Habit

Focus on changing specific habits rather than the final outcome or goal. You'll get there!

A new day

·         Today is yesterday's tomorrow! Whatever bad choices you may have made yesterday don't matter today. Start fresh and make new better choices today! Like drink more water...pass on the doughnuts...don't participate in the office potluck...eat more fruit...go for a walk...go to the gym...love yourself! ;)

TOP TEN FOODS FOR FAT LOSS AND BODY COMPOSITION

TOP TEN FOODS FOR FAT LOSS AND BODY COMPOSITION

Use these ten foods in your diet to support fat loss and get the physique you desire. Assuming you are training regularly, including these foods in a high-protein, relatively low-carb whole food diet will help you get and stay lean, while feeling energized and motivated throughout the day.
These ten foods will help you lose fat because they support your body to do one or more of these five things:
•    Increase the body’s use of fat for energy, shifting it to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.
•    Decrease chronic inflammation and improve the sensitivity of cells to insulin so that blood sugar from carbohydrates is used for energy or stored as muscle glycogen and doesn’t turn into fat.
•    Improve the body’s internal detoxification system to enhance elimination of waste products and toxins that slow the metabolism.
•    Support tissue repair and increase the body’s resting metabolic rate so that more energy is burned when food is broken down.
•    Improve the endocrine response to food—there are many effects of this, including lower insulin and cortisol, better elimination of excess estrogen, and higher leptin, which blunts feelings of hunger.

#1: Cold Water Fish: Salmon, Whitefish, Mackerel, Sardines & Anchovies

These cold water fish are high in the omega-3 fats that improve insulin sensitivity and decrease inflammation. The effect is of getting the majority of dietary fat from omega-3 fats is fat loss and improved body composition. For instance, a recent study of healthy adults showed that taking 4 grams of omega-3s a day for 6 weeks significantly increased lean mass and decreased body fat. Other studies have shown an association of a better body composition in people who eat more than 5 servings of cold water fish a week.

Take Away: Get the majority of your dietary fats from foods that are high in omega-3 fats. Cold water fish is a great place to start, and grass-fed and wild meats can increase your intake. Eat a serving of one of these high-protein sources at every meal.

#2: Nuts: Walnuts & Almonds

Nuts are high in antioxidants, protein, fiber, and healthy fats, and research shows that supplementing the diet with them can significantly improve body composition. They not only increase the metabolic response to eating, but they increase feelings of satiety and blunt hunger—the hormone leptin has been found to be higher in people who eat nuts daily.

Walnuts may be the healthiest nuts because they are typically eaten raw with the skin on, which increases their antioxidant content. Almonds also top the list of fat burning nuts because of their high protein and fiber content, and they contain a lot of vitamin E that supports detoxification.

Take Away: Eating a serving of nuts a day in conjunction with a high-protein, low-carb diet can produce significant fat loss and help you feel satisfied.

#3: Whey Protein

Whey protein, which can be found in dairy products and taken as a supplement, is a super food for body composition because it enables the body to repair tissue and burn fat. It also enhances the body’s internal antioxidant system by increasing something called glutathione.

Research shows that exercise performance and fat loss are enhanced when the body’s glutathione levels are higher during strength training. For example, in one study that had men take 22 grams of whey protein daily in conjunction with a strength training program had them lose more body fat than a group that only strength trained and didn’t supplement with whey.

Take Away: Supplement with whey protein daily to increase your metabolic rate, antioxidant status, and support tissue repair.

#4: Berries: Blueberries, Strawberries & Raspberries

 

Besides being delicious, berries are great for fat loss because they contain fiber, antioxidants, and have been shown to blunt the amount of insulin the body produces in response to eating them with high-carbohydrate foods. Raspberries, in particular, contain a unique antioxidant called ellagitannins that have been shown to improve the brain’s sensitivity to leptin, making you feel less hungry.

Take Away: Get multiple servings of berries daily. Throw in a serving of the superfruits mango, pomegranate, and tart cherries for variety—all three convey similar benefits as berries and food scientists have called them all “anti-obesity” fruits.

