We just finished another crazy weekend. AJ had a soccer tournament. We took the kids out on Saturday night to watch fireworks. Frankie had a huge birthday party yesterday.

Family life is fun…but it’s tiring! My weekends seem to be busier than my work week!

Over the past 11 years, I’ve noticed some things. Observations, if you will. Things that I have had to learn the hard way, but eventually have led to a somewhat successful life. (Keep in mind that success is defined differently for different people. My definition of success is a little unconventional).

Over this time, I’ve compiled a list of 23 things that are now almost a manifesto on how I live my life. I haven’t mastered life by any means. But these 23 “rules” are what have lead to me living a happy, healthy and somewhat sane life as a FitAndBusyDad to a beautiful family.

I’d like to share these things with you now…

23 Rules for Living a FitAndBusyDad Life

1. Train with intensity and don’t waste your time with cardio if you want to lose weight and stay healthy.

2. Eat REAL food.

3. Your family comes first. Not money, not work, not unnecessary things.

4. Years 1 thru 5 are the MOST IMPORTANT in your child’s life (developmentally). Make an effort to be there as much as you can and to build their self-esteem and character. These years will determine who they are as a person.

5. Always continue to learn and enrich your mind with good books, continuing education courses and seminars…try to spend at least 30mins per day reading (you should always try to have the answers to questions your kids will ask you).

6. Practice short term intermittent fasting…it is, by far, the best way for FitAndBusyDads to eat.

7. Make time for personal relationships – especially the relationship with your wife/spouse/partner. It’s too easy to get caught up with family life/commitments…you’ll need these relationships as life goes on and the kids get older.

8. Drink only water and organic tea & espresso limiting or eliminating unnaturally sweetened and preserved drinks & juices and alcohol consumption.

9. Eat the majority of your food from plants, but don’t give up meat entirely if you don’t have to.

10. Read to your kids so that they can learn to enjoy the benefits of reading.

11. Make sure your kids bare witness to you being active, they in turn, will be active themselves.

12. Master bodyweight exercises (chin-ups, push-ups, dips, pistols, lunges & squats) before picking up weights. Teach your kids these exercises too.

13. Master some form of deep breathing/mediation or stress relieving exercise that you can turn to when things start to get hectic…trust me, you’ll need it.

14. Be conscious of everything you do because someone is always watching.

15. You are a role model to your kids, empower them and build their confidence through encouraging words and actions.

16. Walk everywhere or ride a bike for transportation. Conserve energy as much as possible.

17. Give your kids more time and less “things”.

18. Train outside when you can and as often as you can.

19. Lift heavy things and get stronger. You want your kids to think you’re Hercules or Superman.

20. Enjoy what you do for a living. If you’re passionate about work and love what you do, the money will come.

21. Train when you are in the fasted state (don’t eat 2-3 hours before training). There’s something primal and intense about lifting/training when you’re hungry.

22. Don’t drink or eat anything from plastic containers. There’s too much research out there on the dangers of this.

23. Smile more…it’s old school thinking that smiling isn’t “manly”. This is the New School.

So what do you think? Did I miss anything?

Or even worse, did I completely get anything a**-backwards?

I’d love to hear your thoughts and opinions and hear what some of your “rules for life” are!

Please leave a comment and let me know.

Chris
The FitAndBusyDad