Weekly Motivation

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Weekly Motivation

by Shawn Phillips

I just opened my email to find one with the subject line, “The [unnamed supplement] Miracle.”

My response was visceral and yet, my disdain for gaudy marketing required I open it. Inside the miracle was immediately announced: “Yes, it’s a miracle! We now have product for shipping.”

Are you kidding? It’s a miracle that I can now send you money? Hoorah! It’s a new the new low-bar for a miracle! Let the trumpets sound.

Now I hate to be the one to break it to these boys, but putting a simple powder in a bottle with a cheap label on it is way this side of a miracle. It doesn’t even qualify for “product development.” It’s simple packaging, no more complex than bagging groceries.

Miracles… Seems they aren’t what they used to be.
The Decline of Miracles

What reaction do you have when you see the claim of “miracle” on an email or advertisement? Does it provoke a favorable response, a curiosity or anything at all?

I suspect most of us have become skeptical—and justifiably so. “Miracle” has been overused and abused to the point that it’s often shady and meaningless at best.

But does the abuse stop there or is there a deeper, more destructive force in play here? Is the abuse of “miracle” having a more profound negative side-effect on you and I. Could it be quietly draining our desire and even capacity to believe? And a result, are we becoming a harsher, more staunchly rational, less “inspired” society?

By definition, a miracle is: “an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God.”

It strikes me that miracle once connected us to a hopeful, positive energy.

In the Christmas Classic movie, “Miracle on 34th Street,” there’s a line when (Santa) Kris Kringle is on trial and says: “I’m a symbol. I’m a symbol of the human ability to suppress the selfish and hateful tendencies that rule the major part of our lives. If… you can’t believe, if you can’t accept anything on faith, then you’re doomed for a life dominated by doubt.”
Doomed!

I don’t want to be doomed!

I wish not to be doomed to a life dominated by doubt. But I can see how it could happen, when most everything we’re exposed to daily, even the news, is somewhere between a manipulative lie and a “harmless” exaggeration. You and I are basking in the fuel that ignites a life of doubt and suspicion.

Yet, if we allow this abuse of our “miracle bone,” our desire to believe, to shut-off or weaken our openness, wonder, and dreams; then we’ve succumb to a subtle form or terrorism.

Certainly we’re better people, a better society, when we suppress the “selfish hateful tendencies” and accept some things on faith. And without doubt I believe there are some things we should believe in and that we need to believe. It’s what we humans do best.
Believe We Shall

It is human, very much so, to have dreams, hopes and desires—to quietly hold the slightest glimmer of possibility that some how, some way there is a Santa Claus, even though ever fiber of your rational mind knows it’s not so.

To say, “Yes!, I believe in miracles!,” is not to be weak, dependent and helpless but rather to hold space for possibility, to embrace, celebrate and keep the wonder alive.

For Santa, like so many things which are the best of mankind may not be intended as literal interpretations. Which is to say that red suit, white beard and sleigh is the social icon, the marker we use to represent the goodness, kindness and love of ourselves and our fellow man.

That’s what it means to “believe.” For belief requires doubt, for without some doubt it’s not belief but certainty. It’s not always literal, it’s not always provable. It needn’t be, which is why we’ve been given belief.

For belief requires doubt, for without some doubt it’s not belief but certainty. It’s not always literal, it’s not always provable.

To Believe is Choice

How do you believe in a world that’s intent to defraud you, to use your belief against you? How do you love in a world where people hurt people?

You just do.

Hopefully, ideally with your eyes wide-open and with awareness. But even then you’ll lose a few and be wiser for it. And even when you’ve been handed the short end, may you resist the temptation to make the mistakes of one, the truth for all.

We see a bad cop on the news, we need not believe all cops bad. We get taken by a bad contractor and needn’t believe all contractors bad.

We choose and create our beliefs. To do so freely we must take responsibility. When we’re “at the wheel,” when we avoid the trap of being the victim, we may fall but are quick to get back up.

You may believe in your team, or your children and even our president. Eventually, at one time and another your belief will be tested. Not broken. For belief is not theirs to break, it’s yours and mine.

Struggle with that? Think it’s out there—dependent on them?

Consider that you’re free to believe that the economy will improve—even though there’s endless evidence that it’s not moving that way, now, not “really.” So, you would be rational, perhaps even “wise” not to believe but which feels better? Which offers more energy, more hope? Which will get you moving in the right direction regardless?

