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Showing posts from March, 2010

#Motivation

Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done. Now, if you know what you’re worth, then go out and get what you’re worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain’t you. You’re better than that!”

#Motivation

Sometimes we ask ourselves ‘Why?’ Why do I continue to smile, to give, to live? Why do I continue to stand, despite the ferocity of the wind that keeps blowing, that keeps slapping against my face, creating a pressure that says ‘fall’? Why I don’t listen to those who call me a fool because I continue to love despite my hurt? I don’t know what tomorrow brings; I don’t know what tomorrow brings; I don’t know if my troubles will seize or if my sorrows will continue. But this much I do know – I will continue to hold out, I will continue to press on, until my blessing comes.”

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Sometimes you have to step back from the hectic scene of life to reevaluate your playbook. You have to make sure you have the right plays, the right players in the right positions and those players know the roles required of them. In this crucial time of your analysis, if you aren’t satisfied with the results given, it may be necessary to bench or even trade players or eliminate plays.

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You are not a failure. A failure is someone who does not try. When you try, you may not hit the target, but at least you gave it your every effort and now have the opportunity to try again. That is what true success is.

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To begin where you are is often an overlooked step in the process. Begin where you are and read for the stars. Visualize your process, practice in your mind, then take action and manifest your best life now!

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No matter where you’ve been, who left you or how life has treated you, YOUR BEST IS YET TO COME. Don’t allow your mind to be boxed into accepting that you are finished because I know, “Your latter will be greater than your past and what is before you is greater than that behind you.

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Around here, however we don’t look backwards for very long, WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Moderation is the Key

Moderation is one of the keys to successful weight loss. Weight loss maintenance is about finding a healthy eating pattern that you can follow for a lifetime. When you’re following your nutritional plan and want to eat something which is not healthy but you have been craving it for a while, practice moderation and enjoy your favorite food. If you enjoy cheesecake, have a small piece and eat it slowly so you can truly enjoy each bite. This practice of eating in moderation will teach yourself to avoid out of control bingeing episodes and you will gain control over food.

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One day you’re talking about it, and then one day you’re actually doing it and that’s the magic word: congruency. It’s one thing to talk about something, but you won’t feel you’re making progress until the task actually gets one and become a reality.

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Better to hunt in fields, for health unbought, Than fee the doctor for a nauseous draught, This wise, for cure, on exercise depend; God never made his work for man to mend. John Dryden

Pack a Healthy Lunch

Try packing a healthy low-calorie lunch a few times a week. Not only will you save hundreds of calories but you will also save money by making your own meals. If you find yourself having a tendency to snack while at work, buy a box of protein bars and throw them in the freezer at work. Protein bars make a great snack during the day and can come in very handy when a sweet tooth episode kicks in. Prepare your meal the night before and place it in some Tupperware for the next day. Add a chicken breast, some vegetable sticks and a piece of fruit and you have a perfect low calorie meal. Another great tip is to buy a few containers of non-fat cottage cheese and store them in the refrigerator at your office.

Brown is Better

A great tip for losing weight is to make the switch from white flour based food to whole grains. Whole grains are whole wheat, oats, whole rye flour, barley, brown rice and any other unprocessed grain. The added fiber in whole grain foods will fill you up quicker than if you were eating the white versions. Foods containing whole grains are also believed to keep blood-sugar levels stable over a longer period of time. Try to substitute these foods: • Whole wheat bread vs. Enriched white bread • Whole wheat pasta vs. White-flour pasta • Sweet potatoes vs. White potatoes • Whole wheat tortilla vs. White-flour tortilla • Wheat bran cereal vs. Corn flakes • Oatmeal vs. Cream of wheat • Whole rye crackers vs. White-flour based crackers • Whole grain waffles vs. White flour based waffles

Always Shock your Muscles

Always try to “trick” your muscles into growth. You never want to do the same exercises, reps and sets for each and every workout. You always want to shock your muscles into growing and adapting to new stimuli, so make sure to always switch up your training routines, number of sets and reps for each training session. Also, make sure to train at a high level of intensity and really push each set to positive failure (barely getting the last rep up). You should always focus on increasing the weight lifted. If your muscles get used to lifting a specific amount of weight, then they will never want to get stronger or grow. Always try to trick your muscles with different reps/sets and keep your intensity levels up high enough so they always are forced to make changes and grow!

