As I was browsing my Facebook news feed the other day, I saw a post from one of my friends and fellow Russian Kettlebell Instructor, Mark Snow. He caught my attention because his post included a cover of Dan John’s book, “Never Let Go.”

I’ve been wanting to get a hard copy of this book but I had a huge stack of books on my coffee table still awaiting my attention Anyway, Mark’s comment was that the book is free on Amazon Kindle so I immediately downloaded it onto my Ipad. You may download you copy here while it’s still free (at least, at the time of this posting) => Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living, and Learning.

Let me just say that since I downloaded it, it was difficult for me to put it down.

A little Background on Dan John

I wanted to give you some of the things I’ve learned from it so far. But first, here is a little background on Dan John which I stole from his web site:

“Dan John has been teaching and coaching for well over thirty years. He is the former Strength Coach and Head Track and Field Coach at Juan Diego Catholic High School in Draper, Utah He remains a full-time on-line religious studies instructor for Columbia College of Missouri and contributing writer to Men’s Health. Originally from South San Francisco, Dan came to Utah to throw the discus for Utah State University and recently returned “home” after 35 years away. He currently lives in Burlingame, California.

Dan has Masters degrees in history and in religious education, as well as intensive work at the American University in Cairo, University of Haifa, and Cornell. Dan has written articles for Catechetical Update and Utah Historical Quarterly, as well as being a columnist for the Intermountain Catholic. Dan was also a Fulbright Scholar in 1985.

In addition, Dan writes articles for a variety of strength magazines and publishes a little newsletter called Get Up, which registers up to a quarter of a million hits a month. You can also read his work at dragondoor.com and tmuscle.com, and magazines like Men’s Health and Outside and his busy forum at davedraper.com . If you sneak over the border into Utah and want to work out, give him a shout. Recently, Pavel Tsatsouline promoted Dan to the rank of Senior RKC Instructor.”

I have been very fortunate to have met Dan several times through my RKC certification and re-certification. I have also heard him speak many times and he has always given his audience great information about training and life in general. Oh yes, I should not forget to mention that I’ve hung out with him at the bar several times as well. This is one of those things you would not want to miss if ever you do get a chance to talk with a guy like Dan because he is such a great storyteller.

A Lesson Learned from “Never Let Go”

Back to “Never Let Go.” I love this book and it resonates with a lot of people so much (as evident from the 5 star Amazon reviews) because Dan breaks down any complex topic into something simple and inspirational. He spurs you into action with his simple philosophies and entertaining but educational stories.

If you do not plan on reading the whole book, here is an important lesson I learned from “Never Let Go”:

Dan says that we all have but one can of free will. Of course he explains this so much better than I can but he basically cited a research study where people were asked to solve a series of complex tests without any chance of success. The researchers timed the people on how long they would solve the test before giving up. In another group during the same study, the researchers offered the participants cookies. People who said no to the cookies quit solving the tests way earlier than those who said, “What the hell, give me a damn cookie.” (his words…lol)

In real life, we deal with a lot of choices that use up our free will. This is the reason choosing to exercise or eating healthy consistently can be difficult for a lot of people. Why? Most people are caught up in the daily grind that is life where we have to take the kids to school while we’re stressed about the deadline at work then we have to go to the PTA meeting or come home late from work. If we did get home early, we have to decide what to cook for dinner, worry about the next day, and so on. You get the idea.

Dan John suggested 3 things that will help you get more free will but you will have to read the book for that as I feel that I would do him a great disservice if I tried to put them into my own words Again, you may download you copy here while it’s still free (at least, at the time of this posting) => Never Let Go: A Philosophy of Lifting, Living, and Learning.

Once you’ve read it, please be sure to come back to this post and leave your comments. Would love to know what you got out of Dan’s book.

The holidays are over and yet,the calories we ate during this time still linger. So, I thought I’d write about some of the foods that help with belly fat because this is usually where our weight gain shows up first. I remember a dear friend used to say, “A moment on the lips, forever on the hips” whenever he ate high calorie, fattening foods. I thought it was funny. Personally, I tend to gain 5 lbs during the holidays or any vacation trip for that matter. I just know my body and this is its typical response. However, the first week I’m back, I usually get back to my pre-vacation (or pre-holiday) weight. In this post I want to share with you some of the strategies I use to do just that. At the same time, I have a feeling this may be a popular post at this time of year.

The Hidden Culprits

Typically, when we gain weight at a rate of 5 lbs a week due to overeating (such as in my case), we tend to increase inflammation in our body. This is the first culprit. Because of this inflammation, we tend to retain water and gain weight. Inflammation may be caused by various factors such as the type of foods we ate, lack of physical activity, the volume of food we ate, and so on. So it only makes sense to make changes in these areas when we are looking to get back to our pre-vacation weight.

Most of our fat cells reside around the waist and hips. They are located here because one of the functions of fat cells is to store toxins and keep them away from our vital organs like the stomach, liver, kidney, and so forth. Another hidden culprit lies in these toxins because our body’s response is to render them harmless to us and our organs by diluting them with water. As a result, we retain unnecessary water when we have toxins in our fat cells. This is also the reason the belly and hips are common problem areas for a lot of people.

Top 3 Foods that Help with Belly Fat

The most important thing we want to address when reducing inflammation and eliminating toxins is nutrition. I get better results when I choose my foods wisely. Here are my top 3 foods:

#1 Fish or Other Omega-3 sources

Omega-3 fatty acids work well with reducing inflammation. We can get them from most seafood or in raw nuts like almonds and pistachios. Most of us should already have the habit of taking omega-3 supplements as I do. But, I tend to increase my fish consumption when I feel I need the extra boost especially during times of overeating like the holidays.

