Friday, December 30, 2011

in beauty may i walk: Blessing the New Year

A friend of mine wrote this, and I wanted to repost it for you. This is a real gift.

in beauty may i walk:
Blessing the New Year
:

In the Circle and Mystery of Life
there is no Beginning or End.
Seasons Change One to Another
Moving Seamlessly,
Affecting the Heart of Creation.
Sleeping or Awake, it Doesn't Matter,
The Drum Beats of Eternity
Continue Blessing
Us with Renewal, Rest,
and Infinite Possibilities.
The Moon and Tides
Carry on their Graceful Dance,
Ebbing and Flowing they Whisper
Softly to the Night Sky.
Balanced by Each Other's Strengths,
Yielding and Blending,
the Power of Unity,
a Lesson for All.
The Gift of a New Year Before Us.
Steps Taken to Arrive,
are Important
Only in the Fact
of Who We have Now
Become.
May Hearts and Minds Remember
All those we Hold Dear.
May the Wisdom of Choices
Guide our Footsteps of Tomorrow.
May Our Experiences Mirror
the Beauty
of this Sacred Circle
We are Born Into.
Knowing We are All Connected,
Trusting the Reflection of Our Spirits
Shimmering on Ocean Waters,
Under the Blessed Light
of the Full Moon.

Donna M Roux-Valliere © 12/20/10

Monday, December 26, 2011

Eating For Your Life

I am a huge fan of Food TV. I can name all of the celebrity chefs, and I even frequent an occasional Iron Chef restaurant or a Diner, Drive-In, and Dive every so often. Don't get me wrong. I LOVE tasty food. However, I have had a major wake up call with my relationship to food, and this is it: I EAT FOR MY LIFE.

Eat For Your Life
What does that mean? Well, it's a simple concept. Eat foods that promote ongoing health. There are foods that tear us down, and there are foods that build us up. Below is a very powerful video only a few months old from a doctor who suffered from Multiple Sclerosis and is now recovered because of her change in diet.



What Should You Eat?
According to the video, here's what you need: B vitamins, sulfur and antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids.

You get it all from leaves, fruits, berries, and fish...a hunter/gatherer diet. Here's what it looks like:

  1. 3 cups of green leaves (kale, parsley, cooked greens, smoothies, dehydrated kale chips -- daily)

  2. 3 cups of sulfur-rich vegetables (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, turnips, collards, rutabaga, radishes, kale, onions, garlic, chives, shallots, mushrooms, asparagus -- daily)

  3. 3 cups of different colored vegetables (beets, carrots, peppers, red cabbage, berries, peaches, and oranges -- daily)

  4. Omega-3 fatty acids (wild fish like salmon and herring, grass-fed meats -- get to know your local farmers -- daily)

  5. Organ meats (liver, hard tongue, gizzards -- weekly)

  6. Iodine (Seaweed -- weekly)


Why Not Just Eat Vitamins? "A to Zinc," Right?
Vitamins aren't bad. However, they are manufactured pills with only the things that we've identified so far from food. In other words, we don't really know all of the nutrients that are in food. So, getting vitamins from pills is not as beneficial as getting them from food directly. The beauty of getting vitamins and nutrients from food is that you get the ones you know about along with the ones that we don't know about. That's really important. When I eat a salad, I'm getting so much more than when I eat a vitamin pill because nature includes more than we can in our fancy little pills.

Say Yes to Shakeology
This is why I sought out Shakeology. It is made out of the Earth's superfoods like sacha inchi, chia, goji berry, pomegranate, astragalus, and many, many others. Vitamins in pill form just simply cannot do what Shakeology does. The only thing done after harvesting each of the fruits and vegetables is powderizing them. They are all natural, and I get the complex combination of vitamins and minerals directly from the fruits and vegetables themselves in ways that I never could from vitamins in pill form...or unless I bought each of the plants separately. Not going to happen...



I keep sharing with people how amazingly important this kind of eating is, and how it's changed my life. You want to change your health? You have to change the way you eat. There's no easy way around it. Like I said, I'm a foodie on some level, but there is a huge difference in my life because I've changed how I eat. Every day, I focus more and more on eating fruits, vegetables, and clean meats. I am striving to do what is suggested in this video, and I know I have a head start because I use Shakeology which has 70+ ingredients that have many of the nutrients discussed in the video above. Find out more of where the ingredients come from here.

I am asking you, whether I know you personally or not, to seriously ask yourself to consider doing exactly what the first video is suggesting...take a major step towards controlling your health in a way that will build you up. You know you owe it to yourself, and you know you deserve to have a healthy life. Is it a shift in how you might be thinking and relating to food? I suspect that if you're anything like me, it's a major shift, but I also suspect that you know that it's a must-do.

Talk to me. I can help you with this. Starting every day with Shakeology is my first step towards reclaiming my health. My wife, who is an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, and it's the only thing she will endorse as a medical professional. Why? She saw her cholesterol level drop over 30 points in one month after using it.

