uncle . The Ballas family fundraising efforts enable them to support suicide prevention programs as part of their goals to raise awareness of suicide . They hope , through education , to dispel myths and improve access to resources .
“ We watched these documentaries and realized there is so much crap being pumped in our food and because my wife and I are always touring , we now bring all our stuff with us on tour ,” said Ballas . “ I got turned on to the Garden of Life ® products by one of the trainers who recommended the clean post-workout protein .”
Ballas also takes probiotics every day , and turns the Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein or SPORT Plant-Based Protein shakes into smoothies , usually adding blueberries to combat inflammation .
“ People get scared off by how protein shakes will taste , but Garden of Life really nailed the flavor and you don ’ t feel heavy or bloated ,” said Ballas , who also cut all dairy except for what ’ s in any whey protein he eats . “ Currently I ’ m getting in the best shape ever and I ’ ve been in the gym six days a week .”
Ballas allows himself a day for cheat food but he doesn ’ t abuse it . This is where nuggets of his legendary discipline begin to shine through . It ’ s all a mindset , says the man who lists pizza as his guilty pleasure , along with spaghetti and Mexican food .
“ I love to eat and I could talk about guilty pleasure eating all day , but if I want to perform , I can ’ t have that lazy moment , plus when you do get to have that cheat food on that one day , it ’ s more special ,” said Ballas . “ If you let your body have that every day , it isn ’ t healthy .”
Ballas compares staying the course with diet and exercise as the same as when he began playing guitar . It takes a while to get the hook , to get over the mountain , he advises , telling those new to healthy eating to think of it more like a job .
“ It takes time to get over the mountain and there ’ s a learning curve , like a fish out of water — but it ’ s all perseverance with level and consistent discipline ,” said Ballas . “ Pushing to get to the next part of your personal strength , it is a mindset , so don ’ t be deterred .”
The can-do attitude that ’ s worked for Ballas all his life is something he tries to impart to his fans , especially young people . On tour , he meets many kids who can ’ t wait to get a signed autograph and tell Ballas their own stories . “ I tell them no dream is too big , so progress your art ,” said Ballas , whose commitment to helping young people is far reaching .
Ballas and his family launched a foundation to help prevent suicide , an issue that ’ s deeply personal to him after the loss of his
“ If we can help erase the stigma of mental illness and suicide for our kids , we can change the future for their generation ,” said Ballas , who says get informed , get educated and get involved . Supporting the Ballas Foundation is as easy as going to MarkBallas . com and clicking on the foundation page .
Lately Ballas has been in the gym and studio every day , leaving at 4am . But Ballas doesn ’ t have to struggle to attain balance . He finds it with his wife , whose approach to success also includes the faith that the stars will align , and to always make time to sit back and smell the roses . That extends to good food at home and on the road .
“ We as Americans overfeed ourselves just because we can , but I encourage people to think of eating as fuel rather than having that emotional connection with food ,” said Ballas . “ That ’ s business and there should be nothing emotional about business if you want to function at the highest level — you can be emotional with food on weekends .”
Ballas says even for him there are days where he struggles , but meal preparation has helped combat those trying times . During tours , he never knows when he ’ ll get a break to grab something to eat .
“ That ’ s when you get in trouble — so we might make lean turkey-stuffed peppers , or grilled chicken with sweet potatoes , or squash and zucchini in a curry sauce — we keep the fridge stacked with these healthful meals so we ’ re not stopping and grabbing a candybar every time we get hungry ,” said Ballas .
The bottom line for Ballas is if you want it , you ’ ll achieve it . But the secret is in finding your own path .
“ Someone else ’ s road to victory might not be the same as yours and if something doesn ’ t work , don ’ t give up ,” said Ballas . “ You ’ ll hear no a thousand times and you can ’ t let that stop you — no means nothing .”
18 Vol 34 • Extraordinary Health ™
uncle. The Ballas family fundraising efforts
enable them to support suicide prevention
programs as part of their goals to raise
awareness of suicide. They hope, through
education, to dispel myths and improve
access to resources.
“We watched these documentaries and realized there is so much
crap being pumped in our food and because my wife and I are
always touring, we now bring all our stuff with us on tour,” said
Ballas. “I got turned on to the Garden of Life® products by one of
the trainers who recommended the clean post-workout protein.”
Ballas also takes probiotics every day, and turns the Garden of Life
Raw Organic Protein or SPORT Plant-Based Protein shakes into
smoothies, usually adding blueberries to combat inflammation.
“People get scared off by how protein shakes will taste, but
Garden of Life really nailed the flavor and you don’t feel heavy or
bloated,” said Ballas, who also cut all dairy except for what’s in
any whey protein he eats. “Currently I’m getting in the best shape
ever and I’ve been in the gym six days a week.”
Ballas allows himself a day for cheat food but he doesn’t abuse
it. This is where nuggets of his legendary discipline begin to shine
through. It’s all a mindset, says the man who lists pizza as his
guilty pleasure, along with spaghetti and Mexican food.
