shed fat

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Shed fat and show off your chiseled physique this summer with the help of this easy-to-follow diet

As summer approaches most of us begin to think about what we're going to look like out on the beach with our shirts off.

If you're looking to shed a few pounds and carve out a washboard stomach then the easy-to-follow plan detailed here is exactly what you need to get on the fast track to success.

The plan includes five easy-to-follow diet strategies that will help you shed those extra pounds in no time at all.

1.) Eat more frequently throughout the day. Ideally, you want to eat four to six meals every day. This can include your three main meals plus two or three snacks.

By eating more frequently you increase your metabolic rate and burn more calories throughout the day.

2.) Try to have a good source of protein at every meal or snack. Eating protein has a greater thermogenic (calorie-burning) effect than eating carbohydrates or fat.

Therefore, by eating more protein you can give your metabolic rate a significant boost. Some good sources of protein include chicken breast, beef, salmon, cottage cheese, yogurt, and whey protein powder.

3.) Eat vegetables with at least three of your meals each day. Veggies are not calorie dense, but do contain a lot of important vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Veggies will fill you up and help stop you from overindulging on the "bad" foods.

4.) Have some 'healthy' essential fats with each meal. Yes, I'm recommending you eat fat to burn fat. It's true — certain fats can actually help enhance fat loss.

More specifically it's polyunsaturated (which are essential fatty acids) and monounsaturated fats that have a host of health benefits and can also support fat loss.

Some excellent sources of polyunsaturated fats include fish, flexseeds, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts. Almonds, pecans, olive oil, and avocados are great sources of monounsaturated fats.

5.) Drink lots of water! Just like food, water can also have a thermogenic (calorie-burning) effect on the body.

Drinking cold water has actually been shown to significantly increase metabolism. Simply put, a more hydrated body is more metabolically active.

People with goals succeed because they know where they are going.

Earl Nightingale

post workout meal

In the end, it is important to remember that we cannot become what we need to be by remaining who we are.

Max DePree

Post Workout Meal Nutrition – What To Eat After A Workout

The post workout meal (the meal you eat after a workout) is probably the most important meal of the day for anyone who cares about nutrition or wants to build muscle, lose fat or improve their body.
Well, the truth is that once you understand what your body needs (and doesn’t need) after your workout, how much is needed, and what the best sources are to get this nutrition from, the post workout meal will probably become the simplest meal of your day.

What You Should & Should NOT Eat After a Workout

Simply put, aside from water (which you should already know you need), your post workout meal needs to contain 2 things, and it needs to not contain 1.
You should be eating protein and simple carbs. You should NOT be eating fat, (slows down digestion).

How Long After My Workout Should I Eat My Post Workout Meal?

Typically you’d want to try to get this meal into your body within 30 minutes after finishing your workout.
I personally have my post workout meal immediately after my workout.

Post Workout Protein

What Protein Source Is Best?

Ideal source of protein to eat after your workout is isolate whey protein powder. Just mix it with some type of liquid (most often water) and you got yourself a drinkable source of protein.
A whey protein shake will be digested by your body much quicker than a solid food for two reasons:

1. Liquid meals digest faster than solid food meals.
2. Whey protein is the fastest digesting form of protein there is.

This is what makes whey protein pretty much the official choice of most people as their post workout meal protein source.

How Much Protein Should I Eat After A Workout?

As for how much, try to consume between 0.15-0.25 grams of protein per pound of your body weight (so a 175lb person would shoot for between 26-43 grams at this time). People who are VERY overweight should use their target body weight instead of their current body weight when doing this calculation.

Post Workout Carbs

After protein, the next equally important part of your post workout meal is carbs, and they are an extremely essential part of your after-workout nutrition and play a key role in your post workout recovery.
Carbs will be used by your body to restore muscle glycogen that was depleted while you worked out. If your post workout meal doesn’t contain carbs, your body may actually instead break down muscle tissue for this same purpose (which would suck). Carbs also create an insulin spike which helps to move nutrients into your muscle tissue quicker.
simple/high glycemic carbs digest faster than complex/lower glycemic carbs. Which means foods like white potatoes or white rice are all good choices for a carb source after a workout. However, just like protein, solid foods in general may not really be the absolute BEST choice at this time. And that’s where a little something called dextrose (or fruit juice) comes in. Dextrose is not a supplement… it’s actually just a type of sugar often used in sports drinks.

