· No matter what happens, no matter how far you seem to be away from where you want to be, never stop believing that you will somehow make it. Have an unrelenting belief that things will work out, that the long road has a purpose, that the things that you desire may not happen today, but they will happen. Continue to persist and persevere.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Take control
· Take control of your life, accept the consequences of your actions, stop making excuses, and accept that it really, REALLY is up to YOU to change things if you want them to better. No one else, just you.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
habits
We are all creatures of habit and if you make good habits, good habits will make you. This wisdom has been around since ancient times. Aristotle once said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
The subconscious mind — the habitual mind — is over one million times more powerful than the conscious mind. This means that we spend a substantial amount of our lifetime on "autopilot," playing out the mental programs that govern our behavior.
For example, while driving a car and carrying on a conversation with someone, the conscious mind is attending to what is being said in the moment while the subconscious mind is turning on the turn signal, hitting the brakes, attending to oncoming traffic, monitoring our blood sugar, regulating our breathing, planning our next move and on and on. The subconscious mind is so vast and so powerful that we do not even know what it is thinking or capable of. It truly runs our lives — whether we know it or not!
Habits begin and manifest deep in the mind and they can be friends or foes. Good habits can make our lives easier, helping us to do the more mundane things of life without thinking about them, like automatically depositing your paycheck.
But, as all of us know all too well, habits can also be destructive ... to our health, to our finances, to our relationships. It's why we struggle with losing weight, paying off our credit cards or quitting smoking ... to name a few "bad habits."
Whether they are a positive force in our lives or obstacles to the goals we want to achieve, habits become ingrained through repeated actions.
Here is a little test to display the power of our habits. Cross your arms as you normally would, and look down to see which one is on top. About half of you will have your right arm on top and the other half will have their left on top. When you crossed your arms for the very first time, you might have been still in your playpen, and you have been crossing your arms the same way ever since. Now, cross your arms again, but this time put the opposite arm on top. It feels extremely weird! If you were to challenge yourself to cross your arms the "wrong" way for the rest of your life, could you do it? Probably. Would it be difficult? You bet it would!
Here's the point: Habits — good, bad, or neutral — are difficult to break ... they Die Hard!
The real key to success is replacing destructive habits with successful habits.
To win — to break self-defeating attitudes and behaviors — we must understand that we have the power to choose and the power to change.
We have the power to let go of old thinking and adopt the mindset of a champion.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Vision
The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you can do it! As long as you really believe 100 percent.
By Arnold Schwarzenegger
Thursday, March 22, 2012
paint success
"When you paint success pictures in your mind, you initiate an inner process whereby your attitudes, hopes, aspirations, and enthusiasm are elevated in response to an image of a more promising future. Every person who aspires must first sell themselves hope, the promise of a better life."
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
creating yourself
I'm sure you've heard it before, but I couldn't agree more; Life is merely a series of choices. Where you are right now can all be linked back to every choice that you've made in your life to date.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
hard work and patience
The key is working WITH your body, rather than AGAINST it. You get out what you put into though, so taking it easy is a waste of time. Patience is a must when it comes to this lifestyle we live. Many will give up due to the amount of hard work and patience the desired results require. No one said this would be easy, just know that nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment.
Monday, March 19, 2012
behavior
· Chip away at good behaviors. Not everything is going to change overnight…but if you’re a little better today, and a little better tomorrow, then you’ll be a whole lot better next month. I just want you to focus on being a little bit better than yesterday. Now do that EVERY day for the rest of the year!
Sunday Plan
Good Sunday Morning Everybody!
I am looking forward to my cheat-meal today : )
Also, Sunday is a great day to make some meal preparations for the week ahead.
I typically prepare vegetable (broccoli or asparagus) and
sweet potato (good complex carb) each Sunday.
Being prepared has really helped me in staying focused and strong.
"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." ;)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
THREE TIPS TO GET LEAN
THREE IN DEPTH TIPS TO GET LEAN!!!!
Everyone wants to lose fat, but most people mistakenly indicate “weight loss” as their goal.
As I will explain, this is not necessarily the same thing.
Reducing body fat and improving one’s body composition is a common goal for both serious athletes and the general fitness enthusiasts. With such a strong interest in “battling the bulge”, fat loss has become a huge industry, with new fad diets, weight loss plans, abdominal toning products, and fat burning supplements popping up on the market every day!
Unfortunately, despite all of the attention directed at this subject, obesity is still on the rise. The purpose of this article is to outline some basic and effective principles for attaining permanent “fat loss” and a transformation of your physical appearance.