#5: Avocados

A recent review of foods that can treat obesity and prevent diabetes wrote that the “avocado has tremendous antioxidant capacity,” and has been shown to completely eradicate chronic inflammation related to high body fat in mice. Adding avocados and pomegranates to the diet of the mice allowed for them to lose fat and have better insulin sensitivity over time.

Take Away: Selectively include avocados in your diet. Depending on other fat intake, eat them a few days a week. One avocado contains 250 calories, 10 g of fiber, 15 g of monounsaturated fat, 4 g of protein, and 20 essential nutrients.

#6: Broccoli & Cruciferous Vegetables

 

The cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower help the body clear excess estrogen—both naturally occurring and chemical estrogens such as BPA. By a variety of mechanisms, compounds in these veggies can interact with the genes involved in estrogen binding, while clearing estrogen from the body.

In addition, research shows that the high fiber content of these veggies will delay carbohydrate absorption, favorably modifying the glucose response. Their inherent high fiber brings about a very moderate insulin response, thus making them an ideal fat loss food. Dark green vegetables usually have a large antioxidant content as well.

Take Away: Shoot for multiple servings of cruciferous vegetables daily. Broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, collards, arugula, radish can be eaten raw, added to salads, or steamed. Raw food are better for fat loss, but the key is to eat them daily, so if cooked is more palatable, go for it.

#7: Eggs

Eggs are an excellent protein source and they also provide a nice dose of choline, which protects the liver from accumulating fat and is the precursor to the energizing neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. Increasing acetylcholine levels can increase growth hormone, which is a potent fat burner. Plus, eggs are very filling, and you get a nice boost in metabolism on account of the thermic effect of  their high protein content.

Incorrectly feared due to their cholesterol content, eggs haven’t been found to elevate serum cholesterol. The body actually uses the cholesterol to produce testosterone and other androgenic hormones, and it improves the integrity of muscle cell membranes. One study showed that eating 12 eggs a week didn’t increase LDL cholesterol at all, and when exercise was done, the high egg intake improved the participants’ ratio of good to bad cholesterol to the same degree as a group that ate no eggs. 

Take Away: Eat eggs a few days a week to increase your protein and choline intake. Avoid eating them daily because this has ben shown to cause intolerances.

#8: Coffee & Green Coffee Extract

There is compelling evidence that coffee increases your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories, and it can help shift the body to burn fat rather than glucose for energy. In addition, we know coffee enhances the body’s defenses against reactive oxygen species, can help modulate blood sugar, and may even reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

The fat loss effect of coffee drinking hasn’t been studied extensively, but one study showed drinking 500 ml of coffee daily for 4 weeks produced 2.5 kg weight loss in overweight subjects. Perhaps more effective, green coffee extract, which comes from the bean before roasting and can be added to any beverage, has been shown to produce significant fat loss: One study compared the effect of giving participants a high-dose green coffee extract (1050 mg), a low-dose (700 mg), or a placebo for 6 weeks and found that the large dose resulted in an average 8 kg loss in body weight and a 4.4 percent drop in body fat—very impressive. The low dose and placebo produced no changes in body composition.

Take Away: Using green coffee extract and drinking coffee can help you lose fat in conjunction with a healthy diet. They aren’t a weight loss solution, but a nice addition to a complete fat loss diet. Green tea provides similar benefits as coffee if it is your beverage of choice.

#9: Kimchi

Kimchi, a fermented Korean food made from napa cabbage, onions, garlic, and fiber, has been shown to aid digestion, improve insulin sensitivity, and produce fat loss. A recent study showed that overweight subjects who ate 100 grams of kimchi at every meal for 4 weeks produced significant fat loss and decreased body fat by 1.5 percent. Blood pressure and blood sugar control were both lower by the end of the study.

Take Away: Include kimchi and other fermented foods in your diet daily for better health and fat loss. Get kimchi at an Asian food store or Whole Foods.

