Develop a Success Mindset

    Your Mental Attitude is vital to reaching your health and fitness goal!

Success is in the blood. There are men whom fate can never keep down--they march forward in a jaunty manner, and take by divine right the best of everything that the earth affords. But their success is not attained by means of a dishonest senator in their back-pocket or some government  policy. They do not lie in wait, nor scheme, nor fawn, nor seek to adapt their sails to catch the breeze of popular favor. Still, they are ever alert and alive to any good that may come their way, and when it comes they simply appropriate it, and tarrying not, move steadily on.

Good health! Whenever you go out of doors, draw the chin in, carry the crown of the head high, and fill the lungs to the  utmost; drink in the sunshine; greet your friends with a smile, and put soul into every hand-clasp.

Do not fear being misunderstood; and never waste a moment thinking about your enemies. Try to fix firmly in your own mind what you would like to do, and then without wavering,  move straight to the goal.

Fear is the rock on which we split, and hate the shoal on which many a barque is stranded. When we become fearful, the judgment is as unreliable as the compass of a ship whose hold is full of iron ore; when we hate, we have unshipped the rudder; and if ever we stop to meditate on what the gossips say, we have allowed a hawser to foul the screw.

Keep your mind on the great and splendid goal you want to attain; and then, as the days go gliding by, you will find yourself unconsciously seizing the opportunities that are required for the fulfillment of your desire! 

If you want to lose weight - or develop a stronger more muscular physique - set your mind to it and get started. Take action daily while you keep your eye on the goal. Start with a set of mini goals - or milestones that you can reasonably expect to succeed at. Then do everything in your power to prove yourself right! Take massive action if you must.

Tips for Better Health - Keep it Simple!

      What is the secret to better health? How do you improve your health and your life - without spending a small fortune on expensive medical solutions? Do you really need to shell out 50 bucks every month at  that slick looking health and fitness club to enjoy life more?

    Long before the advent of modern medical marvels and fancy fitness centers people around the globe enjoyed slimmer, trimmer body shapes than many of us do today. They worked hard and ate simple. They consumed more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods. The American fast food industry had yet to serve up a single hamburger.

    Eating healthy foods does not have to cost you a fortune every month. You can possibly even save some of your hard earned money by preparing your own meals more often. All the while using simple, natural ingredients. Who doesn't love a good steak or lobster? And Pizza is about as close to what they simply must serve in heaven. Along with an ice cold beer!

     Please don't take my advice on heaven. Or what kind of delights may be in store for those of us who end up there!

    While we're here - hopefully enjoying life on Earth - doesn't it make sense to give yourself every possible advantage when it comes to your own health?

    Try these classic, time honored exercises to help keep your body in tip top shape - 

   The Good, old fashioned squat.  Great for your core area.  Keep your feet shoulder-width apart and your back straight. Bend your knees and lower your rear as if you are about to sit down in a chair. Try to keep your knees over your ankles. Shoot for at least 2 sets of ten.

    And how about the classic lunge?  This simple exercise works all the major muscles of the lower body. Lunges can also improve your balance.  Take a big step forward, keeping your spine straight. Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees. Keep weight on your back toes and drop the back knee toward the floor.  ( And try to keep your knee from touching the floor. )

   Finally, the most effective way to sculpt sexy looking arms - the good old fashioned push-up! Push-ups strengthen your chest, shoulders, triceps, and even your core muscles!

    Get down on the floor with your face-down. Keep your hands just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place toes or knees on the floor, creating a smooth line with your body, from shoulders to knees or feet. Keeping rear-end muscles and abdominals tight, push your body up. Then lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows, keeping your body in a straight line throughout the movement.

    Feel that in your tummy? Are your harms hurting a little?  Then your building muscles in all the right places!!

  Want a tighter tummy? Maybe a slimmer looking belly? How about some simple crunches to the rescue! 

    Start by lying flat on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your hands behind your head. Press your low back down. Contract abdominals and raise first your head (tucking your chin slightly), then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor. For the best results always do your crunches with your feet off the floor and knees bent.And focus on keeping your back straight. Try to maintain a straight line from your neck all the way down your spine. Avoid sticking your chin out. Never hold your breath. Try to keep your elbows extended and out of your line of vision.


    Losing weight and building a slimmer, more muscular body doesn't have to cost you a  bundle! Keep it simple. Enjoy eating healthy foods and getting some kind of exercise every day. Even just walking is a great way to get started! You really can eat healthy, exercise daily and lose weight!  Want to enjoy life more and look great doing it? Start getting in shape - fast!

