First off, if you can’t digest your foods properly, then you won’t be getting the nutrition your body requires…

Even if you’re eating the healthiest possible foods.

Second, and just as important, is the fact that if your digestive tract is compromised (remember those big “pores”) or you have an underactive stomach, then you might be setting yourself up for a lifetime of potential negative health outcomes.

But how do you know if your digestion sucks?

How do you know if you have leaky gut, dysbiosis, or other intestinal problems?

Well, the good news is that you don’t necessarily need to take a complicated blood test.

In fact, what I’m about to share with you is a self-diagnosis test that will give you a good indication of how your digestion measures up.

Are you ready?

Take the Digestive Health Test

This is a basic digestive health test I’ve used with hundreds of my personal clients over the years. This obviously abbreviated but it will still give you some very good feedback.

Answer 0 is the symptom or activity does not apply. Answer 1 for mild or rarely occurring, 2 for moderate or regularly, and 3 for severe or often recurring.

1. Excessive gas, belching or burping after meals
2. Stomach bloated after eating
3. Sleepy after eating
4. Longitudinal striations on fingernails
5. Bad breath
6. Eat when rushed/in a hurry
7. Full feeling after heavy meat meal
8. Heavy, tired feeling after eating
9. Nausea after taking supplements
10. Acne
11. Undigested food in stool

If you scored less than 10, then your stomach and digestive system are working pretty well.

If you scored 11 to 19, then you’ve got some mild digestive issues that should still be rectified.

If you scored 20 or above, then you need to address these digestive difficulties ASAP.

So, how did YOU score?

Let me know in the comments so we can look at fixing those issues – but only if we get a minimum of 50 comments.

But did I humiliate myself or was I a glorified hero (as some of my friends proclaimed)?

I don’t know…

You tell me.

My friends thought I was the reason we did so well on Cash Cab but I think it was a team effort and we collectively ALL looked like idiots. But that’s just how we roll, yo!

Because we couldn’t get a recording of our show I asked my brother to use his iPhone to record while watching his TV. Now that’s bootleg if you ask me. So be sure to crank up your sound in order to hear it properly.

In the cash cab, you’ll see me and 3 of my closest friends in the “raw”. This is pretty much how we are in real life. I guess that’s why they call it a reality show. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we try to poke fun at ourselves whenever we get the chance.

And if we can win some money in the process, then that’s awesome.

Watch and enjoy…

NOTE: Before reading these embarrassing stories, you must agree to sharing ONE of your own in the comments below.

I thought I would lighten things up today and share with you 10 of my most embarrassing moments of all time. I hope you enjoy them as much as everyone else did (other than me) at the time. We’ll start off with 2 of the best ones. If you thought that toilet episode in “Dumb and Dumber” was bad, wait until you read these.

This picture depicts how I felt during each of these moments.

WARNING: Some of these moments are graphic and contain mature subject matter. Reader discretion is advised.

Moment #1 – The Old Poop in the Pants Story

Years ago, I had sushi with a bunch of friends before going off to play some pick up soccer. However, on the walk over to the athletic center after dinner I had to quickly change course to get home because there is some serious “thunder down under”, if you know what I mean.

The worse part was that there was no toilet paper at my place so I had to clench real hard and power walk to the store to grab some before getting home to “relieve myself”.

To make a long story short…

I didn’t make home in time!

In retrospect, I’m not sure why I didn’t just make a pit stop along the way??

Moment #2 – The Old Poop Pants in the Story #2

I don’t why I keep gravitating to these types of moments??? I guess it’s because they’ve just stunk (I mean stuck) in my head.

Anyways, this one comes courtesy of the time that I spent training with the top soccer team in Brasil – Sao Paulo FC. I was down there for a few weeks training with the youth team (I was 17 at the time) and it was so damn hot.

One day, after an intense training session in the mid-day heat, I was feeling pretty heat exhausted and my stomach wasn’t feeling that great either. Upon getting back to the locker room, I went to the urinal to do a #1 when all of a sudden a #2 came out to play.

The worst part was that I had to somehow get rid of my soiled undies in front of 20+ teammates. They loved it! I didn’t it.