When choosing fish, choosing the wild variety versus farm raised is the way to go. Farm raised fish tend to eat a lot of toxins in a smaller environment such as the container they are bred in. There is still that chance of mercury intake when you choose wild fish but as long as you do not eat it 3 times a day, 7 days a week, you will be okay.

#2 Naturally Diuretic Vegetables

There are vegetables that are naturally diuretic and detoxifying. Diuretics simply increase the amount of urine we excrete. Thus, helping with unnecessary water retention. Normally I would not recommend a diuretic but if it’s part of your diet in moderate amounts, it is fine. Plus the fiber in vegetables will also help eliminate waste from your system much quicker. Some of my favorite naturally diuretic vegetables are cucumbers, asparagus, beets, and celery.

#3 Green Leafy Vegetables

Here is an article I wrote about green leafy vegetables and why it’s good for us: The Benefits of Drinking Wheat Grass Juice. The antioxidants found in them and other fruits and veggies also help reduce inflammation and keeps our cells healthy by fighting free radicals.

If you need new ideas on meals to lose belly fat or need to overhaul your kitchen, you may want to check out this new cook book I found: Real Food Cook Book by Scott Kustes. I especially like the spice mixes towards the end of the cook book. I used the savory spice mix recipe when I roast whole cornish hens or chickens (see main post picture).

As far as nutrition goes, one of my very first go to techniques is still intermittent fasting (IF) like with Eat Stop Eat in the summer or 2 Meal Solution when the weather gets cold. The reason for my different choices with weather changes is I cannot do 24 hour fasts in the winter because I tend to get cold. Besides the fact that fasting helps reduce inflammation, it also helps me get an additional calorie deficit, especially on my non-workout days when I’m not burning extra calories through my workouts.

Eating foods that help with belly fat along with focusing on getting your calorie deficit through IF should easily get you back to your pre-holiday weight as it did for me. The route you choose will depend on your preference and what works best for you in terms of your lifestyle. But, you cannot go wrong when you incorporate the foods I listed above even if you do not practice IF.

Have a comment or question? Join the conversation by posting below.

I first encountered wheatgrass at Jamba Juice a few years ago. Besides thinking that it was an interesting concept to drink juice from grass that didn’t taste good at all, I really didn’t think much about wheatgrass benefits until I started taking a green food supplement. This curiosity led me to research exactly what is in wheatgrass that could be beneficial to our body. The answers surprised me.

A Little Background on Wheatgrass

I can’t talk about Wheatgrass without mentioning Charles F. Schnabel. Schnabel was an agricultural scientist who popularized the plant in the 1930s when he fed fresh cut grass to his dying hens. After doing this, the hens recovered beautifully and even produced eggs at a much higher rate compared to the healthy hens. Schnabel then started drying the grass to make powder out of it so he can give it to his family and neighbors to supplement their diet. He even got two large corporations to sponsor more research on the plant and by 1940s, wheatgrass powder began appearing in major drug stores across America and Canada.

Wheatgrass can be grown indoors and outdoors. The plant is harvested at the jointing stage which is the time before the grass leaf begins to elongate and form a stem. The nutritional analysis I’ve seen from web sites that sell wheatgrass powder or juice show that this is the moment when the plant’s nutrients are at their peak. Nutrients like chlorophyll, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are just a few of the nutrients found in wheatgrass.

You can even buy wheatgrass kits and grow them indoors at home. However, mold can grow on seeds that did not germinate when the seeds are planted to close together on indoor trays. Some people have reported getting anaphylactic shock after taking a shot of its juice because of this mold. So, to be safe, either get on outdoor grown plant or make sure that the plant is tested to be mold-free when you decide to supplement with wheatgrass.

Wheatgrass Benefits

There’s still a lot of debate regarding the benefits of wheatgrass to our health. Some say that the nutrient profile is similar to just about any green vegetable you can find at the supermarket. But, my research convinced me that there is more to this plant.

The one component of wheatgrass that captured my attention the most was chlorophyll. You may have heard of chlorophyll when you studied biology in school. It is found in the leaves of green plants and is their main energy source. Chlorophyll’s structure is very similar to hemoglobin which is a material that transports oxygen in our blood.

Research also found that chlorophyll has the ability to remove toxic chemicals from our bloodstream. This makes it excellent for cleansing. Livestrong.com even said that people who regularly drink wheatgrass juice report increased energy. This increase in energy may help you workout longer and harder while burning more calories in the process. One study on rats found that a diet high in chlorophyll from spinach juice can help prevent colon cancer(1). This finding is especially beneficial to people who eat a lot of red meat, instead of white meat, and not a lot of vegetables. But, the research doesn’t stop with rats.

One study was done on children with Thalassemia, a genetic form of anemia, who require regular blood transfusions. After taking 100 ml of wheatgrass juice daily for a year, half of the patients only needed 75% of the amount of blood they used to get in order to stay well (2). Researchers found similar results when 20 adult patients with pre-leukemia started taking 30 mls of the juice daily for 6 months. These patients were able to have longer intervals between their blood transfusions so they didn’t need to have as much blood compared to before they started taking wheatgrass juice (3).

