James Tobat is the Coffee Mug Coach and Cook at the Second Story Gym and Kitchen...
Why Second Story Gym?:
My living room, the main place I work out is literally in the second story of an apartment, but there is more to the name. You could be in any season of life, young or old, and the first story of your life is everything that’s happened up until now. You are who you are today because of the d
ecisions you made yesterday. A decision will lead to an action. Habits form your character. Your character determines your destiny. Maybe your decisions have set your life on a course and maybe you don’t like where it’s going. Change starts with a thought. Think of this page as a place to start thinking differently… a place to start working out your second story. Lifestyle Choices:
You will often read about lifestyle choices in the posts and links shared here. The way I see it, healthy lifestyle choices are the only way to achieve sustainable, holistic, lifelong fitness. They are habits that you adopt and practice for your entire life. They are not crash diets. They are not fitness fads. These things work for a few, but not very well, and usually not for long. A grapefruit or cabbage soup diet or even a tapeworm, might make you lose weight quickly… But, are you going to only eat grapefruit for the rest of your life? No. So what happens when the diet is over? What habits do you go back to? Fitness fads and sudden, complete lifestyle overhauls can also have healthy results, if you can stick with them. But, you still have to take care of the kids, go to work and have some kind of social life. If the complexity of the latest, total life makeover is too much to keep up with then what? All too often, we go back to unhealthy habits, until the next thing comes out and then repeat the cycle. One simple lifestyle change, like quitting sodas is doable and can feasibly be kept up through the rest of your life. I used to drink so many sodas – two or three, sometimes as much as five a day, but once I made the decision to quit them altogether, I can’t even stomach a 12 oz. can. And the thing about lifestyle choices is that one will lead to another! Once you see you can do without sodas and that has become a habit, you can focus on something else… maybe getting in exercise a few times a week, or getting more sleep. Before you know it, you have literally changed your destiny! Why do I call myself the Coffee Mug Coach?:
When I decided I wanted to start writing my second story, one of the changes I made was to start cooking my own meals and not eat out as much or buy overly processed, pre-made, pre-packaged food. Cooking your own meals is actually a great way to burn extra calories and put more activity into your day… Anyway, at the time I was also on a very tight budget and really couldn’t afford to go out and buy every pampered chef mixing bowl and knife set that recipes often suggested. One of the things that my dad always said when I was growing up was, “You gotta do the best you can with what you got.” So, coffee-fiend that I am, I had what seemed like an endless supply of coffee mugs which often proved handy as utensils in which to beat a few eggs, or mix up some ground flax seed and water, or melt butter, or cacao chips. So I dubbed myself the Coffee Mug Cook. Since then I have added a few things to my collection, notably, an 8 dollar food processor from Goodwill which works as good as new… Anyway, the name and the philosophy, of doing what you can with what you have, instead of putting things off until the perfect time or circumstance that never seems to happen, carried over into this venture, but since this page is more about physical fitness, I thought Coffee Mug Coach made more sense. Deeper Subjects:
The subject matter of this page is mostly about physical fitness, nutrition and an overall healthy lifestyle, but may, at times veer into deeper subjects. I’m fine with that… A healthy body and mind are not merely superficial topics, but really involve your entire being… See what I mean? Deeper subjects:
