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What's in store for today:

• Things I Do To Stay In Shape As A 42-Year-Old Father Of 3
• My Favorite Summer Protein Ice Cream Recipe
• How Many Times Per Week Should You Strength Train?

Things I Do To Stay In Shape

As A 42 Year Old Father Of Three

(Excuse the messy bedroom...something has to give 😂)

The other day someone said, "I don't know how you do it", when commenting on how I stay lean, energized, and healthy with everything on my plate — three kids, a business, a team, coaching, church.

The honest answer? It comes down to a handful of standards I live by. Not a grueling program. Not white-knuckle willpower. Just a set of simple, repeatable habits that have become second nature.

So, here's what it actually looks like for me:

✅ I'm in bed by 9pm most nights, up at 4:30am 7 days a week — even if I stayed up late
✅ I hydrate with electrolytes before coffee
✅ I track to 8k steps minimum, 7 days a week
✅ I strength train 3x a week for 45 minutes
✅ I run 3x a week, at least 2 miles (easy Zone 2)
✅ I hit a rough calorie and protein goal daily without calorie counting, using The Building Block Method I teach
✅ I drink alcohol in moderation and always account for the calories
✅ I don't obsess over ingredients, artificial sweeteners, or whole vs. processed
✅ I don't drink my calories unless they contain protein (alcohol aside)
✅ I don't eat food I don't love unless I'm truly hungry with limited options
✅ I don't cut my favorite foods — I make room for them or make better versions
✅ I grow every single day via audiobooks and podcasts

Seems like a lot. But, in reality, it's not.

My strength training, running, and walking add up to about 7 hours a week — roughly an hour a day. And it doesn't take any longer to cook, grab, or order a healthy meal than an unhealthy one once you know what you're doing. The audiobooks and podcasts happen while I drive, shower, do dishes, and cook.

None of it feels restrictive. I eat burgers, pasta, and ice cream daily — and so do my clients, most of whom are women (so it's not just a "guy" thing). I still watch TV and do chill stuff. I still work my BUTT off as a father, husband, and coach.

No one is suffering because I live this way. Most of all, I'm not suffering. The truth is my family and I thrive because of it.

None of this is excessive or obsessive. It's pretty laid back, really. My workouts and most of my steps are done before the day even starts now — so I can just live and not stress the rest of it.

These are simply the standards I choose to live by. And this is what those standards buy me: health, energy, confidence, stability, peace, strength, functionality...freedom.

If I can do this as a happily married father of three — including a 6-month-old, a 3-year-old, and an 8-year-old in travel sports — while running a business with a team on payroll and serving at my church...

Then so can you. Anyone can.

The gap between who you are today and who you want to be isn't as big as it seems. It becomes easier until it simply becomes who you are.

This is who I am. And it can be who you are, because these standards will work for you just as well as they work for me.  

This Key Lime Protein Smoothie

Is The Perfect Summer Treat

Whew!  It's HOT out right now.  Daily high temps of over 90 degrees here in Indiana right now and humid as well.  

All this heat makes me long for daily cold sweet treats, so I thought I would share one of our household favorites with you...this Key Lime Pie Protein Smoothie

Recipe Nutrition:

• 260 calories
• 51% protein
• Only 36% Carbohydrate
• 32.5 Grams Protein
• 23.3 Grams Net Carbohydrate

- 1 Single Serving Cup Dannon Light + Fit Key Lime Pie Greek Yogurt (Or Vanilla Flavored)
- 3/4 Vanilla Protein Shake (We used Equate - most affordable)
- 1/2 Cup Frozen Sliced Bananas
- 2-3 Second Squirt of Lime Juice
- 4 Tablespoons Fat Free Redi Whip
- 5-6 Ice Cubes

1. Add all of the ingredients to the blender and put the lid on tight.  ***If you are using a single serving blender cup, we recommend a 20 oz. blender cup to have enough room for all of the ingredients.  Be careful not to over fill the blender cup otherwise it will overflow when you try to put the blade / lid on. ***

2. Blend up the smoothie for 20-30 seconds until you are happy with the consistency.

3. Top with Fat Free Redi Whip, add a sprinkle of crushed up graham cracker on top, and enjoy.

Pro Tip:  

1. For ease of cleaning up we recommend using a single serving cup blender like the one we used.  Here is a blender that comes with 24 ounce cups which have plenty of room to prevent overflowing:

Ninja Nutri Pro Blender

2. We used Dannon Light + Fit Key Lime Pie Yogurt for this recipe which has 80 calories per single serving cup and 12 grams of protein.  If you can't find that flavor in your Walmart you can substitute vanilla flavor from the same brand instead to keep the nutritional content the same and just add more lime juice to make up for the difference in the flavor.

