Fit Dad Nation

I've been coaching men and women for the last 24 years and most of my clients have tried dozens of different diets and programs and either quit because they were too restrictive or seen a little success and then once the progress stopped, regained the weight they lost and are back at square one.  That's a sh*tty place to be.  Now if this happens time after time, it's only natural to throw your hands up in the air and say "screw it, nothing works" and that's a reasonable response.  Unfortunately, it's the wrong way to look at it and could be one main reason you're failing to see long-term progress.  I can tell you that barring any serious metabolic or hormonal issue, anyone can lose a significant amount of weight and body fat if following a plan that works. You might not think it's possible because you've tried so many things and none of them seem to work, but I assure you that you can do it.  It all boils down to a handful of basics and if you follow them consistently, you WILL see progress.  1. Eat a hi

When it comes to fitness, we are always looking for shortcuts and because of that, millions of dollars are spent each year on scams, worthless products, and fad diets. There are so many reasons why so many of us get caught up in fitness f*ckery and today I'll be talking about a few of them and what you can do to stop it. First off, we desperately want to believe that those Isagenix shakes, the super-duper fat loss accelerator program for $99.99 we saw on Instagram, or no carb diets are our key to success. It's that hope that we will find that one solution to all our weight issues is somewhere out there. It's not. We also tend to believe what others believe and many of us have the sheep mentality. Use your head. Start to think critically whether something makes sense before you just go out an buy it. Listening to experts or influencers whose only qualification is being fit and most have little or no real-world experience helping others do the same. Many of these people are only famous for being famous. Mislead

Today's show is about emotional eating and overeating, why we do it, and how to overcome it. I once read that emotional hunger cannot be satisfied with food and it's spot on. So many of us eat for the sake of eating, eat to deal with different stresses, and eat based on our moods Although you’ve likely heard this on social, food is not just fuel. It’s not just "gas" for your “car”. It’s far more complex than that. It has deep social and emotional roots and is ingrained into almost every aspect of our lives. Much of our lives revolve around eating and drinking; we gather for family dinners and reunions, holidays, BBQ’s, and birthdays. We celebrate promotions and new babies with a party that involves drinking and eating. We invite old friends out and do what? Go for a drink. We go on dates and eat. There always seems to be a reason to eat and drink. One of the main reasons traditional diets fail is because you’re forced to sacrifice and/or deprive yourself of all the things you enjoy and missing out on social e

I was scrolling through Facebook last week and came across an ad for some fitness program and in the comments, I saw something that struck me as incredibly ignorant. The comment said "poor people can't lose weight" and I'm not entirely sure if it was meant to be serious, but it appeared to be. I thought about it for a few days and it really bothered me so I decided to do a show on this very topic. Over the years, I've often heard the excuse "eating healthy is too expensive", or "I can't afford a gym", and it frustrates me to no end to hear these things. So today, you're going to hear why all of this is a bullsh*t excuse and why you CAN afford to get fit and healthy, regardless of your paycheck. I'm also sharing my personal experiences with eating healthy on a super tight budget and what some of my go-to tactics are. I don't want anyone thinking they can't afford to be healthy and I'm here to tell you that 99% of those listening to me right now have more than enough resources to eat clean and train hard.

Back in August 2020, I set a goal for myself. I had added a bunch of fat weight from being a lazy a** and eating far too much and had had enough. So I committed to losing 20 pounds in 30 days and put the wheels in motion. But before you write this off as some get ripped quick scam, I've manipulated my body weight many times over the last 25 years and can do it safely. I do not recommend that anyone else try to drop this much, this quickly. Anywho, I've slowly regained all the weight I lost due to my elbow surgery and being out of commission for two months. Well that and letting my diet go to sh*t. And I've had enough of feeling like crap so I decided to challenge myself. I am giving myself 60 days starting April 1 to get myself back into shape and get back to 180 lbs. from my current weight of 200. Of course you don't care about my goals, so I decided to make this a public challenge. Join me on my journey to getting my beach body back (or at least most of the way there), and I'll show you how it's done. No cr