The benefits of taking wheatgrass has also been studied in cancer patients for its cleansing and antioxidant properties. One study showed 60 breast cancer patients who took wheatgrass juice daily during their first 3 cycles of chemotherapy. The patients were able to reduce toxic chemical accumulation in their bone marrow and were able to reduce their dose of the chemicals used during their chemotherapy (4). The juice was able to give all these benefits to cancer patients without affecting the effectiveness of their chemotherapy.

Should You Take Wheat Grass?

We can see from these studies that the nutrients and other components in wheatgrass may provide recovery benefits to people who suffer from some type of illness like cancer, leukemia, anemia, etc. This just means that healthy people who do not have any apparent illness can benefit from drinking wheatgrass juice even more. But, of course, there is no substitute for eating a healthier diet.

If you decide to supplement your diet with wheatgrass juice or powder, consider making these changes as well for optimal benefits:

Eating more green vegetables, non-starchy vegetables and fruits.
Reducing red meat consumption and eating more lean meats.
Eating less starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars like bread, pasta, sugar, etc.
Last but not the least, get more exercise or physical activity.

• Eating more green vegetables, non-starchy vegetables and fruits.
• Reducing red meat consumption and eating more lean meats.
• Eating less starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars like bread, pasta, sugar, etc.
• Last but not the least, get more exercise or physical activity.

I prefer to supplement with wheatgrass powder because of the convenience it provides during times when I’m not able to eat a lot of veggies. I get my supply from Amazing Grass because they process the plant under low temperatures to preserve its nutrients. They also grow their plants outdoors which assures that there is no mold contamination. I prefer the powder compared to the juice because I get the whole leaf which means I am also getting insoluble fiber along with the other nutrients. I usually either make a green drink and sip it throughout the day or mix it in my smoothies.

(1) De Vogel, Johan; Denise S. M. L. Jonker-Termont, Martijn B. Katan,and Roelof van der Meer (August 2005). “Natural Chlorophyll but Not Chlorophyllin Prevents Heme-Induced Cytotoxic and Hyperproliferative Effects in Rat Colon”. J. Nutr. (The American Society for Nutritional Sciences) 135 (8): 1995–2000. PMID 16046728

(4) Bar-Sela, Gil; Tsalic, Medy; Fried, Getta; Goldberg, Hadassah. Wheat Grass Juice May Improve Hematological Toxicity Related to Chemotherapy in Breast Cancer Patients: A Pilot Study. Nutrition and Cancer 2007, Vol. 58, No. 1, Pages 43-48

I’ve always wanted to find out the real deal about artificial sweeteners side effects but just never had the time. Lately though, I’ve been trying out different natural sweeteners because of their flavors and ended up researching their nutrient breakdowns and possible health benefits. So, I thought it would be great to compare natural versus artificial sweeteners as a lot of you probably have similar questions as I did.

My research started mainly because I was so intrigued by palm syrup. I encountered palm syrup a few weeks ago when I tried out the master cleanse diet by Stanley Burroughs. If you’d like to find out more about this cleansing program, you go to the distributor’s website at neeranatural.com. But, I will not discuss it in further detail here. I mentioned it because I loved the flavor of palm syrup so much, it made me want to use natural sweeteners now.

Zero to Low Calorie, Artificial Sweeteners Side Effects

The first question I wanted to address is the question about artificial sweeteners and their side effects. I will talk mainly about the two most popular artificial sweeteners, Aspartame, and Sucralose.

Aspartame received its bad reputation after several e-mail hoaxes spread throughout the internet about its alleged disease causing properties like cancer and multiple sclerosis. If you are not familiar with Aspartame, you might know it better by its most recognizable name brands, Nutrasweet and Equal. After reading several scientific studies, I found out that Aspartame is safe unless you have a genetic disease called Phenylketonuria. One of Aspartame’s byproducts in the body is phenylalanine which can cause detrimental effects to those born with this disease. Long story short, if you don’t have this disease, you can take Aspartame. The FDA has also released a statement about it and you can view the statement here: FDA Statement on Aspartame.

The next artificial sweetener is Sucralose which goes by the name brand, Splenda. Sucralose is 300 times as sweet as table sugar and is not broken down by the body which is why it is mainly a zero calorie sweetener. The FDA reviewed data from 110 safety studies in humans which looked for possible toxic, carcinogenic, reproductive, and neurological effects. After reviewing these studies, the FDA declared it to be safe for everyday use. The Canadian Diabetes Association recommends an average daily intake (ADI) of 9 mg/kg of body weight. This translates to about 24 tablespoons a day for a 125 pound person which is a lot more than what most people would use in a day.

Natural Sweeteners that Make the Grade

While artificial sweeteners have the advantage of being zero to low calorie when it comes to fat loss, I like natural sweeteners for their taste. The added benefit to natural sweeteners is they usually contain vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to our health. What are natural sweeteners? For the purpose of this post, I define natural sweeteners as those that come from nature and are minimally processed. Here is a list of some of the natural sweeteners that I like to use every now and then:

Stevia

Stevia is a type of leaf from the Sunflower family. Like Aspartame and Sucralose, stevia is also non-caloric. Even though it is a plant, it still received controversy and was even banned in the Unites States and other countries. But, Stevia has been used in countries like Japan for decades and in South America for centuries without any side effects. Stevia is made by extracting the sweet compound called Rebaudioside A (or Reb A for short) from the leaf. I mostly use Stevia in my coffee or to add a hint of sweetness to my lemon water.