Right? Belief has a positive energy about it.

So, why not believe?

What if millions of us chose to believe in our economy, or our leaders right now? What if we believed in our ability to eat right, to live well, to thrive?

Choose to believe in good people doing good things for you. Believe that there is good food that’s fast; then find Tokyo Joes. Believe that not every company is out solely for money, some are driven by purpose and passion; then find Full Strength, the world’s best nutrition shake.

Believe that there are books worth reading, that there are fitness gurus worth following, and that there is a strength a capacity deep inside you’ve yet to tap into that can change your life.

But most of all believe in yourself. For that is the belief that will change your life, and light the world. By practicing believing you strengthen your capacity to believe, even in yourself.

Try it, now. You’ll be better for it—and so will the world.

What if the real miracle is believing?

Now it’s your turn… What are you better for believing in, now?

Do You Believe in Miracles? Read More »

A Late Night Snack…Guilt Free?

Training, Weekly Motivation

by Joel Marion of bodytransformationinsider.com

As I sit here and type this, the time reads 11:06 PM. And you know what? I’m eating.

*Gasp*

What?? Eating after 7 PM?! Yes, I know, I’m breaking the rules.

But frankly, that’s what I do.

When rules don’t make sense to me, I simply choose not to follow them (unless, of course, those “rules” are “laws”…not really into the whole illegal activity thing).

But as far as the whole “no eating after 7″ nonsense goes, I break that one just about every day.

And so should you.

Here’s why:

Well, first, let me just say that most general rules of thumb in the fitness world are oversimplifications, and the whole “Don’t eat after X o’clock” is no exception.

The recommendation is based on the idea that metabolism slows in the evening hours as you prepare for bed, and eating during this time should be avoided so as not to have those calories stored as fat.

A good premise, but again, oversimplified.

What we really want to avoid in the evening are foods that give rise to insulin, specifically carbohydrates, and for several reasons.

First, when blood insulin levels rise, fat burning takes a dive and a “storage” environment is created within the body. This is a good thing after exercise or after an overnight fast to allow the body to “refuel”, but not so good when metabolism is falling off in the evening hours.

Secondly, something called insulin sensitivity drops drastically in the evening, which simply means that your body is not as responsive to insulin at night as it is during the day. When insulin sensitivity is low, carbohydrates are easily stored as fat.

Needless to say, we can see why eating carbohydrates late at night isn’t a smart move, but that doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t eat anything.

Just think about what not eating does to muscle tissue.

If you finished dinner at 7 P.M. and then ate nothing until you woke up the next morning at 7 A.M., you just went a full 12-hours without feeding your muscles whatsoever.

This is a sure recipe for muscle loss, especially when dieting and already restricting calories.

Now, you may be thinking “I don’t really care about muscle”, but believe me, you do.

When you lose muscle, metabolism slows, and weight-loss becomes all that much harder. Regardless of your physique goals, you want to maintain as much calorie burning muscle as possible.

Always.

So, in order to curb late-night cravings and support muscle tissue maintenance, a small meal consisting of mostly slow digesting protein and fibrous green veggies within a couple hours of bed works best.

Animal protein (chicken, fish, beef, etc) are great choices for a late night meal, as is something like cottage cheese. Both digest slowly over time, providing a mild, but steady influx of nutrients to muscle throughout the night, all while not interfering with your insulin levels.

Or maybe I’m just a rebel who doesn’t know what the heck he’s talking about? 😉

Got a favorite late night meal or snack? Agree? Disagree?

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The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue!

Nutrition, Training, Weekly Motivation

by Mike Geary, Certified Nutrition Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer

Did you know that the vast majority of people in this day and age have excess abdominal fat? The first thing that most people think of is that their extra abdominal fat is simply ugly, is covering up their abs from being visible, and makes them self conscious about showing off their body.

However, what most people don’t realize is that excess abdominal fat in particular, is not only ugly, but is also a dangerous risk factor to your health. Scientific research has clearly demonstrated that although it is unhealthy in general to have excess body fat throughout your body, it is also particularly dangerous to have excess abdominal fat.

There are two types of fat that you have in your abdominal area. The first type that covers up your abs from being visible is called subcutaneous fat and lies directly beneath the skin and on top of the abdominal muscles.