See Yourself in That Hot Summer Outfit

    Ever find yourself stuck in a rut - or just plain wondering if you'll ever drop those extra pounds?  We all get discouraged from time to time. Don't let doubt get in your way.

    Believing in yourself  believing that you can overcome the inevitable obstacles and achieve your fitness goals is crucial to your success. See yourself in that hot bikini this Summer. Or that cool Summer outfit you want to fit in to again!

    One of the most powerful tools for building self-confidence is visualization. This easy technique involves imagining the accomplishment of the changes or goals you're working to achieve. It is a process of "training" purely within the mind. By visualizing in detail your successful execution of each step in a given activity, you create, modify, or strengthen brain pathways that are important in coordinating your muscles for the visualized activity.

    This prepares you to perform. The technique is useful in many areas of life -  from avoiding anxiety during a stressful situation, to performing well during competition. You may find it a powerful tool in your fitness program.

1. Identify the goal you want to visualize—for example, running a mini-marathon.
2. Find a comfortable place to sit and relax.
3. Eliminate all distractions—turn off the phone, television, etc.
4. Close your eyes and focus on feeling relaxed. Free your mind of intruding thoughts.
5. Now, imagine yourself on your favorite running course. Create a picture in your mind of the place—the sights, sounds, and smells. Imagine a perfect day, warm and sunny, with a gentle breeze. Picture yourself with your favorite running friends, talking and laughing. Now visualize yourself starting on your way, passing the usual sights, and setting off to run the entire course.
6. Take a moment to feel the pleasure and excitement of achieving this goal.
7. Then imagine yourself running from each mile-marker to the next, enjoying the sunshine, the views, the fresh air, the good company and your excellent health.
8. Finally, visualize yourself finishing the course and feeling great, both physically and emotionally

     If you want to make positive, lasting change in your life, it helps to spend some time thinking about motivation. What are your reasons for wanting to train your body? What are your personal  fitness goals?

    What obstacles do you anticipate and how might you overcome them?  Visualize your success and consider how you might celebrate your success!

    Picture yourself winning the race - you really can eat healthy, exercise and lose weight!

Planning to Lose Weight?

Football fields everywhere are filled with a fresh crop of eager young athletes. Sweating and working their young bodies in preparation for the excitement of another season of football fun!

As we approach these final few weeks of Summer, perhaps now is a good time to evaluate your physical condition and set some goals for where you'd like to be. 

    Many healthy fitness lovers find they get the best results when they set short term goals. Especially goals they can actually reach! Who can really expect to lose 20 pounds in two weeks?   If you find yourself carrying around a few more pounds than you'd like - don't fret.  It has taken awhile for you to gain the extra  weight, it will take time to lose it. Keep a record of your progress and tell your friends and family. Celebrate your success!

Try these tips to Keep You Going:

l. Adopt a specific plan and write it down.
2. You might try setting short term realistic goals as you go along, and remind yourself of them often. Post them where you can see them every day.
3. Keep a daily log to record your progress and make sure to keep it up-to-date.
4. Include weight and/or percent body fat measures in your log. Extra pounds can easily creep back.
5. Push yourself. Upgrade your fitness program as you progress. The harder you work - the quicker you see results!
6. Enlist the support and company of your family and friends. Bring along a friend when you go for that bike ride or hit the road for that daily walk. Get some roller skates and enjoy a local park or bike path!
7. Update others on your success losing weight!
8. Avoid injuries by pacing yourself and including a warm-up and cool down period as part of every workout.
9. Reward yourself periodically for a job well done!

Picture yourself  wearing that smaller size. Visualize getting in shape.

Lose Weight and Avoid Cancer too?

United States soft drink makers have been the target of critics lately  who contend the sugary drinks we've all grown up to love are a major contributor to childhood obesity in the US.

The state of California and the city of Philadelphia have introduced legislation to tax soft drinks, while both the New York Governor David Paterson and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are also pushing for such a tax. "In these tough economic times, easy fixes to our problems are hard to come by," said Mayor Bloomberg. "But the soda tax is a fix that just makes sense, it would cut rising health costs."

And - in a surprise move - the soft drink makers are objecting!!  They contend their products are not to blame for the fattening of America.

The facts remain - the sweetener used to make our beloved soda so tasty contains practically no nutritional value. And it helps contribute to ever expanding waistlines.

