Are You READY to breakout of your shell?

The concept that we are killing ourselves with our behavior is not new. Since the beginning of recorded history, medicine has wrestled with the problem of saving people from themselves.  It can be argued that the foundation of modern medicine was laid in Greece at around 400BC by Hippocrates. Hippocrates was a passionate humanitarian, physician and philosopher. His words echo at the graduation ceremonies at every medical school in the country as doctors recite the Hippocratic Oath. His words: “Everything in excess is opposed to nature." And "It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul." also echo the recognition that we, as a race, are in a race to kill ourselves. It is not surprising then, that good ‘ol Hippocrates, an avid exerciser himself, offered up one of the very first lifestyle prescriptions: "If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health." (Really, he said that – the internet told me)

Knowing is NOT the same as doing  

        If we have known of the miracle cure of a healthy lifestyle for 2400 years or more, why are so many of us still getting sick as a direct result of the lives we choose to lead. How could we have had this answer for all this time and still we have the problem? Maybe it is because many people, secretly (or not so secretly), do not want to change. This issue of people not wanting to change has been the subject of intense study. In the early 1980s, Drs Prochaska & DiClemente at the University of Rhode Island examined the phenomenon of this apparent resistance to change as part of their work to help lower cancer rates. What they observed was that behavior change was not, as previously thought, a singular event but a process that occurred over time. In other words, they found that people did not just quit smoking all at once although it may appear as if they had. To arrive at the moment of quitting, they actually had to go through a series of thought processes or stages leading up to the moment where they no longer smoked. Like drops in a bucket, these thoughts and actions accumulated until the bucket was full. Once the bucket was filled, the very next drop made it over flow.

        To a casual observer, it looks as if the bucket began to overflow at the moment that last drop rolled over the edge of the bucket. In a very real sense though, it began to overflow from the moment the first drop hit the bottom of the empty bucket.  As scientists, Dr.’s Prochaska & DiClemente were no casual observers. Through extensive study, they identified 5 distinct stages of change. They consolidated their work into a method of understanding how human beings can change and how we professionals can help them to do it. This method, called the Transtheoretical Model of Change, is based on the concept that people will only be able to make the changes that they are truly ready to make. By understanding how each particular behavior scores on a readiness to change scale, you can begin to attack those behaviors that are ripe for change while cultivating others for later harvest.

How R*E*A*D*Y are you?

        Based on the Transtheoretical model, I have developed the R*E*A*D*Y test. This is a helpful way to determine how ripe your behavioral fruit is for the harvest of change. When my clients and I consider a behavior for change, I ask them to take an honest look at the behavior; the more honest the look, the more useful the test. Knowing how the behavior scores will determine how aggressively we can shake the tree to release the fruit of change. Unlike real fruit, however, behaviors can be ripe for change and then jump right back onto the tree. We need the test to keep focused on only harvesting those behaviors that we can really change. By properly grading the behaviors, we can guarantee success and use that success as seeds to plant more fruit trees. 

Each letter of R*E*A*D*Y represents a specific stage of readiness and is described below.

        R – REFUSE - This is actually not a stage of readiness at all, it’s a stage of unreadiness.  In this stage we refuse to believe we have a problem.  We absolutely fail to recognize that there is anything wrong.  It is the ultimate expression of blissful ignorance.  It is this stage where the lying machine  is working overtime.  I’ll never forget the time my wife, concerned about my weight, served me a no fat, no salt soup.  I ate it and said “I would rather die than eat this stuff the rest of my life”.  The sad part was I meant it at the time; I was not ready to change. I did not even want to talk about it.  Maybe I was ready to change something but I was not ready to change that behavior.  It is important to understand that when you look at your bank of bad habits, some of the bank you will be ready to withdraw and some you will not.  You will find yourself at different stages of readiness for every single behavior that you need to change.  Many of the behaviors that you need to change, may not even make your list of bad habits!  They are in a hidden Swiss bank account of bad habits and your mind refuses to let you see them. What’s the best way to start telling yourself the truth? The best way to begin is with some basic accounting.  Explore your stories, your behaviors, your bank of bad habits and look for things you know you should change. Simply by exploring these behaviors you will be moving into the “E” stage.