How Many Carbs Should I Eat After A Workout?

Most people should look to consume somewhere between 0.25-0.4 grams of carbs per pound of their body weight from dextrose (a 175lb person would shoot for between 40-70 grams). And once again, people who are VERY overweight should use their target body weight instead of their current body weight when doing this calculation.

Post Workout Meal

Put whey protein powder and dextrose (or fruit juice) and you can add supplements such as L-Glutamine, BCAA and Creatine in a bottle of water and shake it up.

If that is too complicated, compared to plain milk, water, or most sports drinks, I recommend many clients to drink chocolate milk as a

recovery drink; it has double the carbohydrate and protein content, perfect for replenishing tired muscles.

Its high water content replaces fluids lost as sweat, preventing dehydration. Plus it packs a nutritional bonus of calcium,

and includes just a little sodium and sugar -- additives that help recovering athletes retain water and regain energy. 

Deep within each person is an intense desire to feel strong, effective, powerful and in control of his or her life. You automatically trigger these feelings of self-confidence and self-esteem when you start to work on the task that is most important to you at the moment.
Brian Tracy

cardio or strength training first

If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it.
Mary Engelbreit
When I first started working out, I had this question in my mind – Should I do cardiovascular exercise before or after my resistance training?

Some said I should do it before the weight lifting because it helps to warm up my body. Another school of thought believes that, in order to lift heavier weight, I should conserve the energy and therefore, cardiovascular exercise should only be done after that.

Based on my experience, I believe the best choice would be to do your cardio workouts on a separate day from your resistance training workouts, or split your workouts to morning and afternoon. With this option, you can maximize the training of both types of workouts as you will be fresh for both of them. Any time you do one followed by the other, the second one will suffer at least a little (although you may gradually improve your overall endurance this way). If that’s not possible, then it comes down to a question of priorities and goals–for that day.

If your goal is to build muscle mass and strength, you'd probably want to do your weight training first. Weight training utilizes muscle glycogen as its preferred energy source, so if you perform your cardio training after your resistance training, you will tap into your fat stores more readily. However, to increase strength, you want your body to shift into "repair and rebuild" (anabolic) mode as soon as possible after your strength workout, and the best way to make that happen is to eat (simple carbs and protein) as soon as possible (which is being delayed by the cardio). Therefore, a light cardio workout before lifting could be an option too. Don’t try to do a strenuous strength workout after you’ve already tired yourself out with cardio. Your weight training will suffer, and remember; weight training helps build lean muscle mass, which ultimately increases metabolic rate, which will give your body the ability to burn more calories around the clock!

Hence, if your goal is to gain cardiovascular endurance, you'd want to do your cardio workout first.

Here is an order I’d recommend for muscle hypertrophy (growth).

I’d suggest:
FIRST: A warm-up of some kind the first 5 minutes
SECOND: Strength training
THIRD: Cardio
LAST: Stretching

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Chinese Proverb

breakfast

Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.

Harold S. Geneen

By the time I eat breakfast, I had already;

·         Several glasses of water (essential for your metabolism, regulating body temperature, blood circulation - remember body exist out of 70-75% water)

·         Pre-workout snack approx 45 minutes prior to my workout (isolate protein shake, banana and spoon of peanut butter with omega 3 - to stop the cortisol hormone)

·         During the workout; I sip on water mixed with BCAA and some protein (help restore the body)

·         Post workout drink; simple carbs, isolate protein, essential amino, glutamine, creatine etc.

All meals (3 meals and 3 snacks) are important, but the most important is breakfast. It is essential to start your metabolism, but also for a healthy mindset, to start and continue the day in a healthy manner.

Following is an example of my breakfast;

·         I have a whey isolate shake (Whey isolate is being absorbed quickly in the body) with V8 (since I am not a vegetable lover) and blueberries (as an antioxidant).

·         6 egg white omelet (a more slowly digesting protein) served on a small plate (so visually it looks bigger and it tricks the brain quicker your are full)

·         1 cup of oatmeal (complex carb - made with water) with cinnamon powder sprinkled on top (Many studies have shown positive effects of cinnamon — on blood sugar, insulin response, and even cholesterol).

·         A few almonds (good fats)

After breakfast I have some green tea (that will help give energy and help increase the metabolism). However during my meal I don’t drink. I will drink constantly water during the day.

Concentrate all of your thoughts on the task at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.
Alexander Graham Bell

Is It Time to Eat?

