One key to being healthy and having a stress free life is happiness.
Looking at a recent internet survey that identifies the “keys to happiness,” we discovered that attitude ranked the highest at 59%, followed by love at 23%, achievements at 8%, creative activity at 5% and money at 5%. Therefore, if you want to motivate yourself in your daily life, you must manage and be in control of your attitude. So what is attitude and how can we use attitude to change the way we think and talk to ourselves?
Attitudes are basically our established way of responding to people or situations and, of course, these are learned behaviors based in our core beliefs and values. Yes, attitude drives behavior. What is in your mind actually drives your actions. This serves as a reminder from the previous lessons about the power of positive
self talk.
By choosing an attitude, whether positive or negative, it drives your mood and sends messages to everyone around you! That’s correct; we said you choose your attitude. One thing we know for certain is that we cannot control everything that happens to us or everything that we encounter in daily life. But we can always control our response. Let’s look at an example. Can you control if someone cuts you off on the highway? The answer is no. However, you can always control your response. You can get angry and react in a negative or hostile manner, which really does nothing to change the situation or you can choose to wave and move on about your merry way. In other words nobody can choose your emotions; ultimately, you are in control of them. Always remember that no one can make you mad or make you sad or make you happy. You choose to be mad, sad or happy. Attitude is your choice, how you respond is your choice, the action then that you take is your choice and it all starts with the power of the mind. Attitude and self talk guides the mind and establishes the process of behavior we display. In other words, your body language as well as the spoken word is a direct reflection of your learned attitude response.
There is a quote by Ramona Anderson that says, “People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, and even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within.” It is up to you to be the difference maker in your life and have a powerful impact on every one you come in contact with.
Science tells you that armed with a positive attitude, you will live a longer and happier life. That is a fact. Researchers followed 1500 people for 7 years. All 1500 were in good health when the study started. Researchers followed how they aged by measuring things like weight loss, walking speed, exhaustion and grip strength. They found that people who maintained a positive attitude were significantly less likely to show signs of aging, were less likely to become frail and were more likely to be stronger and healthier than those that had negative attitudes. They found that if your cup is half empty and you have a doom and gloom attitude than you are in fact slowly killing yourself or at the very least your negative attitude is making you weaker and more aged.
There is a reflective book written by Parker Palmer titled “Let Your Life Speak”. The book title in the Quaker admonition means to “let the highest truths and values guide everything you do.” Listening to your life comes with listening and accepting your “true self” with its limits as well as potential. For example, most of us are aware of Michael Jordan’s career as a basketball player. Most of us would label his career as highly successful. However if you look at the stats it might be a bit confusing. “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot…and missed. And I have failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Do you think his cup is half full? Do you think his belief system made him successful? Would Jordon’s career have been different if he focused on the failure of missed shots as opposed to an attitude of gratitude for the shots made? You betcha!
Consider this quote by Melody Beattie. “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates vision for tomorrow.”
When you think of problems…you attract problems. When you think of solutions…you attract solutions. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Start today with an attitude of happiness, solutions and most importantly gratitude.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Stress Management
Stress! That one simple word conjures up an incredible emotional reaction in people. An incredible negative emotional reaction, that is. While stress can occur from a physical threat to life, far more stress occurs normally due to family, friends, job and relationship events or simply from worrisome thoughts. During physical danger, your body uses the "fight or flight" response to its benefit, but during mental triggers when the released hormones and chemistry is not used for a useful purpose, they create tension in the walls of the arteries and begin a number of serious disease processes. Perhaps worse, they accelerate aging.
Managing stress is a personal matter, but fundamentally it involves balance; a balance between friends, work and self. When any one of these areas begin to dwarf the others then mental stress triggers are more likely to happen.
Here are three good ways to manage stress:
1. Exercise. Exercise is a great way to lessen the likelihood of stressful triggers occurring and also eliminate some of the destructive chemical components of stress. When you exercise you put time into yourself and you might even enjoy exercise as part of a larger group or community of people. This helps provide important balance to your life. Further, since exercise is a physical response, you get to “use” the chemicals that occur after the mental trigger event, thereby lessening the physical impact they have on you.
2. Relaxation Techniques. There are a variety of simple relaxation techniques including progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, even prayer. These help create balance in the body also. Research these techniques on the internet and choose one that is best for you. The key is to be consistent as consistency matters in using stress management tools.
3. GABA. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid is a natural amino acid based compound that acts as an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Taken before bed GABA helps promote deep, relaxing sleep and taken during the day acts as an effective calming agent.
Whatever you decide to do to help manage stress, you need to realize that having a positive outlook or mind set is very important. There is a huge body of research demonstrating that people with happy, positive attitudes get ill less often, recover faster, age more slowly and live longer than do people with negative mental attitudes.
As important as choosing the right stress management technique is, it is equally important not to take short cuts and choose stress management routes which add to the destructive component of stress. Here are some of the improper stress management techniques that you should avoid.
Pharmaceutical Drugs. There are millions of people taking drugs such as the Benzodiazepines. While these may be helpful in the very short term for managing seriously acute stress episodes, using them for extended periods to alleviate anxiety is a prescription for biochemical disaster. Pharmaceutical drugs come with a host of negatives and should not be the first line of defense against stress. When evaluating drug options, you might also want to consider the natural alternative GABA which when taken during the day in 500 mg. to 1 gram doses can act as a mild sedative.
Recreational Drugs. Even worse, many people try recreational drugs such as cocaine to limit their stress. While cocaine might make you feel a bit less stressed temporarily since it affects dopamine levels, over time, you need more and more of the drug to get the same reaction. And along with drug use, comes a variety of very negative physiological and psychological effects.
Alcohol. Alcohol is widely used as a stress deterrent. A small amount of alcohol may actually be beneficial to a person’s health but few people can consume alcohol in small amounts. Alcohol use leads to alcohol abuse and an incredible number of physical and mental problems.
Nicotine. Many people enjoy smoking, believing that nicotine helps them to sharpen a bit mentally and help create a calm, relaxed feeling and attitude. Since cigarette smoke contains an uncountable number of harmful chemicals and is directly responsible for 450,000 deaths a year, obviously, the harm here greatly outweighs the benefits.
Avoid all these negative stress coping mechanisms. They can only lead to harm.
Managing stress is a personal matter, but fundamentally it involves balance; a balance between friends, work and self. When any one of these areas begin to dwarf the others then mental stress triggers are more likely to happen.
Here are three good ways to manage stress:
1. Exercise. Exercise is a great way to lessen the likelihood of stressful triggers occurring and also eliminate some of the destructive chemical components of stress. When you exercise you put time into yourself and you might even enjoy exercise as part of a larger group or community of people. This helps provide important balance to your life. Further, since exercise is a physical response, you get to “use” the chemicals that occur after the mental trigger event, thereby lessening the physical impact they have on you.
2. Relaxation Techniques. There are a variety of simple relaxation techniques including progressive muscle relaxation, guided imagery, meditation, even prayer. These help create balance in the body also. Research these techniques on the internet and choose one that is best for you. The key is to be consistent as consistency matters in using stress management tools.
3. GABA. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid is a natural amino acid based compound that acts as an important neurotransmitter in the brain. Taken before bed GABA helps promote deep, relaxing sleep and taken during the day acts as an effective calming agent.
Whatever you decide to do to help manage stress, you need to realize that having a positive outlook or mind set is very important. There is a huge body of research demonstrating that people with happy, positive attitudes get ill less often, recover faster, age more slowly and live longer than do people with negative mental attitudes.
As important as choosing the right stress management technique is, it is equally important not to take short cuts and choose stress management routes which add to the destructive component of stress. Here are some of the improper stress management techniques that you should avoid.
Pharmaceutical Drugs. There are millions of people taking drugs such as the Benzodiazepines. While these may be helpful in the very short term for managing seriously acute stress episodes, using them for extended periods to alleviate anxiety is a prescription for biochemical disaster. Pharmaceutical drugs come with a host of negatives and should not be the first line of defense against stress. When evaluating drug options, you might also want to consider the natural alternative GABA which when taken during the day in 500 mg. to 1 gram doses can act as a mild sedative.
Recreational Drugs. Even worse, many people try recreational drugs such as cocaine to limit their stress. While cocaine might make you feel a bit less stressed temporarily since it affects dopamine levels, over time, you need more and more of the drug to get the same reaction. And along with drug use, comes a variety of very negative physiological and psychological effects.
Alcohol. Alcohol is widely used as a stress deterrent. A small amount of alcohol may actually be beneficial to a person’s health but few people can consume alcohol in small amounts. Alcohol use leads to alcohol abuse and an incredible number of physical and mental problems.
Nicotine. Many people enjoy smoking, believing that nicotine helps them to sharpen a bit mentally and help create a calm, relaxed feeling and attitude. Since cigarette smoke contains an uncountable number of harmful chemicals and is directly responsible for 450,000 deaths a year, obviously, the harm here greatly outweighs the benefits.
Avoid all these negative stress coping mechanisms. They can only lead to harm.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Positive Self-Statements
Today’s “brick” of change focuses on the internal dialogue that we all have running through our heads. We all constantly talk to ourselves, and theproblem is that most of the time the dialogue is working against us. It causes us worry, indecision, poor performance, etc.
Today’s training is very pivotal. When we take control of our internal dialogue, our success in weight loss, in lean muscle gain, actually, in looking and feeling better than we ever dreamed…it is virtually guaranteed.
Let’s take dieting as an example. When you actually sit down and analyze the things that over-eaters (or under fit people) say, the self-statements are all negative. This is simple to see in the more obvious ones like, “it’s no use, I am always going to be fat.” Or, “I just can’t lose enough weight to look good.” But negative self-statements also hide out in thoughts that on the surface don’t seem so negative. For example, “Stay away from those cookies,” really means, “I am fat and I can’t eat what I want.” All these self-statements pave the road to fitness disaster. A personal favorite of people over these years is, “no one cares if I am fit or fat so why not eat what I enjoy.” What they are really saying is that, “It's too much work to get back on the path to fitness.” Statements like these are impossible to hurdle. They must be eliminated.
Eliminating them is really simpler than it sounds. Don’t believe us? You’ll be sorry! Here is the proof. Think of a very simple word like “red.” Now, whisper and shout the word “red” at the same time.
Can’t do it, can you? What do you think we are trying to tell you? If you said that certain things cannot co-exist in the same moment, you are right. You can whisper or shout but you can’t do them at the same time. Well, the same thing is true for positive and negative self-statements. They can’t exist in your head at the same moment. To get rid of the negative ones, we simply need to put positive ones in their place. We don’t expect you to do this all at once. It takes a little practice but why not start today?
If you need a bit of help getting started, here is a simple little grouping that you should memorize and say to yourself whenever you get hungry, think about your diet, or really think about anything that involves fitness or a change in your lifestyle.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
How does this work in the real world? Out of habit you pass the cupboard and open it up. There is a half eaten bag of Oreos there. No internal discussion allowed. You immediately jump to something safe and positive.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
You shut the cupboard and move on. Trust us; there is incredible power in positive self-statements. From time to time, you will learn to make these more detailed and stronger. They will serve as one of the most powerful bricks to your eventual fantastic fitness success.
We also need to look at how task oriented thinking and positive self statements intersect to create a strong, positive, focused mindset.
Let’s imagine waking up today and feeling great. There is promise for this being a great, great day but there are always negative thoughts and distractions that can come your way. We have a name for those things. We call them, “mental gravity.” Just like physical gravity keeps your feet planted firmly on earth, there is mental gravity working to keep us down as well. Much of the reason people have trouble losing weight or increasing their fitness level is mental gravity; that is task irrelevant, negative, outcome oriented self-statements.
As an exercise, just free your brain for a moment to experience these terrible, gravity oriented self-statements. Here is a partial list of the ones that jump to most people’s minds who are dieting and failing:
I feel fat.
I am fat.
I feel lonely.
I am not desirable.
I am old.
I’ll never lose weight.
I’ll quit before I really get started.
My joints ache.
My life is hopeless.
And this is just the beginning of the list. It’s really, really weird to see them in print. But we guarantee that from time to time, maybe not this exact minute, but many times during the average diet, you are going to have similar destructive, gravity-based self-statements. Saying, “I am not going to think about them” is as silly as saying, “I am not going to think about an elephant.” Try that, “no matter what I do, I am not going to think about an elephant. No elephants.” Everyone knows the outcome to that….correct, a big old elephant that you can’t get out of your mind, no matter what. The same thing is true of negative gravity self-statements. The more you say you won’t think about being fat or you won’t think about being sad, you guessed it, the more those things move back into your head. The only hope you have of continuing the small, incremental success we believe is possible for everyone is to put real, positive, task relevant, process oriented self-statements in their place.
Whenever you feel “gravity” today or in the near future, you need to execute these positive statements. You need to realize that mental gravity is TOUGH and that you need to create better self statements addressing those issues so that you do not go backwards in your drive for optimal fitness.
Try these self-statements to address serious mental gravity issues as they occur:
I am a good person.
I care about others.
I can be happy.
The future will be great.
One step at a time.
Smile wide. Those self statements should do the trick. No matter how badly you are feeling, you will be able to keep your focus, stay in control and leap yet another step forward.