Moment #3 – Being Carried Out of a Club Because My Legs “Weren’t Working”

Back in university, well before I turned into the healthier person I am today, I enjoyed the odd party here and there. By odd, I mean every weekend. One night, I invited all my varsity soccer teammates and close friends to my place for some “pre-drinking” before heading out to a club (we’ve all been there haven’t we???).

It was raining outside and I lived about 3 km from the club but I had gotten myself so plastered (thanks to my good Japanese friend Takenobu) that I decided I was going to run to the club. So while everyone else was piling into cabs, I decided to race them there – by foot. It’s amazing what you think you can do when you’re drunk.

And so I ran like never before. And I probably could have (and should have) continued running all night!

Within less than an hour of being at the club, I was feeling pretty sick and eventually “lost my cookies” on the dance floor.

By that point I was sitting down and could barely feel my legs. Security then asked my friends to get me out of there. Good thing they did because I couldn’t walk. So with my head hung in shame, I was dragged out of the club by 2 of my friends. It was a real “Weekend at Bernie’s” moment.

We tried getting in a cab but even the cabbie refused my drunken’ butt. We eventually made it back to my friend’s car and he drove me back to my place, with me in the backseat hanging my head out the window like a dog licking the wind.

Thank god I rarely ever drink anymore!

Moment #4 – Getting Beat Up on the Kiddie Playground

This story I don’t remember all that well but apparently my brother Adam does. I must have been about 8 years old when for some reason me and another kid got into a squabble on the local playground.

I can’t quite recall how it went but all I remember was my mom and brother coming to pick me up after school with me in a tight head-lock and buried in the gravel. Apparently, I didn’t win that fight.

What can I say? I’m a lover not a fighter.

Moment #5 – Getting Passed By a 70-year Old Man in a Race

A few years ago, my buddy Pierre coaxed me into running the St. Pattie’s Day 5k in Toronto. I agreed despite having done no outdoor training all winter. Needless to say, it was a pretty tough run. Plus, it was freezing outside.

At about the 3 km mark, my legs were not feeling great. I was still colder than I was warm from the act of running. The wind was against me and it felt as though I was barely moving.

Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere comes this elderly man (who must have been about 70 years old) flying by me like a cop chasing down a speeding car.

I swear he was on something.

Talk about a wake up call and embarrassing moment for someone who’s supposedly pretty fit.

NOW, it’s your turn…

Ok, now that I’ve totally embarrassed myself even further by sharing these stories with you, it’s your turn. Let me know what your most embarrassing moment has been – and it doesn’t have to be graphic like mine were.

On Tuesday January 18th at 1:42pm EST, Amy (aka “Super Woman”) gave birth to our first child…

Oscar Lorenzo Elkaim!

He’s a cutie, that’s for sure, and so far he’s been a great baby.

And thanks to all of you who passed on your kind words on my Facebook page. Both Amy and I really appreciate it.

Now the fun begins. I’ll keep you posted.

Before I go I also wanted to tell you about another Oscar.

This is more of award than anything else.

It’s the Oscar for the best abs program on the market. And it’s funny because Amy’s been talking about getting her “abs” back and toning down her tummy now that she’s delivered.

I told her it will take time but our conversation made me realize that many of you also want to lose belly fat and get a flat stomach, right?

This is, time and time again, the most common question I get asked during my “Ask Yuri” LIVE Q & A sessions on Facebook.

And aside from my free abs course (http://www.myfitteru.com/abs) I don’t really think there is much out there worthwhile mentioning other than what I want to tell you about today.

It’s a program called “The Truth About Abs“. It was created by a friend of mine – fitness and nutrition expert, Mike Geary.

Since creating it a few years ago, it has soared and has become the #1 selling abs program on the internet! And the only reason that that’s happened is because it is an awesome program.

Pretty powerful if I might say so myself.

There are several reasons why I know you’ll enjoy his program including the fact that Mike gives you specific ab exercises, foods, and meal plans that have been shown to get that sexy flat stomach.

Anyways, I’ll leave it at that for now but if you want the truth about what you need to do (and not do) to get that flat stomach (and lose excess belly fat), then this is a must-have addition to your health library.

==> Learn more about “The Truth About Abs” here

Ok, I’m out. I need to put together a little play mobile for Oscar.