So many of us have resorted to drinking  lower  calorie versions of our favorite sodas. And guess what ? Even switching to no-calorie soft drinks is NOT doing the trick. Obesity continues to be a problem - especially amongst our youth.

Tell the soda makers to just keep their unhealthy drinks. And the packaging they use.

Decades ago glass containers were the norm. Today you would be hard pressed to find any soft-drinks in traditional glass bottles. ( There are some delicious exceptions - check out those fancy root beers in the glass bottles! )

Instead our soft drink industry has opted for less expensive, lighter weight plastic and cans. Unfortunately these lighter weight packages often contain a mix of dreaded and potentially dangerous chemical compounds. 

Way back in 2008, Canada became the first country in the world to ban the import and sale of polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A. ( BPA )

Bisphenol A is a chemical compound found in some hard, clear, lightweight plastics and resins. The materials are used in the production of various types of food and drink containers and to line some metal cans, including soft drink cans.

Critics of this potentially dangerous chemical say BPA is active in very small amounts.

"The chemical is known to cause significant biological effects at incredibly low levels," Rick Smith, executive director of Canada's Environmental Defence, told a Canadian News Station. "And this is not the only source of this chemical in our daily lives."

The answer is simple - if you want to live longer, and stay skinny or even lose some weight - Don't Drink Soda Pop! Or, enjoy your favorite soft drink in extreme moderation. Stick with nature's drink - good old refreshing water!

Losing weight - and keeping those extra pounds off is a simple matter of daily exercise and eating healthy foods!

Get Ready for Summer

Summer will be here before we know it. Days at the beach or the lake. Outdoor barbecues and picnics. Less clothes for everyone! Are you getting ready for looking good at the pool or the beach this Summer?

Many of us "battle the bulge" at some point. Whatever your goals are for this year and beyond, take advantage of the important role exercise plays in keeping your weight under control.

Carrying around too much body fat is a major nuisance. Yet excess body fat is common in modern-day living. Few of today's occupations require vigorous physical activity. Far too much of our leisure time is spent in front of video games , the tv or other sedentary pursuits.

Recent estimates indicate that well over 30 million adults are considered obese. Obese is considered 20 percent above your desirable weight. Even more potentially disturbing - is the increase in body fat levels in children and youth over the past 20 years. After infancy and early childhood, the earlier the onset of obesity, the greater the likelihood of remaining obese.

Excess body fat has been linked to such health problems as coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes, arthritis and certain forms of cancer. Some evidence now exists showing that obesity has a negative effect on both health and longevity.

Exercise is crucial to the loss of body fat in both obese and normal weight persons. A regular program of exercise is an important component of any plan to help individuals lose, gain or maintain their weight.

A certain amount of body fat is healthy, even necessary for everyone. Experts say that percent body fat for women should be about 20 percent, 15 percent for men. Women with more than 30 percent fat and men with more than 25 percent fat are considered obese.

Try this simple self-test:
Pinch the thickness of the fat folds at your waist and abdomen. If you can pinch an inch or more of fat (make sure no muscle is included) chances are you have too much body fat.

Exercise will increase your lean body mass while decreasing your overall fat level. Depending on the amount of fat loss, this can result in a loss of inches without a loss of weight, since muscle weighs more than fat. Its for real - the best way to lose excess belly fat is with the proper combination of diet and exercise!

Hard Work Means Lasting Results

If you want to lose weight fast - forget the pills and miracle weight loss potions so readily available at every counter. Instead, for lasting results - work hard. Exercise daily. Build your strength - gradually you will be able to achieve not only weight loss - but the lifelong benefits of better health and fitness!

Christ did not say, "Come unto me all ye pleasure hunters, ye indolent and ye lazy;" but "Come all ye that labor and are heavy laden."

"There is but one method of attaining excellence," said Sydney Smith, "and that is hard labor."

"I do not see," says Emerson, "how any man can afford, for the sake of his nerves and his nap, to spare any action in which he can partake. It is pearls and rubies to his discourse. Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom. The true scholar grudges every opportunity of action passed by as a loss of power."

"Adversity is a severe instructor," says Edmund Burke, "set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as He loves us better too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial."

Strong characters, like the palm tree, seem to thrive best when most abused. Men who have stood up bravely under great misfortune for years are often unable to bear prosperity. Their good fortune takes the spring out of their energy, as the torrid zone enervates races accustomed to a vigorous climate. Some people never come to themselves until baffled, rebuffed, thwarted, defeated, crushed, in the opinion of those around them. Trials unlock their virtues; defeat is the threshold of their victory.