You can reach me at drkurtlove@gmail.com. You can get more information at my website LavaBodyWellness.com or at my Shakeology website. This is no joke. Getting healthy foods, knowing what you need to get and how to do it, and doing it are the differences between a healthy long life and a short life filled with sickness.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

You Need to Eat A Lot in Order To Lose Weight

If you're in the world of fitness, you probably already know this basic principle of eating, but so many everyday people generally don't know. I was talking with a dear friend just recently about eating in a way so that she could lose weight. During that conversation (one where anyone might feel a little defensive...myself included), she was expressing her frustrations with eating healthy equating to being hungry most of the day.

The very night before this conversation, I was up until about 1am (I have a really busy day with teaching, so I don't get a lot of time during normal daylight hours) working on my own nutrition. I was going through a bunch of recipes that come with P90X and P90X2 in order to make a list that I could follow so I didn't have to constantly guess what my next meal should be.

When I finalized my plan while accounting for the fact that I'd like to lose about a pound or two per week, I figured that I needed to eat about 2100 calories per day (you can find resources online like caloriecounter.com in addition to using the P90X and P90X2 nutrition plans).

Really? Eating More is the Answer?
The whole notion of starving oneself in order to lose weight is completely wrong and outdated. Unfortunately, that notion still remains popular despite it being completely the wrong approach. On average, most people would need to eat about 1800 - 2100 calories in order to LOSE weight!

If you're eating 800 or 1000 calories a day, you're actually telling your body to hold on to the fat cells. Why? Well, it's a pretty simple concept. The less you eat, in general, the more your body thinks it needs to be prepared in case there suddenly isn't any more food available. If you think back to our ancestors who did not always have a steady supply of food around prior to farming, agriculture, etc., those who survived were those who could efficiently store energy in their body...in the form of fat cells. Eat less, and tell your body and hang onto fat cells.

So, eating more HEALTHY food, not less...and eating BEFORE you get hungry is key. This is why the five small meals plan works better than the three big meals plan. If you have a fairly steady stream of food coming into your body, you're not going to go into hunger mode. Once you're feeling the twinges and twangs of hunger in your belly, the body has already gone into "hold onto the fat cells" mode.

Eating a lot of HEALTHY Foods!
Clearly, eating 800 calories of donuts and drinking 1000 calories of soda isn't what I'm talking about doing. The food needs to be nutrient-rich. Think of it this way, Burger King is a horrible source of fuel mostly because it's only 15% meat and 85% filler...true story. However, a locally grown, organically fed bovine turned ground beef is a much better, higher "octane" fuel source. If you're a vegetarian or vegan, you know that you can't live on mac and cheese, either, and be slim and trim. You have to choose higher quality, higher nutrient-dense foods. My gorgeous bride just wrote a great deal about this in her blog (click here to see). Basically, food choice matters.

I have to talk about Shakeology for just a second. Shakeology is the reason why I am so much more actively involved with my own health today. It's probably the healthiest thing on the planet. Get it out of your mind that this is some kind of jock juice that someone takes after working out. It's not that. There are plenty of muscle shakes out there if that's what you're looking for. Shakeology is all about using nutrient dense foods like goji berries, maca, astragulus, pomegranate, sacha inchi, probiotics, lots of antioxidants, phytonutrients, and the list goes on in order to give you solid base of nutrition every day from all natural resources. I drink one amazingly delicious chocolate shake with natural peanut butter and banana every morning. I don't have cravings for junk food any more...true story. I eat much better throughout the rest of the day, too. It's really amazing, and I really believe that everyone should have it because there's just no way to get this quality of nutrition into your body for $3 or $4 per day. I would pay $20 a day for something that is this remarkably healthy. Seriously...for the all the money that I waste on things I don't need, this is quite a reasonable purchase. It makes me happy and healthy! Shakeology has really changed my life for the better. I don't say that about a lot of things, and I can't say that enough about Shakeology.

What Does 1800 Calories Look Like?
That said, what does my diet actually look like? I put together an 1800 calorie nutrition plan for myself to follow using the "Fat Shredder" model which has about 50% protein, 25% fat, and 25% carbohydrates as the guide. A normal diet is somewhere in the neighborhood of 30% protein, 30% fat, and 40% carbohydrates. When I make that one up, I'll post that. In any case, here's what one week of eating looks like:

So a couple of things about my food choices that probably need clarification. "Results and Recovery" refers to the Results and Recovery Formula that I use when I am working out. It's made specifically for the muscles during the hour of recovery directly after working out. It's a 3:1 ratio of sugar to protein that accelerates muscle repair, which is a really good thing to do so working out the next day is not a drag. I also use P90X Bars as a snack. It's just a convenient for me to get that extra snack in. As I've said, my life is pretty busy during the day, so having a salad or 200+ calories of something that I'd have to make is time that I generally don't have. Now, I said that I need about 2100 calories, so why not just make a plan that does that. I can get a couple hundred extra calories with drinking milk and having some fruits or a salad with dinner, so I leave that open for me to figure out during the day, which is much easier than figuring out the remaining meals.

The larger point is of course that I am eating more and losing weight. I'm more concerned with being able to eat that much than feeling like "I'm on a diet" where I starve myself.