Today’s training is very pivotal. When we take control of our internal dialogue, our success in weight loss, in lean muscle gain, actually, in looking and feeling better than we ever dreamed…it is virtually guaranteed.
Let’s take dieting as an example. When you actually sit down and analyze the things that over-eaters (or under fit people) say, the self-statements are all negative. This is simple to see in the more obvious ones like, “it’s no use, I am always going to be fat.” Or, “I just can’t lose enough weight to look good.” But negative self-statements also hide out in thoughts that on the surface don’t seem so negative. For example, “Stay away from those cookies,” really means, “I am fat and I can’t eat what I want.” All these self-statements pave the road to fitness disaster. A personal favorite of people over these years is, “no one cares if I am fit or fat so why not eat what I enjoy.” What they are really saying is that, “It's too much work to get back on the path to fitness.” Statements like these are impossible to hurdle. They must be eliminated.
Eliminating them is really simpler than it sounds. Don’t believe us? You’ll be sorry! Here is the proof. Think of a very simple word like “red.” Now, whisper and shout the word “red” at the same time.
Can’t do it, can you? What do you think we are trying to tell you? If you said that certain things cannot co-exist in the same moment, you are right. You can whisper or shout but you can’t do them at the same time. Well, the same thing is true for positive and negative self-statements. They can’t exist in your head at the same moment. To get rid of the negative ones, we simply need to put positive ones in their place. We don’t expect you to do this all at once. It takes a little practice but why not start today?
If you need a bit of help getting started, here is a simple little grouping that you should memorize and say to yourself whenever you get hungry, think about your diet, or really think about anything that involves fitness or a change in your lifestyle.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
How does this work in the real world? Out of habit you pass the cupboard and open it up. There is a half eaten bag of Oreos there. No internal discussion allowed. You immediately jump to something safe and positive.
I feel thinner.
I am thinner.
My path is correct.
You shut the cupboard and move on. Trust us; there is incredible power in positive self-statements. From time to time, you will learn to make these more detailed and stronger. They will serve as one of the most powerful bricks to your eventual fantastic fitness success.
We also need to look at how task oriented thinking and positive self statements intersect to create a strong, positive, focused mindset.
Let’s imagine waking up today and feeling great. There is promise for this being a great, great day but there are always negative thoughts and distractions that can come your way. We have a name for those things. We call them, “mental gravity.” Just like physical gravity keeps your feet planted firmly on earth, there is mental gravity working to keep us down as well. Much of the reason people have trouble losing weight or increasing their fitness level is mental gravity; that is task irrelevant, negative, outcome oriented self-statements.
As an exercise, just free your brain for a moment to experience these terrible, gravity oriented self-statements. Here is a partial list of the ones that jump to most people’s minds who are dieting and failing:
I feel fat.
I am fat.
I feel lonely.
I am not desirable.
I am old.
I’ll never lose weight.
I’ll quit before I really get started.
My joints ache.
My life is hopeless.
And this is just the beginning of the list. It’s really, really weird to see them in print. But we guarantee that from time to time, maybe not this exact minute, but many times during the average diet, you are going to have similar destructive, gravity-based self-statements. Saying, “I am not going to think about them” is as silly as saying, “I am not going to think about an elephant.” Try that, “no matter what I do, I am not going to think about an elephant. No elephants.” Everyone knows the outcome to that….correct, a big old elephant that you can’t get out of your mind, no matter what. The same thing is true of negative gravity self-statements. The more you say you won’t think about being fat or you won’t think about being sad, you guessed it, the more those things move back into your head. The only hope you have of continuing the small, incremental success we believe is possible for everyone is to put real, positive, task relevant, process oriented self-statements in their place.
Whenever you feel “gravity” today or in the near future, you need to execute these positive statements. You need to realize that mental gravity is TOUGH and that you need to create better self statements addressing those issues so that you do not go backwards in your drive for optimal fitness.
Try these self-statements to address serious mental gravity issues as they occur:
I am a good person.
I care about others.
I can be happy.
The future will be great.
One step at a time.
Smile wide. Those self statements should do the trick. No matter how badly you are feeling, you will be able to keep your focus, stay in control and leap yet another step forward.
Friday, November 19, 2010
The Mental Approach to Fitness
43 Days to Go!
Each day you have learned something that has enabled you to create a small positive change. On day one we called these the “bricks” of change and that over time, a lot of small changes results in a huge change.
Now we are going to spend a few days on the mental aspects of improving your health and fitness lives.
A New York Post article referenced a study of women who knew they were overweight and had tried dieting. Since they really didn’t know how to diet properly, the more they started and stopped, the more weight they gained. The study drew the conclusion that dieting improperly is worse than not dieting at all. One main reason for this resides about twenty-four inches above our bulging belly buttons, in our brains. If we try something and fail, often times we stop caring for a short period and actually do the opposite of what we had originally intended. Psychologically speaking, we are thinking too much about final outcomes and not enough about the process involved in getting there.
Back in the early 1980’s, there was a talented Penn State place-kicker. Herb’s story was amazing in that he was struggling mightily as a major college kicker. After seeing his talent during practice versus his much poorer live game performance, he was asked to describe as specifically as possible the “internal dialogue” running through his brain before a kick in practice versus that of a game. His dialogue before kicks in practice was TOTALLY about the process of kicking. He was thinking about his steps, his plant foot, driving his leg through the ball. All his internal thoughts were directed to the process of kicking. Before game kicks, it all changed. He was thinking about the score of the game and the impact his kick would have on it, missing the uprights, making the kick, what Coach would think, what his Uncle would say after the game, adulation from his girlfriend; in other words, all outcome thoughts. The conclusion was simple once he saw clearly what he was doing. Process thoughts lead to success while outcome thoughts lead to failure. Herb righted this dialogue with a simple series of mental exercises and from that moment on Herb ran off a string of incredible kicks, a few of them stress packed last second bombs from 50 yards and
beyond.
The first important cognitive part of any program that involves change is to not think about the success or failure of the small changes you are making toward your bigger goal. Think about the changes themselves.
TODAY’S BRICK: THINK ABOUT PROCESS STEPS RATHER THAN OUTCOMES
Take Melissa, for example. Let’s say she had a bad day yesterday and ate a bag of Mint Milano cookies between lunch and dinner. If she looked at the outcome, success or failure, and beat herself up over failing, she probably would have gotten upset with herself, boomeranged, ate a big dinner with dessert, a bag of chocolate covered peanuts and a pint of ice cream at night. (Sick? No, actually quite normal for a lot of over-eaters.) If she had some cookies and didn’t accomplish the change she intended, the better way of handling would have been to look at the process. Maybe she needs to make sure there are no cookies near her. Or maybe she needs to drink a lot of water to fill herself up during that troublesome time period. Or maybe she just needs to start out with a different small change and get back to the snack change later when she is further along in the program.
See what we mean? Try to be successful but when you are not, as they say in Brooklyn, forgetaboutit. Dieting is not like landing a plane. There, if you miss the runway, well, it’s a much more costly blunder then we will find in dieting. Miss the runway…be upset; eat a snack….forgetaboutit!
Seems like a lot of words to drive home today’s “brick,” right? Here is the short form: think about the process you are going through and not the outcome. Process thinking leads to success. Outcome thinking leads to failure.
Continue to try to not eat snacks between meals and to do that, drink a lot of water with meals and between meals so you feel fuller and therefore will be less likely to snack. How’s that for using our bricks to link up? If you get the urge to snack, think water! You may end up having to mentally picture drowning those poor dancing Mint Milanos with a fire hose, but either way, make sure to be thinking process the entire way.
Each day you have learned something that has enabled you to create a small positive change. On day one we called these the “bricks” of change and that over time, a lot of small changes results in a huge change.
Now we are going to spend a few days on the mental aspects of improving your health and fitness lives.
A New York Post article referenced a study of women who knew they were overweight and had tried dieting. Since they really didn’t know how to diet properly, the more they started and stopped, the more weight they gained. The study drew the conclusion that dieting improperly is worse than not dieting at all. One main reason for this resides about twenty-four inches above our bulging belly buttons, in our brains. If we try something and fail, often times we stop caring for a short period and actually do the opposite of what we had originally intended. Psychologically speaking, we are thinking too much about final outcomes and not enough about the process involved in getting there.
Back in the early 1980’s, there was a talented Penn State place-kicker. Herb’s story was amazing in that he was struggling mightily as a major college kicker. After seeing his talent during practice versus his much poorer live game performance, he was asked to describe as specifically as possible the “internal dialogue” running through his brain before a kick in practice versus that of a game. His dialogue before kicks in practice was TOTALLY about the process of kicking. He was thinking about his steps, his plant foot, driving his leg through the ball. All his internal thoughts were directed to the process of kicking. Before game kicks, it all changed. He was thinking about the score of the game and the impact his kick would have on it, missing the uprights, making the kick, what Coach would think, what his Uncle would say after the game, adulation from his girlfriend; in other words, all outcome thoughts. The conclusion was simple once he saw clearly what he was doing. Process thoughts lead to success while outcome thoughts lead to failure. Herb righted this dialogue with a simple series of mental exercises and from that moment on Herb ran off a string of incredible kicks, a few of them stress packed last second bombs from 50 yards and
beyond.
The first important cognitive part of any program that involves change is to not think about the success or failure of the small changes you are making toward your bigger goal. Think about the changes themselves.
TODAY’S BRICK: THINK ABOUT PROCESS STEPS RATHER THAN OUTCOMES
Take Melissa, for example. Let’s say she had a bad day yesterday and ate a bag of Mint Milano cookies between lunch and dinner. If she looked at the outcome, success or failure, and beat herself up over failing, she probably would have gotten upset with herself, boomeranged, ate a big dinner with dessert, a bag of chocolate covered peanuts and a pint of ice cream at night. (Sick? No, actually quite normal for a lot of over-eaters.) If she had some cookies and didn’t accomplish the change she intended, the better way of handling would have been to look at the process. Maybe she needs to make sure there are no cookies near her. Or maybe she needs to drink a lot of water to fill herself up during that troublesome time period. Or maybe she just needs to start out with a different small change and get back to the snack change later when she is further along in the program.
See what we mean? Try to be successful but when you are not, as they say in Brooklyn, forgetaboutit. Dieting is not like landing a plane. There, if you miss the runway, well, it’s a much more costly blunder then we will find in dieting. Miss the runway…be upset; eat a snack….forgetaboutit!
Seems like a lot of words to drive home today’s “brick,” right? Here is the short form: think about the process you are going through and not the outcome. Process thinking leads to success. Outcome thinking leads to failure.
Continue to try to not eat snacks between meals and to do that, drink a lot of water with meals and between meals so you feel fuller and therefore will be less likely to snack. How’s that for using our bricks to link up? If you get the urge to snack, think water! You may end up having to mentally picture drowning those poor dancing Mint Milanos with a fire hose, but either way, make sure to be thinking process the entire way.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
75 Days to Change - 44 Days to Go!
The FITT Principle
The FITT Principle is a set of guidelines that help you determine an exercise schedule and help you stay on track to reach your goals.
FITT stands for:
Frequency: how often you workout
Intensity: how hard you workout
Time: how long you workout
Type: what type of activity you perform
Let’s start with frequency. In order to achieve maximum exercise results, you must work the cardiovascular system 3-5 times per week. What that means is that you need to elevate your heart rate between 50-85% of your 100% capacity for a minimum of 20-30 minutes. If your goal is to lose weight you will need to train aerobically on most days of the week.
Intensity is the second variable to consider. Many people use the “talk test” method to judge this. If you are in the proper training zone, you should be able to speak in short choppy phrases. If breathing is labored, the intensity is too high. And, if you can sing while working out, you're not working hard enough.
The third principle involves the duration of time to be spent exercising. The Surgeon General has recommended that everyone exercise a minimum of 30 minutes on most days of the week. This includes all five components previously discussed.
Type of activity is the final principle we need to discuss. The list of activities to choose from are endless. Walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, stair climbing, cross country skiing, rowing, dancing, Curves circuit training and playing a number of sports are a few options to be considered. As you know, you need to do something to support your cardiovascular system on most days of the week, so simply pick from the list above. We recommend that you do muscle strength training activities three times per week, so make Curves your core workout at LEAST three times a week, then add other activities on your off days.
Improving your fitness and health is easy when you think about it in terms of the FITT Principle. If your time is limited then take a look at how you can best benefit within the timeframe you have by increasing intensity. If time is not a factor consider decreasing the intensity to gain duration and possibly add variety to your workout. Where there is a will there is a way. We strongly encourage you to find a way to achieve optimal health.
The FITT Principle is a set of guidelines that help you determine an exercise schedule and help you stay on track to reach your goals.
FITT stands for:
Frequency: how often you workout
Intensity: how hard you workout
Time: how long you workout
Type: what type of activity you perform
Let’s start with frequency. In order to achieve maximum exercise results, you must work the cardiovascular system 3-5 times per week. What that means is that you need to elevate your heart rate between 50-85% of your 100% capacity for a minimum of 20-30 minutes. If your goal is to lose weight you will need to train aerobically on most days of the week.
