#i have a consistent junk food diet on account of me needing to have something in my stomach to STAY AWAKE

[worldblight]

I am SO 👏 FUCKING 👏 TIRED 👏 of having a high metabolism this shit is the WORST

[meditating-dog-lover]

Personal trainer meeting

So I met with my personal trainer again today and I went over some stuff.

For me, it's a combination of different things that help me burn fat, not just 1. It's the following:

Eating healthy and limiting my consumption of high fat and high sugar junk foods.

Brisk walking - it puts my heart rate int he fat burning zone and it burns a lot of calories, and from fat.

Strength training circuits - strengthens muscles which boosts metabolism and helps you burn fat even when not following a low calorie diet. But it still needs to be done in conjunction to cardio (both brisk walking and HIIT).

HIIT - boosts metabolism and burns a lot of calories, but likely not from fat because it's an intense workout that will surpass the fast burning zone heart rate. My PT said that doing it 1x a week is plenty.

My PT likes these workouts and said they are helpful, and I even asked if I can come in for another session for some sample strength and HIIT circuit workouts.

So overall I need all 4. It's better to do all 4 consistently and slip up every now and then than to do 1 perfectly and ignore the rest.

This is what helped me lose fat from July to September 2021, and from September 2021 to November 2021. After November 2021 things went kind of downhill because I lost track of my fitness and life got in the way (got concerned with my health, work, and finances and was comparing myself to others and felt shitty and had body image issues). So I put on weight which made me feel shittier and my mom and sister called me out on my weight gain which made me feel even shittier.

I looked pretty good in November 2021 because I worked hard. I have pictures from that time and I looked good, at least compared to May 2022 where I put weight back on during my sister's college graduation. It's frustrating as someone who has struggled with their weight growing up and had issues with being consistent. I am also tall with a wide athletic frame so even at a low body fat percentage I will always look bigger next to people. I need to figure out how to accept that and how to find clothes that flatter me.

I've been dealing with a lot of shit ever since COVID where I became so depressed that a ton of things triggered my childhood trauma and made me feel worse. I still feel shitty and am in pain, though better than before. And one of the things bothering me is my weight and body image. Because the above 4 help, I'm just going to suck it up and power through them until I feel better and healthier and develop a healthier and fitter body. This won't solve very problem I'm dealing with and will have to deal with in order to heal my trauma, but it's a great step in the right direction.

I still have teeth trauma, relationship trauma, poor style due to poor body image, and general anxiety I have to deal with. It's almost 2024 and I hope to successfully dedicate the year to healing from these issues. I did a lot this year (continues therapy, did great at work and learned a lot of new experiments and lab methods, learned a lot about financial responsibility and opened a HYSA and IRA account (I have almost 30k in savings), went through a holistic healing journey by correcting nutritional deficiencies, met with a dietician and personal trainer which is something I would avoid in the past because I hated people commenting on my diet and fitness, finally met with doctors especially with a PCP and did blood work which is another thing I held off because I have health anxiety over this stuff despite my blood work being very good - especially my lipid profile as I have low cholesterol and triglyceride levels, did some self-care by styling my hair and getting a professional skin treatment and improved my style and appearance which is big for someone with body dysmorphia, etc...

I'm still healing from the COVID and post-COVID pain and it will take some time. I don't want to feel like my 20s went to waste because of it, and I want to fill in the void I feel by making and accomplishing goals. And even if I don't achieve 100% of all my goals, I have my 30s to look forward to.

[mysugarstory-hw1]

It is really difficult to avoid sweets as a child and I have always had a sweet tooth. I have a skinny fat body type and after years of training and working out I was able to gain weight, but I am unable to lose the fat regardless of the training because of my unhealthy diet plan. A common rule for bodybuilding is that the body is built 80% in the kitchen. My goal is to reduce fat while gaining overall weight, which is a specific type of weight loss by reducing my sugar consumption. I have been trying to lose my upper body fat, but I am unable to control my sugar cravings. This summer I had finally made a decision to reduce my sugar and monitoring the consumption for the assignment was particularly beneficial. The plan to achieve the goal was regular weightlifting, running and a high protein diet with a minimal sugar quantity.

I have experienced various harmful effects of sugar on my body including weight gain, increased acne and an increase in anxiety/depression. A survey conducted of 8000 people shows that men consuming more than 67 grams of sugar a day were 23% more likely to develop depression than men who consumed less than 40 grams per day (Kubala,2018). In the U.S added sugars accounts for 17% of the total calorie intake for adults while dietary guidelines suggest limiting added sugars to less than 10%. If I have a can of coke with both my meals, that itself is 78 grams of sugar. I used to have sugary drinks multiple times a day which were the main source of sugar in my diet. My morning coffee from Starbucks is a medium size Caramel Macchiato which alone has 33g of sugar. I have completely stopped drinking any of the aerated drinks and have switched to alternates such as vitamin water and a dark roast with no sugar.

The application I used was MyFitnessPal as it allows me to track my calories in an effortless manner. I was able to quickly add all my meals and never had a problem finding a specific food item. The application has the nutrition data for most fast-food diners and it also allows you to save your own custom-built meal. I could find every food item on the app, even if it was a traditional Indian cuisine dish.

I usually cook my own breakfast, so I created a custom-built breakfast meal on the application containing different dishes so that I am able to add my meals every day without selecting all ingredients individually every time. In college, it is difficult to have all ingredients at home, so I had to custom make some of my meals according to the ingredients used in the meal.

Another major benefit of MyFitnessPal was that it allows you to input your workout details in your main page calorie count. This feature helped me track my overall calorie deficit or surplus. The application automatically detects my total steps and reduces the calories burned appropriately from my remaining calorie goal. This makes it really easy for me to track my caloric deficit diet as I don’t have to calculate my calorie intake – calories burnt separately. I wear an apple watch which tracks my workouts and MyFitnessPal reads that itself as I allowed the application to do so while setting up.

A feature which made me decide that this application is right for me was the nutrition data. It provides me with all the nutrition where I can set a goal for my protein and sugar consumption quantity and see the total amount of sugar I have consumed in the day/week. I have not used the application for more than 3 weeks, but I believe that this feature is fundamental in the long-term use of the application. This is what allows the user to track their progress for a period of time while seeing the days you did not meet the goal separately. I would be able to see the specific days I did not follow my diet plan well on the weekends. The bar graphs displaying the data are also very efficient in easy tracking of the users weekly nutritional data.

After tracking my meals on MyFitnessPal for 2 week I realized that I did not follow my diet for 1 or 2 days in the week, which were usually weekends. I decided to dedicate 1 day as cheat day or day off as I was unable to track my consumption of sugar for the days I went out. Tracking my sugar consumption for the week and not inputting the correct values would lead to a misrepresentation of my progress in the long run. I feel my body has reacted well to being on a no sugar diet for 6 days a week.

Another situation where I found difficult was actually inputting my meals every day. From the 4th day of me tracking my meals, I usually forgot to add my meal either because of a busy schedule or maybe I just forgot. I did input 2 or 3 days of meals at once, in such a situation I don’t remember exactly the smaller meals I might have had but only added the bigger meals for those days. This leads to a case of misrepresentation for example, if I had a lemonade but forgot to input it, that could make a big difference in my total sugar consumption for that day or week. The application however is actually very efficient as it sends you multiple to add meals and meet the daily goal.

How the calorie count works on MyFitnessPal is Calorie goal – food + exercise = calories remaining. Instead of viewing the total number of calories remaining I would rather see calories consumed. Knowing about the number of calories remaining was not of much help as I was not able to tell my right calorie goal. The calorie goal was decided while setting up the application according to personal goals, height and weight. I don’t think I built my calorie goal just right by including the correct details. I do not know the exact number of calories I should be consuming to gain weight but be low on sugar and fat. It is a complicated diet plan and I believe that the application could have a smarter and more efficient way of calculating the calorie while explaining the reasoning behind that number. The reasoning motivates the user to meet the goal once they are aware of the reasons to consume or burn those specific numbers of calories for the day.

A feature which might help the application improve could be a junk burn feature. The user can input a cheat meal and the application should send a reminder saying, “Walk an extra 468 steps for the medium fries” or “get in that workout to earn yourself a lemonade”. If the user is having the craving for a specific unhealthy meal, they could input it and know the extra work they have to put in to earn it. Personally, I would have benefitted from this feature as I would be motivated to exercise better to earn my craving for the day. This keeps you consistent with your goal and motivated to keep tracking your calories.

My expectations going into the assignment were very different from my actual experience. I believed that using the application would make me more conscious of my eating habits, looking back at my meal consumption. In the past I have followed a meal plan, but I have been unable to be consistent for a long period of time. I was expecting that the application will help me be consistent with constant reminders and with the nutritional data. However, I don’t think that MyFitnessPal was able to motivate me to be consistent. The intrinsic motivation is fundamental to achieve goals like mine. I had quite the opposite experience as I stopped inputting the unhealthy food I had as I did not want to see that on my weekly data. When someone is aware that they are breaking their diet plan and eating something sugary, the self-acceptance demanded by the application is difficult to meet. In such situations I usually input only the healthy meals leading to misrepresentation.

A lot of unexpected benefits of the following experience were reduced anxiety and a better sleep cycle. If I experience any kind of exam stress, sugar can trigger anxiety for me or possibly aggravate it. Reducing my sugar intake clearly improved my sleep cycle as I was able to fall asleep earlier and had no broken sleep. Consuming sugar at night could make me stay up for hours while in the day, once the sugar rush went, I could suddenly feel sleepy. I was able to monitor such behaviors only because I was tracking my sugar intake which I could later compare to my sleep or stress behavior for the previous day. I realized how I should consume sugar in a smarter way and avoid it at specific times.

Overall, the experience with MyFitnessPal was really beneficial  as I learnt a lot of new facts about my diet details. I did not know how unhealthy some foods were which were high protein, rich in fiber and no sugar. There were days where I did not meet my calorie requirements for the day and I realized how I need to change my diet plan by adding more meals with a higher calorie count. I have almost reached my goal of reducing sugar as I can see results of losing fat. I will definitely continue using MyFitnessPal as I work towards my goal.

[allicekitty13]

Escape Route

“It was a sentiment Alice could relate to; after all, less than a week ago, she'd abandoned everything in her life to hit the road. Although, in her own case, retuning would be much harder. Charlotte had a loving and accepting family who only wanted what was best for her to return to. She envied the woman slightly; if she'd grown up with even a quarter of the support Charlotte had, maybe she would still be at NYU right now. But those weren't the cards she'd been dealt.“ Read On Ao3

Read On FFN

It was dark, the night only illuminated by the streetlamps and light peeking out the few windows scattered throughout the apartment buildings lining the alleyway. Not many people were awake at such a late hour; usually, she wouldn't be either. On an average night, she would be asleep, getting ample rest for classes the next morning. Tonight, however, Alice was sitting in her car, hands tightly clenching the steering wheel internally debating if she really could do this. She was already so close, so near to her goal. A goal that had been festering inside for months now—possibly even years if she were to be honest. 

That afternoon Alice had done the unthinkable by dropping out of school mid-semester. Just a few hours ago she had packed up as many belongings as she could possibly fit into her small two-door Honda Civic. Alice had been sitting there in the driver's seat, building up the final shreds of her courage ever since. If she were to follow through on this plan her roommate, Bella, would come home to find Alice's bedroom cleared out alone with her abandoned call phone sitting on the bedside table. It was likely by now full of notifications of missed calls and angry voicemails.

Alice admittedly felt terrible for the girl. Bella was sweet, always kind, and didn't deserve to have this sprung upon her. She would be the one who had to deal with the questions following Alice's disappearance. Worst of all, poor Bella would have to answer to Alice's father in the coming days. But Alice knew if she'd warned her friend in person, Bella would have tried to stop her; she likely would have succeeded. So Alice had written a letter left next to the phone apologizing and trying to explain that she was okay. That Alice needed to do this. She begged her friend to understand and forgive her, pleaded in written words not to come looking.

The consequences that would be placed upon Bella were the only thing causing Alice to hesitate. There was still time to change her mind, to take the responsible course of action and continue down the path laid out by her father. She could easily go back upstairs, tear up the letter, and put her belongings back in place. She could call Edgar with some made-up excuse; he would pull some strings to have her reinstated as a student. Alice could resume her life as usual, albeit with her father looking at her with slightly more disdain than usual. 

Alice shook her head furiously at the thought as though she could forcibly remove the doubts from her mind. This was something she needed to do, something she'd wanted for quite a while. To run away from her life, from her past. To start over someplace fresh, where nobody knew who she was. Someplace Edgar Brandon had no control, where she wouldn't be haunted by ghosts of the past.

So, despite the nervousness of the unknown still sitting like a weight in her stomach Alice finally started the car. She was headed off, to where? She didn't know; that was something she could figure out along the way.

