LUNA Coupon Available to GMLB!

Good day all you health conscious folks out there; I wanted to reach out to all that support me, and my Getting My Life Back site, and offer you this coupon for those that use LUNA bars. The coupon doesn't start till Aug 20th! So keep that in mind.

I have used these bars myself for a quick pick up, on a bike ride, in the gym and I have to admit they are tasty.


Save $3.00 on select products from LUNA with promo code 3LUNAFFF, through 12/17 while supplies last.


Enjoy! And remember to get out and move today--do something!


PEACE
Dan

Back in the Zone

How long has it been since your meal left you bloated, tired and unmotivated, while simultaneously deflating your self esteem? A day ago, a meal back? Well, if you read last weeks blog--and I know you have-- you can know that it only been a short time for me. In fact, as I get back into the groove, the first order of business is to re adjusting my food.

Did you know that food is 80% of the weight loss struggle? Well it is! Your exercise takes up the other 20% of your success, so, you can see why food is so important.

Now, if you've done this re start a few times yourself, you've no doubt felt the discouragement that comes with having to do it again! I guess most of us imagine we never have to go through this happening but once in our life. But let me encourage you; this journey is often not always just a one trip down around the bend. For those of us with food addictions, we may find ourselves needing to take a step back to the basics many times over. There's no shame in this! Don't even let yourself dwell in that dark place of failure. In stead, let an understanding and a desire to keep living a healthy life re motivate and set forth a plan forward. And it's with a rejuvenated spirit that I wanted to come on here today and share some of the re starts I've begun, in hopes it inspires you in your journey.

Breakfast proteins shakes; it's what for breakfast! That's right, TL and I have been shaking it up every morning with "Designer's Lite and Natural Protein shakes," chocolate flavor of course, and with the addition of fresh fruit and Crazy Richards Natural Peanut butter, it's a yummy start to the day. (PSST - We eat a hot sit down meal on the weekend!) Both of use feel this lite but filling start during the week helps kick off our day, leaving that bloated and lazy feeling aside. Trust me, add a light workout to your morning, and you will be ready to take on the world.

Now during the day, water, water, water, greens, fruit and protein need to be in your meal plane. And if your're like me, not a big fan of veggies, I've got a great way to make asparagus as good as candy! Well, not really. But! You will want to eat it--and that's the point!

The secret? BRAGGS!

Braggs Amino liquids is the product that put veggies back on my plate. It tastes a lot like soy sauce, which I love, but without all the salt and processed ingredients, Braggs will help you eat those greens. It's not a requirement, but I practically float my veggies in it while steaming them up on the stove--yum!

Now the old Dan, you remember him, that 650 pound fella? He thought food only consisted of burgers, pizza, pasta, friend chicken, est; the comfort foods was all I knew. I rarely ate fruit and NEVER ate vegetables. Understanding there was no way I could loss the weight I needed, well over 300 pounds, I had to find a way to color my plate. Fruit wasn't so hard. It wasn't like I hated them, I just never took the time to organize my foods. But the greens took some creativity and BRAGGS did that for me. Give it a try!

In fact, you may have already noticed that many of these items that I'm talking about today have been added to the boarders of my site; for your shopping convenience as well as my belief in the products. May they help you as they have me.

Now, for the past few weeks, I've reverted back to the only way of eating I've found that allows me to feel better, physically and mentally, in a very short period of time. It's called PALEO. And because I do not like the "D" word, we'll just say this way of eating, much like my journey's re start, is a way to get back to the basics. It's all about avoiding fast food, processed foods, ie, food in a bag, box or can. I'm eating everything fresh, low salt, no sugars, and if you take the time to look into online help forms, like Pinterest, as well as the many cook books available on this subject, you will find it's not so difficult to maintain and the food options are many.

(Hint: don't be afraid to allow yourself one free day a weekend to eat what you wish! If you are doing it right all week, one day won't hurt.)

I remember when I was in the middle of phase one of my journey, I had reached a plateau where the scale just wouldn't move! I was going nuts in the gym and controlling my food like a maniac but the weight wouldn't come off. My then instructor and friend, Thomas, suggested Paleo for one month, and I lost 20 pounds in 29 days! I'm a firm believer in the process, not just to shock your body into dumping some weight but as a way life and getting back to your goals.

So, if you are like me, and you need to get back to the zone, what are you waiting for? Now's the time; join me! I'd love to hear about your journey, comment below or just email me your thoughts. And don't forget the secret to it all, loving yourself, because when you love someone, you want the best for them and that's what we all deserve--the best.

