If You’re ill- 3 Quick Fix Natural Cold & Flu Remedies

I hope your Christmas was awesome! We had some great times here too. It was soooo cool seeing Brayden open up all his super cool presents. Here's a pic of some of his new gifts:

Ok so now that you are all mesmerized by Brayden's totally sweet new Christmas bounty let's get back to YOU.

After eating certain things, holiday stresses, potential gift disappointments by getting too many socks and sweaters, alongside all the different traveling sometimes our bodies don't want to cooperate. I want to help you along through the process of getting better fast should you feel anything coming on or already manifesting itself. Here is the solution that I have found to always work to make people better inside of 48-72

hours. This is no joke and really works.

You can get all 3 products at Whole Foods, Fruitful Yield, Sprouts, and many other local health food stores for the best prices. Buy quality and don't just get the store brand or generic cause it's cheaper. Your body is yours and get the best by investing in yourself. Your family will thank you for your hard work and consistent efforts of setting the example of bettering yourself.

1. Oregano Oil: anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, anti-mold, and a host of other ugly things. Oregano Oil is more potent than bleach when it comes to remedying these things. I recommend the New Chapter, North American Herb Spice, or Nature's Way brand. Take one capsule every 2 hours.

2. Probiotics: these are the friendly bacteria to be put back in your body and instantly working to restore digestion and strong immunity. I recommend only the New Chapter All Flora capsules. Take one every hour on the hour for a couple days to restore all internal function & then take 2 per day as maintenance for the rest of your life and you will rarely get sick if ever. These are 100% kid friendly. I give Brayden one a day. He just breaks the capsule open while tipping his head back and away he goes.

3. Colloidal Silver: this is nature's natural anti-biotic. It is very gentle and very effective. Only take this while experiencing problems as it can overload the system if used ongoing. Take as directed. The Sovereign is, in my opinion, the best with this product.

If you use these products, and they're not that expensive, you will feel better and be better inside of 48-72 hours. Be sure to drink at least half your body weight in ounces of water every day to make sure you are flushing it and hydrating it properly. A drop of even 15% water in your body will decrease overall energy levels by about half. Water is so vital and so good for us. Many people are bloated because of not having enough water. Pay very close attention to that so that you do not hold sodium on your body too much. Having too much water can also be an issue, but most people eat too much sodium to begin with so unless you suspect that you are drinking too much, probably a gallon and a half or more a day, then don't worry.

Seek Progress, Not Perfection

"I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times. But they can fulfill their own potential." - Bill Bowerman, University of Oregon Track Coach and Co-Founder of Nike

For whatever reason, I think that the rules that govern the Universe don't apply to me. This seems to manifest itself most of all in the work place. In my mind I believe that I should be able to go about my job and deal with each and every challenge effortlessly. I continually expect perfection from myself and when I don't get this, I become upset. Upset is not the word. I become physically pained from errors that I make.

Sometimes I can't even help it. Yesterday, during my workout, I did some things that I haven't done in quite a while. I now know why I don't do them anymore. I re-injured my back. Thank God it is only a minor flare up, but still it has set me back a smidge nonetheless- hopefully just this weekend's training. After I felt the "pop", as I have in the past unfortunately a couple times too many, I thought to myself some things I probably shouldn't have, but in the moment they were to me real. For whatever reason, I said out loud, "You are never going to be perfect. Life is not about perfection or being perfect. Life is about progress." This is HUGE lesson for me.

Anyway, I wanted to put some stuff down on the blog that I have learned over the past year, which help to mitigate the effects of the "over achiever" syndrome that plagues me every day of my life.

Number One: Set Reasonable and Attainable Goals

Ultimately, goals should be something that force one to grow, but also create solid skill sets. As the adage goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." The funny thing about this quote is that the Romans didn't try to build their great city in one day. Roman architects and engineers worked slowly, and methodically. They didn't build cities in days, but rather would build part of a wall or 1/10th of a mile of a road a day.

With this in mind, try to find ways to work on pieces of long-term goals each day. Randy Couture, one of the greatest mixed martial arts athletes to ever step foot in the UFC octagon, once said: "Strive to progress at least 1% every day. It doesn't sound like much, but it adds up real fast."