---

Alice had been on the road for a few days, driving aimlessly in whatever direction struck her fancy. She took only backroads traveling through small farm towns and past long forgotten tourist traps. In Pennsylvania and Indiana, she'd found cheap cash only motels that didn't ask too many questions to get a nights rest. Her diet had consisted of mostly rest stop junk food. Occasionally she would stop at the occasional diner for something close to nutritions. She was now in Iowa, and the meter on her gas tank was bordering dangerously close to empty. Being so far from the highways and interstate, gas stations were few and far between, luckily though a sign on the roadside indicated there was a rest stop just a few miles out and so she made her way east to fuel up. 

Alice pulled into the parking lot and proceeded to drive up to the nearest of two gas pumps. A relic of a different time, it was an older style that she'd only seen in films on the classic movie channel. A sign was attached to the surface with duct tape instructing customers to venture inside to pre-pay for their gad. A reasonable request judging by the lack of space to insert a credit card, an option the woman would prefer to avoid anyhow. Accessing her bank account at the moment would leave a digital paper trail leading anyone looking for Alice directly to her location. Although chances were relatively high that Edgar wouldn't actually be looking for her, it wasn't a chance Alice was willing to take.

So, she pulled her denim jacket tighter against her body to brace herself against the harsh midwestern autumn winds as she made her way into the small timeworn building near the pumps. It was apparent that 'Bier's gas and go' had seen better days. The roof needed retiling, as evidenced by the barren spots sprinkled across the surface. A vintage coca-cola sign hung in the window. If a collecter were to ever venture off the interstate and stop by the old station, they'd likely pay a fortune for it despite the worn, sun-bleached condition. 

Inside, the owners had made decent use of the cramped space in a half-hearted attempt to keep up with the times. A table with a single chair was tucked away in one corner next to an out of date newspaper dispenser. Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that it had been out of use for years as the price per paper was set at .90 cents and the date on the periodical displayed in the machine was for June 13th of 1997. Despite the clear signs of a business on its last legs, the shelves were stocked with a small array of fresh products that the few customers passing through might require. Bags of chips were placed near the back of the store, a few boxes of candy bars sat on the checkout counter, and a belly cooler was pushed up against one wall stocked with soda, juice, and water.

A blonde woman just a few inches taller than Alice was leaning against the checkout counter, holding a backpack close to her chest as she chatted with the shops' only other inhabitant. A man, whose height towered over that of both women, was stocking cigarettes onto a shelf behind the register. Both parties looked up upon Alice's entrance, the man looking bored, yes surprised likely at having two customers within the premises in one day if his surroundings were any indication. The woman's eyes lit up, and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth, pressing it between her teeth as Alice approached the counter, paid for her gas, and received instruction from the man on how to operate the vintage pumps.

Alice said her thank yous, never one to forget her manners, and headed back outside. She began to pump her gas, grateful for Riley's instructions as operating the older pump was a foreign concept to the woman who'd never seen, let alone used one of this nature. Just as Alice returned the nozzle to its receptacle, the woman from inside exited the building. She looked around the lot before spotting Alice and headed directly over to where the woman was standing.

"Listen," She opened with a tinge of hesitation in her voice. "This might sound odd, but I was kind of wondering where you're headed." 

"You're right; that does sound odd." Alice had seen her fair share of horror movies. This was about the time she knew it would be a good idea to excuse herself, get back into her car, and get away fast. Yet, something in the woman's eyes that looked a lot like hope caused her to go against better judgment as she hesitantly questioned the woman, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm trying to get back home, to Texas. Been hitchhiking my way, kinda hopin' you might be kind enough to offer a ride it's not terribly far out of your way?"

"What's your name?"

"Charlotte, friends call me Charlie." The woman answered with a reluctantly hopeful half-grin.

"Well, Charlie, you're in luck since I've just been driving aimlessly up until now, and I wouldn't mind having a clear destination."

Charlotte thanked Alice profusely as she climbed into the passenger's side of the vehicle and placed her backpack on the floor between her feet. As the duo ventured back onto the backroads of the midwestern United States, Alice couldn't help but wonder if it was fate that brought the two girls together, that the small run-down gas station had been exactly where she'd needed to be.

---

Charlotte made for excellent company causing Alice's time on the road to become much more fun. She now had someone to talk to as her new companion was exceptionally vocal. Charlotte talked a lot about her family, specifically her older half-sister, who recently married and moved from their hometown of Dripping Springs, Texas to Tennessee with her new husband. The woman seemed to be close with her sister bringing her up in many of their conversations.

Halfway to Texas, they crashed for the night as a motel in Oklahoma. After a few drinks, Charlotte opened up about her older brother. The two had gotten into a fight just before the woman moved away. Her brother, Jasper, hadn't thought Charlotte was mature enough to leave home. He felt that she was idolizing the city and was worried she would get hurt. Charlotte argued that Jasper and Rosalie had babied her their entire lives, and she would never learn to be self-sufficient with Jasper and their mother watching over her and fixing every problem that arose in her life. Unfortunately, moving across the country on a whim had been too much for the woman to handle, and she wasn't looking forward to telling her brother he had been right.

Apparently, this was the reason she'd been hitchhiking rather than asking her family to help purchase a plane ticket. Charlotte knew that logically her always supportive and loving family would welcome her back with open arms. That they weren't the 'I told you so' type. Still, she was nervous about what would happen when she returned and had hoped that by now, she might have figured out what to say.

The next day, Charlotte was uncharacteristically quiet. She grew stiffer and stiffer as the car crept closer to Dripping Springs. Alice offered to extend their trip slightly, pointing out that she had nowhere to be, and it would give the woman more time to clear her head. Charlotte contemplated the offer but, in the end, decided that there would never be a perfect time to do this. That she would never truly be ready to crawl back home or to admit she was wrong. Besides, she knew her mother and brother would be kind about the situation. Knew that everything would be okay; still, that didn't make it any easier.

It was a sentiment Alice could relate to; after all, less than a week ago, she'd abandoned everything in her life to hit the road. Although, in her own case, retuning would be much harder. Charlotte had a loving and accepting family who only wanted what was best for her to return to. She envied the woman slightly; if she'd grown up with even a quarter of the support Charlotte had, maybe she would still be at NYU right now. But those weren't the cards she'd been dealt. So, rather than feel sorry for herself, she refocussed on comforting her friend in the passenger's seat who had a monumental task to tackle in just a few more miles.

---

Charlotte instructed Alice to pull over next to a dingy looking bar on the main street when the pair finally arrived in Dripping Springs. She explained that this was where her brother worked and was most likely to be at this time of day. They sat parked for a moment; the air filled with tension as Charlotte stared at the bar from the bar window. Finally, she turned back to Alice, nervousness apparent in her expression, and asked if her friend would mind coming inside with her as it might be easier to do this with someone around for support. 

The bar was dimly lit, the only source of lighting coming from the numerous neon beer signs scattered about the walls. There were booths in every corner, and four tables surrounded by chairs took up half of the floor space. The other half of the room was occupied by a pool table as well as a cleared out area near the jukebox that acted as a dance space. Behind the bar stood a man who occupied himself with dusting off the rack on which numerous liquor bottles sat. 

"Jas?" Charlotte called out, causing the man to startle; he dropped the rag he was holding and spun around in shock, staring at his sister, who gazed back sheepishly. The room was quiet for a long time as the siblings stood caught in a silent conversation held via eye contact accompanied only by the ambient music playing from Jasper's phone sitting next to him on the counter.

"You were right. I couldn't...." She trailed off, looking down at the counter with shaking breath. 

Jasper only nodded in response as he reached into the belly cooler next to him for two beers, which he slid across the counter to the girls. "So, who's your friend?"

Jasper sat down with the girls, catching up with his sister and learning of her adventures with Alice. He was grateful to the woman for bringing Charlotte home but make sure to let her know she was an idiot for picking up a stranger at a gas station in the middle of nowhere.

As Alice got to know the man, she found herself drawn to him; he was attractive with his tall stature, messy blonde hair, and piercing green eyes. He was smart, witty, and it was endearing to see how easily he reconciled with Charlotte and how much genuine interest he took in her life. This was a real family, the type of relationship she'd tried so hard to cultivate with her own sister but had never managed to accomplish with their father constantly spinning his eldest daughter out to be a villain.  

Alice started fighting sleep as the night wore on, and customers began to file in, diverting Jasper's attention from the family reunion. She made a comment about needing to look for a motel for the night, and Charlotte looked at her as though she'd grown a second head. 

"No, you're definitely not."

"Char, I need to sleep."

"Not in a motel; after everything you've done for me, the least I can do is offer you the guest room at our place."

"You mean my place?" Jasper cut in, shooting his sister an amused glare before turning to look at Alice with fondness in his eyes. "She's right though, guest rooms yours for as long as you need if you'd like it."

Back at the Whitlock ranch in the guest room, Alice lay in a comfortable bed for the first time in days. She was tossing over the idea of staying in this town for a while. Before reriting to their rooms for the night Charlotte had practically begged her new friend to hang around. Alice hadn't been sure what she was looking for when she had set out on this journey. But having made a genuine friend in Charlotte and the way Jasper treated her with nothing but kindness made her feel as though just maybe she'd found it. It was too soon to determine anything for certain, but as she passed into sleep thinking about blonde hair and green eyes, she decided that it wouldn't hurt to explore the option.

[entirebodyexercise]

How Long does It Take to Get Six Pack Abs?

This is just one of the primarily asked concerns amongst those that have just made a decision to do something to accomplish a good looking stomach.

Unfortunately, there is no good response for this concern as we are all various. We feature various physique, body fat percentage, weight, height as well as metabolic process degree which must be absorbed account.

Anyway, there is a method you can utilize to determine about just how much time it will certainly require to obtain 6 pack abs. Firstly, you need to know your body fat degree. Here is a device you could utilize to check it.

In order to see your abdominals, the body fat level have to be around 7-8% for guys as well as 16-18% for women. So, if your current degree is 18%, you ought to have to lose 10% if you are a man. Let's claim you could shed 0.5% each week with diet regimen, abdominals exercises and cardio. Because case, you will certainly require approx. 20 weeks to see your abs.

This is simply a tip and also not a scientifically-proof approach. Taking into consideration that there are a lot of elements, you might achieve flat abs quicker or later.

Would You Like to Know Exactly how Lazar Angelov Constructed Those Abs? YES!! Show Me!

How to Get Six Pack

In addition, there is one more element which we should not forget that is exactly how difficult you want to obtain 6 pack abdominals. Many individuals believe that by doing some abs workouts will do magic, and also when they do not see any kind of lead to some weeks, they offer up.

You should be person, unwavering and also you must try various methods. You have to establish short and also lasting objectives and appreciate exactly what you are doing.

Anyway, there are two almosts all of obtaining 6 pack abdominals: doing effective training to work every one of your stomach muscles and removing the fat that covers your abs.

Effective ab training means you do different ab workouts which function all components of your belly. You do optimal variety of sets and repetitions. It is likewise crucial just how intensive your workout regimens are, and also you need to perform the workouts correctly.

Since everybody have different health and fitness level and abdominal muscular tissue toughness, you have to locate the optimal workout regimen by examining different ones. At some point, you need to boost the intensity of your routines consistently so as to get results.

Getting rid of belly fat is just one of the points that people normally neglect. Regardless of who excellent training you have as well as just how effective your muscle mass are if your stomach is covered with fat. There are 2 ways to obtain eliminate tummy fat by doing cardio as well as being on a healthy and balanced diet.

Cardio can be anything which assists to raise your pulse as well as makes you sweating. You can do walking, running, aerobics etc. Just do these trainings at the very least 3-4 times a week.

In my point of view diet is the essential to achieve that 6 pack abs. No issue just how well you train your body, if you absorb a lot of fatty and also pleasant points day by day.

Again everyone requires different sorts of diet regimen plan to accomplish weight and weight loss based on his or her body kind as well as degree of body fat. There are different strategies you can pick from, but I follow 5 policies, which have aided me to shed weight and also remove that persistent stomach fat.

I absorb a great deal of protein-rich foods.

My last dish is 3 hrs before I visit bed.

I eliminate points which contain low top quality carbs like bread, crunches and also various other junk food.

I eat a bunch of veggies, fruits, berries, nuts and also various other foods which are confirmed to aid with lowering stomach fat.

I drink a lot of water.

This infographic assembles the most vital facts you should learn about getting six pack.

Did you discover this blog post beneficial? Show your friends!

[fiti-vation]

For many years I've been trying to live a healthier lifestyle,but I always end up failing and going back to eating junk. I think because I make poor food choices my menstrual cycle rarely comes. Do you have any tips on how I can stick with a healthy food regimen,and foods to eat and avoid that can help get my cycle to become regular.