We are inundated with so many different diet and exercise programs and there are so many weight loss myths floating around that it becomes difficult to know what to believe. Let me assure you that proper nutrition and exercise (along with certain lifestyle changes) are STILL the solution to losing fat permanently and getting that lean, cut-looking physique. The following 3 Fat Loss Tips will help you achieve your “Fat Loss” goals.
Tip One; Don’t starve yourself;
Cutting too many calories, pushes the body to conserve calories rather than burn them. It also forces your body to break down muscle tissue to fuel its vital operations. But muscle tissue is the key to your metabolism (the speed at which you burn calories).
When you go on an extremely low calorie diet, your body goes into starvation mode. This leads to several negatives consequences, including fewer fat-burning enzymes in your body, lower levels of fat burning hormones, muscle wasting, greater appetite, and low energy. The bottom line is that it’s physiologically impossible to achieve permanent fat loss on a “starvation” type diet.
In the short term very low calorie programs may get you some results, but in the long run they can actually make you fatter. You will almost certainly regain additional body fat once your diet ends! Don’t trust a diet plan that recommends the same calories for everyone. If you are more active you will need more energy.
Tip Two; Increase calorie deficit by exercising;
This ties in nicely with the first principle. The key to long term fat loss is to focus on burning the fat, not starving the fat. To metabolize more body fat while only cutting calories slightly below maintenance, you will need to burn more calories by increasing your activity level. I know it sounds obvious, but you would be surprised by how many people look for ways around this, and search for quick fixes in order to avoid putting the extra effort into getting results!
Resistance training
cardiovascular, resistance training will not only metabolize body fat during your workout, but it will stimulate your body to continue eating up your fat stores after exercise as well. This is sometimes referred to as the double-reducing effect, or “after-burn”. This effect is caused by raising your basal metabolic rate: essentially, weight training boosts your metabolism!
Muscle Equals Metabolism
Not only will strength training get you “Jacked”, but the more lean tissue you have on your body, and the more active your muscle tissue becomes, the higher your metabolism is. This is why I say it’s a mistake to focus on losing weight, rather than reducing body fat. Muscle weighs much more than fat, but because it is also much denser it takes up less space on your body. So think about “reshaping” your body, rather than shrinking it. This will leave you cut AND jacked, rather than just skinny and soft.
Circuit Training
Circuit training involves a single set of each exercise one after another, with minimal rest between sets. An effective way to increase your metabolism in a circuit training workout is to perform a series of exercises alternating between lower body, upper body, and core movements. This can be accomplished using minimal equipment, or by performing bodyweight exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups, dips, and abdominal exercise variations.
Interval Training
Interval training involves alternating periods of low intensity cardiovascular activity with higher intensity sprint intervals. This not only burns more calories in a shorter amount of time, but it will help to stimulate and preserve your hard-earned lean muscle tissue. An example of an interval training workout could be alternating periods of jogging for 4 minutes and running hard for 1 minute, repeating these intervals for a 20 minute workout.
Tip Three; Change your eating habits
Exercise alone won't make you leaner. You can still gain fat due to poor eating habits. Here are some important nutritional habits you can adopt to help you lose body fat while maintaining your lean muscle tissue:
Eat more Often
This may sound contrary to your objective, but by eating more frequently your metabolism is increased and your portion sizes will be smaller. Controlling portion size is absolutely essential to reducing your body fat. View it as throwing wood chips on the fire (your metabolism) all day long to keep the flames high, rather than smothering it with a log once a day. Try to eat 5 to 6 smaller healthy meals or snacks throughout the day. Eating every 3 hours will help regulate your blood sugar levels and keep your metabolism roaring.
Consume good fats
Fat is a misunderstood nutrient. Many people still believe that all fats are “bad”, and think that eating fat makes you fat. However, not all fats are created equal and consuming the right type of fat is not only essential for good health, but it will aid in the metabolism of even more body fat. The good fats are called essential fatty acids (EFA’s) and include the Omega 3, 6, and 9 oils. Foods containing these healthy fats include fish, nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil, among others. Flaxseed oil and fish oil are common sources and are popular in supplement form as well.
Stay Hydrated
Water is the most important nutrient, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. You need it to flush the waste products your body makes when it breaks down fat for energy, or when it processes protein. To stay well hydrated, let water and green tea be your main beverages. Fruit juices, sodas and other beverages contain calories and often have added sugar. Therefore, avoid juice, pop, and sports drinks and focus on drinking plain water and green tea instead. A good guideline for water intake is to drink one liter for every fifty pounds of your bodyweight per day.