E- EXPLORE:  This is where we begin to think about the  behaviors we want to change.  It’s where we start to recognize that there’s a problem.  It is here that we begin to at least consider that our stories are lies and that they are not doing us any good. In this stage we are just waking up to the fact that these behaviors are worth changing.  It is through this exploration that we can begin to make change possible. This exploration, however, takes place entirely in the mind. It is a time of contemplation. To make things happen you need to acquire all the knowledge and tools necessary to begin work.

A- AQUIRE    During this stage we begin to acquire what we need to make our changes work.  The acquisitions that we make include knowledge, equipment, motivation and mind set. In fact if you are reading this book you are in the acquire stage.  You are acquiring knowledge.  You have passed through the exploration stage. You considered your problem and you decided to set the wheels of change in motion. Your acquisition of knowledge is going to form the basis of your future actions. In addition to acquiring knowledge, you may also buy a piece of exercise equipment, join a health club or take a cooking course. This is where you begin to get things started.  Sometimes it is just acquiring the basics of a habit. When I wanted to start walking every night, I started by just walking out onto my front porch. I opened the door and stood there like an idiot. After a while, I felt so stupid that I just started walking. On the days I did not want to walk, I still opened the door and stood there. It took almost no effort to open the door and it was hard to find an excuse not to do it. I wonder if my neighbors still think I’m crazy? I was working to acquire the habit of walking. Even on the nights I did not walk, I worked on building the habit. At this stage, building the habit insures future action. Your commitment to this stage will determine your ability to follow through.  Once I crossed the threshold of that door and started down the street I was officially DOING.

D- DOING:

 Like in the scene from “Forrest Gump” where he just gets up and runs.  This is the point where we just start doing it.  This is the point of action; it is where the work gets done.  This is where behaviors begin to change. It is where “the rubber meets the road.”   Experts say it takes about 30 days to change a behavior.  If you can stay in action phase for at least 30 days then you will probably successfully change that behavior.  Of course I always thought good behaviors took a little longer and it seems bad behaviors can develop in an instant. Once you doing the behavior regularly it seems automatic, it becomes part of your personal story. It becomes part of your definition of YOU. Welcome to the YOU phase.

Y – YOU –This is the phase where you can’t imagine a world without the behavior. It is so much a part of you, you can barley even remember life before this change. The behavior becomes almost effortless. It is automatic because it has become organic to your mind. It is now part of your story. When this behavior is part of you it is hard to deny and hard to defy.  If it is part of your definition of yourself, it is an easy behavior for you to maintain.  It belongs to you;  it is you. It is the last stage of the behavior change process-- sort of. 

Watch What You Drink!

Written and Read by Dr. Russ L'HommeDieu
Did you know that one of the worst things you can do when your'e trying to lose weight is drink calories. 

A tremendous source of excess Calories come from high Calorie drinks.  Considering that most of those Calories have no nutritional value, your body can easily do without them. To make matters worse, research shows that drinking extra calories also makes you eat more. In a study at Penn State University, people who ate a lunch with a 150 Calorie beverage ate more food than the group that enjoyed a Calorie-free beverage. By the way, the BEST Calorie free beverage is water. 

            If you are in the habit of drinking high calorie drinks, you are probably racking up an astonishing amount of Calories. Although most drinks are labeled, the labels can be misleading. Each bottle of soda that you drink has 100 calories per serving but wait-- there are generally 2.5 servings in every bottle. So an ordinary bottle of soda  250 calories! What about the average “large” soft drink from a fast food chain? A large fountain drink from McDonalds packs 310 Calories. All of those Calories are from pure, refined, SUGAR!!! How much sugar? 86 grams of sugar per serving-- 86 grams of sugar-- 86 grams! Are you kidding me? No, I checked it three times. 86 grams of sugar is the same as eating 18 teaspoons of sugar!! Do you want fries with that? (570 Calories for a large) Can I Supersize that for you?  Almost 900 Calories from just the drink and the fries and I have not even discussed the “entrée” yet.