Intensity is the second variable to consider. Many people use the “talk test” method to judge this. If you are in the proper training zone, you should be able to speak in short choppy phrases. If breathing is labored, the intensity is too high. And, if you can sing while working out, you're not working hard enough.
The third principle involves the duration of time to be spent exercising. The Surgeon General has recommended that everyone exercise a minimum of 30 minutes on most days of the week. This includes all five components previously discussed.
Type of activity is the final principle we need to discuss. The list of activities to choose from are endless. Walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, stair climbing, cross country skiing, rowing, dancing, Curves circuit training and playing a number of sports are a few options to be considered. As you know, you need to do something to support your cardiovascular system on most days of the week, so simply pick from the list above. We recommend that you do muscle strength training activities three times per week, so make Curves your core workout at LEAST three times a week, then add other activities on your off days.
Improving your fitness and health is easy when you think about it in terms of the FITT Principle. If your time is limited then take a look at how you can best benefit within the timeframe you have by increasing intensity. If time is not a factor consider decreasing the intensity to gain duration and possibly add variety to your workout. Where there is a will there is a way. We strongly encourage you to find a way to achieve optimal health.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
75 Days to Change - 45 Days to Go!
Five Components of the Perfect Workout
A good exercise program addresses cardio training, muscle strength & endurance, and flexibility. The five areas that we want you to understand and be able to identify are the warm up, aerobic training component, post aerobic cool down, muscular training and flexibility stretching. Whatever the activity or activities you decide to engage in, they should have the following elements incorporated.
The warm up is essential to prepare the body to engage in more strenuous activity. It helps reduce the risk of injury, increases the core temperature of the body and allows the cardiovascular system to adjust blood flow. The warm up should last between three and five minutes, depending on the activity you will do and your fitness level.
The aerobic and muscle strength training component improves body composition, improves the capacity of the heart and vascular system and is critical for achieving and maintaining ideal weight. We know that the weight bearing activities like Curves helps to increase bone density and are especially helpful for individuals with diabetes or metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes).
The post aerobic section, or cool down, will follow the aerobic section. This is usually three to five minutes. During this time simply do what you were doing during the aerobic time just at a slower pace. This will allow the blood in the extremities to be balanced throughout the body.
Last, you will need to engage in focused stretching of major joints surrounded by muscle groups. Stretch and hold for a minimum of fifteen to thirty seconds. As the muscles and joints allow, continue to increase range of motion while performing a static stretch in alignment.
A good exercise program addresses cardio training, muscle strength & endurance, and flexibility. The five areas that we want you to understand and be able to identify are the warm up, aerobic training component, post aerobic cool down, muscular training and flexibility stretching. Whatever the activity or activities you decide to engage in, they should have the following elements incorporated.
The warm up is essential to prepare the body to engage in more strenuous activity. It helps reduce the risk of injury, increases the core temperature of the body and allows the cardiovascular system to adjust blood flow. The warm up should last between three and five minutes, depending on the activity you will do and your fitness level.
The aerobic and muscle strength training component improves body composition, improves the capacity of the heart and vascular system and is critical for achieving and maintaining ideal weight. We know that the weight bearing activities like Curves helps to increase bone density and are especially helpful for individuals with diabetes or metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes).
The post aerobic section, or cool down, will follow the aerobic section. This is usually three to five minutes. During this time simply do what you were doing during the aerobic time just at a slower pace. This will allow the blood in the extremities to be balanced throughout the body.
Last, you will need to engage in focused stretching of major joints surrounded by muscle groups. Stretch and hold for a minimum of fifteen to thirty seconds. As the muscles and joints allow, continue to increase range of motion while performing a static stretch in alignment.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
75 Days to Change - 50 Days to Go!
Anaerobic Movement
Weight lifting, or strength training is the most popular form of anaerobic training that has the greatest impact on health, body shaping and metabolism. Keep in mind when we are talking about weight lifting, we are not talking about body building. We are talking about overloading the muscles to improve muscle strength and muscle endurance, like we do at Curves. Let’s talk about strength training and you.
First, we know that strong muscles can improve your posture and help maintain your equilibrium or balance. As we age, balance can be a daily challenge and the risk of a fall can delay or limit your daily fitness regime. We also know that if we do weight bearing activities we can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and other bone deficiencies.
Second, having muscle mass that is tight and tone can change the shape of our bodies. While there is no such thing as “spot reducing,” there is “spot training.” Weight training allows us to focus on our specific problem areas. For example, whereas weight training cannot change the elasticity of the skin, it can tighten and tone muscles that are sagging around the under arms and around the upper leg.
Third, stronger muscles can also make everyday activities easier and more efficient such as mowing the lawn, lifting the children, carrying groceries and doing laundry.
Finally, one of the most important benefits of weight training is the impact it has on resting metabolism. Many studies support the fact that if you can increase your muscle mass, you can burn more calories at rest. We know that metabolism is the rate at which energy is being burned in the body. So keep in mind the more muscle mass you have compared to fat mass, increases the rate at which energy/calories is burned.
In addition, studies continue to suggest that vigorous strength training can elevate calorie burning above usual values for several hours after you finish working out. This is a huge benefit. There is nothing like burning extra calories while you are sitting in your car on the way home from Curves. This is called the after burn and we weight lifters love this special perk!
Weight lifting, or strength training is the most popular form of anaerobic training that has the greatest impact on health, body shaping and metabolism. Keep in mind when we are talking about weight lifting, we are not talking about body building. We are talking about overloading the muscles to improve muscle strength and muscle endurance, like we do at Curves. Let’s talk about strength training and you.
First, we know that strong muscles can improve your posture and help maintain your equilibrium or balance. As we age, balance can be a daily challenge and the risk of a fall can delay or limit your daily fitness regime. We also know that if we do weight bearing activities we can reduce the risk of osteoporosis and other bone deficiencies.
Second, having muscle mass that is tight and tone can change the shape of our bodies. While there is no such thing as “spot reducing,” there is “spot training.” Weight training allows us to focus on our specific problem areas. For example, whereas weight training cannot change the elasticity of the skin, it can tighten and tone muscles that are sagging around the under arms and around the upper leg.
Third, stronger muscles can also make everyday activities easier and more efficient such as mowing the lawn, lifting the children, carrying groceries and doing laundry.
Finally, one of the most important benefits of weight training is the impact it has on resting metabolism. Many studies support the fact that if you can increase your muscle mass, you can burn more calories at rest. We know that metabolism is the rate at which energy is being burned in the body. So keep in mind the more muscle mass you have compared to fat mass, increases the rate at which energy/calories is burned.
In addition, studies continue to suggest that vigorous strength training can elevate calorie burning above usual values for several hours after you finish working out. This is a huge benefit. There is nothing like burning extra calories while you are sitting in your car on the way home from Curves. This is called the after burn and we weight lifters love this special perk!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
75 Days to Change - 51 Days to Go!
The Benefits of a Vigorous Life - On sale NOW!
Oxygen is the cornerstone for healthy, active living. As we age and/or increase our exercise level, our body has a new, higher demand for oxygen. The extent to which we are able to supply larger amounts of oxygen to our muscles and organs during activity is the extent to which we improve our conditioning and overall cardiovascular and muscular health.
There are certain aerobic factors that are determined by genetics or health issues, the remainder of aerobic efficiency and cardiovascular conditioning can be highly influenced by supplementation. Your muscle functioning is only as good as your body’s ability to fuel it aerobically. The Vigorous Life Aerobic Formula has been created to quickly and efficiently impact exercise performance.
Vigorous Life contains Vitamin T, Dimethylglycine (DMG), Choline Bitartrate and Glycine. Vitamin T is the least well known yet most intriguing of the vitamins known to science. This is due to the fact that most of the research on Vitamin T was carried out by communist military powers and the results were so astonishing that they were immediately classified as secret. Medical researchers know that Vitamin T markedly stimulates development of mature red blood cells, which leads to a stimulation of the anabolic process in protein metabolism.
Vitamin T is also a very powerful hemodilator responsible for improving the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and, in turn, exercise and cognitive function. Vigorous Life also contains substantial amounts of dimethylglycine (DMG), a natural amino-based nutrient compound that directly enhances aerobic efficiency through a number of channels including Lactic Acid dispersion.
Vigorous Life plays a large role in helping to increase nitrogen retention and therefore aid in creating positive nitrogen balance in the body which is essential for losing excess body fat, gaining lean muscle, rehabilitating injury and supporting immune health.
The biochemical mechanisms behind Vigorous Life are varied. Rather than enduring those deep lessons of physiology, we suggest that if you exercise 3 or more times a week, you should definitely take 2 capsules before your daily workout or anytime during the day when you normally feel tired.
Completely natural and safe nutrient based Vigorous Life is the way to go for anyone engaging in aerobic exercise or vigorous activities or lifestyles of any kind. Vigorous Life may be used in conjunction with other supplements, including powerful energy creating products like Cacao Wow.
Vigorous Life typically sells for $40 a bottle. Our introductory price is only $30 for 60 capsules. Or bundle it with CacoWow, one bottle of each for $55 - that is a $15 savings!
Oxygen is the cornerstone for healthy, active living. As we age and/or increase our exercise level, our body has a new, higher demand for oxygen. The extent to which we are able to supply larger amounts of oxygen to our muscles and organs during activity is the extent to which we improve our conditioning and overall cardiovascular and muscular health.
There are certain aerobic factors that are determined by genetics or health issues, the remainder of aerobic efficiency and cardiovascular conditioning can be highly influenced by supplementation. Your muscle functioning is only as good as your body’s ability to fuel it aerobically. The Vigorous Life Aerobic Formula has been created to quickly and efficiently impact exercise performance.
Vigorous Life contains Vitamin T, Dimethylglycine (DMG), Choline Bitartrate and Glycine. Vitamin T is the least well known yet most intriguing of the vitamins known to science. This is due to the fact that most of the research on Vitamin T was carried out by communist military powers and the results were so astonishing that they were immediately classified as secret. Medical researchers know that Vitamin T markedly stimulates development of mature red blood cells, which leads to a stimulation of the anabolic process in protein metabolism.
Vitamin T is also a very powerful hemodilator responsible for improving the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and, in turn, exercise and cognitive function. Vigorous Life also contains substantial amounts of dimethylglycine (DMG), a natural amino-based nutrient compound that directly enhances aerobic efficiency through a number of channels including Lactic Acid dispersion.
Vigorous Life plays a large role in helping to increase nitrogen retention and therefore aid in creating positive nitrogen balance in the body which is essential for losing excess body fat, gaining lean muscle, rehabilitating injury and supporting immune health.
The biochemical mechanisms behind Vigorous Life are varied. Rather than enduring those deep lessons of physiology, we suggest that if you exercise 3 or more times a week, you should definitely take 2 capsules before your daily workout or anytime during the day when you normally feel tired.
Completely natural and safe nutrient based Vigorous Life is the way to go for anyone engaging in aerobic exercise or vigorous activities or lifestyles of any kind. Vigorous Life may be used in conjunction with other supplements, including powerful energy creating products like Cacao Wow.
Vigorous Life typically sells for $40 a bottle. Our introductory price is only $30 for 60 capsules. Or bundle it with CacoWow, one bottle of each for $55 - that is a $15 savings!
Friday, November 5, 2010
75 Days to Change - 54 Days to Go!
Flexibility Stretching
Flexibility is a huge part of functional movement and of improved performance. Technically speaking, flexibility is defined as the range of motion possible surrounding a particular joint.
It is important to maintain good flexibility in your various joints. Not only will inflexibility increase the risk for injury for the joint and the muscle, but limitations of movement affects both performance and musculoskeletal health.
Years ago, it was thought that stretching prior to exercise was a great deterrent to injury, however, now we know that you should not stretch a muscle that hasn’t been sufficiently warmed up with exercise or vigorous activity. For most that means, stretching before a workout is a bad idea. In fact, today, numerous studies support the fact that stretching is actually most beneficial after a workout. We now know, for certain, that it is important to elongate a muscle only after it has been placed under contraction, as we do when we lift weights and go out for a walk. Another benefit to stretching post exercise is our need to relax and recover after a workout.
Here are the points to remember in order to best incorporate stretching into our daily lives:
1. Most studies support that you need to stretch most every joint in your body three or more times per week to maximize optimal range of motion.
2. We recommend that you stretch the muscle and supporting tissue only when the muscles are warm. Therefore, the best time to stretch and increase your range of motion is right after you exercise or have been physically active for a period of time. Avoid stretching a cold muscle as this will increases your risk for injury.
3. When you are stretching it is very important to stay in proper alignment and as you stretch go to a mildly elongated point and hold. Never push the stretch to the point of pain. Allow the neurological messaging to occur between the muscle and brain for about 10-30 seconds and then you can take the stretch a bit further. The stretch should be performed in a gently, fluid and slow progressive way. Avoid ballistic/bounce stretching of a muscle or muscle group as this can increase potential tears or strains.
4. Finally, make sure you are breathing through the stretch. The muscles need the oxygen and this helps the circulation process as well.
Keep in mind you can stretch almost anywhere and anytime, the benefits are immediate and long-lasting. So let’s all stand up and reach for the stars! Hold it….breath….relax!
We want to encourage you to incorporate different stretches throughout your day…keep the circulation going and the joints limber.