Hi there,

I’m happy to hear that you are trying to integrate more healthy food choices into your diet. Keep up the good work. In regard to your gynecological problems, I would like to begin by saying that I am in no way a health professional, so I strongly encourage you to seek medical advice/ assistance. Your irregular periods can be due to several factors. The only way to know for sure what the cause is, is by consulting a health professional. That said, what I can help you with, is provide you with some tips on how to stick to a healthy lifestyle.

 As I have previously stated in a similar post to yours, maintaining a healthy and balanced diet is not always the easiest goal to achieve. Having ups and downs happens to all of us, so you really shouldn’t beat yourself up when you fall off the wagon. Elite, semi-pro and varsity athletes all struggle at times — myself included. Always remember that it is NOT about perfect, but about effort. The perfection mindset breeds failure. When real life happens and things aren’t so perfect, people who think this way throw in the towel fast. Don’t strive for perfection all the time. You haven’t got control over achieving perfection, but you do have control of what you do now.

  What truly matters is that you are making an effort to better your health and that is worth acknowledging. Effort is one of those things that gives meaning to life. Effort means you care about something, that something is important to you and you are willing to work for it. Whenever you catch yourself wallowing in self-pity – always remind yourself that at least you are trying. Never become downbeat because the journey is tough, be optimistic that you have an opportunity to start anew every time you fall.  

Consistency:

Having effort is one thing. But

effort without consistency is like interest without compounding

. You know how to make the effort - which is great,

the only thing you have left to do is cultivate your skills in consistency.

I wish there was some magic secret to a healthy lifestyle, but that simply is it…

Consistency is the key

. Whatever your fitness goals, consistency is important across the board in achieving them. The accomplishment of our goals does not come about from working exceptionally well just for a few days, it is about consistency, everything great can only be accomplished with

consistent effort and dedication

. No matter what happens you have to put in the work every single day, small daily steps will take you to wherever you wish to go.

Consistency is the capacity to show up for something over and over, to produce results that are equivalent over time; stay the course, steady as she goes.

How Does One Cultivate Consistency?

Now, you’re probably wondering how one becomes consistent. There again there is no magic secret. A big part of being consistent is organization. Consistency comes from hard work and preparation.

You need to be proactive, not reactive

. People who lack the proactivity habit tend to be more reactive, seeing themselves as victims of circumstance, unable to change their reactions, thus feeling much less empowered. Proactive people act rather than being acted upon.

A proactive approach focuses on eliminating problems before they have a chance to appear and a reactive approach is based on responding to events after they have happened. The difference between these two approaches is the perspective each one provides in assessing actions and events.

When I first started taking fitness seriously at 18, I quickly realized how important it was to be thorough with my time. Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. I knew that if I wanted to achieve my goals, I would have to be ORGANIZED. Everyone has a will to win, but very few have the will to prepare to win. Simply put, the will to succeed is important, but what’s more important is the will to prepare. By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail. 

Preparing my meals in advance, making a list of healthy groceries and planning my workouts really helped me stay on track when I started taking fitness seriously. If you have healthy meals and snacks ready to eat when you’re hungry, it will be much easier to stick to a healthy diet. Temptation, a busy schedule, fatigue and loss of motivation, among many other factors, can make it easy for you to lose track of your goals and slip up on diet and exercise.

Without meal prep, you increase your chances of eating convenience foods on the regular, especially if you get busy or caught out-and-about without food (this one occasionally happens even to the most prepared foodie among us, trust me). When your meals are tentatively planned and sufficiently prepped ahead of time it will make enjoying a healthy meal an easy decision. After a full day, having a nutritious meal at the ready is something so many of us appreciate. There are 7 days in a week, choose the best one to meal prep.

Forecasting and preparing our daily eats in advance will support us in staying on track – essentially empowering us to conquer our healthy lifestyle aspirations in the days ahead.

In addition to helping you stay on track, meal prepping also:

Improves your time management

Saves you money

Helps You Regulate Portion Control

Helps You Win the Mental Game

Accountability

Before concluding this post, one more thing that I would like to touch on is accountability. Although, every failure is a chance to start anew – if one keeps on constantly failing at achieving their goals, one must hold themselves accountable at some point. If you keep on constantly failing, you have to pause and ask yourself “why”. Once you have found the reason for your constant failure, you then have to tackle it.

Accountability means you stay true to your word, that you can be counted on. You say what you’re going to do, and you do it, holding yourself answerable.

As I stated in one of my recent posts:

The circumstances of our lives, especially when they seem stressful or intense, do have an impact on us, for sure. However, all too often, we give away our power to these circumstances and situations. At some point, you have to take control of your existence. You cannot keep on blaming your parents or your circumstances forever. You are totally responsible for your life.

Responsibility is not something you do—it’s a way of thinking and being. When you’re truly responsible, you believe that success or failure is up to you, even if you work within a team or are blind-sided by unforeseen circumstances. You own your commitment to a result before the fact, before you even take action.

On a Final Note

I really wish there was a magic secret to sticking to a healthy lifestyle, but there really isn’t. As clichéd as it may sound, the formula is quite simple; effort + preparation + accountability = consistency. There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

We all have the choice to either be proactive about our own lives and set ourselves up to walk in and enjoy success that may come our way, or we can wait until that day that success arrives and hustle to keep up with it. I know the latter is harder and sometimes because of our unpreparedness we totally miss it. I know I don’t want to miss out on anything, so I am making it my mission to prepare today for tomorrow. I urge you to do the same.

I hope you’ll find motivation in these words of encouragement.

Best of luck on your fitness journey.

Steph, xoxo 🤗

[aliya-pro-fitness]

Why your weight won't budge

Why your weight won’t budge

Wanting to drop a few pounds but not able to?

There are few things more frustrating than wanting to be slimmer and to tone your body, without any success.

Read the following 7 Reasons Your Weight Won’t Budge to discover what is standing in your way and how to quickly and easily begin your fat loss journey.

Reason #1: Your Mind

Your mind is your number one ally when it comes to achieving your goals. However, until your mind has been programmed for success, it will do more to derail your efforts than to help you.

Take a few moments each day to visualize yourself at your ideal weight. Imagine how it feels to look the way you’ve always wanted.

Protect your mind from any negative self talk. If a negative thought comes to mind, immediately reject it.

You want to be thin and fit, and yet you think of yourself as out-of-shape an fat. Re-program your mind to think of yourself as fit and attractive, and you will be well on your way toward achieving your goal.

Give up the belief that you can’t achieve the body you’ve always dreamed of. See it first in your mind, and then in the mirror.

Reason #2: Your Fear

Change makes most of us nervous – even if it is a change in the right direction. You may not be consciously aware of the fear you have of getting into shape. Until you conquer this fear, your weight loss efforts will be blocked by self-sabotage. Professional speaker and author, Anthony Robbins, has outlined three specific beliefs that you must have in order to conquer your fear and instantly create a lasting change.

Believe that something MUST change. You can’t be wishy-washy about it. You can’t be considering it. You can’t even be pretty sure about it. You’ve got to be rock solid.

Believe that YOU must change it. You can’t pass the buck of responsibility and expect to lose weight. It’s on your shoulders. Other people will prove to be great assets in your journey, but in the end you are the one who is going to make it happen. You have to want this weight loss enough to make it your personal mission.

Believe you CAN change it. You may have failed in the past, but that doesn’t matter. When you put your mind to it, you’re able to do amazing things. Do you believe that you are capable of losing weight? Once you own the belief that you can, you’ll be unstoppable.

Reason #3: Your Excuses

Your excuses for being out-of-shape are getting old. An excuse takes less immediate effort than an action, but in the long run the action taker always has the advantage. Don’t allow excuses to ruin your life any longer.

Don’t skip out on your responsibilities with excuses, instead expect more from yourself.

Focus on the big reason why you are losing the weight. Make a list of the benefits you’ll enjoy once you achieve your goal and read them first thing each morning.

Remember that you can only have two things in life: excuses or results. Which do you want?

Reason #4: Your Commitment

How many times have you tried to lose weight, only to give up a week or two later? We live in a commitment-phobic world, so it’s no wonder that you routinely abandon your goals. If you truly want to lose fat then your commitment to the process is a must.

The margin between success and failure is bridged by your commitment. Don’t give up until your goal has been achieved.

Treat exercise with the same importance as a work meeting, and you’ll never skip it at the last minute. Find three available 60-minute time slots in your schedule and mark them (in pen) on your calendar. Now stick to your schedule.

If you don’t give up, then you’ll never fail.

Reason #5: Your Diet

If you consistently eat the wrong food, then your weight loss efforts will all be in vain. To put it bluntly, you need to stop eating junk. Processed foods, refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup do not belong in your diet if you want to be in great shape. Cut these items out of your diet and replace them with real whole foods like lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and fruits.

Don’t eat processed foods. Even though processed foods are accepted by our society, they contain tons of chemicals and empty calories that will make you sick and fat.

Fat contains twice the caloric density of protein and carbohydrates, so make sure to limit the amount that you consume. Eat lots of lean proteins and wholesome carbohydrates from plants and whole grains.

Vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds are filled with fiber and antioxidants which are vital for healthy weight loss. Snack on these instead of packaged treats.

Reason #6: Your Patience

It takes time to transform your body from fat to fit, even though you want it to happen overnight. Remind yourself that it took time to put the weight on, so it will take time to take the weight off. When you find your patience wavering, or when you encounter a frustrating plateau, do the following:

Review your goal. Is it specific and measurable? Is it small and attainable, rather than monumental? Focus on your goal when the going gets tough.

Make each workout a new experience. Challenge your body with different resistance, new exercises and a varied pace.

Remember that anyone can have one great workout, but that won’t get you the body you want. The only way to achieve your goal is by consistently exercising and eating right, plain and simple.

Reason #7: Your Support

People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and are more likely to fail. It makes sense. Who would rush to the gym if no one is was waiting for them? Who would push themselves if no one was paying attention? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster.

Find a workout partner who is in better shape than you, or better yet, work with me, your local fitness expert, to guarantee your results.

I am passionate about seeing you achieve results—don’t waste your time, energy and effort on mistakes.

When you start a program with me, you suddenly have the upper hand on weight loss. I’ll be in your corner, coaching you each step of the way, keeping you accountable to workouts and giving you that dose of encouragement when you need it most.

Get serious about your results and begin the last weight loss program that you’ll ever do.

Love,

Aliya

@sexyshaped

[the-bestwaytolose-weightfas-blog]

What Is The Best Way To Lose Weight Fast?

Whether you are an avowed fitness fanatic or a couch potato,most of us at some point have wondered what is the best way to lose weight fast? Particularly because there are so many diets and weight loss regimens out there, all claiming that they are theirs is the best one, that you'll see results faster than ever before, and, the truth is that the majority of them make you feel like you're torturing yourself! You stick to them for as long as you can – depriving yourself of your favorite foods, feeling uninspired and miserable because the diet plan you're on isn't working for you, and before you know it you slip into old habits and give up on the diet. But don't despair! There are some really effective ways that can help you lose weight, and some truly amazing weight loss plans that inspire you and keep you motivated to melt those pounds away! So read on to learn our top tips and favorite weight loss plan...

Eat Balanced Meals

The key to losing weight successfully is to understand that exercising is important, but the food you eat is much more important. Food counts for up to 70% of weight loss, so it shouldn't be a surprise that if you're eating rubbish then no amount of exercise is going to help you drop those extra pounds. So, in order to lose weight quickly you need to get in control of what you eat.

A healthy, balanced plate of food should consist of around half the meal being made up of vegetables, quarter of it healthy carbs and the other quarter lean protein.

Vegetables are ideal for helping you lose weight: they have virtually zero calories, yet they leave you feeling full and boost your metabolism, so having half your meal made up of veggies will make the weight drop off.

Cut Out The Alcohol

I don't want to be a buzz kill, but the fact of the matter is that drinking booze wreaks havoc with your attempts to lose weight!

Alcohol is full of empty calories. If you drink 3 cocktails you will have consumed around 600 calories, maybe more. That more than likely accounts for more calories than you had on your dinner plate! And it's not just the calories that kill your diet, when you've got a buzz on and feel a little peckish, you're more likely to come off course and snack on junk food, be it a half a pack of cookies or eating a couple of cheeseburgers from McD's.

Don't worry though, I'm not saying to stop drinking altogether, just be careful of what you do drink and when: try and limit it to a few glasses of wine, or beers, per week. Enjoy it, and drink when you eat a healthy meal to avoid the possibility of snacking afterwards.

Kill Your Cravings With Healthy Snacks

It doesn't matter how disciplined you are, you're gonna get cravings at some point. The question is, what do you do about it? Give in to the craving and eat junk food, or feed it with a healthy alternative?

Maybe you're craving some chocolate? Well, why don't you go ahead with it – have a small bar of dark chocolate. It's good for you, tastes much better than milk chocolate and it boosts your serotonin levels to boot.

Got a hankering for something sweet? Well put the candy bar down and have some fresh fruit, like an apple, some berries or an orange. They're all naturally sweet and help to increase your metabolism.