Avoid refined starch and sugar
Sugar is the enemy if your goal is to lose fat! Sugar contains empty calories (minimal nutrient value), which provide a quick release of energy without actually feeding your body, and then a rapid energy slump soon afterwards. Sugar also interferes with fat loss, because your body will prefer to metabolize the sugar before getting into using fat stores. By including foods high in protein, fiber, and healthy fats you can control this rapid fluctuation in blood sugar. Foods rich in fiber help control blood glucose and insulin levels. Reduce consumption of most processed, low-fiber breads, cereals, breakfast bars, potatoes, and pasta.
Following these basic suggestions will help you lose body fat, increase your metabolism, and improve your health!
Friday, March 16, 2012
Hard work
IT'S HARD WORK! It doesn’t come in pill form, neither is there a quick fix solution. Motivation will only take you so far, you need to be committed. Most people would rather be LOOKING for something to do rather than DOING something. It’s an ongoing process and it has to become part of your life!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Take control
Take control of your health!
You want to leave as little to chance as possible.
Acknowledge that you will get something out of exercising.
Admit that you can eat a healthier variety of foods, including fresh fruit and vegetables.
You are going to begin doing the things that years of scientific research have shown to be related to long-term health and well-being!
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
lose weight in the kitchen
Stop worrying about your weight.
It’s a meaningless number.
Focus on your habits instead,
Like eating healthy and exercising!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
proper nutrition
Fit Tips;
Do NOT skip meals!
When you skip meals your metabolism slows down,
and you are not burning calories like you should.
Your body thinks that you are starving so when you eat again,
your body stores away more than usual resulting in more fat!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Eat more f.o.o.d.
Eat nature’s natural fat burners: Add cinnamon, grapefruit, and asparagus. Studies have shown these foods to have natural fat burning effects on the body. Cinnamon works by increasing the body’s sensitivity to insulin with 1g per day shown to be an effective dose.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
5 Recovery Secrets of Athletes
Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is.Vince Lombardi
5 Recovery Secrets of Athletes
When it comes to recovery strategies, athletes are a notoriously stubborn bunch, preferring to push forward with tough workouts day after day. While such a work ethic is admirable, it’s impossible to go all-out all the time. You won’t train as effectively and you’ll likely break down with injuries and ailments. On the other hand, if you can focus on having high-quality rest and regeneration, you’ll be able to get more return on investment from every minute of your workout.
Regeneration increases your energy, boosts your immune system, and helps you get the most out of each training session, which ultimately will improve your performance. Regeneration improves your hormone profile, decreases inflammation, and improves tissue quality, thus decreasing the number of overuse injuries you may experience. Here are five recovery secrets of endurance athletes:
1. Get More Sleep
Getting adequate sleep is the easiest way to boost endurance performance. It’s crucial to maximize deep, restorative sleep time, which happens in the first few hours of sleep each night. It’s important to make adequate sleep a regular part of your lifestyle.
2. Recover with Nutrition
Nutrition is one of the key part of recovery. Be sure to take advantage of that 30-minute post workout recovery period when your body is craving nutrients to replenish itself. It’s ideal to consume a shake, energy bar, piece of fruit, and/or sports drink immediately following a workout. Do this before anything else. The food or supplement you choose should provide about 0.8 gram of carbs per kilogram of body weight and 0.4 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight.
3. Re-Hydrate
It’s impossible to hydrate with water following a workout, and you should drink two cups for every pound lost during exercise. But you can jumpstart your recovery and optimize performance by staying hydrated throughout the day. Keep a water bottle with you all day. Drink ½ to 1 ounce of water per pound of body weight per day to stay hydrated. Keep an eye on your urine color. It should be clear. If not, drink more water.
4. Get a Massage
Ideally, we’d get professional massages immediately after a tough training session. Since that’s not usually practical or affordable, do some self-massage with a foam roll.
5. Stretch it Out
Active isolated stretching is a great way to recover post-workout. You can perform a series of moves that will reprogram your muscles to contract and relax through new ranges of motion.
Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Huxley
Friday, March 9, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
discover who you are
· We need discomfort and challenge in order to grow, improve, and change. Discomfort in the service of change isn’t just accidental. It’s necessary and normal. Without discomfort, we would stay the same forever. Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
it's up tp you!
If you see yourself in a favorable light, if your image of yourself is pleasant, if this visual concept of yourself cannot be shaken by temporary defeats, then you have reached the goal achieved by the most fortunate. Not everyone reaches this mental state; in fact, many people do not even believe it is possible. Happiness and peace of mind are a matter of consciousness. We must create the inner-harmony we desire. This type of awareness is not an accident, it comes from study and an understanding that we are truly creative.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
believe in yourself
Start giving your ideas and dreams a chance.