Mike Munson, one of my buddy's and Kettlebell training clients, is very similar to me in the struggle for perfection... errr, I mean focus on progress mindset. One of his goals is to be a corporate controller at his current place of employment. In order to get to that position, he will need to have mastery over fixed asset accounting--his current position within the company. In one day he can learn a new piece of fixed asset accounting--like how to set up a capital lease and draft the corresponding memo. This is realistic. Expecting to understand how ALL of fixed assets works in one day is a fantastic way to make himself go crazy.

To make his job sustainable and enjoyable on a daily basis, he will have to realize that this is the nature of the beast. The flip side of the equation is pretty nasty. For example, his first swim coach once told him, "In the past the goals I set for myself were often time so unrealistic that I could rarely achieve them." It was because of his unreasonable goals for himself that he took a ten year hiatus from competitive swimming. A devastating personal event forced him to confront his unrealistic goals, the emotional damage that was caused by this habit, and return to the world of competitive swimming. He now currently competes in the FINA World Championships.

Number Two: Find Ways to Feel Good

Each night after work, I make a list of what I want to achieve the next day. I used to have a Crackberry and now I love my MyTouch3G Android phone. It syncs with my Google Calendar so my list goes right from my online calendar to my phone and vice versa. Some times I will be able to finish that list, hit the snooze on the phone reminder, add items I pushed off onto the next day's list and will start another-- one which is usually more auspicious than the prior. At the end of the day, I'll look at the second list and go, "Gosh, I didn't get anything done," and go home feeling a little bit upset.


The aforementioned behavior is a bad habit. I've procrastinated my entire life and no matter how many reminders I set for myself or ways I try to prioritize my to do lists somehow I still have leftovers that continually plague me for weeks and even longer. The only way to have long-term, sustained success is to feel good about what you are doing each day. After completing my first list, I should have gotten a cup of coffee with a friend, enjoyed a few minutes outside, and then made an additional list called "Gravy," or "Superstar." If I consistently acknowledge and let myself feel the good work that is being produced, I will be more likely to produce more good work. Ultimately I believe that long term goals are almost unnecessary. There are so many variables at stake that anything can change the desired outcome of a given goal even on a daily basis. Short term goals of a certain chunk of hours, 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months are more realistic and can easily be shifted to what your schedule throws at you.

Number Three: Embrace Falling Down

My same buddy Mike Munson has always struggled with inversions, or hand stands, in yoga. It's not the balance or the strength that he lacks, especially due to his consistent, unwaivering, and ongoing kettlebell practice, but his unwillingness to fall down and potentially crash into the person practicing next to him. After a two month hiatus, he was finally able to confidently get to a yoga class. During inversion time the instructor said, "There is nothing wrong with falling down when you work on inversions. Falling down is part of the process." No truer words have ever been spoken.

In any field of study, the people who go on to do truly great things are the ones who are not afraid to "fall down." When they fall down, they pick themselves up and go, "Oh, I'll do it a little bit differently next time." Having that willingness to fall down in front of others and embarass yourself from time to time will ultimately lead to mastery of an area as well as the respect and trust of colleagues. Nobody likes going to a boss who is a "know-it-all" with questions or issues. Most people I know do really enjoy talking to colleagues who are willing to put together the pieces as a team member. I'm teaching my son Brayden that whenever we fall we get right back up. It's okay to fall. In fact the only place to go when we're down is up. That's as positive as it gets.


"One of the important lessons in life is to learn to keep out of ruts. Everyone is bound to strike them at times. But they should be gotten out of- immediately. Keep your eyes Open and your Mind Awake." -George Matthew Adams

Collaborated together: Michael Munson and Bob Garon

30 Day iWater Challenge

Our bodies are made up of over 65% water as adults and upward of 80% water as children. Our next installment of a 30 Day Challenge come as a 30 Day iWater Challenge which gives us a great challenge cause it will not only challenges us to drink the actual water our body needs, but also keeps us focused on how vital H2O really is in our energy production.

Bodyweight To Drinking Chart:
Less than 140lbs you iWater 3 Liters (twelve 8 ounce glasses per day- 96oz)
141lbs- 180lbs you iWater 4 Liters (a full gallon of water per day- 128oz)
180lbs and up you iWater 5 Liters (a touch over a full gallon of water per day- 168oz)

During your workouts the water you drink is above and beyond the iWater Challenge amount. So look at it like this: you must drink your iWater outside of your workout time.