“I love to eat and I could talk about guilty pleasure eating all day,
but if I want to perform, I can’t have that lazy moment, plus when
you do get to have that cheat food on that one day, it’s more
special,” said Ballas. “If you let your body have that every day,
it isn’t healthy.”
Ballas compares staying the course with diet and exercise as the
same as when he began playing guitar. It takes a while to get the
hook, to get over the mountain, he advises, telling those new to
healthy eating to think of it more like a job.
“It takes time to get over the mountain and there’s a learning
curve, like a fish out of water—but it’s all perseverance with
level and consistent discipline,” said Ballas. “Pushing to get
to the next part of your personal strength, it is a mindset, so
don’t be deterred.”
The can-do attitude that’s worked for Ballas all his life is
something he tries to impart to his fans, especially young people.
On tour, he meets many kids who can’t wait to get a signed
autograph and tell Ballas their own stories. “I tell them no dream
is too big, so progress your art,” said Ballas, whose commitme ��)Ѽ����������չ����������́��ȁɕ�������) ����́������́�����䁱�չ���������չ��ѥ���Ѽ�������ɕٕ��)�ե������������Ք�ѡ�ӊé���������ͽ����Ѽ�������ѕȁѡ�����́������(���Y����Ѓ�����Ʌ�ɑ�����!���Ѡ���+�q%��ݔ�����������Ʌ͔�ѡ���ѥ������)���х��������́�����ե�������ȁ��ȁ���̰)ݔ������������ѡ������ɔ���ȁѡ���)����Ʌѥ����t�ͅ��� ����̰�ݡ��ͅ�́���)����ɵ������Ё��Ս�ѕ��������Ё��ٽ�ٕ��)M�����ѥ���ѡ�� ����́�չ��ѥ����́��)���䁅́������Ѽ�5�ɭ ����̹�������)������������ѡ����չ��ѥ��������)1�ѕ�� ����́��́��������ѡ���崁���)��Ց����ٕ�䁑�䰁���٥����Ѐх��� ��) ����́���ͻ�eЁ��ٔ�Ѽ����՝����Ѽ���х��)���������!������́�ЁݥѠ���́ݥ����ݡ�͔)���ɽ����Ѽ��Ս���́��ͼ�����Ց�́ѡ�)���Ѡ�ѡ�Ёѡ���х�́ݥ��������������Ѽ)��݅�́�����ѥ���Ѽ�ͥЁ���������͵���)ѡ��ɽ̸͕�Q��Ё��ѕ��́Ѽ�������������)������������ѡ��ɽ���+�q]���́��ɥ���́�ٕə�������͕�ٕ́����)�����͔�ݔ��������Ё$������Ʌ���������)Ѽ�ѡ���������ѥ����́�Օ��Ʌѡ�ȁѡ��)��٥���ѡ�Ё���ѥ�����������ѥ���ݥѠ)������t�ͅ��� ����̸��qQ��ӊé��ͥ���́���)ѡ�ɔ�͡�ձ�������ѡ�������ѥ����������)��ͥ���́����ԁ݅�ЁѼ��չ�ѥ����Ёѡ�)������Ё��ٕ��Q�ԁ����������ѥ�����ݥѠ)��������ݕ�����̻�t) ����́ͅ�́�ٕ����ȁ����ѡ�ɔ��ɔ�����)ݡ�ɔ�������՝���̰���Ё������ɕ��Ʌѥ��)��́������������Ёѡ�͔���她��ѥ��̸)�ɥ���ѽ��̰������ٕȁ����́ݡ������e��)��Ё���ɕ���Ѽ��Ʌ��ͽ��ѡ����Ѽ���и+�qQ��ӊéݡ����ԁ��Ё����ɽՉ���Qͼ�ݔ)����Ё������������ɭ����ՙ����������̰)�ȁ�ɥ�������������ݥѠ��ݕ�Ё��хѽ�̰)�ȁ��Յ͠������Ս����������������ͅՍ��P)ݔ������ѡ���ɥ�����х�����ݥѠ�ѡ�͔)����ѡ�հ�����́ͼ�ݗ�eɔ���Ё�ѽ�����)�����Ʌ������������剅ȁ�ٕ��ѥ���ݔ)��Ё�չ��䳊t�ͅ��� ����̸)Q������ѽ���������ȁ ����́�́����ԁ݅��)�а��e��������ٔ��и� �Ёѡ��͕�ɕЁ�́��)����������ȁ�ݸ���Ѡ�+�qM���������͗�éɽ���Ѽ�٥�ѽ�䁵����)��Ё���ѡ��ͅ����́���́�������ͽ��ѡ���)���ͻ�eЁݽɬ������eЁ��ٔ�����t�ͅ��� ����̸+�qe�e������ȁ�����ѡ��ͅ���ѥ��́������)����eЁ��Ёѡ�Ё�ѽ���Q�������́��ѡ�����