In life, it’s rarely about getting a chance; it’s about taking a chance. You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work. Most of the time you just have to go for it! And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should be. Either you succeed or you learn something. Win-Win.
In life, it’s rarely about getting a chance; it’s about taking a chance. You’ll never be 100% sure it will work, but you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work. Most of the time you just have to go for it! And no matter how it turns out, it always ends up just the way it should be. Either you succeed or you learn something. Win-Win.
Monday, March 5, 2012
wealth
· Start noticing how wealthy you are right now.
Henry David Thoreau once said, “Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” Even when times are tough, it’s always important to keep things in perspective. You didn’t go to sleep hungry last night. You didn’t go to sleep outside. You had a choice of what clothes to wear this morning. You hardly broke a sweat today. You didn’t spend a minute in fear. You have access to clean drinking water. You have access to medical care. You have access to the Internet. You can read. Some might say you are incredibly wealthy, so remember to be grateful for all the things you do have.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Depression-Proof Your Diet
Depression-Proof Your Diet
Fats are where it’s atConsider fats the stars of the show when it comes to regulating moods. Hydrogenated oils, better know as trans fat, have been under scrutiny for years because of their ability to increase LDL levels (bad cholesterol) and decrease HDL levels (good cholesterol). That’s barely half the story of these evil fats. In 2011, for the first time ever, researchers in Spain identified a link between trans fat and depression. Trans fat in the diet increased the risk of depression by almost 50 percent! Those who only ate “good fats” had a 35 percent reduction in mood disorders. For a quick refresher course in fats, my previous post, The Skinny on Fats can clear things up. In the meantime here are some brief guidelines:
- Nuts and seeds contain polyunsaturated fats that can halt unhappiness in its tracks. Try sprinkling sunflower seeds on your salad, chopped walnuts in your oatmeal or sesame seeds as a topping for any type of protein.
- Olive oil, a monounsaturated fat, contains polyphenols with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which basically act as an antidepressant in the body. Combine with flavored vinegar (Martin Pouret found at the Williams-Sonoma store makes delicious ones) and use for salad dressing instead of store bought brands. Lightly brush olive oil on fresh veggies, top with salt and pepper, and broil in the oven.
- The main purpose of trans fat is to extend the shelf life of a product. You will find it in most processed foods, packaged baked goods and fried foods. Think about what the appropriate shelf life of a food item should be before you buy it. If that muffin your about to eat can stay “fresh” for over a week, it probably has trans fat in it.
Although there are eight B vitamins, the ones that may determine the status of your mood are folate, B6 and B12. They all work together in the body, so if you are lacking in one, chances are you’re lacking in a few.
Thanks to grain fortification, folate deficiency is pretty rare in the United States. When choosing foods naturally high in folate, think beans and greens! Spinach, asparagus and collard greens all score high in levels of folate, along with pinto, kidney and navy beans. Steam any deep green leafy vegetable, mix with cooked lentils and flavor with lemon juice for a meal that’s sure to boost your folate level.
B6 acts as a precursor for numerous cognitive reactions in the body, so it’s essential to make sure that you have enough. Garbanzo beans, chicken and tuna are some traditional sources, yet you’ll also find it in bulgur wheat, cottage cheese and winter squash.
Sub-par levels of B12 can cause restlessness, anxiety and irritability. Animal products such as beef and liver are terrific sources, but it’s also found in fortified cereal, milk and yogurt. Surprisingly, clams have one of the highest levels of B12 of any food. Try them steamed over a serving of whole-wheat pasta tossed lightly with olive oil. For fish fans, opt for salmon, rainbow trout or haddock to increase daily levels. Keep in mind as you get older your ability to absorb B12 decreases. Checking in on your status with a blood test never hurts.
Vitamin of the Year
If you listened to everything you read and saw in the media you would think Vitamin D cured everything. Maybe not, but low levels in the body have been directly linked to depression in adolescents, healthy adults, and the elderly population. Of course, short winter days and cold nights makes it a bit tricky to get an adequate amount from sunlight. Besides dairy products, copious amounts of Vitamin D are found in ocean products such as herring, salmon, halibut and oysters.
If you’re feeling down in the dumps, don’t fill up on carb-laden foods. Eating processed foods with simple carbohydrates will only cause severe dips in sugar levels and mood. Choose some of the foods listed above to get through the dreary, winter months.
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.
Henry Ford
Friday, March 2, 2012
work hard
Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price.
Vince Lombardi
Thursday, March 1, 2012
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