Your past is important because it brought you to where you are, but as important as your past is, it is not nearly as important as the way you see your future.

Dr. Tony Campolo

Is It Time to Eat?

Eating regularly tames wild cravings.

By eating smaller meals on a regular schedule, you'll help your body work comfortably on fewer calories, and stay in an energy–burning (i.e., fat-burning) mode. This will help you feel more energetic, and keep your blood sugar stable, which will reduce carb cravings before your next meal.
Now let's say you need even more help controlling your cravings for the wrong stuff. What do you do?

Start your day with the right stuff.

Chances are you don't eat in your sleep. So when you wake up, your cells are ready to absorb essential nutrients, and in particular protein.
Starting your day with eggs, nonfat cottage cheese, a healthy protein shake (isolate absorbs quickly) can help you get a healthy serving of the protein and nutrients you need.
A good rule of thumb for the timing of this meal is within an hour of waking up. If that's not possible, have a meal or snack as early as possible to get your metabolism revving.
So what about the rest of your day?

Lift weights, then lift plates.

Another smart time to eat is about 30 to 45 minutes after a workout. At this time, the enzymes responsible for energy production are in high gear and the energy-storing hormones within our blood are suppressed.
This means less energy will be stored as fat. Carbs will be immediately taken up to replenish the low glycogen stores caused by exercising. Protein will be used for the recovery and growth of new calorie-burning muscle tissue. And the best news is, your body will burn most of the nutrients from the meal to fuel these reactions. That's why eating after a workout is a good idea.
Having protein (casein absorbs slowly) late in the evening, for perhaps your last meal or snack, will also provide your body with the protein it will use overnight to revitalize your muscle and antibodies.
Of course, remember portion size. If you're not sure how much that might be, use the palm of your hand as a guideline.
Like most things in life, timing is everything. So when you're trying to drop pounds, don't just think about what you eat—think about when.
Next “mervmail” I will be discussing my breakfast as an example of a healthy start!
The key to release, rest, and inner freedom is not the elimination of all external difficulties. It is letting go of our pattern of reactions to those difficulties.

Hugh Prather

Your New Reality

It is your right to be happy. This is what you were made for. And if you will not resist, happiness will find a way to pour from your heart and fill your days.

Hugh Prather

Your New Reality

Is it possible to create a new personal reality? So-called unscripted television shows say you can - "The Biggest Loser" being one of the more popular of these tell-all and show-all programs. But most of us realize that these shows don't closely represent reality as we experience it. What causes us to tune in anyway? The answer is that even though reality shows may be scripted or controlled in some ways, they do contain an element of reality regarding the actual problems of the participants/contestants. We empathize with their struggles, and hope to discern some new knowledge that may help us overcome our own hurdles. But can a real person, in real life, make long-lasting changes in lifestyle, health, and wellness?

The provisional answer is yes. A real person can lose significant weight and keep it off. A real person can become physically fit, even though he/she hasn't exercised for 20 years, or ever. A real person can create a nutritional food plan that covers all the basics and also tastes great. A real person can sleep seven or eight hours a night, most nights, and have the ongoing experience of feeling well-rested. A real person can enjoy meaningful and fulfilling relationships with family and friends. In short, a real person can design and have a real life, even though from today's perspective such a rewarding life might seem an impossibly unattainable goal.

Your new reality is possible, but it doesn't come for free. If no effort were involved, every person in the developed world would be living happy, creative, self-fulfilled lives right now. You can see that is not the case when you look around at your workplace, the local market, or the shopping mall. How many people appear to be happy and engaged? How many appear anxious or stressed? Many times, anxiety and stress far outweigh happiness and enjoyment. For many, our default way of being seems to include worry, disorganization, disorder, and breakdown. These conditions lead to anxiety, which leads to stress, which leads to more worry and anxiety. When they form, these negative habits of thinking and action are habitually ineffective; they continue to be negative influences on our lives until we abolish them. In terms of health and well-being, our negative habits lead to the opposite conditions - we aren't healthy and we don't feel good about ourselves.

Why do human lives often seem to fall apart so easily? The missing secret ingredients include intention, planning, and effort. And not only the effort required to keep the whole thing operational. Extra effort is called for to really make a difference. Extra effort that we take on our own behalf. In order for us to create a new personal reality, extra effort will be required. Weeks, months, and years of extra effort. This sounds like a lot. It is. The good news is that the payoff can be huge. The real payoff is the person you become as part of this process of renewal. You become your authentic self.