Key products used / needed to ensure best results in this recipe:

1. Vanilla Protein Drink - Used to add great vanilla flavor and a massive amount of protein.  Without this, the recipe would not be possible.  We used Equate brand as it was the most affordable, but there are many comparable brand.  We recommend any brand with 30 grams protein and 140-160 calories max per shake.

2. Non-Fat Greek Yogurt (Flavored) - Used to add a thick and creamy ice cream texture to the smoothie while enhancing the flavor and maintaining a high protein content.  

3. Frozen Banana Slices - Used both for convenience and to add thickness + sweetness to the recipe.  Be careful to measure out very well as using more than the recipe calls for will drop the protein content of the recipe below our recommendations.    

4. Fat Free Redi Whip - Adds a sweet finish to the recipe for very minimal calories.  Use caution with serving size to make sure you don't use too much.  

The Strength Training Sweet Spot:

How Many Workouts / Week Is Best?

Here's a study I think is pretty interesting...

Researchers followed more than 147,000 people for up to 30 years — and the folks who came out ahead weren't the ones grinding away in the gym for hours. The sweet spot for strength training landed at about 90 to 120 minutes a week. That's it. ScienceDailyScienceDaily

At that range, the risk of dying from any cause dropped 13%, with even bigger drops for cardiovascular disease (19%) and neurological disease (27%). And here's the kicker — going past 120 minutes a week didn't add anything. The benefit flatlined. More wasn't better. It was just... more. 

One detail I loved: the majority of the people in this study were women. So this isn't just a "dudes lifting heavy" story.

Now run the math against what we teach here at Healthy & Whole.

Our sustainable standard is 3 strength workouts a week, 30 to 45 minutes each. That's 90 to 135 minutes — landing you right in that sweet spot. We didn't build our standard around this study... but three decades of data just confirmed the exact target we've been coaching all along. Three solid sessions. Done. That's the standard that balances the stuff that actually matters — health, functionality, body composition — with a life you can keep up with for the next 30 years, not just the next 30 days.

And this is the part I really think is important...

So many people believe the path to their goal is to do more. More days. Longer sessions. Soul-crushing cardio until they're wrecked. And it backfires in two ways.

First, your body fights back. Hammering yourself with excessive training drives up hunger and cravings — and now you're white-knuckling your nutrition all afternoon, wondering why you can't stop grazing. The very thing you did to lose weight is quietly nudging you to eat more.

Second — that extra time has to come from somewhere. Every hour you pour into a workout you didn't even need is an hour stolen from the things that move the needle just as much: eating well, managing your stress, and getting real sleep. Most people don't have a workout problem. They have a spread-too-thin problem.

Strength training is an anchor. It was never meant to be the whole boat.

So this week, if you've been beating yourself up for "only" getting three workouts in... exhale. Three is the standard. Three is enough. Protect it, show up for it — and then go spend your hard-earned energy on the rest of the life you're actually trying to build.

(Source: Zhang et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2026. Worth noting it's an observational study — it shows a strong pattern, not airtight proof of cause and effect. But the pattern lines up with everything we see in real life.)

Client Story Of The Week:

Marsha Lost 100+ Pounds And Is CRUSHING Maintenance

Same warm smile. Same proud mom. All new vibe. 🤩

The first photo is from one daughter's wedding back in 2022, before Marsha started with us. The second is from her most recent daughter's wedding, just a short while ago.

Same warm smile. Same proud mom walking in to celebrate her girl. But look closely...and it's almost a different woman.

Here's what we helped her change that made the difference:

✅ We got her moving on her days off.  As a nurse she would be active when working and a couch potato on her days off.  We fixed helped her stay active every day which helped her energy and her mental confidence.

✅ We helped her build a brand new menu of meals and snacks inside and outside the home that she loved to eat, that were also just the right calorie and protein range for her.  No more guessing and no more choking down diet food she didn't like.

✅ We taught her how to manage travel, eating out, and all the other little nuances of life so that she could stay on track instead of derailing anytime something "special" came up. 

✅ We got her strength training to keep her strength and muscle while she lost a significant amount of weight so that she could have a strong metabolism at her goal weight.  

More than a year and a half later, Marsha bounces between 135 and 140 pounds. Right in the middle of a healthy range. Not losing and regaining. Not white-knuckling. Just...living there now. Comfortably.

That's not a diet result. That's a real transformation.

 Life has been moving fast for Marsha. She just married off her last daughter. She's been dressing up for baby showers. And she's got two more grandkids on the way — numbers five and six — arriving this August and September.

But now she feels like she can keep up instead of watching life from the sidelines 💪🏻

Proud of you Marsha!  You are proof of what is possible with the right determination and the right sustainable approach 🎉

Ready to start your journey? 

Here's how I can help...

If you're feeling overwhelmed and frustrated with your body and health, I know how you feel.   Apply for coaching here with Healthy & Whole, I'll work with you to find the perfect support level for you in our program that fits your needs and your budget.  We have options starting as low as $47 per month 💪🏻

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.