David Bush has helped thousands of individuals to lose weight and achieve extraordinary health!
Click the links below to learn more about David's Extraordinary Health Coaching Services:
- What is Extraordinary Health?
- David's Health Coaching Program
- 28-Day Extraordinary Health Challenge
- Have David Speak To Your Organization
When I think of Halloween I think of Candy! Loads of it and it can be scarier than the goblins toting it around! For those of us with a sweet tooth, what is to become of us on Halloween night?
Here's a few other helpful tips to remember when your sweet tooth is twitching…..
1) DO NOT buy any Halloween candy! Or, buy candy that you do not like. It is better to give out small packets of pretzels, play-do or fruit roll ups.
2) Keep in your mind that there will always be candy, but you are choosing to improve your health right now, and candy will not help you reach your goal!
3) Freeze crystal light for a fruity, candy-like desert.
4) Sugar free jell-o is a great candy-like snack
5) Do not stay at home on Halloween handing out your treats. Instead, grab a bottle of water and take a nighttime walk around the neighborhood to take in all the ghoulish sights!
6) Bring healthy snacks to work to keep from being tempted by candy in the office.
7) A great idea to help keep the piles of candy from going into your children’s body. Have them pick out 5 pieces of candy out of their bag and “buy” the rest of the bag from them for 10 dollars and then take them to the toy store to get a prize! Remember to throw the bags of candy away or give to a shelter!
Remember, a great analogy is the concert pianist. If you were a child, and you wanted to be a concert pianist (primary goal) you would need to practice every day (secondary goal), and make choices that may not be your favorite (not get to play with friends, travel, lessons, miss parties, miss play dates, etc.) But you would perform these secondary goals if it helps you to reach your primary goal.
Well, we are doing the same thing. Our primary goal is to lose weight, get healthy and live an extraordinary life. Some secondary goals are to exercise daily, drink water, stay away from extra carbohydrates and starches with empty calories, possibly decide not to go to some parties and do not eat Halloween candy!
We will make these secondary choices because it will help us to reach what is most important to us right now to lose weight, feel great and to achieve our goals and dreams!
If there were a terrorist attack yesterday on Sept. 11, 2011 and you were called to serve your country, city, community, and family, would you be "fit to serve"? The 'weight' of our nation's health challenge now seems to be breaking the back our national security initiatives.
An article by Christian Davenport and Emma Brown that appeared in the Washington Post said that about a third of all potential recruits can’t join the military because they’re too overweight and out of shape.
The article notes that to pass an Army physical fitness test, an 18-year-old male must be able to do 42 push-ups in two minutes, 53 sit-ups in two minutes, and run two miles in 15 minutes and 54 seconds.
“When you get kids who can’t do push-ups, pull-ups, or run, this is a fundamental problem not just for the military but for the country,” said Curtis Gilroy, the Pentagon’s director of accessions policy.
He says, “Many kids are not taking physical education in school; they’re more interested in sedentary activities such as the computer or television. And we have a fast-food mentality in this country.”
General Johnnie E. Wilson retired from the U.S. Army in 1999 and serves on the Executive Advisory Council of Mission: Readiness. Shortly after the launch of Michelle Obama's Let’s Move campaign, he offered this insight in The Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC):
“The tie between military readiness and nutrition is long-standing. In 1946, the population was so undernourished that many youth were unable to serve their country. Military leaders knew then that the country’s defense required action and pushed for a new school lunch program. This step did not end child hunger, but it did make a difference in improving child nutrition.”
He notes, “We all have a role to play to ensure that our children have the chance to live healthier lives. For those of us who have dedicated our lives to protecting our country, this is a national priority.”
Preparing ourselves and our children and grandchildren to be "Fit to Serve" may seem to be a bit too much to think about right now in your journey but I believe it's good to know how unhealthy we are as a nation to provoke us into action.
Maybe it isn't very realistic for you to think you'll be called on to serve your country in the military after a terrorist attack. However, answering the question "Could I serve others in a state of emergency and am I leading the next generation to a healthier lifestyle to protect our great nation?" are two important questions to think about.
Most of us have the ability to serve our family, friends, community and city by serving up better quality nutrition and portion sizes along with regular exercise and activity. Are you staying committed to doing so to achieve the trilogy of optimal health (health body, mind and finances)?
How did you do this last week in pursuit of your health and lifestyle goals? Did you have a big win or a few epic failures in judgement?
