Full service fitness club located in downtown St. Louis.

Life's Tough.

Get over it & get on with it!
Your daily health & fitness companion/journal

The 2011 edition is the BEST YET!!
I have expanded on the nutritional information section, added many more recipes, added information for fast food restaurants and grocery shopping, new tips and some great new faces in the success stories section. I have also indexed the information so that is may be easily located. If you enjoyed using the past journals, you are going to LOVE this on!!

Over 400 pages packed with all of the information you need for a healthier, happier life—it's like having a personal trainer and life coach at your side twenty-four hours a day... if you want to make real changes in your life you must begin by making changes within yourself. Set goals, write them down and you'll soon be living a happier, healthier life!

360 different exercises & stretches
• Great workouts for every age and fitness level/no gym required
• Enjoy tank top arms, bikini abs and tight buns
• Look fantastic in your skinny jeans
365 health & fitness tips
• Erase signs of aging and turn the clock back 10 years
• Build a strong healthy body at any age
• Techniques that help you slim down permanently
• Improve cardio enduance and heart health
• Supercharge your metabolism & sharpen your mind
Over 180 quick healthy recipes
• Great recipes suitable for diabetics
• Nutritional guide of healthy foods with their benefits
• Nutritional information for your fast food trips
• Eat to increase energy and reduce signs of aging
• Eat to live, stop living to eat
Over 180 success stories to keep you motivated
• Develop a positive, healthy attitude
• Find happiness from within
• Realize everyone has problems—it's how you deal
with those problem that determine your future
365 pages for journal entries
• Goal setting stategies for a healthier, happier life
• Steps to creating your desire statement
• Use as a training journal to maximize results

Forword

             My name is Dee Phillips. Until recently, I ate whatever I wanted, drank more than I should have, and played an online game for a minimum of 50 hours a week. I smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and happen to be more than 130 pounds overweight. Did I mention that I’ve been a Type 2 diabetic for the last 5 years? In other words, I had an extreme death wish, all at the age of 28. I got a wake-up call when I finally saw a doctor and was told my pancreas was failing, my kidneys were damaged, my A1C was 12.5 (that translates into an average blood glucose reading of about 400; it’s supposed to be no more than 140 at the maximum), and my cholesterol was high. The short version of the diagnosis was that I was committing suicide.
            I decided right there that I was not dying without a fight. I was furious that I’d eaten myself into the kind of medical problems people twice my age start to have. My resolve was born of pure fear. No 40th birthday bash, no watching my nephew graduate from college; I had apparently traded all that in for Doritos and every item on the menu at Hardee’s (I’m not joking, I really have had every item on the menu, shakes included). I recalled briefly joining a gym years ago, ran by Cindy. As it turned out, she was still around, so I joined and starting fighting for my life. I was not concerned with weight loss; I just wanted better control of my diabetes. I had finally run out of excuses, it was literally “do or die” time.
            Something amazing began happening within a month of doing cardio at lunch. My mood changed (I have a very short temper). My eating habits changed; I felt guilty if I had doughnuts for lunch like the old days (again, not joking, I should have bought stock in Krispy Kreme). Most surprising of all, I played fewer games on the computer and more outside in the park. My blood glucose levels dropped. I’ve been going to Cindy’s place for a few months now, and I never pass by without words of encouragement from her. I dare say her optimism is rubbing off on me.
            And it all has been paying off. My A1C is 5.9, my cholesterol is well within normal (in fact, for the first time ever there is more HDL than LDL), and I’ve been taken off insulin. My pancreas is coming back from the brink. My clothes are starting to hang off me. I no longer threaten violence when I’m stressed. And I laugh myself silly at the stunned look on my doctor’s face.
            So use this journal, even if you don’t have the health problems that I do. I’d much rather you make the decision to be healthy now than wait till you are knocking on death’s door like I was. I have learned the hard way that making excuses for not doing what you are supposed to can get you killed. So make the effort to live. And bring a veggie plate to my 40th birthday party.

From The Author

The economy is in shambles, morale is on the decline and one has to wonder what’s going to happen to our country over the next few years. You may be one of the “lucky ones” who still has a career and your home, or you may be one of those not so lucky. Either way, this book is for you—for the next 365 days are going to be absolutely fantastic!

I say this as I sit at the small kitchen table in my quaint one room cabin, with the dogs and kittens playing at my feet. It’s an absolutely gorgeous summer day. I have the door propped open so the summer breeze and song of the robins may enter freely. The peacocks put on a show for me, as they dance and display their beautiful tail feathers for the coy peahen. The sheep lay quietly under the giant oaks as their young run playfully through the forest maze. I find myself laughing out load, as their antics are more entertaining than anything I’ve seen on TV for quite some time. I feel I am one of the luckiest people I know.

How I ended up in this situation is not important. For as with many Americans, I was simply touched, no hammered, by the fallen economy. When writing the 2010 edition of this journal I was perched on a leather couch with a movie playing on the big screen in the background. The four bedroom, three bath house that I had made my home was filled with more furniture and “things” than most large families would ever need.

When faced with the reality of having to downsize I was horrified. I wondered, “how could this happen to me, what did I do to deserve this?” I cried, I screamed, and then I realized that it really wasn’t so bad. After selling and giving away nearly everything I owned, I had an incredible feeling of liberation. The economy had forced me to do things I didn’t realize I was capable of, and gave me a new sense of pride. I had repeatedly told myself, as I reluctantly packed the boxes, “everything happens for a reason” and “that which doesn’t kill me, only makes me stronger”. It’s what I have preached for years and truly believed—and believe even more so now.

The falling of our economy has been a “reality check” for me and many others. The “things” we have, will come and go—and their lack of importance is quickly revealed. Our body, our mind, our soul, our integrity—those are the things that we will have for the rest of our lives, and those are the things we should nurture and guard with all our might.

This journal is packed with the tools you need to take care of those things which are most important. Use it, and not only will you be the healthiest person you can possibly be, but also the happiest and most optimistic. Make life the best it can be...your happiness and success depends on you!

Click here for reviews of the past journals.