Flexibility is a huge part of functional movement and of improved performance. Technically speaking, flexibility is defined as the range of motion possible surrounding a particular joint.
It is important to maintain good flexibility in your various joints. Not only will inflexibility increase the risk for injury for the joint and the muscle, but limitations of movement affects both performance and musculoskeletal health.
Years ago, it was thought that stretching prior to exercise was a great deterrent to injury, however, now we know that you should not stretch a muscle that hasn’t been sufficiently warmed up with exercise or vigorous activity. For most that means, stretching before a workout is a bad idea. In fact, today, numerous studies support the fact that stretching is actually most beneficial after a workout. We now know, for certain, that it is important to elongate a muscle only after it has been placed under contraction, as we do when we lift weights and go out for a walk. Another benefit to stretching post exercise is our need to relax and recover after a workout.
Here are the points to remember in order to best incorporate stretching into our daily lives:
1. Most studies support that you need to stretch most every joint in your body three or more times per week to maximize optimal range of motion.
2. We recommend that you stretch the muscle and supporting tissue only when the muscles are warm. Therefore, the best time to stretch and increase your range of motion is right after you exercise or have been physically active for a period of time. Avoid stretching a cold muscle as this will increases your risk for injury.
3. When you are stretching it is very important to stay in proper alignment and as you stretch go to a mildly elongated point and hold. Never push the stretch to the point of pain. Allow the neurological messaging to occur between the muscle and brain for about 10-30 seconds and then you can take the stretch a bit further. The stretch should be performed in a gently, fluid and slow progressive way. Avoid ballistic/bounce stretching of a muscle or muscle group as this can increase potential tears or strains.
4. Finally, make sure you are breathing through the stretch. The muscles need the oxygen and this helps the circulation process as well.
Keep in mind you can stretch almost anywhere and anytime, the benefits are immediate and long-lasting. So let’s all stand up and reach for the stars! Hold it….breath….relax!
We want to encourage you to incorporate different stretches throughout your day…keep the circulation going and the joints limber.
75 Days to Change - 53 Days to Go!
Aerobics
A note of critical importance when considering the human “aerobic” condition, is that as we age and or increase our exercise level, our body has a new, higher demand for oxygen.
Regardless of age, the benefits of aerobic exercise seem to be limitless. Whether you are an Olympic athlete or a housewife you can benefit greatly from regular aerobic activity. It’s a given fact that body composition changes with regular exercise. Aerobic exercises, however, burns fat faster than any other type of exercise. Body fat goes down, muscle mass goes up, resting heart rate goes down, cardio capacity goes up, bone density improves and metabolism in the form of resting energy expenditure improves which means we have the capacity to burn more calories at rest.
We also know from a weight management stand point that the appetite is suppressed when engaging in regular aerobic activities. The calorie burning effect of regular aerobic exercise allows for increased daily calorie intake. When Lance Armstrong was training for the Tour de France he would consume 6,000+ calories a day. He was not worried about gaining weight; he had to produce enough aerobic energy to sustain his daily cycling challenge.
Weight-bearing aerobic activities like walking and jogging are also important and help to build the skeletal system. These activities help reduce the risk for osteoporosis and other bone deficiencies.
Cardiovascular training also has been shown to increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin. It is critical for a type 1 and type 2 diabetic or a person with metabolic syndrome to exercise aerobically.
Since cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer and we know that aerobic activities strengthen the heart, it goes without saying that a person with coronary artery disease would benefit from regular aerobic exercise. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, increased HDL, decreased LDL and arthritis improvement are more reasons to engage in regular aerobic exercise.
To benefit from aerobic training you must elevate the heart rate to your individual training zone or at a perceived exertion level. Let us explain. The best formula to determine your training zone is the Karvonen Formula.
Training Heart Rate:
-maximum heart rate
-resting heart rate
X desired intensity (50-85%)
+resting heart rate
For Example: What is the training heart rate for a 40 year old with a resting heart rate of 80 bpm at 70% intensity?
220-40 (age )= 180 (maximum heart rate)
180 (MHR) – 80 (RHR) = 100 (heart rate reserve)
100 x 0.70 (70% intensity) =70
70 + 80 (RHR) = 150 (Target HR at 70%)
There are certain aerobic factors that are either genetically wired or predetermined by early childhood activities or by the presence of limiting diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD), bronchitis and asthma. The remainder of aerobic efficiency and cardiovascular conditioning can be highly influenced by supplementation. In reality for activity lasting more than a minute or so, your muscle functioning is only as good as your body’s ability to fuel it aerobically. The Vigorous Life aerobic formula has been created to quickly and efficiently impact exercise performance.
Vigorous Life aerobic formula contains Vitamin T, Dimethylglycine (DMG), Choline Bitartrate and Glycine. It would take an entire book chapter to discuss the biochemical mechanisms behind Vigorous Life. Rather than learning all that, you can simply take two capsules before your daily workout or anytime during the day when you normally feel tired and experience the fantastic difference this product makes in your life. Completely natural and safe nutrient based Vigorous Life by Pure Chemistry MD is the way to go for anyone engaging in aerobic exercise or vigorous activities or lifestyle of any kind.
Vigorous Life aerobic formula is available at Curves. Ask of it at the desk. One bottle of 60 capsules is $30.
A note of critical importance when considering the human “aerobic” condition, is that as we age and or increase our exercise level, our body has a new, higher demand for oxygen.
Regardless of age, the benefits of aerobic exercise seem to be limitless. Whether you are an Olympic athlete or a housewife you can benefit greatly from regular aerobic activity. It’s a given fact that body composition changes with regular exercise. Aerobic exercises, however, burns fat faster than any other type of exercise. Body fat goes down, muscle mass goes up, resting heart rate goes down, cardio capacity goes up, bone density improves and metabolism in the form of resting energy expenditure improves which means we have the capacity to burn more calories at rest.
We also know from a weight management stand point that the appetite is suppressed when engaging in regular aerobic activities. The calorie burning effect of regular aerobic exercise allows for increased daily calorie intake. When Lance Armstrong was training for the Tour de France he would consume 6,000+ calories a day. He was not worried about gaining weight; he had to produce enough aerobic energy to sustain his daily cycling challenge.
Weight-bearing aerobic activities like walking and jogging are also important and help to build the skeletal system. These activities help reduce the risk for osteoporosis and other bone deficiencies.
Cardiovascular training also has been shown to increase the sensitivity of cells to insulin. It is critical for a type 1 and type 2 diabetic or a person with metabolic syndrome to exercise aerobically.
Since cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer and we know that aerobic activities strengthen the heart, it goes without saying that a person with coronary artery disease would benefit from regular aerobic exercise. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, increased HDL, decreased LDL and arthritis improvement are more reasons to engage in regular aerobic exercise.
To benefit from aerobic training you must elevate the heart rate to your individual training zone or at a perceived exertion level. Let us explain. The best formula to determine your training zone is the Karvonen Formula.
Training Heart Rate:
-maximum heart rate
-resting heart rate
X desired intensity (50-85%)
+resting heart rate
For Example: What is the training heart rate for a 40 year old with a resting heart rate of 80 bpm at 70% intensity?
220-40 (age )= 180 (maximum heart rate)
180 (MHR) – 80 (RHR) = 100 (heart rate reserve)
100 x 0.70 (70% intensity) =70
70 + 80 (RHR) = 150 (Target HR at 70%)
There are certain aerobic factors that are either genetically wired or predetermined by early childhood activities or by the presence of limiting diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ( COPD), bronchitis and asthma. The remainder of aerobic efficiency and cardiovascular conditioning can be highly influenced by supplementation. In reality for activity lasting more than a minute or so, your muscle functioning is only as good as your body’s ability to fuel it aerobically. The Vigorous Life aerobic formula has been created to quickly and efficiently impact exercise performance.
Vigorous Life aerobic formula contains Vitamin T, Dimethylglycine (DMG), Choline Bitartrate and Glycine. It would take an entire book chapter to discuss the biochemical mechanisms behind Vigorous Life. Rather than learning all that, you can simply take two capsules before your daily workout or anytime during the day when you normally feel tired and experience the fantastic difference this product makes in your life. Completely natural and safe nutrient based Vigorous Life by Pure Chemistry MD is the way to go for anyone engaging in aerobic exercise or vigorous activities or lifestyle of any kind.
Vigorous Life aerobic formula is available at Curves. Ask of it at the desk. One bottle of 60 capsules is $30.
75 Days to Change - 55 Days to Go!
What is Exercise?
There are three basic ways to think about movement of the body: flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic.
Flexibility exercises help increase range of motion of a joint and is based in stretching. The outcome is intended to improve the functional movement of the muscles and connective tissue to enhance optimal performance.
Aerobic exercises, by definition, are rhythmic in nature and are sustained, continuous movements. The term aerobic means with oxygen and this simply supports the fact that the body can produce energy at the same rate energy is being used. Therefore, the activity can be done over an extended amount of time. Some aerobic activities include cycling, walking, running, jumping rope and swimming. Aerobic activities strengthen the cardiovascular systems in the body: heart, lungs and vascular system.
The third category of physical movement is anaerobic. Anaerobic means without oxygen and simply means that the body cannot produce enough energy through the oxygen delivery systems to sustain this type of movement over long periods of time. So think about anaerobic activities like weight lifting and sprinting; you can only bench press a weight for a short period of time or you can only run at top speeds for short periods of time before you become exhausted and need to stop. Anaerobic exercise is used to increase the capacity of the muscles to perform greater work.
The goal will be to engage in all three physical types movement daily. Your core workout should be Curves AT LEAST three times a week, where you get all three types of movement; aerobic, strength training/anaerobic, and stretching/flexibility. There are ways to move aerobically at home doing housework and yard work, and anaerobic ways to move by lifting groceries, moving furniture or physical labor. You can even engage in stretching activities in the chair in your office or stretching between chores at home.
Bottom line, exercise aerobically, anaerobically and stretch every day. Use your journal to not only record what you are consuming in terms of nutrition but also record the ways you are staying physically active inside and outside the gym.
There are three basic ways to think about movement of the body: flexibility, aerobic and anaerobic.
Flexibility exercises help increase range of motion of a joint and is based in stretching. The outcome is intended to improve the functional movement of the muscles and connective tissue to enhance optimal performance.
Aerobic exercises, by definition, are rhythmic in nature and are sustained, continuous movements. The term aerobic means with oxygen and this simply supports the fact that the body can produce energy at the same rate energy is being used. Therefore, the activity can be done over an extended amount of time. Some aerobic activities include cycling, walking, running, jumping rope and swimming. Aerobic activities strengthen the cardiovascular systems in the body: heart, lungs and vascular system.
The third category of physical movement is anaerobic. Anaerobic means without oxygen and simply means that the body cannot produce enough energy through the oxygen delivery systems to sustain this type of movement over long periods of time. So think about anaerobic activities like weight lifting and sprinting; you can only bench press a weight for a short period of time or you can only run at top speeds for short periods of time before you become exhausted and need to stop. Anaerobic exercise is used to increase the capacity of the muscles to perform greater work.
The goal will be to engage in all three physical types movement daily. Your core workout should be Curves AT LEAST three times a week, where you get all three types of movement; aerobic, strength training/anaerobic, and stretching/flexibility. There are ways to move aerobically at home doing housework and yard work, and anaerobic ways to move by lifting groceries, moving furniture or physical labor. You can even engage in stretching activities in the chair in your office or stretching between chores at home.
Bottom line, exercise aerobically, anaerobically and stretch every day. Use your journal to not only record what you are consuming in terms of nutrition but also record the ways you are staying physically active inside and outside the gym.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
75 Days to Change 59 Days to Go!
Understanding fueling better through the Stop and Go Method.
We’ve discussed the need to break down huge change into a series of smaller changes. Over the first ten days we discussed each of the major food fuels and how they work for improving fitness, health and performance. Today, we wanted to review some of the major points and put them into a simple, working system. It is really as simple as STOP doing that and GO do this.
You will remember the big three food fuels being protein, carbohydrates and fats. You learned that all three food fuels are useful; they only become bad when used in excess. Find a proper balance in the food fuels and you will lose body fat in a healthy and efficient manner.
The good news is that science and experience has shown us that there are excellent general parameters for how much of each type of fuel should be utilized by people looking to lose body fat through exercise and proper food selection. A sensible starting goal would be the following calorie percentages: 30-40% percent protein, 35-40% carbohydrates and 20-25% fat.
Coincidentally, the Curves Weight Management Plan is laid out with these percentages. We will be offering these classes again, free of charge. Watch for times and dates here in the blog and posted in the circuit.
Knowing the goal is important but it is equally important that you are aware of the main mistake people make in their daily eating (even while dieting) which is to consume far more carbohydrate calories than protein calories. Don’t let that happen to you, especially before and after exercise when protein is most critical. Think proportion. Think balance.
On the blackboard, all carbohydrates contain the same number of calories, about 4 per gram. But the fact is your body is not a blackboard. For us, as living energy systems, all carbohydrates are not created equally. The important fact for you to understand is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to shape their body if they are relying on high glycemic foods for fuel. Worse, people who are overweight to begin with are normally more hypersensitive to the high glycemic carb foods!