Man, does life ever change quickly. Just the other day it was business as usual…

And now it’s changing diapers and spending time with my little baby boy. But that’s what life’s all about – at least for me!

Your friend and coach,

Yuri

P.S. If you want to check out some pictures of Oscar you can see them here:

Pictures of Oscar <————– click here

Remember, the “Holy Grail” along with its 4 amazing bonuses (worth $114.80) expires at midnight tonight!!

GET IT HERE <—————————- Don’t miss out!!!

Alright, here we go…

Yuri: Tom, what is the holy grail body transformation?

Tom: It’s a nutrition, training and lifestyle program based on
nutrient timing, cyclical dieting, “periodization” and natural
hormonal manipulation.

Yuri: What will the holy grail do for my clients?

Tom: the holy grail program will help them:

a) gain muscle without gaining fat (no bulking up, just lean muscle)
b) lose fat without losing muscle
c) gain muscle while losing fat at the same time
(“the holy grail” of fitness goals)

Yuri: Will it work for women?

Tom: Yes. Its amazing what even one pound of lean muscle can
do to make a woman look slimmer and sexier. See the before
and after photos on the site

Yuri: Let’s say I’m after the Brad Pitt look, not the bodybuilder look, will this work for me?

Tom: absolutely! In fact, because this is a ‘lean muscle gain’
program, there is no bulking up at all. You gain only 100%
lean and you only gain the amount of muscle you want.

Yuri: Ok, but what about for people that are into bodybuilding. Can they use this or will they learn anything new?

Tom: This is not a program for professional or advanced bodybuilders. Its for the 90% of the rest of the people who want some more muscle
but not to the level of body-building. The techniques are pure gold
for bodybuilders, but I think most advanced bodybuilders should
already be proficient with nutrient timing, cyclical dieting,
managing hormones and muscle retention techniques. If not, then
by all means, get the book!

Yuri: Let’s say I’m 47 years old, can this still work for me or will only help those young “studs”?

Tom: Yes and frankly you NEED something to help you keep your
muscle as you get older. Do nothing and your lean body mass
erodes as you age – it’s called sarcopenia. Use it or lose it.

Yuri: How is this different from your first book, Burn the Fat,
 Feed the Muscle?

Tom: The Holy Grail focuses on helping you gain lean muscle (without
gaining fat).  Burn the fat, feed the muscle is a fat loss program.
If you’re overweight, start with Burn the fat; the Holy Grail
techniques will be helpful once you get leaner.

Yuri: Does it require taking any supplements?

Tom: NO! If you want to take supplements (creatine, whey protein,
post workout drinks, multi-vitamin, meal replacements, essential
fatty acids) these all may be helpful, but they are not mandatory
on this program.

In fact, many diet programs sell you the diet plan or workout only
as a way to sell you their supplements afterwards and thats where
they make most of their money… sometimes hundreds a month!
I do not sell supplements. Never have and never will.

Yuri: Awesome buddy! Thanks so much for taking the time.

Tom: You’re welcome. Any time.

==============

So there you go…

The low-down on Tom’s new fat loss and muscle building program, the “Holy Grail Body Transformation Program”.

Thousands of people have already picked up their copy.

Do have yours yet?

CLICK HERE TO GRAB YOUR COPY OF THE “HOLY GRAIL”

Remember, this incredible introductory offer expires in just a few hours so I wouldn’t wait any longer.

I hope you make the right choice.

Claim your copy here <————————— link expires at midnight!

In that post, I also mentioned that Sunday was perhaps one of the craziest days of my life. And indeed it was!

The reason?

I was flying back from Orange County – only a 4-hour direct flight – but boy did things take several wrong turns.

So, in this post, I’m going to share with you how a 4-hour flight turned into 9 hours, as well as, some lessons we can all learn about dealing with the unexpected.

Sunday – 5:30am (Pacific time)

I get up bright and early after going to bed at 1am so I can get to the airport for my 8am flight. In retrospect, I would have been better off waking up at 6:30am and showing up 30 minutes before my flight because I had already checked (thank you iPhone!) and only had a carry-on bag. Plus, the airport was 5 minutes from the hotel. Oh well. I was awake and feeling good.