Pure Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made by collecting the sap from Maple trees and boiling it to make a thicker consistency. This makes the syrup very minimally processed. But, you have to be careful in reading the labels when buying Maple syrup. Most of them can be imitation or contains very little maple syrup like the ones you can find by the pancake mixes at the grocery store. Make sure to read the label and the ingredient list should only contain Maple syrup and nothing else. You can get this syrup in different grades. Grade A is fairly light in color and flavor while Grade B is darker and has a stronger maple flavor. I use Grade B to top pancakes or for cooking.

Maple syrup is a good source of Calcium and potassium and contains traces of vitamins like Thiamin, Riboflavin, and Niacin.

Honey

Honey is probably the most popular natural sweetener because of its great flavor and nutrient content. While still a sugar, it does have traces of antioxidants in it including Vitamin C. This means that it offers more nutrient value compared to table sugar. Like Maple syrup, Honey is minimally processed and can even be eaten in its raw form. Most types of Honey are only filtered to remove wax and pollen. But, there are also highly processed forms of it like the pasteurized kind where the honey is subject to high forms of heat which can destroy its nutrients. I like to put Honey mainly in tea or if I’m making a protein shake after a workout.

Blackstrap Molasses

I am fairly new to using Molasses but before I bought my first bottle, I did my research on it. I chose unsulfured Blackstrap Molasses because it comes from mature sugar cane. Molasses that come from young sugar cane need sulfur during the extraction process and I like my sugars as minimally processed as possible. Not having the sulfur can also result in better flavor. When I first tried it in my cereal, I thought it had a really strong caramel taste. If you’re thinking of using it for the first time, its best to try it with a recipe with the exact amounts or put smaller amounts at first. I mainly use molasses for sweetening my oatmeal but I don’t use a lot of it. I have yet to try it for baking because i don’t do much of it but it can withstand heat which makes it ideal for baking.

Molasses is a great source of iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium. One (1) tablespoon of it supposedly contains about 20% of our daily value for these minerals.

Palm Syrup

The syrup that started my research. I was so surprised how rich Palm Syrup tastes. To me, it has a light caramel flavor. This is probably the lowest calorie syrup amongst all the syrups I’ve mentioned in this post. It has about 40 calories per 1 tablespoon. I found that I don’t need to use a lot of it because I like it mainly for the flavor and not the sweetness. It has a dark brown color and a similar consistency as maple syrup. Like Molasses, Palm Syrup contains potassium and calcium.

Of all the sweeteners I’ve mentioned this is probably the most difficult to find and when you do find it, it is rather pricey. The one I found is left over from the cleanse I mentioned earlier in this post and costs about $47 for a 1 litre bottle. I also put this syrup in my oatmeal and it makes my pancakes tastes amazing. This would have bee the best sugar substitute in my book if not for the difficulty of finding it.

Should You Make the Switch to Natural Sweeteners?

In my opinion, moderation is the key when it comes to carbohydrates and sugars. Carbohydrates are so commonly available in our society nowadays that we have to be more aware of our carbohydrate intake. I love sweets but I’ve learned to moderate my sugar consumption. Natural sweeteners are a great alternative to sugar because you are getting some vitamins and minerals from it but we have to remember that its still sugar and it still affects our insulin and blood sugar levels just the same. Long story short, use them to add more flavor to your meals but use them moderately.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to leave them below.

After writing about managing stress in my last post, “The Super Stealth Fat Loss Destroyer,” meal frequency came to mind. What does meal frequency have to do with stress? Since my time is very limited due to my hectic schedule, I found that I do not have time to cook more elaborate, time consuming meals. In addition, my stress makes 2 full 24-hour, Eat Stop Eat (ESE) style fasts a lot more difficult to get through. This is the reason I’ve never really been a fan of eating 5-6 meals a day. First, I don’t have time to stop, prepare, and eat those meals. Second, I’ve tried higher frequency meals before with not-so-great results. Some people, like bodybuilders, may do well in these types of protocols but I guess it’s just not suitable to my metabolism and lifestyle.

My New Favorite Fasting Protocol

So, in an effort to manage my weight and not add stress to my life (by worrying about what I’m going to eat during the day), I looked for a solution that incorporates some type of fast while also keeping my meals on the low frequency side. So, I read my previous article, “,” and figured out what fit my current situation best. While the Lean Gains protocol sounded interesting, it was too complicated for me. So, I kept looking. In that same post, I also talked about IF life by Mike O’Donnell. I was intrigued by his 2 Meal solution program and the coaching that came with it.

My immediate reaction was to e-mail Mike and asked him how his program is different from Eat Stop Eat. I was expecting some generic answer but Mike really took the time to answer my question and tailored his answer to it. Here is a copy of the response I got from him:

After his answer, it was clear that I want to find out more about the 2 Meal Solution and how it was going to help simplify my life. Two meals a day sounded really good to me. So, I signed up for the program and the coaching e-mails.

The Super Simple 2 Meal Solution Protocol

• Low calorie days with 2 meals condensed in an eating window of your preference
• Free eating days when you can eat whatever you want within reason

After my first 2 weeks of switching my fasting style to the 2 Meal Solution protocol, I lost 3 pounds without even trying. This means that I didn’t really go out of my way to buy groceries I would not normally buy or create a nutrition plan. I just stuck to mainly eating whole foods on my low calorie, 2 meal days.