Eating less, starving, and feeling low on energy are all not how to go about doing losing weight. Get that thought out of your head entirely!

As always, you can find more info at: http://lavabodywellness.com or http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove. You can contact me at drkurtlove@gmail.com, too!

Let me know if this helps.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

I Didn't Believe in New Year's Resolutions...Until Now

I've never been one to like the idea of making a New Year's resolution. I always thought that resolutions were made because they eventually would be broken. Making a significant change in one's life is not a terribly easy process, so my approach was less about making a flashy, trendy, go-with-the-crowd New Year's resolution and more with just gradually trying to make changes in my life.

This past summer has changed that thinking for me...somewhat.

Since July, I've lost 26 lbs, I'm stronger, healthier, and all-around much happier and balanced. As you may have seen in other posts, it all comes down to me making time to exercise regularly, using a well-structured program (both Insanity and P90X), and incorporating Shakeology. I've always been a pretty happy person, and even critically aware of how our dominant culture slowly strips us of deeper forms of happiness, but I've always felt rather trapped by that culture, especially when it came to my physical health and wellness. See my last post ("Is P90X or RevAbs for Everyone?") for more on critical awareness. That being said, I finally figured out that having a well-structured and appropriately challenging fitness program was how I would finally make a significant positive change on my physical health and start to move away from the self-destruction that is our consumer culture.

So, I am a believer that making significant changes long term is possible...thus, the New Year's resolution. So, mine is to resolve to make significant growth in my health, strength, and spirit. Here's what I'm going to do:

1. I going to do P90X2! In fact, I'm starting my New Year's resolution a little early because I'm starting this TOMORROW!!! I figured that Insanity and P90X were such amazing programs for me, in effect, creating the new path for me, I would take it to the next level and really push myself into the upper levels of the stratosphere.

2. I'm going to eat healthier. I'm going to use my meal plan on teambeachbody.com, the recipes from P90X2, and other workout programs far more often and eat healthier more regularly. Shakeology has been the most significant impact in getting me there so far, and I want to build off of that.

3. I will meditate more regularly...as close to every day as is possible. I have been doing a meditation on my chakras that I just love! I will post that soon.

If I go beyond three, I'll probably overwhelm myself, but this where I want to go.

And just because I am so ecstatic about going onto P90X2 tomorrow, I thought I would share this with you!



As always, you can get this and any other amazing fitness and nutrition products at my website http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

Is P90X or RevAbs for Everyone?

If a 400+lb person can do it, so can you.

The simple answer is yes, P90X and RevAbs is for everyone who is able to exercise.

Let's Be Honest...This is More Than Just Not Liking Exercise
I hear all too often people saying things like, "I am too out of shape to do P90X," "It's for young people only," or "I can't do pull-ups." It's one thing when somebody says statements like these because they are just looking for excuses to not exercise. That person should be honest with him or her self and just say, "I don't want to work out because I like sitting on my big butt way better than getting healthy and in shape," or something to that effect ;-) In a way, I get that. Not everyone is ready to commit to taking care of themselves, and in a society that's inundated with cheap, superficially entertaining and addictive foods that have a firm grip on us. So, even though people who are choosing that path CAN do a challenging, structured workout program, in their own heads the answer is still "no," which is very, very sad to see when it happens.

If you find that you're constantly giving yourself reason after reason to not do a higher quality workout program, then ask yourself if those reasons are just because you don't want to lose certain parts of your lifestyle (i.e. comfort foods, emotional eating, daily routines that you may not readily see alternatives for, etc.).

This is Bigger Than Just Deciding To Be or Not To Be Healthy
Problem #1: Knowledge
A lot of fitness people will just say to make the commitment to being healthy, and that's going to be the most important first step. On some level, I can agree with that because ultimately we do have to make that decision, but there's more to it than that. People can say to themselves that enough is enough and that they want to be healthy, but getting there is often a very difficult process with lots of questions of how to do it. If you don't know how to cook well, don't have a decent bank of recipes where you can afford the food, or don't know how to create a structured work out program that will appropriately challenge you, it's going to get frustrating. It's no wonder that so many people start up at the gym at the beginning of the year (for their New Year's resolution) and by March are pretty much giving up. So, problem #1 is having the knowledge.

Problem #2: The Large Hyper-Consumer and Addictive Food Culture
For us, in the United States of Obesity (2/3rds of all states have 25% obesity rates or higher), excuses are a big part of our plus sized developments. To actually address a problem like this is not as easy as eating cheesy poofs and watching Desperate House Wives or Fear Factor. The dumber and fatter we are, the more profits the big corporations such as Pfizer, Altria (formerly Phillip-Morris), Unilever, Kraft, General Mills, Nestle, and Wal-Mart make. From the perspective of the food and pharmaceutical companies, the fatter we are, the more big box stores, pharmaceutical companies, and large food companies profit. Conversely, the more we are in shape, use locally grown foods as part of our diets, and avoid foods that come in cans or boxes, the healthier we are, and the more we are empowered to shape the issue of nutritional food accessibility issues (aka food security issues). Foods are often made with the intention of creating addictive behaviors, which equals bigger profits. The right combination of sugars, fats, and salts is well known by food companies and they exploit the crap out of it. This is very predatory on their part, and the first step is us having that level of awareness.