"Every man who makes a fortune has been more than once a bankrupt, if the truth were known," said Albion Tourgée. "Grant's failure as a subaltern made him commander-in-chief, and for myself, my failure to accomplish what I set out to do led me to what I never had aspired to."

"What is defeat?" asked Wendell Phillips. "Nothing but education." And a life's disaster may become the landmark from which there has begun a new era, a broader life for man.

"To make his way at the bar," said an eminent jurist, "a young man must live like a hermit and work like a horse.

Whatever you seek - in terms of better health or success in life - you can achieve with hard work and focused effort! You can enjoy life more and have a slimmer, stronger body. Exercise and eating healthy foods result in better health and fitness.

Start today. Get some home fitness equipment and work out before you work or school. Catch your favorite TV shows while you pound away those extra inches around your waistline.

Work Hard - Exercise and Lose Weight Fast!

There is no great mountain in the world that has a natural, smooth road with an easy grade all the way to the top. Losing weight and getting in better shape often requires some hard work. It involves getting around, or going over, or removing obstacles that block your path.

Everyone encounters similar difficulties, obstacles, and resistance on the road to better health and fitness. If you cannot pass them, your ambition or willpower might suffer.

Persevere. Don't ever quit the journey.

Many successful weight loss and fitness experts will tell you in order to assure your success you must develop little tricks to help you overcome the nearly inevitable obstacles.

Put a picture of a skinny - good looking celebrity on your refrigerator. Or a helpful, encouraging quote. These will remind you of your quest when you find yourself hitting the freezer for that late night carton of Ben and Jerry's.

Frequently affirm your desire. Tell yourself everyday "I am losing 2 pounds this week and 20 pounds before Summer finally comes around". Experts suggest that these positive affirmations really do help you succeed. Make them specific - "I'm losing 2 pounds this week!" ( And it helps if you keep them within reason. Don't try to lose ten pounds in 1 week - that is too hard on your body and rarely sustainable. )

If you believe you can - you can exercise and lose weight fast. Your can overcome those never ending bumps in the road and cruise to better health and a leaner, sexier body!

Work hard - exercise every day if you can. Eat plenty of protein and keep your metabolism at an optimum level for burning more calories. Simple habits - practiced daily have lead to awesome results. Try it! What have you got to lose - except a few unhealthy habits and a few inches around your waistline.

Visualize yourself looking great at the beach or your favorite vacation spot this Summer! See yourself looking hot in that sexy little bikini. You can shed those extra pounds and tighten up your abs!

The best way to lose belly fat - and keep it off is with a healthy balance of aerobic exercise and strength training! Focus on losing those extra pounds.

Your Best Day Ever

You can have your best day ever - Every Day! Make every day a healthy day! Get a little exercise - or a lot! Our bodies are designed to move and be active. To work hard and develop strength. Your body will need the right fuel for building healthy muscles.

Your muscles develop from training and exercise. Protein is vital to help you build healthy muscles. Some nutrition experts recommend a nutritious, balanced diet that includes two or three servings of meat, beans or eggs and two or three servings of dairy every day. On days you plan to lift or do strength training - try getting a healthy dose of protein early!

When you eat starches or sugars your body changes them all to glucose, the only form of carbohydrate used directly by muscles for energy. Whether carbohydrates are in the form of starches (in vegetables and grains), sucrose (table sugar), fructose (found in fruits and juices) or lactose (milk sugar), carbohydrates are digested and ultimately changed to glucose.

Your body uses this glucose in the blood for energy. Most glucose is stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. During exercise glycogen is broken down in the muscles and provides energy. Usually there is enough glycogen in muscles to provide fuel for 90-120 minutes of exercise.

Most exercise and sport games do not use up glycogen stores so eating carbohydrates during the activity usually isn't needed. But for some athletes, eating or drinking carbohydrates during exercise helps maintain their blood glucose and energy levels.

Most athletes need not be concerned with "carbohydrate loading," the special technique of eating a lot of carbohydrates for several days before an endurance event. Instead, focus on getting enough carbohydrates everyday. The best way to ensure plenty of energy for exercise is to eat a nutritious, balanced diet that is high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Enjoy a healthy variety of different foods!

Keep eating healthy foods, exercise daily and you really can lose weight and keep it off! Make every day your best day! Start getting in shape - fast!