How Many Hours Do You Have?

I watched this TEDx talk today.  It was amazing.  This young man was talking about how many hours you spend at High School, all up 17,280!

The main question that is being asked in this video, is really about what are you doing with those hours?  How are you showing up?  How are you leaving your individual mark on the world?

This question can just as easily be asked about your working life.  In life, on average, you work  86,400 hours.  How are you enjoying those hours? Are you following your passion?  Are you leaving a legacy? Are you working to achieve your childhood dreams?

A great question as we venture forth in our Life Journey, whether that's about where we are in the world, how we appear to the world, or even how we turn up in our daily lives.

I really enjoyed the concept of being a conscious observer in order to find your passion. Look around your world as it is today, where are the glimmers that you observe that make you feel?

Enjoy the talk

Want A Smaller Waist?

Looking to make that waist smaller?  Do you know it could be as simple as having more protein in your diet?

A recent study found an association between habitually consuming protein in excess of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and lower body mass index, a smaller waist, and higher levels of the HDL “the good” cholesterol.

Higher protein diets also remain popular and for good reason—people who consume more find they have an easier time managing weight and preserving muscle during weight loss.

For me, the increase in protein in my daily meals has resulted in better muscle retention while I released my weight. I now ensure I have good quality protein at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  One of these protein bases is undenatured whey protein.  I use this in my morning smoothies as whey protein has been shown to be better for you for building muscles (no, I'm not a body builder!!)

Contact me if you wish to know more about how to create a smaller waist!

Secrets To Fasting

Over the last year there has been much written about fasting as a way to lose weight.

Fasting is not a diet though, it is a way of life.  The change to this type of lifestyle needs to be permanent for you to achieve the desired outcomes.

What are those outcomes?

Well, they can be whatever your body needs at the time. It could be burning excess fat as energy, it could be growing more lean muscle, or it may just be giving your digestive system time to rest and recover!

Recently there has been some media coverage on the type of fasting that is beneficial to a healthier lifestyle. Personally, I really enjoy the 5:2 ratio of fasting.  This is where you eat from a healthy menu for 5 days of the week, for the remaining 2 days of the week, you fast.

The most recent ratio being written about is 14:10. This is where you fast for 14 hours every day, and eat from a healthy menu for 10 hours.  There have been no available studies that I have found on this ratio, whereas for the 5:2 ratio, there are more available studies highlighting the benefits to your body.

So, the secrets to fasting. 

My 7 TopTtips:

1. Stay busy.  Keeping the mind active doesn't allow you time to dwell on the fact that you're not eating
2. Treat yourself.  Okay, it's not food, but the benefits of a relaxing bubble bath, getting your hair done, getting a manicure, or whatever it is that feels like a treat, allows you to have something other than food to look forward to
3. Keep hydrated.  Drinking plenty of water to assist your body with removing the impurities that have been in your body.  Remember, when you are fasting, this gives your digestive system time to actively remove those impurities that have been stored within your fat cells (or other places in your body), so the body needs a little extra help to flush out.  Drinking 1 litre of water for every 20kg of body weight is ideal.
4. Drink herbal (non-caffeine) teas.  Personally, I love lemon and ginger in the mornings of a fasting day, and over the day I can change this to a peppermint tea.  Both these teas (make sure you obtain the herbal ones, and not the black tea that is flavoured) support your digestive system and don't put an added load onto it, while also supporting your hydration.
5. Try not to snack, but if you need to, try a low-sodium, organic vegetable broth.
6. Try a guided meditation. There is a free guided meditation by Rick Reynolds
7. Gentle exercise. Take a gentle walk, not a full on cardiovascular workout, something gentle in nature is what I love to do. I've also recently started yoga on my fasting days.

Bonus Tips:

1. Write a journal. When you are fasting, there can be a release of emotions, it's great to write these down for reflection.
2. Have an early night. Take a good book to bed and relax into your nightly slumber.
3. Avoid the supermarket or food halls. On your fasting day, do not venture into a supermarket or near any food halls or stalls.  These will put too much temptation in your way and encourage you to fail at your day of fasting!

Remember to always ease into eating again after a period of fasting, with good quality nutrition.  Also, never fast for longer than 48 hours, the studies show that there is no benefit to your body by fasting for longer than this period of time.

I follow a system of fasting that is the simplest way I have ever experienced and my increased energy at the end of a fasting is incredible! 

To contact me to find out more about the system I follow, click here and I will be in contact with you.

The Perfect Workout For Busy Gyms

It's that time of the year again, when all the New Year's Resolutions have to be undertaken - and one of them is going to the gym more often.  Do you find that the gym gets really busy at the start of the year, and your usual equipment is not always available?  Here's a great article that will give you and idea for getting around this.

By: Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Imagine you’re about to workout and suddenly notice it requires two different dumbbell weights or two different machines, used back to back without rest (a superset).