Clearly, I'm speaking from a deeper place of frustration, but our dramatic recent increase in rates of obesity (in 1991, there were no states with obesity rates at or above 20%) in the US is deeply alarming and is most definitely a social justice and civil rights issue at this point. The only ones who have access to healthy foods are those who can afford them, which is tied to issues of transportation, education, and socioeconomics.

Problem #3: Mindset
So many people are basically backing up this system of injustice when they say that they aren't willing to do a strong, well-structured fitness program. Have you ever said any of these: I'm too old, too much overweight, too busy, or too injured. There are answers that can address every singly one of these issues, but these become mental blocks for people that they hunker down on. Don't be stubborn. You owe it to yourself to say, "Even though I am _________, I can still do an appropriately challenging and well-structured workout program to get me into amazing shape and be healthy."

Problem #4: Money
The one excuse that can be a real barrier for some people is not having enough money, especially if we're talking about purchasing a program like P90X. If you're struggling paying for food and keeping your home, clearly this may not be the right time to spend money on a fitness program. Once again, accessibility becomes an issue for the same reasons as food insecurity issues. It cannot be overstated how much health/wellness and socioeconomics are tied to one another. There are some simple ways around that which are mainly resolved by people working out together in spaces that do not require memberships, dues, or buying equipment or, yes, DVD workout programs like P90X. Access to exercise, in my view, is relatively easier and seems to have less challenges.

However, there is a group of people who are spending their money on superfluous things and could easily afford a fitness program that can have a huge impact on their personal health, happiness, stress level, and relationships with food. This is the group that needs to take a second look at how money is influencing their long-term happiness. You know who you are! Going out to over-priced dinners, crappy movies, and buying things you know you don't need at the mall (not to mention the fact that those things were mostly likely made with child labor and sweatshop labor in a country most people probably can't find on a map). You know you can put your money into something much better for you and something that will give you much more balance in your life. Take a moment and ask yourself what you really want in your life, and I'm sure your answer will include deeper levels of health, balance, and happiness. Eating better, exercising, and having real meaningful relationships in life are pretty much the basic ways of doing that. Everything else either enhances them or distracts us from them.

One more thing about money...and this you'll never find from any gym on the planet. You can make totally legit money by working out with a program like P90X and sharing it with friends and family who are interested. You can get fit and healthy, help others to get fit and healthy like me, and money doing it. So far, I've made about $400 since September doing this. It's not a gimmick, or a racket at all. So, I've actually earned money working out with P90X. No gym is going to do that for me, even if I refer people to the gym. I know it might sound different, and I know you may have never considered doing it, but why not? Here's more information...click here.

Simple Answers
"Soul-ution" #1: Modify Your Exercises
It can seem really quite intimidating at first to anyone who is not terribly knowledgeable about exercise and good nutritional practices...BUT, anyone can do a challenging fitness program like P90X and RevAbs and take back their health if they are willing to commit to the process and modify exercises. Whether you think you're too old, too overweight, or too weak, modifying exercises it the answer you're looking for. If a 400+lb person could figure it out (click here for an amazing story of how someone lost 233lbs using P90X), then you can do it. The biggest trick is sometimes figuring out how to modify an exercise. Fortunately, this is why P90X and RevAbs are so good. They instructors give modifications for every move. And yet, there are more modifications that can still be done if you have a basic understanding about exercise. I am going to be posting several blogs on this topic very shortly. Keep an eye out for them.

"Soul-ution" #2: Make a Schedule
This is key. I am an assistant professor (untenured), so I have such little time in the day to do anything besides work. After about a year and a half of not working out at all, I did final say to myself that enough was enough. I'm not on this planet to work myself to death and be in constant imbalance with my mind-body-spirit connection, which is exactly where I was up until July 2011. I reset my priorities to put my health and happiness first (which also meant spending more time with my beautiful wife and daughter). As part of that resetting of priorities, I made getting in shape and reclaiming my health an important part of it. As a father and husband, I want to be happy, healthy, and full of energy for my family. I found that I was getting more and more cranky, and more and more unhappy. That was totally unacceptable, and I started by simply finding time in the day to work out by making a schedule. That was the start of everything for me. I spent less time working, getting more done because I was using my time more wisely, and I was generally feeling much less stressed about work. By taking the simple step of looking at how I was using time in my days and making a commitment to having an hour everyday to do a workout (still less time than I was spending with going to the gym when travel time was factored in), it made it possible for me to do a high quality workout. My mind is less stressed and so much happier, my body is already so much healthier, and I feel much more connected to my spirit and soul. I've even found time to meditate more often...something that is central to my spirituality. This is probably too much information, but sex is better, too!