From my experience in coaching others I've seen "epic failures" lead to extraordinary success if the person uses the situation as a teachable moment. You see many people say they want to live a healthier life but fail to do so. Why? Often, its because they are short on persistence and short on commitment. When the first (or second, or third, or fourth) obstacle comes along or they fail to reach a goal they set for themself, they get frustrated and simply give up.
What they don't realize is these obstacles or failures are not stop signs, they are learning experiences to teach us how to do it right.
The central reality of human experience is ?failure? or you experience a life "half-lived". The real question is not whether we will fail, but how we will respond to "failure". Notice I've placed quote marks around the word "failure" because apparent failure is actually nothing more than a test of our personal commitment to stick it out and persist. It's better to think of this as "the failure test" than as some divine sign we should not pursue our goals after all. Some of us will pass the failure test - others will not.
Here's a brief list of just a few extraordinary people who passed the "failure test" with flying colors:
- Lucille Ball was tossed out of drama school with a note that advised, "Wasting her time; she's too shy to put her best foot forward."
- The Beatles failed an audition with Decca Records, whose talent scout dismissed their sound and warned their manager that guitar groups were "on the way out."
- Albert Einstein dropped out of high school and failed his entrance exam for college.
- Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper job because he lacked "imagination" and had "no original ideas."
The only people who never "fail" are those who never try anything new! For the rest of us, the question is what happens AFTER "failure"?
One secret to staying committed to your desired outcome or goal to spend considerable time thinking about it with a positive expectation. A particularly effective way to do this is to create a vision board ? something you can see every day that incorporates vivid pictures of all the benefits you will receive from pursuing your dream. In addition, you should create a long written list of reasons to take action on your mission in life, and review those reasons regularly.
You must create commitment daily and take action daily, if you wish to turn your dream into reality. You need to do something each and every day in support of your goal, regardless of how big or little what you are doing appears to you to be right now.
Re-commit to your goals and action plan today and stay on the path to the top of extraordinary health mountain! You're getting healthier each and every day you stay on it and focus on reaching the top.
Merriam Webster’s Dictionary defines the word “ex-tra-or-dinary” as…
Going beyond what is usual, regular or customary. Exceptional to a marked extent.
What is Extraordinary Health?
When an individual goes beyond what’s usual, regular or customary in their daily choices to improve their physical, mental and financial health so they can live an exceptional life to a marked extent.
Pursuing Extraordinary Health is similar to climbing a mountain. It’s not easy and there are many different paths you can take, but the habits and principles of climbing to the top have remained the same since the beginning of time.
I want to share with you a simple and specific path you can follow to learn, adopt and enjoy healthy habits inside a 28-Day Extraordinary Health Challenge to help you lose weight, get fit and climb Extraordinary Health Mountain.
Ordinary Health in America
Over 300 million people live within the borders of the United States of America but studies show that only 5% of Americans are truly thriving in Extraordinary Health while the masses simply survive.
If you look closely at the statistics, it’s hard to escape the conclusion that America is headed in a downward spiral. In many of the areas the U.S. was once considered number one in the world, we have now fallen to record lows.
Epidemic of "Ordinary Health” in America:
• Over 66% of all adults in the U.S. feel are overweight and/or obese. If the current trends continue the number will increase to 83% by 2030.
• 60% of Americans don’t exercise for at least 10 minutes a day (25% live sedentary lives with little to no activity).
• Over $2.3 Trillion dollars a year is spent on health care while our overall health continues to decline as a whole. The U.S. now ranks 43rd in the world in overall health (lowest among all industrialized nations).
• 70% of working fathers and working mothers report they don’t have enough time for their children and life balance to maintain relationships.
• The U.S. now ranks 9th* among industrialized nations in the percentage of its citizens who have at least a high school degree, and 7th* among countries with citizens who hold a college degree. (* We were #1 in both categories just 20 years ago!)
• A decline in job satisfaction across all income brackets over the previous nine years.
• 25% of American workers admitted they are just "showing up to collect a paycheck”.
• The national consumer debt is now over $2.2 trillion (double the amount in 1994) and the national savings percentage is NEGATIVE 0.5%.* (* First time since the Great Depression that the savings rate has fallen below zero percent.)
If you find these statistics alarming and you see your current situation included inside these statistics, don’t get discouraged. I will reveal the practical steps you can take to improve your life significantly in the next 28-Days and start you on a journey to change your life!
My Story
I’m a peak performance health and lifestyle coach. I assist individuals to lose weight, get fit and achieve extraordinary health. The coaching strategies I use come from the specific ideas I’ve learned, adopted and implemented to lose almost 100 lbs in 6 months. I've improved every aspect of my life (body/mind/finances) with these tactics so I speak from personal experience. Since I got healthier, I have coached thousands of others on these same strategies to help them achieve their own health and fitness goals. I’m 100% confident these same principles and strategies can help you to live your dreams and change your world significantly if you will simply apply them to your life.
