Words of Wellness with Shelly

Balancing Wellness and Parenthood: A Father's Journey with Brian Parana

• Shelly Jefferis • Season 2 • Episode 114

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What does it take to maintain your health without sacrificing precious family time? In this energizing conversation with Brian Parana, we uncover the delicate balance between personal wellness and family priorities that so many parents struggle with daily.

Brian, a father of four and veteran fitness professional with over 20 years in the industry, shares his journey from owning two gyms to developing his specialized approach helping busy professionals reclaim their health. His perspective is refreshingly honest: "Living life with family first, finding some sense of balance while still trying to prioritize your own health is so important because you want to be a good leader, role model... You need the energy to keep up, because if you don't, then you're falling asleep on the couch and you just aren't connected."

We dive deep into how sustainable health practices create a powerful legacy for children, the importance of meaningful family conversations around responsibility, and why quick-fix solutions consistently fail compared to fundamental wellness habits. Brian explains why movement becomes increasingly crucial as we age, and why community support transforms difficult health journeys into achievable ones.

Perhaps most valuable is Brian's perspective on transformation timelines: "If you have 40 pounds to lose... that's 20 to 40 weeks of time to get to the goal. You might as well think, 'I'm going to spend 8 to 12 months this next year dialing in my health to never have to think about it again.' And if you keep it off the rest of your life... 12 months in the course of an average human existence of 76 years, that's a blip on the radar."

Ready to discover a sustainable approach to health that enhances rather than competes with your family life? Listen now and walk away with actionable strategies you can implement immediately.


CONNECT WITH BRIAN: https://www.instagram.com/coachbrianparana

www.brianparana.com

www.thecalltorise.com

https://go.brianparana.com/30days


CONNECT WITH SHELLY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithshellyj https://www.instagram.com/momswhoflourish
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShellyJefferis

LINK to upcoming MOMS WHO FLOURISH Wellness Event October 4th: https://buy.stripe.com/00weVc40n64nbsNblH0gw0p

A few of Shelly's favorite clean products:

High quality, clean nutrition and beauty products: https://shellyjefferis.isagenix

Clean-crafted wine, free from chemicals & pesticides:
https://scoutandcellar.com/?u=healthyhappyhours

Cayla Gray- Non-toxic cologne & perfume: https://caylagray.com/wellnesswithshellyj (10% discount)

JuJu Non-toxic candles & air fresheners:
https://goodjujucandles.com/?ref=mrtgnygh
Coupon code for 10% off: ShellyJefferis

Thank you for listening to the Words of Wellness podcast with Shelly Jefferis. I am honored and so grateful to have you here and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute to follow, leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with anyone you love and anyone you feel could benefit from the message.

Thank you and God Bless! And remember to do something for yourself, for your wellness on this day!
In Health,

Shelly

Speaker 1:

Living life with family. First, finding some sense of balance while still trying to prioritize your own health is so important because you want to be a good leader, role model. You know someone that your kids look up to, and you need the energy you literally need the energy to keep up, because if you don't, then you're falling asleep on the couch and you just aren't connected. You aren't there. You aren't there. You aren't present like you should be.

Speaker 2:

Do you get confused by all of the information that bombard us every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing, what foods you should or should not be eating, how to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone, I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more to share tips, education and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes.

Speaker 2:

With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you, to bring in guests who can share their journeys so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life, and that you will. We all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives, full of energy, happiness and joy. Now let's dive into our message for today. Hello everyone and welcome back to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelley and I will be your host, and I have a special guest today. He helps busy professionals get healthy, boost their energy and fulfill their holistic wellness without sacrificing time with family. So welcome, brian Per Perana, to the podcast. I'm super excited to have you.

Speaker 1:

Yes, thanks for having me, shelly. I look forward to our conversation delivering some really good insights and value and so people can actually walk away with actionable things today.

Speaker 2:

That's fantastic and that is I. I love that because that is always, I feel, like the goal. People want to know what can I do now? And I think that's so, so valuable and for our listeners. You might not well you might have a chance to see in some of our clips, but brian has this great gym behind him that I get to see all his equipment and super cool fit. It's definitely fitting for for what you do.

Speaker 1:

It comes from owning two gyms for a couple of years. You get a lot of equipment.