"Soul-ution" #3: Mo' Money is Mo' Money!
In late August, I decided that I would become a BeachBody Coach, and it has been such a great decision. I'm a professor, so it's not like I needed a second job, to be honest, but it's provided another outlet to connect with and support people, and even another income source. If you don't think you can afford this, give it a second thought. I buy Shakeology monthly at $90 for us Coaches (rather than the regular $120), and I pay $12 monthly for an online membership at TeamBeachBody.com, which is a great resource for person-to-person support, meal plans, and charting my progress. That's the "cost" of being a BeachBody Coach. The startup fee is $40. So, I've made back all that money so far, every month is growing a little more and more, and I'm even more focused on having good health and wellness because it's part of how I earn some extra income. I've lost 26 pounds so far, I eat healthier, I'm far less stressed, much happier with life, and I'm earning an extra income. After signing up two other coaches, I have BeachBody sending me customers now. I'm loving this!

So, these are 3 easy "soul-utions" that have made a hugely positive effect on my life.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Join the P90X Challenge!!

P90X BeachBody Challenge

Tired of fighting weight gain after the holidays? Prevent it before it happens. Have a plan. Have a support system. Have fun.

You’ve been wanting to start P90X? Now’s the time. Join the P90X Challenge. Win up to $500 per day.

Save $75 and get real results -- get stronger and healthier!! The P90X BeachBody Challenge gives you a structured workout, healthiest meal of the day with Shakeology, and the opportunity to earn money.

Purchase by December 5th. Start working out by December 12th. Contact me at: kurtlove01@gmail.com or go to http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove to join and get started! Make your health a top priority!!

Monday, November 21, 2011

Why I Don't Go To the Gym

Treadmills, ellipticals, and stairmasters...oh my!

This may be the only thing that I like about treadmills:


So, I need to explain the following sentence more clearly, but I find it necessary to start with it because it's liberating: Going to a gym sucks the life out of me. There I said it. The machines, oh, the machines. The fluorescent lights. The bank of silent televisions forever on CNN, Fox News, and a channel that I can seem to ever figure out what it is. Ever try working out with Fox News on? Like I need another reason to be frustrated with the way things are. So, now I'm aggravated at the arrogance allowed on national television AND I have to lose some weight. How is this helpful at all? Treadmills are easily the most obvious form of self-torture. Do I really need Fox News at that moment in my life?

After about 14 years of going to the gym, paying their membership fees, dealing with lots of naked middle aged men in the locker room, and grunting, sweaty men, I left my plastic barcode keyring thingy behind and started with P90X. Here's what I found...1) I finally had a structure that worked! My body was finally changing for the better, something that I was never really that successful with in gyms, 2) I had more time now that I was working out at home...workouts went from 1.5-2 hours at the gym with travel time to 45-60 minutes, and 3) I was SAVING MONEY because I wasn't paying for gym memberships. I did pick up some free weights and a pull up bar for the doorway, but even after doing all that, I was still saving money. I could play my own music, take a shower without a middle-aged hairy guy near me, and get actual results. Seriously...why does anyone subject themselves to gyms?

That said, I know that many still do go to the gym even though they are doing P90X or another Beachbody fitness program. If that's what you're into, enjoy! I know there are cool things at some gyms like a pool, hot tub, and racquetball court. But, the structure is really the most important thing. You need muscle confusion, and once I had that solidly present in my workout schedule, I was in good shape...literally. For most of us, it's hard to really get that kind of knowledge and free support at gyms. P90X was sooooo good for me. It really worked. Looking forward to P90X2!!



As always, you can order P90X, P90X2, and much more right here! http://www.beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

After the Storm...


It's been quite a while since I wrote a blog, so I'm back on it! Still doing well. I did have a couple of weeks of not too much working out in the last month or so. We had a major snowstorm just before Halloween, which wiped out pretty much the whole state of CT. I was outside shoveling during the storm and I could hear tree after tree snapping apart. It was the freakiest thing! I kept thinking that is was the Smoke Monster from Lost...but I digress. Something like 830,000 homes were without power, which was crazy.

In any case after the storm and getting out to a conference, it was quite a challenge to get back into the regular routine of working out. I wish I could have worked out during all of that, but there just wasn't any way to make it happen because I was too busy helping take care of fallen trees, gathering firewood to keep the house warm and getting things done while there was still sunlight. It's amazing how much we take for granted with the technology that we have. In any case, I've been working out pretty steadily the last couple of weeks again, and after weighing myself yesterday, I managed to somehow drop another pound! I am down 25 lbs total so far! How cool is that! I'm doing a P90X/Insanity hybrid...made up my own schedule. I think it's better than the one that they offer on teambeachbody.com to be honest. I'm rather proud of it, especially since I came up with it before they made their own. If you want a copy of it, just contact me. I'll be happy to share it. Either way, I'm building muscle, losing weight (slower, but still losing it), and definitely seeing some good differences in how my body looks. Will post new pictures soon!

So, how has this helped me understand my mind-body-connection? Since the summer, I've been working out consistently, and I have felt much, much more in balance and in harmony with what is around me. After stopping workouts for about two weeks, I noticed that I was way more inclined to eat foods that are not good for me, I felt more stressed, and I was not as happy as usual. It's just that simple. Moving the body is very much at the root of being balanced. I need to continually push my body and truly challenge it to feel more balanced and more connected to what is around me. In a way, it's like I'm able to beat up my ego a little bit to a point where I can feel more rooted and centered. It was an inadvertent little experiment, but an important existential one for me nonetheless!