To make the concept of glycemic load simpler, we’ve introduced you to the traffic light analogy with all the common carbohydrate containing foods listed as either green light, yellow light or red light foods. We’ve posted this in the club. Look for it just past the entry.
So as a summary, for all you folks who are highly serious about your eating programs, it is as easy as STOP and GO –
STOP relying on too many high glycemic carbohydrates and GO work on eating more protein in a balanced food fuel approach.
To help support the fueling process we carry Pure Chemistry supplements perfect for the STOP and GO concept. Why supplements? We live in a rapidly changing world. Everyone wants to see results instantly…or sooner. The principles we outlined in the first ten days when practiced consistently, lead to great change. But that change takes time and many of you are not that patient. The supplements will speed you to your desired change and make you a lot happier in the process.
The GO product is called Cacao Wow and is a metabolic enhancer that naturally assists you in super charging the changes to lead to results FASTER than would otherwise be expected. Not only that, but Cacao Wow is metabolic support for the changes. It will enable you to actually feel better and more energetic while you trim down the unnecessary and unwanted fuels. And with 21 times the antioxidants than green tea, it really supports your heart.
If you’re wondering if Cacao Wow will help you, you can test yourself right now. Take this simple quiz. If any of the statements seem true of you, we definitely suggest that you take Cacao Wow to help you on your journey.
1. You completed reading the first ten days of the 75 Days to Change and were frustrated that you couldn’t have completed it in 5 days or less. If so, you are impatient for change and this product will help you to get thinner and fitter, faster. Go for it.
2. You have problems staying on diets for more than 2 weeks because you don’t see changes occurring fast enough or because the diets deplete your energy and change your mood. If this is you, take the product.
3. You know you are going to “cheat” on any diet more often than you’d like and you want to make sure that the cheating doesn’t slow your diet progress. If so, consider the Cacao Wow as cheating insurance.
Best yet, as powerful it is, it is really easy to use. Here are the incredibly simple directions: Take Cacao Wow in the morning, before exercise or anytime you feel the need for a little extra drive in your day.
It’s that simple.
We’ve discussed the need to break down huge change into a series of smaller changes. Over the first ten days we discussed each of the major food fuels and how they work for improving fitness, health and performance. Today, we wanted to review some of the major points and put them into a simple, working system. It is really as simple as STOP doing that and GO do this.
You will remember the big three food fuels being protein, carbohydrates and fats. You learned that all three food fuels are useful; they only become bad when used in excess. Find a proper balance in the food fuels and you will lose body fat in a healthy and efficient manner.
The good news is that science and experience has shown us that there are excellent general parameters for how much of each type of fuel should be utilized by people looking to lose body fat through exercise and proper food selection. A sensible starting goal would be the following calorie percentages: 30-40% percent protein, 35-40% carbohydrates and 20-25% fat.
Coincidentally, the Curves Weight Management Plan is laid out with these percentages. We will be offering these classes again, free of charge. Watch for times and dates here in the blog and posted in the circuit.
Knowing the goal is important but it is equally important that you are aware of the main mistake people make in their daily eating (even while dieting) which is to consume far more carbohydrate calories than protein calories. Don’t let that happen to you, especially before and after exercise when protein is most critical. Think proportion. Think balance.
On the blackboard, all carbohydrates contain the same number of calories, about 4 per gram. But the fact is your body is not a blackboard. For us, as living energy systems, all carbohydrates are not created equally. The important fact for you to understand is that it is very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to shape their body if they are relying on high glycemic foods for fuel. Worse, people who are overweight to begin with are normally more hypersensitive to the high glycemic carb foods!
To make the concept of glycemic load simpler, we’ve introduced you to the traffic light analogy with all the common carbohydrate containing foods listed as either green light, yellow light or red light foods. We’ve posted this in the club. Look for it just past the entry.
So as a summary, for all you folks who are highly serious about your eating programs, it is as easy as STOP and GO –
STOP relying on too many high glycemic carbohydrates and GO work on eating more protein in a balanced food fuel approach.
To help support the fueling process we carry Pure Chemistry supplements perfect for the STOP and GO concept. Why supplements? We live in a rapidly changing world. Everyone wants to see results instantly…or sooner. The principles we outlined in the first ten days when practiced consistently, lead to great change. But that change takes time and many of you are not that patient. The supplements will speed you to your desired change and make you a lot happier in the process.
The GO product is called Cacao Wow and is a metabolic enhancer that naturally assists you in super charging the changes to lead to results FASTER than would otherwise be expected. Not only that, but Cacao Wow is metabolic support for the changes. It will enable you to actually feel better and more energetic while you trim down the unnecessary and unwanted fuels. And with 21 times the antioxidants than green tea, it really supports your heart.
If you’re wondering if Cacao Wow will help you, you can test yourself right now. Take this simple quiz. If any of the statements seem true of you, we definitely suggest that you take Cacao Wow to help you on your journey.
1. You completed reading the first ten days of the 75 Days to Change and were frustrated that you couldn’t have completed it in 5 days or less. If so, you are impatient for change and this product will help you to get thinner and fitter, faster. Go for it.
2. You have problems staying on diets for more than 2 weeks because you don’t see changes occurring fast enough or because the diets deplete your energy and change your mood. If this is you, take the product.
3. You know you are going to “cheat” on any diet more often than you’d like and you want to make sure that the cheating doesn’t slow your diet progress. If so, consider the Cacao Wow as cheating insurance.
Best yet, as powerful it is, it is really easy to use. Here are the incredibly simple directions: Take Cacao Wow in the morning, before exercise or anytime you feel the need for a little extra drive in your day.
It’s that simple.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
75 Days to Change - 60 Days to Go!
The “skinny” on Fat
Recently we discussed two of the three main food fuels: protein and carbohydrates. Fat is the third important food fuel and that is what we are discussing today.
Fats are food fuels that belong to a group of substances called lipids, and may come in liquid or solid form. Fat provides 9 calories of energy per gram, more than twice the number provided by carbohydrates or protein. On average, individuals stores between 30-50 times the energy in fat as they do in carbohydrates, which makes fat a very important fuel source.
While we tend to think of fat as “bad,” fat is absolutely necessary for good health. Aside from its energy producing capability, fat cells help insulate the body and helps the body absorb fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K. Further, fat is important for maintaining healthy skin and hair and maintaining optimal cell membrane function.
Fat also provides the essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid, which are not made by the body and must be obtained from foods. These essential fatty acids play important roles in controlling inflammation, in clotting blood, and in brain development, especially during the first 24 months of life.
The main distinction in fat is saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Saturated fats are the primary cause of high LDL or “bad cholesterol.” Too much saturated fat increases the likelihood of heart disease, cancer and obesity. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as fatty meats, butter, cheese, whole milk and ice cream and some vegetable oils.
Unsaturated fats don’t have the negative effects on blood cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats. Examples of unsaturated fats are monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oil and polyunsaturated fats such as fish or corn oil. Remember though, while unsaturated fats are better for you than are saturated fats, unsaturated fats still have a great many calories, so you must be mindful in limiting their consumption.
One final type of fats that you should be aware of are trans fatty acids. A trans fat is classified as an unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Trans fat comes from adding hydrogen to oil in order to harden it. This process is called hydrogenation and results in hydrogenated fats or partially hydrogenated fats. Trans fat can both raise your “bad” cholesterol and lower your “good” cholesterol. Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, inflammation, increased triglycerides and cancer. Health authorities all over the world recommend that you limit your trans fat intake to trace amounts. Read labels carefully to reveal the partially hydrogenated process. Trans fatty acids are found in fried foods, baked goods, processed foods and margarines and should definitely be avoided.
When it comes to fat, the best advice we can give anyone is to choose foods that are low in fat such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables or choose lean, protein-rich foods such as soy, fish, skinless chicken, lean meats and fat-free dairy products. Another simple trick is to avoid commercial goods containing high amounts of simple carbohydrates as they often contain high fat content as well.
Further, when ingredients are listed on the labels please pay careful attention and choose products lower in fat content and avoid saturated fat, trans fatty acids or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats as much as possible.
While it is not advisable to avoid all fats in your diets, ideally, if you are attempting to lose weight or increase your fitness your total calories from fat should be 20 percent or less.
Recently we discussed two of the three main food fuels: protein and carbohydrates. Fat is the third important food fuel and that is what we are discussing today.
Fats are food fuels that belong to a group of substances called lipids, and may come in liquid or solid form. Fat provides 9 calories of energy per gram, more than twice the number provided by carbohydrates or protein. On average, individuals stores between 30-50 times the energy in fat as they do in carbohydrates, which makes fat a very important fuel source.
While we tend to think of fat as “bad,” fat is absolutely necessary for good health. Aside from its energy producing capability, fat cells help insulate the body and helps the body absorb fat soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K. Further, fat is important for maintaining healthy skin and hair and maintaining optimal cell membrane function.
Fat also provides the essential fatty acids, linoleic and linolenic acid, which are not made by the body and must be obtained from foods. These essential fatty acids play important roles in controlling inflammation, in clotting blood, and in brain development, especially during the first 24 months of life.
The main distinction in fat is saturated fat and unsaturated fat. Saturated fats are the primary cause of high LDL or “bad cholesterol.” Too much saturated fat increases the likelihood of heart disease, cancer and obesity. Saturated fats are found in animal products such as fatty meats, butter, cheese, whole milk and ice cream and some vegetable oils.
Unsaturated fats don’t have the negative effects on blood cholesterol when substituted for saturated fats. Examples of unsaturated fats are monounsaturated fats such as olive and canola oil and polyunsaturated fats such as fish or corn oil. Remember though, while unsaturated fats are better for you than are saturated fats, unsaturated fats still have a great many calories, so you must be mindful in limiting their consumption.
One final type of fats that you should be aware of are trans fatty acids. A trans fat is classified as an unsaturated fat with trans-isomer fatty acid. Trans fat comes from adding hydrogen to oil in order to harden it. This process is called hydrogenation and results in hydrogenated fats or partially hydrogenated fats. Trans fat can both raise your “bad” cholesterol and lower your “good” cholesterol. Consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease, inflammation, increased triglycerides and cancer. Health authorities all over the world recommend that you limit your trans fat intake to trace amounts. Read labels carefully to reveal the partially hydrogenated process. Trans fatty acids are found in fried foods, baked goods, processed foods and margarines and should definitely be avoided.
When it comes to fat, the best advice we can give anyone is to choose foods that are low in fat such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables or choose lean, protein-rich foods such as soy, fish, skinless chicken, lean meats and fat-free dairy products. Another simple trick is to avoid commercial goods containing high amounts of simple carbohydrates as they often contain high fat content as well.
Further, when ingredients are listed on the labels please pay careful attention and choose products lower in fat content and avoid saturated fat, trans fatty acids or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats as much as possible.
While it is not advisable to avoid all fats in your diets, ideally, if you are attempting to lose weight or increase your fitness your total calories from fat should be 20 percent or less.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
75 Days to Change - Day 6-8
Carbohydrate Fuel and Glycemic Load
There are three main energy producing nutrient food fuels for the body: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Today, we will discuss carbohydrates. While there are different types of carbohydrates, generally speaking, all carbohydrates are made of sugar.
The most important, practical designation for carbohydrates is simple versus complex. Simple carbs are single sugar molecules or short chains of sugars linked together. Some examples of simple carbs are sugar, honey, fruit and fruit juices. Complex carbs or starches are longer chains of sugars bonded together. Examples include vegetables, breads, cereals and pasta.
While most people know to avoid simple sugars when possible, they might not know the special danger to the body that lurks in a simple carbohydrate called High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). While simple sugars should be limited, HFCS should be totally avoided as it builds insulin resistance and leads to a cascade of negative biochemical consequences.
There are a myriad of studies showing that High Fructose Corn Syrup increases obesity and insulin resistance, stimulates the liver to produce dangerous triglycerides, promotes the destructive glycation of proteins and is associated with increased rates of carbonyl compounds which are blamed for diabetic complications such as foot ulcers and eye and nerve damage. Even worse, a pilot study of High Fructose Corn Syrups manufactured in the U.S. showed trace amounts of mercury.
Selecting low glycemic carbs minimizes the fluctuation of blood glucose and insulin levels and is considered the key to long-term health, reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and sustainable weight loss.
Glycemic load is a way of expressing numerically a specific foods effect on blood-sugar levels. Each food has a number which is a lab value estimate of how likely the food is to raise your blood sugar. If a food is under 10, like nuts, asparagus, celery, cucumbers and low-fat yogurt than it is a great food choice. Foods with values between 10 and 20 like brown rice, oat brain and popcorn are moderate. Foods over 20 like white bread, chips, and jelly beans are foods that should go on the rarely to seldom eaten list.
As a rule of thumb we like to tell people who are attempting to lose weight to try to keep the total grams of carbohydrates under their pounds in body weight. If you weigh 130 pounds, you would want to try to eat less than 130 grams of carbohydrates, most of them from the low to moderate glycemic load lists. You don’t need to chart each food you eat but keeping rough estimates in your daily journal will be a huge help in monitoring and managing your return to superior fitness.