NOTE: Some reactions to drinking more water are spending more time in the bathroom until your body adapt(3-4 days is all it takes), if you get tickled you might wet your pants, greatly increased energy, detoxing, fat loss, fewer headaches, mental clarity, hormonal balancing, less to no mood swings, decreased hunger cravings, overall satisfied feeling of well-being.

Lastly, keep this in mind: It is ideal to drink fresh filtered water that is cold, but doesn't have to necessarily be iced unless you like it that way. Too cold of water is more difficult to drink. Hot water goes through the body too fast. In fact if the water is cold it will actually cause your body to burn a few calories during the time it takes to bring it to your body's temperature.

On Facebook I created a special event for the 30 Day iWater Challenge so that you can see everyone else who's participating as well as comment on the wall for encouraging support and funny comments alongside your experience.  Here's the direct link: http://bit.ly/7WhkWE  Enjoy your iWater 30 Days. :)

SUCCESS TOOL: Here's a special Calendar for the 30 Day iWater Challenge so you can mark off each day of completion. Download here: http://bit.ly/5msCkM


Video by Sirena Bernal. Sirena blogs at The Naked Dish where she has great information on healthy eating and living.

3 Very Simple & Tasty Red & Green Christmas Smoothies

Here's our protocol: From now until the end of the year we're doing 2 smoothie fasts a week with each of those days being on Tuesday and Thursdays. You drink one of the smoothies during the day and the other in the evening. Only have 2 smoothies each of those 2 smoothie fast days and one will be red and the other green. What these smoothies and fast days will do is detox your body, facilitate fat loss, and spike your energy levels up immensely. You'll actually be shocked, if you do these Christmas Smoothie fast days right, how much energy you get. If you've been eating a lot of processed food and grain carbs for a long time your body may even feel a bit weird because of how well this works, but never fear cause that means it's doing its job.

Because Christmas Eve is on a Thursday and I'm sure you're gonna wanna eat some gooooood food we're starting on Thursday, December 10th and then for next week you can do it on Monday and Wednesday if your Christmas Eve schedule doesn't allow you to do it then. Outside of the smoothies drink at least half your bodyweight in ounces of water and then an extra 20 ounces minimum when you workout.

Ok so as promised here's the 3 Very Simple & Tasty Red and Green Christmas Smoothies.

3 Very Simple & Tasty Red Christmas Smoothies

1. Half Cup of Fresh Organic Pineapple

1/4 of a beet

1/2 leaf of kale

1/2-1 full carrot

2. 4-6 Strawberries

Small handful of spinach

1/4 Apple

1/2-1 full carrot

1/2-1 radish with root

3. 1 Whole Apple

1 Banana

1/4 of a beet

1/4 teaspoon size of fresh Ginger root

Small handful of fresh blueberries

Note 1: I use my Vitamix and it tears everything right up. Make sure you don't "over beet" LOL cause it will take over the flavor. Follow as the recipe suggests.  Nothing needs to be peeled. What I do is cut things up into easy to manage(for the blender) chunks and then blend away. :)
Note 2: Don't be alarmed if your stool is redish. The beets do this. The first time it happened to me I thought I had a problem cause it looks bloody, but be rest assured it's A-OKAY. 
Beets are amazing for detoxing the liver.

3 Very Simple & Tasty Green Christmas Smoothies

1. 1/2 Apple

1/2 leaf of kale

Small handful of spinach

1/4 teaspoon size of fresh Ginger root

1/4 of a cucumber or 10 marshmallows - Just Kidding!

2. 2 Celery Stalks

handful of mixed baby greens

1/2-1 full carrot

Half Cup of Fresh Organic Pineapple

Optional, but recommended: 1/4 of a cucumber

3. 1 Banana

1/2-1 an orange

1/2-1 full carrot

1/2 leaf of kale

Optional, but recommended: 1/4 of a cucumber

Keep Right, & Whatever You Do, Keep Moving Forward

"You can't fail. The further you fall, the greater the opportunity for growth and change." -Julie Newmar

I really enjoy reading some of Gordon Byrn's blog posts. Although I have never met the man personally--we do share mutual friends--he seems like a pretty enlightened, and highly achieved human being. Based on what I know of the man, he is the type of person that I strive to be.

