Tag Archives: education

Diets

Why are people addicted to junk food?

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, October 18, 2016 

Recently, I was a guest speaker to a group of high school seniors. One student asked me my thoughts of why people become addicted to junk food.

The following reply is my explanation of why there’s an obesity epidemic that plagues our present-day society.

You see, back in the early days, there was only one parent working which was typically the father. The mother stayed home bearing all the responsibilities of raising children and house work.

Most all meals were prepared by mom using fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden or the local grocery store. All meats and fish came from area farmers and lakes. Eggs and dairy came from grass-fed cattle and chickens.

Now, I’m not saying all of mom’s meals were completely healthy because there was a lot of flour and grease used for cooking back then. But, it still wasn’t processed foods.

Fast forward to present day, and our American society has drastically changed. Now you have both parents working to create better financial security. Mom and dad put in a full day’s work and cooking becomes too great a chore. It’s much easier to grab precooked processed foods on the way home.

Your kids probably have multiple activities after school like dance rehearsals, baseball practice, karate lessons and so on. Both parents are going in multiple directions trying to accommodate the needs of each child. “Honey, you get food for Billy, and I’ll grab something for Suzie. See y’all later tonight.”

Also, present-day children’s lunchboxes are filled with foods that come in wrappers, boxes and juice packets. All these are loaded with sodium and sugar. Read the labels and you’ll be upset with yourself.

Lastly, I told the group of high school seniors, when you were kids, how often did you attend birthday parties on the weekends? Because we live in such crowded cities along with multiple activities, kids will have tons of friends. Which is fine, but they are probably eating birthday cake and ice cream almost every weekend.

So, how do we change these destructive eating habits in our crazy busy parenting lives?

You already know the answer. You must grocery shop and meal plan for the entire week. This includes breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Give your kids a variety of veggies, fruits and nut treats to find out which are their favorites.

Parents, I know you’re busy and tired, but you must take a step back and teach your kids a healthier diet. You’re setting them up for a better quality of life.

Inspiration

Keep filling the glass

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, September 6, 2016

We’ve all heard the expression, “Is the glass half full or half empty?” I read once from a positive thinker that you should not look at it that way and just keep filling the glass. Now if you really think about it, that’s a powerful statement.

It’s easy for us to think that all difficult situations are much worse than they truly are. But look back over your life when you faced these difficulties. I bet you made it through each and every one of them. Somehow and someway, situations seem to work themselves out. And, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of them turned out to be a blessing.

You might have heard bad news from a doctor which forced you to live a healthier lifestyle. Now your quality of life has never been better.

Maybe you were terminated from an employer which led to a better opportunity of a dream job. Now you’re happy and making more income.

Some of you were thrown into an unexpected divorce. But now, you get to lead a more adventurous and productive life.

The list is endless, but it’s up to your mentality to create a better outcome.

It’s these situations where we find how determined and strong we are. We’ve all heard of disasters that happened to cities where heroes seem to emerge to help others. Well guess what? You are one of those heroes, too. There’s times when you are faced with no other choice but to conquer Goliath.

Even our children can learn these lessons from an early age. For example: A friend of mine’s 10th-grade son was devastated that he didn’t make the varsity football team. He was placed on the JV team to which he played both offense and defense. It was the best season of his young career, and he was voted most valuable player.

It’s inevitable; we’ll continue to face adversities throughout life. Just remember to keep filling the glass and conquer the day.

Inspiration

Change your destructive family patterns

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Have you ever noticed obese parents typically have obese children? How about athletic parents raising children athletes?

Of course this is one extreme to the other, plus this only pertains to percentages. There will always be outliers in every category.

You can use the same statistics for parents who have destructive habits. Why do their children take on the same behaviors? How come this pattern keeps being passed along the bloodline?

Maybe you were raised in a questionable environment. The good news is that you are the one who is willing to stop it. You are the family member who chooses to start a new tradition of a healthy environment for your children, who, in turn, will pay it forward.

I was fortunate to be raised by a father who was a high school coach. My sister Karen and I were exposed our whole lives to a variety of sports, especially football.