#10: Vinegar

Vinegar aids the body in storing carbohydrates as muscle glycogen rather than storing them as fat. In addition, studies show eating vinegar as a seasoning with meals can improve pancreatic function, and lower the insulin response to carbs. Even if you just add vinegar to your salad or cruciferous vegetables, it can lower the insulin response to your whole meal, leading to a more moderate elevation in blood sugar.

Take Away: Balsamic and white wine vinegar are some of the most delicious vinegars, but you can add any kind to your meal daily and get the fat loss benefits.

You decide

·         “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who'll decide where to go.”

·         Dr. Seuss

 

outside our comfort zone

·         The moment we decide to step outside our comfort zone and simply go for it, it transpires our future and allows us to grow. Life simply is way too big for us to play small. It's here for us to be bold, reach high and connect with those who have the grand visions of doing great things. It's about doing not saying. It's about living dreams not waiting for them. Shed away all those anchors and step forward into a new future, one where you finally bring the biggest dreams to life.

positive results

·         "To create more positive results in your life, replace 'if only' with 'next time'."

·         Celestine Chua

Change the Changeable

·         Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. Too often, we are tempted to give up on doing something hard. The forces of "no" always seem stronger than the forces of "yes." Those who lead positive change, the doers of society, find ways to fend off negativity. Negativity creates nothingness. Nourish the world with optimism. Be a hero. Do the impossible. Rise up to the challenge. YOU can do it. “Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”

   Bruce Lee

   

Learn and grow

·         If you find yourself at a point of intense decision making where you’re caught in a spiral of over-analysis and you’re making no progress, take a deep breath, break the spiral, make an educated guess on the next logical step, and take it. Even if you get it wrong you’ve learned something, which is better than doing nothing. Your failures along the road to your goals are simply opportunities to learn and grow. Remember, the real world doesn’t reward perfectionists; it rewards people who get things done.

 

True Power

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power. If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.”
Lao Tzu

Energy

I'd like to reveal four key components for success, and quite possibly other aspects of your life.

Have you ever noticed that some days just flow? Even on days when you have tons of things to do, you seem to have all the ENERGY in the world to handle anything. Yet other days feel like you live on Saturn. The weight of the world feels 10 times heavier than normal.

It comes down to the amount of ENERGY you have on any given day. Your ENERGY always dictates your REALITY. When you're filled with ENERGY, you're sharp, ready, enthusiastic, and willing. When you're pooped . . . forget about it! Organizing a sock drawer feels like climbing Mt. Everest.

So what causes these shifts? The big four are:

1. Food and supplementation.

There's no way you can maintain a consistent level of ENERGY by eating the same old crap. You must . . . you have to . . . you need to make "The Change." Proper ENERGY levels only come from eating the right food the right way at the right time of day. If you don't know what that means, then you haven't read my mervmail’s!

You are what you eat! If you eat the same old tired food that put you in this mess in the first place, that's just what you'll get. Tired and old before your time. You know what to do, so do it! It's not Atkins^® or Slim-Fast^® or fast food or soft drinks or fried food or candy bars or doughnuts or liquid diets or any panoply of misleading ways of consuming food. Get your mind right about what goes in your mouth or continue to live in the land of the wannabes!

Sleep.

This probably seems like the most obvious and simple component of the four. But it's often the most abused.
We're not sleeping enough hours at night, and even when we do, they're often filled with so much mind chatter that we don't get the proper rest we need. In Taoist philosophy, there's the yin and the yang. These are opposing ENERGIES that create balance. workout is yang ENERGY. Sleep and rest are yin ENERGY. There must be proper balance between vim and vigor (yang) and inward calm (yin). If you don't get enough sleep and rest, your body will not receive the proper restoration.

Stress management.

Do you realize that if you took the fear, worry, and anxiety out of every "stressful" situation in your life, the end result of that situation would still occur? You can panic and freak out all you want, but time will still pass and the end of that moment will still happen, whether you freak out or not. So why not choose something different? When do fear, worry, and anxiety ever really help a situation?