            OK. Soda is bad. Got it! What if you are not a soda drinker? Only “healthy” drinks for you, right? Good work. You should be safe. Try again. A glass of 100% pure, not from concentrate, orange juice has Calories too.  If you were to fill that large McDonalds soda cup with OJ, it would have 409 Calories and 76grams of sugar. Even if you don’t drink that much OJ all at once, it is important to understand OJ is not that much different than soda. It has almost as much sugar and it has MORE Calories! Think about it. How many oranges do you have to squeeze to get a glass of juice? Actually, drinking a 12oz glass of orange juice is just like eating about 6 full-sized oranges. Worse yet, when you squeeze juice, you throw away all the fiber nature packaged the fruit with!

            Are sports drinks OK? Don’t kid yourself. Calories are Calories and sugar is sugar. When in doubt, read the label. When you read the label, start with the serving size and then go to the Calories. If you are going to drink the whole bottle, you need to multiply the Calories by the serving size. It is just that simple.

 According to this Gatorade nutritional information label, this product has 50 Calories. If you look closer, you will notice that there are 4 servings in the container. That means that there are 200 Calories in this bottle. With 14 grams of sugar per serving, that means all of those calories are from sugar. In fact, if you calculate the calories from the sugar information on the label (14g of sugar at 4 Calories per gram times 4 servings) you actually get 224 Calories. I am not sure how those calories fell off the label but I can assure you they will not disappear from you so easily. 

             The sad fact is that most people just don’t think about the calories they drink. According to Dr. Brian Wansink, author of “Mindless Eating:” “In every beverage study, we conducted; people underestimate the calories they drink -- usually by about 30%.  It doesn't matter whether its soft drinks, milk, juice, or wine, although we found vending machines pose the biggest danger.” To help people see the caloric truth about drinks, Dr. Wansink developed the "10 -- 20 " rule of thumb.  As part of this rule, he divides drinks into two broad categories: “Thin Drinks” and “Thick Drinks.” He describes thin drinks as things like soft drinks, punch, juice, and milk while a thick drink is more like shakes and smoothies. As a general rule, he says figure thin drinks at about 10 calories per ounce and thick drinks are about 20 calories per ounce.  This rule could be a great running start but, it can also be another way of justifying your way into way too many calories. For instance, the “Love It” sized fruit “Strawberry Bananza” smoothie at Cold Stone Creamery is low fat, made of fruit and is packin’ 600 Calories.  At about 18 ounces, that is just about 20 Calories per ounce. However, the same sized drink made with regular strawberry ice cream would have a full 1200 calories!! In this case, if you used the 10-20 rule; you would be telling yourself a 600 Calorie deception. Think about this, if you were to indulge one 600 calorie deception like this a day, you will gain 63 pounds a year just from the calories you denied drinking! So be Alert! 
This caution does not stop with soda, juice and ice cream shakes. It also includes what you put into your coffee. Think about the calories that coffee creamer and sugar adds to your coffee. When you have an idea of how many Calories you think that will add to your daily intake, add 30%. Remember, it only takes 3500 excess Calories to gain a pound. When you think about the amount of calories that are in sugar and creamer, you could easily lose 5 to 10 pounds this year by drinking black coffee or unsweetened tea instead. 

Turning your intentions into RESULTS!

Do you intend to get into better shape? You intend to lose weight? Do you intend to eat healthier? Well, you know what they say, “The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.”  While you may intend to do all these things, your intentions alone will not get you very far. As a matter of fact, when it comes to your health, each day that you only think about getting better is actually a day of getting worse.