Recently, I was apologizing to my 15 year old daughter Daylyn for not exposing her to more girlie types of activities. She happens to be raised by a single dad who only knows sports.

Daylyn is so funny. She told me she hates high-heel shoes, and would rather be wearing sneakers and putting her hair in ponytails, anyway.

You see, I don’t have any artistic ability either. I just had to come to the conclusion that I can’t sing, draw, paint, play any musical instruments or cut-the-rug on a good day. My poor kids have the same DNA.

Believe me, I personally tried to do all the above, but to no prevail. So, I can only pass the family pattern of a healthy environment of exercise and diet.

What about all of you parents? Just know your kids are a product of their environment. Their success in life depends on your teachings. This doesn’t mean what you say, it means what you do.

I know a family whose children were raised in an active, healthy lifestyle. One child grew up and raised their children the same way. The other child grew up and decided to become lazy and undisciplined, and now their children suffer from adolescent diabetes.

Be the hero in your family and start a new branch on the family tree of strength and success. You just need to leap out of the destruction basement and hit the ground running.

You’ve got this!

Inspiration

What choices will you make today?

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Friday, July 29, 2016

Each morning, we wake to a full day of choices. Every thought and every action is based on a series of choices.

One of the greatest beauties of being human, is we get to make our own decisions about how we live our lives.

You get to decide on clothes, cars, neighborhoods, friends, spouses, diets, exercise and so on. But, most importantly — how you treat others.

Whatever and wherever you are in life, is due to all the choices you’ve made to date. Now think about that for a moment.

If you’re not happy or you’re miserable, then maybe it’s time to change your thought process by being a more positive and caring person.

Take a hard look in the mirror, reflect on yourself and understand why life hasn’t gone as planned.

To turn it all around and get back on track, start by changing your stinking thinking. Recognize when your thoughts are negative and find something positive to focus on.

For me, when situations aren’t going well, I’ve trained myself to find all the reasons to be thankful. I recognize life could be so much worse.

This starts first thing in the morning when I wake. My first thought of each morning is, “Wow, I’m alive and I get to go out into this beautiful world today.”

It took some time, but once I forgave everyone who wronged me, unnecessary stress vanished. Now, I find beauty in everyone and life has never been better.

My kids have learned to interact with people because I’m always striking up conversations with total strangers. To me, everyone has a story, plus I’m truly interested. That’s why I share so many stories in my column.

Just remember, your thoughts become actions, and your actions will determine your true character. That character is how we perceive you.

So, what choices will you make today? Choose to be happy because you can turn your life around with just one choice.

Inspiration

Stop giving excuses

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, July 12, 2016

As young kids, we all learned to give excuses for not being able to accomplish something. It was typically due to keep from getting in trouble with parents.

The sad part is there’s still a lot of grown adults using excuses for reasons of being overweight, unemployed, in bad relationships or having destructive habits.

If any of this applies to you, what’s your excuse? Guess what? No one really cares about your excuses. All you’re doing is making us feel better about ourselves because we are giving the world our best.

Now don’t get me wrong, I was an excuse-guy for way too long. Once I owned up to all my faults, I was able to blame the only person responsible — me.

Don’t wait for tomorrow. Take action this very moment. Rewards come through time, work ethic and character building.

It’s time to make healthy choices in all aspects of our lives. If you’re going to the gym after work, then there’s no time for the local bar. When you help perform household chores and show appreciation toward your spouse, then marital relationships will improve.

Quit being lazy and start grocery shopping for healthy foods that require cooking. We live in a society where people want everything fast. That’s why fast-food restaurants are flourishing and more than 40 percent of American adults are obese.

Now get off the couch, step away from your laptop and iPhones, and get your bodies in motion.

Accept that you made bad decisions yesterday because today is the first day to kick this world’s butt. Punch your excuses in the face and become a champion.

Yes, I will run into road blocks, but I’ll turn them into opportunities.

From this day forward, I will fight for my destiny because it’s up to me. At the end of each day, I will give myself a high-five for my determination. I’m beautiful, I’m smart, and have a passion for success.