Another rule of thumb is to try to eat as many grams of protein as you do carbohydrates and if you get within about 20% of that figure, you can record that as a successful day.
On workout days, modern sports science now tells us something that may be different from what you have been previously told. Study after study has been showing that it is best NOT to eat prior to exercise. Eating before exercise is actually detrimental to performance and, perhaps, to your health. For example, during digestion, blood flow is diverted away from your muscles and brain and into the organs related to digestion. Further, there is a faster shift from burning carbs to burning fat during exercise when there was no pre-exercise meal. Also, ingestion of both carbohydrates and certain types of popular proteins before exercise has been shown to raise plasma cortisol levels significantly which can have an adverse impact on fitness and on health, in a variety of ways.
The critical meal for you to focus on is the post exercise meal which ideally has about 80 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein. The carbohydrates should be low glycemeic load, complex carbs and the protein should be non-denatured native whey. Your post workout meal should be eaten within a two hour window following exercise, but in a perfect world, it could be started around 15 minutes following exercise.
In summary, today’s small change, which we will emphatically shout, is to avoid any and all foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup in them. The skills to start putting into your day are to avoid processed foods, avoid foods that contain added sugar, choose fresh fruits and drink less soda. If you are able to do that, you will have a real jump start on losing weight and increasing health. And, begin estimating and learning the glycemic load of the foods that you commonly consume. Keep a daily food journal to track your progress. There are a great many different websites that can help you. We suggest http://www.nutritiondata.com/ but any similar site will do.
There are three main energy producing nutrient food fuels for the body: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Today, we will discuss carbohydrates. While there are different types of carbohydrates, generally speaking, all carbohydrates are made of sugar.
The most important, practical designation for carbohydrates is simple versus complex. Simple carbs are single sugar molecules or short chains of sugars linked together. Some examples of simple carbs are sugar, honey, fruit and fruit juices. Complex carbs or starches are longer chains of sugars bonded together. Examples include vegetables, breads, cereals and pasta.
While most people know to avoid simple sugars when possible, they might not know the special danger to the body that lurks in a simple carbohydrate called High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). While simple sugars should be limited, HFCS should be totally avoided as it builds insulin resistance and leads to a cascade of negative biochemical consequences.
There are a myriad of studies showing that High Fructose Corn Syrup increases obesity and insulin resistance, stimulates the liver to produce dangerous triglycerides, promotes the destructive glycation of proteins and is associated with increased rates of carbonyl compounds which are blamed for diabetic complications such as foot ulcers and eye and nerve damage. Even worse, a pilot study of High Fructose Corn Syrups manufactured in the U.S. showed trace amounts of mercury.
Selecting low glycemic carbs minimizes the fluctuation of blood glucose and insulin levels and is considered the key to long-term health, reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes and sustainable weight loss.
Glycemic load is a way of expressing numerically a specific foods effect on blood-sugar levels. Each food has a number which is a lab value estimate of how likely the food is to raise your blood sugar. If a food is under 10, like nuts, asparagus, celery, cucumbers and low-fat yogurt than it is a great food choice. Foods with values between 10 and 20 like brown rice, oat brain and popcorn are moderate. Foods over 20 like white bread, chips, and jelly beans are foods that should go on the rarely to seldom eaten list.
As a rule of thumb we like to tell people who are attempting to lose weight to try to keep the total grams of carbohydrates under their pounds in body weight. If you weigh 130 pounds, you would want to try to eat less than 130 grams of carbohydrates, most of them from the low to moderate glycemic load lists. You don’t need to chart each food you eat but keeping rough estimates in your daily journal will be a huge help in monitoring and managing your return to superior fitness.
Another rule of thumb is to try to eat as many grams of protein as you do carbohydrates and if you get within about 20% of that figure, you can record that as a successful day.
On workout days, modern sports science now tells us something that may be different from what you have been previously told. Study after study has been showing that it is best NOT to eat prior to exercise. Eating before exercise is actually detrimental to performance and, perhaps, to your health. For example, during digestion, blood flow is diverted away from your muscles and brain and into the organs related to digestion. Further, there is a faster shift from burning carbs to burning fat during exercise when there was no pre-exercise meal. Also, ingestion of both carbohydrates and certain types of popular proteins before exercise has been shown to raise plasma cortisol levels significantly which can have an adverse impact on fitness and on health, in a variety of ways.
The critical meal for you to focus on is the post exercise meal which ideally has about 80 grams of carbohydrates and 20 grams of protein. The carbohydrates should be low glycemeic load, complex carbs and the protein should be non-denatured native whey. Your post workout meal should be eaten within a two hour window following exercise, but in a perfect world, it could be started around 15 minutes following exercise.
In summary, today’s small change, which we will emphatically shout, is to avoid any and all foods with High Fructose Corn Syrup in them. The skills to start putting into your day are to avoid processed foods, avoid foods that contain added sugar, choose fresh fruits and drink less soda. If you are able to do that, you will have a real jump start on losing weight and increasing health. And, begin estimating and learning the glycemic load of the foods that you commonly consume. Keep a daily food journal to track your progress. There are a great many different websites that can help you. We suggest http://www.nutritiondata.com/ but any similar site will do.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
75 Days to Change - Day 5
Go Native
Protein is extremely fragile. When intact, complete protein can spark and support amazing, regenerative processes in the human body.
Today, the various commercial methods of processing whey do not protect the fragility of the protein molecule; rather, they actually destroy it. There are three commercial production methods that produce virtually every whey product that you can purchase from any store or gym. You might recognize one or more of the three manufacturing methods from the labels on the various products: isolates, ion-exchange, or hydrolyzed. All three involve subjecting the milk to high heat (163 degrees) and significant acidification. These processes literally unfold and destroy the protein resulting in the need to filter out the damaged parts via ultra-filtering, cross flow filtering or micro-filtering. Unfortunately, the damaged components that are removed were the previously vital protein components that provide it with its biological activity.
Many manufacturers attempt to divert you from understanding this basic science through the use of one of more of the seemingly high-tech scientific terms listed above. Other manufacturers flat out try to trick you with terms such as un-denatured protein or cold process proteins. The truth is that there is no such thing as un-denatured protein. Once you denature a protein (i.e. destroy), there is no way to un-denature (or un-destroy) it. Once destroyed, always destroyed. As far as cold process goes, there are no label laws regarding this term so a manufacturer could legally argue that parts of the process were cold or that 163 degree was cold compared to 212 degrees which might catch the protein on fire!!
The most relevant point regarding protein that you need to focus on, always, is that for a protein to truly improve your health maximally, it must retain the full range of biological activity and proportion of the protein components that nature provided. Only non-denatured whey can provide this benefit. And of course, the milk must come from healthy milking cows not fed harmful chemicals, additives, antibiotics or steroids.
The bottom line is that non-denatured whey protein has the highest biological value of any protein. It is a complete protein, unlike soy, and provides all the essential amino acids in the proper balance. Non-denatured whey is also the only protein that has all of five critical, active protein constituents of whey: lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin, alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin..
Generally speaking, native whey has a wide range of immune-enhancing properties and acts as an antioxidant, antihypertensive, antitumor, antiviral and antibacterial agent. A number of clinical trials have successfully been performed using whey as an antimicrobial agent and in the treatment of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, HIV, hepatitis B & C, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, as well as other disease states. It has a starring role in red blood cell production, remaking the cell membrane, support in chemotherapy treatment, detoxification of heavy metals, wound healing, growth of new muscle, weight regulation and the support of numerous immune functions. It is used by populations that have Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia, Hepatitis, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Respiratory disease, cognitive disorder from nutritional compromise and for any fitness performance improvement.
We recommend that healthy individuals use 20 grams of a non-denatured whey product once to twice a day to help remake cell membranes and improve cellular and tissue health in a variety of ways. We will soon carry an excellent tasting, natural vanilla flavored non-denatured protein called Polypept-Ice. This is a superior manufactured product using milk from cows fed from pure grass and chemical free grains. The taste is creamy and makes an excellent protein shake or smoothie when you add fresh fruit to it.
Protein is extremely fragile. When intact, complete protein can spark and support amazing, regenerative processes in the human body.
Today, the various commercial methods of processing whey do not protect the fragility of the protein molecule; rather, they actually destroy it. There are three commercial production methods that produce virtually every whey product that you can purchase from any store or gym. You might recognize one or more of the three manufacturing methods from the labels on the various products: isolates, ion-exchange, or hydrolyzed. All three involve subjecting the milk to high heat (163 degrees) and significant acidification. These processes literally unfold and destroy the protein resulting in the need to filter out the damaged parts via ultra-filtering, cross flow filtering or micro-filtering. Unfortunately, the damaged components that are removed were the previously vital protein components that provide it with its biological activity.
Many manufacturers attempt to divert you from understanding this basic science through the use of one of more of the seemingly high-tech scientific terms listed above. Other manufacturers flat out try to trick you with terms such as un-denatured protein or cold process proteins. The truth is that there is no such thing as un-denatured protein. Once you denature a protein (i.e. destroy), there is no way to un-denature (or un-destroy) it. Once destroyed, always destroyed. As far as cold process goes, there are no label laws regarding this term so a manufacturer could legally argue that parts of the process were cold or that 163 degree was cold compared to 212 degrees which might catch the protein on fire!!
The most relevant point regarding protein that you need to focus on, always, is that for a protein to truly improve your health maximally, it must retain the full range of biological activity and proportion of the protein components that nature provided. Only non-denatured whey can provide this benefit. And of course, the milk must come from healthy milking cows not fed harmful chemicals, additives, antibiotics or steroids.
The bottom line is that non-denatured whey protein has the highest biological value of any protein. It is a complete protein, unlike soy, and provides all the essential amino acids in the proper balance. Non-denatured whey is also the only protein that has all of five critical, active protein constituents of whey: lactoferrin, immunoglobulins, bovine serum albumin, alpha-lactalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin..
Generally speaking, native whey has a wide range of immune-enhancing properties and acts as an antioxidant, antihypertensive, antitumor, antiviral and antibacterial agent. A number of clinical trials have successfully been performed using whey as an antimicrobial agent and in the treatment of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancer, HIV, hepatitis B & C, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, as well as other disease states. It has a starring role in red blood cell production, remaking the cell membrane, support in chemotherapy treatment, detoxification of heavy metals, wound healing, growth of new muscle, weight regulation and the support of numerous immune functions. It is used by populations that have Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Fibromyalgia, Hepatitis, Cancer, HIV/AIDS, Respiratory disease, cognitive disorder from nutritional compromise and for any fitness performance improvement.
We recommend that healthy individuals use 20 grams of a non-denatured whey product once to twice a day to help remake cell membranes and improve cellular and tissue health in a variety of ways. We will soon carry an excellent tasting, natural vanilla flavored non-denatured protein called Polypept-Ice. This is a superior manufactured product using milk from cows fed from pure grass and chemical free grains. The taste is creamy and makes an excellent protein shake or smoothie when you add fresh fruit to it.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
75 Days to Change - Day 4
Day Four: After water, we are protein.
Earlier we learned that water is the main chemical in our bodies. Coming in number two is protein. The word protein actually means “first substance” due to the fact that the first food fuel we ever consumed was our mother’s milk. Milk is the only food specifically designed to sustain mammalian life and therefore human life. Milk has two protein groups:
Whey - which is the complete protein that makes milk so essential to life and;
Casein - which is used for manufacturing cheese and other milk by-products.
One of the problems you can have in understanding protein is that there is so much information out there on protein, most of it contradictory, most of it wrong. It’s time that you had the truth about protein; just the facts and nothing but the facts.
To start, you need to understand that the word “protein” covers a lot of ground. There are literally thousands of different proteins, ranging from high end proteins that are actually “live” to low end proteins like Elmer’s Glue.
Assuming a decent dietary source, protein is the nutritional key for those of you interested in improving your health, losing excess body fat or adding lean, well-shaped muscle. In order to make these improvements, you need sufficient protein intake to fuel the changes.
Normally our diets are very high in carbohydrates and fats. It is a bit of an oversimplification, but think of it in the following way: when you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar immediately raises. This causes your pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin that removes the sugar from the blood and stores it as fat. Conversely, when you eat proteins your blood sugar levels remain low. This causes the pancreas to secrete glucagon. Glucagon travels to the fat cells and extracts fat to be burned as energy.
As important as protein is, oddly, as we indicated earlier, there is no nutrient more misunderstood. Protein is simply a group of different amino acids bonded together. Different types of proteins are comprised of different amounts of individual amino acids. This is important, depending on what goal you are trying to achieve with protein use. There are a variety of protein sources available to people. There are proteins from whole foods such as meats, grains and vegetables. There are also single free form amino acids. There are soy proteins, egg proteins, casein and various forms of whey protein.
Let's examine in general terms some of the more popular protein sources.
1. Protein from whole foods such as meats, grains and vegetables. Whole food sources are acceptable because they are widely available and they taste good. On the negative side, however, whole food proteins normally spoil quickly and may contain risky microorganisms that can make you sick. Additionally, food proteins normally have high levels of fats or carbohydrates and are highly fibrous, therefore more difficult to digest. Further, depending on the specific food source, they may cause allergies.
Most importantly, however, whole food proteins when cooked can lose their health altering potency.