8am (pacific time)

I was thrilled, yet again, to get the best seat in the house! I had a window in the emergency exit row with no seat in front of me. I was literally lounging – it was great. I also had this seat on the way to the OC so I was thrilled to get it again. Actually, the guy beside told me that he had reserved it but then changed his seat and then it was “gone” when he tried switching back. I offered to trade him but he said it was all good.

Just before taxiing to take off, the flight attendant comes over and ensures that the passengers in the emergency exit rows are OK with dealing with an emergency procedure. I said, “No problem, I’ve done it several times!”

Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut!

The flight then takes off, with the steepest climb I’ve ever experienced in my life – I thought we were going into space! Apparently, there’s some rule in the OC that planes have to “get out” as fast as possible. I can understand because it was pretty noisy down there due to all the air traffic – I wouldn’t be a happy resident in that area.

[Note: I'm now going to switch over to EDT to make things easier. It's 3 hours ahead of pacific time]

11am – 3pm (EDT)

Although I had a great seat, this one was of the consistently bumpy flights ever. Nothing crazy but just constant low-grade turbulence. Kind of like driving on the terribly maintained streets of Toronto!

3:30pm (EDT)

As we approach Pearson airport in Toronto, I’m thrilled to look at my watch and see that we’re about 20 minutes early. Yes – I might actually get to watch the end of the world cup final!

3:35pm (EDT)

Within about 2 minutes and just a few hundred feet short of landing, the plane, all of a sudden, revs the engine and climbs back into the clouds!

“What the heck is going on?” is what most of us were thinking. A few moments later the pilot comes on and says that we had to abort the landing because there was some very dangerous thunderstorm activity and unpredictable winds right over the airport.

Damn, I wasn’t going to get to watch the world cup final. But I guess it’s better to be alive!

Anyways, you could tell the pilot was in a hurry to get out of the area. And thankfully so. As we cleared a ridiculous t-storm, you could tell the clouds were “angry”. Dark grey cumulus clouds charged with tons of humidity and just waiting to pop!

So the plane circled ALL the way around the storm, which took about 45 minutes, and then decided to land in nearby Hamilton.

4:45pm (EDT)

We land in Hamilton – which is just 1 hour’s drive from Toronto. It’s pretty funny that we were pretty much the only airplane sitting on an empty tarmac surrounded by cow pastures. Nice change of scenario from the crazy Toronto airport.

6:00pm (EDT)

We get refueled and the pilots get a new flight plan to head back to Toronto now that the storm had passed. I’m thinking that this is going to be the quickest flight of all time – maybe 10 minutes at best!

6:20 (EDT)

Wow, we’re already on the landing pattern for Toronto. We get within a few hundred feet of landing when…

Once again…

The plane pulls up and climbs back up into the sky!

Now, everyone starting to get a bit worried. After all, the sky was completely clear and the sun was shining through.

The pilot comes and tells us…

“Well, as you can see, the weather is beautiful, but now we’re having a problem with the landing gear. We’re going to circle around and do some manual work to get everything in working order.”

Holy cow.  I had a friend who went through a similar situation in Texas and it didn’t sound like too much fun. But I had a feeling that everything was going to be fine.

6:45pm (EDT)

The pilot comes back on says that they’ve fixed the problem and that the landing gear is good to go. Finally, we approach the runway and…

This time we actually land! Hallelujah!!!

So I send Amy a text to pick me up at 7:15pm. But then…

The plane stops on the tarmac and just sits there. The pilot comes back on and tells us that due to the storm there are a ton of planes on the ground (aka. traffic jam) and that we don’t have a gate.

7:00pm (EDT)

After 15 minutes of not moving, I send Amy another text telling her to just come and pick me up at 7:45pm (we only live about 15 minutes from the airport). I realized that we weren’t going to be moving for a little while.

But then…

The planes starts rolling. Yes!

7:15pm (EDT)

Now, we’re right at the gate and still nothing. What’s going on?

The pilot comes on again and says that we’re just 100 feet from our gate but that there’s no ground crew to take us in!

We sit for another 20 minutes just feet from our final destination. Might as well hold a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie in front of me and tell me I can’t eat it!!!

7:40pm (EDT)

At last….

The plane arrives at the gate, the ground crew is there, and we finally deplane.

I walk my butt off to get to customs and out the door as fast as possible because I know that Amy’s waiting for me any second now!

