The Perfect Day Formula

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Hey, it's JJ Virgin. And welcome to the JJ Virgin Lifestyle show where I talk nutrition, exercise, mindset and lifestyle with some of the coolest people in the world. And I give you tips that you can put into fast action to uplevel your health so you can go out there and live that big life you're meant to live. Now, today's show is about how to own your day and get exactly what what you want in life. Interested? Wait till you hear who I have. This is a like someone I've been watching forever. Total fitness guru. And I was at an event a couple months ago and I look over and I go, oh my gosh, it's Craig Ballantine. And I never gotten to meet him before. So let me tell you a little bit about Craig, if you haven't heard about him, but I'm sure you have because guy's been everywhere. He's been a contributor to Men's health magazine since 2000. His articles have been in Women's Health Auction, GQ, Maxim, National Geographic, Men's Fitness and Muscle and Fitness. I mean, he's just been all over the place. He's been out in the fitness world for quite a while. He created the popular home workout program Turbulence Training. Then he created six Minutes to Skinny Body Weight Exercise weight Loss program and the Metabolic Kickstarter program as well. He's got the certified Turbulence Training program where he certifies trainers from all over the place and then he puts on a summit for all of them every year. But along the way, he started suffering from these crippling anxiety attacks and what he discovered and he's going to share with you these five pillars of transformation that he discovered actually from his weight loss clients. And they are amazing and brilliant, like just incredible. I'm so excited to share those with you. And we also get into during this interview a really important distinction that I'm not going to tell you what it is. You'll have to just listen in and feel find it. It's super cool. So today's guest is fitness guru personal development awesomeness guy, Craig Ballantine. All right, so let's do it. Craig Ballantine, welcome to the show. I am so happy to have you on today.

Oh, thank you very much.

Yes. Super excited to share this information with everybody and your Perfect Day formula. So, like, let's. Let's just jump into that. So how could someone improve life using your Perfect Day formula? What the heck is that?

Well, a lot of people go through life kind of in this reactive mode. They wake up a little bit late, they hit some snooze button, they are a little bit late getting to breakfast. Maybe they even skip the breakfast and they go to Starbucks, and then they're kind of late getting to work, and then they jump into email, and the next thing you know, it's five o' clock at night, and they don't really feel like they accomplished anything, even though they were so crazy busy over the course of the day. And so the Perfect Day formula shows them how to take a proactive approach to life. Bit of planning here and there, and you can really, really accelerate your results when you plan to control your mornings, which is one of the aspects, and then overcome the obstacles in the afternoon and then concentrate on what counts in the evening by having a real clear vision for your life.

So Starbucks isn't breakfast.

It can be an assistance to breakfast, but it's certainly not your number one spot, as you know.

Yes, I know. I'm always taking a break until they.

Start selling JJ Virgin bars.

Right, Exactly. The bars. And sh. I'm like, guys, coffee's not breakfast. It's not. So the 3C formula, I see that you have. What the heck is that? And how does that one work?

Right. So that one came from study of philosophy of an ancient philosopher named Epictetus. And he taught us to control what we can, cope with what we can't, and concentrate on what counts. I applied those three Cs to different parts of the day. So we control our mornings because we can control what time we get up, we can control what we have for breakfast, we can control having a great start to the day every day. And then we can also then cope with what we can't control in the afternoon, which is, you know the world is going to throw you chaos, and, you know the world is going to throw you emergencies. So we put together a little system using five pillars of success to deal with the middle of the afternoon. And then we concentrate on what counts in the evening, which is, again, we create a vision for our life so that we are able to come home, be present with our family, and know what matters. And when you know what matters, you can really dial in the rest of your day. Day so that you're getting ahead in life to focus your time on what matters.

So you just threw out five pillars.

Yeah.

You just kind of whisked by that. What are those?

