» Motivation

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

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…

Having a body cleansing once or twice a year can do wonders to your body and my Trainer Josh 21 day detox diet is a great way to lose weight and rid your body of toxins that are doing you harm.

First off, a detox is nothing to do half-ass, you have to go all in and don't hold anything back because any little misstep will damage the cleansing outcome that you're looking for.

Ok now that we got that out of the way, I want to give you a quick breakdown of what you're going to be going through during the next 21 days after you start my detox program.

We all know that the detox isn't going to be easy but I can guarantee you'll be feeling 10x better at the end because you'll be ridding your body of toxins and all the other crap that is making you feel weak and sluggish and at the same time holding you back from losing that fat.

Here are the rules for my 21 day body cleansing detox diet…

1.  Absolutely no sugar allowed, this means refined or even evaporated cane juice.  Sugar is the root of all evils as far as I'm concerned and is practically the devil in disguise.  So no sugar can be eaten at all during the 21 days.

2.  No dairy intake is allowed.  This means no milk, no cheese, no nothing that has to do with dairy.  More things then you think have dairy in them so be sure to make a list of what you eat every day and find substitutes for them.  A great substitute for cow milk is almond milk (sugar free of course!).

3.  No white flour.  This means no more pizza or those blueberry muffins.  Aim to have only sprouted grains such as rye and stay away from other white flour breads sugar as sourdough and such.

4.  No processed foods.  This means you can't eat TV dinners or anything else that has been manufactured and processed.

5.  No artificial sweeteners.  This means no Splenda, Equal or any other fake sweeteners which are worse than plain old sugar.  Instead have only agave nectar or raw honey and fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth.

6.  Use a detox supplement. I personally use and recommend HealthForce Healing Cleanser which is what I've found through trial and error to have the best bang for you buck.

In fact if you buy the HealthForce Healing Cleanse Level 2 through the link below I'll send you MP3s of my personal meditation CDs that are designed for Daily Neural Reconditioning that will imprint a vision of success onto your subconscious brain.  Click here or the picture below to get it now.

7.  Have two 24-hour fasts from Sunday 6pm to Monday at 6pm and follow it up with a healthy protein shake or super shake.  Fasting a couple times a month will help you sleep better, feel leaner, slim down and become more productive with clarity.

8.  If you have a juicer (if you don't have one I highly recommend getting one) and have a daily detox drink of cucumbers, celery, asparagus and lemon.

9.  Eat whole foods only.  This is one of the most important steps right here and eating only foods that are closest to their original form possible will be nature's way of feeding your body the proper nutrients it needs to build healthy muscle and get rid of the chunky monkey fat.

10.  Drink lots and lots of water.  Water is nature's natural detox and for a very good reason, in fact I remember in my high school chemistry class that water is the universal solvent.  Water is natures way of cleansing the body from toxins and other junk you don't want in your body.  Want to lose fat? Drink water…want your back pain to go away? Drink water.

Well that's it guys and if you got the fortitude to accomplish this detox from start to finish then you will definitely earn my respect.  It's not easy but it's a great way to set yourself on the fast track to success and if you can accomplish this then you can do just about anything to direct your life into a healthy direction.

After these 21 days are up in this detox diet you'll hopefully have some of these numbers engrained into your brains and they'll become healthy habits to replace the bad ones that have been building up in your body for years.  Let's get the ball rolling on this!

Here are my favorite books that I absolutely recommend EVERYBODY should read who wants to be the healthiest and fittest they can absolutely be. It may take a little time to read these books but the value they deliver is worth 10x your time and money investment.

1.   Cardio Strength Training & Power Training by Robert Dos Remedios – Awesome books by Coach Dos, after reading these two books it'll will completely revolutionize the way you train, not just for guys but for everybody looking to transform their bodies.

2.  How to Eat, Move & Be Healthy! by Paul Chek – If you've ever heard of Paul Chek then you'll know how passionate this guy is, he speaks the truth and if you're looking to live a healthier life with more energy and less fat then this is the book for you.

3.  Maximum Strength by Eric Cressey – Great book for the guys who are looking to be their strongest.  Cressey has some great points in this book as he discusses the huge difference between training to just get big or training to get strong and big.

4.  Core Performance by Mark Verstegen - Practically my bible when I first got started training, he has a lot of brilliant ideas that are not talked about in the mainstream fitness circles.

5.  The Female Body Breakthrough by Rachel Cosgrove – Fantastic book for the ladies who are looking for their best body possible, covers the whole schabang from nutrition to training to lifestyle.

6. The Power of 4: Your Ultimate Guide Guaranteed to Change Your Body and Transform Your Life by Paula Owens – Hands down the best book I've read about nutrition.  I wish everybody would read this book and adapt at least HALF the recommendations that Paula makes, this book is incredible!

7.  The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle – The best book when it comes to achieving a positive mindset and getting out your negative funk.  I read this book a couple years ago when I was going through a rough time and it completely changed my life.  You'll look at life through a new perspective after reading this book and incorporating its principles.

And that's it folks, I can practically guarantee if you read any of these books in the next couple months and apply everything they suggest than you'll find yourself looking better with more energy and you'll be happier than ever before.