Don’t get me wrong, intentions are great but, only when they are followed by action. To truly reach any worthwhile goal, you need to commit. A true commitment is non-negotiable. It is something you just do.

Easier said than done, right?  I hear ya! I have plenty of unfulfilled intentions. What if I could show you some techniques that will help you transform some of your intentions into commitments? That would be cool, right? This post is going to help you to do just that so that you can begin to commit to a better and more remarkable life!

The first step in the process is that you have a vision of what this commitment will do for you. If you want to lose weight, imagine what that will look and feel like. Create a picture in your mind of what life will be like when you achieve your goal. Then mentally run through a day in that life. The more compelling your vision, the more it will pull you toward it. Trust me, it is far better to be drawn to a goal than to be pushed to it. One caution though. You need to make the vision believable. The only way this process works is if you know with all your heart that you can achieve your vision.

   

Once you are connected to a compelling vision, you need to get down to business. This is where a lot of people get bogged down.

Over the past two weeks, I witnessed Karen go from a person that just talked about getting in shape to a person that rides her bike 10 miles a day, every day, before work. How did that happen? How was she able to put aside all those great excuses and “just do it.” I mean she had all the classic reasons NOT to do this. She has a demanding job, she has no time, it’s really hot, she has exercise induced asthma. . . you get the idea. Yet, somehow, she overcame all these excuses and has ridden over 100 miles since the 30^th of June.

Her secret was a public challenge. When she rides, she uses an iPhone app called MapMyRide. The app tracks her speed and mileage. The app then saves them the MapMyRide website under Karen’s profile. As an added bonus, with the touch of a button, Karen can also share her workout to Facebook. This way all of her friends can see how well she is doing. It also motivates her to get on her bike every morning because she does not want to look lazy on Facebook.  

As an extra motivation, MapMyRide also sponsors challenges.  On June 30^th, Karen accepted the” Le Tour Challenge” to cycle 100 miles in 23 days. The challenge gives cyclists around the world the opportunity to compete against other cyclists during the 2012 Tour de France. When she started, she barely believed she could do it but she was committed. She cycled just a couple of miles for the first few days but, then slowly pushed herself and got up to OVER 10 miles!  Not only is she is feeling and looking great, she also finished the entire 100 miles in only 17 days!  Why was this so powerful? For one thing, she had a clear, measureable goal with absolute deadlines.  There was no question that she was making awesome progress. She could literally see mileage climbing every day. When she realized that she could actually excced her expectations, she raised her personal standards and finished early. She also made her progress public. As it turns out, this is huge for most people. We like to share our accomplishments with other people and we hate to share our short falls. In other words, when you know people are watching, you behave differently. For the most part, you behave exactly as you want to world to see you. Since most people value how they are seen by the world, this behavior is generally pretty good for you.  Think about it. How much better  would you eat if you committed to post everything you ate to Facebook? There is no doubt that making your commitments public helps you to keep them. I am so proud of Karen. She has really grown from this experience!

Karen's story is a lot like my kayak trip around Long Island. 

Really? What does Karen's bike challenge have to do with my paddle around Long Island? Everything! This paddle is my challenge! I made it public so that I would train hard and not give up. I gave it deep meaning and purpose by making it a fundraiser. The reason I tell the story of Karen is because I want you to connect to the concept and use it for your own personal Betterness®!  

Most people have a difficult time relating to a nut job like me who kayaks 25 miles on a Sunday morning to train for a 260 mile endurance trek. They don’t see how my journey can be useful to them. It’s just too radical. While I might seem radical, I started out as a 400 pound man. I was sick and tired and woefully out of shape. I can even remember the first day I committed to exercise. I did five minutes on a stationary bike. I did 5 minutes because I could not do 6. Now, I am thought of as amazing and radical. Not bad. The message here is that YOU, yes YOU, can do this. (Whatever your personal “this” is) No matter how bad you think you are, you can be radical or at least remarkable. If that is what you truly want. 