Well, I learned those actually from my weight loss transformation clients because we've been running these before and after contests for almost 10 years now. And I realized that when the people that won, they always had these five pillars in place. And you can actually apply them to other things in life, too. And I applied them to overcoming anxiety. And people can apply them to getting out of debt or making more money or whatever you want, and they are better planning and preparation. So going back to the weight loss example, it's one thing for someone to say that they want to lose 10 pounds, but to actually have a plan and prepare for it, that's what you need to succeed. So you need to know what you're going to eat, what meal plan you're going to be on, what snacks you're going to have, and then what type of exercise program you're going to follow. And you need to be have better planning and preparation than ever before. The second pillar is professional accountability. And you know, for you, jj, you are professional accountability to so many people in your world because they come to you seeking the expert advice and the accountability that a coach will give them. And then there's the third pillar, which is social support. And that's different from having a coach. The social support is like having cheerleaders. So it's people that might interact with the people that come to you as a client and always give them positive support and say, I know you can do it, even if you had a tough day. Let's just get back on track tomorrow. It's just that side of the marathon cheering you up as you run that last mile. Those are the people that are your positive social support. But they're not really going to give you expert advice, so they're not really going to hold you accountable.

That's an important distinction, and I'm glad you brought that up, because what you see now out there is you've got to have that accountability and the expert advice, but you also need that circle of support. But I think there's kind of a blur that gets people in trouble where they start to get the expert advice from their circle of support. And it's sort of like what I say is, you wouldn't go to the airplane pilot and ask them what you should be eating, you know, but yet you hear like someone's like, will come up and say, well, I heard you shouldn't eat X. Don't go, well, where did you hear that? And they go, my hairstylist. I'm going, what? Right, right.

It's like the old story about once you get stock tipp from the shoeshine guy, you know that it's time to get out. So, yeah, you need to have that separation. It's so important. And when I finally got professional accountability when I started hiring mentors and coaches and getting in mastermind groups, that was when my success in life really took off. And so there is a big difference. Like you said, it does need to have that level of expert advice. And also, most people, their friends just won't hold them accountable. You know, it's. They'll be. They'll say, you can do it, but they'll never like, say, okay, you messed up and you need to do something about this or otherwise, I'm not going to keep helping you because I'm not going to keep correcting your mistakes.

Right. I mean, exactly. And the majority of people listening here are listening because they're like, most of my tribe are weight loss and the weight loss community, the eating right community, food intolerance community. And you want to make sure you're surrounding yourself with people who, if you do slip up, aren't going to say, it's okay, don't worry about it because you know what it's like. Learn from what happens so that it doesn't happen again. Right. So totally agree. Now I know I interrupted you. So you were in pillar four and what's pillar five?

No, I hadn't finished pillar four yet because that's the meaningful incentive. And this one is really cool because most people will find that motivation can get them through two weeks of a transformation sort of thing. And the idea of, oh, I'm going to buy myself a new pair of jeans, that's nice, but that's not really meaningful for most people. That's not the type of thing that's going to make you dig deep and make that real change in your life. And so you need to find what really matters to you. And for a lot of men in my transformation contest, they always say, I want to have more energy for my kids and women will be more about I want to look good for my spouse sort of thing. But also the I want to have more energy for my kids. But that's a real meaningful incentive. It's more than just a nice pair of jeans or even just a goal of losing 10 pounds. So you need to have that deep, meaningful incentive. And then finally the last one is the one that actually has the biggest impact when you have all five of them in place. And it is the big deadline. So putting a deadline on your goals, whether it's a 21 day transformation challenge or 60 days or whatever it is to have that deadline, it gives you that light at the end of the tunnel. You can say, oh, I can do anything for 21 days or 60 days. And it's possible it's going to be tough the further along you get, but then you get very close to the finish line and it motivates you to actually work even harder in that last week or two. So that's why the big deadline always has the greatest impact.

That is awesome. And then when you hit that deadline, do you have what happens then?

