Entries from August 2008 ↓

1. Drink plenty of water
2. Eat foods high in water content (like fruit, for example)
3. Eat foods high in fiber (once again, fruit!)
4. Eat lots of vegetables and salads with your meals.
5. Eat your food slowly.
6. Chew sugar-free gum.
7. Brush your teeth.
8. Focus on other things or occupy downtime with activities to take your mind off of food.

These are all very simple… and very effective. Employ these and you’ll find it much easier to handle the munchies when they come along!

Losing fat is an all-out war. Problem is, most people don’t attack it from all sides. It’s all well and good to eat less and move more, but if you change the many things in our lives that are taken for granted, the results will be far greater! For instance, let’s assume that today is a shopping day. What changes can be made today so that you may slough off that stubborn fat?

Here’s a few things you can do that will really add up over the course of a day:

• At the mall, park on the opposite side of where you want to go. It may not seem practical, but if you really think about it, you’ll be giving yourself a good half-hour of cardio or more, depending upon the size of your mall. And there’s no way you are going to miss that super sale for Coach purses or the latest and greatest Nike kicks.
• Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. If the former is not available, at least walk up the escalator and make something of it!
• Tote around a water bottle and an apple or something small so you’ll be less likely to nibble on typical food court junk and cookie stands.
• Though all that walking may leave you tempted to sit and rest, keep standing and walking, or lean on something instead. You burn almost double the calories that you would just sitting around.

It’s the little things you do that make the biggest difference in your physique and your health, so if you find weight loss is becoming increasingly more difficult, it may be time to completely overhaul those lazy tendencies!

Long ago, we had no idea what the hell a calorie was. Much less a gram of protein or complex carbs. In the early times of our ancestors, life was… relatively simple. They would hunt, gather, and prepare during the daylight hours, while eating and resting at night. Obesity-related diseases like diabetes and hypertension were non-existent. In fact, obesity was rarer than ever. The people of this period had one thing down for sure- they knew how much to eat. After all, it was a “survival of the fittest.”

If there’s a lesson we can learn from our early ancestors, it’s the instinctual eating patterns that they followed. While it may take some work at recapturing that ability, it is certainly possible to reach your goals through this method. I’ve done it very successfully, along with countless others. All it takes is a firm understanding of what the human body’s natural instincts are towards food.

Here’s how to regain that natural instinct:

1. Eat natural, whole foods. Scrap the protein powder and consume lean meats. Eat plentiful amounts of fruits and vegetables.
2. When you are under greater physical stress (meaning more intense workouts or cardio), consume enough to satisfy the hunger.
3. When you are under lesser or no physical stress (light lifting & cardio or none at all), consume enough to satisfy hunger.
4. Don’t concern yourself with how many meals you are getting in. Eat to satiety when hungry and this will be taken care of.
5. Consume the bulk of your daily food intake immediately following your workout to recoup that lost energy and help ensure proper recovery and growth.

Now, I know you’re asking, how will I know if I am eating too much? Here’s your answer: The human body was designed to tell us when food is demanded more or less - case in point, when you’ve had a busy day full of physical activity. You’ll likely be much more hungry than you would be on a day where you were mostly sedentary.

Give it a try and see how you end up. If you’ve been killing yourself with all those calorie counts, macronutrient percentages, and the likes, then this is something that may just give you that much needed peace of mind you’ve been seeking.