If you've ever exercised for a period longer than a month or two, then you probably understand what it means to hit a plateau. It's basically when your body has adapted to what you've been doing and all those sweet gains you were making suddenly disappear. Plateaus are going to happen, period. Regardless of how hard you're training or how clean you're eating, it WILL happen. It's natural because our bodies are incredibly proficient at creating adaptation. So when this happens, there are a number of things you can do to get past it. In today's show I share my experiences with my own plateaus over the years and how I teach my clients to get past theirs. The bottom line with all of this though is DON'T QUIT when sh*t get hard and progress stalls. It's normal! Just change up a few things and keep rolling forward!!  

In today's show, I share 3 sneaky reasons why you aren't seeing results. And by sneaky I mean you might not even realize these things are sabotaging your progress and gains. First, you need to take an honest look at your habits and what I've found over the years is that people aren't nearly as healthy as they think they are. It's easy to lie to ourselves about what we're eating, how hard and consistently we're training, and how healthy our lifestyle is. Really easy. And unless to can be brutally honest with yourself, you can get caught up in a perpetual lie of believing you're doing far better than you actually are. Second, you are a product of your environment whether you like it or not. You become like the people you spend the most time with, so you have to choose to surround yourself with people who will support you. Likewise for working a job that might not be conducive to living a healthy lifestyle. If your environment isn't working for you, change it. Lastly, and I catch a lot of sh*t for this one, you

As a fitness professional, I am bombarded with questions about everything health related but there is one topic that comes up more than any other; workout supplements. It's an industry that produces tens of billions of dollars annually and there is a good reason for it. No, it's not because they work, but rather because people want to get results as fast as possible and are willing to pay for it. In short, we want shortcuts to those six pack abs and bulging biceps. Unfortunately, the human body doesn't work on those terms and you're probably familiar with someone (or you) that has quit exercising/dieting because the results weren't coming quickly enough. Personally, I don't recommend supplements to most people because they are largely unnecessary. However, I do think many supplements do have a place as part of an overall fitness program, but there are a lot more reasons not to take them. Here are my top 5 reasons why you shouldn't take workout supplements: 1) You aren't covering the basics first. Now I'm goin

Getting fit isn't easy. It's simple, but not easy. Anyone who tells you it is, is trying to sell you something. We have more info and more resources at our disposal than at any other time in history yet we are getting fatter by the year. There are a ton of reasons why this is and I've shared them in other podcast shows, but today I want to talk about something different. I've been in the fitness business for a long time and have seen a recurring theme with people's fitness levels; they rise and fall constantly and it seems there is always a need to "be fitter". Yes, we all want to chase those last 10 pounds, those 6-pack abs, or that lean and tight body and it always seem to elude us. And when we DO get there, it's only a matter of time (usually not very long) before it's gone. Here are 5 reasons why this happens: 1. You aren't fully committed to change. We ALL want to look and feel great. Everyone on the planet does. But we aren't because we find excuses that become more important than our commitments to our

I'm not a huge fan of resolutions but I am a fan of setting small goals and working your as* off to see them through. And since 2020 was more or less a bust, I'm vowing to make 2021 FAR better in all aspects, with a focus on health and wellness. If you're looking to make changes this year as well, I want to help. And I'm a big believer in keeping things as simple as possible when it comes to the overwhelming and confusing world of diet and exercise. So here are 7 things I want you to focus on this year. No need to complicate things. 1. Recognize that you will experience setbacks and failures this year. It happens to virtually all of us. Don't let it beat you though. Accept it and move on. 2. Find a way to train despite the shutdowns and closures and there is always a way. 3. Eat 50% better than you're used to. No need to go Keto or totally revamp your entire diet. Just eat better than you normally do. It's not hard. 4. Move as much as possible. Enough said. 5. Make your health the priority. You can't take car