Well, then you have that celebration and so you can step back a bit, review. And like you said, when you screw up, you learn. And when you also go through a transformation, you learn. And I found that people cannot have a physical transformation without a mental transformation. And so they end up, even if they didn't lose as many pounds as they wanted to, they end up in such a better place overall, mentally and physically. And then they can go and set the bar even higher next time, maybe not for the same goal, but for just a different goal in life and realize what they're capable of. And so it's a real wonderful reset to go through that transformation, hit that deadline and realize what they're capable of.

Yeah, I love everything you're saying because I've always looked at weight loss is just really a metaphor for life. And things that you learn in weight loss apply to everything else, just like you're saying. So it's great to hear it in action. Now, I know you've got. You talk about creating rules for your life, and, you know, I hear that, and I instantly want to be naughty, break them. Like, you know, why do I want to do that? Craig, come on.

All right, so just imagine your drive to work today, your drive to take the kids somewhere, your drive to the gym, whatever. When you go on the drive, you drive on the correct side of the road, you obey the speed limit, and you stop at red lights and stop signs and you get to your destination safe and sound. And you have the freedom to do whatever you want once you get there. And so that's the same with our rules in life. If we didn't have rules, we would have utter chaos. If you didn't have stop lights on the road, you'd have utter chaos. And so everyone actually has Rules for their life. Whether they have rules for the way they eat or what time of day they eat, or what time they go to bed, or the rules for how they behave. Like me, I don't swear or curse and that's a rule that I follow. I have a rule for my behavior. Everybody has these rules and operating systems by which they live. I just encourage people to think about those and put them down on paper. Almost like putting your goals down on paper. Because if you put down your rules and say, this is how I want to live my life, you have a much better chance of living your life that way. The same way that you have a much better chance of reaching your goals when you write them down and carry them with you. So rules actually give you structure and that gives you freedom.

Now what about you? Talk about a vision and creating a vision for your life. How exactly does someone get started doing that?

It's a great question and it's actually my favorite part of the system because I just love helping people see where they want to be and identify the exact roadmap to get there. So a vision is essentially like you know, your destination on your GPS or your old school map and it just shows you this is exactly how you're going to go to get there. And to figure out exactly what you want to achieve and what really matters in your life, you just have to take a look at kind of what season of life you're in right now. So for someone who is maybe 55 years old and listening to this and they've, you know, their kids are off to school so they're empty nesters and they're doing well in their career but you know, they've sacrificed their health over the last 25 years and that's really where they should be spending their time. So that is their number one priority in life to get their health back. And so they're going to wake up in the morning and they're going to dedicate some time in the morning because that's when I recommend people need to work on their number one priority first thing in the morning, even if it's just for 15 minutes. And then they start to identify, okay, well if that's what I'm going to focus on and that's my number one goal, that's what I need to change. Now I can look into the future and say, okay, this is what my success is going to look like. And then you write a vision out as if you have achieved it. So think in a year from now or three years from now, if you focused on your health while at the same time taking care of your family and your career as well as. But you look ahead and you say, this is what I'm going to be. I'm going to be 20 pounds lighter, I'm going to have overcome my pre diabetes, I'm going to have much better eating habits thanks to JJ's advice. And away you go. And you just picture that and you have that in mind and you work towards it every day. And when you do that, you can achieve exactly what you want in life.

Love really makes it actually not easy, but simple, doesn't it?

That's exactly what I like to say to people is success is simple, but it's not easy. And so what that means is you can go to someone like you, jj, get the advice, but you're also honest with them and say, there's going to be some struggles, there's going to be some difficult times when you're tempted. But here's the plan. Stick to it. Learn your lessons. If you aren't able to stick to it, get some more advice from me and we'll keep you on track. And, and over time, it actually does become easier and you achieve that success that you desire and you deserve from your hard work.

Love it. Now, I want to send everybody because I know you've got goodies for people. Now, it's going to require people being able to spell your name correctly.

Right, Right.

So there's that. So if you go to Craig Ballantine, is it Ballantine or Ballantine? It's Ballantine. Right, right.

Just like a holiday, but with a.