Maybe you're in the mood for something salty? Well don't go for the salty potato chips, instead why not have some carrot or celery sticks with skinny ranch dip?

Eat Healthy Fat To Get Rid of Excess Fat

Now I know that might sound a little counter-intuitive, but eating good, healthy fats are one of the best ways to lose weight fast there is – they tell the body to burn up the excess fat its storing. The body stores fat, but when you start feeding it with balanced levels of healthy fats it will start burning it because it gets used to getting it on a daily basis.

Some of my favorite healthy fats are:

Fatty fish, like mackerel, salmon & trout

Eggs

Dark chocolate

Dairy

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Know What To Eat & How Often

Its a mistake that many of us make – eating too much or too little at the wrong time of day. It always starts with us skipping breakfast, when we do this it usually leads to us eating junk through the day, snacking at lunch and eating a huge dinner at night. You need to rethink how you eat and when you eat so you're burning calories throughout the day.

Get your day off to a flyer with a good, hearty, healthy breakfast. A breakfast of around 500 calories will give you the fuel you need to make it to lunch time without snacking. When it comes to lunch, a meal of around 500 calories again is ideal – this will fill you up and give you the boost you need for the second half of your day to get through until dinner time. And here's a little bonus tip, if you want to go out for a meal, go out for lunch rather than dinner so you give yourself plenty of time to burn off those calories.

Now at dinner time you should eat something light – you'll be going to bed in a few hours, your body isn't going to be able to burn those calories while you sleep! Have a meal that is full of vegetables, lean protein and healthy carbs, in the region of 300-400 calories. This will keep you satisfied until bed time, and as you'll be processing those vegetables through the night you'll wake up in the morning with the mindset to eat healthy all over again!

These tips will all most definitely help if you want to know the best way to lose weight fast, but these alone aren't the key. There are also some amazing weight loss plans available that cover everything you need to know, and that can really help you lose weight fast, easily and healthily.

The 2 Week Diet

This is one of my favorite weight loss plans. It's a simple, effective, highly motivational diet and exercise program that works!

The 2 Week Diet was developed by weight loss guru and fitness expert Brian Flatt. Brian has used his years of experience to create this revolutionary weight loss plan. With his understanding of how the mind and body work together when it comes to us losing weight he has crafted a program that is foolproof, backed by science and yields truly amazing results!

After I gave birth to my second child I had a really tough time losing the weight I had gained during my pregnancy. I followed diets that my doctor recommended to me, I spoke with friends and family members to get their advice, I followed a few health channels on YouTube, and nothing I tried really worked. A year after the birth I was still 30 pounds overweight. It really was affecting me, I just wanted to know the best way I could lose the baby weight fast. Then one day I found out about The 2 Week Diet from a site I found on google, reading about it I thought it sounded almost too good to be true, but I had tried everything else so maybe this would be the answer. I bought the program and I started following it the very next day.

I wasn't expecting much from it, I had hoped that I could lose maybe 5 pounds in 2 weeks, that would be massive for me. So, imagine my surprise when after 3 days I weighed myself and I had already lost 4 pounds! I was ecstatic! Especially as it didn't actually feel like I was on a diet at all! I kept following the plan, and after 2 weeks I had lost almost 14 pounds. After a little over 6 weeks I had managed to drop all the excess weight, and now a year and a half later I've kept it all off, and I feel amazing for it! And you can feel that too, just click here to learn more about The 2 Week Diet and you will see that it really is the best way to lose weight fast!

[best-life-hacks-on]

If You’re Too Busy For These 5 Things: Your Life Is More Off-Course Than You Think

Despite turbulence and other conditions keeping airplanes off-course 90 percent of flight time, most flights arrive in the correct destination at the intended time.

The reason for this phenomenon is quite simple — through air traffic control and the inertial guidance system, pilots are constantly course correcting. When immediately addressed, these course corrections are not hard to manage. When these course corrections don’t regularly happen, catastrophe can result. For example, in 1979, a passenger jet with 257 people on board left New Zealand for a sight seeing flight to Antarctica and back. However, the pilots were unaware that someone had altered the flight coordinates by a measly two degrees, putting them 28 miles east of where they assumed to be.

Approaching Antarctica, the pilots descended to give the passengers a view of the brilliant landscapes. Sadly, the incorrect coordinates had placed them directly in the path of the active volcano, Mount Erebus.

The snow on the volcano blended with the clouds above, deceiving the pilots into thinking they were flying above flat ground. When the instruments sounded a warning of the quickly rising ground, it was too late. The plane crashed into the volcano killing everyone on board.

An error of only a few degrees brought about an enormous tragedy.

Small things — if not corrected — become big things, always.

This flight is an analogy of our lives. Even seemingly inconsequential aspects of our lives can create ripples and waves of consequence — for better or worse.

How are you piloting your life?

What feedback are you receiving to correct your course?

How often do you check your guidance system? Do you even have a guidance system?

Where is your destination?

When are you going to get there?

Are you currently off-course? How long have you been off-course?

How would you know if you are on the right course?

How can you minimize the turbulence and other conditions distracting your path?

1. Organizing Your Life

I don’t think I’m alone in being slightly scattered and sloppy about certain areas of my life.

Life is busy.

It’s hard to keep everything organized and tidy. And maybe you don’t want to have an organized life. But moving forward will require far less energy if you remove the excessive baggage and tension. Everything in your life is energy. If you’re carrying too much — physical or emotional — your progress will be hampered.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey explains that some things are important, and some things are urgent. Most people spend their life prioritizing urgent and “shallow” activity (e.g., answering emails, putting out proverbial fires, and just day-to-day stuff).

Very few people have organized their lives to prioritize almost exclusively important and “deep” activity (e.g., learning, health, relationships, travel, and goals).

No one cares about your success more than you do. If you’re not a meticulous accountant about the important details of your life, then you aren’t responsible enough to have what you say you want.

So how do you organize your life?

Environmental Energy

Is your living space cluttered and messy or simple and neat?

Do you keep stuff (like clothes) you no longer use?

If you have a car, is it clean or just another place to keep your clutter and garbage?

Does your environment facilitate the emotions you consistently want to experience?

Does your environment drain or improve your energy?

Financial Energy

Do you have unnecessary debt?

Do you know how many dollars you spend each month?

Do you know how many dollars you make each month?

Are you making as much money as you’d like to be?

What’s holding you back from creating more value in other people’s lives?

Most people don’t track their expenses. But if they did, they’d be shocked how much money they waste on stuff like eating out.

I’ll be honest, as a creative and right-brained person, administrative and logistical details bog me down. I procrastinate and avoid them. But this lackluster behavior is holding me back from the very goals I’m trying to accomplish.

Until I can hone in on my finances, I won’t have a healthier financial life, regardless of my income. Until I take complete responsibility of my finances, I’ll always be a slave to money.

And so will you.

Relational Energy

Are your relationships the most meaningful and enjoyable part of your life?

Do you spend enough time nurturing the relationships that really matter?

Do you maintain toxic relationships that no longer serve you?

Are you authentic and honest in your relationships?

Like money, most people’s relationships are not organized in a conscious manner. But with something so critical, we should take better stock of our relationships.

Health Energy

Do you eat with the end in mind?

Are you conscious of and in control of the foods you put in your body?

Does the food you eat improve or worsen the other areas of your life?

Does your body reflect your highest ideals?

Is your body as strong and fit as you want it to be?

Are you healthier now than you were three months ago?

Health is wealth. If you’re bed ridden, who cares how organized the other areas of your life are? It’s so easy to put our health on the side, such as foregoing sleep, over consuming stimulants, and making poor eating habits.

Little things become big things. And eventually everything catches up.

Spiritual Energy

Do you have a sense of purpose in life?

Have you come to terms with life and death in a way you resonate with?

How much power do you have in designing your future?

Death, it turns out, is not your greatest fear. Actually, your greatest fear is reaching death and having never truly lived.

When you organize your spiritual life, you become clear on what your life is about. You become clear on what you stand for, and how you want to spend each day. You develop conviction for what really matters to you, and what is a “distraction.”

No matter how well defined, everyone has a moral system governing their behavior. Most people believe in being honest and good people. But until you organize your spiritual life, you’ll experience internal conflict when acting contrary to your values and vision.

Time

How much of your time do you feel in complete control of?

Is your time being wasted on things you don’t intrinsically enjoy?

Are the activities you spend your time doing moving you toward your ideal future?

Are you spending most of your time furthering your own agenda or someone else’s?

What activities should you remove from your life?

How much time do you waste each day?

What would your ideal day look like?

What activities could you outsource or automate that take up your time?

Until you organize your time, it will disappear and move quickly. Before you know it, you’ll wonder where all the time went.

Once you organize your time, it will slow down. You’ll be able to live more presently. You’ll be able to experience time as you want to. You’ll control your time rather than the other way around.

Stop What You’re Doing and Get Organized

Getting organized and conscious of your present circumstances (e.g., your environment, finances, relationships, purpose, and time) puts you in a position to build toward the future you want.

The fastest way to move forward in life is not doing more. It starts with stopping the behaviors holding you back.

If you want to get in shape, you’ll make more progress by stopping your negative behaviors than starting good ones. So, before you start exercising, purge the junk food from your diet. Until you stop the damage, you’ll always be taking one step forward and one step backward.

Before you focus on making more money, reduce your spending. Detach yourself from needing more and become content with what you have. Until you do this, it doesn’t matter how much money you make. You’ll always spend what you have (or more).

This is a matter of stewardship. Rather than wanting more, more, more , it’s key to take proper care of what you currently have. Organize yourself. Dial it in. Your life is a garden. What good is planting if you don’t prepare the soil and remove the weeds?

Why do most people stay stuck? They never organize. They try adding more, or being more productive, or taking a different approach. So before you “hustle,” get organized.

2. Plan And Invest In Your Future

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” — Chinese Proverb

Taking these foundational areas of life and organizing them is essential to creating your ideal future.

Very few people consciously plan and design their life. It’s actually startling how few Americans are investing in their future. Most Millennials are terrified of the stock market and long-term investing. Most Baby Boomers never developed the discipline to invest, but instead maintained an addiction to American consumption.

Even still, you have complete power over the details of your life the moment you decide you’re worthy of that power. That decision is manifest in tangible behaviors, like fixing or removing troubled relationships and saying “no” to activities that are nothing more than a waste of your time.

You get to decide right now.

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” — Benjamin Franklin

Your vision should be based on your why, not so much your what.

Your why is your reason, your what is how that is manifest. And your “what” can happen in a ton of different ways. For example, my why is to help people get clarity on the life they want to live, and to help them achieve their goals as quickly as possible. My what could be blogging, parenting, being a student, going out to dinner, and several other things.

Too many people think creating a vision is about nailing down exactly what they want in the next 20 years. The problem with this mega long-term approach to goal setting is that it actually slows your potential.

Instead of having a pre-set plan of what he wants to do, Tim Ferriss executes on 3–6 month experiments that he’s currently excited about. He told Darren Hardy in an interview that he has no clue what the outcome of his experiments might be. So there’s no point in making long-term plans. He has no clue what doors will open up, and he wants to be open to the best possibilities.

But his why doesn’t change.

When you are proactively creating and collaborating with many different people, the whole becomes different and better than the sum of its parts. This is why you can’t plan for everything. Because at the highest level, you’ve transcended your need to have things exactly how you want them. You know that with the help of other people, you can do things 10X, 100X, or 1,000X bigger and better than you could ever conceive on your own.

Rather than expecting a particular outcome, you are completely confident that the best outcome will ensue. This is how you create and contribute beyond anything you could ever comprehend. Collaboration and synergy lead to new innovations and ultimately, human evolution. It’s how the old and outdated rules are redefined and replaced with new and better ones, thus changing the global environment.

Invest in Your Future

When you choose to forego momentary gratification in order to have an enhanced future, you are investing in your future. Most people fail to do this successfully.

Most people don’t purposefully invest in their finances, relationships, health, and time. But when you invest in yourself (and your future),you ensure your future present moments will continue to get richer and more enjoyable.

Thus, your life will continue getting better and more in line with your ideal vision.

3. Tracking Important Metrics

“When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates. ”

— Thomas Monson

Getting organized and investing in your future are futile if you’re not tracking. In regards to the most important areas of your life, you need to be on top of what’s going on.

Tracking is difficult. If you’ve tried it before, chances are, you quit within a few days.

Research has repeatedly found that when behavior is tracked and evaluated, it improves drastically.

If you’re not tracking the key areas of your life, than you’re probably more off-course than you think. If you were to be honest with yourself, you’d be stunned how out-of-control things have become. As J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan, has said:

“The life of every man is a diary in which he means to write one story, and writes another; and his humblest hour is when he compares the volume as it is with what he vowed to make it.”

The cool part is, once you get organized, make a plan, and start tracking, desired change happens quickly.

Track the things that are closely related to your core priorities. As Jim Collins said in Good to Great, 

“If you have more than three priorities you have none.”