Maximize the Windows of Opportunity

You have two main windows of opportunity when you’re training. One is 30 minutes before you train (pre-workout meal) and another comes about 30-60 minutes after your workout (post-workout meal). The pre-workout meal should consist of a starchy carb and lean protein. The starchy carb will supply the energy you need to get through an intense workout. The protein provides the much needed fuel for your muscles, so hey keep a positive nitrogen balance. A greet pre-workout meal would be consumed 30 minutes before your workout and would consist of 1 cup of natural oatmeal with one scoop of protein powder. Try to stick with whey protein. Mix it with some water and microwave the dish for about 2 minutes. Stir it up and eat it with a big glass of water. Your post-workout meal should be consumed as quickly after your workout as possible. This should consist of a simple sugar to spike your insulin levels and rush glycogen back into your muscles which are screaming for fuel by now. Try to stick wit

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There is a necessity for a regulating discipline of exercise that, whilst evoking the human energies, will not suffer them to be wasted. Thomas de Quincey #Quote

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Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. Plato #Quote

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Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness. Edward Stanley #Quote

Treat Food Like a Drug

Food should be viewed as a drug since it can cause serious effects on your body. Eating the wrong foods can lead to excessive weight gain and you may be more likely to develop health problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, gout (joint pain caused by excess uric acid), and gallbladder disease. Being overweight can also cause problems such as sleep apnea (interrupted breathing during sleep) and osteoarthritis (wearing away of the joints). Try to take your nutritional plan seriously and know that you have complete control over what you put into your mouth.

Rest for Muscle Growth

One of the best pieces of exercise advice is to understand that your muscles grow when you’re resting not training. That’s right; you don’t actually get bigger and stronger when you’re in the gym. It’s what you do after your workout that’s the real key to muscle growth. If you don’t let your muscles recover correctly, you’re body will become over trained and it will be in a state of constant “catch up”. This is far from the ideal state that you want your body in. What you want is to truly prime your body for your next workout and give it enough rest and recuperation to fully optimize your training. The worst thing you can do is over train your body. This will lead to muscle atrophy (breaking down muscle) and you may experience the flue because of this. When you train, make sure to limit your resistance training sessions to 45 minutes maximum. Your body’s testosterone levels start decreasing after about 45 minutes, so anytime after this length and you’re really just wasting your

Broken Wings

I have overpowered the silver lining with my bruised wings I know the luster of the sunshine would heal me My nest is almost on the verge of collapsing I know my broken wings wouldn’t give up To gather the twigs again My slashed wings ache when I fly Yet I continue Something beyond the dense haze constantly lures me I bleed quite often But I can’t settle feeling small for the sake of luxury I shall soar For my limits are limitless I don’t mind my stings nor the broken wings! This is extremely motivational, don’t get swayed by the title, it has tremendous power within? Read it to realize it!

Find Inspiration

Find strong inspiration through real life weight loss success stories from others. By reading other people’s success stories you will learn where each one came from and what they did to lose the weight. You will be able to relate with them and really understand their road to success. Uplifting success stories will motivate and inspire you to stay on track and keep going to reach your weight loss goals.

Have a Detailed Exercise Plan

You would never build a house without a site plan, would you? You would never just pick up a hammer, some nails and start pounding away hoping your dream home will be built perfectly. Just like building a house, when you build your body up, you need a plan to adhere to and follow. Don’t just wander in and pick out the first five exercises you see. Have a detailed plan of action and know which body part you will be training, which exercises you will use and a specific repetition and set range you will implement. When you have a good exercise plan, you will know exactly what you need to do and your training session will have a smooth flow with no wasted time looking for exercises to perform.

Keep an Exercise Journal.

Always make sure to keep a detailed training journal. By keeping a journal of your training sessions, you will have a detailed log of your every exercise you perform along with reps, sets and how much weight you lifted. It’s also great to document how you felt before, during and after your training session along with any food/supplements you took before and after you trained. By keeping an exercise journal, you will have access to a wealth of information and be able to detect specific areas in your current training routine which can be changed or improved upon.