So what is stress? It's the inability to move through a situation logically, peacefully, positively, productively, and gracefully. To be stressed out takes lots of ENERGY. Being stressed out can severely affect how well you'll sleep at night. Stress is when you assess blame and don't take responsibility. ("I'm stressed out because of______, and that's why I can't______.") Don't let stress be your scapegoat.

Don't waste your time on gossip, ridicule, envy, self-pity, anger, guilt, arrogance, need, impatience, regret, manipulation, jealousy, fear, worry, and anxiety, because they'll zap your ENERGY and cause you stress!

Choose understanding, truth, clarity, patience, devotion, gratitude, vulnerability, acceptance, wisdom, hope, forgiveness, empathy, discipline, perseverance, community, and peace. Because if you do, you will gladly kiss stress goodbye and say hello to all the ENERGY you'll need.

Purpose.

Purpose is the driving force to get you from here to there. If you don't have purpose, all the best food, supplementation, sleep, and stress-free days won't help you one bit. You have to have a powerful burning desire to want it.

My dictionary tells me that "purpose" is "seeking resolution." Searching for answers to solve a problem. An intention. This all goes to the core of . . . why? Why do I want to change my life and start living healthy, maybe even for the second or third time, or more?
You're looking for resolution. You're searching for answers to help solve this problem. And most importantly, you must be clear about your intention/mission. No one ever does anything just for the heck of it. There's always some intention behind everything we do. Different kinds of behavior have different levels of intention and purpose. Eating fast food and abusing your body is one level. Following a healthy life style with all its challenges is another.

no excuses

If you find yourself making excuses, quit wasting your time. Your goal clearly isn’t that important to you!

time and health

Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate
until they have been depleted.

Hard work

Getting in shape is brutally hard work. Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

Don't wait

Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.

 

Don't feel up for lifting weights

·         When you don't feel up for lifting, DO IT ANYWAY. Chances are once you’re at the gym you will feel up to it. Never talk yourself out of it.

Little things make a big difference

·         It's the little things you do that can make a big difference. What are you attempting to accomplish? What little thing can you do today that will make you more effective? You are probably only one step away from greatness.

Cardio before or after Weight training

Cardio before or after Weight training

Some people wake up at 4:00am just to do their cardio. Then later in the day they do their weightlifting routine. Others do their cardio before or after their workout routine. Some run at midnight to avoid heat.

·         When is the best time to do cardio?

·         Should cardio be done near the time of weightlifting or should there be a certain amount of hours between the two?

·         Can someone add cardio to their weight training and still gain size and muscle mass?

·         Is it better to do cardio after eating, or on an empty stomach? Why?

·         What is your favorite type of cardio? (HIIT, Interval, etc...)

Cardio Exercise Now Or Then?

Cardio exercise without question is an essential part of any training routine whether it be a bodybuilding, strength training, sports training or most obviously a running workout schedule. It increases our endurance levels and is also an important factor in preventing all sorts of heart problems and diseases.

But its not as easy as just going outside and mindlessly running around for a few minutes and getting results. Its the same as weightlifting. You dont just go in a gym and start curling the heaviest weight you see using horrible form. There are many different opinions on how to properly do cardio to achieve certain goals.

What Are Your Goals? >Lose Fat >Build Muscle >Improve Energy >Other

Some of these views are totally wrong and can mislead you and instead of moving you forward will actually set you back in the wrong direction. This is why it is so important to know what certain types of cardio are doing to your body and how to do it properly. Just like weightlifting.

When Is The Best Time To Do Cardio?

There is no set time where you make the best gains to do cardio. It ranges for everyone, for example if you feel like total crap in the morning and you need an hour or two to feel fully energized, then you obviously aren’t a morning person so then don’t do it in the morning. Listen to your body, you wouldn’t pump iron if you were half-awake.

Like I said everyone’s body is different. So basically the best time for you to do your cardio exercise is when you feel it is the best time to do it, and stick to that time. But there is still more to this, there are still a few guidelines you should follow so that you don’t end up setting yourself back. These will help you understand when to perform your cardio for better results, or the results you want.