Some of his thoughts can be quite difficult for me as his material is basically about looking at our bad habits, the things that we don't do well, and working towards eliminating these things. I like to think of it as trimming the fat. Some times my strategy for dealing with my "challenges" is to work harder. This makes things better about half the time. Sometimes more work is necessary to get things done better and more efficiently; however there are other times that I need to re-evaluate so that I can to see what isn't working and then strategize how to best deal with the issues at hand. Irregardless, it can be pretty hard to look right at yourself, and say, "There are things that I am not good at." As much as it pains me to admit this, awareness of these things is the only way to make changes for the better. Denial is simply us being weak enough to not fully grasp what it takes to become stronger or knowing good and well what we need to do in order to change; however not taking action to do so.

One of the things that I have noticed with most people who want to improve their fitness efficiency and effectiveness is that they take lessons. Then they go back to their workouts and continue to practice their old habits. I find this rather odd, but it does make sense. What we perceive as us doing something right isn't really right at all.  I see it in myself, which is probably why I can see it in others. With this new found awareness, my plan right now is to only practice what I know and have confidence I can practice "correctly."  In short, I'm not going to go back to old habits just to make simply get through the day, my workout, or any activity whatsoever.  I'm going to focus first on the right way of the technique; for right now, time is a secondary concern.

Anyway, as I make these changes, it's going to hurt. I understand that in order for me to grow in my physical performance I must grow in my mental performance.  I'm going to be frustrated, I'm going to want to go back to my old style and habits, and I'm going to be upset that I'm not getting better fast enough. Too bad! I must keep on focusing on the small changes and take each day at a time. But the good news is that if I am willing to negotiate with my resistance to change, I will improve, and things will get better. I simply need to persevere through consistent practice no matter what my schedule throws at me, what happens at work, at home, or what arises in my day. Today I will focus on changing myself.

No Fear Of Public Speaking And Compound Interest Success

"The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." - Albert Einstein

"There is power in small and simple things." - Gordon Byrn

When I was in college, one of the general education requirements was public speaking-- I saved this class for the second semester of my senior year. Unlike most people, I have always loved public speaking. Most people hate the opportunity to be scrutinized and judged in front of a large group of people; I absolutely love having a group of people captive for any length of time. I guess I am just a whore for attention or maybe my Mom didn't give me enough kisses when I was a kid. Don't know, but I like being in front of people even if public speaking is the world's greatest fear. True Story!

The last speech of that class was on basic financial management. I started off the speech by saying that a reporter asked Einstein what is the most powerful force in the universe. The reporter thought Einstein would say something like, "Love is the most powerful force in the universe," or "God is the most powerful force." They were basically trying to back the guy into a corner, but were unsuccessful. POW! Compound interest! Who would have ever guessed Einstein would have busted out with that?

Compound interest is simply, "Interest which is calculated not only on the initial principal but also the accumulated interest of prior periods." Instead of getting a return on what was put down initially, the individual receives a return on the "return" from previous periods. I think this concept of compound interest applies very well to any sort of discipline or practice that someone goes about cultivating.

When I started swimming years ago, I couldn't make it across the pool swimming freestyle. Swimming 200 meters was an accomplishment. But I realized that if I just kept practicing that the practice would build upon itself, and I would develop "feel" or mastery for the craft. But the underpinning of this idea is something that most hard-ass drill instructors miss: enjoyment. I really enjoyed being in the water, and feeling of holding water. So, killing myself to knock out what most 8 year old swimmers did as a warm-up was worth it.

Lately, I have been looking at my life on a wholistic level, and trying not to be as granular as I usually am. Historically, I get really upset when small little things aren't right where they should be. I can get fixated on them very easily. I recognize that this habit of being fixated on small imperfections gets in the way of enjoying the big picture. Some call this OCD, but for me I have to set a long-term horizon in order to force change and become a reality. I keep coming back to Gordon Byrn's words that we can achieve much more than we think possible in the long-term.

My driving thought for this week is come up with a simple plan that I can achieve each day, and really enjoy. I've been bringing fruit and nuts to the office alongside drinking 8-10 ounces of water on the top of every hour, which have really helped to keep my energy level and focus going through the afternoon swoon rather than eat a grain-filled big lunch that will just dip me down and lead me into a nonproductive comatose state. Again, this just comes down to a little extra planning.

Author: Michael Munson lives in Phoenix, AZ and is one of my Girevoy Sport (G.S.) Kettlebell Students who regularly practices endurance swimming, running, and high intensity workouts. To read more of Michael's work follow him here: http://www.zenaccountant.blogspot.com/

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Cry When You Weigh Yourself

10 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Cry When You Weigh Yourself

Keep this in mind: Scales Suck! They really do. What do they actually tell you, but how much gravity is pulling on you at that given moment. It does not tell you how much muscle you have, water weight you're carrying, fat you have, bone density, etc.