The word “Coach” comes from the word “Kocs” which is a town in the country of Hungary. Kocs was the first town to develop horse drawn carriages that acted as stagecoaches. These stagecoaches took people from where they were at to wherever they wanted to go. I don’t know where you’re at today with your health or where you’d like to go but I’m confident if you have ever dreamed of getting healthier and struggled with achieving those dreams; the ideas and stories I share will help get from wherever you are today to achieve your goals.
I grew up in an ordinary family who loved to eat for entertainment but didn’t necessarily like to run for recreation (like most American families). As a kid my uncle took me out for the day and when he returned me to my mom he said I was like a trash can…you could step on my foot and my mouth would open! My mom and grandmothers were loving women who showered their love on me through food. You could say I was loved greatly by these wonderful women. I enjoyed the “entertainment” that came from their tasty meals and it was just plain fun to eat.
One of my grandmothers’ had a home resembling a Gingerbread House. Everywhere you turned there were candy dishes and treats to snack on. If you sat down anywhere in my Grandma’s house and you could not reach a bowl of M and M’s or Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, you were not at my grandma’s house! Going to my Grandma’s house for a week during Summer vacation was a real “treat” but typically put on 10 lbs for every week I was there.
For as long as I can remember I have always loved to eat. I ate when I was hungry, tired, mad, sad, glad, etc. but because I played sports it somehow seemed to be okay at the end of the day. I didn’t particularly like being the fat kid but because I was athletic, I was able to use my size to my advantage. My grandfather played football at the University of Southern California (USC) and I looked up to him as a hero. My dream as a kid was to play for USC and to one day play professional football.
Due to my rebellious attitude and inability to focus on my academic opportunities, my parents enrolled me in a small private high school where we played 8-man football until my senior year. This meant we were about 3 players short of a good football team. When I graduated from high school I can remember weighing myself and I had hit an all time high of 327 lbs. I was considered a standout athlete during high school but unfortunately I was not recruited by USC (or any other major universities for that matter) so I ended up going to a Jr. College in hopes to get a football scholarship.
After a year and half at Orange Coast Community College I landed a full scholarship to play for the University of South Dakota (they’re known as “USD” not “USC” so I was only one consonant off from playing at USC!) Regardless, I enjoyed my time there and I became an All-American Offensive Center. After graduating I decided to pursue my dream of playing professional football and ended up playing for 4 years on a team called the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League in Des Moines, IA.
While the Arena Football League wasn’t the National Football League it gave me an opportunity to play professional football and I was appreciative of the chance to live my dream. I ended up becoming the offensive center for the Barnstormers at the same time when Kurt Warner, the 1999 NFL and Superbowl MVP, played with the Barnstormers which has made for good conversation these past few years. I’ve actually convinced many of my friends had it not been for me hiking the ball to Kurt he’d never been in the NFL or Dancing with the Stars but that’s a whole different story!
In 1998 after 4 years of competing against some of the top football players in America, I suffered what a lot of experts called “a career ending lack of talent” and decided to transition into the world of sedentary corporate America. As I got older, I exercised less and I got busy with life. I got married, had 3 beautiful kids and became focused on achieving career and financial success. While I retired from professional sports, I never retired the bad habits I developed over the years of over eating and poor nutrition. I continued to take on buffets and make the restaurant owners cry “mercy” or lock the doors before I could enter. I would eat the same amount as when I was a professional athlete but I just didn’t exercise like I should have to burn it off the excess calories. This led to me sliding into what I call the “River of Ordinary Health”.
Like many Americans, I found it enjoyable to eat unhealthy or healthy foods that tasted great in large quantities. I ate foods high in sugar, fat, salt and other unnatural food chemicals because they tasted pretty spectacular. I lived to eat vs. eating to live. Rafting the River of Ordinary Health was an experience I looked forward to as it had become a big part of my fun, entertainment and recreation.
This led me to go from former professional athlete to being obese and out of shape. Amazingly, I had no major symptoms from my bad habits from a medical perspective. Doctors now call this being “non-sick”. I wasn’t healthy and I wasn’t sick but I slowly I began to drift away from certain activities because of my health and because of the way I looked or felt. For one, I stopped enjoying going to the public pool to swim with my kids (primarily because when I took off my shirt I’d scare some of the women and confuse the babies)!