Speaker 2:

Boy, I bet that was a journey in itself.

Speaker 1:

Yes, yes, uh, that was my intro to entrepreneurship, really, and it was, uh, an eyeopening experience, that's for sure Taught me a lot.

Speaker 2:

I bet, well, I don't want to say you probably don't miss it. There might be aspects of it that you do miss.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, the community and connection is a big one, but having to wake up at four in the morning to open the gym at five, that was not the most exciting part of the thing. And then staying there most of the day and closing it at 10, that was, or nine we'd wrap up class by 8 39 and yes, it was a long day that's a very long day, you know.

Speaker 2:

That brings me back to when I one of my first jobs. Well, it was my early 20s and I was opening up a resort and it's when I started drinking coffee, because it was the same thing. It was like opening up at 5 30 in the morning, and then we I had to drive actually a distance to get to the resort and boy, oh boy yeah, I'm with you on that, get up.

Speaker 1:

I saw that you were doing a walk and talk with coffee. Yeah, yeah, that's much better than driving forever to get to an early morning, no more early gym or resort openings for me.

Speaker 2:

That to an early morning opening. No more early gym or resort openings for me. That didn't last very long. That was a long, long time ago and I didn't go back to doing that. So I feel you on that one. That's not a fun way to start your day.

Speaker 1:

No.

Speaker 2:

So we were talking a little bit before we started. One of the things that I definitely am in alignment with you on is the fact that you help others get healthy. You help them with their nutrition, their fitness, yet at the same time, help them still be able to be with family, have quality time with family, and you know we were talking earlier. That's such a huge, huge value of mine. It's always been family. First has always been my motto and right I I totally resonate with family.

Speaker 1:

First, I married my high school sweetheart and we have four kids together two in high school, two middle school, three boys and a girl and we really strive to provide our kids with as much opportunity, even at our own expense, of driving them to and from and early. I had to wake up early to get cross country practice, or I have to. I was mentioning that my wife travels. We travel a lot as a family, create those opportunities and experiences and but my wife's gonna take my daughter emeline to disney world to do a mom and me trip before she gets into fifth grade and the middle school, which is really important. So living life with family, first finding some sense of balance while still trying to prioritize your own health, is so important because you want to be a good leader, role model. You know someone that your kids look up to and you need the energy you literally need the energy to keep up, because if you don't, then you're, you're falling asleep on the couch and you just aren't connected. You aren't there, you aren't present like you should be.

Speaker 2:

That's such a huge point and I and I love that you bring that up because it's one that I share often is feeling our best, you know, getting our health, you know, in optimal, at optimal levels, so that we do have that energy, so that we can experience those moments, we can be present, and it just makes everything so much more richer when we're feeling good and, like you said, we are, we are the examples, and even if it doesn't click early on with the kids and our children, it clicks in a little bit later. My daughter used to think I was so weird for running. Like how can you like run? That's so boring, so boring. Well, guess what she's doing right now. She's 26 and she just started running.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's so funny.

Speaker 2:

And, ironically enough, brian, you'll appreciate this and you'll experience this probably later on in life with your kids too. Her roommate got into running big time like a year ago, so now it's influencing my daughter. So I'm like, hey, I'm like you go girl.

Speaker 1:

I just step back and I smile inside Like, yes, my oldest is going to turn 16 next month, so I'm not quite there yet, but I want, when they're 25, 35, 45, to always have uh, my dad was a healthy person who took care of him, so I was always active, fit. That's the type of legacy. It's just tons of energy. That's the type of legacy that I want to have in my family for my kids, for sure, and my grandkids when, cause we have four kids that there will be grandkids. My kids for sure, and my grandkids when because we have four kids, there will be grandkids, that's for sure.

Speaker 2:

Right, yeah, that's important and that's. I had that a little bit in my family, more on my mom's side, not as much on my dad's side, but he was always happy, go lucky. But I lost my both. My parents lost their battles with various illnesses 10 years apart of one another, and so that's also a motivation for me to continue doing what I'm doing and also to hopefully alleviate my kids seeing me go through what I saw my parents go through, even though I always say it's. You know, I know it's not a guarantee, but I want to do what I can to be the happiest I can for for me, for them, and then to share that with the world, like we're doing now, you know, to really make that impact and help others. That's the, that's the goal.