Thinking Better (or at least more positively) will actually improve your life.

Science is now showing that positive thinking not only improves you outlook on life, it actually improves your life! According to the book, "Positivity: Groundbreaking Research Reveals How to Embrace the Hidden Strength of Positive Emotions, Overcome Negativity, and Thrive."

 If you can harness your happiness you can transform your life. Backed up by impressive lab research, positive psychology pioneer Barbara Fredrickson lays out the core truths of positivity—joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe and love. While it is easy to see the subject of "positivity" as both disdainful and Pollyannaish, this book keeps it real. Dr. Fredrickson does an impressive job of providing scientific evidence to illustrate her findings. One of the most enlightening notions is how easy it might be to become an "effective optimist." According to the author, simply maintaining a 3:1 positivity ratio of positive thoughts to negative emotions creates a tipping point between languishing and flourishing. The book includes compelling case studies, concrete tips, a Positivity Self Test and a tool kit for decreasing negativity and raising the positivity ratio. Although many of Fredrickson's methods and theories (notes on meditation and karma) will seem familiar to anyone versed in yoga or eastern religions, the scientific foundation of her arguments and additional online resources (www.positivityratio.com) will give you a chance to experiment with positivity and very possibly lead a "better" and richer life.

Have you considered Blogging your weight loss journey?

What the heck is a blog? 

Well, according to the folks over at Google, "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world. Your blog is whatever you want it to be. There are millions of them, in all shapes and sizes, and there are no real rules. 

In simple terms, a blog is a web site, where you write stuff on an ongoing basis. New stuff shows up at the top, so your visitors can read what's new. Then they comment on it or link to it or email you. Or not.

Why should I have one? 

In his book, Fire Your Therapist, Joe Siegler, MD talks about how helpful it is for coaching clients to start a blog. I think he makes a great point. You can use your blog as a journal to track your progress toward goals and the evolution of your thoughts as you progress through the coaching process. It is an awesome way to keep aware of issues that you want to work on. It will help you keep focused on your goals and help you to track your progress. 

Importance of writing stuff down. 

In a 1953 study conducted at Yale University it was discovered that only 3% of Yale graduates had taken the time to write down their goals. 10 years later, those "goal writers" became far wealthier than the other 97% of the class combined. 

In his book, "What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School" Mark McCormack, talks about survey given to the 1979 graduating class the Harvard Business School's MBA program when they graduated and then again 10 years later. On the initial survey, when asked: "Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of these graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and 84 percent had no specific goals at all. These are HARVARD GRADUATES!! 

The findings of the follow-up survey were shockingly predictable. Ten years later, the members of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the ones who had no goals at all. The minority of students that actually wrote down their goals blew their classmates away by earning, an average of ten times as much as the remainder of the class put together. Hmm. I wonder if people that write down their weight loss goals lose 10 times the amount of weight as those who don't? I write my goals down. I have notebooks I refer to daily. I design myself goal forms, send myself emails and stick post-it notes all over the house and, yes, I have a blog. I have not only lost 100% of my excess body weight, but I am successfully maintaining it. I wonder if there is a connection?

The good news is that it is NEVER too late to start. If you really want to accomplish something write it down. If it is worth doing, it is worth making the contract. If you are not ready to write the contract, you are not ready to accomplish the goal. 

Why not write in a book, on piece of paper, on post-it note or on the bathroom mirror? 

While it really does not matter where you write your goals, aspirations, thoughts, affirmations and accomplishments, your blog is marvel of technology. Blogging is about more than just putting your thoughts on the web. It's about connecting with and hearing from anyone who cares about you. With a blog, you control who can read and write to your blog — let just a few friends, your coach or the entire world see what how you are approaching Betterness!