In 2007, I went over what I call “Ordinary Health Falls”. Going over “Ordinary Health Falls” is a term I coined for the experience when anything negative happens to you because of your unhealthy habits (starting with symptoms, increased pain, a diagnosis of a disease, medications or surgery being prescribed and eventually pre-mature death).
Everyone who doesn’t practice healthy habits will go over “Ordinary Health Falls” at some point in their life but those who those who are unhealthy (primarily those who are overweight and obese) will do so sooner vs. later. It’s not a matter of “if” but rather “when?” My “falls experience” happened while I was playing basketball and goofing around with some friends. I ended up injuring my back and the pain was significant enough I had to stop playing. I went to multiple health professionals find relief but the pain wouldn’t go away. One day the pain was so bad I ended up in the emergency room at the local hospital.
The doctor gave me some medications and I used the medications to get through life with back pain. I used the “meds” as a way to survive as I never thought I had a simple answer to truly learn to “thrive” in life. When I came back to refill the prescription the doctor told me to I needed to get an MRI as it seemed to be a bigger issue than just a pulled muscle. Upon further review it came to my attention that I needed back surgery and I would have to fix what could have possible been prevented if I wasn’t overweight and out of shape.
Unfortunately, I hit the snooze button on the wakeup call to get healthier after the surgery and I didn’t do anything about my weight and I didn’t properly rehabilitate myself. 6 months later I reinjured my back again and had to do the surgery all over again! After two back surgeries in 2007 (and a $7,500 deductible) the wakeup call to get healthy got so loud I couldn’t ignore it any longer. I knew I needed to do something but I just didn’t know what to do.
I had done lots of fad diets, 12-week exercise and weight loss programs and a myriad of positive thinking courses to get to a healthier spot but none of them worked long term. I lost the weight I always put it in a place I could find it! The only weight I really lost on any of the programs was the money in my pocket. I felt like a failure and I came up with a million excuses of why I couldn’t do it (big boned, slow metabolism, too busy, etc.).
In December of 2008, I was speaking to a friend named Kevin and he mentioned he lost 50 lbs with a health coaching program and he said he learned to keep the weight off. This got my attention. I showed an interest in his story because Kevin was a former athlete and I saw my story in his story. I thought if Kevin can do it so can I. Kevin challenged me to 28 days of change and to think about developing healthier habits and living a healthier lifestyle vs. just “losing weight”.
I was ready to do something so I accepted his challenge. I followed the plan he did closely and embraced the Habits of Health prescribed by Dr. Wayne Andersen, the co-founder of the program and best selling author of the book titled "Dr. A's Habits of Health". I simply made small steps up the mountain to live a healthier lifestyle and in 28 days I was significantly closer to where I wanted to be than when I started and I was impressed with the results. I decided to continue the journey for another 28 days and was equally impressed. Six months later I reached a peak on the mountain. I had lost almost 100 lbs and I weighed less than I did when I was in the 7th grade!
This experience got me thinking about all the other people out there who were floating down the “River of Ordinary Health” who were facing the same challenging circumstances as I was. I believed these individuals could have similar success like I did if they just had a coach to challenge them and a simple path to follow to get them started on their journey.
I developed the 28-Day eHealth Challenge based on what I learned in the process of getting healthy and began to challenge and coach up a few friends and family members on how to develop the Habits of Health using the system Dr. Andersen created. These individuals found similar success and because of their success other people around them accepted the 28-Day Challenge and the revolution began! You’ll see some of their stories of these individuals and I hope they motivate, educate and challenge you to get healthy. I hope you become inspired to live the life you were created to live and you lead the way for others to follow.
Preparing for the Journey
Evaluating your health
As you look at this picture do you see yourself rafting the River of Ordinary Health? Are you dealing with the pain caused by going over Ordinary Health Falls? Are you camping out in the Valley of Complacency or in a Comfort Cave somewhere short of your peak performance? Or are you climbing Extraordinary Health Mountain?
Determining where you are, where you want to go and why you want to go there are the most important thoughts one can process in their journey to Extraordinary Health. How you’re going to get to where you want to go is less relevant as long as you’ve clarified where you’re going and you’ve made the fundamental choice you’re going to do whatever it takes to get there.
How do you want to live your life?
I’ve learned each of us differs from what we want to be, do and have in life. Some individuals don’t want to be bothered with the strategies to climb Extraordinary Health Mountain and the benefits associated with the ascent. They are too busy rafting and enjoying the rapids. I can’t blame them or be mad at them as I too shared their perspective. Many friends, family members and strangers called out to me and shared with me about the dangers of rafting the Ordinary Health River and living an unhealthy lifestyle but I just wasn’t ready to listen.