The best part for me with this protocol is I set what Mike calls “free eating days” during the weekends. These are days when I was able to eat junk foods or not-so-healthy options at a reasonable amount because my husband and I tend to eat out on these days. Three (3) pounds or 1.5 lbs a week may not sound like a lot to most people but keep in mind that I did this with minimal effort. My workouts included about 40 minutes of interval style strength training, 3 times a week and I was at a plateau for a very long time. Given that situation, my results are quite amazing.

My experience also goes to prove that eating higher frequency or 5-6 meals per day is not necessary to lose fat/weight.

Mike has also switched his coaching e-mails to 5-minute daily videos which are so helpful as he reinforces the most important principles of the 2 Meal Solution E-book in them.

Is the 2 Meal Solution for You?

If you like ESE but haven’t been able to get your 24-hour fasts like I was, this may be a great alternative for you. The people who will do well in this program are the people who don’t like to have snacks or smaller meals throughout the day. One factor that I tend to use when it comes to incorporating new diets into my lifestyle is “compliancy.” If you are able to consistently follow it for long periods of time because it fits your lifestyle, then it will work really well for you. On that same note, if you get your hands on a well designed diet program but are not able to follow it, it will not do you any good.

How I Plan to Use the 2 Meal Solution

I plan to continually use the 2 Meal Solution protocol for as long as it fits my lifestyle at most 5 days a week. But, when I am at my ideal body weight and do not need to lose any more fat, I will practice it 3 days out of the week with more moderate eating days in between. The plan is very flexible. Just make sure that you do not bend the rules too much (which there aren’t a lot of) on your condensed eating days when you get to your goal weight or percent body fat. If you want to find out more about Mike O’Donnel’s protocol, go here: 2 Meal Solution.

You may not notice this super stealth fat loss destroyer until it has done its damage, you’ve gained several pounds, and you’re left wondering, “what the heck happened?” I’m talking about the transitions we go through in life whether they are big or small, good or bad. This can come in the form of moving in with your significant other, getting married, moving into a different city, losing a job, getting injured, breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend, getting a new job, losing a loved one, etc. You get the idea. Most of the time, these transitions throw us off our “game” in many ways but most of the time we are not even aware that it’s happening and what it’s doing to us.

I’ve definitely have had this happen to me when I decided to quit my job and start a fitness bootcamp from scratch along with my husband deploying to the middle east. Thinking back now, this was a good change in my life because I was leaving a job I was not happy with and moving towards a career I was truly passionate about. But, the combination of the lack of structure in my day and the stress of starting a business ( which is like taking care of a new born baby) in addition to losing my main support system soon took its toll on me and I started to turn to things that were comforting to me. Ten (10) pounds of weight gain later, I was wondering how I got there.

What Makes Us Gain Weight During Transitions in the First Place?

In life, we learn everything after the fact – usually. Looking back to my behavior during that major transition from employee to business owner, I realized that I was turning to food for comfort. I discovered that a lot of people tend to do the same thing no matter how good or bad the change the’yre experiencing. We can turn to food because you’re really happy and in love with someone or we can also turn to food when we’re feeling really down. Personally, I turned to food for comfort because it was the only thing that was familiar to me in this new situation I found myself in.

For other people, it can be that their routine has been affected by moving in with their significant other or just being in a different place. For instance, if a woman moved in with her boyfriend, she may find that she eats out with her boyfriend more because he’s not used to cooking at home. If she was used to cooking at home and able to control her calorie intake that way and all of a sudden she starts dining out more often, there is no doubt that she will gain weight. Another example would be someone who had a job that requires them to be active and transitioning to a desk job without changing their eating habits.

The Best Thing to Do When in Transition

We have so many choices available to us nowadays. But, when we are out of our element, we end up choosing the wrong ones and we do not notice how these choices have affected us until the shit hits the fan (not a good situation to be in). Part of this is due to the fact that we get bombarded with useless information sometimes that we forget to pay attention to the things that truly matter – like our health. It is unfortunate because this is how most people tend to “let go” of their healthy lifestyle and their waistline. This is the reason I wanted to write about this here at my blog to bring it to our attention so we can do something about it when it does happen.

The first step to taking action in anything is becoming aware that a change is happening and acknowledge what it can possibly do to our health. Ask yourself a few key questions like will this change affect my workout routine, my activity level, how I prepare meals, or where I get my food from (cooked at home vs. dining out)? Is the new situation so stressful that I will not be able to get at least 7 hours of sleep or get enough time to rest? Most transitions are not simple. There are usually several factors at play that cause a big shift in your lifestyle.

Nip it in the Bud

Once you are aware, you then decide what your course of action will be. Fortunately, it’s easier to get back to your usual workout and nutrition routine once you have established it for a couple of years because you have created some pretty strong positive habits. The problem occurs when the new situation throws you off completely and all of a sudden you feel like you don’t have any control over anything. This is when the problem usually starts. When this happens, you’ll have to find out what exactly is causing you to feel out of control.

When in doubt, I would start with how I feel. There are usually some strong emotional reasons behind our food choices and whether we decide to exercise or not. Going back to my story, the things that threw me off my game the most were stress from the new business and the feeling of sadness when my husband deployed. These are two major transitions I didn’t anticipate and I almost felt like I was in depression. Granted, I still worked out but there were days when my nutrition choices were so poor that it made me feel even worst.

Back then, I was so immersed in my emotions that I could not observe what was happening to me and look at it objectively. I felt like I self-medicated with food just to numb out the stress and sadness I was feeling. I imagine that most people going through any transition would probably feel similar to how I felt and most of the time that it’s difficult to even think straight.