To change one's life:
1. Start immediately.
2. Do it flamboyantly.
3. No exceptions.

William James

strength training systems and methods

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein

   

There are all types of strength training systems and methods. My clients will tell you all the different ways I train them – and they are all correct methods. How to choose the system or program that's right for you? The bottom line is "what works for you, works for you". The method you decide to chose might also depends on how many times a week you plan to train.

Your friend may be using a strength training system that he/she loves and highly recommends as "the way to train". He/She may be getting tremendous benefit from the program. That doesn't mean the same program will work for you in the same way. There are no strict rules about routines, sets, and reps. A system that is working for one person may not be as effective for another.

Also, at some point you may no longer get good results from a set of routines that had been producing good results. When your body gets used to a particular routine it's time to move on, time to change things around.

So, how do you determine what's a good routine for you? First, let's look at what you want to accomplish each week. In a week's worth of strength training, how many days will you train and you want to exercise each major muscle group at least once.

Personally, I train 5-6 times a week (of which all are strength training and additionally 3 times cardio – HIIT (high intensity interval training for only 20 minutes each).

Here are the major muscle groups -

• Chest [pectorals]
• Back [latissimus major]
• Shoulders [deltoids]
• Arms
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Legs
• Quadriceps [front of the thigh]
• Hamstrings [back of the thigh]
• Gluteus [your buttocks]
• Calves [gastrocnemium/soleus]
• Abdominals

Some routines train every muscle group in the same session (full body movement). I personally do a split routine that breaks up the muscle groups by day. My split routines looks as following (it may changes over a period of time);

Saturday: Chest and biceps

Sunday: HIIT and back and triceps

Monday: Legs

Tuesday: HIIT and abs

Wednesday: Shoulders and traps

Thursday: HIIT, calves and abs

Friday: rest

Basically I do 4 sets of each exercise (with proper warm up), and the amount of reps per set varies (more important than reps is to challenge your muscles). Also the rest period between sets I try to control, and won’t have rest periods more than 2 minutes (but try to keep it between 60-90 seconds between sets). Also each workout varies slightly from the previous week’s workout – so my body keeps guessing what it has to do! Furthermore, I try to keep my strength training up to an hour (if nobody distracts me with small talk :-)

Last but not least, I stretch at the end of each workout session.

There are many different split routines possible, and it all depends on your personal preference and frequency of training days. Personally, I found that training Chest and Triceps on the same day and Back and Biceps on the same day - created too much fatigue in my smaller muscle groups and led to a lot of tendon and joint injuries. The smaller muscle group gets fatigued by training the bigger group on the same day. I switched my splits to chest/ biceps and back/triceps on the same day together. Those nagging problems went away after a few months.

Strength training for your wellbeing is of huge importance and I encourage to strength train at least 3 times a week and possibly cardio(respiratory) training a minimum of at least 3 times a week as well (preferably 5-6times). However, I wanted to finish this week’s “mervmail” emphasizing the overwhelming importance of a well balanced nutritional plan as well!

The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself…Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, and humility.

Nelson Mandela

breathing techniques

NEVER LET THE FEAR OF STRIKING OUT GET IN YOUR WAY

Babe Ruth

BREATHING TECHNIQUE

PROPER BREATHING.

While breathing is a function most people take for granted, rarely is it practiced in a proper fashion. Before beginning any technique it is essential that you learn how to breath properly and fully:

·  Lie down on a rug or blanket on the floor with your legs straight and slightly apart, your toes pointed comfortably outwards, arms at your sides not touching your body, your palms up, and your eyes closed. This is called a "relaxed body" position. Take time to relax your body and breathe freely.

·  It is best to breathe through your nose, as the tiny hairs and mucous membranes filter out dust and toxins from the inhaled air. Keep your mouth closed as you breathe.

·  As you breathe, your chest and abdomen should move together. If only the chest seems to rise and fall, your breathing is shallow and you are not making good use of the lower part of your lungs. As you inhale you should feel your abdomen rising; it is as if your stomach is filling with air. As you exhale, the abdomen comes back in, like a balloon releasing all of its air. This inhale and exhale process should continue comfortably and smoothly. The chest and abdomen should rise as you inhale and fall as you exhale. The chest should move only slightly.

DEEP, RELAXED BREATHING.