Look out world — I’m back with a vengeance.

Inspiration

Learn to take in the ‘now’

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, June 21, 2016

I’m sure everyone has some form of stress in their lives. The only difference is how we deal with it. It’s so easy to let our minds get overwhelmed and give ourselves different levels of depression.

I too, will sometimes catch myself dwelling on negative situations that occurred in the past, including forecasting negative stress that might not even occur in the future.

Lately, I’ve been training myself to take in the “now.” It’s right now where life is the best. I’m as healthy as possible for a 54 year old man. My kids are happy and experiencing the life I’ve created for them. My medical job has crazy stress, but I’m fortunate to make a decent living.

The emails I receive from you readers gives me an overwhelming sense of worthiness to people outside my family circle. I share most of them with my kids to which it has tremendous impact on their desire to help others as well.

You might not realize it, but all of you out there are helping me raise teenagers to be compassionate adults.

I don’t want to go back in time because I’m so much wiser, humble and love all people more than I could ever imagine.

I know a man in his mid-40s who still whines and complains from a dysfunctional mom he had growing up. To this day, he uses that excuse as a reason for all his misbehaviors and inability to find happiness and success.

I told him that it’s impossible to re-ring that bell. Nothing can change the past, but you have complete control of the now. You get to write your own destiny.

Think of all the situations that could be worse and appreciate the now. Don’t even think about tomorrow. Overwhelm yourself with the emotions of how incredible life is right now. Go-ahead, make yourself laugh, cry or both. Take deep long breaths and feel the presence of the now.

Recently, my son Dylan had his first flat tire on his car. It occurred during all this crazy rain we’ve been experiencing. I thought of this moment as a great learning experience to which he learned to change a flat in adverse weather conditions.

To me, it was a cool moment because I was taking in the now. I blended in with Mother Nature and enjoyed every drop.

No matter what is going on in your life, you are here today and this is the now.

Inspiration

One person can affect a whole city

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Recently, I was explaining to my son Dylan about the financial impact that superstar athletes have on their cities. For example: LeBron James generates over $100 million annually from tourists to the city of Cleveland through hotels, restaurants, shopping, transportation and so on.

I continued explaining, to think about all the families who were able to raise their children and have a decent living — all because of one person.

That’s why when LeBron left the city, he did more than disappoint the fans in winning a championship with the Miami Heat. Cleveland, Ohio, really did lose its king.

The whole reason for having this conversation with my 17-year-old son is I want him to start thinking about how he can influence his community.

Dylan replied to me that there is only one LeBron James. I told him, “You’re absolutely right, and there is only one Dylan Tepera.”

You see, Dylan has one more year left in high school, and then it’s off to college. But, I want him to create a career to help others and bring goodness to all.

Don’t just think about working in a corporate environment where you’re being told what to do on a daily basis. Yes, you can start there to learn about the real world, but you must have the desire to go beyond.

At an early age, I instilled in my children to own their own businesses and create a brand that makes people’s lives better. When you’ve accomplished this, then you’ve succeeded.

Don’t worry about the income. Money will follow and grow when you’ve created a brand of integrity and passion.

Now you must think about you. It doesn’t matter that you’ve settled into a comfortable living. We must all find a way to help others. It’s as simple as volunteering to an organization in your hometown.

Look around and see where there’s a need. Try to find a way to generate money or get others involved to help charities or people in need.

We must all act now because we only have a short time on this earth. We are neighbors and in this world together. Our destiny is to inspire and have a positive influence in life.

Inspiration

Do what it takes to reach goals

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Recently, I had an inspiring conversation with a young lady named Maricruz Diaz. She had a slight accent, so I asked to share her story. At first, Maricruz was a little reluctant but proceeded to amaze me.

Maricruz had come to the United States a few years ago to pursue her dream of obtaining a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She started her journey in Mexico completing almost two years of college but was given a new opportunity here to continue a full education.