Looking back to those days (almost 1.5 years ago), I would take some time to analyze what I’m feeling and deal with it the best way possible (instead of shoving it deeper and self-medicating with food), set a schedule where I am getting enough time for work, play, and rest; surround myself with supportive, positive people; and follow a nutrition and exercise plan that has more flexibility and will not add stress to my life until I can do my regular schedule. To tell you the truth, this is exactly what I did but it just took me a lot longer to realize what I needed to do to get back on track.

I hope you learned a lesson or two from this post because I feel that this is something everyone will go through at some point in their life. The first step is to be aware (of anything and everything) that goes on around you. Once you do that, all you have to do is to take positive steps until you start to feel better and feel like your normal self again.

On a lighter note, change can be a really good thing. We’ll just have to make up our minds how it will affect our lives.

Have you experienced a minor or major transition in your life that threw you off your game? If so, what was it and what did you do to over come it?

After seeing the latest Bradley Cooper movie, Limitless, in theaters this weekend, I could not shake it off my mind. I keep thinking “what if this drug really existed? What will happen to our society as we know it today? Is it even possible to access all our brain’s capacity?”

If you have not heard or seen Limitless yet, let me give you a little background. You’ve probably heard that we only use 20% of our brain. In this movie, a company created an experimental drug, called NZT-48, which will let you access 100% of your mind 30 seconds after ingesting the pill.

It was amazing seeing the possibilities a person can do when they’re “under the influence” of this pill – you can access information on virtually anything you’ve ever been exposed to in your life and this includes books you’ve read, t.v. shows you’ve seen, tutorials you’ve learned, etc. In other words, you become really smart and you become untouchable because you can absolutely get your way out of anything! Not to mention, you become rich and popular as a side effect.

So, back to reality, what can really happen if you have something like this at your disposal? It just so happened that I was re-reading the book, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill which I’ve written a series of blog posts and videos about in the past and you can watch the first one here: Video Series 1: Thoughts are Things.

I’ve been heavily influenced by the teachings in this book and I have seen the power of it in my own life so I decided to read it again to review the concepts. Maybe it happened by chance but after putting the movie and the book together, I decided we can definitely find a way to access more than 20% of our brain. Movies like, “The Secret,” have talked about this although they do not necessarily discuss just how we can DO it in real life.

The power lies behind the subconscious mind. We mostly use our conscious mind everyday which is the 20% capacity you’ve heard before. However, the subconscious mind resides within our entire body. As said by a good friend of mine, Joseph Giove, who is also a Clinical Hypnotist, “when you engage the mighty subconscious, which is at least ten million times more powerful than your conscious mind, you engage 99.9+ percent of your capacity.” The good news is, everyone can have access to this power but you have to fully believe that using your subconscious mind to achieve whatever you wish is possible first. Failure to do that will bring you no results at all.

When you compare this to an iceberg, the tip represents you conscious mind and the rest which is hidden under the sea is your subconscious mind.

Here is a great quote that I read from Think and Grow Rich which summarizes what I’m talking about here beautifully:

“Man may become the master of himself, and of his environment, because he has the POWER TO INFLUENCE HIS SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, and through it, gain the cooperation of Infinite Intelligence.”

At this moment, you may dismiss the power of this sentence because it sounds too “out there.” Believe me, I felt the same way until I practiced accessing my subconscious mind each day and actually seeing my visions coming true in real life. It was mind-blowing when I realized what was happening but now I am a lifetime believer. In fact, many successful people do this and that who I am learning all this material from. Don’t make the mistake of dismissing the concepts I discuss here – this stuff really works!

How to Access Your Subconscious like NZT-48 in Limitless

Here is one simple way I’ve found to be very effective yet very easy to do. Look at your schedule at look for a time on each day that you are available for at least 15 minutes. For me, this is every night before bed time which I dubbed as my “quiet time.” During those 15 minutes, visualize a situation that you want to happen in real life. This can be the moment you get your long-awaited and well-deserved promotion, or finally freeing yourself from sugar cravings, or selling more products or services (if you’re in sales), or finishing a marathon, or finally fitting comfortably into those skinny jeans, etc. Whatever it is, think as if you’ve already achieved it and be specific in how the situation actually happens.

You’re going to want to think of the little details like who was involved, where you are, what the weather is like, how you come upon the situation, what you were wearing, etc. Essentially, you want to make it as real in your head and attach how you feel to it so your subconscious can start “believing” it. Do this repeatedly and you will see this situation materialize in your life in no time.

Realize that I was convinced that I need to write a post about this because I have seen its workings in my life. My only regret is I didn’t start practicing my visualizations earlier. But, now I do not ever take it for granted. On some nights when I just feel too tired, I force myself to do it because it is that powerful.

Back to the movie, Limitless, Bradley Cooper’s character, Eddie Morra, was able to write a book in 4 days, literally rises in popularity (not to mention riches) in the financial world in 10 days, and ultimately becoming president of the United States (at least from what’s alluded in the movie). The drug eventually got people sick and they died but Eddie Morra was the only one who figured out how to not die from it and become the perfect version of himself.

Accessing your subconscious mind can help you get close to the perfect version of yourself just without the side effects. Any changes you make on a conscious level is temporary, any changes you make with your subconscious is lasting and effortless.