Now this sometimes isn’t a problem, but usually the gym is busy, making it virtually impossible to quickly get through the workout as it was intended. UGHH!

So what are you supposed to do?

Well, you could…

1. Stockpile dumbbells around your bench - this will surely anger others around you.  Plus, with the gym so busy to begin with, you probably wouldn’t be able to grab more than one set of dumbbells anyways.
2. Ask someone if you can work-in with them on a machine, or borrow their dumbbells. Since you’ll now be accommodating someone else’s workout, you’ll inevitably have more rest time, and ultimately lengthen your own workout.   

Now while these suggestions can work, they’re NOT recommended for those who want maximum results in minimum time.

And so that’s precisely why I designed Turbulence Training 2K6.

With this workout at your disposal, you should be able to use the same dumbbell weight for pairs of exercises in a superset, or you’ll find that I’ve combined a dumbbell exercise with a bodyweight exercise. 

So you’ll no longer need to change your weight or get new equipment for the second exercise.

Plus, if you want either a little variation from the traditional interval training workouts or just simply an off-day workout, then you’ll love the “Total Body Ten” bodyweight workout that I’ve also included in the program.

I’m pretty sure neither of the two scenarios listed above sounded very appealing, especially if it’s results you’re after.  And when all is said and done, TT 2K6 is a great way to help you overcome busy gyms. In fact, you’ll be flying through these workouts so fast that you probably won’t even know how packed the gym is!








About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

White Fat or Brown Fat

Do you hear these terms bandied around, but you're not sure what they mean?

Well, if you're like me, you have heard of them, but need them explained in plain language.

This is as simple as I understand it to be:

Brown Fat

This is the GOOD Fat. Brown fat is the fat that the body burns when it needs energy.  So we use this up, helping us to remove the fat from our bodies

White Fat

This is the BAD Fat. White fat is the fat that the body stores.  It's the fat that seems to accumulate on our hips, thighs and stomach area!  We need to convert this to the Brown Fat, so it can be used up.

The interesting thing is how the body does this.  We have an appetite suppressing enzyme (measures our current fat reserves) and an enzyme that monitors how much sugar we have coming into our body (measures our future fat reserves).  

These enzymes/hormones play a role in keeping our body at the required fat levels when they work together and trigger other actions in the body to convert the white fat to brown fat!  Simples!!

Photo from: www.freedigitalphotos.net, Mister GC

Want To Annoy Your Fellow Gym Goers?

As it's still January, many people are still going to the gym.  They are still flush in their efforts to 'work off' the extra pounds or kilos they ate onto their hips over the holiday season!!

Most of these people are labelled January Joiners - a great label, as they sign up in January, usually fade away by February and are never seen nor heard from again, until January next year, when the cycle is on "rinse and repeat"!!

As a regular gym goer in the past, one of the things that used to get to me with these 'newbies' was their lack of ettiquette in the gym!  Do you notice this?

Things such as:

• not putting the weights away after they have finished, imagine having to lift that 200lbs off the machine
• not wiping down the machine they have just melted over, with the antibacterial solution provided
• jumping onto equipment you have been patiently waiting for, i.e., queue jumping
• not bring a sweat towel to the gym with them
• not wearing deodorant
• not looking around to make sure they are not in your way before they start their exercise
• wearing your gym gear from yesterday

I recently read an article that also outlined the health hazards in the gym - I'm not going there, as it was by far too scary to read about, let alone write about. Let's just say, keeping your own hands clean before and after using equipment is a must!

I'm sure there are plenty more you can tell me about - what's your pet hate with the January Joiners?

Forget Diets!

I've just finished reading about an author that is advocating forgetting to follow a traditional diet.

It did resonate well with me.  I am a great believer in changing your lifestyle, not setting steadfast rules to be followed when you are looking to change your eating habits.

Why?

Because the word "dieting" creates an image that it's something you only need to do until the pounds have disappeared, then you can step right back into all your old habits!!

Trust me, this doesn't work!  I know, I've been a yo-yo dieter for the majority of my life!!

How can you make 'missing a food group' a way of life?  Have you ever started a diet, say for example low carbs, high protein, and then been invited to your friends for dinner?  Did you find this awkward and embarrassing as you begin to explain all the foods you can't have??

This is why I agree that traditional dieting is not a great way to go. 

Instead you need to create a new lifestyle, one that is fun and engaging to follow, that will allow you to have treats occassionally and not to feel guilty!  This is what I do, my eating lifestyle now is one that I really enjoy, the foods are tasty and I have a lot of fun with those around me who are into my lifestyle!

Imagine this, you've reached your goal weight, and there is no relaxation of rules, no 'great, I'm really going to enjoy my desserts again', no 'thank goodness I can go for takeaway again', no slipping into the junk food aisle at the supermarket and loading up the trolley.  Why won't this happen?  Because you are enjoying the choices you have made for your new lifestyle and DO NOT miss the old foods, patterns and habits!

What bliss!

Enjoy your new lifestyle