Now that a new year is here, you might be ready to finally make a change to your health and fitness, millions of men do. And it's easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of conflicting advice out there and it seems that every "expert" has the "best" solution to your fat loss goal. I recorded this show with the fitness newbie in mind. Maybe you've taken the last decade or two off from exercise or maybe it's really never been a part of your life. And maybe you've decided that 2021 is going to be your year; the year you reclaim your body and dump the gelatinous mush you've been staring at for far too long. And I'm with you. I want you to make a change. I want you to live a long, healthy life. You have kids. You have family. You have a ton to live for. And in my show today, I share my personal story of how I started with nothing in my business and how I had to make the decision to change direction and start over from scratch. I share this because while I'm not starting fresh with my health and fitness, I unde

As we get ready to head in 2021, I think it's safe to say that 2020 was an epic failure across the board. Now it's time to look towards the future and for all of us who struggled this year, it's time to shake that sh*t off and make this year monumentally better. In November, we started the 75 Hard Challenge in our Inner Circle program and it's been an amazing journey so far. We have just a few weeks left and the men who started are absolutely crushing it. We've had guys lose 30 pounds, drop into size 32 jeans for the first time in decades, build strength and endurance like they haven't felt in years, and finally feel like they are in control of their health and life. This has been such a game changing experience that we're starting a new wave of challengers on January 1. If you missed the first go round, do not miss this one. Here's what you'll be doing for 75 days: 1. Working out twice a day, each for at least 45 minutes. One workout MUST be outside, rain or shine. 2. Following a healthy diet with zero cheat

As I get ready to head into surgery to remove the tumor in my arm, I'm thinking of all the things I'd rather be doing. I think of all that I haven't done, haven't seen and haven't accomplished. And I'm thinking of my daughters; my world. I suppose it's natural to be worried heading into something like this and this marks the second surgery I'm having for something called PVNS, which is a tumor that forms around joints and tendons. In my case, it's my right elbow and from what I remember from my surgery in 2015, it's damn painful and the recovery period is months long. Not exactly ideal for someone who makes a living exercising, but there are no other alternatives to surgery for this. I'm a little freaked out, but with all that's going on in the world, it could be worse. Much worse. People are dying left and right from COVID and so many other things and I have to do my best to be thankful that other than this tumor, I'm pretty healthy right now. I share this with you today as a reminder to be grateful for what

It's easy to get motivated for a day, a week, or even a month, but we are all in this for the long game. Motivation comes and goes and if we rely on it as our source of action, we're going to fail. Every client I've ever had has been unmotivated at some point and I've been there many many times myself. Social media makes us think it's easy to stay all fired up 24/7 and guys like David Goggins and Jocko have us questioning our commitments to ourselves. But we're all human and we all go through tough times, emotionally and physically. We all f*ck up. We all get lazy. We all get tired. We all have demons to battle. And of course we all want to live better lives. We all want to feel great, look great naked, have tons of energy, and be awesome role models for our kids. Some of us have a family history of premature death, Diabetes, heart issues, and other potentially fatal diseases. Yet so many of us, despite all these incredibly powerful reasons to live healthy, fail to do just that. Instead, we sit and watch our

I posed this question to the Inner Circle the other day because I was curious to hear what the men thought was the issue behind the fact that the vast majority of us just can't seem to stay consistent with living a healthy lifestyle. I mean, we ALL want to look great, feel great, be confident with our bodies, look good naked, have better relationships and sex, and be strong and lean. But so few of us can do it despite all the information, products, and programs that are available to us. We literally have everything we need to live an incredibly fit and healthy life yet we aren't doing it. I'm not judging because I too struggle with consistency. I eat too much. I eat the wrong foods. I get lazy. I get unmotivated. It happens. We are busy dads with busy lives. We have more sh*t to do than we have time and there is always a reason to skip that workout or stop at McDonald's. Society makes it easy for us to be fat and lazy and I believe that's what they want. They want consumers who eat junk food, sugars, fast foo