Consider this:
The average woman’s weight can fluctuate 6-8 pounds
The average guys weight can fluctuate 6-12 pounds
The factors that affect your current weight are:

1. The Amount Of Sodium You’ve Recently Consumed: (more salt= more stored water= more weight, check your labels and only consume max 2400mg a day). This can be hard if you eat processed foods. 97% of processed foods contain higher than excess sodium that cause this bloating.

2. Time Of The Month: This of course, is for women can cause bloating and extra weight). This is natural, but you CAN control this with your eating habits. Symptoms of both PMS and Menopause need not be or need not be as great if your eating habits reflect a more anti-estrogenic approach.

3. Time Of The Day: When you wake up with an empty stomach, you weigh less than in the evening, much less, you must be consistent if you are going to focus on what the scale says.

4. Your Stomach & Digestive Tract Content: What you’ve eaten so far today, whether there is indigestion in there and/or food intolerances that can cause bloating alongside excess fecal matter due to irregularity or constipation. Most adults have 5-15lbs. of excess fecal matter stuck within their intestinal tract. Only way to get that out is a really good colonic or dietary cleanse that specializes in this. My Synergy Natural Cleanse (entirely food based) targets just this topic. If you don't get this gunk out you will have all sorts of health adversities and often times not even know it because over time our bodies adapt to small changes and we don't always know what the signs are when it tells us something may be wrong so we just keep on going.

5. Number Two Time (aka "Potty or Bathroom time"): Whether you’ve used the bathroom that day or not, for both purposes, your body will be holding onto undigested food, fecal matter, and waste toxins. See our previous number 4 for further mentioning of this number 2 problem.

6. The Amount Of Carbohydrates You Recently Consumed: Every 1 gram of carbohydrate attracts approximately 2.8 grams of water so the pasta you just ate the night before could be making you hold an additional 2-3 pounds. This is why people believe low carb diets work, when they drop the carbs they drop radical weight. It can almost be a false security because of this very reason. Low carb diets definitely have a way of working, but are not for a lifestyle. A managed carbs diet is what I recommend. Keep out the unhealthy grains, keep your healthy fats high, and eat a lot of color(fruits & veggies) as your main source of carbohydrates.

7. Amount Of Muscle Glycogen In Your Body:  Are your muscles full and fresh or depleted? Depending upon how much “energy” your muscles have indicates how much your muscles presently weigh. If you exercise often on a regular basis where the muscles get stimulated for denser growth and strength (cardio does not count) then as long as you eat naturally, balanced, and for your ongoing post workout recovery then your muscles will be full and fresh. In this case you will always carry just a few extra pounds, BUT keep in mind that this is very good weight. The more lean tissue(muscle, bone density, organs, and anything that is not fat) you have the higher your metabolism is and thus the more calories you burn on a regular basis during the day. More muscle (doesn't have to be bulky at all) due to being active and eating healthy equals less fat.

8. Daily Water Consumption:  How much you drank prior to when you weigh-in and whether it is in your body or not is also a factor.

9. Stress Levels:  The more stressed out you are, the more likely you are to retain your fat and water due to the elevated cortisol and estrogen which leads to fat deposits, water retention and a whole mess of other health and physical adversities.

10. Scale Calibration: Is the darn thing EVEN WORKING? Most scales differ by at least a small difference and when you weigh week to week, or even for the insanely addicted crazy's day to day weigh ins, this could prove fatal in both true weight and psychological ramifications to your self esteem.

In conclusion, don’t stress out about one bad weigh-in, but instead have focus and faith! Focus on your overall inches lost and gained, body fat percentage(have your fitness coach assess that for you), alongside how you feel. Do what you know to be ongoing healthy changes that are ingrained as a lifestyle rather than simply a "diet". Diets have quick endings, but lifestyles last much longer.




Here's some food for thought that one of my Facebook Friends recently said that I liked and want to pass on to you.  Think of what you put inside your mouth and body: Some things give us energy and strength, and our bodies say thank you for those things. some things taste good to our mouths, but take our energy and strength away, and our bodies say: 'Yuck why'd you do that to me?

Article collaborated by Bob Garon & Omar Isuf.