2. Single Free Form Amino Acids. Single free form amino acids are manufactured through fermentation by microorganisms in large biological chambers. These can be manufactured as pharmaceutical grade pure injectibles or as food grade products. As food products, amino acids are very costly, taste terrible, have poor mixability, high digestive irritability and are absorbed relatively slowly.
3. Soy Protein. There is so much information being peddled by marketing companies regarding soy protein being the best source of protein for women. This is due to the fact that soy is a BIG business in the US. And soy manufacturers actually have lobbyists on the payroll helping to create the big lie. There is no other way to state the facts other than to say that calling soy the best, most complete protein for women is totally inaccurate as it is missing a highly critical amino acid, methionine. Facts are facts and there is no way to dispute this fact.
Additionally, soy is an estrogenic substance. While there were studies published earlier in time demonstrating estrogenic nutrient’s value for heart disease prevention, etc., there are an equal number of studies showing that taking estrogenic substances may not affect heart disease even a little bit and, in fact, carry with them significant risks to the consumer.
4. Egg Protein. Twenty odd years ago, Hal Katz formed a nutritional brand called Nature’s Best and he went on a mission to convince people of the superior value of egg protein and various protein’s PER ratings. The PER rating died around 1991 along with the notion that egg protein was superior for making anything other than meringue pies.
5. Casein. There was a time when whey was considered an annoying by-product of making various cheeses from casein. Today we understand that casein protein has nowhere the nutritional value of whey and may actually be damaging for a number of reasons including it being a possible carcinogenic.
6. Whey Proteins. There are a variety of whey proteins available in the market today. There is no need to get into deep detail on them other than to mention that the most relevant classification of whey is whether it is denatured or non-denatured.
Denatured whey means damaged whey. In the manufacturing process a majority of whey proteins are subjected to heat, alkali or acid causing their structure to unfold. During this process, some of whey’s original properties, especially its biological activity, are diminished or eliminated. These destructive manufacturing processes exist simply to reduce the cost of processing protein. They are negative, nutritional value robbing short cuts – plain and simple.
Non Denatured whey means never damaged. The whey protein is naturally occurring and is never altered by heat, chemicals, enzyme action or processing. Non denatured proteins are also referred to as Native Proteins.
The best, most complete protein available for anyone wishing to repair their body or stimulate their health is Non Denatured Whey or Native Whey. There can be no disputing that fact. Tomorrow we will discover the incredible benefits that Native Whey can provide for your health and fitness as well as how to use it to get maximal benefits.
Earlier we learned that water is the main chemical in our bodies. Coming in number two is protein. The word protein actually means “first substance” due to the fact that the first food fuel we ever consumed was our mother’s milk. Milk is the only food specifically designed to sustain mammalian life and therefore human life. Milk has two protein groups:
Whey - which is the complete protein that makes milk so essential to life and;
Casein - which is used for manufacturing cheese and other milk by-products.
One of the problems you can have in understanding protein is that there is so much information out there on protein, most of it contradictory, most of it wrong. It’s time that you had the truth about protein; just the facts and nothing but the facts.
To start, you need to understand that the word “protein” covers a lot of ground. There are literally thousands of different proteins, ranging from high end proteins that are actually “live” to low end proteins like Elmer’s Glue.
Assuming a decent dietary source, protein is the nutritional key for those of you interested in improving your health, losing excess body fat or adding lean, well-shaped muscle. In order to make these improvements, you need sufficient protein intake to fuel the changes.
Normally our diets are very high in carbohydrates and fats. It is a bit of an oversimplification, but think of it in the following way: when you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar immediately raises. This causes your pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin that removes the sugar from the blood and stores it as fat. Conversely, when you eat proteins your blood sugar levels remain low. This causes the pancreas to secrete glucagon. Glucagon travels to the fat cells and extracts fat to be burned as energy.
As important as protein is, oddly, as we indicated earlier, there is no nutrient more misunderstood. Protein is simply a group of different amino acids bonded together. Different types of proteins are comprised of different amounts of individual amino acids. This is important, depending on what goal you are trying to achieve with protein use. There are a variety of protein sources available to people. There are proteins from whole foods such as meats, grains and vegetables. There are also single free form amino acids. There are soy proteins, egg proteins, casein and various forms of whey protein.
Let's examine in general terms some of the more popular protein sources.
1. Protein from whole foods such as meats, grains and vegetables. Whole food sources are acceptable because they are widely available and they taste good. On the negative side, however, whole food proteins normally spoil quickly and may contain risky microorganisms that can make you sick. Additionally, food proteins normally have high levels of fats or carbohydrates and are highly fibrous, therefore more difficult to digest. Further, depending on the specific food source, they may cause allergies.
Most importantly, however, whole food proteins when cooked can lose their health altering potency.
2. Single Free Form Amino Acids. Single free form amino acids are manufactured through fermentation by microorganisms in large biological chambers. These can be manufactured as pharmaceutical grade pure injectibles or as food grade products. As food products, amino acids are very costly, taste terrible, have poor mixability, high digestive irritability and are absorbed relatively slowly.
3. Soy Protein. There is so much information being peddled by marketing companies regarding soy protein being the best source of protein for women. This is due to the fact that soy is a BIG business in the US. And soy manufacturers actually have lobbyists on the payroll helping to create the big lie. There is no other way to state the facts other than to say that calling soy the best, most complete protein for women is totally inaccurate as it is missing a highly critical amino acid, methionine. Facts are facts and there is no way to dispute this fact.
Additionally, soy is an estrogenic substance. While there were studies published earlier in time demonstrating estrogenic nutrient’s value for heart disease prevention, etc., there are an equal number of studies showing that taking estrogenic substances may not affect heart disease even a little bit and, in fact, carry with them significant risks to the consumer.
4. Egg Protein. Twenty odd years ago, Hal Katz formed a nutritional brand called Nature’s Best and he went on a mission to convince people of the superior value of egg protein and various protein’s PER ratings. The PER rating died around 1991 along with the notion that egg protein was superior for making anything other than meringue pies.
5. Casein. There was a time when whey was considered an annoying by-product of making various cheeses from casein. Today we understand that casein protein has nowhere the nutritional value of whey and may actually be damaging for a number of reasons including it being a possible carcinogenic.
6. Whey Proteins. There are a variety of whey proteins available in the market today. There is no need to get into deep detail on them other than to mention that the most relevant classification of whey is whether it is denatured or non-denatured.
Denatured whey means damaged whey. In the manufacturing process a majority of whey proteins are subjected to heat, alkali or acid causing their structure to unfold. During this process, some of whey’s original properties, especially its biological activity, are diminished or eliminated. These destructive manufacturing processes exist simply to reduce the cost of processing protein. They are negative, nutritional value robbing short cuts – plain and simple.
Non Denatured whey means never damaged. The whey protein is naturally occurring and is never altered by heat, chemicals, enzyme action or processing. Non denatured proteins are also referred to as Native Proteins.
The best, most complete protein available for anyone wishing to repair their body or stimulate their health is Non Denatured Whey or Native Whey. There can be no disputing that fact. Tomorrow we will discover the incredible benefits that Native Whey can provide for your health and fitness as well as how to use it to get maximal benefits.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
75 Days to Change - Day Three
How do you fill a pail with water that has a hole in the bottom?
A) Ignore the hole and continue to fill the pail with the water hose.
B) Patch the hole and then fill the pail with the water hose.
The correct answer is, of course, B.
Now what in the world does a pail have to do with your fitness level? While your body isn’t as simple as a “pail,” we can draw a useful analogy from it when it comes to positive nitrogen balance in your body.
Positive nitrogen balance is a simple concept. It refers to you taking in more nitrogen and retaining more protein than what is being used as fuel on a daily basis. What you might not have realized is that positive nitrogen balance is the most fundamentally important issue when it comes to improving your fitness level, either through weight loss or lean muscle gain. If you are not in positive nitrogen balance then it is nearly impossible to gain lean muscle mass, increase resting metabolism, consistently lose weight in a healthy manner or feel energetic in your normal daily activities. If you are in equilibrium no progress will be made. If you are in negative nitrogen balance you greatly increase the likelihood that you will have muscle injuries during exercise and become ill through your daily interaction with environmental pathogens.
Again, being in positive nitrogen balance is critical to everyone’s health and fitness. Now that you are aware of this key physiological attribute, you may be wondering how you insure that you are in positive nitrogen balance.
First, you have to be aware that nitrogen is released by the body, constantly, as the day wears on. Nitrogen is lost through normal tasks such as breathing, sweating, and excretion. Nitrogen pours out, obviously, during vigorous exercise whether cardio or resistance training. It is also lost more rapidly during periods of illness, injury, stress or impaired sleep. In a sense, we all have “nitrogen holes” in our bodies, similar to the pail
analogy we used above.
Now that you learned how you lose nitrogen on a daily basis it is equally important to learn how to replace it. The only way that you take nitrogen in is through ingestion of protein. Whether it is foods such as meats, dairy or vegetables or good protein enriched powders or bars, the protein you intake is about 16.7 percent nitrogen.
Going back to our garden pail analogy, we all have a nitrogen hole in our body. If you are not feeling fantastic during exercise or if you have been working out for a few weeks or more and haven’t seen real, consistent change, chances are that you are in negative nitrogen balance. That means you are losing more nitrogen than you are gaining through the ingestion of good protein. To reverse that and be in positive nitrogen balance, we advocate eating the proper amount of protein daily and supplementing additional protein when you cannot eat your required minimum. And taking the right non-food fuel to help bind the nitrogen in your system and thereby help diminish the nitrogen hole we all normally have that hinders optimal fitness results.
While adding protein to diets normally is an important change, simply pouring protein into our body (or water into a pail), without simultaneously diminishing the hole, is very inefficient.
Today, we wanted to teach you about nitrogen balance and give you a short time to decide whether you are improving your fitness level as much as you would like.
Tomorrow, we will talk about how to patch the hole with good protein and decide how much protein you should eat daily.
A) Ignore the hole and continue to fill the pail with the water hose.
B) Patch the hole and then fill the pail with the water hose.
The correct answer is, of course, B.
Now what in the world does a pail have to do with your fitness level? While your body isn’t as simple as a “pail,” we can draw a useful analogy from it when it comes to positive nitrogen balance in your body.
Positive nitrogen balance is a simple concept. It refers to you taking in more nitrogen and retaining more protein than what is being used as fuel on a daily basis. What you might not have realized is that positive nitrogen balance is the most fundamentally important issue when it comes to improving your fitness level, either through weight loss or lean muscle gain. If you are not in positive nitrogen balance then it is nearly impossible to gain lean muscle mass, increase resting metabolism, consistently lose weight in a healthy manner or feel energetic in your normal daily activities. If you are in equilibrium no progress will be made. If you are in negative nitrogen balance you greatly increase the likelihood that you will have muscle injuries during exercise and become ill through your daily interaction with environmental pathogens.
Again, being in positive nitrogen balance is critical to everyone’s health and fitness. Now that you are aware of this key physiological attribute, you may be wondering how you insure that you are in positive nitrogen balance.
First, you have to be aware that nitrogen is released by the body, constantly, as the day wears on. Nitrogen is lost through normal tasks such as breathing, sweating, and excretion. Nitrogen pours out, obviously, during vigorous exercise whether cardio or resistance training. It is also lost more rapidly during periods of illness, injury, stress or impaired sleep. In a sense, we all have “nitrogen holes” in our bodies, similar to the pail
analogy we used above.
Now that you learned how you lose nitrogen on a daily basis it is equally important to learn how to replace it. The only way that you take nitrogen in is through ingestion of protein. Whether it is foods such as meats, dairy or vegetables or good protein enriched powders or bars, the protein you intake is about 16.7 percent nitrogen.
Going back to our garden pail analogy, we all have a nitrogen hole in our body. If you are not feeling fantastic during exercise or if you have been working out for a few weeks or more and haven’t seen real, consistent change, chances are that you are in negative nitrogen balance. That means you are losing more nitrogen than you are gaining through the ingestion of good protein. To reverse that and be in positive nitrogen balance, we advocate eating the proper amount of protein daily and supplementing additional protein when you cannot eat your required minimum. And taking the right non-food fuel to help bind the nitrogen in your system and thereby help diminish the nitrogen hole we all normally have that hinders optimal fitness results.
While adding protein to diets normally is an important change, simply pouring protein into our body (or water into a pail), without simultaneously diminishing the hole, is very inefficient.
Today, we wanted to teach you about nitrogen balance and give you a short time to decide whether you are improving your fitness level as much as you would like.
Tomorrow, we will talk about how to patch the hole with good protein and decide how much protein you should eat daily.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
75 Days to Change - Day Two
Day Two: Water Power
Yesterday, we spoke about the “bricks of change.” Today, the new brick, the small improvement that we will make is to drink more water. While some of you might be drinking the proper amount of water our guess is that most are not.
Since water is available to us in such abundance, we tend to overlook its importance as a critical chemical for the body. Don’t be surprised by that statement – chemists and physiologists treat water, H2O, as a chemical. In fact, water is one of the six critical nutrients for life. We read so much about the other five, (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals) that we often forget to drink enough of the sixth, water. One could argue that water is the most critical of all the nutrients since we could survive over 30 days without food but we’d die in 3-4 days without water.