The diet and weight loss industry is one of the biggest in the world and one that people will go to great lengths to try and hack. Pills, creams, detox teas, belts, slimmers, fad diets, fitness gizmos, fat burners, and everything lining the shelves at GNC are all designed to help you shortcut your way to a better body.  It sickens me to see this sh*t peddled everywhere and we're dumb enough to buy it. That's the problem with this industry, people are willing to spend their hard-earned dollars on something that promises faster results despite knowing (at least on some level) that it's not going to happen. Of course, we all want instant results! That would be great, right? Why put in all that effort and time if you can just take that popular fat burner you saw on Instagram and incinerate all that weight while you do nothing?? The real world doesn't work that way and your body will take its sweet as* time losing weight. At least if you do it correctly. Instead of chasing shortcuts, I propose the following: First

It's easy to get caught up in hype and marketing when looking for info on diets these days. It seems like every "coach" on Instagram has a special diet plan to sell you and the book stores have shelves lined with every type of fad diet you can think of.    And it's all because of one thing; to sell you. That's it. The food industry doesn't want you to be fit. The diet industry doesn't want you to be fit. There is far less money in fit people than fat people.   So every day it seems like we're hit with new "research" on the best way to burn fat or lose weight and most of it is pure garbage. If there was a best way to lose weight, we'd have a nation full of lean people. We don't. We're a country of overweight and obese people and it's getting worse.    The Keto Diet isn't your answer. The Paleo Diet isn't your answer. The answer lies in you.   It's on you to find the approach to eating that has the 3 things necessary for weight loss success: It needs to be healthy It needs to get you results It needs to be sus

On 11/1, we start the 75 Hard, which is a challenge made popular by 1stPhorm Supplements owner, Andy Frisella. I had read quite a bit about the challenge prior to committing to it and hadn't seriously thought about it until I had a conversation with a friend who had gone through it. He spoke about not only the physical transformation that happened but the changes to his mindset and mental toughness. So I decided to take the challenge on myself and invited our private group, the FDN Inner Circle, to join me. Today, I share the five main reasons I feel compelled to put myself through these 75 days and I'm sure you will resonate with a few. As I've said many times before, I'm not a fitness "guru", I'm just a regular dad with all the same struggles as you. And by me sharing my personal reasons, it might inspire you to look deeper at your commitments and what it is that's lacking in your life. In all honesty, I've hit a rough patch in my life. I've allowed my feelings to dictate my actions, which have led to perso

As our Fit Dad Nation Inner Circle group gets ready to start the 75 Hard Challenge, I asked 1stPhorm challenge director and RD Jeremy Mullins to come on the show. For those of you who aren't familiar with the 75 Hard, it was developed by 1stPhorm owner Andy Frisella and designed to help people build mental toughness through creating daily habits and sticking to 5 critical tasks each and every day for 75 days straight. The tasks are: 1. Choose a healthy diet and stick to it with zero cheats. No alcohol either. 2. Workout twice a day for a min of 45 minutes. One MUST be outdoors. 3. Drink one gallon of water daily. 4. Read 10+ pages of a non-fiction book. 5. Take a progress pic daily. Failure to meet any one of these tasks an any day results in starting the challenge over at day 1. Jeremy has been leading groups and challenges, running calls, and helping people get fit and healthy for years and his dedication and passion is obvious. He's also been through the 75 Hard personally and today he shares som

As dads, we're busy. Like, ALL the time. There is always more to do than we have time or energy and it's a constant battle to prioritize our own health and well-being. Most of us know this of course and do the best we can. But it's not good enough. For you or for your family. I'm here to tell you that it's not easy to make ourselves a priority. It's far easier to let life get in the way and knock us off the path we're on. Many of us start a new program or diet and do well. Until we don't. And most often, it's a small life event that kicks us in the d*ck and sends us back to square one. I'm not going to sit here and tell you to suck it up and do better. You already know you need to. I'm here to tell you that we all go through ups and downs, including me, and it's part of life. Stress, relationship struggles, a new job, getting laid off, COVID, kids sports, and the dog getting sick are all enough to throw our routine into a tailspin and crush our motivation and progress real quick. My point is that there will A