P90X, Insanity and lots more at: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Train in the Snow or Train with a Pro!

I couldn't help it...

In lieu of being able to practice in the Caucus Mountains in the dead of winter...


I'm choosing to work out like a fiend with P90X and Insanity!

However, I'm quite giddy about working out using P90X2 in the very near future! I'm pretty sure it was rooted in a Siberian theory of exercise science. I'll have to look that up and get back to you, though ;-)



Get your (Siberian) P90X2 order in now!! http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Get Fit. Get Paid.

Many, many BeachBody Coaches are out there sharing their stories about why they became a BeachBody Coach, and the stories and reasons are very, very similar...and that's actually a good thing. I, like so many, decided that this was a great way to not only build a business, but get out into the community in a different way. My day job is as an assistant professor in a teacher education program at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT. I already do quite a bit of work in the community supporting teachers, students, and families. However, I find that this is a very intense setting with tensions all over the place. Education is a very stressful place to be these days, and sadly, I feel like the reward of being a teacher is being lost so quickly. For me, becoming a BeachBody Coach was a great step! I am able to connect with people so quickly in our community through health fairs, road races, festivals, etc. when I set up my booth and talk to people. I love it. I also love writing these blogs on the off chance that someone might read them!

Here's my story...
Basically, my grandparents died in their late 60's because of very unhealthy practices. My wonderful mother, who I love dearly also, has struggled with being overweight, and she knows, as well as I do, how important it is for the both of us to take care of our bodies because of our family history. So, over the summer of 2011, I did INSANITY and lost 17 lbs, which for me, was phenomenal. I started drinking Shakeology, too, which was a tremendously positive effect on my nutritional habits and mindset. It literally stopped my cravings for junk food, sweets, and salt. It was amazing. My wife, Katie, who is also a BeachBody Coach, had a 30+ point drop in her cholesterol, which was a first for her! It's really amazing the kind of changes that happened to me and Katie, so for us, there was no question of whether or not we should do this business (by the way, she's also a professor...so if you're thinking that time is an issue, you don't get much busier than us two...did I mention we have a 1 year old, too?). Even if all that ever happened was to get our 25% discounts on Shakeology every month, I was happy. However, we're not stopping there...

Chalene Johnson Says It All
Below is a great video from Chalene Johnson, one of the fitness instructors with BeachBody. She has put together TurboJam, ChaLEAN Extreme, and TurboFire for BeachBody. Her enthusiasm for this company is contagious and truly insirational!



It's a business, but it's more than a business. If anyone thinks that this is a get-rich-quick process, they will be sadly disappointed. I work every day (happily, by the way) on building my BeachBody business, and if anything, it's a fairly slow building process that has long-term pay offs. You have to have the long view with BeachBody. The supports early on are very good, but it's definitely work for sure. What you sow is what you reap with this business.

That said, it's a passion of labor for me. I've seen a huge change in my own views and practices of health and wellness because now it's a business. I connect meaningful with strangers on a fairly regular basis, and it keeps me off the streets ;-) Okay, that's a lie...I'm actually on the streets talking to people more often! That's a good thing, though.

There's real meaning to this work because it is about helping people become healthier and healthier. There's a real reward to it. Contact me at drkurtlove@gmail.com any time if you'd like to do this truly inspirational work!

If you'd like to become a BeachBody Coach, go to: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove and click on "Coach."

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Getting Healthy Means Getting High Quality Nutrients

A friend and I were talking the other day. He said that he spent the summer out of the U.S. and lost 12 pounds. I asked him what he did differently. He said nothing. All he did was eat the food that was in the other country, which was Venezuela. About a month after being back, he said that he gained back at least 10 of those pounds.

For many, this is a common story. Leave the U.S., lose some weight, return, and gain the weight. It's like someone is saying, "Welcome back to the U.S. Here's your 10 pounds," upon arrival. How is this possible? Well, whatever it is certainly explains the big problem we have in the U.S. with obesity, which is now an epidemic. Add the fact that there is 25% less nutrition available in foods grown in the U.S. than in the past. Getting nutritionally dense foods is almost impossible, and basically totally infrequent. In the world's home of superconsumerism, it should be of no surprise that for-profit food companies rely on a steady stream of sugar, salt, and fat to form addictions in the consumers in order to keep selling their products. Obesity, the root cause of a death every 7 seconds in the U.S., is a likely outcome of these practices.

"Cherry-Flavored" Does NOT Actually Mean That It Has Fruit In It
We have steadily lost our knowledges of food and food preparation due in large part to heightened corporate/consumerist practices. Food preparation consists of using chemically preserved food-like substances that come from a box. Whole foods are less often used, and even when they are, they come from corporate farms that have used high concentrations of antibiotics (that are making diseases stronger and harder to fight off), do vast amounts of physical abuses to animals (like cutting off chicken's beaks, providing insufficient living space for animals, and harbor high rates of illness), and provide horrible working conditions for migrant workers (whose life expectancies are at 47 years of age in the U.S.). This is a country that puts high-fructose corn syrup in as many products as possible. It's in bread, for crying out loud! Seriously, read the labels. Companies like Monsanto genetically modify seeds so that there is no viable seeds produced after the plant is grown. These are called "terminator seeds." Lastly, the amount of pesticides, insecticides, and herbicides dumped into water supplies are the leading causes of water pollution all over the country. There is a real food and nutrition crisis in the United States that goes completely unnoticed by most, but it is literally killing us.

