Every year we run a food drive around this time of the year.  It's a lower resource time for food pantries so we try to help out.  We make it a little fun by weighing the food in and keeping score.  I am blown away by the generosity if our groups and impressed with their competitiveness.  

We beat last years total of 3,622 pounds with a new Tall Trainer World Record 4,667!!!! over 1,000 pounds over last year!  That's a huge amount of food for the number of people it's nearly 40 pounds donated per person!  Here's about 1/2 of my heros!  (the others didn't make it for the photo)

5:10 class lead the way for awhile with team captain Kay who out did herself this year!  She had SOOO much fun!  5:10 broke the single class donation record with 1,220.6 pounds!  Then the 9 am class pulled ahead on the last day with the new record of 1,356.2 pounds donated by a single class.  We even had Susan stop by all dressed up even though she...

Watch this funny 1 minute video and get a great reminder!

I’m known for being positive and smiley every day.  So, what wipes the smile off my face?

Notes like this:

“Unfortunately, due to his body fighting him in several locations and his love of food, it was a downward spiral of losing the mobility to do the exercises he really loved, skiing and mountain biking, plus the comfort his love of food brought him that sadly ended in losing him to a heart attack in September.” 

I asked her if I could share this message with others and she said please, if her husband’s story could reach one person and help them it would "be awesome." 

Because stories like these become more real when you see the people here is Heather and Bobby…just a couple kids. 

It’s not right.  Bobby was about 55 years old and should have had 20 - 30 more “good” years.  I am not blaming him.  He was a good man.  Actually, probably a great man from...

I had seen a Chuck Norris movie or show before so when the Chuck Norris Jokes started coming out they were hilarious.  In his shows he fights dozen of people at the time and always wins.  So, the jokes giving him super human power just seems only natural.  

Chuck Norris was born March 10th, 1940.  Every March 10th is an opportunity to share cheesy jokes.  One of my favorite things about Chuck Norris Jokes is that you can substitute other people's names in there too!  Below are the Jokes.  And Here is the Workout inspired by Chuck Norris.  

I hope you enjoyed this and got a laugh or two!  Happy Chuck Norris's Birthday to you!

God Bless,

Jeremy "tall trainer"

Thank you, Anorexia.

Well, does that sound weird to read?  This was a challenge given by my counselor years ago, to thank myself for my anorexia.  I am sure my face scrunched up quite interestingly. Anorexia almost killed me and was a total living hell! Thank myself- that makes NO SENSE. 

At that point of truly getting help I had stopped most of my destructive behaviors. But, my mind was in constant stress. I had been living with such shame, guilt and embarrassment for all of my unhealthy coping methods (anorexia wasn't the only one -I had to thank myself for a lot of harmful behaviors).  It led me to a small life of fear, anxiety, hiding from the world and hiding from my true self. 

I had developed trust with my counselor so I played along with this weird challenge.  Guess what I found in it.  FREEDOM.  There was SO much power in flipping the script that I had told myself for all my “sins”.

Here’s...

It's not my favorite...

Far from it in fact.  There are possibly 100 things I would enjoy eating better.  

BUT...

I eat it fairly regularly at least 3x per week.  

It's nothing to brag about. 

2 Cans Tuna

1 Can Green Beans

1 Can Corn

So, Why do I do it?

Strangely enough I have several reasons (which is why I do it so often). 

Reason #1 - High Protein and some veggies - 50+ grams

Reason #2 - Portable - Easy to bring to the studio

Reason #3 - Doesn't Spoil - if I don't eat it, it'll be good tomorrow or in 2 months

Reason #4 - Low Prep Time - open, drain, eat

Reason #5 - Cheapness - Compared to grabbing lunch out big savings!

Reason #6 - I don't get bloated after...I feel good

Reason #7 - Actually there are only 6 reasons I can think of.  

So this meal helps me to get protein and nutrients for my body is not a chore to make and saves me $30 a week I figure.  

That's $1,440 per year (48 wks a year).

I've...

This is from Christine! We just adore her!

Here is a glimpse of her journey, maybe you can relate?

From Christine:

I have been on both sides of the alley at Tall Trainer. 

When I started as a client in 2013, I  came to class every day, and used the on-line nutrition program. I reached the goals I had set for myself and had never been quite so healthy and fit! The short story is, I became  a trainer and worked at Tall Trainer for a few years.  It was a wonderful experience,  and I learned a LOT! 

Life changes and I decided to step back as a Trainer and focus my energy on family matters. I continued to exercise at home, when I could fit it in, but everything and everyone seemed to take priority over that hour I thought I'd give myself.

So, two years of that and the weight came back, 30 pounds of it to be exact! I was tired, unhappy with how I felt and looked, and angry with myself for allowing the weight to come...

The less dramatic title would be:

Become happier by spreading gratitude – The Gratitude Visit

I am going to share with you a story that I almost don’t believe really happened even though it happened to me.  But first I’m going to recommend you try this… 

 (listen to podcast instead of read)

Martin Seligman the father of positive psychology (www.positivepsychology.org) has developed a list of things you can do to be happier.  One of the most powerful is the gratitude visit. 

The way a Gratitude Visit works is:

1. Write a letter of gratitude thanking someone for the impact they have had on your life and how important they are to you.
2. DON’T MAIL IT!
3. Go visit them (or video call) the more intimate the setting the better.
4. Read the letter to them
5. (bring tissues and a REAL hug)
6. Make someone else feel awesome, while you feel awesome for being the kind of person who would do that!
7. The feelings and memory persist long after...

The holidays are such a magical time.  But they are also stressful, tiring, and sometimes reminders of how things aren’t quite like a hallmark movie. 

Food has become such a huge part of these special celebrations and in combination with the chronic stress of life most of us find ourselves taking in more food than our body is ready to handle.  Almost every weekend and work day brings on a special treat in our face and it is hard to say “no thank you” without a plan in place.  We accidentally slip into 10 pounds without much thought or even without a “binge”.

Thanksgiving Day and Christmas day themselves don’t derail you from your goals.  2 days of eating to your hearts content will not mess you up long term.  It really is ALL the days in between.  6 weeks of extra food does add on to some pounds.  Even taking on marathon training won’t compensate.

We are not into...

The holidays can be a wonderful time of year.  A time to gather with family and celebrate food and togetherness.  But…there are sometimes people who won’t be at these meals until we all meet together in heaven.  They passed on, died, or are no longer with us.  Choose whichever term you want since different people will react differently to these phrases. 

As a personal trainer I get to see an often more hidden side of life.  The struggles we all have with relationships, health concerns, stress, and even dealing with death and loss.  You get to know on a deeper level the highly skilled Doctor, the super successful entrepreneur, the big hearted teachers aid, the overwhelmed nurse, the mom at her limits, the TV personality, the pastor, the plumber, and so many more. 

We all have so much more in common than we have differences. 

 Me personally...I'm missing my step grandpa (Bill) he was at every holiday every...