In order to be great at this thing we called life, we have to learn and we have to learn a lot. Whether, it’s taking formal lessons at an educational institution or just reading books about self-growth and professional growth, no one is successful at doing anything without learning from people “who have done that” before them. As I was listening to one of business coach’s video, I was reminded of one quote that really stuck with me, “You are either moving away from something or going towards something.” It sounds simple maybe even stupid. Kind of like a “duh,” isn’t it obvious kind of saying. But, then he said, “You are either moving away from pain or moving towards pleasure.” Now, it makes more sense.

I thought about this quote a lot since it made so much sense to me in a way that, I started noticing everything that I was doing and how I made my decision into doing them. These are some of the choices that were presented to me:

• Will it take my pain away? or
• Will it be pleasurable? or
• Will it be painful? or

For instance, it’s time to go to the gym. Will it be painful or will it take my pain away? These are the thoughts that are going on in my head: Yah, it’s probably going to be painful and pleasurable at the same time. But, I just don’t want to go right now (i.e. it’s painful for me to go because I’m feeling lazy). But, I know I will feel better after wards. Plus, I know I can burn some more calories so I can reach my goal this week…etcetera.

Another example would be deciding whether to satisfy a craving. The thought of satisfying a craving is very pleasurable especially if I’ve had several days of eating at a calorie deficit. So, some thoughts that might go through my head is, what is more pleasurable, losing my belly or eating that donut (or whatever my Kryptonite is at the moment).

Why Talk About Pain or Pleasure?

I’m not talking about this particular quote or these examples to demonstrate that I’m neurotic Although, you might think that now. Instead, my goal is to demonstrate to you that most of the time, you are not aware that your mind is doing this and your actions are the result of these thoughts. If you’re a constant reader of my blog, you may already know that one of the keys to being successful at losing fat is consistency. The little changes that we make in our nutrition habits everyday, the little decisions we make about what to eat or what not to eat, the small decisions we make about whether or not we are going to the gym on our scheduled times – these are the changes that matter over time.

So, if we are either moving away from pain or moving towards pleasure, I guess the question we should ask ourselves is: how often are we moving towards pleasure? I would guess (and I’m sure my guess would be right in this situation) that the people who moved towards pain or chose to go outside of their comfort zone consistently are the ones who reached their fitness goals the fastest. They probably chose to go to the gym more often than not, they chose to forgo desert more often than not, they chose not to have a second cocktail more often than not, and so on. In other words, they chose pain right now so they can reap the rewards later. In this word where we get immediately gratification is popular, this is a lot more difficult to do.

Our Brain’s #1 Job and Why It Can be a Problem for Fat Loss

The other thing that we do have to keep in mind is our brain’s main job is to keep us alive. Our brain alerts our body when we’re hungry, or thirsty, or if we’re about to hit the car in front us. This is one of the reasons it can be difficult to eat at a deficit. Your brain is telling your body that it should not “starve.” It must feed itself to stay alive. Unfortunately, we usually mistake a lot of things such as boredom or thirst for the feeling of hunger. Some people also eat even when they’re not hungry.

So, why am I telling you all this? I now like the feeling of hunger because I know that eating at a sufficient calorie deficit to be burning fat. After all, how can your body burn its stored body fat if you’re eating at maintenance or over it. So, if you’re aware that you are burning fat when you’re feeling hungry, you are most likely not about to satisfy that feeling with food. At least, when it’s not time for a meal yet. The lesson here is this: if we just become aware of our pain or pleasure response and how hunger works, most of us will eat a lot less. If we choose to go outside of our comfort zones, we are more likely to reach our fat loss goals at a faster rate.

Note: The rest of the post will be talking mostly to women and how they can achieve the fit and feminine look. Guys, please feel fee to forward the information to your lady friends

Okay, I admit, I have done workouts that were designed for men before. I did not have a lot of choices back then. I was also still learning a lot of new things about fat loss, health and fitness during those days. I also did not know I can achieve a certain look with my workouts or even control how I end up looking when I reach my fitness goals. Today, thanks to John Barban and Rusty Moore, women now have many workout program choices in terms of getting the feminine look while still looking fit and without looking like you’re trying too hard in the gym. Let’s be honest – women do not want to look like a “she-male.” That is not a very attractive look.

The current trend I’m seeing is there are now more and more workout programs designed for women. If you’re a regular subscriber of my blog, you’ve probably read my blog post about one of the things I learned from the Venus Index. If you have not done that, you can read it here: “How Many Calories Should I Eat Daily?”

So, instead of doing a “review” of Rusty Moore’s Visual Impact for Women (which is a wonderful resource for women of all shapes, sizes, and fitness levels), I wanted to share with you one thing I learned that will help women achieve the fit but still feminine look.

How to Get Toned Muscles, Not Bigger Muscles

Rusty discusses the concept of Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy versus Myofibrillar Hypertrophy. He explains these concepts in a very simple way that everyone can understand:

Sarcoplasmic Hypertrophy is an increase in the muscle cell fluid (called sarcoplasm) within the muscle cell. This is a fast way to increase the size of a muscle, but since sarcoplasm is a fluid and can’t contract…it won’t make the muscle significantly stronger.

Myofibrillar Hypertrophy is actual muscle fiber growth. Since muscle fibers can contract, growth in this area leads to dramatic improvements in strength. This leads to very limited gains in muscle size.

By looking at these definitions, we can say that if you’re a woman who is happy with the size of your muscles but want to gain strength and increase the density of your muscles then you would want to stick to Myofibrillar Hypertrophy. In practical terms, this would translate to about 5 repetitions per exercise per muscle group.