The second type of fat that you have in your abdominal area is called visceral fat, and that lies deeper in the abdomen beneath your muscle and surrounding your organs. Visceral fat also plays a role in giving certain men that “beer belly” appearance where their abdomen protrudes excessively but at the same time, also feels sort of hard if you push on it.

Both subcutaneous fat and visceral fat in the abdominal area are serious health risk factors, but science has shown that having excessive visceral fat is even more dangerous than subcutaneous fat. Both of them greatly increase the risk your risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, sleep apnea, various forms of cancer, and other degenerative diseases.

Part of the reason visceral fat is particularly dangerous is that it apparently releases more inflammatory molecules into your body on a consistent basis.

If you care about the quality of your life and your loved ones, reducing your abdominal fat should be one of your TOP priorities! There’s just no way around it. Besides, a side-effect of finally getting rid of all of that excessive ugly abdominal fat is that your stomach will flatten out, and if you lose enough stomach fat, you will be able to visibly see those sexy six pack abs that everyone wants.

So what gets rid of extra abdominal fat? Is there actually a REAL solution beyond all of the gimmicks and hype that you see in ads and on commercials for “miracle” fat loss products?

The first thing you must understand is that there is absolutely NO quick fix solution. There are no pills or supplements of any sort that will help you lose your abdominal fat faster. Also, none of the gimmicky ab rockers, rollers, or ab belts will help get rid of abdominal fat either. You can’t spot reduce your stomach fat by using any of these worthless contraptions. It simply doesn’t work that way.

The ONLY solution to consistently lose your abdominal fat and keep it off for good is to combine a sound nutritious diet full of unprocessed natural foods with a properly designed strategic exercise program that stimulates the necessary hormonal and metabolic response within your body. Both your food intake as well as your training program are important if you are to get this right.

I’ve actually even seen a particular study that divided thousands of participants into a diet-only group and an exercise/diet group. While both groups in this study made good progress, the diet-only group lost significantly LESS abdominal fat than the diet & exercise combined group.

Now the important thing to realize is that just any old exercise program will not necessarily do the trick. The majority of people that attempt getting into a good exercise routine are NOT working out effectively enough to really stimulate the loss of stubborn abdominal fat. I see this everyday at the gym.

Most people will do your typical boring ineffective cardio routines, throw in a little outdated body-part style weight training, and pump away with some crunches and side bends, and think that they are doing something useful for reducing their abdominal fat. Then they become frustrated after weeks or months of no results and wonder where they went wrong.

Well, the good news is that I’ve spent over a decade researching this topic, analyzing the science, and applying it “in the trenches” with myself as well as thousands of my clients from all over the world to see what works to really stimulate abdominal fat loss.

The entire solution… all of the nutritional strategies, as well as training sequences, exercise combinations, and more have all been compiled in my Truth About Six Pack Abs Program.

Keep in mind that the point of this whole program is NOT abdominal exercises (that is only a very small portion of it). The main point of this program is showing you the absolute most effective strategies for losing your stubborn abdominal fat, so you can get rid of that dangerous health risk, as well as get a flatter more defined midsection.

If you follow the guidelines, you WILL lose your belly fat that has been plaguing you for years. This is not guesswork… it is a proven system that works time and time again for all of my clients on every corner of the globe that actually apply the information I teach. If you apply it, the results will come. It’s really that simple.

The only reason most people fail in their fitness goals is that they have good intentions at first to adopt a new lifestyle, yet after a few weeks or months, they abandon their good intentions and slip right back into their old bad habits that gave them the excess body fat in the first place.

I want to help you succeed in finally getting rid of that extra abdominal fat that is not only UGLY, but also DANGEROUS.

Don’t waste another day allowing that nasty abdominal fat to kill your confidence as well as contribute to your risk for MAJOR diseases.

Train hard, eat right, and enjoy life!

The Hidden Dangers of Your Excess Abdominal Fat – It’s More Serious Than a Vanity Issue! Read More »

5 Diet Tricks That Over Deliver To Get You Faster Fat Loss

Nutrition, Weekly Motivation

from http://approvedfitness.com

Tired about reading all those diet tips that seem to sound smart but never really make any difference in your progress? If you’re like most people you are very much looking forward to sporting a new and improved you in a few months time and don’t want to be wasting weeks, if not months, on techniques that simply just do not work.

You’ve put in the effort and now, you expect results. The problem is that if the effort you’ve been putting in isn’t on sound strategies that actually do deliver, that effort is going to be effort that’s sadly wasted.