Your priorities reflect your why, and thus, your life should be build around your priorities. Not the other way around. Consequently, if you’re serious about improving upon the foundation of your life, track your priorities. 

For example:

Your key relationships

Your finances

Self improvement (such as health or how you use your time)

You can track whatever priorities you have. But I can absolutely promise you that once you do, your conscious awareness of these things will increase. You’re ability to control these things will enhance. Your confidence will wax strong. And your life will become simpler.

You’ll be living a simple, yet organized and refined life. You’ll be responsible, which put another way is freedom.

4. Prayer and Meditation To Reduce Noise

“I have so much to do today that I’m going to need to spend three hours in prayer in order to be able to get it all done.” — Martin Luther

There’s a lot of emphasis on hustle these days.

Hustle, hustle, hustle.

But all the hustle in the wrong direction isn’t going to help you. Yes, by hustling you can fail often, fail fast, and fail forward. However, as Thomas Merton has said:

“People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”

This happens way too often. We get caught in the thick of thin things. Far too late do we realize that in our mad rush, we were pursuing someone else’s goals instead of our own.

But spending a large chuck of time in prayer and/or meditation does more than provide clarity to what you’re doing. These things open your mind up to possibilities you can’t get while busy.

For example, a few days ago I spent the entire morning praying, thinking deeply, listening to inspirational music, and writing in my journal. A few hours into this process, an idea came to me that is absolute gold.

I also got insights regarding important relationships during that time, which when those insights came in, I immediately sent out emails or texts to those people. Amazing collaborations and mentorships were the resultant outcome.

But there’s more.

Your thoughts are incredibly powerful. They actually govern not only you but those around you. Think about it, if you think positively about the people you’re around, their lives are better. This is why people “send positive energy” or pray for other people. It actually makes a difference.

Your thoughts create endless ripples — even waves — of consequence all around you.

While praying and/or meditating for a large portion of time, the level of your thoughts will elevate. And interesting things will begin happening. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of miracles, you can think of it as luck.

Whatever you call it, when you spend large portions of time every day in deep reflection mode, luck strikes. Stuff happens that is completely outside of your control for your benefit.

For instance, during my deep dive into my mind and soul, one of my favorite authors came across my blog. He re-tweeted one of my articles and reached out to me. Now we’re friends. We’ve spent lots of time together. He’s helped me get a book contract. He’s even had me speak at one of his events!

If you’re skeptical of these ideas. Give it a try. Why do you think the majority of the world’s most successful have rituals such as these? There is a higher realm you can tap into that unlocks limitless possibilities.

The only thing holding you back from those things is your mind.

5. Move Toward Your Goals Every Single Day

How many days go by where you did nothing to move toward your big goals?

Probably too many.

Life is busy.

If you don’t purposefully carve time out every day to progress and improve, then without question, your time will get lost in the vacuum of our increasingly crowded lives. Before you know it, you’ll be old and withered, wondering where all that time went.

As Harold Hill has said: 

“You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”

After you’ve gotten yourself organized, made plans, started tracking, and gotten into the habit of prayer/meditation, taking action and hustling will be automatic. You’ll be focused on the right thing and in the right frame of mind to actually execute.

Its good practice to do these kind of things at the beginning of your day before your will power depletes.

If you don’t, it simply will not get done. By the end of your day, you’ll be exhausted. You’ll be fried. There will be a million reasons to just start tomorrow. And you will start tomorrow — which is never.

So your mantra becomes: 

The worst comes first. Do that thing you’ve been needing to do. Then do it again tomorrow.

If you take just one step toward your big goals every day, you’ll realize those goals weren’t really far away.

Conclusion

It’s really easy to get off course in life. Like airplanes, we constantly need to make course corrections.

But we can ensure we get where we want in life by organizing ourselves, planning for our future, tracking our progress, heightening our mindset, and hustling.

Do this long enough and you’ll be shocked.

Go!

[lalunaunita]

Millennials and Money Pt. 2: Budgets

Please don’t run away! You are tough and smart and you can do this.

Saying “I can’t live with a budget” is like saying “I can’t drive a car with a steering wheel.”

Following directly from my last post on this topic, we’ll pick up with ‘budgeting is critical’. I used to try to budget with self-help books, free online paper sheets, creating my own by tracking expenses… it was so hard. The biggest problem was that while I knew why I needed a budget (to save money), I didn’t know how a budget does that. So let’s look at the functions of a budget.

1.     A budget provides information: just like information, a budget isn’t static – it evolves and changes with your needs. Think of it as a month-by-month snapshot in the flow of your financial life. But here’s the thing: you, as the photographer of this snapshot, get to set the scene. A good budget communicates the information you find relevant, according to goals you set for yourself.

2.     A budget provides guidance: after sticking with it for 90 days, a budget will (I promise) help you plan and choose how you want to spend your money. Why does it take 90 days? Because almost nobody keeps an accurate tally of how many times they ordered pizza and Chinese delivery in a single month. We ALL find something surprising in our spending during those first months.

For me, it was groceries. I thought I spent a certain dollar amount each week, and was devastated to find out it was consistently more than I thought. But with a family of 4, I had to suck it up and admit that the number was not going to change – it’s a necessary expense and it’s just plain different from how cheap life was when I was single. It’s not bad that the number is higher, it just means I need to expect it and plan for it in the future.

3.     A budget allows you to high-level prioritize: a budget isn’t a diet. It’s not about denial. It’s about setting priorities and picking what’s most important to you. If happy hour with your co-workers is a must for your peace and well-being, then it needs to be included. If tuition is necessary, then cut back on eating out. You get to choose; the budget is at your mercy, not the other way around.

Okay, great, but exactly how do I make my budget do these things?? There is a bit of trial and error involved, but I can help you formulate the basics so that you get the concept and rhythm down for yourself.

First, there’s nothing wrong with using a template budget – provided you know a few facts about them. 1) They will nearly always have categories you don’t need – you can just delete those right out. 2) They will nearly always be missing a category that’s important to you, and you’ll have to add it in. 3) They will not be able to help you determine the difference between a need and a want, which is very important. 4) If you have intermittent or fluctuating income, they will not help you deal with times when you have no money coming in.

Second, the easiest mistake to make is to look at your bank account and base your budget around your expenses. Sounds logical, but it’s not! Start by basing the budget around your needs, and then add in the other expenses.

Category 1 - Basic needs (i.e., you must have these in your budget):

Food/Water (Groceries) (NOT eating out, getting drinks, fast food, unnecessary sustenance) Shelter (Rent/Mortgage) Utilities (Electricity/Gas/Heat/Water) Transportation (Car/Bus/Bike/Other) Clothing (Work attire/Basic daily clothes) (NOT accessories, jewelry, purses, fancy clothes)

Some of these you can fill in right away, like rent and possibly utilities. (A little trick: some cities let you go on a plan to even out your utility payment so it’s the same each month.) The rest can be guesstimates – and guess what? It takes about 90 days to get it right, so if you only budget $200 for groceries and you’re dead wrong, just keep track of how much more you spent, so you can change the number next month. Transportation doesn’t include car loans, just what it takes to keep your car running and getting you to work/home/errands. Be real on whether you need an Uber or not – don’t put it as a need unless it really is. We are just doing the basics that keep you alive and employed right here.

Category 2 – other potential needs:

Phone/internet service Tuition Tithe

I put these here to demonstrate that not all budgets must have them, even though many do. I know that living without home internet or phone seems an impossibility, but since your life and livelihood wouldn’t necessarily depend on them (free wifi, etc.) I put them here. If you had to cancel for a month, you’d still live.

Category 3 – Debt:

Credit card Car loan Phone purchase Computer purchase Student loans Medical debt Other debt

This is the suckiest category. It’s depressing, it’s hard to get rid of. Blech. Now it’s time for the big girl pants. You can knock these out and get rid of them over time. Why did I not include debt under Needs? Because if everything fell apart and you couldn’t pay all your bills, you have to have the Needs listed above, but you don’t have to pay the debt. Debt collectors do not want you to think this way. If you get behind they will call you and basically threaten your future children, but they have no power over you. People get trapped paying debt and not taking care of their needs for these reasons: 1) Debt collection is an aggressive industry and they will do whatever it takes to guilt you into paying, 2) People worry about ruining their credit (forgetting that getting evicted/foreclosing will do worse things to your credit), 3) People who have integrity want to play fair and pay it back. I am saying yes, always pay your debt bills. But I am also saying put your needs first. If something has to slip for a month, let it be a debt, not your utilities, get me?

Category 4 – Savings:

Emergency savings Retirement savings Goal-oriented savings (like for school, car, vacation, etc.)

Dave Ramsey’s recommendation for those of us with debt is to have a little $1000 starter emergency fund, and then to stop saving until we get the debt paid off. I like this method and have used it. You can read about it on his website or in his book to get a clearer picture of why he recommends.

Category 5 – Lifestyle:

Pet expenses Eating out Movies Coffee shops Shopping Art supplies Video games Yarn

Look, I don’t know what goes into your lifestyle. I made up some categories here. These are things you choose to spend your income on, and if you don’t have enough money, you probably drop it for a while until you do. At first, this may feel the most bewildering: “It’s not the same each month; how do I plan this?” It’s okay! Just guesstimate, and keep track so you have better information going forward. You’ll probably get a ton of things wrong and overspend in the first month. The next month, you’ll realize that you have to skip trivia night because you’re visiting your parents, so you’ll feel smart for taking it off the budget. The third month, you’ll suddenly remember that Debra’s getting married on the 30th and you’ll set aside some cash to get a gift, rather than using a credit card. And boom, just like that, you are planning your finances. In my family, we have lifestyle categories specific to us and the kids, but we also always have a discussion about “specials” at the start of each month. Those are things like birthdays, parties, weddings, trips, etc. that get written in as one-time budget items. We put an upper limit dollar value on each, and then if we don’t spend it all, great. If we go over a little, we file it away under “experience” and do better the next time. At the bottom of the budget page, we even look farther out, just as a heads-up for planned trips, etc. Like, I know I’m going on vacation in July, so even though it’s only May, I have a little reminder telling me that any extra money we end up with should be tucked away for my vacation. It keeps us from spending it on sodas or other junk on impulse.

To implement your budget, set a reminder for the last 1-5 days of the month that says “Time to plan next month’s budget!!” or something. Sit down for 10 minutes with the last budget and look through the numbers. Do this before the 1st of the month! Do you only buy cat food every other month? Put a line thru or some other indicator that you don’t need it this month. Oh, are there 4 birthdays this month? Better increase the amount of gift money you put aside. Is the future a mystery and you have no idea whether someone will surprise you with an invitation to a party or event? Put “mystery spending” as a category and drop $50 in, just so you are covered. You get to decide!

Above all, don’t give up. I gave up so many times after just a single month. I never knew all those years that it takes a 90 day commitment to make this change and see results.

Hit me up with questions if you read this and are interested in starting a budget. You don’t have to give me specifics; general information will do for most questions. I would love to help.

[thisveganthang-blog]

Daniel Fast Intro

Last year my cousin Darci sent me a text asking if I wanted to join her husband and herself on the Daniel Fast. I was unfamiliar with what exactly that consisted of so I asked her to send me some information on the fast and I would check it out to see if it was something I could do. To my surprise I was basically already on the Daniel Fast except I was indulging in processed and sometimes fried foods. But I was excited because I had been wanting to do away with so much processed food in my diet; mainly BBQ pringles and Hot Tamales!

I told her I was on board; I asked her when do we start. She told me January 1st and the fast would last for 3 weeks. As you all may know 21 days is the time needed for a new habit to stick. My hope was that I could reset my eating habits because ever since I moved to Denver junk food has made itself a staple in my diet and so has the twenty pounds I gained. Well I had success during that time to the tune of 12 lbs. But here we are again in 2018 and I have back slide so much I do not think I have gone without some of form of junk food for a least a week. I am so ready to shed this excess weight, get on task with eating 90% whole foods, and get back into the kitchen to create some tasty meals for myself. Although a bit late this year (started January 8th) I am still excited.

 The Daniel Fast was a Spiritual Warfare Fast that Daniel needed to do in order to battle a great spiritual hindrance that he was dealing with which was the Prince of Persia. During the Daniel Fast you are encouraged to read the story of Daniel, pray, and build your relationship with God. It is an opportunity to receive personal healing, understanding, and/or clarity. I think that this is exceptional because at the beginning of the year you get an opportunity to reset not only with your diet but also your relationship with God. So many times life gets in the way and we fall short of cultivating the type of relationship we want with him. So I am thrilled to put this into action as well.  Although I do not have a church home I am doing the fast with; I can still create how I would like to study the story of Daniel and how I would like to add prayer into my day.