Cardio In The Morning On An Empty Stomach

First of all NO! Cardio in the morning is probably the most stupid idea I have ever heard. This isnt just my opinion but the most knowledgeable trainers and exercise experts agree that cardio in the morning on an empty stomach is not good for you body.

Well, you might ask, what if I want to burn fat? I have low glycogen stores in the morning and my energy levels are low because I don’t have carbohydrates, so then I will tap into my fat stores right? This is TOTALLY wrong. The complete opposite happens.

Let me enlighten you. Fat burn doesn’t occur during cardio exercise, but about two hours after. Instead your body will look at your tasty muscles for energy meaning. Bye bye muscles. This is a bodybuilders worst nightmare.

So unless your goal is to become scrawny and lose muscle then by all means do cardio in the morning. Its also common sense not to do it on an empty stomach.

You wont have a satisfactory amount of energy meaning decreases performance which = crappier results. And if you think about it, your body has just fasted for eight hours and it needs something to eat to refuel itself.

Not feeding your body and doing exercise is like going into war without any ammunition.

Don’t Get Me Wrong

Yes, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that doing cardio in the morning is bad, but doing it on an empty stomach is bad unless you want to lose muscle instead of fat.

So when you wake up at 5:00 A.M at least have something light to eat and wait at least 30-45 minutes before performing your cardio. Like I said earlier if you’re a morning person and you feel best in the morning then keep doing it in the morning, just make sure you don’t do it on an empty stomach.

Cardio Workout Right Before Weightlifting?

Again this is also a HUGE NO! Not unless you don’t want good results from pumping iron, then I guess you're wasting your time in the gym if you go all out and perform cardio before your workouts.

But for a lot of people, especially women, they don’t want to gain serious mass, so then if your weight workout is relatively low intensity and doesn’t leave you feeling like you just got hit by a car, then by all means you can do cardio before your workout.

But for most of the guys, they want some serious mass, and let me tell you that the last few reps (Say the last 3-2 reps) where you struggle and sweat is where you stimulate your muscles to grow. But when you run before working out, an intense cardio workout totally or almost depletes your glycogen stores.

When weightlifting, you don’t use as much of your glycogen stores, but you still need quite a bit (This might come as a surprise to some people but its true).

So if you have no glycogen stores which is your muscles source of energy and your pushing yourself to max, the energy wont be there to push those last few grueling reps meaning a way less effective workout.

Another reason why this is such a big NO is because during a hard cardio session, protein synthesis drops low and protein breakdown goes up. During a weight lifting session, protein synthesis either goes up a little or stays the same while protein breakdown goes up.

After your cardio session while protein synthesis drops (Meaning your body’s ability to build muscle), and you hit the weights, the result will be that your bodies ability to build muscle will be impaired because of your cardio training depending on how intense your cardio was.

So Let's Make Up A Situation

Billy goes and does his intense cardio workout. After that his protein synthesis drops and muscle breakdown goes high.

He goes weightlifting and instead of his protein synthesis being normal or slightly elevated, it is very low because of his cardio session. Plus his muscles are in a state of breakdown.

So basically you don’t want your body’s ability to build/repair muscle (Protein synthesis) to be impaired right after a weight workout.

Again, Don’t Get Me Wrong

Yes, don’t get me wrong again, what I just explained above is doing cardio right before your workout or even an hour before your workout. But it is all right if you do your cardio exercise then your weightlifting program after if you give yourself an adequate amount of time to recover and replenish your glycogen stores.

But in between you must have the proper nutrition to stop protein breakdown and increase muscle synthesis before you hit the weights. Plus you have to replenish your muscles glycogen stores.

Still though, your performance in the weight room may suffer even though you have given yourself enough rest and nutrition, so it is best if you do your weight lifting before anything else to make sure that you lift to your full potential.

Also if you do an intense cardio session and eat hamburgers and fries then 6 hours later do your cardio session, it just wont cut it. Another thing is if your cardio workout is relatively short and low/very low intensity then its all right to hit the weights right after.

Cardio Right After Weights?

