their bottom line.

Is it a coincidence that Nestle owns Jenny Craig or that the same company that owns Slim Fast owns Ben & Jerry's or that Pepsi owns Naked Juice? These companies don't give a sh*t about our health, they are in this for profit alone.

But I'm not laying all the blame of them. We still have control over what we choose to put int our mouths despite the constant marketing and advertising of junk food we see day in and day out.

The problem is that we can't seem to say no.

But if it were just as simple as making a better choice and saying no to unhealthy foods, we'd all be fit. But the fact is that we're dealing with very smart people spending massive amounts of time and money learning and tweaking how to manipulate our brains and sell us their food.

And we've been conditioned to buy it, eat it, and want more of it.

This is obviously a HUGE topic and I can't hope to even make a dent, but I can at least share my thoughts and hopefully open your eyes to what we're up against.

Today we celebrate our 100th episode and I thank each of you who have taken the time to listen to what the Fit Dad Nation is all about.

As a thank you, I'm offering free access for 30 days into our accountability program called Fit Dad Nation Inner Circle. Email me at [email protected] and I'll send you the info.

Today I want to share my core beliefs on fitness and how simplicity is the key to your results. I've learned a great deal over the years and I can tell you honestly that all the fancy diets, programs, and supplements don't mean sh*t compared to the basics of good health.

Honestly, you really only need a few things to succeed regardless of your goals.

• The honest desire to change
• The commitment to making it happen
• A plan to make it happen
• The hard work and consistency to see it through

I speak from experience here and I’ve shared my story many times here. If you don’t care about your own health, neither will anyone else.

Here are the things to focus on if you want long-term progress:

• A healthy and sustainable diet that gets results for you. Stop eating sh*tty foods. You know McDonald’s is crap. You know veggies are good. Apply this information.
• Progressive resistance training. Train your a** off, sweat every day and push yourself daily.
• Move more and sit less.
• More fresh air and sunshine and less cubicle and lamp.
• Less stress and more happiness.
• Commit to being better every day. Long-term results require long-term consistency.
• Get more sun, sleep, and sex and less stress, anger, and apathy.
• Kill negative self-talk, excuses, and procrastination. Now is literally all you have.
• Use your f*cking head. Stop using supplements to try to hack your results. Stop looking for shortcuts, there are none.

It’s not as easy as just following a few basic principles because most of us are full of excuses why we can’t do it.

Here's how I look at fitness and I use these as my benchmark for progress:

1. Stop using f*cking excuses. We all have busy lives, kids, jobs, and dozens of other things to do daily. 2. Make your body a priority. It’s selfish to put yourself behind everyone and everything else. Take care of #1 and you will be a better husband, father, and man for it. 3. Life is hard, get over it. I struggle every day to keep my business afloat, to keep my emotions in check when I can’t see my daughters, and to keep myself from eating a box of honey buns. It’s hard, really f*cking hard, and some days it seems impossible. But it’s not. 4. Put work in every day. Stretch, walk, take the stairs, get more movement in. Lift heavy weights until they aren’t heavy anymore. Train hard. Be committed. Do the work especially when you don’t feel like it 5. Eat like you actually care about your body. Remember, nobody ever got fat from one meal. You did this to yourself over time. 6. Find your “why” as in why it’s so important to be healthy and fit. 7. Realize that life is immensely short. Do you want the best years of your life to be spent just trying to make it through another day? You can still live an amazing life while looking and feeling the best you ever have. It’s there. Take it.

Thank you for all your support!