When you look at the list of things that you cannot have on the fast it looks daunting but it really is not. My only concerns were the mixed reviews that I saw on whether you could have vinegar and nutritional yeast. Vinegar I will be ok with because I could substitute lemon or lime for a splash of acidity. But the nutritional yeast is my real concern since I use it in and on pretty much every dish. Yeast is one of the items on the list that you cannot have but nutritional yeast is deactivated so I figured I could have it. Not only does it have a cheezy flavor but it provides me with essential B vitamins.Last year I used it sparingly but I have decided that this year I would omit it since I am still not sure.

Also this year during the Daniel fast I will document some of my meals, weekly wrap ups, and weigh ins. I want to be held accountable for trying to adhere to this fast. I am hoping that by sharing I will be able to inspire someone else to start the Daniel Fast and give them ideas of what types of foods are available to them.I want to also incorporate exercise into the daily regimen. This will begin next week as I re-adjust to daily life after being out of town last week.

 After the completion of the Daniel fast on January 28, 2018, I will begin the potato cleanse. I belong to a Facebook group and it has been dubbed the potato reset. I will focus on this for 30 days.

With a bit of traveling in the future of 2018 I want to be in the best possible shape I can. Not only for my health and happiness but one of my New Year’s resolutions was to be the best version of myself and this starts with how I feel everyday.

 Wish me luck!

[ebenpink]

Overstressed and overeating: How to solve the two biggest health and fitness problems most women face. http://bit.ly/30Sr8ph

Feeling overworked and under-appreciated? Having trouble staying consistent with nutrition and fitness because of life’s demands? Wondering if you’ll ever be able to find time to achieve the body and health you want? This article is for you.

Putting others’ needs before your own? For lots of women, it’s an everyday reality.

Whether you’re a high-powered professional, a mother, a caregiver, a partner, a worker, a daughter, a friend, or all of the above and more….

….if you’re a woman, you’re asked to do a lot.

Many of us spend our days putting out fires, handling to-do lists, wiping little noses, meeting deadlines, and making sure other people are fed, safe, and happy.

Here’s the thing…

We’ve gotten to know a lot of women through our Precision Nutrition Coaching program. And we’ve learned that most of them enjoy — and thrive on — that impossible list above.

They like rising to the challenge of supporting others and getting stuff done.

That is, until their energy runs out and they realize they don’t have any left over for themselves.

And slowly, after months or years of putting other people first, multi-tasking, and wrangling that epic to-do list:

They’re drained mentally and emotionally.

The time they used to invest in self-care has disappeared.

The clothes that used to fit… feel a little (or a lot) tighter.

The sugar and junk food cravings seem much stronger.

The exercise classes/workouts are postponed, then canceled.

The bathroom mirror and scale are avoided. (Along with the bed.)

The stress of yo-yo dieting starts up again.

With putting so much time into caring for others, and juggling all their responsibilities, women end up neglecting themselves.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can feel healthy, fit, and good in your own skin.

You can regain control of your schedule and your body.

You can overcome emotional eating and cravings.

You can show love and appreciation to others while still taking care of yourself.

We’ll show you how.

In this article, you’ll learn:

The two biggest obstacles in many women’s way when it comes to getting healthy and staying in shape.

How to overcome these obstacles to get the body — and life — you want.

Oh sure, you think.

Maybe some women might find this helpful.

But my life is different. My body is different.

That’s exactly what tens of thousands of other women thought before they started Precision Nutrition Coaching.

They also felt frustrated, lost, and confused, struggling to manage their eating, health, and bodies. They knew they wanted to feel better, and they were trying hard, but they weren’t sure how to make it all work.

That was them before they started.

And here’s how they ended up… after a year of simple, do-able, progressive habits. The difference is astounding. Check out this short video:

Meet some of the people whose bodies — and lives — have been changed by Precision Nutrition Coaching.

  Want to learn even more? Join the Presale List Today.

  At one point, many of these women felt like you do right now. But they discovered…

The kind of change you want is possible.

No matter where you’re starting.

No matter how you’re feeling right now.

No matter how much stuff is on your plate.

It’s possible.

Here’s what women are often wishing for when they start working with us, and some ways you can get started right now.

Wish #1: “Help me have a better relationship with food.”

At some point in their lives, many women struggle with overeating and emotional eating. We love our wine, chocolate, sugar, or whatever our “I-deserve-this” or “I-need-a-freaking-break” treats are… but they don’t always love us back.

Once the “food rush” wears off, we’re left with the very same stress and problems we started with — plus now we feel guilty, ashamed, and maybe even out of control.

The cycle often looks like this.

Feel stressed, anxious, upset, etc.

Overeat.

Feel guilty and ashamed for overeating.

Feel more stressed, anxious, upset, etc.

Vow to “do better”.

White-knuckle a new diet, and/or make rigid “rules”.

Feel stressed, anxious, upset, etc.

Overeat.

Repeat the cycle.

(Believe me,

I’ve been there.)

Solution: “Break the chain” exercise.

Simply notice, observe, and record what happened leading up to any food cravings, emotional eating, overeating, and/or any other times that feel “out of control” with food and eating.

Because here’s a secret:

Those feelings and behaviors didn’t come out of nowhere. They aren’t random. Something led to them.

Now you get to be a detective and figure out all the links in the chain.

To help you put this exercise into practice, 

download a printable version of our Break the Chain exercise, or think through the exercise below.

1. Start with any recent food or eating-related episode that troubled you. (For instance, eating too much, eating foods you didn’t want, feeling out of control, etc.).

2. Write down all the stuff that was happening around you just before that episode happened.

For instance:

Where were you?

What were you doing?

What were you thinking?

What were you feeling?

Who was with you?

3. Now see if you can go back even further.

Maybe a few hours. Once again:

Where were you?

What were you doing?

What were you thinking?

What were you feeling?

Who was with you?

Try to capture as much detail as possible.

4. Now look at your data. Are there any patterns?

If you don’t see any connections right away, no worries.

Try this exercise a few times, and then start looking for links between what was happening in the days or hours before you had a serious food craving or emotional eating episode.

5. If and when you find patterns, be curious about them.

Don’t worry about fixing them right away. Just notice them.

“Hm, that’s interesting. Every time my mom calls me, afterward I want to hit the chocolate.”

“You know, I actually feel fine most of the month, but the week before my period hits — watch out.”

“It’s been a long, stressful week at work.

Give me that wine before I stab someone.”

6. You might notice solutions right away.

“OK, I’m going to go for a workout after I talk to mom, to get some of that energy out.”

“I’m going to mark my PMS days on the calendar so I know about them in advance.”

“I’m going to walk home on Fridays, to unwind.”

Or you might not notice solutions. You might feel stuck at step #5, noticing the patterns but not sure how to change.

Either way, that’s OK.

The important thing is: Now you’re aware of what’s happening.

(Reminder: you can

download a printable version of our Break the Chain worksheet here. Use it to practice working through the above steps.)

Wish #2: “Help me be consistent with my diet, exercise, or healthy lifestyle habits.”

If you’re like most women, you’ve probably tried at least some stuff to get and stay in shape.

Here’s what most women have tried before getting results with us:

Weight Watchers

MyFitnessPal and other calorie counters

Jenny Craig and Curves

Crossfit and other group workouts

Popular diets like Paleo, juice fasts, cleanses, and low-carb

Workout books and magazine articles

Of course, these aren’t “bad” options. They end up working for some people.

But most folks tell us they have a hard time staying consistent. They mean well, and work hard, but struggle to stay on track.

In part, this is because other plans don’t account for your life.

They don’t offer meaningful, step-by-step change that you can actually do in your real life. You know, the real life with a job and kids and a commute and going to school and all that stuff. The one that actual human people have.

And, in part, most other plans don’t offer support, care, and accountability like coaching does.

Solution #1: Make yourself accountable to a program… that really works.

Ideally, you want a program that:

Focuses on all the things that are right with you, and all the strengths and skills you already have.

Gives you proven solutions that start to work right now.

Has been tested with lots of people (so you know it actually works).

You can customize to your lifestyle (so you can stay consistent and do it even when you’re busy).

You actually enjoy doing (and isn’t just another chore).

Makes you feel positive, hopeful, and supported all the way through.

Lasts. Like, for life.

Gives you a big goal to shoot for, if you want.

On that last point, some folks like big goals.

That’s why

we give away $250,000 every year in Precision Nutrition Coaching.

Winning the money isn’t the point. It’s just something extra to push for. Something to look forward to. (That is, if you’re a goal kinda person. If you’re not, that’s cool too.)

Rachel lost 31 pounds in PN Coaching; we surprised her with $25,000.

So how do you know if a certain program will help keep you accountable?

After 15 years in the fitness industry, and over 100,000 clients , here’s what we’ve found works best:

Having a plan that provides both structure and flexibility.

The ability to customize the plan based on your skill levels, goals, and how much time you have available. 

Getting a daily reminder to practice whichever nutrition, exercise, or lifestyle habit you’re currently working on.

Measuring your progress at regular intervals.

That’s what helped our clients achieve results like this:

Solution #2: Make yourself accountable to a person… who really cares.

As we like to say here at Precision Nutrition, nothing worth doing can be done alone.

Social support — whether that’s a friend, a workout partner, your spouse, your kid, your dog, a co-worker who walks with you at lunch, a personal trainer at your local gym, whatever — is crucial.

Don’t try to do this all alone.

Independence is great, but for a project like this, you need a team and a tribe of like-minded people helping and supporting you.

Social support plus accountability and lots of caring coaching is our specialty.

We’re in this business because we want to help you feel, look, and perform better… whatever body or goals you have.

If you want to join our next

nutrition coaching program, we’d love to help you.

If that’s not a great fit for you, no problem. Just find one or more people who can support you, guide you, help you, and maybe give you the occasional loving boot in the butt when you need it.

The important thing is that you make yourself accountable to somebody and get the help you need. You have a lot on your plate already; why not let someone else show you the way?

Want help becoming the healthiest, fittest, strongest version of you?

Most people know that regular movement, eating well, sleep, and stress management are important for looking and feeling better. Yet they need help applying that knowledge in the context of their busy, sometimes stressful lives.

Over the past 15 years, we’ve used the 

Precision Nutrition Coaching method to help over 100,000 clients lose fat, get stronger, and improve their health… for the long-term… no matter what challenges they’re dealing with.

It’s also why we work with health, fitness, and wellness professionals (through our

Level 1 and Level 2 Certification programs) to teach them how to coach their own clients through the same challenges.

Interested in Precision Nutrition Coaching? Join the

presale list; you’ll save up to 54% and secure a spot 24 hours early.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Coaching on Wednesday, July 17th, 2019.

If you’re interested in coaching and want to find out more, I’d encourage you to join our presale list below. Being on the list gives you two special advantages.

You’ll pay less than everyone else. At Precision Nutrition we like to reward the most interested and motivated people because they always make the best clients. Join the presale list and you’ll save up to 54% off the general public price, which is the lowest price we’ve ever offered.

You’re more likely to get a spot. To give clients the personal care and attention they deserve, we only open up the program twice a year. Last time we opened registration, we sold out within minutes. By joining the presale list you’ll get the opportunity to register 24 hours before everyone else, increasing your chances of getting in.

If you’re ready to change your body, and your life, with help from the world’s best coaches, this is your chance.

[Note: If your health and fitness are already sorted out, but you’re interested in helping others, check out our

Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification program].

The post

Overstressed and overeating: How to solve the two biggest health and fitness problems most women face. appeared first on Precision Nutrition. from Blog – Precision Nutrition http://bit.ly/2yWd1F7 via IFTTT http://bit.ly/2I5kdkc

[squashoffer3]

A Change in Diet 'Saved My Life' Says 30-Year MS Veteran - Everyday Health

Kellie Alderton and I go back several years from following each other on social media. Alderton, of New Lenox, Illinois, has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 30 years and is the author of the book Waking Up From MS: My Journey to Health, Healing, and Living Symptom Free, published in January 2017.

In her book, Alderton describes her personal experiences with MS and her decision to try dietary changes, lifestyle changes, and complementary therapies to treat her condition. She attributes her current good health to the changes she made.

David Lyons: When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and what were your symptoms? 

Kellie Alderton: I was diagnosed in 1988 at the age of 17. I’m now 48. My first symptom was chronic fatigue. I had to stay in bed for weeks at a time. Then I developed optic neuritis a few months later, which led to my diagnosis.

DL: What are your symptoms currently? 

KA: I am living symptom-free going on 15 years! A healthy diet, workout program, and positive mind-set have helped me get to this point.

I've enjoyed working out my whole life. I was in sports growing up, and I love lifting weights. From my initial diagnosis, in 1988, until 2001, I was very limited in what I could do because of my constant symptoms. I suffered from numbness and tingling in my arms and legs, weakness in my limbs, and extreme fatigue. I also overheated very easily.

Since turning to holistic and healing therapies to deal with the MS — including a healthy diet and working out consistently — my body has gotten stronger.

DL: How did you get started on an exercise program? 