It is not only a tool to write down your goals, track your progress it can even help you to be accountable to your coach. When you set up your blog, you decide who can read and who can write to your blog. I use a group blog with multiple authors as a communication tool for my group coaching. If you want to keep it private, you can create a private blog as your online space for collecting news, links, and ideas, to keep to yourself or share with as many readers as you want.

As for accountability, you can set it up so that every time you post an entry, your coach gets an email, or not. You can even set it so other people in your support network know when you are writing, or not. You get to decide how you set it up. No matter what though, you will never have to worry about forgetting your goal sheet or journal when you and your coach meet. If your coach has access to the internet (and you give him or her permission) they will be able to see your blog. 


Of course, Facebook is an awesome tool for this kind of accountability as well. For some people, this is the best way to communicate with their world. The problem is that Facebook may be a little too public. You can set up your blog so that it is between just you and your best supporters. 

Ok, how do I get one of these "blog" things? 

Although there are many options for getting a blog, I use a Google service known as blogger. While you certainly can get your blog from any provider, this video will help you get started with Blogger.



Another great tool for staying accountable is an app called http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
It allows you to share your fitness and food logging successes with other users and friends.
According to their website,
With a 100% FREE membership you get:

• The easiest to use food diary on the web -

   
  Track what you eat with just a few clicks from anywhere with an internet connection - at home or at work

• A searchable food database of over 1,865,000 items -

   
  and it's growing everyday!

• Your own personal food database -

   
  add your own foods and recipes at any time and access them from anywhere with an internet connection

• Free mobile apps for iPhone and Android -

   
  so you can log your meals and exercise even when you are on the go

• Support and motivation 

  from people just like you - Our discussion forums let you learn from others, share your own tips, receive and give encouragement, and make friends.

• A personalized diet profile

   
  - customized to your unique weight loss goals.

• Flexibility

   
  - our system can support any eating lifestyle you choose.

Thanks -

Wellness: A Retirement Fund You Can Bank On

A couple of years ago, an entire issue of Money magazine was dedicated to the topic of health and wellness. In his preface to the edition, the editor stated apologetically that, although at first blush, it seemed strange for a magazine ordinarily devoted to issues of wealth to concentrate on health and wellness, the accumulation of wealth is worthless without the health to enjoy it. When retirees were interviewed as to the regrets about mistakes made when planning for their retirement, the most common belief was that they should have made a more significant investment in their health earlier in their lives. I see many people who have worked their entire lives only to discover that they are ineligible to fully enjoy the fruits of their labor because they did not invest early enough in their health. When you think of it, the initial costs of these investments are relatively low and the return is immensely high. Right now is the best time to start listening to those retiree s regrets. By not investing early enough in your health, you could find yourself tarnishing your golden years. As with all investments, timing, quality and quantity are critical. Making wise choices now are the keys to the success of your wellness future. Those who have planned well for their health, not only live longer, but live better. They tend to enjoy their financial prosperity more. Overall, even those less financially successful seem to have a much richer life if they have made solid health investments early on.