Have a Late Night Protein Snack

Your insulin levels are very sensitive at night and it will be much easier to store extra fat if you consume sugars later in the day. Stick with the lean protein and non-starchy carb. A great meal would be a grilled chicken breast salad with romaine lettuce, sliced cucumbers and a little balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You could also opt for a nice chicken breast/veggie stir fry. Throw some broccoli, mushrooms and chicken into a stir fry pan with a touch of soy sauce. This makes a great meal for later in the day!

Watch Out for Fat-free Foods

Fat-free foods can be very deceiving. Many of the fat free foods on the market make up for the fat levels by loading their foods with tons of sugar. Make sure you read the food labels and check the calories, sugar content and list of ingredients. You will likely find a very large amount of sugar which will wreak havoc on your insulin levels making it harder for you to lose body fat. The overall calories in these foods are usually also very high.

Try different forms of exercise

If you have always used free weights, then switch it up and try training with machines like “Hammer Strength” or “Nautilus”. These are excellent weight resistance machines and they will really work your muscles from different angles and different intensities. You should always strive to find new and exciting ways to workout your body. Try doing all body-weight movements, which are a really great way to build quality strength. The military uses mainly body-weight movements during their training. These include pushups, sit-ups and pull-ups. These three main body-weight movements will really give you a great overall body workout!

Choose Single Serving Snacks

Single serving snack can be very helpful to monitor your portion sizes and help you on your weight loss plan. Psychologically, this can go a long way toward preventing you from overeating. This is extremely important with junk foods like potato chips. If you have a craving for chips and need to have a few, pick up a single serving bag and enjoy. Whatever you do, don’t buy the regular size bag because you will just be tempting yourself to binge and your stomach usually wins out.

Lose the Yolks

Try removing the yolks (yellow) from the white when you-re eating eggs. The yolk is extremely high in cholesterol, containing more than two-thirds of the recommended daily limit of 300 mg! Egg whites are very low in calories, have no fat, no cholesterol, and are loaded with muscle building protein. One egg white contains only 17 calories compared to a whopping 59 calories for one egg yolk! There are a few easy ways to cut out the egg yolks. The first is to boil your eggs and simply remove the yellow half inside the egg. If you’re making an omelet, crack the egg over a bowl and slowly pour the egg yolk back and forth between the egg shells. The egg white will pour down into the bowl while leaving the egg yolk (yellow) in the shells. There are also some great egg products on the market that aid in reducing unhealthy cholesterol levels and are very convenient. Egg Beaters is a wonderful egg substitute product to use. Egg Beaters are made from real eggs, but only the whites. The

Control Your Insulin Levels

A great tool for weight loss is to learn how to control your insulin levels. Insulin lowers blood sugar by helping move sugar from your bloodstream into your cells. One great way to control your insulin levels is to eat foods which are low on the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. Carbohydrates that breakdown quickly during digestion have the highest glycemic indexes. The blood glucose response is fast and high. Carbohydrates that break down slowly, releasing glucose gradually into the blood stream, have low glycemic indexes. One of the best ways to lower the overall level of the glycemic index in your meals is to include a lean protein source, healthy mono-unsaturated fat (olive oil) and a fibrous vegetable source along with the starchy food. A great sample meal including all these aspects would include 8 ounces of chicken breast, 1 plain sweet potato and 2 cups of steamed broccoli wit

Try Different Forms of Exercise

If you have always used free weights, then switch it up and try training with machines like “Hammer Strength” or “Nautilus”. These are excellent weight resistance machines and they will really work your muscles from different angles and different intensities. You should always strive to find new and exciting ways to workout your body. Try doing all body-weight movements, which are a really great way to build quality strength. The military uses mainly body-weight movements during their training. These include pushups, sit-ups and pull-ups. These three main body-weight movements will really give you a great overall body workout!