Although this exercise can be practiced in a variety of poses, the following is recommended for beginners:

·  Lie down on a blanket or rug on the floor. Bend your knees and move your feet about eight inches apart, with your toes turned outward slightly. Make sure your spine is straight.

·  Place one hand on your abdomen and one hand on your chest.

·  Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose into your abdomen to push up your hand as much as feels comfortable. Your chest should move only a little and only with your abdomen.

·  Continue step three until it becomes rhythmic and comfortable. Now smile slightly, inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth, making a quiet, breezy sound as you gently blow out. Your mouth, tongue and jaw will be relaxed. Take long, slow, deep breaths raising and lowering your abdomen. Hear the sound and feel the texture of breathing as you become more and more relaxed.

·  When you first begin this technique, do it for five minutes. When you become more comfortable with it, you may extend it up to 20 minutes.

·  Upon ending a session, stay still for a few minutes and try to keep the entire body relaxed.

·  The purpose of this technique is to develop a good, relaxing breathing method. It may be practiced anytime, especially during stressful situations.

The above technique can and should be practiced everyday. Being a natural preventive measure for reducing anger, anxiety, depression, fatigue, irritability, muscular tension and stress, there are very few side effects. It will take some time before you observe any profound changes within your body and mind taking place, but practice diligently and patiently. You will eventually realize that you have more energy and are much more relaxed.

It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.

Vince Lombardi

breathing

NOTHING IS DIFFICULT TO THOSE WHO HAVE THE WILL

Dutch Poet’s Society

Breathing: A Deeply Overlooked Matter

The Significance of Each Breath
Breathing is probably much more involved than you may realize. We take about 20,000 breaths each day and use up to nearly 20 different muscles during each one. The manner in which these muscles are used can restrict oxygen intake, and as a result, cause cell malfunction and possibly lead to disease.
Diaphragm Breathing
The diaphragm is a sheet of muscle located at the base of the rib cage that plays a significant role in proper breathing technique. When contracted, it expands the thoracic cavity, creates negative pressure to draw air into the lungs, and provides the additional space needed for the lungs to expand for a full breath of air. If this function is compromised or underutilized, the effective capacity of the lungs will decrease and less oxygen will be taken in.
Chest Breathing
With or without the use of the diaphragm, chest expansion is another form of breathing that will draw air into the lungs. However, from an evolutionary perspective, this capability is intended only for situations that require additional oxygen consumption, such as strenuous physical activity.
Due to the influences of modern society, many people fall into the habit of taking quick shallow breaths through the chest rather than slow deep breaths through the diaphragm.
Causes of Poor Breathing Technique
As part of the “fight or flight” stress response, any type of stressful stimulus will promote chest expansion to help us inhale the additional oxygen the body thinks it needs to flee from danger. Because the body doesn’t differentiate life threatening danger from the common stresses of modern fast paced living, simple forms of daily stress can provoke a long term habit of breathing through the chest instead of the diaphragm.
Furthermore, many of us spend most of the day sitting. This promotes a hunched posture that restricts the diaphragm from functioning properly and further encourages chest expansion. As a result, the small accessory muscles associated with chest expansion become become tight and promote forward head posture. In turn, this worsens the hunched posture that was already restricting diaphragm function. The resulting downward spiral of improper breathing and poor posture can lead to painful muscle and joint problems in addition to the oxygen deprivation.
Practice Proper Breathing
Because breathing is such a vital requirement for life, and because it’s so easy to do, there’s no excuse to not practice and reinforce proper technique.
Assessing proper breathing technique is very easy to do. Simply lie on your back with a light object rested on your stomach. With proper diaphragm function, the object should rise as you inhale and lower as you exhale. You should also be able to take in a full breath without expanding your chest.
This test can also be done on a regular basis as an exercise to reinforce proper diaphragmatic breathing. Once you’re comfortable with it, you can do the exercise anywhere without having to lie down and without resting an object on your stomach.
Double Your Time With Stress Relief
Deep breathing is an excellent way to relieve it. Since we all have stress, breathing exercises are something we can all benefit from. By focusing on proper use of the diaphragm during these breathing exercises, you’ll be making two significant contributions to your health at the same time. Furthermore, your focus on breathing technique will distract you from your worries and will make it even easier to dissipate your stress.

OF COURSE IT’S HARD. IT’S SUPPOSE TO BE HARD. IF IT WERE EASY, EVERYBODY WOULD DO IT. HARD IS WHAT MAKES IT GREAT!

A league of their own