Healthy Employee’s. Positive Culture.
Lowered Health Care Cost

Hello, my friend, my name is Griff Neilson, and I am so honored that you want to know more about me!  It feels good to be loved, and please know that the love is reciprocated!  I am not your typical fast-talking public speaker, coach, or teacher . . . nor am I a genius.  If you were to put me in a room with 5000 random people and then measure all or our IQs, I would likely fall somewhere in the middle or slightly below average haha! I hate it when that happens! Speaking of the word “average,” I want to share with you my relationship with this very unique concept.

I was raised in a very average household.  I was one of 5 kids and was raised on a school teacher’s salary. We lived in an old, average home in lower middle class neighborhood, and we lived in pretty average circumstances.

But . . .

I always felt a little different from my siblings, and I sensed at an early age that I was certainly not a follower, at least by nature.  As a paradox to my counter-culture nature, I am also a people pleaser.  I was the kid that internally challenged authority but outwardly fell in line with it to not to rock the boat.  I followed the “average” nutritional, societal, religious, and social beliefs of my parents and never questioned them verbally.

I lived a pretty average teenage life filled with loads of sugar and junk food, despite my parents’ efforts to feed me healthy.  I was a product of the 80s and 90s and lived in the midst of the “low-fat revolution” that swept the diet industry.  I would routinely take down two waffles in the morning covered with margarine and soaked to the brim with maple syrup.  Without knowing it, I became a full-blown sugar addict and would do anything that it took to get my hands on it.  I was just living as the average teenager, and I learned not to ask too many questions.

When I turned 19, I moved to California and lived there for two years and gained 20 pounds!  A few weeks after my return to Utah, I found myself at a pool party with a few friends who ultimately ditched me in favor of picking up women.  It was a sweltering hot day that got even hotter when I glanced to my left and saw a gorgeous girl approaching me; well, at least that’s what my 21-year-old ego told me!

Although I was 21 years old, my mind instantly pulled me back into my teenage years where I sported 6-pack abs and was more than okay with my body.  With this picture in mind, I perked up my posture, protruded my chest just enough to stay stealth, and mind started to get giddy.  “Oh boy!” it shouted, “here she comes!”  I was ready, and I was confidant.

Brimming with confidence, I again checked my posture. “We’re good,” I said silently.  I also adjusted my sunglasses and quickly wiped away the beading sweat on my brow so I wouldn’t appear nervous.  As she approached, I could hear her feet splashing in the pooled water on the slippery concrete.   It was my moment of truth; it was now or never.  “One last thing,” I thought, “it’s time for a quick gut check.” Now, I am NOT talking about the kind of “gut check” that one makes for moral or ethical reasons.  IT WAS LITERAL, BABY!  Time to make sure I still have what it takes.

I quickly glanced down and found my head buried in quick sand because I could not find the strength to bring it back up.  As I looked at my stomach, I was filled with terror and embarrassment.  In the heat of the moment, my mind had somehow played a dirty trick on me! I had forgotten that I had gained 20 pounds! I had forgotten that I was no longer the proud owner my six-pack abs.

With my head still hung and my tail between my legs, I uttered these life-changing words under my breath, “I don’t even stand a chance; it’s time for me to stand down before I embarrass myself.”  With my head in my hands, I asked myself, “How could this happen to me?”

For the next two months, I played the horror film of my pool scene through my head a thousand times. I waded through the spectrum of emotion feeling everything from mild annoyance to frustration to mild depression. I was determined to change, and I continuously told myself, “This should not be so hard! I am 21 years old, and I will burn this off in a heartbeat.”  OR so I thought . . .

Wise little Griff was about to be handed another very powerful life lesson.  As I interacted with my friends, attended school, and observed people in general, I realized that I was behaving as they were.  I was eating what they were eating, I was saying what they were saying, my attitude about nutrition and exercise was the same.  In short, I  was AVERAGE in every way without knowing it!

I gradually realized that the typical American way of life that I had adopted was NOT conducive to the healthy body, the career, or the dating life that I desired!  As though a bolt of lightning struck my head, I instantly KNEW that IF I was to obtain my goals, I could never be “AVERAGE” again!  And I also had a hunch my life was about to change forever.

Acting on my hunch, I began studying nutrition, and personal development.  I dove into school, declared my major in Exercise Science, and took every nutrition course that I could.  My biggest “ah ha” moment came on a late September night while reading a blog article entitled “Solving the Puzzle of Weight Loss: Do You Own All the Pieces?”

I learned that weight loss was not merely the consequence of taking in less calories and exercising more.  I learned that diet and exercise were merely pieces of that puzzle.  Sleep, stress management, relationships, hormones, and 50 other factors were responsible for true health and wellness. This was my first introduction into holistic health.

With my newfound knowledge of health and fitness, I found myself struggling because I wanted to fit in and be average, just like everybody else, AND I wanted to be in great shape. I wanted the ice cream when I wanted it, and I did not want any consequences. In fact, part of me did not want to even think about it because I felt like I was depriving myself, and it pissed me off.

I began to ask myself: “Can I find a happy medium so that I can have the best of both worlds?”  I resolved at that moment that I would begin to live the 80/20 rule.  I would eat healthy foods 80% of the time and leave the 20% to preserve my social life and prevent insanity!

With this new resolve, I began to take ONE STEP in applying the things that I was learning, and with this resolve, I quickly found myself on an incredible journey.  Every morning I would wake up and notice that the fat was melting off just a little more.  I marveled not only at my physical change, but more so at what was happening internally.  I was thinking differently, acting differently, and getting drastically different results, and it was all for the good and then . . .

Fast-forward 2 months, and I found myself at a family picnic.  I knew there was going to be goodies there, but I was confident that I had nothing to worry about because my sugar-addicted days were in the past, or so I thought.  As I approached the picnic, my eyes were instantly drawn to the maple bars that were placed there specifically for me, literally. “For Griff” stated a napkin placed neatly below the silver tray.  Apparently, the cat was out of the bad that I loved maple bars!  My nose was barraged by the pleasant smell of apple pie and maple bars, a deadly combination for me.

I again found myself at a moment of truth.  Was I going to give in by indulging and going overboard?  Or was I going to honor my newfound commitment to live the 80/20 rule. Without warning, I found myself at war with myself again.  The “all or nothing” side of me was saying, “screw it; just one last time. Eat as many as you would like.” Luckily, it was balanced by my more reasonable side that told me it was okay to enjoy one and move on.  This test and many others proved to me that I was capable of anything that I put my mind too.

One year later, I found myself at that same swimming pool.  And although I was not searching for phone numbers that day, I remember the feeling of contentment, confidence, and happiness that coursed through my being. MY LIFESTYLE HAD PERMEANANLY CHANGED, and I cannot adequately describe that feeling to you.

Don’t get me wrong; I still have my struggles just like everybody else, and I have great days and horrible days.  Some days I feel like a complete hypocrite because I don’t practice what I preach, and I fall off the wagon. What I have learned is that I can forgive myself for being different.  In fact, I really like it, and it has worked really well for me.  I am convinced that we are capable of ANYTHING we put our minds to, and I hope to share that passion with you as move forward together.  Thanks again for reading, my friend, and always remember . . .

Life is Good!

Your friend in health and empowerment,
Griff Neilson