Speaker 1:

I totally agree. So they'll take care of you, but we don't want them to. Actually, you know where a lot of say my mom taking care of my grandma or what. I'm 40., so 42. So essentially, if my mom was in poor health and all of a sudden I'm the caregiver and I don't really want that role for my kids as least as possible. Of course, that's just the circle of life, right, you end up caring for your elders at some point, but we want to minimize it as much as possible.

Speaker 2:

Yes, absolutely so. Tell me again the ages of your, your kids yeah, almost 16, 14, 12, 10 oh my gosh, are they perfectly?

Speaker 1:

yeah, you planned that out perfectly uh well, planned or not planned, but they came in a real quick, tight bundle right diapers for 10 years.

Speaker 2:

Oh my goodness wow, busy diapers for 10 years. Oh my goodness, wow busy schedules, and I can relate. So you know, when you talk about going to sports and driving the kids here and there, it's uh, it's all part of it and you know it's when you're in it. Sometimes you're going, oh my gosh, like yes we're driving today. Where do we have to go and uh-huh well, and, and I know, when you have two of you and four of them, it makes it a little challenging, right?

Speaker 1:

Yep, yep. We're having a lot of open discussions now because my oldest son wants to do this thing and that thing and the other thing and say, hey, we have limited bandwidth, we can't be in this place and that place and the other place, and now three different places at three to 5 PM. That's. That's a. It's a a lot of demand on the family for you to do this thing. So we have to, we have to actually have a real conversation about it. Is this something that we're doing and to what degree? And then also, you need to make sure you're taking responsibility at all levels and we're really, especially with him, really putting that responsibility hat on him and making him grow up in a sense, not not trying to be older faster, but have that maturity start to show up. Because he wants to play the I'm forgetful or I don't know how to do the thing and we went bike riding on Sunday. We did a metric century, 62 miles, my 15-year-old and I, which was awesome, I just loved it. I have an endurance sports background.

Speaker 1:

The chain in the front, the gear, the derailleur kept popping the chain off, so I showed him how to put it back on and he said how do we fix this. And I said well, you can fix it, we can go look on YouTube and do it. And he says I don't know what it's called, or well, we can figure that out. What's the thing that moves the gears? Right, you literally Google that and it'll say derailer, figure it out. But guess what? He hasn't done it yet. And we wrote on Sunday, and today is Thursday or Wednesday, it's Wednesday. I don't want to, I don't want time.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

I don't want to rush the week. Time's already moving quickly. Right right right, but I keep bringing it up then and forcing that maturity, that responsibility, that, hey, do you need to learn how to do this?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you know it takes sometimes it takes, just like you are doing, just kind of keep, kind of repeating and reminding people.

Speaker 1:

In general, we need reminded more than we need taught something new, right? The basics of taking care of yourself are eat healthy, whole foods, don't eat too many calories, move your body, drink your water, get enough sleep, try and stay away from stressful situations. Right, and those are basics, and if you do those generally you'll have a happy, healthy lifestyle. But if you get intertwined in some of those, that's where the wheels start to get a little little shakier, come off in a sense.

Speaker 2:

You work with a specific population, probably close to your age, because I feel like that's kind of like with me. I've started to really branch out and want to really work with moms specifically, and then also those who are empty nesters since I just we just became empty nesters ourselves. You know, just helping support and, you know, can just guide people or moms along that journey. It's it's it's it's interesting moms along that journey. It's it's, it's it's interesting, it's tricky, it's challenging, but there's also a lot of wonderful moments on on the other side of it.

Speaker 1:

So I have been in the health, nutrition, fitness industry for over 20 years. I've seen I've done a lot. I've had a CrossFit world champion. When I owned CrossFit I had the fortune of working with a two-time Olympian at Tokyo and Paris. First I've worked with people help battle cancer. People have one kidney, one lung. They've been young as, say, an active client, say 14 or 15, to start teaching and educating around, just making better choices, to just start to encourage better food behavior.