We should all drink water, at regular intervals throughout the day, even when we are not thirsty. This is important due to the fact that water is centrally involved in nearly every bodily process and is the primary transporter of all nutrients. Additionally water helps maintain body temperature and is essential to carry waste material out of the body. Due to all these reasons, and more, replacing the water that is continually lost through sweating is very important. Unfortunately, most people only consume enough water to quench a parched throat, not enough to maintain health or increase fitness.
To maintain normal, adequate hydration, a simple calculation of bodyweight x 0.50 can be used. The answer will equal the amount of water a person should drink in ounces on a daily basic. For example, a woman who weighs 150 lbs, should drink 75 oz. (150 x .50) of water every day. If you are involved in strenuous activities, such as long-distance running or exercising in extreme heat, your water intake should be increased. In that case just multiply your bodyweight by 0.65.
The next question you might be asking is “what is the best water to drink”? In addition to tap water, there are so many different water filter devices and even more bottled water alternatives. It definitely can get confusing. Let us try to help.
There are many claims regarding tap water not being safe even though it is regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act and city water is filtered and treated to eliminate harmful microorganisms. If you are really concerned about your tap water then have it analyzed. You can find sources for this easily on the Internet. While there are certainly more dangerous substances in the average environment than tap water, we avoid drinking unfiltered tap water whenever possible. A carbon filter system might be your best long term solution as far as cost and ease of use is concerned.
Another question you might have is regarding bottled water, is it better than tap? While this can be debated back and forth, generally speaking, while bottle water is convenient for “on the go” its value is offset when you think about the plastic container, the environment and the cost. While we sometimes drink bottled water when filtered water is not available, it is not our first choice.
The bottom line is to assess the water source you use on a regular basis, make adjustments as needed and start creating the daily habit of regular, proper hydration.
On another note, you might ask if too much water can be a problem? Yes. Before you go off and drink all your water at one sitting, it is important to note that if more than 1 1/2 gallons of water is ingested within an hour of activity it can be dangerous! The best way to get adequate supplies of water is to drink a cup or glass a few times throughout the day.
Today’s small change: DRINK THE PROPER AMOUNT OF WATER. Without the proper amount of water, your health and fitness goals will suffer.
Yesterday, we spoke about the “bricks of change.” Today, the new brick, the small improvement that we will make is to drink more water. While some of you might be drinking the proper amount of water our guess is that most are not.
Since water is available to us in such abundance, we tend to overlook its importance as a critical chemical for the body. Don’t be surprised by that statement – chemists and physiologists treat water, H2O, as a chemical. In fact, water is one of the six critical nutrients for life. We read so much about the other five, (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals) that we often forget to drink enough of the sixth, water. One could argue that water is the most critical of all the nutrients since we could survive over 30 days without food but we’d die in 3-4 days without water.
We should all drink water, at regular intervals throughout the day, even when we are not thirsty. This is important due to the fact that water is centrally involved in nearly every bodily process and is the primary transporter of all nutrients. Additionally water helps maintain body temperature and is essential to carry waste material out of the body. Due to all these reasons, and more, replacing the water that is continually lost through sweating is very important. Unfortunately, most people only consume enough water to quench a parched throat, not enough to maintain health or increase fitness.
To maintain normal, adequate hydration, a simple calculation of bodyweight x 0.50 can be used. The answer will equal the amount of water a person should drink in ounces on a daily basic. For example, a woman who weighs 150 lbs, should drink 75 oz. (150 x .50) of water every day. If you are involved in strenuous activities, such as long-distance running or exercising in extreme heat, your water intake should be increased. In that case just multiply your bodyweight by 0.65.
The next question you might be asking is “what is the best water to drink”? In addition to tap water, there are so many different water filter devices and even more bottled water alternatives. It definitely can get confusing. Let us try to help.
There are many claims regarding tap water not being safe even though it is regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act and city water is filtered and treated to eliminate harmful microorganisms. If you are really concerned about your tap water then have it analyzed. You can find sources for this easily on the Internet. While there are certainly more dangerous substances in the average environment than tap water, we avoid drinking unfiltered tap water whenever possible. A carbon filter system might be your best long term solution as far as cost and ease of use is concerned.
Another question you might have is regarding bottled water, is it better than tap? While this can be debated back and forth, generally speaking, while bottle water is convenient for “on the go” its value is offset when you think about the plastic container, the environment and the cost. While we sometimes drink bottled water when filtered water is not available, it is not our first choice.
The bottom line is to assess the water source you use on a regular basis, make adjustments as needed and start creating the daily habit of regular, proper hydration.
On another note, you might ask if too much water can be a problem? Yes. Before you go off and drink all your water at one sitting, it is important to note that if more than 1 1/2 gallons of water is ingested within an hour of activity it can be dangerous! The best way to get adequate supplies of water is to drink a cup or glass a few times throughout the day.
Today’s small change: DRINK THE PROPER AMOUNT OF WATER. Without the proper amount of water, your health and fitness goals will suffer.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Get Ready to Make Changes!
75 Days to Positive Change Starts Today!
As of today, October 18th, there are 75 days left in 2010. Let's make those 75 days count toward setting and reaching our goals. Every day or two I will unfold each step of the program in posts that will give you motivation and support to reach those goals. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!
Day One: The Beginning
Before beginning this exciting 75 day program of positive change, we need to talk about the “bricks of change.” This is a simple concept but an extremely critical one.
Imagine building a pyramid out of bricks. You need to lay the first layer brick by brick before “rising” to the next level. The “bricks of change” are basic thoughts, skills, procedures or changes that we want to make sure we have in place as a foundation of change to come later. Each day, we want to put the next brick in place; that is, isolate an important change or principle that will make the future stronger.
The reason for this is a principle we know from decades of experience; too much change at once is not a good thing. Big change should be made as a series of small changes. Too much change, even positive change, causes stress. And it’s hard to make good, lasting change in the shadow of enormous stress. Think about this for a minute. Divorce is generally considered a bad thing and it is normally very stressful. That makes sense. Marriage on the other hand is normally considered a good thing. Think about a few couples you know who are married. How much stress did they go through before and after their weddings? Probably more than the average divorced couple! The same is true with winning a lot of money. Believe it or not the stress can be worse than losing a lot of money.
So for many of you out there, today, yes, you would like to go from being a lazy, non-exercising, over-eating, supplement ignoring person to a perfect eating, round the clock exercising, supplement taking fitness fanatic! However, the price of that dramatic change would be far too high. You are human; you would quit shortly after beginning. The alternative is to make a long series of small, intelligent changes. We want to see an evolution rather than a revolution.
Today’s brick is for you to create a short term 75 day fitness goal for yourself and to create a simple, self monitoring system to insure your goals are met fully, on time.
Everyone needs to set an initial goal. If you are beginning our 75 Day Pure Program with us, stop for a moment and think of an initial goal. Write it down somewhere where you will see it and be able to refer to it every day. We recommend a simple journal. Nothing super elaborate, just an informal journal documenting changes you make, etc.
The goal should be one personal to you. For example, you might want to lose 30 pounds in 75 days. Or you might want to lower your blood pressure and get off your blood pressure meds. Or perhaps you want to shave a minute off your best 5k race time. Whatever your goal, as long as it is reasonable, our 75 day program will help you obtain it and most likely move far beyond it.
Once you have written down your SPECIFIC, detailed 75 day goal we want you to split it into one third and make that your short term 25 day goal. That 25 day goal is the one we are going to focus on attaining immediately!
After you have your goals written in your Journal, you need to understand the importance of actually writing things down. For example, valid, replicated clinical research has shown that when people write down what they eat daily, on average, they lose weight twice as fast!! How powerful is that?
At the start you need to discipline yourself to write down what you eat, the exercise you engaged in that day, any supplements or medicines that you took, etc. Anything and everything you feel is relevant to your goal or individual fitness program.
Day One is that simple. Create your goals and begin writing down your daily behavior.
The next brick of change will be posted within a day or two. Keep checking back!
As of today, October 18th, there are 75 days left in 2010. Let's make those 75 days count toward setting and reaching our goals. Every day or two I will unfold each step of the program in posts that will give you motivation and support to reach those goals. We are STRONGER TOGETHER!
Day One: The Beginning
Before beginning this exciting 75 day program of positive change, we need to talk about the “bricks of change.” This is a simple concept but an extremely critical one.
Imagine building a pyramid out of bricks. You need to lay the first layer brick by brick before “rising” to the next level. The “bricks of change” are basic thoughts, skills, procedures or changes that we want to make sure we have in place as a foundation of change to come later. Each day, we want to put the next brick in place; that is, isolate an important change or principle that will make the future stronger.
The reason for this is a principle we know from decades of experience; too much change at once is not a good thing. Big change should be made as a series of small changes. Too much change, even positive change, causes stress. And it’s hard to make good, lasting change in the shadow of enormous stress. Think about this for a minute. Divorce is generally considered a bad thing and it is normally very stressful. That makes sense. Marriage on the other hand is normally considered a good thing. Think about a few couples you know who are married. How much stress did they go through before and after their weddings? Probably more than the average divorced couple! The same is true with winning a lot of money. Believe it or not the stress can be worse than losing a lot of money.
So for many of you out there, today, yes, you would like to go from being a lazy, non-exercising, over-eating, supplement ignoring person to a perfect eating, round the clock exercising, supplement taking fitness fanatic! However, the price of that dramatic change would be far too high. You are human; you would quit shortly after beginning. The alternative is to make a long series of small, intelligent changes. We want to see an evolution rather than a revolution.
Today’s brick is for you to create a short term 75 day fitness goal for yourself and to create a simple, self monitoring system to insure your goals are met fully, on time.
Everyone needs to set an initial goal. If you are beginning our 75 Day Pure Program with us, stop for a moment and think of an initial goal. Write it down somewhere where you will see it and be able to refer to it every day. We recommend a simple journal. Nothing super elaborate, just an informal journal documenting changes you make, etc.
The goal should be one personal to you. For example, you might want to lose 30 pounds in 75 days. Or you might want to lower your blood pressure and get off your blood pressure meds. Or perhaps you want to shave a minute off your best 5k race time. Whatever your goal, as long as it is reasonable, our 75 day program will help you obtain it and most likely move far beyond it.
Once you have written down your SPECIFIC, detailed 75 day goal we want you to split it into one third and make that your short term 25 day goal. That 25 day goal is the one we are going to focus on attaining immediately!
After you have your goals written in your Journal, you need to understand the importance of actually writing things down. For example, valid, replicated clinical research has shown that when people write down what they eat daily, on average, they lose weight twice as fast!! How powerful is that?
At the start you need to discipline yourself to write down what you eat, the exercise you engaged in that day, any supplements or medicines that you took, etc. Anything and everything you feel is relevant to your goal or individual fitness program.
Day One is that simple. Create your goals and begin writing down your daily behavior.
The next brick of change will be posted within a day or two. Keep checking back!
Recipe of the Week
Sometimes...let's face it...you just have to eat dessert. It's okay, we've earned it! But, hey, let's not flush awa all the hard work we've put in. With this dessert, you can have your cake and eat it, too. Or pudding, in this case.
PB Chocolate Puddin'
Ingredients:
2c cold skim milk, divided
2 T reduced fat chunky Peanut Butter
1c reduced fat whipped topping, divided
1 1.4 pkg sugar-free instant chocolate pudding
Directions:
In a bowl, mix 2T milk and peanut butter until smooth. Fold in 3/4 c whipped topping; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat pudding mix and remaining milk until blended, about 2 min. Let stand for 5 minutes. Spoon half of the pudding into 6 paarfait glasses, top with peanut butter mixture and remaining pudding. Dollop remaining whipped topping to finish.
Serves 6.
Per Serving:
Calories - 102
Protein - 5g
Carbs - 13g
Fiber - 0g
Fat - 3g
Chol - 1mg
Sodium - 144 mg
PB Chocolate Puddin'
Ingredients:
2c cold skim milk, divided
2 T reduced fat chunky Peanut Butter
1c reduced fat whipped topping, divided
1 1.4 pkg sugar-free instant chocolate pudding
Directions:
In a bowl, mix 2T milk and peanut butter until smooth. Fold in 3/4 c whipped topping; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat pudding mix and remaining milk until blended, about 2 min. Let stand for 5 minutes. Spoon half of the pudding into 6 paarfait glasses, top with peanut butter mixture and remaining pudding. Dollop remaining whipped topping to finish.
Serves 6.
Per Serving:
Calories - 102
Protein - 5g
Carbs - 13g
Fiber - 0g
Fat - 3g
Chol - 1mg
Sodium - 144 mg
Monday, August 9, 2010
Stronger Together
Did you know that sharing your Curves experience could save a life? Who do you know that needs to increase her strength, reduce high blood pressure and/or cholesterol, lose weight, gain confidence, manage stress, sleep better, improve heart function, reduce hot flashes, manage depression, or has any other health issue? Sharing your Curves story is motivating. And if you motivate one woman to get up and start moving her body, you could save her life! The Curves workout, strength AND cardio training, improves ALL of the systems of the body. We are stronger when we workout together, so share you Curves experience today!
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