Doing cardio right after weights is way better than doing it before weights. The reason being is that weight lifting doesnt deplete your glycogen stores as bad as it does in cardio workouts depending on how intense you go.

So you still will have some of your glycogen stores left meaning that you can still get an alright cardio session. But for a more effective cardio session right after a workout, I recommend waiting at least 2 hours even more (If you have the time to do this) before doing your cardio.

In between this time it is important you replenish your glycogen stores quickly, and stop protein breakdown as fast as possible. But if you dont have the time it is still alright to do it right after weights. Just be prepared to have a less effective cardio session.

For Best Results!

For best results in your cardio training, try to do schedule your sessions separate from your weightlifting program. So if you lift weights 4 times a week, then do running on the other three days that youre not lifting weights.

Just remember try to schedule your cardio session as far away as possible from your leg lifting schedule, because running on super sore tired legs basically sucks. Doing cardio on separate days than weight lifting ensures that you have the proper energy to perform your best in either your cardio or lifting session.

If you cannot then do your cardio after your workouts at least. You also have to do cardio after weights if you have 4-5 cardio sessions and are a serious weight lifter.

Remember you get the best gains when you have the most energy.

 The Most Effective Cardio Exercise

There is no "Most Effective Cardio Exercise." Just like how there is no best way to workout. It all depends on your goal and what you want to do. Still stuck? Let me help you a little.

Basically There Are Four Main Goals Which People Want Are:

1. To have massive muscles and let nothing get in the way of letting you lose it but still maintaining a balance between cardio and weight lifting.
2. To be well rounded meaning being fit and still have muscle and strength.
3. To be extremely fit in the cardio system which is your only goal, and you dont care about gaining muscle (Distance running or marathon running).
4. To lose weight.

Here are a few ways of doing each goal

1. Gaining Huge Muscle

• HIIT (High intensity interval training)

HIIT combines the use of all out intervals and periods of lower intensity periods. Dont worry, if you are well fed and energized, these sessions last for only 20-30 minutes at the max, in that time you wont use up enough of your energy that you will have to tap into your muscle stores.

• The Good Old Run

Run at most for 3 days a week for 30-45 minutes and you wont lose any muscle if your well fed and energized.

2. To Be Well Rounded
(Cardio Fitness + Decent Muscle & Strength)

• I would not recommend high intensity interval training (HIIT) because if you want to be quite fit in the cardio system, HIIT doesn’t cut it, sorry boys and girls.

Doing cardio 4-5 times a week for 45-60 minutes will make you have great cardio gains. Your endurance will be quite noticeable and you might lose a bit of muscle. But if you do weights, you will be stronger and bigger (Just don't expect to be the next Ronnie Coleman).

• Biking, stair-master, elliptical, etc. are also good ways of increasing cardio fitness.

3. To Be Extremely Fit
(Long Distance Running & Marathon Runners)

• This isn’t for muscle gainers, over time you will lose a significant amount of muscle. It is more geared only towards long distance or marathon runners.
• You must run 5-7 times a week.
• Sessions range from 6 mile runs to 18 mile runs.
• The only exercise is running.

1.     Fat Loss       

• High intensity interval training (HIIT). This is great for burning fat since you run at the fat burn level for the lower intensity periods and burn more calories in the high intensity levels.
• Running, biking, elliptical etc. These are great for losing weight. If you’re overweight, slowly work your way up. For fat loss, exercise at the fat burning zone. For beginners run 3-4 times a week for 20-30 minutes. Gradually work your way up to 4-5 times a week for 30-60 minutes.
• Remember any type of cardio activity will burn fat. You just have to be consistent and you will shed the pounds. Many people give up because they aren’t seeing results, but really a month isn’t enough to see huge results.

Don’t listen to the commercials where you can lose 60 pounds in a month. DON'T EVEN BELIEVE IN THAT CRAP. There are NO shortcuts!!

The only way is to follow a consistent and well planned exercise routine. Some people shed the pounds fast and others slow because everyone has different bodies

GOOD LUCK WHATEVER YOU MIGHT DO!