Speaker 1:

And I would say that the majority of my career coming from group exercise, coming from an exercise nutrition degree, from personal training, those sort of say, the beginnings, the origin of this back in 2002 it was busy working professionals. They would get off of work. Come to my phenomenal abdominal class. If mondays at 5 to 5 30, we'd do abs and the floor would be stacked with mats and everything and everyone wanted to get their abs in. They loved ab class, right, it was always an easy class to get people excited about. And then then then I moved into the personal training and it was people coming out of work at various times of the day and trying to figure out how to balance all this and take care of themselves.

Speaker 1:

And now that I am 42, I understand what that midlife crisis situation is. There's just mounds of responsibility around you as a parent, as trying to be a professional workplace, and it's overwhelming and you don't know what to do because there's no guides. And even if you ask your mom or dad, they dealt with different things at this season of life. Their life was slower paced significantly, and with the advent of all the things going on and AI and all this stuff, it's lightning speed and every day it gets even faster and it's hard to keep up. Or the advent of screens that's the magic that we can have this conversation, but also to detriment to our children to have them on screens all the time. To our children, to have them on screens all the time, right, and study after study show that it does not do well for their mental health, anxiety, depression, their physical health, right their more children are overweight and we have to figure out how to balance this out and you, being the leader in the family in a sense, working with men in a sense, is where I've definitely started. But let's focus on our health. Let's double down there, because the ROI, the return on the investment there and the dividends it's going to pay for the next 10, 15, 20 years of your life are significant and having that legacy we were speaking about this a moment ago when your children and your grandchildren they will see you as an active, healthy, fit individual.

Speaker 1:

And John's a good example. John was a busy business owner. He was 60 pounds overweight and he tried to do it on his own and he finally decided this isn't working out. He's got consultants and different things for his business and and he hires out to find the right type of people to support his goals and he said why am I not doing this with my health? So then he found me and then he's down to 50 some pounds and because he's healthier, more fit, more energetic, his wife doesn't know what to do with him. He's got so much energy and that's the type of life that we need to be creating, especially into our older years, as we're more susceptible for injury, for illness, for just an increasing rate of slowing down, and I I think last I'll say is movement is energy and movement is important, especially the older you get, because as soon as you stop moving, the battery runs out pretty quick, unfortunately for humans.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's so true and those are all such great points and it's and I think that just goes to show to what doesn't matter 50, 6070, 80s like you can still start, like I always feel like it's never too late to start, and how wonderful that you helped him in that way, Because so much of what we see also are those individuals who really want the quick fix, as you know, you know yesterday, you know last week, and it doesn't quite work that way. I mean it can, but then it's not healthy and sustainable, Right.

Speaker 1:

I imagine you might be seeing a little bit more the rise of one AI, right? So everyone's getting advertised to of here here's your meal plan and your workout plan and here's just this thing and it's all automated and basically and by a robot. And I think people are really going to be pulling back from that quite a bit because they want that human connection, or at least the people that we're going to see, and they are going to value that sense of support, kind of building direction, because, honestly, who doesn't know what to do in this day and age to take care of yourself? It's not the act of knowing, it's the act of doing, and humans usually do way better with support on some level and creating better systems and processes. So we have that side of it. But the other side that we're seeing is the GLP-1s, and that is a tool, but it isn't for every single.

Speaker 1:

I need to lose 10 pounds. Let me go on the shot, right, that's not, that's not it. No, you're not it just it falls right back into the category of the pills, of the, the quick fad diet things. I'm just not eating carbs, I'm just going to fast for a week or something. That doesn't teach sustainability, it doesn't teach education or understanding around nutrition or fitness or how to implement into everyday life, and those those times where you always make not the best decision, both of those aren't going to be there to pick you up and help you overcome that situation there. So those are things that I'm starting to see, or at least right now, in the last six months to a year, that are on the rise.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, for sure, and I think somebody's made the comment this. A while ago I heard someone say you know, you have to really think about how long did it take you to get to where you are Right, and if you're thinking it's just going to be like magic, if it sounds too good to be true, probably is right and I just I always will say you know, some of these programs and the shots and what have you, maybe some people are just, they just are very happy with it and maybe it's a way to kickstart their journey.

Speaker 2:

But I always am so concerned about the long term.

Speaker 1:

We don't know what happens in five years from taking this no no, here's the here's.

Speaker 1:

One interesting thing I heard the other day is that there were some people that were pretty violently against, say, the COVID vaccine and I'm not saying it was supported or not, but they were. I'm not putting that in my body. But then on the flip side of the coin, can I get the GLP-1? Like, wait a minute here, why was this one? Just some confliction in that Because, again, we don't know. There's promising research and such to support it.