She faced many obstacles and setbacks. First, the American nursing school didn’t accept any credits from Mexico. Next, Maricruz had to take one year of English, which she completed, then one year of remedial classes to prove her understanding. Finally, she took two years of prerequisites to be accepted into school.

After 4-5 years of schooling, she is now ready to start a four-year program for nursing.

Oh, did I mention she works 40 hours a week in a hospital organizing surgical instruments?

I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they don’t have time to reach their goals, no time to go to the gym, exercise or clean up their diet.

I know a grown man in his 30s who hasn’t worked in almost four years because he found a way to work the system and receive a free check from the government.

Maricruz told me she is one of five siblings, and all of them have college degrees.

Her dad is a retired construction worker, and her mom was a full-time, stay-at-home mom. Yes, they might have been somewhat financially poor but obviously wealthy in family values.

Listen, we’ve got to stop giving excuses for our lazy behavior. It doesn’t matter what your age and current status quo. Step your game up, get excited about what lies ahead and live out your dreams like a young lady named Maricruz Diaz.

Fitness, Inspiration

My first experience with cryotherapy

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, April 12, 2016 

Recently, an ex-body builder and good friend of mine told me about a new treatment called cryotherapy and how it helped him and his wife feel amazingly better.

I was already somewhat familiar with cryo because I knew superstar athletes were using it. I never thought much about it since I’m a common man.

Well, my friend sent me to I-Cryo in League City to meet with the owner and manager Kyle Jones to find out what this new craze is all about.

After a brief cryotherapy education from Kyle, I stepped into the I-Cryo unit for a 3-minute session. I went in at level one, which dropped the temperature to negative-220 degrees.

Yes, it was cold, but bearable since it’s cooled by nitrogen. Oh, did I mention the only thing you’re wearing is gloves and socks? So men, use the gloves to keep the boys covered and warm — if you know what I mean.

To my amazement, I felt great and had extra energy throughout the rest of day, even my aching joints were better. To understand the full benefit package, go to www.i-cryo.com.

But, what impressed me the most was the knowledge and expertise Kyle Jones possessed. Not only did Kyle have a bachelor’s degree in exercise science, but he had a passion to help others through a whole new method.

Kyle took the last 2 1/2 years of his life to study cryotherapy and meet with medical professionals and manufacturing companies to bring the best product and business model to his clients.

Bottom line, Kyle made it affordable for all of us common people. Kyle takes the time to educate all clients, so you’ll completely understand the full benefit and positive effects on your body.

Kyle told me that a few years back, he made a life-altering decision to dedicate his life to helping people without any returns. To him, it’s not about money, it’s about changing one life at a time.

Inspiration

Don’t quit when the ball rolls between your legs

By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Several years ago, my son Dylan and I were watching a Little League Baseball game. His team was to play the winner on the following day.

Well, the game was in the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs and the score tied. The batter hit the ball into right field and the outfielder let the ball roll between his legs.

When the outfielder turned to retrieve the ball, he was only half jogging because, in his mind, the game was over because of his mistake.

Dylan and I looked at each other in shock because it was obvious the outfielder should have at least given some effort. He not only gave up on himself but on the team and everyone in the stands.

Now, I know that’s a harsh statement since he’s only a kid, and it happens to every baseball player.

But here’s the lesson in life that I explained to Dylan.

Just like in sports, there will be times in life where you’ll let the ball roll between your legs. You’ll want to give up and walk away because it’s easier than sucking it up and fighting your way back in the game.

The one thing we can all do — is quit. But, what truly separates winners from losers is the will to never give up.

We are not going to win every game. We will have failed relationships, experience the death of a loved one and face unemployment. Believe me, I’ve experienced all three.

Yes, I wanted to curl up, give up and hope everything would just fade away. But, I had many long talks with myself in the mirror challenging my character. I had the responsibility of being a single parent, and there’s more at stake than my selfishness.

There are many of you currently dealing with these challenging life experiences. Look, take a few deep breathes and allow internal wounds to heal.

Take these situations and make it strengthen your life.

So come on, don’t half jog, and start sprinting to the ball because you’re going to make the winning throw in this game of life.