The Top 10 Things I Did To Improve my Health, Wealth & Happiness in 2008

1. I became a father. This is number one for a reason. Becoming a father has been the most rewarding and precious experience I have had since the day I was born. With all the mixed emotions being a new dad brings and no matter what may be going on in the unpredictable moments of daily life, all I have to do is see the face of my baby girl Matea and I have a guaranteed smile.

2. I finally took the plunge to follow my lifelong passion for health and fitness. Despite continuing to work my regular job as a heavy equipment operator I got certified as a personal trainer, and started my online business called Dad Fitness. I plan on eventually making this my full-time job so I can create my lifestyle around my career and be in total control of my income so I can be there for my family.

With the current news that I will be laid off from my operator job due to the economic downturn I feel the time is NOW to "feel the fear, and do it anyway". How can I someday tell my kids that they can be whatever they want to be when they grow up, if their Dad is afraid to do the same. It's not what you say, its what you DO.

3. Dating my wife. After having our baby daughter no matter how much we thought we were prepared, we were hit with quite the wake-up call. As we got busy being parents, we let "life" get in the way of us being husband and wife. After realizing it was OK to accept help from our family once in awhile, we started having a date night at least once every 2nd week. We hope to even make this happen once a week in 2009.

4. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." This quote comes from my favorite book of 2008. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. I realized even following what has been considered a healthy lifestyle of eating for the last 15 years, that I was obsessed with food. "Eat this, at that time, so many times a day" was making me not enjoy food anymore. This book has changed my entire outlook on how we eat as a society and specifically how I eat.

5. I invested in MYSELF. With the world economy in a downturn I continue to make an investment that will NEVER fail me. I try to read an hour each day, 3-4 books a month and continue to advance my personal training certifications with advanced courses in training and nutrition.

I try to surround myself with positive people who are successful at doing what I WANT to do. I even traveled to Toronto this year to attend my first Mastermind meeting. I also read a lot on self improvement including success, business, money, time management, relationships and anything that I feel will help improve my health, wealth and happiness. You will never get dumber by reading a book...

6. Total Body Workouts. Like most guys who started training in the gym my background came from bodybuilding. I even went a step farther as my interest in the sport grew and competed in a few contests. But after 15 years in this industry my training philosophy is changing. For most regular folks you just want to get in shape, bodybuilding style workouts are NOT the best way to go.

That's why the last year or so I have been designing my workouts around full-body workouts opposed to the typical body part splits such as a chest day or arm day. Most busy dads want to get the best bang for their workout buck and working your entire body with compound exercises that use a lot of muscles together is the most effective and most functional way to workout. This is the backbone of my Dad Fitness workouts and is why you can lose fat and build muscle with just 3 short workouts a week.

7. I replaced supplements with food. This year I have been gradually cutting back on the supplements that I have been taking for years and relying on whole natural foods for my vitamins and minerals. Instead of taking vitamin C, I eat more oranges and bell peppers. Instead of taking additional vitamin E, I eat more mixed nuts. I even give up taking a protein bar to work for my mid-morning snack and eat mixed nuts instead.

I also recently give up taking my post-workout protein shake and replaced it with chocolate milk. Studies show chocolate milk works just as well to help your muscle recover after a workout. Now I only take fish oil and a multivitamin twice a day to supplement my diet. As for all those empty protein tubs, they make great piggy banks for all the money I am saving!

8. Be ruthless with my time. Since becoming a busy dad who works a full-time job and running my own business I have had to better manage my time before someone else would. Making my family also number one on my priority list I had to make sure I blocked out time in each day to get things done. I don't need a blackberry or an iphone to help organize my time as I think they are ironically time-stealers, not time-savers. I use a basic planner that I write in every day to keep me on track with work, workouts, appointments, business contacts etc. I review this every night and make sure things are planned to the best of my ability for the next day.

Another big change I made was to outsource any tasks that I have no interest in doing or think I could be doing something better with my time. Instead of spending 4 hours snow blowing our driveway I pay a company to clear my driveway with a loader that takes 5 minutes and use that time to work on my business or spend with my family.

9. I stopped microwaving plastic. You probably heard about the warnings of heating plastics and specifically the chemical found in plastics, BPA. The problem with BPA is that it doesn't stay in the plastic. It leaches into whatever food or beverage you put in a plastic container, canned good, or plastic baby bottle. And if you microwave the containers or bottles, you are likely increasing the amount of BPA that leaches into your food.

BPA mimics the sex hormone estradiol, which can trigger major changes in your body such as brain damage, hyperactivity, abnormal sexual behaviour, increased fat formation and risk of obesity and early puberty and disrupted reproductive cycles. I simply switched to the Pyrex glass containers to store and warm my food at work and at home. This is the only time I use a microwave as I stay away from any processed foods that come in a box or container that you can heat in a microwave. I suggest you do the same.

10. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." This is a quote from Theodore Roosevelt. I have this posted on the wall of my home office and this simple phrase really helps me get through the tough times. Personally at this time my wife and I are looking to leave our current jobs and move across the country to follow our true passion in life and to explore better opportunities for our family. Making such a big change and taking risks are hard to do.

But you MUST fight the fear and do things anyway if you want to be successful in all facets of your life. If you are feeling frustrated with your current situation in life, realize you can't change everything overnight, but in the meantime keep working towards your goals and do what you can, with what you have, where you are.


PS. Don't forget to check out my latest article posted on TheFatherLife.com.

==>King Of The Grill


Sean Barker, CPT

Learn the "The Truth On Fat Loss, How To Finally Lose That Beer Belly" in this FREE report from Sean Barker at www.dadfitness.com