That’s why your job is to figure out which tricks work so that you can start making the progress you’re after.

To help you cut to the chase, we’ve eliminated all those junky types that will only waste you time and stripped it down to the essentials. If you implement these into your diet, I guarantee you will see results because of it.

Let’s get you started.
1. Avoid Corn Syrup

Right off the top, if there was one change that you should immediately make to your diet, this is it. Any time you see the words ‘high-fructose corn syrup’ on a package label, run far, far away (and preferably, run fast).

This sweet ingredient is going to be anything but sweet for your waistline. Study after study illustrates that those with high levels of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in their diet gain more weight than others without it. Even if you eat the same amount of calories, you still could put on more body fat if you’re consuming foods rich in this ingredient.

So dieter beware: high fructose corn syrup now belongs on your hit list.

2. Stop The Food-Serotonin Connection

Want to know something interesting? Every single time you eat a processed form of carbohydrate, your body is going to release a good dose of serotonin in the system. Serotonin is essentially a ‘feel good’ hormone and is one that is often released when drugs are taken as well.

Now can you see just why all that junk food is so addictive to you? It’s not just that your taste buds want the processed carbs, it’s that your body and brain is actually craving them – similar to if you were hooked on a drug. If you regularly eat junk food, don’t be surprised if this habit is a lot harder to break than you thought.

Stay away from the start and you’ll avoid this additive cycle.

3. Keep Your Meals Regular

Just as you wouldn’t ask your car to take a road trip without any gas, you shouldn’t expect your body to do the same thing. The minute you start going too long between meals is the moment your body not only learns to store fat better but the moment your metabolism slows down as well.

It really is like a double whammy as far as fat loss is concerned. If you want to succeed, keep those meals regular throughout the day.

4. Breakfast Is Best

Similar along this principle, never skip breakfast. Breakfast eaters consume far fewer calories over the course of the day despite the fact that they are eating these calories in their morning meal. Skip it at your own risk. If you do, you’ll likely find that by the time 11 am hits, you’ve hit up the vending machine – twice!

5. Eat Foods From The Ground

Want a quick way to instantly improve your overall food choices? When you pick up an item at the supermarket, ask yourself if that item came from the ground or if it had to go through a manufacturing plant first.

If the answer is the latter, that product is one that’s no good for reaching your fat loss goals. The more natural the foods you eat, the faster you are going to see success.

Set Yourself Up For Success

Make sure you set yourself up for success. Little changes in your everyday routine can have huge pay-offs if you do it right. For example, rather than dishing up your meal onto an extra large plate, use a smaller one instead.

Likewise, any treats you do decide to keep in the house, put them out of sight. If you’re constantly staring at them each and every time you open the pantry, it really is only going to be so long before you give in.

So keep all these tips in mind. See how many you can start implementing into your day in order to push yourself to the next step in fat loss.

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You’re a Flake and Dead Weight

Weekly Motivation

Last week I had the one thing that really irritates me…Flakes. If you don’t know what the definition of a flake is one who says they will show up for an event, gathering, etc.. at a particular time and repeatedly does not show with no follow up.

The upcoming client was coming in for their consultation, and continually kept rescheduling (I should have seen it coming) and they finally said “I’ll meet you 6a.m”. At first, I was shocked at such an early time but any client willing to take the steps to build a “new you” I’m willing to meet them half way. I text the client to remind them 6am and they confirmed. 6:30am, 7:00a.m. no show, and no phone call. I was angry, and pissed. I text them “You’re A Flake” and went on with my day.

Later on that Day, I started to feel bad. Something could have happened to them (car trouble, overslept) trying to them the benefit of the doubt, yet even when I called to check up on them it went to voice mail. Till this day I still have had no explanation. In my prayer closet, I was reminded that in “redirection is God’s protection”. Later on I saw that person, and though I wanted to confront them, I just let it go. In speaking to another trainer, who described this same person, he let them go two weeks later due to their attitude.

Yes, we trainers do get sick and tired of funky attitudes.

I digress, the action of this subject is too remind you that when you see a flake (or if you have may of them) in your life. Let them go. How can you become better when you have dead weight?. Either people will uplift your vision or try to choke it. So you see how they are. They’ll get the picture when you have moved on and achieving your goals. If they change, they’ll be back. If they keep hanging around, drop the dead weight.

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