One example that can make these concepts more clear to you would be women who are content with the size of their arm muscles but want to increase the tone and density of those muscles. These women would have to perform 5 repetitions of arm exercises for about 4-5 sets. The goal is not to go to “failure” which is the point when you can not lift a weight anymore because when you reach this point, you will be training your muscles to get bigger.

Another example that Rusty gave was one with women who may have bigger hips or thicker legs than they would like and are having trouble finding a pair of jeans that fit comfortably. If you are one of these women and you would like to decrease the circumference of your hips and legs but want to maintain the muscles in those areas, Rusty suggests you do not perform and butt and leg exercises but use the “Fat Torching Cardio” strategy which he included in the program. I’ve come to know Rusty’s cardio strategies to be very effective because I have been using them for the last 12 weeks. He takes High Intensity Intervals to the next level so you can burn off free fatty acids in your system after your workouts.

Who is Visual Impact for Women For

Besides the obvious fact that this program is designed for women, this would be a great fit for women who want to learn (and really learn) more about how they can still look fit and feminine without looking like they’re trying too hard. When I say “really learn,” I mean learning the concepts and reasons behind how the workout program is designed so you make your own tweaks to it based on how you want your body to look. If you have a thicker midsection, you will learn how you can make it smaller. If you have bigger calves than you would like, you would learn how to make it smaller. Seriously, the possibilities are endless and you will not be stuck with a generic program that’s designed for everyone else.

Besides the concepts I discussed here which I thought were really ground breaking since you will not read them on popular women’s fitness magazines, you will learn a lot more helpful strategies that will make fat loss simpler for you. Rusty specializes in techniques on how to get ready for a big event, like a wedding or a once in a lifetime vacation, and he does not skimp on the content.

Even if you don’t buy this product today, Rusty has some tips over at his blog about creating a fit, feminine look. You can check it out here: “Visual Impact for Women, Jazzed to Introduce My New Women’s Course

The other day, I organized a health and charity event which benefited the local Food Bank. I had health vendors sign up for tables so people can find out more about their services. One such service was, Dr. Ken Howayeck who is a podiatrist performing bone density tests. I’ve never had such a test done so I was curious to see what my results would be. Being that my first reason for taking up strength training was to prevent Osteoporosis, I wanted to see how I was doing.

To my delight, I passed the test with flying colors! But, I didn’t know how great my results were until Dr. Howayeck told me I had 2 major risk factors going against me – I am a woman of Southeast Asian descent. According to him, with those 2 risk factors, I should not have the numbers that I got. He told me that I should be proud of myself and that I should show my results to my clients. So, I decided I’d share my results with you and share a little bit of what I learned about the importance of knowing your bone density and having dense bones.

After much research, the first obvious consequence of not having dense bones is Osteoporosis. According to the Mayo Clinic, Osteoporosis, which means “porous bones,” causes bones to become weak and brittle — so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses like bending over or coughing can cause a fracture. A mild case of Osteoporosis is Osteopenia. In many cases, bones weaken when you have low levels of calcium and other minerals in your bones. Before, women are the most likely to get Osteoporosis but some men can get it too.

A bone density test is the first step to find out if you are at risk for Osteoporosis. It is a fairly accurate predictor of your risk of fracture. Dr. Howayeck’s test which scanned my heel cost me $15 because it is what they call a peripheral test. Some tests that scan the hip bones and spine which they call central tests may be more expensive. I recommend at least getting a peripheral test done so you can get a good idea of your risk for Osteoporosis.

Here are some facts I found about Osteoporosis:

The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends bone density testing if:

• You’re a woman age 65 or older
• You’re a postmenopausal woman under age 65 with one or more risk factors for osteoporosis
• You’re a man age 70 or older
• You’re a man between age 50 and 70 with one or more risk factors for osteoporosis
• You’re older than age 50 and you’ve experienced a broken bone
• You’re a postmenopausal woman and you’ve stopped taking estrogen therapy or hormone therapy

Note: It seems that the National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends the test for people who are 50 and older but as with everything, knowing what your risks are early in life so you can prevent getting the disease is a lot better than taking care of the symptoms when it’s too late to do anything about it. When you think about $15 is small change compared to the cost of hip surgery.

Risk factors for osteoporosis include:

• Getting older, which increases your risk of osteoporosis because bones become weaker as you age
• Ethnicity — for instance, women who are white or of Southeast Asian descent have the greatest risk of osteoporosis, and African-American and Hispanic men and women have a lower, but still significant, risk of the disease
• Low body weight, or under 125 pounds (56.7 kilograms) if you’re of average height
• A personal history of fractures after age 40
• A parental history of osteoporosis or hip fractures
• Using certain medications that can cause bone loss, especially steroids

Dr. Howayeck gave me a copy of my results so I scanned it and posted it below (you may click on the image to make it bigger):

As you can see from my results, my numbers are way above what the average is for my age and ethnicity. A T-score of above -1 is considered normal. If you’d like to find out what T-score and Z-score mean in more detail, please go to the Mayo Clinic web site. Please note that I’m not putting my numbers here so I can brag about it. Rather, I wanted to spread the word on the importance of strength training and how it can help you lower your risk for Osteoporosis.

How Strength Training Helps Increase Bone Density

As your muscles become more toned and get bigger, your bones also have to get bigger so they can support your bigger muscles. I’m not saying you have to look like Ms. Olympia with huge muscles. Any sort of muscle growth will help lower your risk for this disease. As I said earlier, this is my main reason for starting strength training in the first place and I can see that my efforts are paying off. I hope you do the same as well.