7:50pm (EDT)

I’m out of the airport in just 10 minutes!

Oh how I love traveling with only carry-on and having no line up in customs. It’s the best.

All in all, what was supposed to be a routine 4-hour direct flight turned into one of the longest and most eventful flights I’ve been on.

Dealing with the Unexpected

Now, you might expect most of the passengers (including myself) to be pretty anxious to run off the plane or get pissed off for the 4.5 hour delay but…

The exact opposite happened!

It was absolutely amazing. No one complained. No one was pushing and shoving to get off the plane. It was awesome. Maybe because it was the weekend or maybe it was because everyone was just happy to have landed safe and sound? I know I was.

After all, is there really any point in getting frustrated? I didn’t have a connecting flight. Many people did but they didn’t lose their marbles.

In these kind of “uncontrollable” situations your best bet is to just CHILL. Because you have absolutely no control over the outcome it simply isn’t worth stressing yourself out. Save your adrenals!

Note: Mom, if you’re reading this…I learned a lot from those early morning drives with you. I’m just happy you weren’t on this flight. You would have lost it!

So the take home message here is that sometimes in life, there are situations that are beyond our control. And it’s how we deal with these situations that defines them (and us all). What would have been the benefit of freaking out?

None.

Would freaking out have made the plane land or made the thunderstorm go away or got the ground crew to our gate sooner? NO.

So what’s the point?

You might as well sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Heck, I got in an extra 4 hours of reading – that’s pretty good!

=> Have you ever been in a similar “uncontrollable” situation? What did you do? Let me know in the comments.

[This picture actually has nothing to do with this post (I just thought I'd throw it in there for whatever reason).]

I was down here to connect with several of my online fitness friends and colleagues and boy did we have some fun…

Oh…and…get some good work done.

As I mentioned earlier, I also used this trip to finish up a few things for the BIG DAY…

July 27th!

What I’ve got coming for you is going to blow your mind.

But more on that later.

In the meantime, I wanted to share something really embarrassing with you…

Why?

Well, why the heck not!?

I don’t take myself too seriously, plus…

You’re my friend so I feel comfortable divulging some of my “not-so-great” moments with you. After all, sharing embarrassing stories was kind of the theme of this past weekend – so now I’m just riding the wave.

I even decided to shoot a little video of myself walking down the street in the OC telling you about this hilariously embarrassing moment that happened to me just a few months ago.

You can watch it below.

Actually, since I’m too lazy to actually write this story, I’ll just let the video do the work.

Plus, I think my finger’s cramping up (not really, but it was worth a shot).

Anyways, check out the video to see me at my worst.

BUT…

You can only watch this quick video IF you agree to share one of your most embarrassing moments in the comments below. We’re all here together so let’s share, laugh, and have fun with this.

Deal?

Ok, great.

Now you can watch the video.

Yuri

P.S. Since I’m posting this post after arriving back home from this trip, I thought  I would also share with you ONE of the craziest days of my life. Yes that was today. Be sure to check the blog post on Tuesday for all the juicy details.

It only happens every 4 years and that makes for some great build-up and anticipation.

This 2010 World Cup I believe is going to be one of the most competitive and exciting in recent memory. How about you?

With powerhouse teams like Argentina, Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, and many potential dark-horse surprises like Serbia, Ghana, and possibly many others, I think we’ll all be in for a nice treat.

As I mentioned in a recent “Ask Yuri” video, my prediction is that Argentina, England, Spain, and the Netherlands will make it through to the final four. Actually, I’m not even sure if that can happen (based on the bracket structures) but those are my 4 top teams.

However, after watching the Germans dismantle the “Socceroos” 4-0, they may very well go farther than most people would have predicted.

I’d also love to see Brazil go all the way but my gut tells me otherwise. Who knows???

A trip down memory lane…

Four years ago, Amy and I were in Europe during the first 2 weeks of the 2006 World Cup. Actually, I remember sitting on a patio in Nice, France watching the opening match between Germany and Costa Rica – it was awesome. One of the best opening matches I’d ever seen.

Plus, being in beautiful Nice watching on a big screen didn’t hurt either. Our trip then took us to Italy where we didn’t really watch many games on TV as there were just so many other amazing things to see and do.