Speaker 1:

But also we know that, especially now, those type of avenues can risk muscle loss and at any age we don't want to lose muscle, say the bodybuilders. They go through a very uh, an obvious, a very methodical process of learn, losing body fat and trying to preserve as much muscle as possible. And they're still at risk of losing muscle, regardless of to the gram how much protein and to the gram how much carbs and how many calories they have pre and post-workout and all that carbs and how many calories they have pre and post workout and all that and that's just a process of losing body weight is is there's risk of losing muscle and doing it as the primarily doing fat. But you can't guarantee that these other avenues will do that. It might take up 20, 30% of muscle, or possibly more.

Speaker 2:

Yes, that's what I actually have heard. A scientist who does has done research in this, says that same thing, and that's he is adamant about. If you're going to go this route, you must get in the proper protein, because you can't, like you're saying, you can't risk the chance of losing muscle. I mean that's right.

Speaker 1:

Well, you and I both know eating adequate amounts of protein and doing some form of strength build, or what I call muscle building activities, some form of strength training, whether it's body weight, a class of weights machines, whatever. Go work on a farm, you'll, you'll get strong real quick. Uh, but you have to have those in the process to maintain physical strength, maintain muscle, especially in a dieting phase.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it's so important. So you do you work more probably one-on-one or in a group setting. I know you were talking about the fact that we can screens and we can do like what we're doing right now, which there's such the I don't know if I want to say love hate relationship, the pros cons. You know what we went through years ago and having the country shut down, like. I guess one of the blessings that came out of that is is this you know a lot more opportunity to meet people online and you know, do that with your clients online, in person or a combination.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I've been working with people all over the U S primarily, and then beyond as well, but usually it's a phone call. Um, I have. I've spent a lot of time in the last 12 years developing online systems, processes, especially coaching ability being able to guide someone through listening to what they're saying, understanding the words, the tonality, the language that they're using and how they're saying all this stuff and presenting what they are experiencing and being able to help facilitate what the next best steps are for them. So I've spent a lot of time and one of the more recent things so with men and women. I've done one-on-one and still do one-on-one, and usually it's a phone call, because I'd much rather them instead of doing a video thing like this, I'd much rather let's talk on the phone, because you don't need to stare at me for an hour, there's nothing here, I don't have to do my hair, in a sense. But also, as we continue this relationship, I want them walking and talking to me. I want them moving. I don't want them just yet again sitting in front of another screen, just not moving. And we find that when we can move, then we can think better and have better open thought and clarity, because we're away from distractions and we're just out in fresh air and sunshine, and that really makes the process better. So I have that avenue, of course, and then I have just something that had been rolling out a little bit more recently in the last year or so is the call to rise, which is more specifically toward men in that 40s or 50s where they're running into midlife crisis mode and an existential reality check on wow, I can't see my feet when I look down. That's not good. That will end you in the grave earlier.

Speaker 1:

You'll have significant health issues that are coming down the road. You might be in quotations healthy now, you won't be healthy long and that's a big problem. So if you have a family, it doesn't matter if you have family or not, but when you have family and everything else, it's even more important that you take care of yourself. So I usually work with small groups of men together and say a cohort style for a hundred day fat loss experience. So we, we circumnavigate that uh, the, the, the AI thing. We, we get back to connection, we get back to bonding, because I have four real good male friends and they're all founded in fitness and activity and through that exercise, just like, say you're, you're walking tall coffee times. Through that connection of physical movement you can have better, open, more conversations. There's more proximity connection and then people are motivated, they're driven, they're supported and held accountable to what is important to them. And that's what I've spent a lot more time focusing on, because it's powerful.

Speaker 2:

It really is and I'm huge. I'm a huge proponent also of community and, like you're saying, the walking, I think that's fantastic. I want to know, like, when I'm walking, that's all that, when all the thoughts come to me, when I tend to do some my online, my videos and what have you but the community going back to that? You know, when I first started my mom's, you flourish community, I was going to start with the mentorship and coaching side of it and then, as time went on, I was like no, shelly, you want, I want, I wanted them to be together. I wanted that community and that sense of connection and you know, we lost, of course, a lot of that a few years ago, but a lot of it's coming back and it's back In addition to that, even whether or not we went through the country shutting down or not.

