Wheat Belly

About 2 weeks ago a colleague of mine attended a seminar put on by a local cardiologist, Dr. William Davis. He claims that the reason obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc are so high is due to our diets that are filled with abundant sources of wheat. Basically, whole wheat/whole grains are making us fat. When I first heard about this I rolled my eyes and told my colleague to let me know how it goes. Having a personal training and fitness background I was skeptical...but that quickly changed after I talked with her about the seminar.

After hearing her glowing remarks about what Dr. Davis said I checked out the website, Wheat Belly. After reading about how mutated and genetically altered our current wheat supply is and some of the negative effects it has on the body I decided to give the "wheat free" diet a try for a few weeks to see what happens.

Within 3 days I immediately felt great. My energy level was higher, my stomach (wheat belly) felt smaller, I was rarely ever hungry, and wasn't having night time cravings. There were definitely difficulties, including a huge headache on the 4th day and high irritability. I gave in and downed my fair share of pizza on the night of the 4th day and my headache instantly went away and the irritability was gone. The next day I woke up and felt hung over - swollen, headache, tired, kind of nauseous.

Another few days went by and my "Wheat Belly" book arrived. As I started reading those first few chapters I was shocked to read that what I had just experienced the past 4-5 days was outlined right there in the book. Wheat is like a drug and it tricks your body into wanting more, even when you're not hungry. No wonder I've been eating healthy whole grains and needing to eat every few hours because I'm hungry. By removing the wheat I'd removed the hunger, which was why after even 5-6 hours I was barely hungry. The irritability and headaches - similar to detoxing from a drug addiction.

I've now been at it for close to 2 weeks and I feel really good. I've have a few lapses over the 2 weeks, and my body immediately pays for it with that swollen feeling, a lack of energy the next day, and stomach "issues". It's definitely not easy, but it's also not very difficult. Trying to keep the mindset that this is a lifestyle change for my health and well being and not just for weight loss has been a big focus of mine, which I think has helped me stay the course.

I don't want to go into tons of details at this point, but I highly encourage you all to pick up a copy of "Wheat Belly" and give it a try. At some point in the next month, as I finish the book and make more progress, I'll blog about some other information in the book as well as my results.

Please feel free to leave any comments about results you've had and what your thoughts are. Thank you!

Positive Footprint

“Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones. A legacy is etched into the minds of others and the stories they share about you.” - Shannon Alder

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Your Legacy. Given that this is an important week in the Christian faith I feel the need to again talk about leaving a lasting positive story. 

After talking with one of our club groups owners a couple weeks ago I came to find out that he volunteers his time each week to instruct  martial arts classes. Here's a guy that is working tons of hours and is financially in a good spot, but decides to donate even more of his precious time to teach others. He has a passion for martial arts and said volunteering to instruct is his way of giving back. 

What are you doing to make sure the footprint you leave when you pass is a positive one? You don't have to be wealthy and leave a fortune from your estate to cancer research. Giving to others isn't about having the most money; it's about having the most heart. Time is just as valuable, if not more valuable, than money. You won't be remembered for having lots of money, but you will be remembered for having lots of heart. 

Your name and good deeds may not live on for eternity as Jesus' will in The Bible, but they will live on with the people that matter the most - your family and friends. In the year 3015, when your great great grandchildren are showing their children pictures of you from the "old days", what do you want them to know about you? 

Delivering WOW

"Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends" - Walt Disney


"Wow"...how many times have you said that after you were given great customer service? In the present day where service is driven overseas, you wait on hold for what seems like forever, have to go through at least 5 different "press 1 for this; press 3 for that", and then when you finally get through to somebody they sound robotic and unemphatic reading their script; my guess is not often.

The good news about how poor customer service has become is that companies that deliver great service can easily build loyal customers. Delivering WOW is one way the best companies set themselves apart from their competition. When you "wow" your customers they recommend you to their friends and family; and in this day and age where news is spread to hundreds or thousands of friends, followers, or connections, your word of mouth marketing can deliver big time.

WOW is when you go above and beyond what is expected. For example, a company I've talked about in the past, Zappos, delivers WOW by surprising people that order from them with free next day shipping. Imagine yourself buying something on-line and getting the standard USPS shipping where your product will arrive in 3-5 business days. OK, you say to yourself, that's how it is everywhere. What would you say when you get home from work the next day and see your package sitting there for you at your doorstep?.........My point exactly.

One way we deliver WOW at Wisconsin Athletic Club is through top notch service. For example, picture a mother with a young girl saying "I want a water, I want a water", and the mother who is visibly stressed is trying to carry the girl's younger brother in one arm while rifling through her purse with the other arm, which results in items falling out onto the floor. "I'm sorry, I don't have any cash on me" the mother says to her daughter, which results in the little girl throwing a fit....causing the mom to be embarrassed and even more stressed. In comes a WAC employee who grabs a bottle of water, gives it to the little girl, and tells the mom to not worry about it and that it's on us..."wow".......again, my point exactly.

