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Before I was active I was the definition of coach potatoe. I went to school, worked, and sat in my chair and watched television,or used the computer all day. If my parents tried to talk to me I was always very angry; also I kept getting these everyday headaches. It was after I was diagnosed with diabetes type 1 in the summer of 2006, when I began to put alot of weight on. I wasn't active at all. Every three months I had a doctors appointment and mentally I knew exactly what my doctor was going to say okay another 15lbs.

"Gabriel you need to loose weight, if you want to be healthy"

Me: "yea sure whatever, okay see you in three months"

I was a hard head, and no one could argue with me because I always was right (in my head). I was always so busy (or so i thought) I kept telling myself i have no time, I have to much homework, I don't have money, I…… the list goes on i used every excuses on the book.

My life revolved around my room, my chair, and the remote. I never was active neither did I have desire to do so. Everyone else in my family wasn't active so why where they pressuring me to be? I never understood that. I just didn't want to be faced with the fact that I was extremely obese.

Before I started to be active, I tipped on the scale at 245lbs. However, I am positive that it was more, but I just didn't want to fall to realization that i was very heavy. But ever since then, I have lost a total of 45lbs.

What has your life been like since you've started training?

My life now… I can finally say that I am actually loving life now. I used to hate waking up everyday, and now I have a reason to get up. I'm very active now, running, going to the gym, boot camp, hiking, kickboxing, and walking.

Also, i completely changed my diet, I no longer eat garbage, and i read every label and ingredients on the product.  My life pretty much revolves around me. Changing your life can be very hard, but I have realized that taking baby steps is the key to success.

What are your top 3 tips to give someone wanting to lose weight?

My top three tips to lose weight
1) Sign up to a gym
2) Find a great trainer
3) Stay positive and motivated, read magazines, articles, and books on health and fitness.

What are your ultimate goals in fitness and health?

My ultimate goal in fitness and health is to walk down the beach with no shirt on. It has always been a dream for me to do that because I have been heavy all my life. I never have had that experience before. I used to go to the beach or swimming pool looking like I was ready to go to the snow. I wore a long sleeve shirt to the beach! I have always wondered what it would feel like to just walk down and feel great! However, this goal will take time, but I am positive one day it will become a reality.

How has your experience been training with Trainer Josh?

Josh has done so much for me. I think if i didn't take his boot camp I would never be where I am now. I like how he gives great advice, and is there for you when ever you have a problem, or just need some kind of motivation. He pushes you, and I like that! He also is a great trainer he knows what he is doing, great people person, very motivating! Also, I like how he has a website in where he has all this great helpful information!

Would I recommend Josh? YES because he has really helped me accomplish my goals, but he can't do everything for you. One must give are 100% in order to succeed.

I'm a huge fan of quotes!  I always look to quotes for motivation when I'm having a hard time getting myself ready to workout or when I'm tempted to go get a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza at Round Table.

The inspirational perspective they bring can lift me out of my funk and motivate me to keep moving in the right direction.

My main goal for this post is to build a collection of everybody's favorite motivational quotes that inspire success, fitness, energy, weight loss, goal achievement, nutrition, health…anything positive that comes to mind!  Please share as many as you would like…

Let's make this a contest!  I will give the person who I think gives the best quote that inspires success and I haven't heard a bunch of times will win a complimentary copy of my not yet released DVD, Secrets of the Foam Roller.  This baby hasn't been released yet and has a value of at least $27.

Here are some examples of my favorite quotes:

"Do or do not.  There is no try." – Yoda

"It isn't the mountains ahead that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe." – Muhammad Ali

"Your attitude determines you altitude." – Zig Ziglar

“If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you are probably right.” – Henry Ford

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." – Michael Jordan

"A man’s health can be judged by which he takes two at a time – pills or stairs." - Joan Welsh

"Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied." – Charles Caleb Colton

"Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food." – Hippocrates

"Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness." – Earl of Derby

"Processed foods not only extend the shelf life, but they extend the waistline as well." – Karen Sessions

"If the doctors of today do not become the nutritionists of tomorrow, then the nutritionists of today will become the doctors of tomorrow." – Unknown

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” - Thomas Edison

"If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney

"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things. " - Leonardo da Vinci

"Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too. " - Will Smith

I get a lot of questions on what exactly to take before you go to sleep each night and in this post I'm going to give you an easy and simple recipe for creating your own night time protein shake that will keep you lean and skinny at night.

The real secret is going to be the use of casein protein instead of just the traditional whey protein shake.  And a great and readily accessible source of casein protein is cottage cheese and today I'm going to show you how to make a killer shake out of it.

Whey protein isolate is simply the best because it's so quickly absorbed by your body and that is ideal after a great workout when you muscles are starving and they're glycogen depleted.

But since we're going to be asleep for hopefully 8 hours or so, we're going to want to go with casein protein which won't be quickly absorbed by the body, and instead is time-released.