What makes a truly good investment? One thing we know of investments in health is that relatively small deposits compound over time and yield tremendous results. A 10 minute walk every day from now on, could buy you the ability to trek across the spring tundra of Alaska on your 80th birthday. Small, wise, health investments made over time will yield truly miraculous results. The good news is that health investments are easy to identify. Good deals are out there, and we know what they are: quit smoking, lose weight, eat healthy and become more physically active. Our biggest mistake is thinking we can start tomorrow. Every day that passes without making a health investment is a lost opportunity to increase our wellness portfolio. There are 365 days in a year and it is amazing how quickly they pass. What were your health goals, one year ago? How many have you met? The absolute truth is that the time to invest in your health is now. As with any investment strategy, it is best to start small. Begin by picking one thing that you can do to improve your health. Even the smallest investment has the potential for tremendous return. Walking 10 minutes a day, every day, no excuses - can and will make a huge difference in your life. Don't believe me? Prove me wrong. Walk 10 minutes a day, every day, for one month and see what happens. When started I my evening walks, it did not take long for the walks to become easier and more enjoyable. Although I have to admit, some walks have been better than others, I am convinced that I am always the better for it. The improved strength and increased energy I derive from walking are simply dividends being paid to me now on my long-term health investments. The big payoff will come when I am older provided I continue to invest. Walking is just one example. It is easy to do and does not require any special equipment. In short, it is difficult to find a valid excuse not to walk. Are you having trouble getting started? Do you need a plan? Luckily, help is out there. The financial planners of the health and wellness world are called coaches. Coaches are specially trained professionals that help you to understand the process of change and can show you how to get started. They help you to set realistic goals and help you realize your long term potential. The best coaches have had personal experience fighting and winning the same battles you are facing. They have been where you are now and they understand. Although it is NEVER too late to begin your wellness portfolio the earlier the better. How about today? Consider reaching out for guidance from a skilled professional that can bring you from where you are to where you want to be. It is possible, it has been done by others, and you are not alone.

Action Giving - An exercise in kindness: improving the world one step at a time.

Whether you are losing weight or have reached your goal, it is important to keep your body moving. The good news is that almost any kind of movement will do as long as you do it and keep doing it. In order to be effective, however, staying active needs to be a long-term commitment that does not end when you have lost all the weight you want to lose.

According to the National Weight Loss Registry, engaging in a consistent activity program is a key element in the maintenance of any weight loss success. Did I say long-term commitment? I meant life-long commitment. Yes, that means that movement needs to become part of your life. That may sound like some kind of prison sentence but if you do something you really enjoy doing it’s not that difficult.

If any of you have a bad case of insomnia one morning around 4am and happen to be strolling along a beach on the North Fork of Long Island, you might catch a glimpse of me blissfully gliding along the surface of the bay in a kayak. I enjoy it so much; I can't even call it exercise. Make no mistake, though, I do manage to elevate my heart rate. I actually paddle hard enough to exceed the speed of an average 30 foot sailboat under full sail. I know this because I have confused many a sailor as I quietly whipped by them. The cardiovascular benefits of paddling are undeniable, the scenery is impossible to beat and the core muscle training is awesome. By the end of the summer I cannot even fit into my shirts because my chest has become so developed. The core strength and flexibility the sport provides me improves every aspect of my physical abilities, especially my balance.

When I kayak I have some unbelievable workout partners, ducks, geese, osprey and loons. There is no better way to “work out” then to do something you love to do. My “gym” is a million miles long and a million miles across, and I will never get to see the whole thing; that’s pretty amazing. The peace and euphoria that this routine brings me sets the tone for my entire day and can last for a week.

Yup, I sure do love to kayak. The problem is that even when you love to do something, the motivation to keep going can still evaporate. Next thing you know, a month or a year goes by and you’re no longer doing anything. The secret to holding on to your motivation is to maintain a deep connection to all that is good about what you are doing. Still, holding on can be difficult.

It was a cold, rainy and windy start to the kayaking season and I don't mind telling you that I was losing my kayaking MoJo (Motivational Joy -- not to be confused with the Cuban Spice also known as MoJo.) I remember too many mornings at the beginning of the season where I just stood on the beach, cold and wet, only to turn around and go home. I did nothing to really move my body on those days and I really felt lousy because of it. It was a bad habit in the making.

One of the main lessons that the challenges in my life have taught me is that every human being has the potential to be better. Certainly, losing over 200 pounds was a challenge but keeping it off- is takin’ some work too! Throughout my weight loss journey I began to see this process of success develop. I began to recognize that the path to the life I really wanted could only be walked one step at a time. I learned that all I had to do was to develop one good habit at a time and stick with it. After a while that good habit became easy and it was time to make a better habit. I discovered that all I needed to do in order to stay on this path of improvement was to just keep collecting these small, positive changes. After a while, I developed a system that allowed me to focus on the changes that best suited me.