Delivering WOW doesn't have to cost a lot of money. Simple kind acts that go above and beyond what people expect deliver smiles, deliver WOW, deliver positive word-of-mouth, and deliver profits.

What does your company do to deliver WOW? Do you or your people even know what WOW is? Are you given the authority (empowered) to deliver WOW?

Set yourself and your company apart from your competition and put a smile on somebody's face by making it a priority to make your customers say "wow".......my point exactly :)

Stress & Time Management

"You will never find time for anything. If you want time you must make it." - Charles Buxton

At Wisconsin Athletic Club we have a continuing education program called WAC University that offers employees a wide range of courses from "Language for Leaders" to "Pool Maintenance 101" to "Posture Analysis". At the North Shore club we rolled out our own club specific Personal Development WAC-U courses for 2012. This year we'll be conducting 10 courses spread out over 9 months. Part of my role as Service Director is to work with our Training & Development Coordinator on these courses. Yesterday was our first course of the year, "Finding Balance: Stress & Time Management".

Here are some great ideas that were shared by our T&D Coordinator as well as the attendees:

Stress Management 

• It is the do-more-better-faster approach to living that leads to physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual imbalance.
• Write down some physical (ie get warm or sweat?), mental (ie get "scatter brained" or draw a blank?), and behavioral symptoms (ie get cranky or hurried?) you feel when stressed? Now, recognize when these occur and take necessary steps to decrease stress.
• Write down activities that help you to renew and decrease stress. Having trouble finding time to do these things? Schedule them in as can't miss appointments in your daily/weekly schedule. 
• The Four Dimensions of Renewal (from "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey): 
• Physical - exercising regularly, proper amount of sleep, eating the right foods
• Mental - learning new things, reading, keeping a journal, puzzles, hobbies, uplifting music
• Spiritual - observe nature, practice religious worship, create a personal mission statement, find things that uplift and inspire
• Social/Emotional - cultivate relationships with family and friends, build new friendships, listen to others, engage in creative work
• The top tool we have to combat stress - BREATHING. Practice "belly breathing". Your stomach should inflate as you inhale through your nose for 3-4 seconds and then deflate as you exhale through your mouth for 3-4 seconds. 
• Other ways to decrease stress: smiles & laugh, remember it's OK to make mistakes, don't say "yes" to everything...remember, when you say "yes" to something you say "no" to another thing, learn great time management skills

                            "It's not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it." - Hans Seyle 

Time Management 

• Prioritize. List out your activities. The top 20% of those activities will give you 80% of your results. 
• Avoid procrastination & distractions. 
• Break big projects into smaller, manageable chunks. 
• Eat the frog first - do the biggest, nastiest thing first...the rest will seem easy
• Write things down - don't carry it in your head
• Use "waiting time" efficiently. Those small chunks of time (10-30 minutes) when you are in between meetings or appointments can add up to big productivity. 
• Identify your peak hours and reserve those for the most challenging tasks.
• Only handle each email or piece of paper once. Take care of it, file it, or throw it away. 
• Schedule appointments with yourself to organize and relax.
• Use a daily calendar to organize your time - my personal favorite is Google calendar because I can sync my computer calendar with my phone calendar
• Plan ahead. Plan your next day the night before, your next week the weekend before, your next month the last few days of the current month. 

Don't try and use all of these tips; you'll get overwhelmed and give up on it altogether. Take a couple tips and start doing them immediately. Then, after you've established those into your everyday life, take a couple more and implement them immediately. Over time, you'll grow to be much better at managing your time and your stress. 

Your Legacy

"Your story is the greatest legacy that you will leave to your friends. It's the longest lasting legacy you will leave to your heirs." - Steve Saint


Have you thought about what kind of legacy you want to leave? You don't have to be a saint or some sort of hero to leave a legacy. Legacy is defined simply as something that is passed down to family - it can be money or property or most importantly, reputation.

What kind of reputation to you want to pass onto your kids or your family? In the not too distant past the most important thing a person left behind for their family was their last name. I know you're busy; we're all busy, but your story is well worth taking time to make sure it's a positive one.

I highly encourage you to find time to give back to your community. Even if it's a few hours once per month, it's well worth it. Find something you're passionate about and share that passion with others. Take that great gift or skill you've been blessed with and use it for the good of others. If you have kids, bring them and build that sense of community in them.

You cannot get until you give - you reap what you sow, but you have to sow first. I'm not saying give just so you can get, but the getting part is a nice perk added on top of the story you're building and the joy you feel when helping others in need.

This is a grim thought, but take a moment and think about your funeral. When people stand up before the attendees what will they have to say about you?  What will your lasting legacy be?