Speaker 2:

I've always been a huge, a huge proponent of it and there's there's nothing like, as you know, being in the room together and having that connection right in person. There's just you, you, you can't, you know, there's just nothing that beats it really. And obviously the online presence is the next best thing and it's definitely effective, but to be in a room of other people and you know it's really interesting and you've probably experienced this as well in different groups that I've been in and business groups, and I've met people online and then I'll go to an in-person event and get to meet them in person for the first time.

Speaker 2:

And this is going to happen next week and I'm going to a women's business weekend and I probably have about eight women I'm going to meet in person first time that we've met online, and it's just, it's so exciting, it's just it's interesting, just this different the way things have evolved over the last few years. It's pretty exciting, but I'm 100% with you, you can't beat it. The community, the connection you have when you're in person with other people, it's just so invaluable with other people.

Speaker 1:

It's, it's just so invaluable, Right and and facilitating, say a, an exercise program with people all over, because, uh, we can do the in-person thing and I've I've had thriving communities in person in my gyms but also being able to create that online. You can still create that type of connection with people with conversation, with text, engagement, with having phone calls with them, and that's what coaching is all about is getting to know the person and help move them to the next best step for them in their process and sequence of how they get from point A, where they showed up to you at, to point B, where they're happy, healthier and really excited about the transformation they've experienced. And it's one step at a time, it's one choice at a time, it's one day at a time.

Speaker 2:

It's so true. And do you find, brian, because I know our backgrounds are really similar, even though I'm quite a bit I'm a little older than you, let's just say but I did start my journey in teaching many, many, many years ago, fitness classes, personal training, and then went on to teach college and it's evolved from there. But I was really more into the teaching fitness early on. Now it's evolved more into just the complete holistic wellness and nutrition, and fitness is still a part of it. I just find that you know the purpose of the podcast is there's so much we tend to I know I was guilty of it for years you tend to kind of think, oh, someone's healthy that you're just thinking about their physical health when it's their mental, their emotional, why there's so many other aspects? So do you find like you've kind of evolved in that way also?

Speaker 2:

I mean, I'm sure, fitness is still a lot of it, but Right, we can start with fitness.

Speaker 1:

That's usually the hook, for people are hey, I want to eat healthier, lose some weight, right. Those are usually the hooks to get someone in. But a lot of people don't realize what they're getting themselves into when they come across a Brian or Shelly, right, because of the sheer volume of experience and the decades of just talking to people and being in person with them and connecting and helping them. I've worked with thousands of people at this point in my career and it is not just an exercise thing, it is not just a nutrition thing. There's time management, there's stress management. There are people are living complex creatures and we have to be able to break that down into the simplest, next best step, because weight loss and or even weight management, which a lot of people don't have problem losing weight. They have problem keeping the weight off for a long period of time, and we have to come up with how do we facilitate long-term health for for them, so that they go through the program and they actually are equipped with the skills, the level of understanding and the application to their specific environment. And that's where the skill set of having someone like yourself or myself in next I always think of they're walking.

Speaker 1:

We're walking next to each other, right, we're on the journey together. Or I like to say I'm the GPS unit in your car as you drive on your health journey. I'm going to help avoid the traffic jams, the detours and all the things that get you tripped up and cause you to go down, that you turn left because this gigantic sign says turn left now. And it's flashing at you and it's talking at you and there's people below it waving you this way and you're like I guess we're going left. And all of a sudden you turn left and now you're, you're two weeks off track because you just turned left there because some sign suggested to it and and that's that's our life now. Right, we're heavily marketed to. Attention is the currency and our modern day world.

Speaker 2:

And you have to be careful, like you're saying to, who are you listening to and who are you taking advice from? And this, this is always just mind boggling to me, but it's the world that we are living in. I was listening to another very well-educated gentleman and he calls himself the researcher of researchers because he's basically researched for all these years. Right, and he gets really fired up about people who are on social social media, who might, someone who might have a million followers, and because that person has a million followers, people are oh, he, he must know what he's talking about. And this gentleman that I interviewed not that long ago, he just gets, so he almost gets like just angry. He's like you need to like think about who are you listening and who are you taking your advice from, and not to say like not, there's many of them out there that know what they're talking about. Right, lots of boys out there. You have to really be able to differentiate and that's where we come in.