Unfortunately, some individuals won’t ever make an effort to “swim to the shore” and try to live a healthier lifestyle and some are willing to do everything they can to make it happen. It’s all a matter of choice and perspective. Earl Nightingale once said if you’re not interested in apple pie you’re probably not interested in the recipe for apple pie.
But then there are people like you who are looking for simple answers to a challenging situation. I’d like to invite you to participate in a coaching process to experience what it may offer you in hopes that it makes a difference in your life. The strategies I share with you may not be for you or it could be the exact process you’ve been looking for to help you overcome the challenges you’ve faced. You’ll have to make the choice based on your own perspective.
In the end, achieving extraordinary health requires a person to change the way they think and act. They must make a fundamental decision to become a “mountain climber” vs. a "river rafter" as anything short of this will lead them to slide back into their old rafting lifestyle in less than 2 years (based on the research done by the National Weight Control Registry stating 85% of formal dieters fail and gain their weight back in less than 2 years).
So, are you ready to accept the 28-Day Challenge and learn the habits to achieve Extraordinary Health? If so, let the journey begin.
Click here to learn about the 28-Day eHealth Challenge
Click here to read more on the habits to achieve Extraordinary Health
Lots of people want to lose weight but keeping it off can be just as difficult as losing it in the first place. Watch Dr. Wayne Andersen, MD, as he shares the secret path to permanent weight control and optimal health.
BONUS: Download the first 5 chapters of his best selling book "Dr. A's Habits of Health" at the link below:
http://elifeplans.typepad.com/HabitsOfHealth1-5.pdf
The other day I learned one gallon of milk weighs 8.6 lbs. This got me thinking of the value of losing weight. If a person loses 10 lbs on their way to a healthier lifestyle it's like taking a gallon of milk off their back (knees, feet, etc.).
Personally, I've carried in the groceries and to carry 1 gallon of milk around all day would be a miserable act for anyone to do. Can you imagine attaching a gallon of milk to your back and trying to live a normal life?
You'd sleep next to it (and your spouse would know it was there)...
You'd take a walk with it or go for a run with it (if you're an exerciser)...
You'd shower with it...
You'd have to find clothes to fit over it (you couldn't wear some of your favorite outfits)...
You'd eat breakfast with it... (convenient if you were having cereal that morning I guess)
You'd drive in the car with it...
You'd go to work with it (and your boss, co-workers and/or customers would likely see you with it)...
You'd eat lunch with some friends and take it with you (they'd notice)...
You'd go to an important meeting with it or go to your kids' game or function with it (those in attendance would notice it)...
You'd eat dinner with it...
You'd watch T.V. and surf the web with it...
Ridiculous thought huh? Life would be a total "dud" if you had to do such a thing. What if you weren't just trying to live a normal life but you were trying to live an "extraordinary life"?
Can you imagine someone trying to climb a mountain with a gallon of milk in their backpack? Most likely they'd be frustrated at not being able to make more progress (or they'd feel tired all the time) because of the extra weight they were carrying.
My question for today is why do so many of us do something similar by carrying extra body weight around? Complacency is defined as "the act of becoming self-satisfied. Unaware of possible dangers." I believe we all struggle with complacency in our lives. I personally tied and carried 11+ gallons of milk to my body for almost my entire adult life up until a couple years ago!
After letting go of the extra weight and going from a "milk dud" to a healthy weight, I committed to learning the habits to prevent me from picking it back up again. As a recovering "milk dud" I've seen some great progress over the years but I still think of myself as a "work in progress".
How are you doing with your journey to developing the Habits of Health? Are you still carrying around a gallon (or more) of extra milk that you need to let go of? Have you lost the extra weight but failed to "gain" the "skills" necessary to know what activities, friends, family members, thoughts, etc. led you to "pick back up a gallon of milk"?
Re-commit yourself today to learn from past failures and mistakes. T.R.E.A.S.U.R.E. the Habits of Health and invest the Time, Resources, Energy, Abilities, Space, Utterances, Recreation and Eagerness to develop the skills necessary to achieve extraordinary health!
Obesity is fast on its way to becoming the nation’s largest and most costly public health problem. While much of the public debate about obesity has focused on personal responsibility, PETER JENNINGS REPORTING: HOW TO GET FAT WITHOUT EVEN TRYING reveals how federal government agricultural policies and food industry practices are contributing to America’s growing obesity epidemic. See video below...