What actually happens with casein protein is that it becomes a gel like clot inside your stomach allowing it to be digested slower and therefore supply a steady stream of amino acids (breakdowns of protein) into your blood.

This is an ideal situation because you won't have access to any protein/amino acids while you're asleep and in rapid eye movement.

This Sleep Skinny Protein Shake is kick ass for keeping your body lean and toned while you sleep after a hard day or work and training.  Now I wouldn't slam this baby right after working out but if you're about to be out like trout, then I would give this sleep shake a try.

The Sleep Skinny Protein Shake Recipe:

• 8-10oz. of water or skim milk (preferably RAW)
• 1 and 1/2 cups of fat free cottage cheese
• 1-2 scoops of your favorite whey protein powder
• 1/2 cup of fat free yogurt
• 1 cup of ice cubes
• Raw honey or Stevia for flavor
• Mix it up in a blender and drink before going to sleep

This shake is a great alternative for when you're body is starving at night but you don't want to eat a big meal because the calories will just hang out in your stomach and turn to fat.  Use this Sleep Skinny Protein Shake to build up your toned lean muscle while keeping the fat off.

Let me know how the drink tastes or what modifications you made to make it taste a little better…

Create Greatness,

Josh

A lot of people come up to me wondering what the heck I'm wearing on my feet.  In fact, it's probably one of the biggest questions I get from people who approach me.  And for a good reason…

They look pretty darn funny.  When I first saw the Vibram Five Fingers shoes I too thought they looked weird and wondered who the heck would wear a shoe like this.

But after the pain in my back and joints became too much I decided to do something about it.

I've heard a lot of great things from people in the fitness industry swearing by these shoes and that they did wonders for your lower back and joints.  I was skeptical at first but after using them a few times I was hooked.

“The human foot is a work of art and a masterpiece of engineering.”
—Leonardo Da Vinci

When we think back to the history of man kind and how long we walked around barefoot, it's no wonder our evolution got the foot right in the first place but then we had to come along and try to reinvent the wheel with shoes.

I'm not saying shoes are a bad thing, but we're so used to wearing shoes, some good and some bad, that are feet are no longer in the shape that they're naturally supposed to be.

This has caused problems literally from the ground up and things get out of alignment and the constant pounding our bodies take has caused a lot of joint and lower back pain in a lot of people.

If you see a basketball player you'll usually see them wearing a pair of high top sneakers and this in theory is supposed to protect the ankle joint, and they'll also usually have their ankles taped too.  But once we take away that mobility by wearing sturdy high top sneakers and tape all the force goes straight up to the knee.

This is why many basketball players have more knee and ankle problems…lack of ankle mobility.

After watching soccer players, they're sprinting and diving all over the field and their shoe's are very flexible and allow a lot of joint range of motion…the result?  Very few ankle and knee problems are ever seen on the soccer field!

Feet are much more pliable then we ever thought, and as we wear shoes our feet will adapt to them.  I'm not saying to walk around the mall in your bare feet.  But if you're home be barefoot and if you're training or walking then wear the Vibram Five Fingers shoes.

I'm currently reading the book, Born to Run and in the book the author goes in search of the Tarahumara Indians in the Copper Canyons of Mexico.  They've been known as the running people as they can run more than 100 miles at a time in nothing more than a simple sandal made out of flexible rubber.  And you don't see any of them having joint problems like we do in America.

What's the best version of the Vibram Five Fingers?

To be honest I've only tried the Classic version, and I absolutely loved it.  It has a very good price, about $75 and it's great for practically everything.  They also have other versions that are more practical for specific adventures, but for me the Classic is my favorite.

Be sure to wash them!

The one downfall I've found with the Vibram Five Fingers is that they can get super stinky in a short amount of time.  The good part is that you can just pop them in the washing machine and let them air dry.  I also just heard a great tip for getting the smell out by placing the shoes in a bucket filled with water and throw in some Efferdent tablets.

Make sure you get the correct size…

Since they are designed to fit comfortably on your feet I would recommend accurately measuring your feet so you get the proper size.  They have all the instructions on how to do this on their site, so just be careful, even if you're off by 1/2" it can make a significant difference.

In this video I'm going to show you how to reduce your stress and cortisol levels so you don't get fat.

I'm doing this video post a little bit differently as I'm behind the computer this time.  I thought this would be the most effective way to bring you the information.

But today we're talking about the dirty little troll that 's secretly making many of you fat.  It's called stressed.

We're a lot more stressed than you think and if you're not taking care of your stress then you could be setting yourself up for a lot of bad problems as you go down the road.

Now I'm not going to blame all the weight gain and belly fat purely on being stressed, adrenal fatigue and high cortisol levels but this stuff sure as heck isn't helping.

And if we're not practicing meditation, relaxation, recovery, attitudes, etc. then our lives aren't going to be very happy as we're chronically tired and our bodies are gaining weight but we just don't know why.

Be sure to watch the video below and please don't hesitate to give comments on ways you use to reduce stress…