However, we then traveled up to Salzburg – a city I would highly recommend to anyone. Absolutely beautiful! Plus, they had a huge World Cup viewing “stadium” in the old city centre. The beer was flowing and people were out at all times of the day watching their teams on the big screen.

After 2 days in Salzburg, we then moved up to Munich. What an amazing city! In all the cities I’ve ever been to, Munich has one of the most amazing outdoor markets in the city centre. A must see.

Anyways, on the day that Germany played their final first round match, we traveled out to the “Fan Fest” park at the Olympic Stadium in Munich with 50,000 other Germans to watch the game.

It was one of the hottest days I’ve ever lived through – a whopping 45 degrees Celsius! I recall that just in front of the massive screen showing the game were people responsible for hosing down the crowd using massive water gun-like hoses.

It’s a memorable experience as Germany won that game and the whole place was going crazy. Even on the subway ride back to the city centre, German fans were cheering, singing, and shaking the train from side to side. It was awesome.

For me, that’s what the World Cup is all about. That’s what soccer is all about. And am I so grateful for having played the beautiful game for so many years of my life at close to the highest level.

It would have been great to play in the World Cup but realistically, being Canadian, the chances of playing in the big event were (and probably still are) close to impossible!

Maybe someday they’ll actually qualify – but only if lightning were to strike the Canadian Soccer Association.

Soccer, especially during the World Cup, truly is a sport that unites us. It’s great to see people from all walks of life and from all around the world having a great time with one another.

I think it’s a great example of what our world is really like. Even with all the war and hate and crazy nonsense that goes on, everyone around the world wants the same thing – happiness, love, and to live for a purpose.

I believe that soccer’s World Cup is the bond that unites us in this common pursuit.

Have you ever gone to a World Cup game? If so, what was your experience like?

- ENDS SUNDAY MAY 30th @ MIDNIGHT (EDT) -

I’m celebrating!!!

The reason…

I’m back on Facebook! That’s it.

After having my original Facebook account disabled for some reason, I decided to no longer wait on the people at Facebook and start a new account from scratch.

So to celebrate the fact that I’m back on FB and connecting with all of you once again, I’m extending a 25% OFF DISCOUNT on all of our Treadmill Trainer workouts to you!

This sale ends this Sunday at midnight (EDT) so don’t let this opportunity slip through your fingers.

Just USE COUPON CODE FB25 on the checkout page and you’ll instantly see a 25% reduction on your purchase.

I’m in a good spirits – what can I say?!

So here’s a recap of what you want to do right now:

1. Go to myTreadmillTrainer.com

2. Choose your workouts (you even get 25% OFF the already bundle deals)

3. Use coupon code FB25 on the checkout page

And that’s it!

And…

I encourage you to join me on Facebook to get all your running and fitness-related questions answered.

Here’s the link to my new page:

http://www.yurielkaim.com/facebook

Yuri

P.S. Remember, this 25% OFF sale ends this Sunday May 30th at midnight (EDT). After which, your coupon code will no longer be valid and the TT workouts will only be available at their regular price.

About 10 days ago, I tried logging into my Facebook account and got a message that it had been disabled.

“What? How on earth did that happen?” I exclaimed!

So I sent the Facebook people 2 messages (via their online form) and still have not heard anything.

So, I’m asking for your help. If you could do me a huge favour and let other people know about this it would be greatly appreciated.

Even better, if you know anyone at Facebook who might be able to pull some strings then that would be amazing as well.

Why I Need My Facebook Page Back up and Running…

The reason I need my Facebook page (and account) back up and running is because I use it every day to communicate with all of our clients and health and fitness enthusiasts all around the world. It has quickly become an incredible platform for me to help more and more people.

Since this happened, I’ve been receiving daily emails from people asking where I’ve gone and what’s happened. I wish I could tell them that things are going to be back to normal in just a few days but I really have no clue.

So please help me spread the word about this situation and hopefully something positive will come of this.

Here Are a Few Ways You Can Help:

1. Retweet this post to Twitter

2. Share this post on Facebok

3. Stumble this post to Stumbleupon

4. Digg this post on Digg.com

5. and any other way that you of!

Also, leave me a comment to let me know if this is something that has happened to you or anyone else you know and what the outcome was.

Once again, your help is truly appreciated!!!