Speaker 1:

Right, it's a holistic, that whole person type, knowing that I am married 19 years, knowing that I have four kids in the thick of child rearing, right now that I'm self-employed. If you were coaching me, those would be vital things that you would need to know and understand of how to communicate with me effectively to help me move to the next step of whatever my goals were.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent. Yeah, wow, this is great. I'm just excited. I tend to, probably because I am a mom and a female, but I tend to hear more of the female coaches doing what you're doing or mentors doing what you're doing, and it's so great. I always love hearing dads share that are in the field, doing the work and working with other dads, because they matter to you. You guys matter too and your health is so important.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

You know, it's interesting. Sometimes I feel like part of the reason I started in my community was to help moms, empower them to put their health, their self-care, as a priority.

Speaker 1:

They usually are the last on the ladder, not the last on the ladder.

Speaker 2:

But I see dads do the same, Like my husband will just do so much for all of us, and I'm like, okay, what about you? You know? So it can be something you kind of fall into and you can see kind of this routine of maybe not taking care of yourself as best as you can and it's so important, I mean it's it is just through the last 20 years of talking about mental health and being way more open.

Speaker 1:

men have feelings too, too 100%. We have to lead, we have to guide, we have to instruct, talk. We have to be the ones that initiate constantly to make sure that our children are doing the things that they need to do, that's in their best interest and that we've agreed on is their best interest, not just deck it. You need to be, say my son, you're a soccer player, you have to play soccer. Through the end of high school. The kids played soccer since he was two and a half.

Speaker 1:

And he just he just quit his sophomore year.

Speaker 1:

So, he made it through freshman year and then he wants to be a swimmer and he wants to compete and be a true swimmer. So we have to honor that and not just force him to play soccer. And, to be honest, the social grouping there. He just thrives in the swimming environment rather than the soccer environment. It's just the culture, the people, it's just different and for him it's better that he is in a swimming environment as opposed to the other one. So we have to be open to those type of conversations and that we are going to talk about it. We're not just quitting randomly. So let's, let's have a conversation on it and then move through that decision. Okay, what are we doing instead?

Speaker 1:

And and all and so that's the one that really stuck with me to to help navigate what say men, to help guide and instruct and teach men how to be a modern man, not just whatever they think they're supposed to be based on, whatever rhetoric was from 1950 or something. Lastly, is that I need to put my humble hat on right. I'm a human, I mess up, I just I'm over, say I'm the extrovert, my wife's the introvert and I come in with all this energy and then my wife's like holy moly, what are?

Speaker 2:

you doing.

Speaker 1:

And so so I always have to say that, too, is I do mess up, and I try my best to make sure that I am in alignment with my family, I'm in alignment with my clients and I'm living a life that is congruent with the one that I want to portray as well, and I need to be open with some of my shortcomings as being human.

Speaker 2:

You're just, yeah, you're only human. And I was going to say, going back to your son, I think it's, it's wonderful where you're, you're allowing him the freedom to kind of figure out what he wants to do, yet at the same time, we're not just going to quit. We have to talk this out and you know I don't want to get too. Sometimes I say, dr Phyllis, but like with our, with some of the kids these days, they, they, they quit too easily or they just don't devote the time and energy that's necessary to really get to the next level and be able to make those sound decisions. And so kudos to you guys for doing that and, you know, encouraging the conversation, so being open to other options for your kids, because the same thing I mean our boys were baseball players. They still are.

Speaker 2:

Our middle boy, our son, cody, also played football and loved it and then. But he had a very serious injury when he was freshman or sophomore, beginning of sophomore year, and that was really really hard because he loved the sport but were like we almost made the decision for him because my husband was like I just can't see him, you know, go back and be hurt again because he broke his ankle his leg and it's like it was like one of those situations as a parent where you're like you're you want them to decide, but at the same sense, you're like you want to protect them, and so it's. Those are challenging moments, but I want to give you guys kudos because it sounds like you're doing an amazing, amazing job.