KA: Being in sports since I was young (softball and basketball), I've always known that working out and staying active was important to my health.

DL: What’s your current exercise routine? 

KA: Lifting weights, Pilates, walking, stretching, dancing; I try to make sure I stay active every day. After all, a body in motion stays in motion! 

Strength training is an important component of exercise for people with MS.

Photos courtesy of Kellie Alderton

DL: What was and is the biggest challenge in your workouts? 

KA: Previously, it was unsteady gait, numbness and tingling, and muscle weakness. Now that I'm living symptom-free, I have absolutely no challenges with my workouts, which is another testament that our body can heal and repair when we give it the right environment to do so.

DL: How did you choose a nutrition plan to fight MS? 

KA: I've studied nutrition for well over a decade and thoroughly investigated what foods and supplements could help support and heal my body. Taking all that information into account, I then found a healthy approach that worked for me and my food sensitivities. 

DL: What is your current nutrition plan, and how has it evolved over the years? 

KA: I use to be a junk food junkie and never knew that our diets could greatly affect our MS. My diet has evolved over the years to a more anti-inflammatory diet with a focus on eating lots of organic fruits and veggies, juicing regularly, and choosing organic chicken and wild-caught fish. I limit red-meat consumption and dairy. I also limit processed foods and those that contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I try to think about everything I put into my body: Will it lessen inflammation or create more inflammation? You really start to see food differently from that perspective. 

DL: Were there any times when you wanted to quit or give up? 

KA: In the first 13 years after my diagnosis, many times I was frustrated, distraught, and depressed, because my quality of life was horrible. I honestly didn't know there were ways to heal. 

DL: How did you stay motivated to continue your exercise and nutrition program? 

KA: After I turned to natural ways to heal and repair my body, I never looked back. I got stronger and felt better each and every day, so that motivated me to keep on this path and keep pushing through! Once I started seeing results and feeling better, there was nothing like it, so I would never want to go back to my old ways. I also stayed focused on the successes I was having each day and celebrated them, no matter how small.

DL: How has working out and changing your diet changed your life? 

KA: They saved my life. I went from being sick and having constant relapses, with no quality of life, to being healthy, strong, and symptom-free. It's really a lifestyle now. 

DL: What fitness goals do you have set for the future?

KA: My fitness goals are to get even stronger through weightlifting, basketball, indoor rock climbing, hiking, horseback riding, and even scheduling some time to go white-water rafting. I believe in switching things up and finding fun activities to stay fit and healthy.

DL: What do you think of the MS Fitness Challenge message, that fitness, nutrition, and mind-set matter when managing MS?

KA: I think the MS Fitness Challenge is important and can be a part of every MSer’s breakthrough. This gives everyone a place to go, to not only see we're all in this together, but to also show us we can be proactive and in control of our body and our life with MS. People in all different stages of MS can find beneficial resources to help them on their own journey.

DL: Do you have any advice for those who want to conquer MS through fitness? 

KA: Yes! Everyone should take a deep breath and realize this is a process. We know the body was made to heal if we give it the right environment to do so. The MS diagnosis is simply the end result of something being off and out of balance in the body, so we must focus on exercise, nutrition, and our mind-set to beat this.

Also, after years of personal development with some of the world’s top inspirational and motivational leaders, I've realized that we need to be laser-beam focused on thinking the right way, so studying meditation, personal development, or engaging in prayer can keep us on the path to developing the right kind of attitude that will help us get through the rough patches on this road to healing.

Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health. See More

Any opinions, advice, statements, services, advertisements, offers or other information or content expressed or made available through the Sites by third parties, including information providers, are those of the respective authors or distributors and not Everyday Health. Neither Everyday Health, its Licensors nor any third-party content providers guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any content. Furthermore, neither Everyday Health nor its Licensors endorse or are responsible for the accuracy and reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on any of the Sites or Services by anyone other than an authorized Everyday Health or Licensor representative while acting in his/her official capacity. You may be exposed through the Sites or Services to content that violates our policies, is sexually explicit or is otherwise offensive. You access the Sites and Services at your own risk. We take no responsibility for your exposure to third party content on the Sites or the Services. Everyday Health and its Licensors do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to obtain and include any information other than that provided to it by its third party sources. It should be understood that we do not advocate the use of any product or procedure described in the Sites or through the Services, nor are we responsible for misuse of a product or procedure due to typographical error. See Less

Source: https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/ms-fitness-challenge/change-diet-saved-my-life-says-ms-veteran/

[chimeperson23-blog]

A Change in Diet 'Saved My Life' Says 30-Year MS Veteran - Everyday Health

Kellie Alderton and I go back several years from following each other on social media. Alderton, of New Lenox, Illinois, has lived with multiple sclerosis (MS) for more than 30 years and is the author of the book Waking Up From MS: My Journey to Health, Healing, and Living Symptom Free, published in January 2017.

In her book, Alderton describes her personal experiences with MS and her decision to try dietary changes, lifestyle changes, and complementary therapies to treat her condition. She attributes her current good health to the changes she made.

David Lyons: When were you diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and what were your symptoms? 

Kellie Alderton: I was diagnosed in 1988 at the age of 17. I’m now 48. My first symptom was chronic fatigue. I had to stay in bed for weeks at a time. Then I developed optic neuritis a few months later, which led to my diagnosis.

DL: What are your symptoms currently? 

KA: I am living symptom-free going on 15 years! A healthy diet, workout program, and positive mind-set have helped me get to this point.

I've enjoyed working out my whole life. I was in sports growing up, and I love lifting weights. From my initial diagnosis, in 1988, until 2001, I was very limited in what I could do because of my constant symptoms. I suffered from numbness and tingling in my arms and legs, weakness in my limbs, and extreme fatigue. I also overheated very easily.

Since turning to holistic and healing therapies to deal with the MS — including a healthy diet and working out consistently — my body has gotten stronger.

DL: How did you get started on an exercise program? 

KA: Being in sports since I was young (softball and basketball), I've always known that working out and staying active was important to my health.

DL: What’s your current exercise routine? 

KA: Lifting weights, Pilates, walking, stretching, dancing; I try to make sure I stay active every day. After all, a body in motion stays in motion! 

Strength training is an important component of exercise for people with MS.

Photos courtesy of Kellie Alderton

DL: What was and is the biggest challenge in your workouts? 

KA: Previously, it was unsteady gait, numbness and tingling, and muscle weakness. Now that I'm living symptom-free, I have absolutely no challenges with my workouts, which is another testament that our body can heal and repair when we give it the right environment to do so.

DL: How did you choose a nutrition plan to fight MS? 

KA: I've studied nutrition for well over a decade and thoroughly investigated what foods and supplements could help support and heal my body. Taking all that information into account, I then found a healthy approach that worked for me and my food sensitivities. 

DL: What is your current nutrition plan, and how has it evolved over the years? 

KA: I use to be a junk food junkie and never knew that our diets could greatly affect our MS. My diet has evolved over the years to a more anti-inflammatory diet with a focus on eating lots of organic fruits and veggies, juicing regularly, and choosing organic chicken and wild-caught fish. I limit red-meat consumption and dairy. I also limit processed foods and those that contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms). I try to think about everything I put into my body: Will it lessen inflammation or create more inflammation? You really start to see food differently from that perspective. 

DL: Were there any times when you wanted to quit or give up? 

KA: In the first 13 years after my diagnosis, many times I was frustrated, distraught, and depressed, because my quality of life was horrible. I honestly didn't know there were ways to heal. 

DL: How did you stay motivated to continue your exercise and nutrition program? 

KA: After I turned to natural ways to heal and repair my body, I never looked back. I got stronger and felt better each and every day, so that motivated me to keep on this path and keep pushing through! Once I started seeing results and feeling better, there was nothing like it, so I would never want to go back to my old ways. I also stayed focused on the successes I was having each day and celebrated them, no matter how small.

DL: How has working out and changing your diet changed your life? 

KA: They saved my life. I went from being sick and having constant relapses, with no quality of life, to being healthy, strong, and symptom-free. It's really a lifestyle now. 

DL: What fitness goals do you have set for the future?

KA: My fitness goals are to get even stronger through weightlifting, basketball, indoor rock climbing, hiking, horseback riding, and even scheduling some time to go white-water rafting. I believe in switching things up and finding fun activities to stay fit and healthy.

DL: What do you think of the MS Fitness Challenge message, that fitness, nutrition, and mind-set matter when managing MS?

KA: I think the MS Fitness Challenge is important and can be a part of every MSer’s breakthrough. This gives everyone a place to go, to not only see we're all in this together, but to also show us we can be proactive and in control of our body and our life with MS. People in all different stages of MS can find beneficial resources to help them on their own journey.

DL: Do you have any advice for those who want to conquer MS through fitness? 

KA: Yes! Everyone should take a deep breath and realize this is a process. We know the body was made to heal if we give it the right environment to do so. The MS diagnosis is simply the end result of something being off and out of balance in the body, so we must focus on exercise, nutrition, and our mind-set to beat this.

Also, after years of personal development with some of the world’s top inspirational and motivational leaders, I've realized that we need to be laser-beam focused on thinking the right way, so studying meditation, personal development, or engaging in prayer can keep us on the path to developing the right kind of attitude that will help us get through the rough patches on this road to healing.

Important: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not Everyday Health. See More

Any opinions, advice, statements, services, advertisements, offers or other information or content expressed or made available through the Sites by third parties, including information providers, are those of the respective authors or distributors and not Everyday Health. Neither Everyday Health, its Licensors nor any third-party content providers guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any content. Furthermore, neither Everyday Health nor its Licensors endorse or are responsible for the accuracy and reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made on any of the Sites or Services by anyone other than an authorized Everyday Health or Licensor representative while acting in his/her official capacity. You may be exposed through the Sites or Services to content that violates our policies, is sexually explicit or is otherwise offensive. You access the Sites and Services at your own risk. We take no responsibility for your exposure to third party content on the Sites or the Services. Everyday Health and its Licensors do not assume, and expressly disclaim, any obligation to obtain and include any information other than that provided to it by its third party sources. It should be understood that we do not advocate the use of any product or procedure described in the Sites or through the Services, nor are we responsible for misuse of a product or procedure due to typographical error. See Less

Source: https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/ms-fitness-challenge/change-diet-saved-my-life-says-ms-veteran/

[silvino32mills]

Nine Ways to Stay Inspired and Avoid Blogger Burnout

The post Nine Ways to Stay Inspired and Avoid Blogger Burnout appeared first on ProBlogger.

This post is based on episode 170 of the ProBlogger podcast.

Most bloggers start off with a huge burst of energy and excitement. But then at some point (often in their first year or two of blogging) they come up against their first bout of “blogger burnout”.

And it can stop them in their tracks.

If you’ve been blogging for a long time then you’ve probably suffered blogger burnout a number of times. I’ve experienced it several times myself during my 16 years as a blogger.

So today I want to share nine ways to stay fresh and inspired with your blogging. They’ll help you spot burnout coming, and head it off before it hits you with full force.

But before we get into them let’s look at some causes of blogger burnout.

Why Does Blogger Burnout Happen?

Blogger burnout can materialise in different forms and for different reasons.

You may have run out of topic ideas, and feel you’ve said everything there is to say.

You may have become disillusioned with your topic, your niche, or blogging in general.

Despite working really hard on your blog, you may not think it’s paying off.

You may not be reaching the goals you set for yourself.

You may feel overworked and worn out.

Your blog may no longer align with the reason you started it. For example, you may have wanted to be creative at first, but now you’re focused on making money.

You may be overwhelmed by everything you need to do to keep your blog running.

Whatever the cause of your burnout, here are some practical things you can do to tackle it.

#1: Know Your Limits and Set Realistic Goals

You need to fit your blogging in around the rest of your life. But some bloggers don’t take this into account.

For instance, they might believe they have to post every day. But for many bloggers that’s just not feasible. Once, twice, or three times a week would suit them (and their lives) much better.

And it’s okay to be a little flexible with your posting schedule. If you don’t post as often one week, or even take a full week off, the sky won’t fall.

You also need to be realistic with your expectations and ‘big picture’ goals.

You may have dreamed of having millions of readers and millions of dollars in the bank. But I suspect you now know that achieving that kind of success with a blog can take years. And you need to keep producing consistently useful content the entire time..

#2: Get Into a Blogging Groove

I find blogging easiest when I have a particular rhythm to my week. That means having specific times when I come up with ideas, write content, and edit content.

I went through my own routine in episode 40 of the podcast. So feel free to take a listen if you want the details.

I keep my routine in a spreadsheet. But you don’t need to make yours that formal. In my earlier days of blogging my time was limited – an hour or so in the morning and an hour or so on the evening – I’d write in the morning and edit in the evening.

What sort of schedule could you create for your blogging? Think about what you need to do, and how you can fit it into your week. It might help you get into a blogging grove.