B. I thought so. So, craigballentine.com I was hoping I hadn't for all these years said it wrong. Forward slash free gift. Now I'm going to spell it. It's C, R, A, I, G. Obviously, Craig Ballantine. B, A, L, L, A, N, T, Y, N, E, B, A L, L, A, N, t, y, n, e. Craigballentine.com forward/free gift. Go check it out.

Yeah, we're going to give them a couple of tools to help dial in the day, make out, just ask them a few questions, help them identify their perfect day and then they can have a greater vision for that. And then they'll be able to put everything in my system in place so that they get more done and have more success.

Awesome. That system. Your book, the Perfect Day formula rocks. This is an amazing system. You've really nailed it. And again, you're so right on with this. It's like whether you want to lose weight, get fitter, have more success in business, have a better relationship. This stuff applies to everything and everybody. And I love the topic of, you know, how to own your day and get exactly what you want in life. Who doesn't want that? So again, I want to remind everybody, craigballentine.com forward/free gift. And Craig, thank you so much for joining me today. So appreciate this. Now after the break, I'm going to be answering a listener's question. So stay with me.

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Welcome back. I love this time. It's where I get to answer a listener's question. And today's question is about wine from Annette. Listen in.

Hi, jj, absolutely love, love, love your show. It's Annette here and I wanted to ask about alcohol and I want to know how much wine has fructose in it. You talk about fructose and the liver can't process. And I know that wine is bad for the liver as well. I'd love some extra motivation. So I don't have that sneaky red wine every night. I know it's purely habitual, but it's created so much stomach fat. I used to have an amazing flat stomach and I've just noticed that it has really come on ever since I've been drinking the red wine at night. So I would love to know that answer.

Thank you.

Okay, so here's the deal. Alcohol actually doesn't have sugar. I mean, some of it does, but, but actually wine should have very little, if any residual sugars because it's fermented and the bacteria eat up the sugar in the process. So you're not getting fructose in wine. So there's that. So that's not the issue. But the issue is this. It's interesting because the studies actually show that one glass of wine per day, that people who drink a little bit of red wine actually are thinner than people who don't drink any Wine, the teetotalers. Now, here's what I've got to say as the disclaimer. If you are an alcoholic, this is not, oh, go drink. Okay, so, and I'm not saying if you don't drink to start drinking, but if you're looking at drinking going, okay, I'm having alcohol and it's creating problems with weight. It's look at what you're drinking and what you're eating. So first off, obviously sugary mixers are out. If you're going to drink any kind of alcohol, best ones are going to be red wine because you're going to get these polyphenols or risperatrol, which activates something called the SIRI1 gene, which can extend longevity. So it can help with insulin sensitivity and reduce stress. But it's one of those things where it's all about the dose. A little wine, great. A lot of wine, a problem. And yes, there still are calories here. And so you want to watch how much you're having. So it's a little wine and it really something that you shouldn't have to do every single night, obviously. Okay, so, like, look at your habits here. Now, the other choice would be tequila, maybe tequila with a little lime juice. But again, for most of the time, it's the amount and the mixers that are getting us in trouble. And again, if you have too much, then your energy zapped the next day, you don't sleep well, you tend to overeat. So I want to look at the habits that are going along with this. Now, if you have an issue and you can't stop drinking, you have to have wine every single night, then you need to take a break. Take a break. But if it's not that, let's look at what you're drinking and how much you're drinking and what you're having with it. Because I found with most people, a glass of red wine a night doesn't lead to weight gain, actually can help them with just the opposite and is not a problem. So hope that helps. And if you'd like to submit a question, just go to jjvirgin.com ask and you can leave a boy voicemail for me. I can't wait to hear from you. And one more way, I'd love to hear from you. I would so appreciate it if you could jump on Stitcher or itunes and leave a review for me. It helps a bunch. And be sure to subscribe and share the show with your friends. This is JJ Virgin signing off and reminding you that you are worthy. Dare to live a life that matters.

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