Options For Getting High Quality Nutrients
I decided to become a BeachBody Coach in order to promote two things: fitness and nutrition. There are few food-based options that provide high quality nutrients any more. That is the sad fact currently. However, the best option that I've found is Shakeology. Shakeology is actually the primary reason why I decided to become a person who turned to the business side of BeachBody, the parent company of popular fitness programs like P90X, 10-Minute Trainer, Insanity, etc. When I finally committed myself to pursuing a healthier nutritional path, I took a serious look at Shakeology. There are many reasons why someone might make Shakeology one of their meals every single day. Below is a video of doctors discussing the super nutrient-rich shake that is Shakeology.



Shakeology is no joke one of, if not the single healthiest thing you can put into your body. I have seen an amazing transformation in my own life while using it. In one month's time, I went 180 degrees with my nutrition because of Shakeology. I was absolutely addicted to cookies, muffins, doughnuts, burgers, chips, fries, chocolate, soda, and the list goes on. After one month of having Shakeology once a day, I feel AMAZING! I have less problems with my bowels. I have way more energy. I have lost 21 pounds so far. My wife who has always been above 200 with her cholesterol is now at 167. I can't say enough about how this has changed my life for the better.

11 Facts About Shakeology:
1. Meal Replacement: Arguably the most nutritious, healthiest meal of the day. Replace one meal per day. Eat healthy meals for the rest of the day. Other shakes tend to be low calorie, high in sugar, and higher in fat making you feel falsely full. With Shakeology, it feels like you’ve eaten an actual meal, but you don’t feel bloated.


2. Nutritionally Potent Ingredients: Over 70 ingredients (like sacha inchi, goji berry, cinnamon, chia, and astragulis) that are purposely chosen for their nutritional potency (antioxidants, phytonutrients, prebiotics, vitamins, minerals, and protein). 


3. Vitamins: 26 vitamins, minerals, 6 of which are at 100%, phytonutrients, contains all amino acids. 
Protein: 18 grams (compared to 2g for Slim Fast), 
Fat: Very low, Omega-3 fatty acids are good for brain, heart, and weight loss


4. Calories: 140 (snack) - 400 (meal replacement), 60 recipes included with Shakeology, and you can see more on teambeachbody.com


5. Cholesterol: Has been shown to lower cholesterol, as well as raise good and lower bad cholesterol. Contains wheat grass, oat grass, barley grass = balanced cholesterol levels

6. Gluten-Free: Uses grasses, not grains.

7. Low on the glycemic index: The glycemic index is a way of measuring the impact that food has on the bloodstream by the amount of sugar that is dumped into it. Shakeology rates at a 24 on the glycemic index, which means a slower, steadier burn with no sudden crash afterwords. Shakeology is very good for people with diabetes
 or those who are prediabetic for this reason.

8. Overcome Cravings: Cravings for sugar, fat, and salt decrease significantly


9. Small Farmers: Many ingredients come from other continents, and support local farmers and local economies. 


10. Free Workout Videos: Comes with two free workout DVDs (regularly $29.95)
 that focus on light to moderate activity with weights and cardio.

11. $4/day which is about the cost of a meal from the grocery store (half the cost of a fast food meal)

Shakeology Workouts (Free with purchase of Shakeology)


You can find more info and purchase Shakeology at: http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/drkurtlove

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Finished INSANITY!!

This is my video of when I finished the workout program INSANITY. I've seen great results, lost 17 lbs, and I feel so much better. Still working on getting to my goals, but I am so excited about how far I've gone already. You can do this, too. You can be healthier and feel better about yourself, even if you're already in good shape. I'll be happy to help. You can reach me at http://beachbodycoach.com/DrKurtLove



Here is a video showing the amazing program that I used. IT'S INSANE!!


After watching this, you might think that you can't do this or any intense program. I do understand that. I did not start this program as the basic calendar that comes with it suggests. I took about 3 weeks to warm up to it. Can you do this? If you don't have serious injuries, you should be able to get into this program. Definitely check with your healthcare professional if you have questions, but don't get scared away. You do not have to be in good shape to do this. INSANITY will get you there. It's just like in yoga that you go to your own personal max and grow from there.

So, what did I use?
I used INSANITY, SHAKEOLOGY, and RESULTS and RECOVERY FORMULA, all of which you can find at: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

Why Shakeology?
Shakeology is simply the healthiest thing you can put into your body. There are 70 ingredients that are deliberately chosen because they are the Earth's superfoods like sacha inchi, goji berries, cinnamon, chia, astralugis, and so much more. The point here is to start with a solid foundation of nutrients in your body, control cravings, decrease cholesterol, and keep increasing overall health. This is no joke the single healthiest meal of the day if you use it as a meal replacement. It has changed me, and Everyone should be thinking about and getting this level of nutrition into their body on a regular basis. Shakeology is the easiest way to do it, and easily the cheapest at $4/day.