Speaker 2:

We try Well, and that's we do the best we can, Right, and you just, I mean I always just say, you know, you just pray that you're doing the best. You always, you know, just want the best, obviously for your kids and I think that the number one thing you're doing and that's evaluating your time with them and value.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we're definitely try to give them lots of opportunity and give them openness to be their individual person, cause in my relation, there's 15 relationships going on in my household right now and not all of them are going in straightforward all the time.

Speaker 2:

That's such a great way to put it. I just think this is such a great conversation because, as we focus, we focus so much on family throughout this conversation and it still all comes back to complete wellness, Like what's happening in our home and the decisions we're making and the activity we're doing, the food we're eating and the conversations and being open to be able to communicate. So I just, I just think it's it's been really really great. So thank you for taking your time. This has been really fun.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, Thank you. I try and bring a lot of energy that's just the type of person I am and a lot of clarity right. When we have clarity and direction, then we can go to where we need to go to and get the outcomes that we want. And anyone that I've ever worked with wants to live a happy, healthy life and it's important so that we don't get caught up in the distraction and the attention seeking and all that type of stuff.

Speaker 2:

Yeah Well, I will definitely be putting Brian's information in the show notes for all of our listeners. Definitely, and you don't have to necessarily be a dad or a male, you can be a mom too, and reach out to him for some-.

Speaker 1:

Right, I do work with women and-. Work with anybody right, yeah, I still do. I work with women. And anybody? Right? Yeah, I still do, I work with everyone.

Speaker 2:

What's the best way, brian, people could reach out to you and find you?

Speaker 1:

Well, probably easiest way is at coach Brian Piranha. That's the social handle. You could pretty much get that on Instagram. On Facebook, brian Piranhacom is my say me. And then the call to risecom is the the a hundred day fat loss transformation mail program that I have. Uh, so yeah, those will be the things. And then say the easiest, say freebie. If you want to start getting a taste of who Brian is is, I have a 30 tips in 30 days sequence that you can jump into and I can share that in the show notes to help you make simple, actionable tips and tricks to implement today to start getting better tomorrow. And I always say, even if you just do 50% of them, you're going to be so much better off than where you're at now.

Speaker 1:

So true Going to food and nutrition and thought choices and different things, and the takeaway from each of them cause I wrote them all is oh, I can do that, that's easy enough, that's a that has to be the takeaway.

Speaker 2:

Well, and then, before you know, at 30 days have passed and you're like wow, I actually did that.

Speaker 1:

I feel better.

Speaker 2:

Right.

Speaker 1:

Exactly.

Speaker 2:

So great. Well, I will add all of that in the show notes. Um, and thank you so much again, and if there's any last minute words of advice or words of wellness you want to leave our audience with.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I would say the number one thing that gets people off track is they don't do the basics long enough. We went over what those are Eat healthy foods and a balanced diet. Eat enough calories to support what your goals are. Drink water, move your body, get enough sleep, manage stress well, and if you do those basic things, you will be healthy, you will be happy. It's when we get out of those routines we get disorders and that becomes the issue.

Speaker 1:

And then also, as we also said, if you have 40 pounds to lose, think about it. If we're sustainably, we're losing one to two pounds a week. Sustainably, three's amazing, but one or two, that's 20 to 40 weeks of time to get to the goal. And so you might as well think, okay, I'm going to spend 40 to 50, basically eight to 12 months this next year dialing in my health to never have to think about it again. And if you could lose the 40 pounds and it takes you a year, great. And, more importantly, if you keep it off the rest of your life, because 12 months in the course of an average human existence of 72 years or 76, whatever, that's a blip on the radar and it's worth nailing it in that timeframe and not doing the shortcuts, not doing the thing or whatever got marketed to you. It's about just buckling down and creating that life that you need, and consistently to live.

Speaker 2:

Perfect Love that. Thank you so much. And thank you again for being here and definitely reach out to Brian everyone and he will definitely get you on track and that's such a great he does a great way to put it. Know it's a blip eight, twelve months is a blip when you think about the whole scheme of things and to be able to live a longer, healthier life, it's so, so worthwhile. So, thank you and, as always, take time, everyone for your wellness on this day, do something for yourself and and until next time, have a beautiful, blessed rest of your week.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much for tuning into today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did, and if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening and if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness, on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy and blessed week. Thank you, you.