#3: Identify Your Sticking Points

WIth blogger burnout, there’s often a particular area where you’re getting stuck. Perhaps you don’t have any ideas to write about. You might be feeling disillusioned and/or unmotivated about blogging, but the real problem is a lack of ideas.

Maybe you keep comparing yourself to other bloggers, and feel frustrated that your blog isn’t yet as successful as theirs.

Or perhaps you simply haven’t had a break from blogging in ages, and need some time off to rest and recharge.

In episode 83 of the podcast I talked about blogger’s block and three places where you can get stuck:

idea generation

writing your content

completing your content.

These are all different types of blogger’s block. So if you’re feeling burnt out with creating content, you might want to give that episode a listen.

It may also help to chat with someone about your feelings of burnout, or even to get some professional help.

#4: Look After Your Body

The only way to sustain a healthy blog over the long term is to stay healthy yourself.

One of the biggest reasons bloggers burn out is they’re not in a healthy place. It could be their physical health, their mental health, a lack of sleep, or something else.

A few years ago I realised my blogging was suffering because I wasn’t looking after my body. My poor diet and lack of exercise took their toll on not only my body but also my mental health, creativity, and alertness.

I talked about my own health wake-up call and how I dealt with in episode 38 of the podcast. But here are a couple of quick tips.

Build exercise into your routine. It might be fitting a walk into your day, or getting up from your desk a couple of times a day and doing a few minutes of exercise so you come back refreshed.

Look at your diet. What changes could you make? They might be geared toward weight loss, or they might be about eating more healthy, nutritious food and less junk.

#5: Take a Break Every Day, Every Week and Every Year

Taking a break, resting or sleeping might seem unproductive. But they can help your blog in so many ways. The better you rest, the better you work.

It can help to think about rest and time away from your blog in different timeframes.

Daily: I work on my blog during business hours (normally 9–5). But I take a walk in the middle of the day, and the beginning and end of the day are blog-free.

Weekly: I try not to work on weekends. I may do a couple of really short bursts on a Saturday morning and a Sunday evening, but everything in between is time off. That weekly rest is really important.

Yearly: I schedule time off during the year to spend with my family – usually a couple of two-week breaks and a couple of long weekends.

It’s important to unplug regularly so you’re not thinking about your blog all day, every day. Your blogging will be better, and other areas of your life will also benefit such as your friendships and your relationship with your family.

Which leads me to…

#6: Build Relationships and Look After Them

Taking breaks with family and friends is good for your relationships.

When we work online in social media, a lot of our interactions tend to be virtual.

While online relationships can be very positive, it’s important to have grounded, real-life relationships as well.

Over the past 16 years I’ve been on the end of some pretty vicious attacks from strangers online that had me on the verge of giving. But while I had some good online friends helping me through those times, it was my real-life friends that gave me the real support I needed – and a place to retreat from the stress.

Of course, online relationships matter to, because your friends and family may not understand what you’re going through as a blogger. One of the best ways to solidify online relationships is to attend blogging events whenever you can. Meeting other bloggers face to face is a great way to strengthen your relationships with them.

#7: Fit Inspiration and Learning into Your Day

One of the most powerful things I do is schedule at least 5–10 minutes a day to watch or listen to something inspiring. I used to watch TED talks, but now I tend to listen to podcasts.

I try to include two types of podcasts: ones that inspire me, and ones that teach me something. Both are important, because they give you energy in different ways.

What you listen to or watch doesn’t always need to be about blogging or your blog’s topic. Maybe you get inspired by wildlife documentaries, and the beauty of the animal kingdom.

You don’t have to make a lot of time for them. But spending just ten minutes watching a video or listening to a podcast can help you feel inspired,and potentially more knowledgeable.

#8: Play, Pivot, and Evolve

I tend to get bored. And when I’m bored I feel a bit dejected. Doing the same thing the same way, day in and day out, kills my passion for things.

Over the years I’ve learned that I need to look for new ways to do things.

One of the great things about blogging and podcasting is they’re always changing. There’s always something new to try. And while that can be a distraction, I think it’s important to bring play and experimentation into what we do.

When I started the ProBlogger podcast after 12 years of blogging, it gave me a huge rush of energy and motivation.

Another blogger I spoke to had the same experience when she moved from writing about her topic to creating videos about it.

Just changing the medium gave us both a huge rush of energy. Maybe you could try something similar with your own blogging.

Another way to pivot and evolve is to add categories to your blog. On Digital Photography School a few years ago I added a category about post-production – how to process your photos in Lightroom and Photoshop. It energised both me and my readers as we explored a new area together.

You could also try:

Running a new series of posts

Monetizing your blog, or launching a new product

Changing the design of your blog, whether it’s getting a new logo or changing the colours

As well as energising you, these pivots and changes keep your blog fresh for your readers.

#9: Do Something That Matters

This is probably the most important thing you can do to avoid or get through burnout: do something that matters – both to you and to others.

When you’re doing something you have a genuine interest in and believe in, you’ll find you can keep the momentum going most of the time.

Over the years I’ve had more than 30 blogs. But today I only run two: Digital Photography School and ProBlogger. They’re are the ones I have the most interest in and the most passion for.

Of course, it will still get tough sometimes. But the fact you’re making other people’s lives better can give you the energy and inspiration to get through it.

Things that kept me going over the years of building ProBlogger were the emails and comments from readers letting me know something had a tangible impact on them.

If you’re experiencing blogger burnout right now, there’s nothing wrong with taking a break. Give yourself a week or two off. But make sure you have a point where you come back to start blogging again.

You might bring in some guest posters to cover the time you’re way. Or you might just tell your readers that you’re taking a bit of time off. They’re usually very understanding of things like that.

And while you’re on your break, you might want to think about implementing at least one or two of the points we’ve covered:

Know your limits and set realistic expectations

Get into a blogging grove

Identify your sticking points

Look after your body

Take breaks on a daily, weekly, and yearly basis

Build relationships and look after them

Fit inspiration and learning into your day

Play, pivot, and evolve

Do something that matters

If you’re going through a tough time right now, please look after yourself. And feel free to reach out for help and support in the comments.

Image credit: Luke Porter

The post Nine Ways to Stay Inspired and Avoid Blogger Burnout appeared first on ProBlogger.

       from ProBlogger http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ProbloggerHelpingBloggersEarnMoney/~3/TjYWn-uGU5U/

[adventurusquest]

10 strategies to quit smoking – reflecting on my 12-month journey

8:30pm Wednesday January 13, 2015. Standing alone in my backyard, my last cigarette ignited, crackling as I draw back with deep breathes and the sky around me shifting into twilight. I knew then I was making a choice by smoking my last cigarette – that this would be my final one or I would go out and buy a packet later in the evening. Which choice would I stick to?

This wasn’t the first time I have been here. Not literally, but in this position. I’ve use to smoke for 20 years and had attempted quitting 18 times prior to this attempt.

This time however, was different. This time, I took the learnings of ALL of my last attempts and knew that I needed to have a strong strategy in place to fight the toughest battle of my life – my one most powerful addiction.

The psychological fear installed in me (and others who have tried to quit and failed) that we ‘cannot live without cigarettes’ is one of the biggest hurdles I faced. After all, who would I turn to in times of stress; when I had a glass of wine in my hand; even when I was being creative – I needed my cigarettes more than anything. At the time I didn’t realise this was a false reliance that my brain had created by the powerful drug, Nicotine. Looking back, only now I realise how addiction works.

Where am I now? It’s been exactly 12 months and I am reflecting back on a full year without a single cigarette. More importantly, it has been 12 months of some major accomplishments for me – all of which I could not have completed without letting go of cigarettes.

So how did I do it?

As mentioned above, this was not my first attempt – so I had plenty of practice and knew all the triggers. I’m hoping my strategy below will allow others to attempt to try something similar and hopefully achieve what I achieved.

My first trick was to set myself a goal so big and physically demanding – that I would have to force myself to quit or waste valuable money. So I went up. Very up. I bought my plane tickets and my tour tickets to climb to Everest Base Camp by my birthday in May. This forced me into five months of having to quit or lose all that money I had just spent.

But that was the easy part – anyone can save the money or buy the tickets. The next objective for me was to also keep investing financially in my health, diverting funds away from cigarettes and into making me reach Base Camp. So I joined a gym and hired a personal trainer for two sessions per week. This proved to be extremely valuable as it meant that there was someone who would hold me accountable but also work me through the tough times.

Now, back to that night I quit. There is a reason I quit at 8:30pm. As this was my last cigarette, I had to time it to give me the biggest amount of time until my next potential cigarette – allowing my body to get rid of as much nicotine as it could. After the cigarette I had a glass of water, showered and went to bed. Alarm set for 6am. That’s 9 hours before I wake up; 10 hours before I can leave the house and 11 hours before my first chance to buy a new pack (if I faltered).

Before going to bed I had also printed the timeline of events of how my body would heal itself as soon as I had my last cigarette. Every time I felt like one, I simply had to refer to this printed paper and see how far I had come – at first it was 20 mins. Then 4 hours. Then 12 hours. Then 24 hours. Then 72 hours. Then five days. I still refer to this paper today and carry it with me everywhere. This is extremely motivating and reminded me as a smoker that if I could just get to the next timestamp / event – I would be ok.

I also downloaded the Quit App which gave me so much value – from keeping my hands busy; reminding me of the benefits of staying quit and counting in real-time my savings in dollars and milligrams of tar I had not induced. Once again – a powerful tool that helped me get through some of the toughest times.

In addition to these tools, I needed to make some major lifestyle changes. Back then I lived off junk food, I drank wine with dinner and then socially with friends on the weekend, I would use coffee and energy drinks to keep me energised and I would work late nights. These triggers all would stimulate the need for cigarettes and so I knew I needed to target these areas from day one if I was to succeed.

So I stopped drinking between Sunday through to Thursday. Not even with dinner at home. Instead I would slice lemons and limes and submerge them in mineral water as my drink of choice.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner were no longer allowed to be junk food. Each meal had to consist of at least 60g of protein (in line with my gym program); and my rule was I needed to have 6 pieces of fruit and 5 pieces of vegetables per day. For snacks I used walnuts, pumpkin seeds, carrot and celery sticks to keep my hands busy during trigger moments.

Another big thing I had to do was give up caffeine. I cut out the morning coffee and afternoon can of Red Bull and replaced it with two litres of water per day.

In the first month and a half, my social life went down the drain. I had to cut out all alcohol. Thankfully, Netflix binging was in fashion so I just stayed in on weekends and consumed a lot of TV during the evening.

On my spare time on Saturdays and Sundays I scheduled to go for a hike or an adventure activity, somewhere local to my city. This ensured I would exhaust a lot of energy, keep fit in line with my gym programme, socialise with my friends and most importantly – give me insight as to my body’s improving health. And month by month the mountains become easier.

Then May came around and it was time to head to Everest Base Camp. Sure the trek was tough – but I didn’t feel as though I was any worse than all the non-smokers. In fact, I was usually at the front of the pack and one of few that went the additional 200m elevation to the summit of Kala Patthar, just above Base Camp.

Since then I have climbed Mount Kosciusko; Mount Wellington; Cradle Mountain; several peaks and treks across the Blue Mountains; trekked across Royal National Park and more. I can’t get enough and this year I am climbing Table Mountain and trekking the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro!

All of this, because I quit smoking exactly one year ago.

If you are a smoker, or someone who is trying to get someone else to quit – I hope this story gives you some help. I’ve created a quick checklist below of all the tools and strategies I put in place that made my quit attempt a success.

I don’t like to say the word ‘never’ but I truly feel – now that those shackles have been broken – that I will never go back to smoking. To think one year ago I could barely say these words. And if I can do it – then anyone can.

 Quit Smoking Strategy Checklist

 ·      Set yourself a demanding physical goal that you want to achieve that will force you to quit – invest money in this right away. If you don’t quite – you lose your money.

·      Book yourself into a gym and personal trainer

·      Print off the timeline of events of how your body heals. Carry this everywhere

·      Download the My QuitBuddy app and use this whenever you feel the urge to light up

·      Quit at a time of the day where you know you will have the longest break before next cigarette (9pm is a good time, on a week day not weekend)

·      Give up coffee and alcohol for at least three weeks, replace with mineral water and fresh cut lime / lemons. Also quit drinking all together between Sunday and Thursday – keep it for the weekends

·      Completely change your diet – use tools like MyFitnessPal to measure what you eat and reduce sugars, fats and other triggers. Tie this into your gym programme.

·      Go for a hike, bike ride, kayak or other adventure once per month – this will keep you motivated to stay healthy

·      If you don’t want to go cold turkey – then use assistance programs along with lozenges and patches to ease off the cigarettes. This is a gradual way to jump off whilst you increase your health / diet

·      When you have a strong craving follow the four D’s: Drink a glass of water; Deep breathes in and out; Distract yourself with something else and Delay your urge to smoke – most cravings last 3-5 minutes … all you need to do is beat this time