PEACE
Dan

Ghost Blogger, Patricia Garber

Day One To The Rest Of Your Life

To blog or not to blog, that is the question. |I'm not sure if this blog site existed merely as a way for my inner hero to challenge or taunt the lesser me, but it has managed to do both.

Somewhere within me, I knew I'd be back; reconnecting with that part of me that helped a 650 pound giant become a 300 pound man.

It's not over till it's over, they say, and my friends--it's far from over.

From my first blog in 2012 to 2018 much has transpired; a fight if you will--me against me. At the start, I was losing, hundreds of pounds that is!  I was proud. I had no trouble writing about the latest step on that scale, or talking about that kick butt workout I had just finished, it was easy as pie.
(nothing against pie!)

Now, as I sit here typing, I'm not real proud, I'm not that maniac in the gym that I thought I once was a few years ago. I don't have a news camera following me around or a reporter from the Herald Mail interviewing me and asking me questions on how I achieved such great results. There's no TOPS presentations to attend tonight.

When the stage lights went out, as they eventually do, I was left with Dan.

Being left with the new me in the dark wasn't such a bad thing, I liked him. It was the old Dan that I had issues with, having banished him to some corner of Hell, never to return--so, I thought. Turns out, he was lurking, waiting. And when my life took a bump, Mr. Inspiration left the building.

The wimp had crappy timing! Life was just getting interesting too.

Women tease that Men are babies, that we could never give birth or deal with the constant issues of pain, say, as woman often do just because their woman, and frankly, I agree! Us men are meant for protecting, gathering, and providing; take that away and we become something less than our selves.  Worse yet, that vision, the one we have that says we are invincible, crumbles and what's left is something worse than sickly flesh----a sick man is a world upside down!

2016 was that kind of year for me; when Bat-Dan traded in his cape for a hospital gown, then went under the knife, and well, you get the picture. It's funny because when you loose 350 pounds, one imagines that the worse is over. One doesn't think something worse can actually come along, the bad from the good. Turns out, as your body is adjusting to this new eating, it can also form other headaches. And that which was once smothered by the discomfort of being FAT now gives way to the reality of your true condition; the consequences of abusing ones self is the final eye opener to it all.  No one wants to face the reality of where you have taken your body. After all, you did the work, you lost 350 Pounds! Doesn't that warrant a free pass? No. Take my word for it, the answer if a defining--NO.

2017 was spent adjusting to this new idea. That while I had done all the work, the lesser Dan, the one I despised, wasn't gone after all. He'd somehow found a reprieve from the Hell in which I'd banished him, and was now hanging around like a well intending neighbor, with a plate of food! (One mustn't be rude) Me and my old friend food; it was like going on my first date ever, and by the time 2017 rolled to an end, I had gained 100 pounds of that 350 back! Perfect. Just perfect.

This old Dan was hated and I grieved the lost of the new Dan. The Dan that inspired, encouraged and motivated.  The new me made me want to put down the Snickers Bar and pick up an apple, he made me want to ride my bike to the store rather than drive the car. And I wasn't sure where I'd put him or if he was ever coming back. The stress was destroying the drive I had once had. My body had ultimately failed me, and my heart was changing. My days went from Dan the warrior, swinging heavy workout ropes and bar bells, to eating chips and picking up marbles with my toes.

It was not lost to me that I was living inside my own Power Point presentation. I could actually hear my own voice, though faintly, telling myself that I must love DAN. Not the perfect Dan, but DAN where I am, DAN. Find something to be grateful for, even in all bad circumstances! Yeah. (BITE ME) Because the dark side will take you down! (I HATE IT WHEN IM THIS RIGHT)

They say, even a teacher needs reminding, and in all the struggles comes another chance to help others more deeply. It's with a clear understanding, when I say that the 650 pound monster sits right beside me.  Some days he laughs at me from the dark corners of my life! Other days, he sits mute, silenced by the drive to which birthed "Getting My life Back."

2018 is my year of return. TL, my angel, the woman who saved my life the day my body was shutting down, is by my side. I am setting forth a new path, one that will help her (and I) to finish the book everyone is waiting for, ultimately bring help to so many. It's worth repeating; every day we wake up and make a choice--get back to doing the bad or get on to the right thing.

I now live in Virginia--yes the Maryland boy is digging the state "for lovers"--TL and I do our all Elvis radio show "Blue Suede Connection" which is syndicated all over the world, on over 40 stations. There are Podcasts starting soon--yes, even for Getting My Life Back-- and of course, my journey, in all it's honesty, is back on this blog!  The good. The bad. The ugly. It's all used for the better good. And together--yes you and me--we will build a life based on all good things!

After all, every day is day one to the rest of our lives!

PEACE

Dan

Ghost Blogger: Patricia Garber