Vanity is one thing but going under the knife….?  I live in a city (La La Land…L.A.) where vanity takes on a whole new meaning.  Here, lunch time nip and tucks are as common as getting your morning java.

I still can’t believe that people willingly go under the knife to get the “look” they’re after…it’s insane to me.

Call me old fashioned but I’ll stick to eating well and exercising any day.

I do think a “little” dose of vanity is actually good.  Maybe even healthy…in a round about way.  It’s what drives many of us to eat healthy and exercises so we can achieve a certain “ideal” physique.  We all need a little motivation…but it becomes an issue when a “little” vanity doesn’t cut it.

When vanity turns into an obsession, we have a big problem.

When you start obsessing over every imperfection…that’s an ugly black hole you don’t want to get sucked into. The quest for perfection is a facade, just like Hollywood. Perfection as depicted by the media is totally unhealthy and often times unattainable and you’re completely setting yourself up for failure.

It’s important to keep in mind that perfection really is in the eyes of the beholder.  It was less than a century ago when being “pleasantly plump” or having a “portly” built, was considered more attractive, because it represented wealth.  Fat was in…skinny was out!

Which reminds me…seriously…is it just me or are the Victoria Secret models getting skinnier and younger each year.  I mean shouldn’t these girls be in school…fully clothed?  What the heck are “normal” women supposed to feel like when they go underwear shopping?

At least for men, the athletically lean and fit bodies have become in vogue…although I don’t know for how long…and the ridiculously inflated, artificially supplemented muscle head look has gone by the way side along with the 80’s Arnie movies.  And hopefully…it “won’t be back”...

So here’s what I propose…move to a deserted island far away from the reaches of any celebrity obsessed brain washing media, away from processed foods laden with trans fats and high fructose corn syrup, away from all the business and social obligations that make you want to poke your eyes out with a hot rod, away from…well anything remotely resembling civilization.  Ok I’m kidding…slightly : )

Sometimes you just need a little reminder that you’re doing the right things and staying on the right course. Getting swayed by the media, friends and family can be pretty difficult to avoid.  So here are 10 simple health tips (in no particular order of importance) that will help you stay the course, keep your sanity and keep making the right decisions that will enhance your health as well as your fitness and weight loss goals:

1. Limit (or eliminate) mainstream media as much as possible. Since 95% of all mainstream media is based on negative news (often false or only partly true) or just plain garbage…removing the useless clutter being crammed into your brain will undoubtedly improve your life.

2. Avoid plastic as much a possible.  Plastic contains BPA, which is a chemical in plastic that mimics estrogen hormones and can really cause harmful effects in your body.  These are also known as xenoestrogens and there are studies now indicating that even plastic containers that claim to be BPA free aren’t as safe as once thought.  So when in doubt avoid plastic!

3. When you eat a meal, start off by eating protein first. Instead of starting off and filling yourself up with carbs…which is commonly the case with most meals, eat your meat, fish, fowl first!  Filling yourself up with protein will satisfy you quicker and longer than any other foods.  In fact protein is one food where eating it actually increases your calorie burn (thermogenesis) because it take energy to digest it.

4. Avoid drinking water when you eat.  Drinking to wash your food down seems harmless enough, but it can actually hinder your digestion.  If you need water to help you get the food down you’re either taking too big of a bit, eating too fast and/or not chewing your food enough.  Take smaller bites, chew plenty, slow down and enjoy your food!  This way you’ll not only digest your food better, but you’ll also get more nutrients out of each food you eat.

5. Sugar makes you fat…not fat.  Stay away from anything that says “fat free”!  Fat is not the problem.  Eating fat won’t make you fat.  If you’re eating a diet composed of whole foods with ample amount of proteins, lower carbs (no refined carbs, no grains, no starches) and good fat, you can eat quite a bit of fat and lose weight!

6. Walk as much as possible each day.  Whether it’s walking your dog, walking to work, walking to lunch or taking the stairs.  Walking is great for your health and believe it or not it’s a great way to help you recover from sore muscles if you’re working out (such as with my MAX Workouts) and it can also help you burn extra calories through out the day helping you progressively lose weight while keeping your muscles and joints healthy.

7. Get 8 hours of sleep a night.  I know you may think that’s too much, but studies have shown that 8 hours is the optimum amount of shut eye you need to be able to function at your highest capacity both mentally and physically during the day.  Another important fact to keep in mind is that getting enough sleep will promote proper recovery and keep your cortisol hormone at bay.  Cortisol is your stress hormone that’s responsible for keeping fat on your body!  Getting enough sleep can literally help you burn more fat.

8. Keep your carb intake to under 100 grams a day.  Unless you’re training for some endurance event or you’re a professional athlete, keeping your carb intake to 100 grams or so a day will help transition your body’s energy source from sugar to fat.  This shift in your metabolic process is key to helping you burn more fat and stay lean and be healthy for the long term.

9. Getting fit, losing weight and achieving your ideal body is a lifestyle.  I’ve seen way too many people go all out with an exercise program and diet that’s not sustainable and lose weight, just to gain it all back and more.  Your goal should be to look and feel good for life.  Have a realistic goal and attitude and you’ll experience more satisfaction from living a healthy and fit lifestyle. This is why I recommend sticking to a program that you can stick to for a long time without worrying about burning out.  This is one of the biggest reasons why I designed my program to have short but intense workouts that keep you challenged and not bored, all while avoiding burn out, so you can do this for a long time.  Don’t get caught up with quick fix remedies because they all fail in the long term.

10. Quality over quantity.  Doing more of a bad thing is the ultimate time waster.  It’s infinitely more effective to do something good for a shorter period of time.  This philosophy can be applied to everything in life, and it’s no different for fitness.  In fitness, quality is based on the type of exercises and how you perform these exercises.  Are your performing the exercises with correct form?  Are you performing the exercises with enough effort (intensity)?  And is the exercise challenging enough for you?  The answer should be yes to all the questions.  If not, you aren’t getting the most out of each workout as you can.  Time is valuable, only do things that give you the best results!

These are just some easy tips to keep in mind to help you stay on your fitness and weight loss track.  Hope this helps, especially during the holiday season when things become hectic and staying on course becomes more challenging.