Why Results and Recovery Formula?
First, what is the Results and Recovery Formula? When you work out, and especially when you max your muscles out like I did in Insanity, muscles exhaust and use up their supplies of muscle-based sugars called glycogens. Whereas most people think that adding sugar to one's diet as being bad and leading to the increase of fat, during and after exercise are the only times when those sugars are needed. When replenishment of sugars takes place quickly for exhausted muscles, they recover much quicker with much less damage...plain and simple. If you're thinking that no sugar intake is the only way to think about sugar, then think again. It's more about how and really when you go about taking in sugar.

What's Next?

There are many options for someone like me who just finished a program like Insanity. You might like to take it a step further and try INSANITY: THE ASYLUM, or you could do a hybrid program with P90X, which is what I am doing now (since making the video for YouTube, I decided to do the hybrid). You can sculpt your body with RevABS. There's nothing wrong with just doing another 60 days with INSANITY one more time, or two more times. Once you've figured out what you want your body to do, just go for it.

One other option, think about getting in P90X2. This is one of the most advanced, if not the single most advanced at-home DVD fitness program. http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove

Lastly, if you love BeachBody products like I do...they are easily the highest quality workout programs on DVD coupled with the best nutritional supplements...why not think about being part of the business? Want to make some money while getting fit? Become a BeachBody Coach! http://tinyurl.com/3em5ln3

Why Become a BeachBody Coach?

There are many reasons why you might start a business, even if it's not something that you may have given much thought to. Before becoming a BeachBody Coach, I had never thought about doing anything like this. I am a teacher who went back to school and became a professor, and I currently teach at a university, publish my work, and support schools and teachers in my community through my work.

Why would I even consider starting a business as a BeachBody Coach? In the summer of 2011, I got to a place health-wise that began to scare me. I was defined as obese. I weighed 220 lbs at 5'10" and I was 34 years old. At the beginning of the summer, I decided that I needed to make it a top priority to be healthy again. I decided that going to the gym and going through the treadmill/elliptical machine experience was going to kill me if I tried that method one more time. To me, it's boring, and I've done that for years having very little, if any changes occur in my body.

In June, I started using the INSANITY DVD fitness program from BeachBody. To be honest, it was amazingly difficult at first. I couldn't finish the workouts, and it took about 2 weeks of working out before I finally started to feel like something positive was happening in me. However, by late July and early August, the pounds were just melting away, and by September, I had lost 18 pounds!! This was the first time in 12 years that I lost weight.

You're probably thinking, "That's great, but why turn this into a business?" For me, it was a no-brainer once I considered it as an option. Being a BeachBody Coach means having both health and wealth! That is not an exaggerated statement. I'm committed to being healthy, and now I am earning money because of it. Additionally, BeachBody Coaches get discounts on all BeachBody products. I figured that if nothing else, I could use discounts on any new fitness program like P90X2, INSANITY ASYLUM, Turbo Fire, or the nutritional supplements I use like Results and Recovery Formula and Shakeology. For example, I just purchased P90X2, which normally sells for $119.95. As a coach, I saved $30 on it. In addition to discounts, BeachBody offers 10 different ways of making money through them. What job does that?

I love talking about my transformation with others, and the high quality of the products speak for themselves. As I tell my new coaches, it's not like we're selling vacuums. P90X is an amazing program that many have used to transform their bodies, and ultimately the quality of their lives. And, that's just one of many amazing products that actually work. Why wouldn't I want to be part of the BeachBody business?

Should You Become a BeachBody Coach?


Being a BeachBody Coach is not for everyone. If you're looking for a get-rich-quick-scheme, this isn't it. This is a well run business (BeachBody was given an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau...see video at the bottom of this post) that requires real effort, time, and monetary investment (albeit very small in comparison to other businesses). However, you're the boss of it. You only answer to yourself. You can be very successful at being a BeachBody Coach, and many have done so. It takes time to build your business, but once the foundation is there, it does pay well.

BeachBody Coach Success Stories


It's important to sign up under the right person when you decide to become a BeachBody Coach. I am part of the Ultimate Fitness Team, which is the most successful team of BeachBody Coaches on the planet. If you decide to become a BeachBody Coach, we will provide you with a path for success by providing online support with a 5-step playbook that helps you set up your business, weekly conference calls with successful coaches, and weekly training sessions to help you to keep building a successful business. If you sign up with me, I will also provide one-to-one support as often as is needed to help you be successful, and you will have the amazing support of Ultimate Fitness Team available 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

Please contact me at: kurtlove01@gmail.com any time. You can also become a BeachBody Coach by going to http://www.beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove and clicking on "Coach."

This is something that you can do! You can have both good health and increase your wealth! Looking forward to hearing from you!

BeachBody Receives A+ Rating From Better Business Bureau