Don’t be a binger

Binge eating (also called compulsive overeating) is different from normal appetite increases or overeating now and then. With binge eating, you feel out of control and powerless to stop eating while you’re doing it. With binge eating, you may feel a very strong compulsion to overeat. Regular binge eating may lead to low energy, low self-esteem and depression. If you think you may have a binge eating disorder, it’s very important to seek the help from a psychologist or therapist who can help you understand the connections between emotions, thoughts, and eating behaviors. These professionals can also help you learn healthy ways to respond to stress and deal with compulsions.

Watch those Nuts

Nuts are a nutrition superstar, but not for the individual who wants to succeed on a weight loss plan. Nuts are packed with protein and the good kind of fat (monounsaturated), as well as a hard to get nutrient, vitamin E. Unfortunately, nuts are a real calorie killer. A cup of nuts have a whopping 800-900 calories, while a cup of popcorn has only 50 calories, and a cup of raw vegetables has only 25 calories! Nuts are definitely a healthy addition to the diet, but make sure to keep your portions very small!

Commit to Cardio

The first step to making your commitment to cardio is to find what you enjoy. There are so many options to choose from – running, cycling, cardio machines in the gym, and group fitness classes, just to name a few. If you get bored easily, change it up frequently. Find a friend who likes the same type of workout and use the buddy system. If you pick an activity you enjoy, it will be much easier to stick with it. Make your cardio workout a priority. Quit scheduling your workouts around everything else you have to do, and instead schedule everything else around your workout. Write it in your planner if you need to, but don’t let anything interfere. If you make it important in your daily routine, then you will find ways to work in everything else you need to do.

Visualize for Success

The human brain is one of the most incredible creations on earth and it’s been gifted with the wonderful ability to imagine. Visualization has much to do with our success in setting goals. When you set goals for yourself, the key to achieving them is to visualize yourself accomplishing them. Visualizing success is important for two reasons. First, the mind thinks in terms of pictures. Second, the subconscious mind drives much of our behavior. The subconscious does not know the difference between something that is real and something that is vividly imagined, so whatever picture you consistently think about will drive you to create that exact reality. A great visualization technique is to spend 10 minutes every night while lying in bed with your eyes closed and visualize in detail how you want your body to look. Start from the ground up and focus your visualization on how you want your legs to look, and then move up to your hips and thighs. Focus attention on your midsection, then

Moderation is the Key

Moderation is one of the keys to successful weight loss. Weight loss maintenance is about finding a healthy eating pattern that you can follow for a lifetime. When you’re following your nutritional plan and want to eat something which is not healthy but you have been craving it for a while, practice moderation and enjoy your favorite food. If you enjoy cheesecake, have a small piece and eat it slowly so you can truly enjoy each bite. This practice of eating in moderation will teach yourself to avoid out of control binging episodes and you will gain control over food.

Escape Emotional Eating

Emotional eating is a serious issue when it comes to following a weight loss plan. You need to honestly ask yourself if you use food to deal with feelings of anger, frustration, fear, stress, loneliness, conflict, depression or disappointment. Many people find comfort with their favorite foods and consume large amounts in response to feeling instead of hunger. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by feelings. This means that most of us are guilty of using food to cope with emotions. The best way to deal with emotional eating issues is to keep a food journal. Write down everything you eat and how you feel during each meal. By documenting your food, thoughts and emotions, you will gather extremely helpful information to assist you in resolving these issues. You may also need to consult with a doctor for physical exam to assess whether there is a hormonal or physiological basis for your compulsive and emotional eating patterns.

Watch out for low-carb diets

Many people really like low-carb diets but there are a few major issues with going low-carb. A major concern is the effect it has on your most metabolic active tissue in your body, muscle tissue. Without carbohydrates to fuel your body through intense strength training session, your body will simply not have the energy to perform optimally. This means you will not build the maximum amount of muscle tissue as possible which has a major impact on burning additional calories every day. Another issue is post-workout when your muscles are screaming to be replenished with glycogen. Without providing glycogen to your muscles, you will enter a state of catabolism which means you will be breaking muscle tissue down! This is the last thing you want when trying to lose weight. Another big issue with low-carb diets is the limitation of the food. How many times have you heard people talk about starting a low carb diet for a few weeks and becoming tired eating the same thing day after day? They even