I call this system Betterness ®. Simply put; Betterness ® is defined as the process of radical life improvement through the accumulation of small but consistently performed positive changes. Although there is way more to the actual system than that, the key here is that you need to keep doing what you are doing. In the case of my daily kayaking “habit” all I had to do was keep on doing it. Unfortunately, sometimes Betterness just that ain’t that easy.

I define “Action Giving” as the act of giving by doing something physical. This kind of charity is not only good for you but it gives you the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of others. It is an awesome way to stay motivated to keep your body moving. Yes, even I, with my professed love for kayaking can use a motivational boost.

My MoJo was rescued back in 2007 by the Paddle for Humanity. The paddle for humanity is an 18 mile open ocean charity paddle from Montauk, NY to Block Island, RI. It is held every year in early September.  Who would have believed that the same 400 pound man struggling to stay on an exercise bike for 5 minutes would cross almost 20 miles of Open Ocean in a 15 foot kayak? Believe it! I did it for three years and this year I am going out on my own to do a charity kayak of almost 300 miles around Long Island!

How did this give my MoJo back? All I needed to do to get my MoJo going was to think about all the people whose lives might change if I could keep paddling. I knew the only way for me to endure the grueling 18 miles to Block was to get my butt into that boat and paddle - every day. Since getting started is always the hardest part, all I needed was a little shot of MoJo and soon I was blissfully ripping along like always. As I continued to train, I stayed motivated by getting sponsors. I knew that people were depending on ME and I was not going to let them down. I knew that when I finally left the safety of Montauk, I would not be alone. I would have all of the collective energy of my sponsors and their beneficiaries behind me. As I paddled, I couldn’t help thinking about the real people whose lives will be made better by the causes we were supporting. I am truly grateful that I am able to make a difference in the world, contribute to my own wellbeing and do something I love to do in the process. This kind of giving is a great way to stay motivated on the sometimes difficult road of Betterness.

As it turns out, often a little motivation is all we really need. If you don’t think action giving is powerfully motivating, it is only because you have not yet experienced it. Yes, you too can be an “action giver” and don't have to risk shark attacks, muscle cramps, being lost at sea or even getting wet. OK, so I’m being dramatic. When I do these crazy paddles, they are actually extremely well organized and safe there is no chance of being lost at sea, the sharks out there are well fed enough to leave us paddlers alone and my training keeps the muscle cramps away. I am quite sure, however, that staying dry is not an option. So, if getting wet is not your thing, there are many good causes that will get you moving.

Perhaps the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life is the most familiar to you. Did you also know that the Obesity Action Coalition and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery jointly organize the walk from obesity? (http://www.walkfromobesity.com/)The proceeds from this event support obesity research and obesity advocacy. If you are overweight, as I was, and ever felt isolated, alone and misunderstood, this is a great cause for you to support! The march of dimes also comes to mind. These events are held all over the country at various times which gives you plenty of opportunities to get involved. I encourage you to find your own way of Action Giving.

When you do sign up, treat the event as true commitment to yourself as well as the beneficiaries of the event itself. Think of your participation as a reason for you to do better, fell better and BE better. Set your mind to the belief that the more you train, the more you AND the world will benefit. Honestly, you can change the world with just one positive thought provided it is followed by an action. So be active! Don’t just show up on the day of the event and expect to simply stroll around. When you get there, seek to be an example to everyone else. Since you have trained, you will not only feel better, you will look better as well. You will exude an enthusiasm that will be infectious. The way you look feel and act will attract attention. People will want to know about your new Betterness and you will inspire them. Who knows, your Betterness might even cause someone at the event to hop on the road to Betterness with you. If they did, it would certainly make their life better and it could even lead to a longer, more productive life for them. Think about this: If you can make other people better simply by being better yourself, Betterness is not a gift you give only to yourself; it is your gift to the world.