Every now and then I read a news story off the wire that really gets my blood boiling. This one definitely fits the bill. I was stunned when I read the headline entitled “Teenager with liver disease saved by eating large amounts of junk food.�

To be completely honest I thought this would be one of those survival stories where the person was stranded somewhere and all they had to live off of was candy bars and junk food. Oh no, much to my surprise and shock this teenager was following the advice of her doctors.

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Charleston, SC. Shaping Concepts, a Mt. Pleasant based fitness training studio is announcing a new personal training series designed for the Lowcountry youth athletes looking to improve their sports performance.

Headed up by lead trainer and studio director, Andrew Duffy ATC, CPT, these workouts will be geared for the athlete that wants to improve their strength, agility, and quickness.

Duffy states, “We recognized a need for youth athletes who could benefit from one on one coaching and instruction. There are small group sports performance training programs around Charleston but they don’t personalize to the needs of the individual athlete.

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In case you didn’t hear, Paula Dean, the queen of “Southern comfort food” cooking has been recently diagnosed with type II diabetes. Not that this should come at a surprise seeing how she cooks.

If you’ve watched her on the Food Network you can attest to the absurd amounts of butter, sugar, and fat she often uses in her dishes.

Sure, they probably taste unbelievable but is that really necessary to make meals that are appealing to the palate? Andrew Weil, the famous health advocate, professor, and author thinks not.

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When Moncks Corner resident Bryan Ganey set out to lose weight I doubt he ever thought his story would wind up on CNN. But that’s exactly what happened. An inspirational story for other Charleston area residents battling with obesity and looking for hope.

What makes Bryan’s story so encouraging is how he did it. When doctors encouraged him to consider weight loss surgery he boldly refused. Instead he was determined to change his life using good old fashioned common sense. No gimmicks, no pills, no surgery, just basic changes in how he ate and lived his life.

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Mt. Pleasant, SC. For years hospital food has been perceived to be well…hospital food. The words gourmet or healthy don’t come to mind for most people. Kudos to Ropers St. Francis’ new Mt. Pleasant Hospital for making a move to change all that.

Roper St. Francis Hospital has recently announced they’ll be featuring a special menu that uses fresh ingredients like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. This is something we can proud of as Lowcountry residents.

Roper St. Francis is definitely showing that they’re willing to not just “talk” about healthy eating, but rather “walk the walk.” This is a very smart move on their part then extends far beyond the scope of positive public relations.

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As a certified Charleston personal trainer and fitness trainer who’s been in the game for a long time now, I can tell you with absolute certainty the quest to get fit is won or lost in your head. It all starts with your thoughts.

No action takes place or is passed on without a thought.

A lot of so called experts would have you believe that losing weight and getting in shape is a complicated process, full of complex formulas and strategies with your diet and working out.

Truth be told it comes down to decisions and repeating certain actions or habits with consistency.

As my friend and mentor Dan John says, “It’s little and often over the long haul.” True words of wisdom. This is such a stark contrast though to how most people set out to get in shape.

They get all pumped up and motivated to make it happen, but then in a matter of weeks they drift back into old habits. Why?

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Regardless of your political affiliations and ideologies it’s become pretty obvious that we’ve got significant economic problems to solve not only here in the US but in Europe as well.

While politicians point fingers and avoid real problem solving they’re good at creating worthless studies and regulations that leave you scratching your head. The following report serves as a perfect example.

It seems that the European Union has done some remarkable work with taxpayer dollars by banning bottled water manufacturers from making claims that water can prevent dehydration. No I’m not kidding. Check it out for yourself.

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When you hear about law enforcement using infiltration agents, hidden cameras, and surveillance you’d naturally think of drug dealers or terrorists.

But what would you think if you heard your tax dollars were being used in this way to target producers and consumers of raw milk?

Sounds crazy but apparently that’s exactly what’s happened recently in California. Natural News broke a recent story about the LA county case against Rawesome Foods, a producer of raw milk.

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As I’m sure you know, I’m a big proponent of Advocare products. Supplementation is something I take pretty serious and don’t make recommendations lightly.

As someone who’s been in the fitness and wellness industry for over twenty years, I’ve been pitched countless times on promoting a company’s nutritional products.

There’s not very many I’ve made the decision to put my personal stamp of approval on, but Advocare is certainly at the top of my list of recommended supplements. I’ve been a distributor for some time now but it literally took me about six months of research and testing the products myself before I decided to endorse.

I can tell you with confidence that Advocare products are some of the most rigorously tested nutrition products on the market. They’ve got more independent studies than any other nutritional product line I’ve seen by far. The bottom line is they’re safe, effective, and very high quality.

Dr. Oz recently posted an article entitled “A Smart Guide to Buying Supplements.” In his article he cites Advocare Omega-Plex as one of the omega-3 products that passed ConsumerLabs.com tests.

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If you’ve followed my blog or writing for any time now you’ll know that I’m a huge proponent of omega-3 supplementation. It’s the one supplement that I recommend EVERYONE take regardless of health or fitness goals.

The reason is simple…it’s just simply too difficult for most people to get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids from their diet alone.

This is true even if you’re eating a fairly strict Primal Blueprint type diet of mostly whole, natural, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Without question one of the biggest problems we face in health care right now is the epidemic rise in obesity and degenerative diseases.

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